All posts by Andrew
Below are all of Andrew's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Andrew Harris, High pressure has been causing havoc with TV reception in our part of the country. I am an aerial installer and had over 100 calls over the weekend! It should be back to normal by now though!
Regards
Andy
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Jonathan: if you have a means of watching TV programmes i.e. a TV or a recorder you must pay your license.have you tried plugging the aerial directly into the TV to eliminate the recorder being the problem? In regards to freesat you shouldn't have any problems as long as the communal system is operating correctly. Ask you're neighbours if they are having similar problems to you, this well give you a general idea as to whether it is your equipment or the communal system.
Andy
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High pressure needs to be over almost the whole if the country before it affects signal, and let's be honest how often does that happen in the UK? Ok analogue didn't suffer as much but the picture would get worse in times of high pressure, you could still watch it though!
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Just a few words of advice from someone who has only been in this game 6 years but has managed to build a successful business within a small community (The Royal Forest of Dean)
Aerial installs all differ and so the price will differ,if you are unsure get more than quote and compare. Ask your neighbors, family and friends what they paid.
Some installers are honest others are not, you need to find someone who is recommended.
They don't always have to be accredited as I have found there to be just as many rogues and rip off merchants who are accredited!
Careful when buying anything from Argos, B&Q etc they are likely to be "bacofoil" (flimsy) aerials with a J (loft) bracket that says it can be put outside. (It can it just won't last very long)
Also be careful when purchasing benchmarked aerials, just because they are benchmarked does not make them any more rugged or well built than the "bacofoil" aerials it just means that a manufacturer has paid for the aerial to be tested and they have passed a performance test. (Some of the larger Triax aerials are testament to this, excellent aerial in terms of performance, crap in terms of build quality)
If you can use a log periodic aerial use a log periodic.
Loft aerials are perfectly acceptable as long as they are installed correctly, I have installed hundreds with no complaints.
Benchmarked cable is the only way to go, WF100 CT100 etc anything else and your just wasting your time.
Don't use J(loft) brackets on the fascia boards! especially with a 52 element Triax aerial attached to it! Affix a C bracket or even better some T&K brackets with at least a 1.25in mast.
Like I said this is (more than just a few now!) words of advice that you can choose to use or ignore it's up to you!
Forest of Dean and Surrounding areas
07919022679
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Oh and one more thing just in case anyone else was wondering and I am sure anyone visiting this site will already know....................
There is NO such thing as a "DIGITAL" Aerial!
There are better quality aerials yes but new aerials are just aerials!
Andy
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Donny: I would love that job!! Something tells me you wouldn't be able to free climb in the UK!!
Aerials and dishes installed and maintained
Forest of Dean and Surrounding areas
07919022679
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Hi Janine, I would say that that was at the top end of the scale but still within a reasonable price (for my area anyway) did the guy run all new cables to the rooms or were they already there?
Regards
Andy
AB Satellite and Aerial Installation
Gloucestershire
01594821006
07919022679
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It's always good to get a few quotes unless the person has been recommended to you by friends or family. Do you remember what he said when you asked him to break it down? It all depends on the type and quality of the products that he has supplied/installed
Andy
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Dave: I completely agree, a lot of the benchmarked aerials that I see are absolutely rubbish! Poor build quality and poor strength but as you said the manufacturer has paid to get it benchmarked. Now it's completely different when it comes to cable benchmarked cable is all that should be used.
Also a little research goes a long way forearmed is forewarned!
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Wednesday 14 March 2012 2:08PM
Hi guys! I am an aerial installer and have come across a few problems in the last few days with reception from Ridge Hill. 3 weeks ago I installed a log periodic aerial on a property with a short mast and had perfect signals. The customer rang me a few days ago and said that between 11am and 8pm they had lost a majority of their channels (BBC especially). So I go back and lo and behold the signals had dropped off.
So first thing was to change the aerial and replace the mast for a longer one, signals still the same (UHF 21 and 24 being bad however 28 was perfect).
Added a masthead amplifier to increase strength on 21 and 24 which helped.
Customer has called again today to say she has lost channels again (Dave, Really, E4+1, Challenge, Sky news Food network in particular)
Now I have checked the transmitter as has the customer and there are no problems there!
I have had a second customer now who has had exactly the same problem!! Same transmitter but in a different area. It definitely feels like something is going on somewhere!
Thanks in advance guys
Andy