Youview signal drops every few seconds

RatzUk

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Last week I had a freeview aerial installed so I can receive signal for my new bt uhd youview box.

I have a problem that every 10 seconds ( all the time, never misses) the signal drops out completely for about half a second. Signal strength and quality drop to 0%
Usual signal is 60% strength and 100% quality that is with a booster on the mast, he did turn this down as initially it was 100% strength and quality

The engineer says the local radar station is to blame, it's a mile away in the other direction a type 93 MoD radar. However I know of no other person with this issue in my immediate viscinity. He says it's the best signal he can get and I will have to live with it !!!! Apparently there is a small handful of people he knows of with this problem in the surrounding villages.
He has not tried other locations on the roof or aiming the aerial slightly off ( is that worth a try?)

Hoping someone can shed some light on this as the engineer feels he has finished and the shop only wants their £ 188 for the work down

Thanks
Jonny
 
Location is all important!
Where are you and what transmitter? (postcode of a shop, church, school within 100m would help - we don't want or need to identify your precise house!).

What make and model of aerial is installed? Does it have a balun by design or added circuit?
Log periodics and Grid aerials have the best front to back ratio if the interference is 180 degrees off the bearing to the transmitter.
What cable is used (satellite style Cu-Cu-Cu is preferred).
Is a masthead amplifier really needed? What make / model?
Did the tech remove the amplifier and direct connect to the STB/TV, thereby eliminating the amplifier electronics overloading as a cause?

IF there is interference from a MoD source it may be faulty (RAF Trimingham caused car breakdowns in Norfolk around 2006 with a Type 93, but that kit's long gone according to Wikipedia.)

These people Radio & Television Investigation Service would be the place to contact - and your installer could help by providing, (with permission, of course) a list of locations where this problem exists, to them. {The R&TIS would call on Ofcom to trace and eliminate the interference source, once convinced it is the case.}

Other things that can cause such regular interference are faulty electric fence high voltage generators, if in the countryside...
 
Upon further research you are quite right on the radar type locally.
It is a Lockheed Martin tps-77 and confirmed it scans approx 6 times a minute which is more than coincidental that every 10 seconds it messes with my aerial.
My postcode is nr118jd. I am in the middle of a small estate and still the only one I know of with this issue.
I don't know makes and models of any equipment installed as of right now but will reply when I do
Thanks
 
The wiki says it is a TPS-77 long range radar operating on Frequency Band (D/L) – 1215 to 1400 MHzso has a rotational period 5/10 or 6/12 RPM. Your proximity to the radar would lead to suspect that it's that which is causing the problem. Your local TV man should know about these things. Possibly a 4G filter will ease the problem. If not, give the Senior Engineering Officer (SEngO) at Neatishead a bell and see what he says.
 
TAC is on a bearing of 202 degrees, 45km distant. The radome would be circa 300 degrees +/- 5 by my rough estimate (1.6 km away).

If this was plain interference due to location of the radar absolutely everyone within 100m of your home would suffer the same (and it would be worse on the route towards the radar. Talk to your neighbours.

Does the TV have a Freeview tuner? Does it also suffer the same?

BT You View boxes had a reputation of 'plastic cases' rather than metal = poor screening of unwanted signals ... don't know if this applies to the new UHD variants?

Poor quality cabling and poorly shielded amplifiers may be the culprit? Any current model should have 4G / LTE filters built in! Check if your installer is a member of the http://www.cai.org.uk/
 
The depth of knowledge on this thread is impressive, and Rodders asked one very important question.

Does any other of your Freeview equipment suffer from this?
 
its definitely not the bt box or my tv.
When the aerial was fitted I saw on my TV the glitching and mentioned it, the engineer unplugged tv and connected his box of tricks. He could see the wave signals on his screen go crazy every 10 seconds.

I mentioned all this to the bt guy who fitted my you view box and he said it sounded like a faulty booster box on the mast.

