TV signal problems - HELP

Rubashov29

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Hello

I am hoping someone can help me with my tv signal problems.

Over the last few months I have had very intermittent tv signal and in the past few weeks it has gone completely. I am a TalkTalk customer and use their YouView box. I have tried all of the following, to no avail:

1. Retune the YouView box, this finds internet channels only but no antenna channels, e.g. BBC, ITV, Channel 4 (the ones I want).
2. I tried updating the software on the YouView box. This did nothing.
3. I tried bypassing the Youview box and connected the aerial cable directly into the tv which has built in freeview. I get a signal strength that jumps between 0 and 100 and a very pixelated image.
4. I tried a new aerial cable. This did nothing.
5. I tried moving the tv to a second aerial socket in the house. Signal strength was even worse.
6. I spoke to my neighbours. We live in a flat sharing the same aerial. Nobody else has any problems.
7. I tried connecting a borrowed tv. This did nothing.
8. Lastly, out of desperation, I called TalkTalk. I was only told to turn my YouView box off and on again, retune, etc. Knew it would be a waste of time. They said they would send an engineer but I don't see what it will achieve as it does not appear to be a problem with their box.

I am out of ideas. Would be very happy if someone has any suggestions.

Thank you.
 
Welcome to the forum.

A common cause of this sort of problem is interference from the HDMI cable affecting UHF reception.

You need to do a few tests to determine whether or not this may be the culprit.

This would involve switching off any and all peripheral devices that may be connected to the TV by HDMI, disconnecting all HDMI leads.
Now connect the aerial solely to the TV and see if you get reliable reception under these circumstances.

If you do, then you have isolated the cause and remedies can be considered.

If this is not the problem, then you may have another local interference source so try isolating other items such as wireless routers etc.

If no success then look to the aerial installation itself.
 
EDIT. And what he said. ;=) 'cause I hadn't thought of that:blush:

It seems that you have a dodgy freeview TV signal. You are of course right. No amount of resetting the box will fix that. Presumably you are connecting your box to a wall-plate? If so, unscrew it and look for a good not shorted out, connection. If that seems OK, get on to your landlord, as it's either the down-lead to your flat or the other end is disconnected from the distribution system.
 
Thank you for the comments. I have tried removing hdmi cables, but this made no difference. I opened the wall plate socket. Everything looked fine, I could see the exposed copper wire were the sheathing had been cut back. This was firmly held in place under a small screw.

I did notice that the aerial cable pulled out of the socket very easily, it wasn't a tight fit. Perhaps it's not making a good connection? Think I'm just plucking at straws.
 
Probably, but squeeze the inner connector a bit so that it deffo makes good contact with the pin on the plug.
Was the inner of the coax firmly attached as well as the screen?
 
My suspicion is the communal aerial has a fault.

While most frequently some or all the other neighbours will be affected it is possible that an issue has occurred on the cable/connections to your outlet only from the system... {Alternatively if yours is the furthest outlet from the amplifiers it may exhibit a fault before those nearer to it, with a stronger signal.}

In the meantime, it would be worth taking your YV box to a neighbour's aerial outlet and retune it... then don't retune again, until the aerial fault is rectified; as it will allow you to check if / when the signals improve. At least you can use catchup via the internet to watch the most important programmes in the meantime!

The wallplate / connections should form part of the communal aerial as, for safety, it must be of the isolating type. In theory you should not touch this as it is not yours ;) --- but I would do the same as you have already! and if TJT1's 'connection adjustment' doesn't fix things then I think you should talk with your Landlord (if renting) or building maintenance managers (if owned) to get the feed to your flat checked out.

Good luck with sorting this before the holidays.
 
Good suggestion of retuning using a neighbour's aerial.

Whatever the cause of the problem, the frequent retunings could mean that the unit is now tuned to the wrong transmitter, if it was done whilst the system was in fault mode, resulting in reception looking poor, even if and when the system is not in fault mode.

@Rubashov29 If you are able, and you know which transmitter you should be receiving from, it is possible to find out which RF channels you should receive and check that the unit is actually doing that on the appropriate channels.
 
In that case it is not fitted properly. It should be soldered:
:rotfl: I have never seen a <wallplate socket to TV plug connection> that is soldered... that would make it very, very difficult to change the fly-lead.
OP said the plug pulled out of the wallplate easily not the cable out of the plug! :facepalm:
 
The wallplate / connections should form part of the communal aerial as, for safety, it must be of the isolating type.

