Traditional looking loft hatch?

[AMc]

A masthead preamplifier will provide a very worthwhile improvement, and if you have only one aerial point in the house it can be powered via the coaxial cable from the downstairs socket. If you have more than one outlet, then you need a "distribution amplifier" and it gets more complex.

I fitted a masthead amplifier with built in diplexer and 4 way distribution (one box). There are a TV and DAB inputs for separate antennas and 4 outputs to go to wall sockets in 4 rooms. The power supply can be applied to "any leg" so the power supply can be connected in any room and powers all 4 outputs.

Our digital switch over took place yesterday and seems to have gone OK.
More irritatingly Channel 4HD moved satellite transponders the day before which has upset my Windows 7 PC that records all our telly. I'd expected to spend time fiddling with the Freeview side and ended up messing with the Freesat part for much longer.

I can recommend an independent Norfolk based installer who my electrician used to do all the satellite stuff when we were working on the renovation. He was happy to wander around the roof and fir the antenna to the highest chimney which was something I had chickened out on when I did the quick installation straight after we moved in. PM me if you want his number.

 

[Flyfisher]

Yes, the switchover seemed to work fine for us as well. When I retuned I noticed we now get 98 channels on freeview, though I can't recall how many we used to receive.

98 channels, but I still prefer Radio 4.

Did the switchover improve Penners' reception I wonder?

 

[Feltwell]

Did the switchover improve Penners' reception I wonder?

I'm not sure, but it stopped the TV in my car from working. Honestly, I'm not sure how I'll be able to live without the ability to watch "Cash in the Attic" whilst parked up. :roll: :lol:

 

[Penners]

Did the switchover improve Penners' reception I wonder?

As a matter of fact, FF, yes it did. Thank you for asking. It was also interesting to note, when I re-tuned our Freeview box yesterday, how much more quickly it scanned all the channels and downloaded the revised EPG. This used to take nearly 15 minutes - this time it took less than 10. I can only assume that the higher powered signal pushed the information down the pipe much more quickly.

Or am I (characteristically) talking gibberish?

By the way, I enthusiastically second your Radio 4 comment.

it stopped the TV in my car from working

That's tragic, Feltwell! What on earth will you now have to entertain you while you're driving down those long, boring motorways at, er, "70" mph?

 

[MdB]

I can only assume that the higher powered signal pushed the information down the pipe much more quickly.

Or am I (characteristically) talking gibberish?

Sorry but yes....

The speed us is likely due to the lack of the analogue transmissions. The box would have spent time trying and failing to decode the analogue signal when it came across it in the scan. It now doesn't have to do this job.

 

[Penners]

am I (characteristically) talking gibberish?

Sorry but yes....

No apology necessary, MdB. It's an idiosyncrasy for which I'm well known. :roll:

 

[Feltwell]

it stopped the TV in my car from working

That's tragic, Feltwell! What on earth will you now have to entertain you while you're driving down those long, boring motorways at, er, "70" mph?

I know! I'll have to look at the road instead now!

The forum for that car (yes, I know, but it's very useful when it needs fixing) had quite a long running thread for various expensive ways of making the analogue TV work with a digital signal. I can't say as I'm particularly bothered - I think I used it once when I was stuck on the M62 for 3 hours behind a lorry fire, when it did relieve the boredom. I'd really rather the car maker had spent more effort on making the Sat Nav (which is in the same unit) better, as it's carp, to quote a mis-spelling. My ancient TomTom is much better.

And for anyone that was wondering, you couldn't really watch the TV whilst driving - as soon as you let the handbrake off the screen changed to a little patronising message telling you that watching TV whilst driving was dangerous. :roll:

 

[AMc]

I can only assume that the higher powered signal pushed the information down the pipe much more quickly.

Or am I (characteristically) talking gibberish?

Sorry but yes....

The speed us is likely due to the lack of the analogue transmissions. The box would have spent time trying and failing to decode the analogue signal when it came across it in the scan. It now doesn't have to do this job.

That sounds plausible, the other thing is that all of Tacolneston's analogue and digital frequencies used to be at the channel 52 and beyond end of the range so your box would spend ages scanning from 30ish to 52 without finding anything at all, then Channel5 and the rest after that. As a result it felt like it was doing nothing at all for ages. Now the first Freeview mux is at 31 so it feels quicker.

The transmitter is now broadcasting at full power for the first time so it should help a lot of people to get proper reception - our analogue was always terrible so I don't miss it.
http://www.ukfree.tv/txdetail.php?a=TM131958&PGSTART=350

I got my Channel 4HD back on satellite thanks to the ingenuity of some of the folks at http://www.avforums.com.

it stopped the TV in my car from working

That's tragic, Feltwell! What on earth will you now have to entertain you while you're driving down those long, boring motorways at, er, "70" mph?

I know! I'll have to look at the road instead now!

The forum for that car (yes, I know, but it's very useful when it needs fixing) had quite a long running thread for various expensive ways of making the analogue TV work with a digital signal. I can't say as I'm particularly bothered - I think I used it once when I was stuck on the M62 for 3 hours behind a lorry fire, when it did relieve the boredom. I'd really rather the car maker had spent more effort on making the Sat Nav (which is in the same unit) better, as it's carp, to quote a mis-spelling. My ancient TomTom is much better.

