# Omnidirectional aerial success



## Bazbro (May 9, 2005)

Like a lot of you, we've suffered with that dreadful Status 315 Omnidirectional aerial.

BUT... I had a thought. Mine is connected to a small 'booster' box (as I imagine most of yours will be - wasn't it part of the kit?), and boosters are normally adjustable, but mine didn't appear to be. Sure, there is an indentation in the cover, but no adjuster.

So, emboldened by having to endure yet another evening with a crap TV picture, I prised off the lower cover of the booster box (fitted in our wardrobe), and there it was! An adjuster!!!

A couple of twiddles of the adjuster and, lo! and behold... a good picture (OK, not excellent, but a thousand times better than it had been).

The Status 530/10 has just slipped a bit lower down my shopping list.

Barry


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## 88781 (May 9, 2005)

I'm sure mine has that 'dent' in it Baz, will have a look and a play tomorrow, is the cover easy to get off?

Dave


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## eurajohn (May 9, 2005)

If you want a decent picture wherever you go throw the aerials away and get a satellite system.

John


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## Bazbro (May 9, 2005)

Yes, Dave - it just requires a bit of "boldness be my friend" and it unclips. Just be careful when inserting a sharp knife blade (you'll need all your fingers to do the adjusting!)

I'm considering boring a hole in the bottom of that indentation, and pushing a short piece of tubing over the control. The cover could then be replaced and the device adjusted for best picture without having to remove the cover again.

Good luck. Let me know if it works for you too.

Barry


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## spykal (May 9, 2005)

Hi Barry

At a show last year I was berating the advisor on the Status stand about how my aerial was almost useless. This was before I had realised via this forum that everyone had problems with them. I asked if it was likely that the booster box was kaputt. His reply was that the booster was only a power supply and the signal amp was in the aerial, the power for which travels up the coax. So I wonder what you have adjusted? if he was right, it could be the voltage....mind you maybe the last person to take any note of is the one on the manufacturers stand at a show :lol: 

I will be taking mine apart tomorrow :wink: 

Mike


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## Bazbro (May 9, 2005)

Thanks for that, Mike.

If it's a voltage adjuster, that explains a lot! If the device is very voltage-sensitive, then the picture, at various times depending upon battery discharge, will be poor. But it also means that the user must constantly adjust the thing as the battery voltage alters!  

Mmmm! Maybe the Status 530/10 has resumed its' place at the head of the Christmas-list queue! We'll see. 

Let me know how you get on.

Barry


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## Bazbro (May 9, 2005)

And yes, John, I DREAM of having a satellite system - but it's bad enough that Sue watches that Coronation-Enders rubbish without me spending a fortune on receiving it! :lol: 

Barry


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

BarryandSue said:


> And yes, John, I DREAM of having a satellite system - but it's bad enough that Sue watches that Coronation-Enders rubbish without me spending a fortune on receiving it! :lol:
> 
> Barry


Entirely agree and I think the way to go if you already have the 315 both for cost effectiveness and no clat is to buy a Freeview box. The more I use mine the more convinced of this I become.

I agree with Mike, I too think the amplifier is within the saucer and the little box inside the van is a filter/splitter and power supply. I don't recognise your discription of the adjustments Barry. My 315 interior box has an on/off power and a low/Hi gain switches on it. Does anyone know where to find some technical information on the 315 especially its booster ?

peedee


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

[quote="peedee Does anyone know where to find some technical information on the 315 especially its booster ?

peedee[/quote]

Just answered my own question with a more sophisticated search of the net and come up with www.dantronics.com/technical/statuspd.pdf

peedee


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

Also take a look at http://www.gradeuk.co.uk/products/antennas/status.asp for full details on both the 315 and 530 Status aerials. Looks like they both use the same booster?

peedee


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## 88724 (May 9, 2005)

Hi Peedee

Yep same Amplifier by the looks of it, but completely different performance of the Antenna itself, the 530 gets results, the 315 is a pain in the butt, you either get a Just about watchable picture or nothing, Yes occassionally you get a decent picture but it is rare and you would not put up with it at home, so why suffer when away?

George


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## eurajohn (May 9, 2005)

Yes Barry

What about the World Superbikes that BBC2 don't cover or Moto GP?

Go on indulge.

John.


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## Bazbro (May 9, 2005)

The Grade UK site actually says, on their exploded diagram of the S315, that within the head unit, item 'C' is an "Integral booster for optimum performance" (ha!!).

The item that I now realise must be the power pack is, however, totally different in my m/home to that shown on their site. I don't have access to my unit for a couple of weeks, but when I do, I'll take some photos, including one of the adjuster (whatever it adjusts!) I've some closer examinations to carry out, that's for sure.

Poor TV reception? We watch DVDs instead.

