Can somebody please tell me if there is any noticable difference qualitywise between a plastic and a metal aerial connector (the bit that the wire goes into to plug into aerial socket)?

If I have to fit one myself I prefer metal ones as they are more robust. However normally I buy aerial cable with the plugs already moulded on as they are generally reliable.  

If you were building a new house I would suggest opting for wall plates with connectors used for satelite TV dishes (called F-Series). They are better quality and can also be used for regular TV. Obviously you need a regular plug to go into the TV but places like Maplin sell cables with F-Series on one end and regular TV aerial on the other.

If you have a recieption problem let us know.

Alot of people use the F plugs on leads, and then use the converters to change it to a standard UHF male or female.

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Could be the hot and humid weather this week. You gone digital yet or is that not an option in your area yet?

Yes digital TV needs an aerial - in fact depending on your area you might even need a different aerial. I rigged up my own in the loft and get the best reception I've ever had.

Currently digital transmitters are broadcasting at reduced power so they don't interfere with the analogue ones. This causes a lot of problems that should go away once switchover occurs and they boost the power.

If you have an old VCR you can probably connect a freeview box to that and connect the VCR to the TV.

Back of the set boosters can work but they aren't normally the best solution and can even make things worse depending on what the problem is.  Good practice in weak signal area is to fit a big aerial of the right type as high as possible. Should be mounted outside not in the loft.

If and only if a big aerial still doesn't give a strong enough signal then you can consider a mast head amplifier (eg a booster mounted at the top of the mast next to the aerial).

There are technical reasons why a mast head amplifier is better than one behind the set. For example it amplifies the signal before it's attenuated by the cable down to the TV. All amplifiers add noise to the signal as well as amplifying it so you have to be sure that a weak signal is the problem and that you already have a good aerial installation before considering one.

If the aerial and the cable from the aerial down to the TV is quite old then consider getting both replaced before you go much further.

> we won't be getting digital in this area until 2012?

Ah I see. Trying to recieve digital TV in an area not due to recieve it is pretty difficult or impossible. If you type your postcode into this site and play with the height option it will give you info on what sort of recieption might be possible. It's quite technical though. Otherwise tell us your full post code (if ok with that) and we can see what it says...

http://www.wolfbane.com/cgi-bin/tvd.exe?MAP=661,936

He's been known to walk on water, too.

Funny you should say that, 'cos our aerial man has something of the night about him and I'm sure I saw him perching on the ridge with his head pulled down into his shoulders.