Caravan TV Aerial Advice

[Bowler]

Hey guys,

Can't believe that Im posting this on PH, but here goes....

I’m new to this Caravanning stuff having taken the plunge and bought an old 2 berth, mainly for weekend use and to see whether I can get used to caravans.

I’ve used it once so far, which was generally OK and I did manage to identify a few things that need addressing. Most are simple fixes, but one of these was with the TV.

I tried a reasonably modern flat screen Freeview HDTV/DVD player which was unused at home and has a 12v socket. Firstly the TV wouldn’t work on 12v, despite a new leisure battery being fitted. Secondly, on 240v and all plugged in to the on-board aerial, it wouldn’t pick up any signal.

I can’t believe that it was in a low signal area as I was within spitting distance of a major town and not surrounded by hills/clutter.

So far I’ve gleaned that there are 2 schools of thought on TV reception:

Option 1: I need a TV designed for a caravan, that has a built-in signal booster.

Option 2: I need a better aerial. The van is 13 years old and has a sort of flat plate type aerial on the roof that doesn’t extend upwards, so I can understand if this isn’t able to cope with a modern TV and particularly HD and freeview.

Option 1 seems a simple fix, but before I spend another £300, I need to be sure there are no other options and that even if I do go with this route, I will not end up with the same problem. Option 2 is credible, but I don’t want to have to spend 45 minutes erecting the mobile equivalent of Jodrell Bank every time I pitch up somewhere.

Any views on this please and if there is a fix that means I don’t have buy another TV?

Thx

[nagsheadwarrior]

The tv should work ok on 12v,try plugging something else into your 12v plug to see if it works.
The aerial will be a non digi one,you will get a signal somtimes but not often.
Really a status 550 is what you need,these cost 150 or circa 250 fitted,they now have a signal finder so it takes 2nds to lock on or as a fixed alternative the maxview gazelle is very good.

[Chrisgr31]

For ours I bought an aerial like the one you find on a house on a telescopic pole that bolts to the jockey wall which works well, and just feed the cable in through the window.

With a standard aerial you need to check for polarity before putting it up so does the aerial need to be vertical or horizontal. This depends on the transmitter in the area you are in. What I cant find at the moment is the site I use to tell me where the transmitters are!

[donaircooleone]

Teleco Teleplus X2 - can be had for sub £100-110 (through the roof pole type).

Seems to be getting good reviews too.

[Zead]

I have a labgear aerial with plug in booster. £40 screwfix. A signal finder, c. £10 from b&q. 12' height, (camper height plus 6' pole on top). F connecters make sure it's all soundly connected. Cheap M&S flat screen with built in DVD, for the kids of course. Look at local aerials on roofs to get rough idea of where to point it. Sometimes pointing it in a completely different direction will get you a better signal! Get at least 1 light on your signal finder. Plug it all in, retune the set, as all regions have different channels so they don't interfere with their neighbours. And you should be fine. I camper van all over Southern England, and never miss a MotoGP or F1 race and never had a problem with my cobbled together system

Generally the booster is the key with digital, as you need a steady signal to stop the irritating pixelation breaks when you are in an area of outstandingly poor reception. Ie the middle of the New Forest

Good luck

[pete a]

Zead said:

I have a labgear aerial with plug in booster. £40 screwfix. A signal finder, c. £10 from b&q. 12' height, (camper height plus 6' pole on top). F connecters make sure it's all soundly connected. Cheap M&S flat screen with built in DVD, for the kids of course. Look at local aerials on roofs to get rough idea of where to point it. Sometimes pointing it in a completely different direction will get you a better signal! Get at least 1 light on your signal finder. Plug it all in, retune the set, as all regions have different channels so they don't interfere with their neighbours. And you should be fine. I camper van all over Southern England, and never miss a MotoGP or F1 race and never had a problem with my cobbled together system

Generally the booster is the key with digital, as you need a steady signal to stop the irritating pixelation breaks when you are in an area of outstandingly poor reception. Ie the middle of the New Forest

Good luck

So basically you have no idea about how UHF frequency signals work but have had a bit of luck getting yours to work and want to offer this as advice.

[Captain Ahab]

Just avoid those Status UFO type aerials they are utter ste, can't understand how many I see fitted to caravans and motorhomes

[Wacky Racer]

Chrisgr31 said:

For ours I bought an aerial like the one you find on a house on a telescopic pole that bolts to the jockey wall which works well, and just feed the cable in through the window.

With a standard aerial you need to check for polarity before putting it up so does the aerial need to be vertical or horizontal. This depends on the transmitter in the area you are in. What I cant find at the moment is the site I use to tell me where the transmitters are!

This^

Secure the pole to your van/motorhome with self adhesive clips..(usually supplied) close to a side window, so you can lean out and spin the aerial round by hand to the best position whilst looking at the TV to get the best picture.

I think ours cost around £75...but on many sites you can get decent reception with a simple £5 set top one.

[Stuartggray]

Wacky Racer said:

Chrisgr31 said:

For ours I bought an aerial like the one you find on a house on a telescopic pole that bolts to the jockey wall which works well, and just feed the cable in through the window.

With a standard aerial you need to check for polarity before putting it up so does the aerial need to be vertical or horizontal. This depends on the transmitter in the area you are in. What I cant find at the moment is the site I use to tell me where the transmitters are!

This^

Secure the pole to your van/motorhome with self adhesive clips..(usually supplied) close to a side window, so you can lean out and spin the aerial round by hand to the best position whilst looking at the TV to get the best picture.

I think ours cost around £75...but on many sites you can get decent reception with a simple £5 set top one.

This, but if you have a smart phone use an app called FreePoint UK. It shows you where to point the aerial and what polarity.

[Zead]

pete a said:

So basically you have no idea about how UHF frequency signals work but have had a bit of luck getting yours to work and want to offer this as advice.

More than you it seems as you offer no advice. Most people couldn't give a stuff how UHF signals work. What they want is a picture. A basic 12 pole aerial pointed vaguely in the direction of the nearest transmitter will get you a signal, if you are close, but you still have to tune your tv if you move from one region to another unless your home signal happens to be the same as the one your camping in. Generally the further away you are from nearest transmitter the weaker the signal, ( or right underneath one!) the more elements you need, a higher mount and a signal booster will help capture the signal. So there is no point going ill equipped.if you are too close you can get too strong a signal so it may need attenuating. If you are in a border area between one transmitter and another, you can get pictures from either. Hence trying different directions than those aerials already there. Most people travelling wont make checking out the nearest transmitter a priority so a signal finder will give you the strongest direction to point you aerial. Tune the TV to that transmitter! It's not rocket science or luck. Never had any trouble getting a signal, so yes, I offer this advice, what's your beef?

[Meeja]

I have never bothered with a tv aerial when camping, as more often than not, the sites we use are in poor tv signal areas.

I bought a satellite kit from screwfix when it was on offer at £60 a few years ago. I got a dish, LNB, receiver, cable and everything I needed.

Utilising an old DJ speaker stand I had in the garage (which when erected is bungeed to the trailer so that wind cannot move it with a dish on) I can get TV on site with around 15 mins work.

Same principle as aerial advice applies..... Look at where others point and align it similarly to start, and then tweak to get a decent signal.

Have never had any issues.

During Olympic opening ceremony last year, we were the only people on the site with a decent tv feed, as the site we were on is in a valley, and tv aerial signals are very poor.

So it was effectively a party at our tent to watch the ceremony!