Not necessarily. If the cables are correctly earth bonded at the headend isolation is not required.
 
I have purchased a new wall plate. Will fit it tomorrow and let you all know what happens. Fingers crossed. Thanks.
 
Not necessarily. If the cables are correctly earth bonded at the headend isolation is not required.
OOPS!!! I'm stuck in a time-warp. You are correct.

Isolation plates are no longer allowed in modern installations (and probably for some considerable time) :BLUSH: ... and proper equipotential bonding (4mm^2 minimum) of all coaxial cables and distribution kit is mandatory now under the wiring regulations. {As a further embarrassing DOH from me, isolating plates could not work in IRS systems as the satellite signalling need dc pass-through to operate. So I should have realised the practice had been out of date for a long time.}

Of course, isolating plates on existing (older) installs MUST be replaced with isolating plates to maintain inter-flat electrical safety.
 

When a aerial or dish is shared between one or more properties and a powered device like a aerial amplifier or lnb is installed there is a small possibility of a electrical fault on one property transferring hazardous voltages from one property to another. This is because invariably adjacent properties are connected to a different phase on the supply cable. If you connected a voltmeter from a live connection to the same next door it would produce a reading of around 415V. The small series isolating capacitor in an isolated outlet has negligible impedance at RF frequencies, at 50Hz it would reduce the potential current to way below a value that would cause any problems. Voltage does not kill you, the current through your body does. Earth bonding ensures the return current returns to the fault source.

In a modern installation the difference in current between the live conductor and the neutral conductor is measured by a RCD (Residual Current Detector). Any difference could be passing through your body. A RCD will remove the voltage source in a period that will be fast enough to save your life (fast enough in fact to not even realise you had a shock).

This only applies to the single coax connection that is shared with others.
 
Thanks for that GLT, but what I was actually querying was the fact that Rodders said that "isolating plates on existing (older) installs MUST be replaced with isolating plates". He also said "Isolation plates are no longer allowed in modern installations". So why would you replace an existing isolating backplate with an isolating backplate? Or did he mean that non-isolating plates must be replaced with isolating plates? Or did he mean that isolating plates must be replaced with non-isolating plates? Or have I just missed the point as usual?
 
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Thanks Graham - better explanation than I'd have given!
Older communal aerial installs will not be earthed so the isolating plate safety feature MUST be retained until the communal system is re-vamped / upgraded / replaced with a modern compliant earthed one (and all tested out by a competent person).
If an isolating one is replaced by non-isolating in old communal systems the risk of electric shock (under fault conditions) is introduced and that could injure someone...
 
If an isolating one is replaced by non-isolating in old communal systems the risk of electric shock (under fault conditions) is introduced and that could injure someone...
Yes, I understand that, so I now assume that what was meant was that an old unearthed isolating plate must be replaced with an earthed one? It's the fact that you appear to have said that one must be changed for the same type that's confusing me.
"I am a Bear of Very Little Brain, and long words Bother Me"
A. A. Milne
 
Yes, I understand that, so I now assume that what was meant was that an old unearthed isolating plate must be replaced with an earthed one? It's the fact that you appear to have said that one must be changed for the same type that's confusing me.

The plate itself is not earthed, many are plastic in fact. The earth bonding is at the common point of the installation. This means the commoned coax screens are all earthed back to a common point.

Without this the coax screen is floating and could become live with no earth current, until you touch it - ouch :devil:

Examples


lnb grounding block - Google Search
 
So why MUST you replace an isolated wallplate with an isolated wallplate?
 
So why MUST you replace an isolated wallplate with an isolated wallplate?

This is only true for the wallplate that contains incoming services from a communal install, and it's because you have no way of telling if the communal setup is properly earth bonded (though you could check the coax screen is connected to earth). Sometimes isolated outlets are used at other points where they aren't needed say ones connected to your own TV distribution amplifier.
 
Have you left out an "un"?
No. Which was the cut and thrust of my point. But have twigged that rodders was talking about replacing an old broken isolated wall plate on an existing old system. And GLT has explained above as to why.
 
Hi

Just to let you all know, I located the problem. It was the aerial amplifier. I spoke to someone in the local electrical shop. He told me that they usually last only 5 years. As mine was 10 years old he thought this might be the problem. I fitted the new amplifier and the problem was solved.

Happy ending.
 
Well you never mentioned an aerial amplifier before. And if you are on a shared system you should not need one as it should be designed to deliver the correct signal to each customer.
Where is this amplifier installed?
 

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