[Sus]

I have programed my digital tele in upstairs and its plugged into the aerial in the loft but i still dont get any signal. Can someone advise me if i need to change the aerial or would a booster help I really havent a clue about these things, and my daughter got a freeview tv for christmas and wants to be able to watch it too.

 

[Rich]

How old is the aerial in the roof and has it ever recieved a digital signal in the past?

 

[Stevieb]

Is it a new digital aerial Sus with the freeview it has to be one of the upgraded aerials you will know because they are a lot bigger

 

[Scully]

Theese things can go on for ever, you get one booster - not good enough, so try another... etc. etc. etc

I would look up a TV engineer, get them to come round, test the strength of the signal, re-align the ariel, an re-wire the ariels if required.

I think the last time I had someone round it was about £80.

 

[DurhamLad1973]

Ive had same problem Sus, we have changed one of the spare rooms into a bit of a den for our daughter, and bought her a new telly for Xmas, there is a tv arial point in there but it hasnt been used for a few years.

Xmas day and I plugged telly in and set it away tuning itself in and no channels to be had either digital or analogue, tried it in another arial point and its fine..............got me beat.

Phoning the arial fella tomorrow. If/when he come out Ill let you know what he says.

 

[Sus]

The aerial on outside of house has been there since dot and i have a my sat dish too for the sky downstairs. Think i will phone a wee tv man to come look at it. Will my daughters tv need to have an aerial cable running from her tv too cos i dont have that and i dont really want a hole drilled into the ceiling if i can help it

 

[Rich]

QUOTE(Sus @ 28 Dec 2009, 08:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>The aerial on outside of house has been there since dot and i have a my sat dish too for the sky downstairs. Think i will phone a wee tv man to come look at it. Will my daughters tv need to have an aerial cable running from her tv too cos i dont have that and i dont really want a hole drilled into the ceiling if i can help it

Sounds like you will need an new aerial, and they will be switching off analogue TV over the next year so you will need one anyway.

They can route aerial cables around the house quite discreetly, so don't worry about it too much.

 

[treborrobert2]

QUOTE(Sus @ 28 Dec 2009, 08:34 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I have programed my digital tele in upstairs and its plugged into the aerial in the loft but i still dont get any signal. Can someone advise me if i need to change the aerial or would a booster help I really havent a clue about these things, and my daughter got a freeview tv for christmas and wants to be able to watch it too.

Sus, I was a tv/brown goods engineer in a previous career and I'm not sure the aerial is to blame. Unless you are in a particularly poor signal area you should get a picture with a coat-hanger, if you can get analogue picture with a loft aerial then that is a good sign as poor areas tend to need chimney/roof mounted antenna's.

Can you get pictures on another tele using the same aerial?

Other things to check are the aerial input on the back of the tv - digital tele's tend to have separate aerial inputs for analogue and digital channels. Also is your local transmitter vertically or horizontally polarised? (should the loft antenna be mounted flat or on its side?)

A word of warning for all members using roof-mounted antennas, make sure that rainwater cannot enter the co-axial cable, I saw loads of vcr's written off due to water entering the vcr and corroding the tuner (possibly the most expensive componant in the video) and never covered by the guarantee. So make sure the cap is on the antenna and that the coax cable doesn't chafe on the guttering in the wind.

If you do need a new aerial get it mounted outside nice and high with quality co-ax ie satelite type, the stuff with the foil shield and the sticky stuff inside

 

[Sus]

Cor blimey that just went completely over my head

. Upstairs i can get a sort of picture on freeview with just the aerial plugged into back of tele but you cant watch (it looks like a jigsaw puzzle all broken up) or hear the programes and i dont have all the free view channels. It says that i only have half signal. I have not programed the tele in downstairs cos i just watch through sky and anything technical is beyond me

. Looks like a wee tv man will be getting a phone call in the near future.

 

[Rab ST]

new digital aerial reg and some new leads. sometimes the coax cables can fail with damage or water/dampness.
also have a look were other people aerials are pointing normally a good sign were the best signal is coming from.

