"Twin Aerial" installations: Do people still put them in?
 

A friend of mine has recently bought a home in Broughton, just on the Welsh/English border.

I've offered to help him install a TV aerial in the loft. Broughton is a pretty strong signal area for two (or even three) main transmitters, the two main ones being Moel-y-Parc and Winter Hill.

My question is, aside from Moel-y-Parc offering S4C as well as C4, and the two different BBC/ITV regions, is there any benefit to an old school "twin aerial" setup, with one aerial pointed at each mast? As far as I can tell the only differences are that Winter Hill carries the local manchester station.

Re: "Twin Aerial" installations: Do people still put them in?
 

Unless he speaks Welsh, there's no point in getting S4C any more. When it launched it used to be a useful catchup service for channel 4 as it repeated a lot of C4 stuff later in the week, or even later the same evening. These days it really is a Welsh language channel. The only reason to get the other regional variations would be for the news, as he's on the Welsh side of the border and therefore he won't otherwise know about events affecting health and education which are devolved.

TBH I'd just point a single aerial at Winter Hill and then pick up the Flintshire edition of the Chronicle on a Friday. Top quality publication, that. ;)

Re: "Twin Aerial" installations: Do people still put them in?
 

He wants S4C so we'll give that a go.

Re: "Twin Aerial" installations: Do people still put them in?
 

If he wants S4C then Moel-y-Parc it is. Winter Hill will give him ITV Granada and BBC Northwest. Whether you bother with two aerials really still depends on how badly he wants all the regional variations. But if he really wants a choice of regions, why isn't he just getting a Freesat installation? One dish, all the variations you can shake a stick at.

Re: "Twin Aerial" installations: Do people still put them in?
 

English subtitles are available, and occasionally English audio as a second track.

Re: "Twin Aerial" installations: Do people still put them in?
 

Unless he wants Welsh Programmes/Regional news or is a Welsh rugby fan, he won't be missing out on much by just using Winter Hill. Also having two aerials is more hassle when you have to retune. The added problem around the Wirral is that the Storeton relay now also outputs Welsh PSB muxes to it's south & west using channels adjacent to that of Winter Hill's, so accurately adjusted aerials & manual tuning are a must for some in this area.

Re: "Twin Aerial" installations: Do people still put them in?
 

The house is brand new, so already has coax going from various TV points to the loft. For some reason the housebuilder leaves it to the new owners to sort out a TV aerial install. Where they're located I can't see why they'd need a full size roof aerial so I'm going to use one of my spare aerials to see if there's a decent signal.

Re: "Twin Aerial" installations: Do people still put them in?
 

From memory, Moel-y-Parc isn't especially powerful. Winter Hill is, but it's quite some distance away from Broughton. My mother's house is a similar distance from Winter Hill and requires a full size externally mounted aerial to get good signal from Winter Hill.

Re: "Twin Aerial" installations: Do people still put them in?
 

Try the Wolfbane predictor
http://www.wolfbane.com/cgi-bin/tvd.exe?
That should give an idea of signal strength, antenna type & bearing

Re: "Twin Aerial" installations: Do people still put them in?
 

Thanks to you both. Wolfblane shows that the aerial might need to be high gain (I assumed that anyway) and/or use an amplifier (again, with 4-5 outputs I was planning to use one).

We'll give it a go with a borrowed aerial, if it struggles too much then I'll suggest they get a pro in.

Re: "Twin Aerial" installations: Do people still put them in?
 

Just a note regarding Wolfbane. The last update of the website has not taken account of the new COM7 & COM8 muxes that are/will be broadcast from Moel-y-Parc. The existing muxes require a group B antenna, however the new muxes are in the group A cluster, so actually a group K or Wideband antenna is now required to receive all the available channels.

If you are thinking of a loft install, check that there are no conductive materials used in the roof insulation, or it will be a total non-starter. Also steer well clear of the water tank if there is one, as these can mess up your reception. Have a look at the rooftops around the property for antennas pointed at the desired transmitter. You will need an an antenna double the size of these inside the loft, particularly if you choose to install a Wideband.

Re: "Twin Aerial" installations: Do people still put them in?
 

Well I had a go at getting some kind of signal last night with a cheapo aerial resting on the insulation. Couldn't get Moel-y-Parc at all but managed to get the main Winter hill muxes, so my mates have something to keep them occupied until they get a proper external antenna set up for Moel-y-Parc.