TV aerial when away

[RosscoPCole]

Has anyone got any recommendations for a TV aerial for our campervan? We have tried one of those stubby magnetic ones you get from Amazon and eBay, but unless we are in a flat empty space with no buildings or trees around we don't seem to get a signal.
Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Ayjay]

We use one of those stubby aerials when near civilisation but the problem that I've found is that an awful lot of campsites aren't and digital reception can therefore be patchy to say the least (or, at least the ones that we seem to find ourselves in!). It's never really bothered us enough to seek a solution and as a consequence, we tend to just do without live TV and watch stuff from USB. Now you've raised it, I'll be watching the answers to this one with interest but I'm sorry that I couldn't help more.

 

[JasonW]

This one came recommended as one of the better ones out there...

TV Aerial

It's on my shopping list when i get to it...

 

[RosscoPCole]

This one came recommended as one of the better ones out there...

TV Aerial

It's on my shopping list when i get to it...

That looks great JasonW, but where would it attach to the van? Maybe I'm being fussy, but I don't want to attach anything with that much height to the roof as we wouldn't be able to fit through the 2m height restrictions.

 

[Ayjay]

It’s just my personal opinion but I think ithat one would look awful. For me, any solution would need to be removable as I also think adding extra height is a no no.

 

[Pete C]

We use an August DTA 240 along with a small August TV. It is one of the stubby magnetic types, but it is better than the one that came with the TV, and their ability to receive a signal always surprises me.

Pete

 

[JasonW]

That looks great JasonW, but where would it attach to the van? Maybe I'm being fussy, but I don't want to attach anything with that much height to the roof as we wouldn't be able to fit through the 2m height restrictions.

Yes, i know what you mean... the recommendation came from someone who had mounted a small discreet mounting hub to the roof... so the aerial was removable and not permanently attached... it just slotted into the hub before putting the pop top up.

 

[Ayjay]

We use an August DTA 240 along with a small August TV. It is one of the stubby magnetic types, but it is better than the one that came with the TV, and their ability to receive a signal always surprises me.

Ours came with the van and looks similar but I think is different as it needs power to work - it's got co-ax and USB plugs on the end and needs to be stuck (magnetically) to the van body. I'm not sure whether or not that means that it's already got a built in signal booster but the OP could try using one of those [ a booster] before spending bigger money on a more complicated antennae array. They're cheap to buy for a single output version and if no good, can always go back for a refund.
Back to my first post on this issue - don't get me wrong, when there's a valid digital signal to pick up, the 'stubby' does a brilliant job but when the signal's poor (or non-existent) it's, unsurprisingly, not as good. In poor reception areas, it picks up only limited numbers of channels but when there's no signal, it obviously won't pick up anything. A booster might help with a weak signal but (again, obviously) could never help when there's nothing to boost.

 

[Jollyvan]

Might be worth a mention but it depends on whether the signal is coming from a main mast or a repeater mast. I don't know which way round it is but I always try it first vertically on the roof and then horizontally on the side of the van. You do get different results. The information can be found on caravan club sites but I just use trial and error.