The Free TV Blog - Satellite & Digital TV in Ireland

February 7, 2011

Satellite Installers – Nationwide Contact List

A pretty common question I am asked by TVTrade.ie customers is do we provide an installing service or can we provide a list of satellite installers. Firstly we do not do installs ourvelves and have been reluctant to recommend installers we do not well as we could not be sure of the quality of their work.

A major part of the problem has been that the satellite installers come in such a range of sizes from skilled life long professionals to weekend chancers. Luckily a new delvelopment in this area has come along to try and create some basic quality guantees to customers in terms of Insurance, Safety training etc.

If you go to www.isaa.tv
- click on ‘Find an Installer’ and click on the map

This is a new venture so the map may not yet be totally comprehensive but it is getting there is a definitely a welcome development if it improves standards within the industry.

Even for those who intend to install the Satellite TV or TV Aerial equipment themselves it is good to know a ISAA approved engineer is there if their services are needed.

Filed under: Satellite Installers, Satellite TV, TV Aerials — Tags: irish satellite and aerial association, Satellite TV, TV Aerials — David Maher @ 10:46 am

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February 6, 2011

The Irish Satellite & Aerial Association – ISAA

We at TV Trade want to give a quick shout out to the lads at the Irish Satellite & Aerial Association (ISAA). They are doing great work in the area of promoting the proper installation & maintenance of Satellite and TV Aerial equipment, both for analogue and digital alike.

Irish Satellite & Aerial Association

The ISSA only allows membership to those companies and individuals who;

Honour all warranties for equipment supplied & installed
Have Public liability insurance
Use appropriate equipment for the job undertaken
Have received necessary training in satellite & aerial installation
Are a registered Business or Company

With the digital switchover taking place within the next number of months, the ISAA will be carrying out their new training course for Digital TV Installations, starting on the 21st & 22nd of Feb 2011 in the City North Hotel on the M1.

If you are interested in joining, feel free to contact the ISAA office at:

info@isaa.tv
or
086 8832933

You can visit their website at www.isaa.tv

By hiring an Irish Satellite & Aerial Association member to install your Satellite Dish, repair or replace you Satellite Receiver, mount your TV Aerial or distribute your TV signal to different rooms etc, you can be assured that they are fully up to date on the latest technologies, are fully insured and can stand over their work.

Filed under: Digital TV, Digital Television, Satellite Dishes, Satellite Receivers, Satellite TV, TV Aerials — Tags: Digital TV, irish satellite and aerial association, satellite dish, satellite receiver, Tv aerial — David Maher @ 9:04 am

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January 14, 2011

Which TV Aerial to get the best TV Reception ?

One of the most common topics we are asked for advice on is how improve the TV reception coming from a TV aerial.

Is it possible to get GOOD TV reception in my area ?

The first step is to figure out is “Do other people in the area have the same problem is it is just me ?”. For example if you live in a hollow, next to high buildings or on the wrong side of a hill it just may not be possible to get good reception. Indeed it is thought about 4% of those who subscribe to sky in Ireland do so just to get good reception on the Irish channels.
So if nobody in your area can get good reception from a TV aerial (and believe me they will have tried – nobody with kids will survive without TV too long) then it may just be mission impossible. Note – it is amazing how many people don’t know where there signal comes from i.e. chorus, sky or an Aerial, so don’t be mislead by someone who is watching sky news telling you he gets it from a TV Aerial in the atttic.

Which TV Aerial should I use ?

In Ireland for Analogue TV aerials there are 2 basic types UHF only or UHF and VHF aerials. With the the new Digital TV or Saorview service, life is simpler and you only need a UHF aerial.

So before I get into spec’ing out the correct aerial, a few ground rules:

If you place your TV Aerial in the attic you will loose over 50% of the signal
If you use unpowered Coaxial splitters you will loose signal

The Basic UHF TV Aerial Kit is made up of

10 element wide band UHF aerial
a mounting bracket
Installation kit

How do I upgrade this TV Aerial Kit

Option 1: Select a UHF TV Aerial

Option 2: Amplify the aerial using a UHF Masthead Amplifier and a Power unit

Use either or both of the options above

Is it easier to get good Recption on Saorview Digital TV ?

The simple answer to this is yes. The new digital signal is in general much stronger than the old analogue signal and this makes it generally much easier to get good reception.

Along with the UHF Aerial & accessories, you will also need either an Saorview TV or an MPEG4 & HD Digital TV Receiver. These are generally under a 100 euro and are simple to install. They also come as Combo Satellite & Digital TV Receiver which allows you to get both BBC, ITV etc & Irish Saorview on single set top receiver

Filed under: TV Aerials — Tags: combo satellite receiver, good tv reception, poor tv recption, Saorview, Tv aerial, tv antenna, tv booster — David Maher @ 12:23 pm

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November 24, 2010

How to combine a satellite and tv aerial

A very common a problem is the need to run a feed from a satellite and a TV aerial into a room that only has a single tv cable in the wall. The alternative of running a second cable is not always a very attractive option as it means drilling holes and unsightly cable showing.

Luckily there is a cheap, simple and easy to install solution to this problem by using satellite / tv combiners.

However this option will only work if you have

a strong satellite signal
and even more importantly a strong TV aerial signal

The logic being – rubbish in, rubbish out !

Other important tips to consider are:
try to ensure the aerial is mounted outside – you loose 50% of signal by having it in the attic

if you use an TV aerial amplifier, the satellite must be joined AFTER the amplification

You should only use low loss f-connectors & Joiners

F type connectors & f type joiners

You can not use faceplate or coaxial connectors / joiners (loss to high)

Coaxial connectors & Coax joiners

The TV aerial feed can be split from a single aerial on the roof

The satellite feeds need to come directly from the satellite dish using for example a

The fact that the TV cable is old should not really be a problem as long as it is in good condition, does not have any joiners on it and and most importantly does not have any water in it (a major problem especially with old cable)

How to join the cables
you have 2 choices

use a