With many of the new build properties in Preston, you may notice that most will not have an externally mounted TV aerials fitted to their chimneys, gable ends or anywhere on the outside of there buildings. The reason for this is a simple one, the architects of the housing estate felt that externally fitted aerials are unsightly and felt that it is aesthetically pleasing to require the new owners to have their TV antennas fitted internally, namely in the loft.

So, this is a good question and one that depends on quite a few different factors, they are;

1. Location of the property
2. The type of insulation within the loft
3. The number of TV points the TV Aerial is feeding

Location
So, there a few factors to take in to consideration before installing a TV aerial in a loft. Looking at where the house is, in respect to where the TV transmitter is, if it is visible, even if its 20 or more miles away, and yes sometimes they can be seen from that far of, then the chances are that the signal will be strong enough to be picked up from within the loft. Fitting TV Aerials in a loft in Preston should in most cases will be OK, since it isn't that far for the signal from Winter Hill to travel to get to the antenna. If though, the house sits in a valley and by looking around, you see other houses that have externally mounted aerials, but on very tall masts, the chances of getting a good enough signal in the loft are very slim indeed.
In either case, unless it is obvious that there is going to be no chance , it is always best practice to connect up the aerial to a meter and test before installing, whether there is going to be a good enough signal first.

Loft Insulation
Most homes will not be insulated with the kind that will block signal. However, to clarify, I am not talking about the loft insulation that one would lay down on the floor of the loft. The kind I'm talking about is the foam boards that have an aluminium foil outer cover that are used to line the roof itself. With this kind of insulation covering the inside of the roof, there is no way on earth that a TV signal will be penetrating that.

Number of TV Points
So, the thing with loft aerials is that by fitting them in lofts rather than externally, you can lose up to 50% of the available signal, and in any case there is always going to be a reduction of signal went fitting an aerial in the loft. So, depending on the quality of signal and strength of it will in some cases restrict the number of aerial points it can feed. 
A way around this would be to install some kind of amplified signal booster to evenly spit the signal and even boost it, so that it can be distributed around the home to the TV points, delivering a signal both strong enough and clean enough to be able to watch uninterrupted television.

​As previously mentioned, carrying out an aerial installation in a loft for most properties in & around the Preston area, should be fine. Unless it has the wrong kind of insulation or the house is positioned behind some geographical obstacle such as trees or a hill, then the will be enough of a digital signal to be received by a loft aerial. For more info on this subject feel free to give me a call.  

When you need to mount your aerial in your loft space, then in most areas you will be limited as to which TV aerial to choose for the installation. There is a noticeable difference in both signal strength and interference when installing an aerial outside a building. With the advent of digital TV the transmission is now wide band and the need for a strong signal with low interference is needed more than with analogue. If possible have a TV Aerial Installer fit your aerial on the outside of your property as it gives you the best chance. However, due to building regs in your area it may be necessary to install your wide band aerial(digital aerial) in the loft.

You can lose up to 50% of the signal strength by placing it in the loft and it also increases the interference or noise. This is why choosing the right TV Aerial in the first place can save you a lot of time and expense. At Julian Voigt Aerial & Satellite, 9 times out of 10 we will pick the log periodic TV aerial as this is design to pick up wide band signal (for digital TV) like a high gain aerial, yet because it has no need of a back reflector it picks up much less interference. This provides the perfect TV Aerial for receiving digital TV when installed in your loft.

What is also essential is an aerial meter to make sure of the best position for the TV aerial to be installed. With the meter you can read both the reception of the signal and also the level of quality & interference or noise. So when you want to receive a perfect digital TV picture from your aerial in the loft always go for a log periodic.

Below are just a few tips, which if you follow will save you loads of problems when fitting co-ax plugs to your aerial cable

Fitting the F-Plug, its a piece of cake

Any changes you wish to make to your Digital TV system usually involve creating new co-ax connections. From the connection to your satellite dish to an aerial cable the correct plugs need to be fitted perfectly otherwise you can be left with a very unsatisfactory signal.

Co-ax Cable elementary

The Aerial Cable or co-ax runs the Digital signal through the centre of the wire. This is insulated against interference by foil or and metal braiding, usually copper, which also acts to carry a return connection. The 2 main plugs or connectors used are the aerial plug (left) used for Terrestrial UHF types of connection. The F-Plug used for satellite systems (centre) & the barrel plug or ( double ended female-female barrel) used to form a join between 2 cables.

Whether you are using the Aerial Plug or the F-plug, it is imperative that a good to perfect connection is established between the conducting elements of the cable and the plug, and that there is no connections between the central wire, and the shielding braid, otherwise your knackered, and will need to re do the connection.

How to fit an Aerial plug

a) Cut the cable to length.
b) Slide the plug cap onto the cable. Strip off about 25mm of the cable’s outer plastic sleeve, being careful to not damage the braid beneath.
c) Slide the collet over the braid to the end of the sleeve. Strip off the braid to leave about 10mm protruding from the sleeve
d) Fold the braid back over the collet. Remove the exposed foil and strip back the inner insulator to leave about 5mm exposed.
e) Push on the pin holder so the cable’s central conductor goes through the pin. If the pin holder has a grub screw to bite into the conductor, tighten this. Otherwise, carefully solder the conductor in the end of the pin.
f) Remove any conductor and solder protruding from the end of the pin. Slide the plug body onto the pin holder.
g) Screw the plug cap onto the plug body, catching the braid and tightening the collet on the cable. Finally, if possible, check the connection along the cable and the isolation between the conductors.

If though you don't fancy messing around with installing new TV equipment yourself, then there is always the simpler and foolproof way, and that is to call Julian Voigt Aerial & Satellite to provide the Professional service you need!