635 replies to this topic

[alanh]

tekchallenged,
What does your analog TV picture look like?

AlanH

[tekchallenged]

alanh, on Feb 13 2007, 05:59 PM, said:

tekchallenged,
What does your analog TV picture look like?

AlanH

I call Nine and Ten "perfect" but there is actually a bit of ghosting if you look carefully.  Seven has what I call "snow" (don't know if I use the term correctly - it is speckled).  Sometimes it loses colour and if I up the fine tuning by a couple of notches, I can get colour back.  Channel 2 is the real problem, as sometimes it is too bad to watch.   At the moment, it is snowing, colour is strobing on and off, and sound going in and out (on the TV - it is a bit better through the VCR).   Sometimes it loses itself altogether and I can't tune a proper picture at all, and sometimes the sound gets interference like intermittent zapping.   SBS and Channel 31 are complete non-starters.

[alanh]

tekchallenged,
Does it look like any of the pictures in;
Better Television & Radio Reception?

AlanH

[tekchallenged]

alanh, on Feb 14 2007, 05:37 PM, said:

tekchallenged,
Does it look like any of the pictures in;
Better Television & Radio Reception?

AlanH

My opinion is that the closest is "weak signal" but it is more speckly - channel 2 is only B&W at the moment.   Staring at it, it looked a bit like there was a herringbone pattern top and bottom, but not as pronounced as FM or Masthead interference pictures.  More just a pattern of speckles..

[alanh]

Techchallenged,
Is there a hill between you and Bickely, particularly in your local area?

AlanH

[Derek B]

Hi All
I'm in the old part of Hillary's and get good analogue on all channels except for SBS, and excellent digital on all channels except for SBS...is it an SBS thing or do I need an antenna check?
Derek

[alanh]

Derek,
You have not described your installation.
Being a seaside suburb, salt corrosion of antennas is a problem. Since SBS digital is on channel 29 it uses band 4 which requires a narrower but longer antenna. In addition the losses in the cable are higher. So if the cable is degraded by the sun, there is another possible cause. Lastly if it is an indoor antenna you need an outdoor antenna.

AlanH

[tekchallenged]

alanh, on Feb 15 2007, 05:56 PM, said:

Techchallenged,
Is there a hill between you and Bickely, particularly in your local area?

AlanH

I don't know where Bickley is....

[alanh]

tekchallenged,
It is up in the Hills near Lesmurdie.

Four more questions before I can email you!

AlanH

[tekchallenged]

alanh, on Feb 24 2007, 10:14 PM, said:

tekchallenged,
It is up in the Hills near Lesmurdie.

Four more questions before I can email you!

AlanH

Well, depending on where in the hills it is, there is probably a hill there somewhere between there and here LOL. Isn't it the radio tower around here which causes interference?  All I really need to know at this stage is whether it is necessary to rewire the antenna connections, or change the faceplates or anything if I get a new aerial, or whether all of the fiddling around is up on the roof.

[wahroonga farm]

Hi tekchallenged,

Sounds like a pretty old install, so a complete re-wire may be helpful if you have interference problems, and if your up for the cost; but in all honesty most improvement will come from the antenna and it's location.

Of course the internal TV coax wiring may have an inherent fault, which only a good tech will unravel.

Find a neighbour with good digital reception and copy that antenna if you wish to DIY on the antenna. But antenna location is also key for difficult sites (a good tech will also work this out).

You need an stb for each TV.

[tekchallenged]

Thanks, wahroonga farm

wahroonga farm, on Feb 25 2007, 07:50 AM, said:

Sounds like a pretty old install,

No, it's not that old, wahroonga farm.  (I think) that the aerial and antenna point in the lounge was installed circa 2000.  My electrician installed  the antenna points in the spare room and kitchen a few years ago.   I expect that he used "normal" co-axial cable, not this quad- shielded whatever-it-is.  

I have no intention of doing it myself - I will have a tech do it, but I'll leave it until another time if there's a lot of mucking about involved   Last time, the tech just pointed the antenna back where it needed to go and it fixe it, but it obviously needs (at least) a better anchor so it doesn't get blown askew.  

wahroonga farm, on Feb 25 2007, 07:50 AM, said:

You need an stb for each TV.

Hmmm, that will cost a lot....

Can you have digital and analogue sets running off the same antenna, or once you "go digital" it's all digital?

[wahroonga farm]

Yup no problem to tune both dig and analogue as long as the antenna covers all channels (the tv tech will know).

The other technique often used is to purchase an stb with a uhf modulator, there's a thread on suitable ones in the SD decoder section.

You use it like the old analogue VCR's to send an analogue UHF signal to other TV points. Again the TV tech will sort you here as it needs to be set up correctly to ensure no interference.

[tekchallenged]

wahroonga farm, on Feb 25 2007, 11:32 AM, said:

Yup no problem to tune both dig and analogue as long as the antenna covers all channels (the tv tech will know).

The other technique often used is to purchase an stb with a uhf modulator, there's a thread on suitable ones in the SD decoder section.

You use it like the old analogue VCR's to send an analogue UHF signal to other TV points. Again the TV tech will sort you here as it needs to be set up correctly to ensure no interference.

Isn't UHF the way SBS is transmitted (and the reason hardly anybody gets SBS? ) .  If you get that uhf modulator, are you sending just the signal of one channel or is it all channels - ie, do you have to go to another room to change the channel on the box, or do your other tvs (and vcrs?) just work normally?

[Why can't they just leave the tv alone?  I am thinking fondly of the days when we had B&W, if it went bung you twiddled the 2 controls, rearranged the aerial cable, or thumped it on the side.... :D ]

[wahroonga farm]

tekchallenged, on Feb 25 2007, 01:49 PM, said:

If you get that uhf modulator, are you sending just the signal of one channel or is it all channels - ie, do you have to go to another room to change the channel on the box, or do your other tvs (and vcrs?) just work normally?....

