Loft Aerial

[BertiWooster]

Is a loft aerial likely to pick up good digital signals ?

Is it simply a matter of attaching it to a beam in the loft space

[Buenchico]

Your second question is the easy one:
Yes.

Now for the harder one!
All TV transmissions (both analogue and digital) have always been transmitted on the basis of providing a signal which will provide good reception to anyone using a good-quality EXTERNAL aerial. Of course, many people have been able to get decent reception using an indoor aerial (particularly if it's in their loft) but that's never been the intention of the broadcasters.

To complicate matters further, in those areas which have yet to complete the changeover to digital TV, all digital transmitters are currently operating on reduced power. (That's necessary to avoid interference to the analogue transmissions). Consequently, in those areas, it's currently harder to get decent Freeview reception than it is to get good analogue reception.

In most areas I'd expect an aerial like this one
http://www.maplin.co.....aspx?moduleno=221124
to get good digital reception when loft-mounted. (If that aerial won't , nothing will!). However, if you're in a fairly weak signal area, you might need to wait until the digital changeover is complete (when the Freeview transmitters will be at full power):
http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/when_do_i_switch

If you're in a VERY weak signal area (such as where I live), or where you can't mount a loft aerial without it pointing through the lofts of a whole row of terraced properties, it's still possible that a loft-mounted aerial might not be adequate. A good guide is to take a look at the roofs of neighbouring properties. If they've all got (expensive looking) multi-element aerials mounted at the top of very high mas

[Buenchico]

. . .masts (as around here) you probably couldn't use a loft-mounted aerial. But if they've only got 'bog standard cheapo' aerials attached to walls or chimneys (or no visible aerials at all, because they're in people's lofts) you can probably put an aerial in your loft.

Chris

(I HATE it when AB cuts off the last part of a post without warning!!!)

[BertiWooster]

Thanks Chris
I've got two tv sets with freeview , in different bedrooms .

The cable from the roof aerial goes into the living room .

I'm trying to decide if its best to split the signal from the roof aerial to the three rooms by getting an aerial installer to fit an amplifier near the roof aerial and run cables down from the chimney to each room.