Types of Tv Aerial

There are a few basic types of Tv aerials used for reception. Some work better than others in different scenarios.

High Gain Quad Aerial

These are the prefered Tv aerial for moderate to poor reception areas. High gain aerials are designed to pick up more signal than a conventional Yagi type of aerial. These aerials are fitted with a balun and elements on a High gain Tv aerial are arranged in a quad four bay formation with a pair of large reflectors designed for maximum signal pick up. These aerials will generally reduce ghosting affects from rearwards objects in analogue reception and help reduce impulsive noise pick up with digital reception.

Indoor Tv Aerial

Set top indoor Tv aerials are not usually recommended for digital terrestrial reception. Due to there size and location they don’t usually receive digital Tv successfully, but some people can get by with these aerials in very strong signal areas.

Yagi Tv Aerial

Yagi aerials are usually used in moderate to strong signal areas. A good yagi aerial will perform fairly well under normal reception conditions. The characteristics of these aerials are flat conventional elements with a dipole and reflector(s) at the rear. The number of forward elements can range from 8 - 20, with more elemements equalling more signal. The spacing and length of the elements will determine it’s group, although most installer’s now use wideband Tv aerials as standard. Most new yagi aerials should have a balun as standard to help match the aerial and reduce impulsive noise.

Loft Mounted Aerial

Both high gain and yagi type aerials can be loft mounted. This isn’t a general recommendation unless you live in a strong signal area. Lack of space, tiles and walls, electrical circuits and water tanks are all considerations that need to be accounted for when installing a loft aerial.

To find out more about the type of Tv aerial suited to your area it is wise to consult your local Aerial installation company.