Channel 5 Problems

TheDevil2004

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Hi there

I have a HUMAX hard disk recorder with integrated digital downstairs and all channels are fine, upstairs I have a Phillips digital box and for some reason channel 5 just keeps flickering, jumping, sound interuption as though the signal is really bad.

Both digital boxes use the same internal attic aerial, and if the digital box downstairs is turned off it makes no difference. I have checked all leads etc. Solutions?

Do I need some sort of booster in the attic, I have been looking at a few but the problem I am finding is they need to plug into a plug socket which there are non of in the attic, only lighting cables which I could join into with a junction box, but, will the voltage be right?

Anyway, any help/suggestions are greatly appreciated.
 
Hi Devil, you don't say how the two sets are fed from the aerial. If there are just two co-axes coming off the one aerial that could well be the trouble, as it causes mismatches in the system. A proper two-way distribution amplifier is the preferred method.
 
Just a long shot but a friend had channel 5 doing same things the other week with her Digifusion FVRT200 and a reboot cleared it. Only take a minute and can do no harm; of course you may have already tried that :) .

Richard
 
TheDevil2004 said:
Do I need some sort of booster in the attic, I have been looking at a few but the problem I am finding is they need to plug into a plug socket which there are non of in the attic, only lighting cables which I could join into with a junction box, but, will the voltage be right?
With all due respect, if you don't know the voltages of mains and lighting please don't go trying to do DIY electrics. Apart from the safely aspects, in some instances, installing extra wiring without having it tested by a correctly trained person is now illegal and may make it impossible for you to sell your house without the test certificate.

As for your original problem, you need to determine whether the fault is down to signal strength or quality. A low signal strength does not necessary mean that you will have a problem - what it does mean is that you may be susceptable to interference in the internal wiring. You may also have a decent signal strength but poor quality.

I would suggest using the signal quality/strength indicators in both Freeview boxes and see if there is much difference - you may need to use the same box for both for consistency of reading. This may highlight if the problem is with signal strength, the main aerial down lead or a quality problem with the link to the bedroom.

Whilst I realise that you have checked all the leads, the may be problems in the connectors and sockets that are harder to determine whether they are at fault. Viewing an analogue signal can also help in tracking down problems where there may be lines or sparkles on the picture that would be masked with the digital picture. These could indicate interference from mains, boilers, fridges etc.
 
Thanks for the information guys, where do I start?

I have one aerial in the attic with the cable coming out of it, then a little white box that it plugs into, I then have 2 seperate aerial cables that plug into the little white box, 1 goes to the downstairs TV and 1 goes to the upstairs TV. The cabling is brand new (new build house) and analogue TV is perfect picture on both TV's. Digital boxes are connected by scart leads to TV's.

I have tried re-scanning the channels if that is what you mean by a re-boot, but, this has not helped. If this is not the case then how do I re-boot a Phillips digibox? the box itself isnt the cheapest on the market at £45.00 squids and I have taken it back for an exchange, however, the problem still remains.

The signal strength on channel 5 downstairs is about 80%, upstairs it is in the region of 45-50%, how can this be using the same aerial???, the picture on 5 upstairs is really blocky and the sound keeps stopping, I have other channels upstairs that have a signal of 45-50% that are perfect picture and sound. I cant understand how just one channel has a problem.

I wont undertake any electrical DIY as my cousin is an electrician, if you think I require some kind of booster in the attic then can you recommend one for me to buy, once again I really appreciate all your advice, seems a lot of hassle for one channel (not a very good one at that), however, Im a perfectionist.

Thanks again.
 
A reboot just means pulling the power plug while the machine is fully powered up. Leaving for a minute and plugging back in. Often fixes things with micro chips. :)

Richard
 
TheDevil2004 said:
The signal strength on channel 5 downstairs is about 80%, upstairs it is in the region of 45-50%
You don't say how you measured it. Do it with the same receiver, as suggested above. If there's a big discrepancy, that suggests a faulty cable or connector. Was everything working OK previously or is this a new installation?
 
Try a different box upstairs - could be a weak box
 
Thanks for your comments. This is a new installation, just noticed that a few other channels have the same problem, Price Drop TV & Bid TV are they all in the same broadcasting group?
 
It seems the channels that I cannot receive are all in Multiplex A | 64 QAM, any ideas why? I have been told in the past that this requires an aerial upgrade!! however, I do not agree as 1) The aerial is an upgraded digital aerial 2)the box downstairs using the same aerial is fine.

Any advice.
 
TheDevil2004 said:
It seems the channels that I cannot receive are all in Multiplex A | 64 QAM, any ideas why? I have been told in the past that this requires an aerial upgrade!! however, I do not agree as 1) The aerial is an upgraded digital aerial 2)the box downstairs using the same aerial is fine.

Any advice.

As before try a different box SDN can be a very weak multiplex 64QAM is a hinderance, usually BBC MUX is the strongest as it is 16QAM and in a strong part of the spectrum
 

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