70 replies to this topic

[meaghers]

POWERZONE, on May 6 2008, 07:25 AM, said:

Bearing in mind that if you can see the transmitter site your signal will be strong enough to cope with an antenna that's not 100% perfect. Another good guide for which antenna to use is to look around at what the neighbours are using.

Unless of course they're using an indoor antenna which confirms a very strong signal.

Thankfully "rabbit ears" haven't been banned yet

Thanks again every one. I purchased a Hills 'Seeker' UV13 28-50 antenna, plus 10m of RG6 Quad Shield 75 Ohm cable fitted with F Type connectors. Once home, I assembled the antenna iaw the instructions and attached it to the mast pointing towards the Black Moutain Tower.

Back inside to switch on my Samsung LCD TV (Model LA32R81BD) to enjoy some DTV, but to no avail; the telly told me there was no signal. Major bummer  

I get a better picture on analogue than I did before, but still no digital. Just to check if had the polarity correct, I rechecked the posts and believe the antenna is correctly orientated. The UHF elements (multiple short rods) are parrallel to the ground and the other longer rods standing vertical. The cable is connected to the Balun and directly to the TV.

Any ideas, or should accept defeat and call the antenna guys?

Regards,
Greg

[(ツ)]

meaghers, on May 6 2008, 07:24 PM, said:

Thanks again every one. I purchased a Hills 'Seeker' UV13 28-50 antenna, plus 10m of RG6 Quad Shield 75 Ohm cable fitted with F Type connectors. Once home, I assembled the antenna iaw the instructions and attached it to the mast pointing towards the Black Moutain Tower.

Back inside to switch on my Samsung LCD TV (Model LA32R81BD) to enjoy some DTV, but to no avail; the telly told me there was no signal. Major bummer  

I get a better picture on analogue than I did before, but still no digital. Just to check if had the polarity correct, I rechecked the posts and believe the antenna is correctly orientated. The UHF elements (multiple short rods) are parrallel to the ground and the other longer rods standing vertical. The cable is connected to the Balun and directly to the TV.

Any ideas, or should accept defeat and call the antenna guys?

Regards,
Greg

That should've worked. I guess the antenna did have a "balun" installed?

If your still getting analogue but not digital it's remotely possible that the earth connections on the cable aren't 100%.

You may also have to reset the digital reciever as it may have scanned the band, found no stations and saved that setting.

[mtv]

Just a thought,

The TV has two different setups for tuning analogue and digital channels.

You have tuned both haven't you, Greg?

To tune the digital channels:

First, press the TV/DTV button on the remote.

Then press the D.MENU button.

Then select channel auto store.

The procedure is on page 32 of the manual (I think).

[meaghers]

mtv, on May 7 2008, 02:10 AM, said:

Just a thought,

The TV has two different setups for tuning analogue and digital channels.

You have tuned both haven't you, Greg?

To tune the digital channels:

First, press the TV/DTV button on the remote.

Then press the D.MENU button.

Then select channel auto store.

The procedure is on page 32 of the manual (I think).

Dear Col,

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

When I turned on the telly the first time I bought it, it went through its own scan, which I thought would have picked up all the digital stations as well. Of course in hindsight, it would not have found any stations as there was only an analogue antenna installed. Thus re-scanning under the digital signal as you described found all the stations.

What a difference in quality. the HD digitial image is fantastic. I can hardly wait til the weekend to watch the footy in HDTV.

Thank you also to all the others who responded to my quieries too.  This is a great forum and I would be happy to make a donation to its upkeep.

Regards to all,
Greg
PS: I'm off to watch some digital tv!!

[mtv]

Happy viewing Greg.

Pleased you got it all sorted.

[micko_ja]

Guys, I am very new to this, but was hoping to get some help.

I have just purchased an ANTSIG (model 533) UHF only 23 Element antenna (Channels 21 to 69).

I have direct line of sight to Black Mountain, but is this the right antenna? Should I have gotten a UHF/VHF combo?

The guy at the shop assured mt this was the one, but I am very very confused.  All I want is to get all digital channels.

Thanks

[alanh]

micko_ja,
If you want to use Black Mountain you need a VHF/UHF antenna. The type used in nearly all Australian capitals is no good for Black Mountain.
Go to the first post in this strand "Get the best reception" In that post click on the link C34 for a list of appropriate antennas which also includes drawings of what they looklike.

The UHF only antenna is ok for other translator sites around Canberra which you do not need.

AlanH

[micko_ja]

Hey AlanH,

Thanks for that - do you have any thoughts on brands/models to use etc?

I am in Torrens.

Thanks

[Stout]

Hi,

I've had a good read of the information available on this site and done some fiddling with my antenna setup, but am hoping to get some advice before going any further. I don't own the house I'm in, nor the antenna system, but my landlord isn't interested in improving the reception I'm getting, so I'm on my own.

