Mast Head Amp or signal booster/distributer

Boohoo

Hello.

On Sunday my roof top aerial and pole came of the chimney adn was laying on the roof. It was not windy but i got a mate over to get to the roof and he got it down and the cable/strap had snapped/rusted off. It has been up there over 35 years.

Yesterday i had 2 aerial installers quote for a new install and was quoted £300 to £350.

I went out and bought a new aerial and put it in the loft and i can get lots of channels.

Old layout was roof aerial to lounge where it split to upstairs and fed 2 tv's.

New layout is loft aerial lead into bedroom where it will feed 2 tv's and then 1 lead will go out of the wall to feed downstais tv.

I tried it with 1 tv and it's good but with 2 or 3 tv's connected there is a loss of tv channels.

What would MSE forum user reccomend to get better signal/distrubution to all tv's apart from getting a proper roof top aerila installed.

oldernonethewiser

The closer to source the amplifier is the better so if you can put one by the aerial that could help a lot.

(External aerial obviously better but you are not going down that road)

grumbler

Boohoo said:

What would MSE forum user reccomend to get better signal/distrubution to all tv's apart from getting a proper roof top aerila installed.

Signal amplifier and splitter in the loft - if you have electricity there (lighting at least).

That's what I have in my loft (the aerial is external wall-mounted):

https://www.labgear.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/LDA204LR.pdf

Boohoo

Thank you grumbler and oldernonethewiser for your replies.

I will have a look at the link you supplied.

Section62

Boohoo said:

I tried it with 1 tv and it's good but with 2 or 3 tv's connected there is a loss of tv channels.

If you have a good enough signal for one TV then it isn't likely you need a masthead amp. Typically those are used where the problem is more severe or you hope to pick up signals from a more distant transmitter.

A basic signal amplifier/splitter as per grumbler's post should be adequate.

Eldi_Dos

The most cost effective way could be have two seperate aerials if there is enough room in loft space,no need for power supply then.

Rodders53

Boohoo said:

I tried it with 1 tv and it's good but with 2 or 3 tv's connected there is a loss of tv channels.

How did you connect the other TVs?   You already had a passive 2-way splitter (-4dB) for the two bedrooms and if that amount of attenuation loses some channels it indicates to me that the aerial in loft has only borderline sufficient gain... and any 'change' will result in loss of signals.  Two two-way splitters will lose -8dB ref the input.  

Any aerial installation wants around 6dB of signal 'in hand' to cope with the normal signal level variation that occurs in practical installations as they age and weather.

{Although the transmitters now never go on 'reduced power' (= -6dB) they will go on 'reserve antenna' lower on the mast/tower and that will be different, mainly due to height, at many locations even though the same nominal radiated power.}

What aerial was chosen for the loft?  Is it placed as high up as possible/practical to do so?  (Aerial signals usually increase with height, but not always).  Loft aerials typically see at least 10dB lower signal compared to the same height outside du to the roofing materials and even more at the height off a chimney-mounted pole.

(NB the idea of more aerials in the loft is not often practical - all aerials should be kept at least a metre away from any other (and from obstructions like metal water tanks etc.,.) 

The distribution amplifier linked to has 10dB gain from input to output but also adds some noise and might well do OK.   Probably no need to have it in the loft (if mains power is an issue) as a short (quality double-screened all copper) cable will have insignificant losses.  
Cables lose relatively little signal.  Very long cables are a different matter, of course. 

Boohoo

Rodders53

Old setup was roof aerial to lounge where a Y splitter was used and 1 lead went to lounge tv and the other lead went outside to the upstairs bedrrom where another Y splitter is used and 2 leads go to bedroom tv and the other to bedroom 2 tv. 

The above setup was used when i had Sky HD+ and i used the RF out to watch and control the box from upstairs.

I bought 

SSL 70 Element Tri Boom TV Aerial Kit

It is high as it can be as i have a hipped roof.

Boohoo

Update on this/my thread.

I got an aerial booster/amp and plugged it all together and i now get perfect signal/reception on all 3 tv's.

I also get more channels than before because the old 35 year aerial never picked up many channels when the digital switchover happened and all the other retunes after that left me with fewer channels.

8 Way Digital TV Aerial Amplifier, 4G Filter, RED Compliant - Slx | CPC (farnell.com)

The above link was what i got but i got it from Amazon for £22.

Thank you for all the replies.