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REVIEW
FIVE EASY PIECES -- TV AERIALS
If you live reasonably close to a TV transmitter you might
not need an elaborate roof-top aerial.
We’ve been trying out a selection of set-top antennas, with built-in boosters, to
see how they compare with a simpler low-tech aerial, at our South London test
sites
MAXVIEW CONTOUR PLUS £24.99
This stylish ‘flat-plate’ design is housed inside a plastic wedge-shaped
case, about 25cm (10-inches) high. It
comes with a 2 metre aerial lead, fixing kit and brief fitting instructions,
showing the antenna attached to a wall, or standing on the top of a TV. In fact
the narrow base means it’s a bit top heavy and it topples over easily. The
built-in amplifier is powered by two AA sized pen cells which the manufacturers
claim last for up to 1000 hours. A small indicator lamp on the front panel
blinks every few seconds, to show the battery is okay, and the unit is
functioning. The instructions are rather vague about how it is switched on and
off, suggesting the small button on he front of the box is depressed for ten
seconds; we found this was just as likely to switch it off, as on. The simplest
thing to do is press it once, and wait to see if the LED starts winking, if it
doesn’t press it again.
The snazzy high-tech image takes a knock when you look
inside the box. The antenna element is actually a piece of cardboard, laminated
with two strips of sliver foil. This makes it quite directional so it may need
to be re-oriented for each signal, tricky if it’s been screwed to the wall...
It’s not especially sensitive and within a mile or so of the transmitter it
makes little difference if its switched on or off. We found it worked best when
tilted at 45 degrees! Further away (3 miles) picture quality drops off quickly
and although the amplifier yields some improvement the picture is still very
noisy and there’s noticeable patterning if the unit is placed close to the TV. It
looks okay but performance is fairly mediocre, it’s expensive for what it is
and we wouldn’t recommend using it too far from the transmitter
Value 65%
Maxview Ltd., (0553) 810376
MAGIC CIRCLE £19.95
The aerial element on this unit is a thick steel loop, about
19cm (7.5 inches) in diameter, rigidly
fixed to the top of a small black plastic box. The box contains a simple one-transistor aerial amplifier and a
battery holder for four AA type cells. A 1.4 metre long aerial lead is
permanently connected to the box, the cable is terminated with a male coax
plug. On the top of the box there’s an on/off rocker switch, and an LED
indicator, to show when the unit is on. The instructions are very scant: ‘use
anywhere -- the choice is yours’... moreover there’s no advice about placement,
sensitivity or battery life, however, it’s fair to assume the LED consumes far
more power than the amplifier circuit, and we wouldn’t expect the battery to
last for more than a few days, if it was left switched on all the time.
Construction is adequate but care needs to be taken when
fitting the battery as the bottom panel is not held in place very securely; if it’s pressed too hard the base caves in,
possibly damaging the circuit board beneath. Surprisingly, in view of the
simple design this was one for the better performers and there’s was a marked
reduction in picture noise levels and an increase in clarity at one mile and
three miles from the transmitter, compared with our reference aerial. It’s not very
directional, so it’s usually quite easy to find a good compromise position for
all stations. It’s still no substitute for a proper aerial but it’s one of the
better design and it might be worth considering in borderline reception areas,
where it’s a toss-up between a roof-top or set-top aerial.
Value 75%
Mercury Telecraft
(0702) 511222
SUPERLOOP £19.99
Superloop has two circular aerial elements, 8cm and 7cm in
diameter, pushed into the sides of a small curvy black base unit; a 2-metre long
aerial lead emerges from one end of the box. Inside there’s a small circuit
board containing a microchip and two LED indicators, this is mounted beneath a transparent panel in the
top, one or both of the LEDs come on to show the unit is operating, or the
batteries need replacing; the card insert in the packaging calls them ‘multifunction
LEDs’ unfortunately it doesn’t go on to
explain what they mean. One clever feature is the automatic on/off switching, the
device senses when the TV is on and switches in the booster circuit, which should
help to prolong battery life. It also has a manual power switch on the base, in
the form of a pair of contacts; touching them makes the second LED come on;
trial and error suggest this overrides the automatic on/off function as they
remain on, when the TV is switched off.