I'm in Jerrabomberra. The house and antenna installation are about 11 years old. It has a combination UHF(horizontal Yagi) and VHF (vertical 2 bay phased array) pointed at Black Mountain. The mast head diplexer and all antenna and wall plate connections use saddle clamps. There is one F-connector 2-way splitter in the roofspace and the cabling is all R59. I'm only using one wall plate, but unfortunately it is at the front of the house while the antenna is at the back, so there is probably 10-15m of coax and a two way splitter attenuating the signal.

When I first moved in, I had barely satisfactory analogue reception with only three watchable channels (ABC and ten were unwatchable). I bought a cheap set top box, not knowing anything about digital TV and found I could only receive the five or so SBS digital channels. I went through the whole antenna system from top to bottom, cleaning and re-terminating all connections, taking about an inch of coax out at each one. My analog reception improved dramatically - ABC and Ten are now watchable, but still not as good as SBS, Win and Prime, which are now good enough to be mistaken for digital channels. I also get most of the digital channels now, though the SNR (from STB display) is over 70 for SBS and only just over 40 for Win, Prime, ABC and GO! I still don't get ANY SC Ten digital channels (which is a little frustrating since motorsport on One HD was the whole point of the exercise) I also know from the experience of a couple of goes at cleaning up the antenna system that SNRs (from my STB) below 40 will not allow me to view the channel, even if the STB can tune it in. I'm therefore very close to the cliff edge for most of the digital channels I can receive. To clarify, the STB currently doesn't pick up any of the SC Ten channels in any way.

The things I have been contemplating next are re-cabling with RG6 quad shield coax direct to the single wall plate I am using (therefore bypassing the splitter). I have also considered moving the antenna closer to the wall plate I wish to use, but this would be a relatively major operation (tile roof, through-roof mast, etc) for a house I don't own.

Before I dive in and do any more, I'd like to be sure I'm on the right track and know if there are other things I should also do. eg: Will changing to RG6 quad shield be enough or will I be wasting my time without a masthead amplifier or shortening the cable length? Do I need a new diplexer with F-connectors? Should F-connectors be used at the connections to the dipoles and wall plates as well? Is the cable and connection type between the wall plate and STB important? Are the screw on F-connectors as good as crimp ones or should I pony up for a crimping tool?

My biggest questions relate to my VHF antenna, as it seems (assuming I have read the info on this site correctly) that I get good reception for all UHF channels (both analogue and digital ones) but relatively poor for all VHF ones...and don't get SC Ten digital channels at all. So I'm wondering if there is something wrong with my VHF antenna, though it looks fine. I've measured the total lengths of the dipole (1480mm) and reflector (1560) rods, which I think is right and with a few exceptions, the neighbours all seem to have similar setups anyway. Is there something special about SC Ten digital (even lower signal strength than other digital channnels?) or VHF digital signals that would make it harder / impossible for my antenna to receive or more susceptible to cable losses?

Appreciate any advice.

Stout

[ryoohki]

.. deleted content

Edited by ryoohki, 09 November 2009 - 08:14 PM.

[alanh]

Stout,
What is the problem with your ABC & Southern Cross reception? On analog is is dots all over the picture or multiple images or a wobbling or rolling picture?

AlanH

[Stout]

G'day AlanH,

On analog ABC & SC, it is mostly a grainy appearance or dots all over the picture as you describe. The picture is generally stable with no wobbling, rolling etc. In poor weather there is sometimes some double images/shadowing, but not usually.

Stout

alanh, on Nov 12 2009, 11:29 PM, said:

Stout,
What is the problem with your ABC & Southern Cross reception? On analog is is dots all over the picture or multiple images or a wobbling or rolling picture?

AlanH

[ricketyclik]

Hi all.  I've been receiving digital signals to my set top box for the last 3 years just fine through my rabbit ears, but over the last few months it's been playing up.  The only difference I can think of is the solar cells that were installed on the roof above the tv just under a year ago, but I didn't notice any problem during last summer.  Any thoughts?

I've tried the recommended indoor antenna from this site, but without power it's only as good as the rabbits ears, and with it gets worse the higher the gain is set.

So I think I'll try an outdoor antenna.  I live in Curtin, and see that the old, disused antenna on the roof is pointing toward Black Mountain, but the spreadsheet download from this site says Woden/Weston Ck should point toward Mt Taylor.  Which is correct?  They have different types of antennae recommended for them, C34 and H5 (the latter for Mt Taylor).  Can anyone shed light on this, and if they know which type of antenna is best for Curtin, recommend a brand/supplier?

Thanks guys.

[Digital Penetration]

Use Black Mountain. Mt Taylor points south, towards Tuggeranong.

Curtin generally has good signal, I just use one of those crummy 100mm mag-base monopoles that come with USB TV sticks on my computer and get excellent reception indoors. My STB is fed from an externally mounted combo yagi (UHF), log-periodic (VHF).

