NewsOnTheBlock.com Promoting Downing St Petition
By admin | February 22nd, 2010 | Category: Past Articles | 6 commentsThe Downing Street Petition is gathering even more support from many of the leading Property Websites and this time, it’s NewsOnTheBlock that are highlighting the cause!
This demonstrates that our cause is a worthy one and we’d like to thank Darren Rossiter for having the idea of setting it up.
NewsOnTheBlock also features an interesting interview with Melissa Briggs – one of the founders of CARLEX, that is worth having a read of to get an insight into CARLEX.
The Digital Switchover
Many people today have been discussing the digital switchover and we thought we’d put publish some information to assist in your investigations.
Firstly, check what your aerial signal will be like with the Digital UK aerial checker on Ceefax / Teletext 284.
This test from Digital UK can only be done on analogue TV, not digital. The ‘Which’ website recommends that you should wait until six months before your region is due to start the digital switch over before you carry out the test. The Digital UK aerial checker will tell you what your Freeview signal will be like once your region has switched, not what it’s like currently.
When you might need a new TV aerial
There are no specific regions that will need a new TV aerial after digital switchover, and if your TV aerial is in good condition, it’s likely that it will be fine. But you may need a new TV aerial if:
- Your current TV aerial has suffered general wear and tear like rusting or weather damage. If you suspect this, contact an TV aerial installer registered to the Confederation of Aerial Industries (CAI) or the Registered Digital Installers Licensing Body (RDI-LB), or one recommended by Which? members on Which? Local.
- If channels switch frequency at switchover and your aerial doesn’t pick up that frequency. A minority of households may find the channels they receive now may switch frequency at digital switchover. If you don’t have a wide-band aerial that covers virtually all frequencies, then your aerial may not pick up those channels. Digital UK is advising which areas will be affected by this as each TV region approaches digital switchover. But Digital UK says to wait until digital switchover has happened before getting a new TV aerial, as chances are your current one will be fine.
Choosing a TV aerial installer
If you do need a new TV aerial to receive digital TV, follow these Which? tips to make sure you find a reputable TV aerial installer:
- Check Which? Local – a free service for Which? members to recommend local traders – for recommended TV aerial installers in your area.
- Look for installers approved by the CAI or the RDI-LB – they have lists of approved TV aerial installers on their websites.
- Be wary of TV aerial installers that tell you about ‘digital aerials’ and ‘analogue aerials’ – there is no such thing.
- Watch out for any TV aerial installer that tries to get you to agree to work before they have come out and viewed your home and your TV aerial.
When Which? mystery shopped aerial installers in the Granada TV region, they found that aerial installers recommended on Which? Local, or which were approved by the CAI or RDI-LB, all gave good advice on whether they would need a new aerial after digital switchover.
TV aerial costs
Digital UK says a new TV aerial can cost from £60 to £180, plus £45 for an additional socket, but don’t automatically take the first quote you can get.
In February 2009, Which? found prices varied across the country from £55 to £215 for a full installation when they called 24 aerial installers recommended on Which? Local, and in some cases prices within a single region varied by more than £100.
Which? recommends calling around and getting at least three quotes for aerial installation from installers in your local area to be sure of getting the best price.
Finally, don’t forget to have a look at the Digital UK website for information related to Shared Aerials and have a look at Digital UK’s Property Managers website.
There’s a very interesting fact on this page of the Digital UK website that states:-
It is likely that most communal TV aerial systems will need upgrading for switchover. Communal systems that are older than 30 years old will almost certainly need to be replaced, systems aged between 10-20 years old will need to be checked and systems under 10 years old should be fine. Read the Government report on the impact of switchover on communal aerials.
So if you property / system is under 10 years old, it’s likely Peverel or OM Property Management as they wish to be called now are trying to take advantage of the Digital Switchover.
We’ve checked the CAI and Rdi-LB websites and have no record of Interphone or Cirrus Communications being list as approved installers. Now, who’s not doing their job properly and appointing the correct companies to do the job right?
We trust that this information will help you with your research into the ‘Peverel Aerial Charges’.
Having read the info that was bouncing around earlier today on TV aerials and the digital switchover (I was posting comments on the separate thread), I’ve now done the Teletext page 284 check having got home. I’ve checked on both my TV’s, on all 4 channels (BBC1, BBC2, ITV1 and C4), and I get a perfect signal every time. So, in theory the aerial on my block is fine, and doesn’t need to be upgraded…..
Except the digital switchover in my area (GL51) isn’t happening until 2011, so based on the comment above about waiting until 6 months before switchover before doing the test, then my test today probably isn’t much to go on…..
I’m not interested in Freeview, as I already have digital cable TV. Therefore, I’m also not particularly concerned about still being able to receive the “terrestrial” channels through the communal roof aerial after switchover. What I am concerned about is the potential for costs to be incurred upgrading an existing aerial that doesn’t need to be upgraded at all…..
My Property Manager advises that engineers are due to visit my development soon to look at the existing aerials, and he will then advise on costs thereafter. I wonder if these engineers are from Cirrus Communciations…??? Think I need to ask the question, along with whether the aerials here are owned, or rented from Interphone….. They better not be, having read Neil’s story on a separate thread…..
Matt you say they are going to “look” at aerials
does this mean they have never seen one before or does it mean that by looking they will know if a replacement is needed.
Without LOOKING at the current reception and CHECKING they will have no idea. Ask them what transmitter is currently providing you your signal and then ask when the existing analogue is switched off how much better the signal will be. An aerial is secondary to receiving a signal it is the output that matters.
Are we teaching our management company thier job,if so, can they claim themselves as professionals leading the industry?
Do forgive me as my poor mind boggles.
Good questions, Francescc. All I know is what is written in the letter I received last week. Whether the actual local transmitter even comes into the equation is open to debate. Likewise the strength of the current signal, and also what the signal will be like after switchover.
From the Teletext p284 tests I did last night, my reception is currently perfect. However, I thought I was on the Ridge Hill transmitter – which doesn’t switch until 2011 – but I now think I’m actually tuned to the Mendip transmitter, which switches on 24th March this year….. I can receive the BBC & ITV local programmes for both the Midlands, and Bristol / South-West (I’m in Cheltenham), so I guess it really depends on which transmitter the current aerial on the roof is actually pointing at – it’s probably Ridge Hill, which is geographically much closer to Cheltenham than the Mendip transmitter.
My cynical side says that such matters will not matter to you-know-who, if there is an opportunity to employ their pet company to install new aerials (whether required or not) at inflated rates, off which you-know-who then takes a nice fat cut, for doing bugger-all. It’s what they do with the insurance, after all…..
I shall be mentioning it when I next speak to my Property Manager, who I suspect might be ringing me in the next couple of days, once he’s read the letter I posted to him yesterday…….
Nicky – yes, to a degree we do seem to be teaching them how to do their jobs.
And yes, they can can claim themselves as professionals leading the industry, but we all know different…!!!
The day of reckoning is (hopefully) fast approaching…..
Have just read the update on the NUMBER 10 PETITION SITE regarding its closure during the General Election Campaign and the extension to 5th June.
Good news indeed, but I just hope I can discipher those letters below as I’ve just failed to add a comment because I got the last one wrong!
Almost as frustrating as dealing with “you know who”!!