Powered Ariel (1 Viewer)

[EthnGeoff]

We have a perfectly good ariel at home which sits in the loft and provides us with an excellent TV picture without using electricity. So could someone explain why we have to have power to the ariel when using TV in the motorhome?
Thanks.
Geoff.:Confused:

 

[hilldweller]

We have a perfectly good ariel at home which sits in the loft and provides us with an excellent TV picture without using electricity. So could someone explain why we have to have power to the ariel when using TV in the motorhome?
Thanks.
Geoff.:Confused:

Flexibility.

At home the right sized aerial is pointed accurately at the transmitter.

One the road we have small aerials and have to make do with near and far transmitters.

And those flying saucer aerials are semi useless at best.

 

[pappajohn]

power is needed for the signal amplifier, not the actual aerial, as the 'flying saucer' type aerial alone is not powerful enough to get a decent signal.

in the past i have used a standard domestic aerial on a pole without power just as you do at home.

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[Jaws]

Think your self lucky
To get a half decent signal I have to use a 9ft pole on the chimney, with a 48 element anti ghost yagi on top.
Added to that I have to have a 28dB mast head pre-amp ( that is the bit that requires a voltage up its bottom ) and from that it drops in to an 18dB gain distribution amp


So what does all this old squit mean ?
Why can you get great reception with a simple rig in the loft while I struggle to get terrestrial pictures even with all the iron mongery ..

Put simply, location

If you are within a reasonable distance from a transmitter, or you might be miles and miles away but have a clear path to it, then a nice tidy simple rig will be all that is needed.

I am 30 miles from the transmitter, have a bank of trees at the end of my terrace, plus a large rise in the ground between me and it ( the transmitter ).

In other words, if the signal is poor you need more bits and bobs in the air to receive what little signal there is ..

Now if you are in a motor home you could end up anywhere.. Miles from any signal source in fact.

Add to that the fact that antennas such as the very popular Status and their ilk are at best a compromise.. albeit a good compromise ( will not go into the reason but please believe me ! ) and you begin to see why you will very often need a signal amplifier to assist the antenna in grabbing a signal out of the ether

And it is that amplifier that, as said before, needs to be fed a voltage to work.

Sorry it was a bit long winded but I reckon it was a good question and worth a full answer ..