Freeview - No reception

jon_boy_uk

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Hi all - I've got a bit of a headscratcher here....

I'm in a newbuild house and as with many, no aerial is provided, but there is a coiled cable in the loft and an aerial point in the lounge ready to be wired.

I bought a high gain aerial (in the loft not on the roof) and installed it, pointed it where it needed to go.

To start, I thought I'd just use the cable the aerial was bundled with, and to connect it directly into a TV in the loft so I could ensure the reception was okay. That worked fine. Then I unhooked the temporary cable, wired in the one that was coiled in the roof, connected a cable from the lounge wall terminal into the same TV, but this time reception. I tried to retune it. Nothing. Not even a sniff if reception (ie the channel scan takes about 20 seconds with no results).

My immediate thought was that the cable built into the house was faulty, or maybe not connected properly. So in the roof, on one end of the cable I connected the copper sheathing to the central core so I could create a loop, popped off the lounge faceplate and used a multimeter to test the continuity, which inevitably was perfect meaning the cable from the loft to the lounge is fine.

What on earth is going on? :-(
 
Go back to step 1.
Tune in the TV on the aerial in the loft on the supplied (quite likely poor quality Philex/SLX?) cable then do not tune it again. It can now be used as a signal check and diagnostic device.

Provide info on the aerial make/model and/or a link to the kit you've bought.
How long was the cable in metres that came with it?

Check the signal strength and quality readings it reports for every received multiplex frequency.
Report those numbers.


Location where are you/what transmitter? (Postcode of a shop/pub/church/school within 100m or so will aid reception predictions).

How is the connection made to aerial? F-plug or screw terminal?
What markings are on the installed house wiring cable(s)? The markings give a clue to the cable quality / manufacturer and the losses it might give. Two or three storey house (how long will the cable from attic to lounge be)?

Double check the connection to the house wiring is right in the loft with no stray whiskers of braid around the centre pin. If F-plug ensure the centre is long enough but also not bent over and shorting to the outer.

Go back to the lounge and check the wall outlet plate is properly made off - or, better, bypass it and use a cable joiner to feed the TV. Even suspect that fly-lead as being faulty or damaged, try others?
Repeat the signal measurements of strength and quality (do not retune) and report - even if zeros!

Connection issues are the most probable, and an easy fix with any luck. You've proved DC continuity exists with the meter so a cable break is unlikely. A short or excess loss is the likely culprit.

That may mean aerial amplification is required. How many TV outlets do you need now / in the future? Is there mains socket(s) in the loft that could be used?
 
Unscrew the faceplate and check connections
when I moved into my new build they‘d simply left the cables hanging in the cavity and had not connected them to the faceplate!
 
Ok, You shorted the cable and checked for short but did you check for open circuit with your short removed? There may be a short elsewhere.
 
Thanks everyone!

So it seems that not all cables are equal.

So the cable I used from the faceplate in the lounge to the TV...ahem....I bought from the Poundland. In my defence it was just to check the reception on a TV before I attempt to use a HDHomeRun Duo box.

What is weird, is that I continuity checked the £1 cable and it was fine.

Anyway, I ended up making a new one using a length from the cable that came with the aerial, and 2 of the spare connecters that came with my £1 kit. Then it worked! That will teach me for buying cheap cables :-/

Incidentally, I have sorted that, but I dunno if any of you guys have experience with an HDHomeRun?Despite the TV now working fine (averaging around 70% signal strength), with the HDHomRun it just doesn't work very well at all.

Here's a clip:

 
How are you feeding the HomeRun device with UHF TV signals and how many tuners (Duo or Quad). Where is it located? Are there other devices close to / on / under it? What is being used for storage?
Computers / NAS Servers / Network switches / Routers can pour out interference. Unshielded twisted pair cables may not contain stuff. Poorly made / cheap coaxial cables let interference in ....

However we need Strength and Quality of each and every received mux frequency on both your TV (make/model) and the Homerun.

Location, for transmitter predictions and signal level estimates etc.,. as I asked for previously.
Plus details of the aerial and cable already installed in the home.
 
Thank you Rodders, I'll do my best to answer :)

  • I'm feeding it UHF TV Signals with this in my roof, and a cable that was supplied in my house (new build). It seems okay and is shielded, however as it's in the roof and walls, I have no means of measuring its length. A logical guess though, I'd say about 5-8m long. It has an F-plug connection to the aerial though.
  • I've checked the cable at both ends for stray braiding whiskers and there aren't any that I can see. It looks to be installed well.
  • Duo Tuners in the HDHomeRun
  • It's located in my lounge which is in the middle floor of 3. The aerial cable connects to a faceplate in the lounge. There is nothing in the vicinity of the device that should cause disruption. Just a sofa.
  • No storage used. I have a NAS but haven't attempted connecting that yet until I can fix the signal. All of that stuff (router/NAS etc lives on my ground floor under the stairs).
  • All cables are shielded
  • I use the Mendip transmitter (I'm in Emersons Green, Bristol. BS16) and I'm approx. 20 miles from the transmitter
  • Generally on the TV the signal quality ranges between 65-75%.
  • Sadly my loft has no power (or ethernet) otherwise I'd plug the HomeHub in up there, with a 1m long aerial cable.
How do I check the S&Q of each and every received mux frequency?

Other than that, I think I've answered all the questions.

On a side note, I did attempt a dialogue with SiliconDust (the HDHomeRun makers) and they suggested this device. I have to say I'm quite sceptical since my aerial already has 4G filtering, that and phone reception where I live is abysmal! I've ordered one to try anyway, but I can't imagine it's that.
 
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This fixed it!
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