All posts by Mark Aberfan Aerials
Below are all of Mark Aberfan Aerials's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Hi Keith,
As you could imagine, the locals are less than impressed with freeview lite & they point out that previously the were denied channel 4 & five in analogue days & now they have been shafted again & then to really rub salt in it looks like the proposed new muxes will also be denied to them.
I have to say that I totally agree with them, it is not good enough, ofcom should be ashamed at doing such a shoddy deal on the broadcast licences, it should of been all or nothing that the broadcasters bid for.
The so called digital dividend has become the digital divide both here & in many other rural areas throughout the UK.
Mark Aberfan Aerials
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Hi Keith,
With regards to the installer going bankrupt, we have cut back on spending due to the current economic climate, one of the first things to go was trade body membership, & I have to say we have not missed it at all, we survived for many years without it before & have not suffered without it since leaving & I'm a few hundred pounds better off ! The customers dont give a toss about it, they only thing most want to know is how much the job will cost !
Mark Aberfan Aerials
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Hi Guys
No I never became a member of the other outfit, I think to be honest I'm better off on my own, like keith I have good word of mouth & get a high proportion of my work through customer recommendation, I dont want to be associated with some people who are now members & think that being associated with those people through a trade body could damage my hard earned reputation.
There are some very good & highly respected trade body members, but as far as I can see they are outnumbered by the bandwagon jumpers who have just done their 4 day course to get qualified !
The other thing is some of the worst national companies are members, the ones that often get mentioned in very unflattering terms in this and other forums, who on earth wants to be associated with those sort of companies !
Mark Aberfan Aerials
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Hi Mazbar
Jesus, I didnt realise those crap brackets were still in production, mind you cheap crap is always popular with some of the masses that are only concerned with price. The basic rig I sell is pretty basic, but I think I'd rather lose a job than fit a self supporting bracket.
Mark Aberfan Aerials
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Hi Mazbar,
I'm with you, about the wall bracket drilled into the chimney, I hate that too ! closely followed by white cables over roofs / sky type mini shotgun cable / white cables held by black tacks etc. Im a bit tidy obsessive which most customers love ! seeing white shotgun over the roof tacked down the wall with black tacks would send me over the edge ! I admit that it would work, but I couldn't live with it !
Mark Aberfan Aerials
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Hi Maxbar,
I saw a sample of it a while back, I thought at first it was a wind up ! I've never seen it at any of the wholsalers since. I carry 4 rolls of cable on my van, 1 white rg6 1 black rg6 for those that want a cheaper job & 1 black & 1 white wf/ct100 / h109 for those that are willing to pay for better quality and for first fix & commercial work.
Back on the issue of drilling chimney's, there is the issue of gas flues that can be damaged or even blocked by falling masonary inside the chimney caused by the drilling. These days I only fit stack straps.
Mark Aberfan Aerials
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Hi guys
I suppose its each to their own regarding the ssb's. I like mazbar, dont like/trust them, but if they work for some & they are happy using them I would not presume to tell them to do different ! I'm (like tom) a old git who has been doing this for longer than I care to remember & being basicly self taught (not much choice back then !) I have never liked anyone dictating how I handle my erections (for steve / ron !) which is why I have only had a brief period of trady body membership, of course Im always open to learning more but I dont need to be told what aerial / cable to fit, if I needed that I shouldnt be a rigger !
Mark Aberfan Aerials
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Hi Mazbar,
I dont see them new around here, thats why I was suprised that they still made them ! I think that if I saw a new one apart from the suprise I would think I wouldn't do it like that, to me they dont equate to a top notch install, but if the rigger can use them & is happy that it will stay put its their choice.
I think that after 23 years you, like me will your own way of working & will have your own standards of what is acceptable on a install. There will be some people & trade bodies who think my basic rig is not upto their spec, I think it works very well & is very good value, It gives the customer what they want (a great signal with little cost) & I dont lose the job to a cowboy. I've lost count the amount of times I've seen a rig meets trade body specs (usually fitted by a national call centre trade body member or by a dso contractor) using the top grade aerial & cable but is heap of crap that lets in water or has other stupid faults such as the f-con at the dipole not fitted correctly etc.
Mark Aberfan Aerials
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Hi steve,
They are the people responsible for our high quality erections !
That was taken during our two year stint as trade body members when we attended the first English digital switchover at Whitehaven, unbelievably we were only trade body members to attend which was a bit of a shock at the time but I suppose there was no money to be made & no one to sell public liabilty insurance to !
The whole switchover process took place without any local installers being trade body members & I noticed that they appeared to cope very well !
Mark Aberfan Aerials
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Thursday 15 September 2011 10:34AM
Hi Guys,
I'm still around & still can do a basic rig for £75 & make a living, Its not really a matter of choice, if the customer can get a cowboy for £50 I have to be competitive & offer a professional job at £75 to stand a chance of getting any work, my basic rig is a rx 12 / a crank & swivel / 10m rg6 / alloy co-ax connector, of course I would prefer to use a bechmarked aerial / ct100 cable etc but if the customer isnt willing to pay for that, then they get what they will pay for. I would add that in the valleys on the local relays my basic rig works perfectly & we dont get callbacks or problems with them.
We do all kinds of work from basic rigs to commercial system work but I have to say the basic rig is our bread & butter work which can lead to further work such as freesat installs if the customer dosent like the channel choice available from freeview lite on the local relay transmitters.
Mark Aberfan Aerials