Barry


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

BarryandSue said:


> The item that I now realise must be the power pack is, however, totally different in my m/home to that shown on their site. I don't have access to my unit for a couple of weeks, but when I do, I'll take some photos, including one of the adjuster (whatever it adjusts!) I've some closer examinations to carry out, that's for sure.
> 
> Barry


Its possible the original power supply has been replaced. Power requirements of the 315 are typical of mast head amplifiers so it would not have been too difficult to buy a replacement from a number of suppliers and it does not mean to say that it is affecting your reception. If you can identify the manufacturer you may be able to find out more about it.

peedee


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

GeorgeTelford said:


> the 315 is a pain in the butt, you either get a Just about watchable picture or nothing, Yes occassionally you get a decent picture but it is rare and you would not put up with it at home, so why suffer when away?
> 
> George


Hi George, 
Yes it is a pain in the butt for analogue reception but for digital transmissions it most certainly is not. If you haven't already seen it, see my latest posting at http://www.motorhomefacts.com/posts2782-15.html

Also the booster supplied with the 530 and 315 is pretty average in terms of gain and amount of noise it generates. There are better ones on the market but I don't know how feasible it is to change it and in so doing improve reception even further?

peedee


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## 88724 (May 9, 2005)

Hi Peedee

I do get what you are saying re Digital, but doesnt that bring its own set of problems? ie from the maps I have seen amny areas of UK still have mediocre/poor coverage.

A 530 aerial and digital box would give the best of both worlds, ie digital if available and if not at least you would get the usual suspects BBC1 & 2 ITV C4 

Whereas with a 315 and set top box you could be in an "all or nothing situation"

ie if the area is not covered well by digital and the reception from analogue is poor, you are left with nothing. (or DVD's and/or Videos)

George


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## 88790 (May 9, 2005)

I believe that there are two versions of the Omnidirectional aerial, I think the original had a booster box and no 'masthead booster' and the latest models have a power supply which feeds the amplifier in the aerial.

I queried this with Grade and told them how helpful it was that they both looked identical! 

You can still buy the booster as a seperate article.

John 8)


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## Bazbro (May 9, 2005)

Very interesting, John, particularly as my "adjustable" box doesn't look anything like the power supply shown on ther web-site. I can't get access to my vehicle for a few weeks yet, but when I do I'll be very closely examining exactly what I have got.

In view of what peedee and George have to say, there's almost a case for having two aerials!

Barry


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## Bazbro (May 9, 2005)

Hi peedee. I'm pretty certain that the box is an original Grade UK item. My AutoSleeper is new this year, but knowing A/S, the box is probably a junk lot bought cheap from Grade!!! As I said to John, I can't get to my m/h for a while, but when I do, I can then closely examine exactly what's going on.

Thanks everybody for your input. What a brilliant site this is. 

Barry


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

Hi George,

Yes the 530 would give you the best of both worlds. What I am pointing out is that the 315 is not a total dead loss and if that is what you have already then for as little as £30 for a Freeview STB you can get a very good picture. (better than ANY analogue signal and that includes cable TV)I am sure there are areas where digital will not work as there are currently with analogue and you could be left without a signal. e.g. areas covered by repeaters. I guess it all depends on how badly you want to watch TV!

As I have said before I view it as a cost effective no hassle solution against a background of moves to switch off the analogue. This is currently planned to start in 2007. (that is only 25 months away) When this happens we can expect increased digital transmitter powers and more transmitters. 

A further driver is that the digital terrestrial standard is common accross Europe and some countries are even further ahead with its introduction than the UK. In theory I don't see why you could not also pick these up whilst over there as long as you have a multi standard TV set. On my STB I can set the language of the subtitles so I am wondering if I can watch foreign news and weather broadcast with English subtitles?

peedee


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

Has anyone tried a Freeview set top box on the continent yet?

FYI the proposed programme for cutting over to digital television in the UK can be viewed here


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## 88790 (May 9, 2005)

I have fitted a STB to the rear of my TV, and the remote control can still pick up the signal in the MH. Picture in my gallery on P12!

Much better pictures with the ' flying saucer'.

John 8)


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

Neat job but mind you allow any heat generated by the STB to disapate. I would not think it would get warm enough to catch fire but elctronic components can fail at high temperatures.

As a matter of interest what make STB is is please John?

I like the TV stand too did that come with the van or from Sharp?

peedee


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## 88790 (May 9, 2005)

I have checked and am pretty certain that there are no ventilation holes or grids covered, it does not seem to get warm even.

The STB is a Hauppauge DEC 1100T which I got from the BT Shop for about £50.00 but I think it may even be cheaper now.

I took the existing stand off the set, it is held with 4 screws which seem to be in a standard configuration. I bought a couple of shelf brackets from Homebase and just drilled them to fit the TV. I then took the base off of the TV stand in the MH and drilled four holes for fixing there, I used wing nuts for easy removal.

Hope this helps!

John 8)


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## 94043 (May 1, 2005)

peedee said:


> Has anyone tried a Freeview set top box on the continent yet?
> 
> Yes I tried mine over in Holland three weeks ago...........And guess what ... It does not work ( Its still worth it for the UK though)


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

jabber said:


> I took the existing stand off the set, it is held with 4 screws which seem to be in a standard configuration. I bought a couple of shelf brackets from Homebase and just drilled them to fit the TV. I then took the base off of the TV stand in the MH and drilled four holes for fixing there, I used wing nuts for easy removal.
> 
> Hope this helps!


Thanks John. I have a Humax Fox-T STB, (a bit bigger than the one you have) and the identical TV to yourself and have been pondering how best to fix it all up neatly in the motorhome. You have given me an idea to consider.

Harmracer, anyidea why it didn't work? Was it reception problems? Were you using a multistandard TV set?

peedee


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