Indoor aerials

[Worker]

I've got a tv/radio card in my computer and with it was given a simple plastic-coated strip aerial. I've noticed mains-driven indoor aerials in the shops; are they worth the �25-30 cost or should I stick with the plastic-coated one?

[lisaj]

Personally I've never seen one of those mains-powered amplifier aerials give a good signal. Even worse, when I had a close look at one once, I noticed that the magnificent crossbar aerial part wasn't even wired into the 'amplifying' base!! I therefore would strongly suggest (from my own experience of course) that you avoid them like the plague.
The bottomline is, if you get the signal quality you want from the plastic strip aerial, then just keep it... Another idea for you: Wire the aerial socket through a very small (<=1Amp) lighting fuse, and then into the earth of a socket. It should protect the PC from any surges and will enable your entire house (through the mains ring) to become an aerial? Dodgy I know, but I've seen it work wonders.

[Worker]

Thanks Lisa. I might try that idea of yours only there's a few points I'm not too sure of.I assume you're talking about feeding the wires of the aerial into a three-pin mains plug. One of them is fixed to the earth and the other? - well it doesn't really matter, but why would I need a fuse if there isn't going to be a circuit?

[Worker]

Thanks Lisa. I might try that idea of yours only there's a few points I'm not too sure of.I assume you're talking about feeding the wires of the aerial into a three-pin mains plug. One of them is fixed to the earth and the other? - well it doesn't really matter, but why would I need a fuse if there isn't going to be a circuit?

[lisaj]

The aerial is a single wire conenction, not a circuit. The protection comes because, if lightning strikes outside, or if another aplliance attached to your ring main shorts, you'll get a surge on the earth of the ring main. You'd need to protect against the likelihood of that surge. APC make UPS systems and anti-surge protection devices and may well have just what you're after if you're interested in trying this idea out.