The inverter on your solar cells might be causing interference.

Edited by Digital Penetration, 31 August 2010 - 04:48 PM.

[Spewka]

Digital Penetration, on Aug 31 2010, 04:42 PM, said:

Use Black Mountain. Mt Taylor points south, towards Tuggeranong.

Curtin generally has good signal, I just use one of those crummy 100mm mag-base monopoles that come with USB TV sticks on my computer and get excellent reception indoors. My STB is fed from an externally mounted combo yagi (UHF), log-periodic (VHF).

The inverter on your solar cells might be causing interference.

[Spewka]

I lived in Curtin in the early 1990's.  We were in Collier St (down the bottom towards Woden).
We had crap reception with rabbit ears (Win was worst) with the TV getting the signal from Black Mountain due to being in a shadow
Better check if you have any shadow before spending money

[amypendragon]

We live in the Tuggeranong Valley and have had our 1080p tv for 2yrs now. We simply connected it to the existing external aerial and began watching dtv. Occasionally WIN dropped off the radar so a few weeks ago I bought a cheapy digital remote-controlled antenna from Ebay. We found ourselves having to turn the aerial and tune in the channels on a regular basis as we would lose channels sporadically. So today hubby changed back over to the old aerial . He replugged everything in and thankfully the dvd player, IQ2, subwoofer, and blu-ray player all work fine. Unfortunately though after running the auto dtv tuner about 30 times and in between those tunings running up and down the ladder changing the direction of the aerial the same amount of times, we find we are receiving only SBS channels and nothing else. Why is this so? We pointed the aerial to Tuggeranong Hill, then tried it facing Black Mountain Tower, then Acton..but each time only SBS channels come up (and not perfectly either). HELP!!

Edited by amypendragon, 05 September 2010 - 04:27 PM.

[ricketyclik]

ricketyclik, on Aug 31 2010, 11:54 AM, said:

Hi all.  I've been receiving digital signals to my set top box for the last 3 years just fine through my rabbit ears, but over the last few months it's been playing up.  The only difference I can think of is the solar cells that were installed on the roof above the tv just under a year ago, but I didn't notice any problem during last summer.  Any thoughts?

I've tried the recommended indoor antenna from this site, but without power it's only as good as the rabbits ears, and with it gets worse the higher the gain is set.

So I think I'll try an outdoor antenna.  I live in Curtin, and see that the old, disused antenna on the roof is pointing toward Black Mountain, but the spreadsheet download from this site says Woden/Weston Ck should point toward Mt Taylor.  Which is correct?  They have different types of antennae recommended for them, C34 and H5 (the latter for Mt Taylor).  Can anyone shed light on this, and if they know which type of antenna is best for Curtin, recommend a brand/supplier?

Thanks guys.

Turned out it was the STB.  The rabbits ears work fine with our other set top box in the same position.  How do STB receivers fail, and can they be economically repaired?

[Digital Penetration]

ricketyclik, on Sep 5 2010, 05:12 PM, said:

Turned out it was the STB.  The rabbits ears work fine with our other set top box in the same position.  How do STB receivers fail, and can they be economically repaired?

They probably fail much the same way most other cheap crap electronics dies nowadays - lousy capacitors combined with awful heat dissipation in the design leading to overheating.

Since STB's can be had for less than $50, no-one will economically repair them. But you could open it up and have a look for yourself. It might just be a loose aerial socket and you have nothing to lose (note the correct use of lose and loose in the same sentence!).

[ricketyclik]

Digital Penetration, on Sep 5 2010, 05:21 PM, said:

They probably fail much the same way most other cheap crap electronics dies nowadays - lousy capacitors combined with awful heat dissipation in the design leading to overheating.

Since STB's can be had for less than $50, no-one will economically repair them. But you could open it up and have a look for yourself. It might just be a loose aerial socket and you have nothing to lose (note the correct use of lose and loose in the same sentence!).

Yeah, I replaced some capacitors in a previous PVR with good effect, although it eventually stopped working again too.  I did open this one up - the capacitors all look fine, and the boxes that house the receivers appear to be firmly attached to the motherboard, beyond that I have no diagnostic ability.

I hope you don't get loose with your grammar and lose your kudos for excellent spelling

[NCB619]

Hi there
I recently just moved to Canberra for university, so as I live on campus in Bruce/Belconnen, I have to use an indoor antenna. However, I'm finding trouble receiving Ten/ONE's digital feed with this antenna. I can receive Ten on analogue, but not on digital. Is this because of poor Ten signal in the area? I'm not sure.
I dont know what tower the aerial is pointing towards. Im pretty sure its pointing in a South Eastern direction? Might be black mountain not sure?

Im using an antenna i bought from Dick Smith, L-4017. No amplifier, with  VHF rods, and UHF antenna looking thingo

I was just hoping someone could help out with some tips? Thanks