When it comes to using any tradesman, many people prefer to use someone who is local. Why is that? Well, not that I’m privy to everyone’s reasons, I can only surmise that it is because of a few logical factors. One, being that if you use an aerial company such as Digitec Aerials, who are local, the money paid to the tradesman stays local, and he or she will spend that money locally putting the money back into the local economy.
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Second, I think is that if there was to be a need for the fitter to return for whatever reason, they are more likely if they’re local over someone that is from a national firm.

Not all national Aerial companies have their own accredited engineers, and rely on outsourcing the work to subcontractors. The subcontractor is expected to go to the house quote and get the job done. Quite often because of the overheads of these companies, with so many taking a cut of the profits, the prices of any repair or installation work is high. Along with that there is the inevitable VAT to be added on.
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Also, as opposed to using a local firm, if there is the need to have the national company call back due to a problem, this may be difficult to tie them down to do. A local firm is much more likely to call back and fix any fault as they are reliant on keeping their reputation in high standing in the local area.

So, this all depends on the turnover of the aerial company being used. If the business turns over less than £85,000 p.a then they are not obliged to charge VAT on top of their service charges. This then is another reason for someone to use a small local firm, in order to save 20% off their bill.
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Using a larger firm will almost always lead to a larger bill for the same service and equipment being fitted. This can seem a little unfair but it is what it is, and is often why National firms do charge more money for their services.

​With any service provided, there ought to be some form of warranty or guarantee. Along with this there should be a guarantee provided with any equipment installed at the property. This is because each piece of equipment will have a manufacturers’ warranty that can and should be passed onto the customer. For aerial installations, a minimum of 12 months should be given, and each piece of equipment, they will have their own separate warranty.

Good question! But, the question should be ‘how long SHOULD a TV aerial last?’ In all honesty a decent quality aerial should last well over 10 years and upwards of 20 years plus. However, there is a lot of different types and quality of Television antenna out there, and it really does depend on the quality of both the aerial and the installation.
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​There are plenty of aerial fitters still using the cheapest aerials on the market. Some of these aerials are lucky if they last out the year. Although they can survive and work well if set up properly in a loft, but they fair very badly if installed outside. Eventually the British weather causes them to fail.
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​However, if a decent quality antenna is fitted correctly by a qualified engineer, then you should really expect it to last a god 15 to 25 years. This also does depend on where about the property is that it is being fitted onto. Those near the seaside tend to weather worse due to the salt within the weather. But, even though it would still last over a decade.

​So, this can change a bit depending on what kind of aerial company being asked for a quote. National and larger firms will tend to charge more because they have larger overheads and charge VAT. Smaller firms and one man bands will usually not be charging Vat and have fewer overheads, hence the prices will be less. Plus, prices will vary depending on whether it is a loft aerial installation or one fitted outside.

On average the cost of an aerial installation to one room in the home costs approximately £165.00. However, it does depend on where on the property it is going, and other factors. So in reality prices will range from £130 - £200 for an aerial to be installed on the property.

How to tell if you need a new TV Aerial for your television. As an aerial & satellite installation engineer, I often get phone calls from people asking if they need a new aerial as they are experiencing problems with their TV picture. This is a question that is not that had to find the answer for if the customer just did a few. Firstly, if experiencing problems with the Television reception, the first thing to do is to check the connections. This means looking at the back of the TV and checking to see if the aerial cable which has a coax plug on the end of it is firmly plugged into the correct port in the TV. You'd be amazed at how many times I have been out to customers houses and found that the reason they are experiencing picture glitch is because the aerial is not correctly plugged into the back of the TV. Its such a simple thing to check too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV_aerial_plug  

Secondly the next thing to check is whether the aerial cable is still attached to the TV Aerial Antenna . These are usually fixed on the chimney using a lashing kit and mast. Or the aerial & mast is fixed on a stand off bracket on the wall of the house. Finally the last place to check is in the loft. What you need to look for is any obvious damage or , such as the cable has come loose or the aerial antenna is in some way damaged or pointing in the wrong direction.  

There is another DIY check that can be done if you have another working aerial socket in the home. If you have the extra TV point, then take the TV into that room and plug it in, if experiencing problems with it then it would definitely point to there being a problem with your Aerial Antenna. If not then it maybe just the aerial cable that is the cause of the interference. This maybe just a simple cabling replacement job, and you can avoid going to the expense of changing your whole TV digital aerial system.  

At the end of the day there maybe nothing that can be detected through these checks and you would need the assistance of a qualified TV Aerial Installation Engineer to run a full test on the system using a spectrum analyzer. But if you have performed the checks mentioned above first you will rule out having to pay for a call out charge just for the aerial fitter to plug the aerial into the back of the TV.