It’s not especially directional, so finding a good position
isn’t usually too difficult. Sensitivity is fair, reception at one mile is
good, with little noise, further away with a weaker signal there’s some
patterning if it’s placed too close to the TV, and noise levels increase,
nevertheless the picture remains reasonably clean. It’s a fairly smart looking
design, reasonably well built, and it works okay; the auto switching is a good
idea, even so it’s still only slightly better than most non amplified set-top
aerials.
Value 70%
Tandy (0922) 710000
VIVANCO TVA 01 £28.99
A case of everything but the kitchen sink. This bizarre
aerial is dominated by a 28cm black mesh dish; in front of it there’s what
appears to be a dipole reflector. Behind the dish there are two swivel-mounted
telescopic antennas that extend to 93cm. The whole caboodle is mounted on a
moveable base that turns through almost 180 degrees. In spite of the somewhat
misleading references to satellite TV channels on the box this is most
definitely not capable of satellite TV reception. The TVA-01 is mains powered
and there’s a an unmarked knob that appears to be some kind of tuning or gain
control, the instructions aren’t very clear on this point. The control box has
a 1.3 metres coax cable, and a coax socket, so it can be daisy-chained with an
other aerial. It’s a dual-band design, the telescopic aerials are for VHF
reception, so they’re not much use in the UK where all of our TV channels are
broadcast on the UHF band. Pulling them up and waggling them about does have an
effect on picture quality -- though it’s mostly bad... The dish and dipole make
up the UHF aerial, the reflector loops can be turned to optimise picture
quality.
Whilst the dish looks impressive the parabolic shape has no significant
effect at UHF frequencies, it is simply a circular antenna element. It is quite
directional and this can be a problem when it comes to changing channels. This
wasn’t too bad in an area of good signal strength but further away it proved
difficult to find a satisfactory position for all four channels. Noise levels
are fairly average and the directionality can cause problems with excessive ghosting.
To be brutally honest it’s a bit of a mish-mash, it’s technically suspect, dual
band reception is of doubtful value and the dish is pretty much a cosmetic frippery.
Value 65%
Vivanco (0442) 231616
WIRE COATHANGER £0.60
The coathanger came from the Croydon branch of Sketchley’s,
it’s a conventional bent-wire type, though it had an unusual brown protective
coating. The hook was removed with a pair of wirecutters and the hanger opened
out to form a 35 cm square. The two ends of the hanger loop are held in place
using a plastic terminal block (60 pence from a local electrical shop), the
brown coating was removed to ensure a good electrical contact. A small off-cut
from a wooden shelf forms the base. A spare aerial lead from an old VCR was
connected to the terminal block and held in place by a saddle clamp. The top
from a toothpaste tube (Mcleans spearmint) was nailed to the wooden base to
make it look more technical....
This design proved to be very effective; within a mile of the transmitter reception across
all channels was clear and largely free of noise, though it could be quite
fussy to set up. Altering the shape of the hanger helped, altering the position
of the toothpaste cap had no effect and
proved to be largely cosmetic in nature. Further away from the transmitter the
lack of amplification became evident and noise levels increased significantly, even
so it still worked better than couple of the aerials with boosters, and there’s
no need to worry about the battery running out...
Value 90%
Sketchley Cleaners (Croydon branch) 081-688 5883
CONCLUSION
WHO’S BETTER, WHO’S BEST?
Best sensitivity Magic
Circle
Best (least) directional Superloop
Features Vivanco
TVAA-01
Ease of alignment Magic
Circle
Best value for money Wire
coathanger
SET-TO AERIALS -- PRICES AT A GLANCE
Make/model Price
£££s Rating
Maxview Contour Plus £24.99 65%
Magic Circle £19.95 70%
Smart 2 Superloop £19.99 70%
Vivanco TVA 01 £28.99 65%
Wire coathanger £0.60 95%
---end---
1994 1211
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