Just one channel (the one your currently viewing) so it's a half arsed solution (but suits some). More often done for pay TV.

But digital stb's are getting cheaper, and ......... some day tv's will actually be on sale with a digital tuner on board.

[tekchallenged]

wahroonga farm, on Feb 25 2007, 11:58 AM, said:

Just one channel (the one your currently viewing) so it's a half arsed solution (but suits some). More often done for pay TV.

But digital stb's are getting cheaper, and ......... some day tv's will actually be on sale with a digital tuner on board.

It'd be ok for pay TV, because you'd select only one show to watch.  I channel surf a lot, and watch videos, and I am usually on the computer so I have to constantly rewind it to pay attention to bits I miss, so it probably wouldn't suit me, but it's something to consider.  By the time they abandon analogue (if they ever do, I wonder...) those STB's will come free with your box of weeties, so I don't want to spend serious money at this stage, but if I get the right aerial and everything now, at least it will be "plug n go" when it happens.  Thanks for your help, much appreciated.

[alanh]

tekchallenged,
Look at a street directory. Television Rd Bickely is south of both Kalamunda and Lesmurdie.
This is where the TV comes from. Your interference is from the radio transmitters in Wanneroo Rd Hamersley.

AlanH

[tekchallenged]

alanh, on Feb 25 2007, 12:31 PM, said:

tekchallenged,
Look at a street directory. Television Rd Bickely is south of both Kalamunda and Lesmurdie.
This is where the TV comes from. Your interference is from the radio transmitters in Wanneroo Rd Hamersley.

AlanH

I thought the telly comes from Dianella where the TV stations are - shows what I know   I don't understand why, if the radio tower is going to cause interference, it doesn't intefere with all stations....

[alanh]

techchallenged,
It is unusual to put the studios near the transmitters. This is because you want the transmitters at the highest point to give the greatest coverage area. The signal is either transmitted by microwave or via fiberoptics to the transmitters in Bickely, Lesmurdie and Carmel. They are all in the same area. The ABC studios for TV are in East Perth.

AlanH

[raidersboi]

well like tekchallenged, I have no clue about anything antenna/tv related, I tried reading through all your stickied posts alanh and couldn't understand anything.

Basically, I have a TV Tuner card in my PC, from there I watch TV and usually like to record AFL games just in case I miss them, so I can watch it later (I use to be able to watch it perfectly last year, no problems at all, but all this started a couple of months ago).

I have a FusionHDTV DVB-T Lite, and also bought a Indoor Antenna with Amplifier from Jaycar (model number EU-2675A). after my bunny ear's antenna thing died on me. My problem is that whenever I use my antenna, the signal strength is at 100%, and the dB thing is usually around ~28 during the day, everything is dandy (sometimes i get perfect picture and sound quality, but the picture stops every once in a while, but the audio still goes on .. I just adjust the antenna to fix it), but at night the picture stopping happens all the time, on every channel.

Now I tried plugging it into a my wall socket antenna, and as well as using my indoor antenna, and I still get the same problem, and it seems to only happen at night. I live in North Perth, and the antenna is pretty close to the window, can you please help me or tell me what to do.

edit. antenna linky

UHF/VHF Indoor TV Antenna/Amplifier

This indoor TV antenna includes an amplifier. The amplifier has 24dB gain on VHF and 20dB gain on UHF as well as a gain control. It operates directly from the 240V mains power supply, so no extra plugpack is required. There is an auxilliary input socket also, for connecting a TV game, or any other device.
- Frequency: 40-862MHz
- Gain: VHF 24dB, UHF 20dB
- Gain Control: VHF - 18dB, UHF -13dB
- Noise Figure: 5dB
- Power Supply: 240VAC Mains
- Size: 240(W)x165(D)mm

Edited by raidersboi, 09 April 2007 - 01:54 AM.

[mtv]

raidersboi

You can fiddle around for months buying/trying different antennas and mounting locations and still not get it right.

It would be best to have a competent pro installer do a site test at your location, to determine what your signal strength and quality is, then advise you further.

Without accurate channel power and Bit Error Rate (BER) readings, it's impossible to advise what is best for your particular location and equipment.

[raidersboi]

well, I mean my normal TV and everything works fine for every channel, there is no problems with the signal/quality, it just seems to be the antenna/Tuner card, it has been working perfectly before, so I don't know whats wrong, I had someone come in couple of years ago to test and install an antenna in the roof, and said everything was fine then.

[raidersboi]

After thinking it over, I think it might be the tuner card thats the problem, but I don't really want to fork out more money to buy another card (as it was working a few months back - octoberish), when there is nothing wrong with this card, or if I can buy something to ensure that I can get rid of this image stopping thing and be able to watch tv like I did a couple of months back.

[k00k]

My friend in Daglish has intermittment dropouts with their Ausid HD-1 STB. Seems to happen mainly at night on channel 2. The house is quite old, and so is the antenna, looking at least 30+years old. Can somebody recommend someone to just come out and sort the whole thing? I personally think it needs new coax from the outlet to the roof, and a new antenna. Is this mob a good choice?

http://www.crystalcl...om.au/index.htm

[Luis Syphur]

Is everyone having issues with their signal lately?

Since the weekend only 7 works ok.  Usually all channels have a 'strong' signal (according to the PVR), but 9 is patchy, 10, SBS, ABC & ABC2 don't exist anymore.  

The PVR shows 9 as 'normal' but it's not watchable for long periods as you want to throw something at the screen when it freezes or breaks up. The other stations are at the other end of the scale with a 'poor' reception.

I've been wanting to put it down to the rain but it's rained in the past with no effect to the picture.