Very grateful for all your responses
 
Take the 'booster box' out of circuit (if there is one fitted). You probably don't need it anyway. It could be the radar overloading the head amp 'booster box'. If the aerial fitter saw it on his 'box of tricks' then he should have done something about it there and then not left you with the problem. Did he have a revolver strapped to his leg and arrive on a horse?:)
 
Take the 'booster box' out of circuit (if there is one fitted). You probably don't need it anyway. It could be the radar overloading the head amp 'booster box'. If the aerial fitter saw it on his 'box of tricks' then he should have done something about it there and then not left you with the problem. Did he have a revolver strapped to his leg and arrive on a horse?:)
Careful!
The booster amp is on the mast! There will be a power supply box behind the TV. Remove that and the amp stops working = no signal at all! (Except any direct pickup on poorly screened leads).
The fitter should have used the metering box of tricks on the roof to determine if the aerial received signal alone suffered the same or only when amplified.
A different amplifier make, a different aerial (it might be possible to place the radar signal in a null while TAC is still in main lobe), different location (to use the building as a shield from the radar), extra filtering of the radar frequencies before the amplifier, may all need addressing.

Heck, it may all be as simple as that dodgy contract aerial with no balun that has been fitted... Or a poorly made plug.

As the installers have failed to supply a working system (one breaking up every 10 seconds is unusable) then a call to Trading Standards may be in order, for advice?
A Shop was mentioned: Hughes Electrical? If so, why not call the aerial firm in All Saints Way, Mundesley for his view on interference from Trimmingham locally (assuming they were not the installers)?
TJT1's advice to call the radar operators is also sound... they might have a simple fix the aerial firm can apply. RAF Neatishead - Contact Us
 
Sound advice, but I didn't mean just to switch it off, I meant what I said "take the 'booster box' out of circuit " (if there actually is one). This to me implies disconnecting the box's input and output and join the cables together. However I admit that I wasn't that specific in my post and also appreciate that if it's 'up a mast' is isn't as easily done as it is said.
 
I have a friend who lives in All Saints Way and they frequently have problems during periods of high pressure when transmissions from the Netherlands can blot out UK television. Some people use the Talcolneston Transmitter whilst others turn the aerials to Overstrand. There is a cluster of fill-in transmitters in North Norfolk for some reason or other.

To my knowledge there are no cowboys in the area, but they did have a murder about a year ago because a guy took exception to his wife spending too much time, and money, on shopping channels.
 
Compare the digitaluk predictions for ASW NR11 8BY and the OP's given postcode and you will see that one is very likely to suffer continental interference c.f. the other (all green except COM7 and L-NOR).
The transmitter used, Vp, the other side of Overstrand will be West Runton, but is predicted worse for the house number I randomly selected. Overstrand must be interference limited coverage to not be shown for either postcode! Overstrand relays Runton which relays TAC.
The relays are for two reasons: correct regional news (Belmont romps in on the North Norfolk coast) and to counter continental interference.. hence new relays for the East coast at DSO.
 
Well the same engineer came back and didn't like the fact I had 'looked on the internet' for advise.
Still maintained nothing could be done and blamed the MoD for a faulty radar.
The other half who was at home when he called wouldn't accept this and demanded he fixed it or took it away. He reluctantly removed the pole so the aerial attached directly to the chimney, presumably making the top of the roof act as a shield !!
It actually worked.
End result is a working signal and knowledge never to use this firm again.
For a family run business that has 3 local shops I am truly gobsmacked at the terrible service and attitude I have received.

Thank you all for your help and suggestions,
Jonny
 
Result!! :clap:

The roof might help attenuate the unwanted radar a little (6-12dB?) but my money is on a dodgy connection that he found while up there, unless he's removed or replaced the amplifier with one that's more immune. :censored:
 
So he said nothing could be done then promptly did something about it then? :facepalm: The faulty radar was the S band T93 years ago. I believe the phase shifters on the array would go faulty, causing the beam not to form properly.
Anyway, let's hear it for your HWMBO. She was, and it worked. Result.
 

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