The truth about Australian made TV antennas
A common offer and request during an antenna installation is an Australian made TV Antenna, coupled with a expectation for the product to last a very long time and a confident guarantee and expectation of perfect reception. Like the tooth fairy, this does not exist.
During the infancy of the TV Antenna industry in Perth during the 1960’s and 70’s, there were only a few leading brands producing Australian made TV antennas, from home grown companies operating, engineering and manufacturing wholely within Australia. It is not uncommon to see some Aussie TV antennas that are still giving perfect reception after 40 years in service. Hills was one of the most prominent companies, with most of the market share, anything else was not desired.
During the 2013 digital TV switchover and consequential boom in demand for digital TV antenna installs, a wide array of new antennas came onto the market all from different origins, however many which were advertised as Australian made. The question that has to be asked is what constitutes the right to call a product Australian made. By the book, any product that is significantly modified in Australia may be called Australian made. Often the case is cheap Chinese made TV antennas, with finishing touches added in Australia that have infiltrated the market without any suspicion to the customer.
The only TV antennas made in Australia I have seen that have lasted the test of time were manufactured in the 1960s to 1990s by Hills Antenna and TV Systems, easily identified by the bright orange coloured element supports and balun housing. It’s not uncommon to see these last 40 years before failure, with some still in service to this day. Apart from overall great construction the clever design of the balun housing shields the connection point from water, and keeps water away from it incase of moisture ingress into the housing. These truly are excellent Australian made TV antennas which no longer are available.
Commonly used TV antennas currently made in Australia have a very heavy duty design and are also prone to failure. Some brands and models are a regular on the removal scene while others are beginning to show their weak points, from poor design choices. Here are two commonly removed TV antennas that are actually made in Australia, and how they fail.
This TV antenna is number one on the removal scene, some failures we have seen as early as 2 years while others fortunately do last quite a decent amount of time depending on the area. What happens is that water somehow enters the PCB enclosure, there are two of them so even more points of failure. The circuit board is not lacquer coated so the tracks, components and solder joints eventually rust, and there are no drain holes. This has often been mistaken incorrectly for F connector boots that are incorrectly fitted, however our antenna man in Perth has found failures even when the cable boot is perfectly fitted. Matchmaster has recently revised this TV antenna and added two drain holes at the bottom of the balun enclosure.
The second Australian made TV antenna in Perth we are seeing failures on is the strongest built TV antenna on the market, and is the best choice for when impact resistance is required. We installed many of the first of these back in 2012 when they released however have always been quite cautious of the design, mainly the sealed balun enclosure. The issue is the only real test that shows how a TV antenna will last is time. As with anything when a proven design gets discontinued for a new design there is always a list of unknowns that can cause issues. The failures we have seen have been water entry into the balun housing with faulty units being removed from between 4-7 years. The water creeps down to the lowest point of the enclosure which is there the F connector is, and can also corrode the cable.
The next examples are TV antennas that are marketed or put together in such a way that they can be called Australian Made, when they are assembled in another country, or a generic design engineered overseas and modified in Australia. It’s an easy way for installers to keep their quotes down and tell their customers they are getting an Australian made TV antenna. Below are some models that don’t last very long.
This first example is of a TV Antenna claimed to be manufactured in Australia. The manufacturer often had little or no contact details or web presence, the only leed was a photo of TV antennas being stockpiled or put together in a backyard shed. While this is a very commonly used antenna and has proven to be reliable and acceptable value for money for most customers, we often see defects as soon as 18 months with these. We had been advised they were silicon sprayed, however close inspection revealed no traces of silicon being used. This antenna has been often revised throughout the years with positive improvements.
The second example is a similar looking antenna with thin arms in a smaller form factor again being claimed to be Australian made. No information has been provided to verify the authenticity of the product. While this TV antenna has various anti corrosion protective layers, a robust weather cap fastened with a screw, we had found that they caused random picture break up during windy weather, which were often hard to diagnose for the customer due to the intermittent nature of the fault condition. This caused costly callout fees and further costs to the customer for diagnosis of what was once a cheap antenna installation job to begin with.
While globalization and free trade can be a great thing, it allows a space for dodgy operators to grow within a specialized trade and industry that most professional antenna technicians simply do not want to be a part of.
What we see is that we have experienced failures from commonly used Australian made TV antennas and also TV antennas made overseas, the best antenna is the one that a reputable installer recommends for the application and the method in which it’s installed plays a big factor in how long it will last. TV antennas manufactured with a low cost as a requirement, with little local enterprise or engineering input and R&D leads to a product that while may be true to its specifications, is inferior in the quality an Australian would expect. This sort of product can never be coupled with long warranty periods that bear no relationship to it’s reliability, therefore a $150 Australian made, Australian quality antenna job, like the tooth fairy, is a myth.
We ask all clients and non clients to research the reputation behind the people offering the product and service and make an educated decision that can save them money in the long run.