A Guide To Indoor TV Aerials And Why You May Need One

It is not always possible to have an outdoor rooftop or wall mounted TV Aerial installation, common reasons for this include: The property is in a conservation area and local planning regulations prohibit external aerials. The property does not have a chimney, the property is an apartment located within a multi level building.

An outdoor TV Aerial will always out-perform an indoor aerial; this is because it has a cleaner line of sight to the transmitter and is not as obstructed by neighbouring properties, structures, trees and terrain.

The optimum location for an indoor aerial is within the roof space or loft, the aerial needs to be a high as possible within the available space and some pre-planning and testing can save hours of frustration and disappointment.

Outdoor Aerials perform better in a roof space than a Set Top Aerial, the criteria for optimum reception are:

Ensure the roof felt does not have a metal foil coating. UHF TV signals do not penetrate this type of felt. Is there adequate space to mount the aerial high up within the roof space?

Establish the direction of the transmitter; professionals do this with a Signal Strength Meter or Spectrum Analyser. In the absence of this equipment, take a peek at the direction of neighbouring aerials.

Do not point the aerial directly into obstructions i.e. water tank, chimney breast, metal flue etcetera. Use a professional Loft Mounting Kit, tying or taping the aerial to the rafters, will reduce its performance and make final adjustment difficult.

Use quality Benchmarked Coaxial Cable throughout, ideally with no joints. If the cable has to be jointed use 2 Coaxial Plugs and a Back to Back Connector.

To overcome weak signals it may be necessary to fit a High Gain Aerial such as Antiference XG10WB or a Pre-Amplifier and Power Supply Unit.

In the absence of professional equipment, taking a small portable "digital ready" TV into the roof space is a half decent way of setting-up and aligning the aerial.

Remember with many local transmitters that the aerial is Vertically Polarised; this means the elements (rods in plain English) have to be upright and not horizontal.

Local transmitters frequently have a limited offering; they may not provide the entire Freeview menu of Multiplexes, resulting in secondary channels being unavailable.

Of course not all properties have a roof space i.e. apartments and addresses with a flat roof. Obtaining trouble-free TV reception can then be quite challenging. The first thing to try is a set top aerial, it is worth investing in a quality set top aerial, preferably on a "sale or return" basis. The aerial will perform better in some locations than others; by trial and error locate the aerial for optimum reception.

Many apartments have a balcony, installing an aerial (or satellite dish) on to the wall or metal structure of a balcony can be the ideal solution, assuming that the balcony faces in the right direction i.e. a north facing balcony is futile when the transmitter or satellite are located southwards.

A practical person with some basic tools and plenty of time on their hands should be able to make a decent job of installing an aerial in the roof space or an aerial/dish on a balcony (take note, Satellite Dishes do not work indoors).

Work Safely. When working in the roof space, to avoid accidents, ensure there is plenty of light; it is easy and expensive/painful to put one or both feet through the ceiling. Avoid hanging over or outside of the balcony when drilling or affixing the aerial.


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Chas Dutton has been in the Aerial installation business since 1970 & in Satellite installation since 1985. Chas has seen many changes in the TV Aerial & Satellite industry. Chas's TV Reception Blog is full of useful info & he has built a successful business offering a nationwide TV Aerial & Satellite service