 

[Lancastrian]

Sus, you more than likely have a Yagi aerial which is not ideal for DTT.

A wideband aerial would suit, but as they normally give a lower signal strength.

However,

It is likely that the TV aerial on the house points 8km south toward the transmitter at Barskeoch Hill, which you probably cannot receive a reliable Freeview service from (but you can watch analogue channels).

The aerial could also point 30km west-southwest toward the transmitter at Cambret Hill, which you probably cannot receive a reliable Freeview service from (but you can watch analogue channels).

Note: these predictions are based upon a rooftop aerial mounted 10 meters above ground level. They are based on a central point in the postcode area. Local terrain and increased aerial height may make more (or less) services available.

BUT....a loft mounted aerial will not provide a good enough signal in any case.

Your nearest registered digital installer is:

Chris Brew
Trading as C And D Airsat Ltd

Mobile: 0754 5502274

 

[Alb]

If your local transmitter is indeed one of the two mentioned above you can tell which it is as the signal is polarised vertically for one and horizontally for the other. You don't need to know what this means but look at your aerial and if the elements point up and down you are probably with Barskeoch whilst if they go from side to side you are with Cambret Hill.
Either way, there is no change of aerial group as a result of the switchover from analogue to digital so it is most unlikely that you require a different type of aerial for digital TV unless it is actually defective.
The bigger issue is simply the fact that you have it sited in the loft. Digital TV is transmitted at a MUCH lower power level than analogue so the effect of putting the roof between the aerial and the transmitted signal is much greater for digital than analogue. You may be lucky if you are very close to the transmitter but otherwise external mounting is always going to be better if not essential.

 

[Sus]

QUOTE(Alb @ 30 Dec 2009, 05:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>If your local transmitter is indeed one of the two mentioned above you can tell which it is as the signal is polarised vertically for one and horizontally for the other. You don't need to know what this means but look at your aerial and if the elements point up and down you are probably with Barskeoch whilst if they go from side to side you are with Cambret Hill.
Either way, there is no change of aerial group as a result of the switchover from analogue to digital so it is most unlikely that you require a different type of aerial for digital TV unless it is actually defective.
The bigger issue is simply the fact that you have it sited in the loft. Digital TV is transmitted at a MUCH lower power level than analogue so the effect of putting the roof between the aerial and the transmitted signal is much greater for digital than analogue. You may be lucky if you are very close to the transmitter but otherwise external mounting is always going to be better if not essential.

The elements go from side to side which means im with Cambret Hill. My aerial is on the roof but my cable goes up into the loft thats what i meant in first post sorry it wasnt clear. I could watch analogue tv with no problems had a good clear picture so Im assuming the signal that is not powerful enough now for digital

. I will sort it out in the New Year, thanks for everyones advise its appreciated.

 

[RB2004]

Aerials are also grouped, so check you get the correct group aerial.

A wideband one is a "general purpose" aerial that will work in almost all areas, but if your area uses a group aerial for the best possible signal get hold of 1 from an aerial specialist. Also try to stick with CAI rated ones. Try, http://www.tvaerials.com try to stay clear of ones from argos, B&Q etc.. they generally arent very good or CAI Rated.

Should be noted though that even in grouped areas most/some installers still use wideband aerials when they arent the most efficient type to use.. purely for convienience so they dont have to carry around tonnes of different group aerials, and can just use a 1 for all aerial.

But if your doing it yourself.. a grouped aerial is highly recomended as you will get a better signal which will require less boosting... boosting works but it also introduces interference into the signal which is never a good thing with digital.. so its always better to start off with a stronger signal rather than boosting to the maximum... also use a masthead amp if you are in a weak signal area as the main source of signal boosting as the nearer you boost the signal to the aerial the less interference that will be introduced.

As previously said also use a CAI rated cable with the foil as it is for digital and the foil shields the cable from interference.

 

[Gordon]

Sus have just seen your post did you get it sorted,have you thought of multi room with sky would solve your problem