TV Antenna Installation Melbourne Inside The Roofspace

If you are considering a TV antenna installation in Melbourne, and you want to hide the antenna inside the roofspace, then read this!

25 February 2022

If you are considering a new TV antenna installation in Melbourne but want to hide the antenna so it doesn’t look like an eyesore, you may have been tempted to install the TV antenna inside the roofspace (or the attic). The question you are looking to answer is:

Do TV antennas installed inside a roofspace work?

It is not simply a yes or no answer, as it will depend on your specific location and signals received inside your roofspace.

Here are a list of the considerations that may result in the TV signals inside your roofspace not being sufficient to provide reliable reception to your TV.

• Location of your house: the main TV transmitter in Melbourne is in Mount Dandenong. The shorter the distance your house is from the TV transmitter will result in you getting better TV signals.
• Line of site from your house to the TV transmitter: what we mean by this is if there are things (any materials) in between your house and the TV transmitter in Mount Dandenong (or one of the UHF transmitters in Melbourne), then you will have weaker or lower quality TV signals. This could be hills (physical mountains), trees, buildings or otherwise.
• Roof material: whether or not you have a tin or tile roof will impact the signal quality. Tin roof is generally very bad for penetration of RF signals and so you will have very little chance to get sufficient TV signal power and quality if you have a tin roof.
• Other insulation inside roofspace: many new houses in Melbourne have insulation inside the roofspace. A common one that can impact TV signals is sarking. This can cause real problems if you are looking to install an antenna inside a roofspace.

When the TV signal leaves the TV transmitter, it will initially start with perfect signal quality and very high signal power (signal strength). As it travels through any medium (even air), it will slowly degrade in both signal power and signal strength. However, the type of medium that it travels through will determine the rate at which that degradation takes place. Generally, metallic and dense items cause significant degradation in TV signal quality and power. So the less of these the TV signal travels through, the better.

In Melbourne, for example, areas where signal is strong are Montrose, Mount Evelyn, Kilsyth and Lilydale. The signal strength and quality in these suburbs are known amongst TV antenna installers to be very strong and reliable. In these locations (note it still depends on your specific house), it may be possible for the TV signals to make it through obstructions such as roof tiles and maintain an acceptable and reliable signal level, using an antenna inside the roofspace.

In comparison, trouble areas such as Narre Warren, Sunbury, Mornington and Melton have a very low signal strength and quality. At these locations, you would have a very small change of having an antenna installed inside the roofspace provide reliable reception to your TV.

Summary

In conclusion, it may be possible to have your TV antenna installed inside the roofspace in some parts of Melbourne, where the specific house has very strong incoming signal, a tile roof and no sarking or other insulation installed.

However, in most situations, we very much recommend to install an antenna on top of your roof so as to receive the best possible signal for your area and give your TV antenna system the best change to last for many, many years into the future.

If you are also wondering what direction to point your TV antenna in Melbourne, please check out our article: Antenna Installations In Melbourne – Which Direction To Face Your Antenna?

If you are looking to get a TV antenna installed to get access to all the free live channels, contact us today. Install My Antenna installs only high quality, Australian made TV antennas. We have experienced technicians local to your area and we guarantee you perfect digital TV reception! You can get a free quote on our website just by entering your address and phone number.