Review: Philex SLxA Amplified Digital Set-top Aerial
Setting up a TV tuner on your PC? Don Bradbury looks for a suitable indoor aerial to drive it
| Product | Philex SLxA Amplified Digital Set-top Aerial |
|---|---|
| Company | Maplin |
| Web | www.www.maplin.co.uk |
| Price | £19.99 |
| We like | Compact design; signal amplification, power options |
| We don't like | Vertical orientation of elements slightly obstructs the amplifier control |
| Rating | 9/10 |
| Requirements |
Those who are setting up digital TV reception - say on a PC TV tuner card or USB dongle - to supplement their main television receiver operating from its own roof-top aerial, may have the problem of knowing how efficient, and hence expensive, an indoor aerial they actually need in order to get satisfactory reception. The one they will probably get with their tuner may be next to useless in weaker signal areas (in our experience).
Well, there's a whole range of digital aerials out there, ranging from non-amplified four or five element type costing a fiver, up to 30dB or more amplified dish type, or even more exotic (and large) designs costing perhaps £30 or more. Amplified designs may have power supplied directly from the mains, or sometimes lower voltages taken the set-top box itself.
The Philex design we looked at was a neat and tidy 11" x 7" (vertically oriented) design, amplified up to a generally adequate 20dB, and taking power from either the mains or a 12V battery. The array of elements could be rotated through 180 degrees laterally and 100 degrees vertically to get best reception. The only slight snag with this being that if your nearest transmitter uses vertical polarization of the TV signal, then best reception also requires that the aerial elements need to be vertically oriented, as shown, and that rather got in the way of the amplifier's adjustment knob because the entire array could not be rotated on the main casing. Fortunately, this mattered but little as you could still rotate the amplifier knob, albeit rather awkwardly, and thereafter the user shouldn't need to touch it again while at that location.
Amplifier
With the amplifier switched to the off position we got reception worse than using a non-amplified aerial (clearly, it was not connected in that configuration) but as soon as the amplifier was switched on to provide just a few dB boost, the signal strength leaped up, and dialing in more amplification seemed to add little or nothing to picture quality, which was then excellent. All digital and analogue stations broadcast from the local, relatively low powered TV transmitter were received very well.
Aerial activation was indicated by a discrete blue LED, the weighted base had rubberized feet to reduce slip, and the diminutive overall size of the unit was judged far preferable to some of the larger designs on offer.
However, the 1.5m of coax cable the aerial came fitted with had to be supplemented with a short coax extender to comfortably reach the receiver from the highest point in the room that we could locate the aerial. That lead could usefully do with extending somewhat as supplied.
In conclusion
Covering the entire frequency range of 470-862 MHz (UHF), with a generally adequate 0-20dB of gain, and with the twin options for power, this Philex aerial is recommended at the attractive price of around £19.99.