And for anyone that was wondering, you couldn't really watch the TV whilst driving - as soon as you let the handbrake off the screen changed to a little patronising message telling you that watching TV whilst driving was dangerous. :roll:

I once trailed into the Blackwall tunnel alongside a Mercedes with Lithuanian plates that had a DVD player mounted on top of the dashboard. We crawled through traffic at walking pace for about 20 minutes but they were still watching telly when I overtook at 50 after the tunnel :shock:
Some people really don't have the sense they were born with.

 

[Feltwell]

I once trailed into the Blackwall tunnel alongside a Mercedes with Lithuanian plates that had a DVD player mounted on top of the dashboard. We crawled through traffic at walking pace for about 20 minutes but they were still watching telly when I overtook at 50 after the tunnel :shock:
Some people really don't have the sense they were born with.

The family bus has a DVD player set up, in that it has a unit in the dash that is the radio, sat nav and DVD combined, that is linked to two screens mounted in the back of the front seat headrests. It is an indulgence (actually not a very expensive one), but on a 6 hour car journey with 3 young kids being able to put a couple of hours worth of DVD's on is priceless once they eventually get bored of playing I-Spy and have asked "Are we nearly there yet?" for the 100th time. Mind you, I think I've heard Disney Cars about 10 times but never watched it...

Anyway, the system was put in by myself and is set up so that as soon as you pull away the dash mounted DVD screen goes blank or can be switched to Sat Nav etc. The guy I bought it from, second hand from Ebay, told me how to get round this - he'd got the method off the internet so that, and I quote, "you can watch the Simpsons when driving like I do".

Some people seem determined to prove Darwin right, if only they didn't take other innocent parties out with them.

 

[Penners]

Some people seem determined to prove Darwin right

As you know, Feltwell, it's very unlike me to be argumentative, but doesn't the fact that the guy was alive prove Darwin wrong?

 

[Feltwell]

Give the boy time - with thinking like that he'll get there eventually I'm sure.

 

[AMc]

The family bus has a DVD player set up, in that it has a unit in the dash that is the radio, sat nav and DVD combined, that is linked to two screens mounted in the back of the front seat headrests. It is an indulgence (actually not a very expensive one), but on a 6 hour car journey with 3 young kids being able to put a couple of hours worth of DVD's on is priceless once they eventually get bored of playing I-Spy and have asked "Are we nearly there yet?" for the 100th time. Mind you, I think I've heard Disney Cars about 10 times but never watched it...

Our kid has a 7" DVD player that hangs off the back of the seat in front. Nowhere near as tidy and neat and it only comes out for the long trek north but it was worth 10x the £80 it cost when she was very small. When we lived in Hackney a permanently fitted screen would probably have been too tempting to smash and grab.
Next time around I suspect it'll be a netbook or a tablet.

Some people seem determined to prove Darwin right, if only they didn't take other innocent parties out with them.

I read this in the Weekend Guardian a while back. I'm glad she didn't die but I also hope a few other people realised the stupidity of this particular "timesaving" trick
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/oct/21/drove-over-cliff-experience?INTCMP=SRCH

Lindsay was waiting in her car and, in a hurry, I set off without putting on my seatbelt. Halfway down the drive, I looked over my shoulder to reach for it, taking my foot off the accelerator as I did so. I was used to a bigger car and the confined space felt awkward. As I grappled with the belt, I reached for the brake and pumped the accelerator by mistake...
...My Mini shot across the road and over the cliff.

 

[Zebra]

Returning to this subject after long absence, I have a new extension which is subject to all the usual Building Regs. It has a loft, so I need to put in a hatch, but the extension will have a very traditional, lime plaster/oak appearance, and I hate the appearance of the plastic loft hatches that you can buy which are guaranteed to comply with Part L.

Would it be feasible to make a hinged timber loft hatch to comply with Part L, and how would I prove to the Buildings Inspector that it does?

Or does anyone know of a supplier of timber loft hatches (without ladder, just the hatch - I shall use one of those concertina ladders) which comply with Part L?

 

[Zebra]

I've found out the answer already. The Building Regs for airtightness only applies to new build. For an extension, I'd only have to meet the appropriate U-value. So I can make a hatch, as long as it's got enough insulation on it.

 

[dans]

Hello all,
In the upstairs room of my house, which is around 17th Century timber frame, I have tie beams in the ceiling and the plan is to board across above them with woodwool board and lime plaster inbetween the beams leaving them exposed.
In order not to have a TV aerial on the roof, I've stuck it in this loft, which otherwise isn't big enough to use as a loft. However, that means I'd need to leave access. What sort of loft hatch could I have that wouldn't look out of keeping? Are there Regs dictating how big/rigid/accessible a loft hatch must be?
I should add that because the house is small and lower than all the surrounding ones, I'd need to put a socket in the loft to power an aerial booster. Otherwise I'd probably be tempted not to have a hatch, but if there's a socket outlet up there I probably should.
Many thanks all.
Z

I got some old oak floorboards, cut them to size, sandwiched solid insulation on top and have an old bit of rope to pull down on it...