Still No BBC

[starman0147]

Hi my freeview box is unable to pick up BBC 1 and 2 among a couple of others.
The freeview box is connected to a booster, which is then connected to another booster. This setup seems to give me the most channels.
When the roof aerial is connected directly to the box I get 44 channels.
Then with one booster plugged in I get 60 then two plugged in I get 88. Though some channels still do not hold a proper picture.

I gather that the best solution is to replace the aerial on the roof to ensure I get all channels however this is not a option as I m a living in a student house and the landlord is a bit of a an arse and wont agree to it!

Therefore I would like to know what is my best option:

1. Get a better booster. (Is there any point. I heard that my current aerial might not be able to pick up all the frequencies. When I currently scan for channels it pick up 5 frequencies. Shouldn’t there be 6?)

2. Get an indoor digital wideband aerial.

3. Although we are not allowed to change the roof areial we do have access to the loft. If we put an aerial in the loft yet still leave the aerial on the roof would they interferences with each other? If I do go for this option what kind on aerial do I need?


Thanks!

[LV426]

We can only give you general pointers, as UHF TV reception varies hugely from place to place, so the specific experience of anyone who doesn't live with you is academic. (By which I mean - the fact I have good signal from a loft aerial is wholly irrelevant to you; I can see a major regional transmitter mast from my bedroom window.......)

a: Indoor aerials are rarely any substitute for a good rooftop aerial with an uninterrupted line of sight to a transmitter. The higher, and the less obstruction (by building materials or trees, etc) the better

b: Each transmitter uses a different range of frequencies for the SIX multiplexes used for Freeview. This in turn means a different aerial type MAY be needed - but this depends on your transmitter. Many transmitters do not require Wideband aerials. Find out what type you need, here:
http://www.dtg.org.uk/retailer/transmitters.html

c: Signal strength is much less important than signal "cleanliness" (quality). Boosters only serve to amplify any garbage that's already present; they do not necessarily improve matters.


Aerials do not interfere with one another, unless they are very very close (less than, say, half a metre).

[starman0147]

So what would you suggest?

Here is what i got at wolfbane.

[LV426]

If that's anything to go by (and I assume it is) they are saying - even if you have an aerial 10 metres (that's 33ft, if you're as old as I am) high from the ground - it still needs to be an amplified extra high gain model. Since they don't come any more sensitive than this, I doubt compromising on the installation location will do you any good at all.

So I can only suggest you overcome whatever obstacles there are and do what Wolfbane says - or wait for the analogue switchoff and hope that the promised increase in power solves the problem for you.

There's no magic cure for a weak signal.......

[SamRadford]

Notice that it's a local transmitter and requires your aerial to be vertically polarised. If you use the loft the the only aerial likely to have enough gain is the DAT75 with an MRD fitted (needs a power supply connected to the cable somewhere before the receiver).

[starman0147]

Originally Posted by LV426

So I can only suggest you overcome whatever obstacles there are and do what Wolfbane says - or wait for the analogue switchoff and hope that the promised increase in power solves the problem for you.

There's no magic cure for a weak signal.......

Switch over is 2012 Hmmm not sure I will be waiting 5 years, might not be in my current house for more than 8 months

I know the current signal is weak, but the aerial seems to be very old, it looks very tatty (had no ladder so had to draw straws to see who will climb up and have a better look! Thank god it was not me!)

However channels on Multiplex B the strength is 9 and after adjusting the aerial a bit most channels were getting 5 or 6 strengths, it’s only Multiplex 1 that does not get picked up at all!

I type my postcode in at http://www.dtg.org.uk/retailer/coverage.html

It says that we can receiver every channel, it also displayed following the readings below

Whitehawk Hill BBC Region: South
ITV Region: Meridian
Switchover: 2012Muxes received: ALL
Compass bearing: 290°
Distance: 18 kilometres
Aerial group: C/D Vertical
Location: Grid Ref TQ330045
Aerial elevation: 172 metres

The aerial group it says we need is C/D vertical. I have had a look at the Maplins website and can not find aerial grouped C/D only wideband ones.
Would a wideband one do? Or are C/D stronger?

Also from the wolfbane predictor I did before it say I need one with extra high gain. I have found one with “high gain” and one with “extra gain”. No extra high gain

Extra gain

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?...o=906&doy=10m2

High gain

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?...98454&doy=10m2

Can anyone suggest me the correct aerial I need. Link please

Thanks

[starman0147]

just point me in the right direction. I would like to get a aerial this week.

[LV426]

Really - you could end up paying out money and getting nothing. Get a CAI installer in. Putting an aerial in the loft in a marginal area is unlikely to give results.

[starman0147]

Originally Posted by LV426

Really - you could end up paying out money and getting nothing. Get a CAI installer in. Putting an aerial in the loft in a marginal area is unlikely to give results.

Its a risk we are willing take. Its only around 10 quid each between us. Yes ideally we would get a CAI installer to get one on the the roof, but as i said before the landlord is not having it and if we go behind his back and install one anyway he will probably claim damage and take a chuck of a our damage deposit.
So can you just suggest an aerial (link) from the readings shown above

Thanks

[LV426]

Just about the most sensitive aerial is this:

http://www.tvaerials.com/product.aspx?productid=33

(Not a personal recommendation of this particular seller, just the first Google result).

[961]

Just sticking my two-penn'orth in (sorry, even older than S.M) I see your transmitter result shows that BBC is only transmitting @ 200watts which is very tiny and probably why you are receiving rubbish BBC1/2. Probably to avoid interfering with another transmitter not too far away (even across the channel)

Can you try the site again to see if there is a distant (higher power main)transmitter available that could be used instead? I appreciate it may be hidden behind the downs but it's worth a try