167 replies to this topic

[M'bozo]

Tony C, on Nov 7 2011, 01:25 PM, said:

Does anyone have suggestions?

At the time of the antenna installation, were you informed of any conditions that may affect reception?

If not, I'd be asking the antenna man if he has any ideas.

What brand/model of television do you have?

Most TV's have inbuilt signal meters, while these generally have no traceable calibration, they can be useful for giving a comparative indication between good/bad channels, or the reception/no reception condition.

[Tony C]

Hi All

We do live on the eastern side of a hill which blocks Tamborine. The antenna man told us about this and has set the antenna to suit. He said that we will only get Brisbane stations as a result, not my preference but better than nothing.

When we have reception is it great, even analogue is not too bad, a little snow but watchable.

When we get the interference it tends to knock out all digital stations, although sometimes we can still get ABC and SBS (no interest to us).

When the digital signal is lost it is usually for long periods of time (couple of hours), and the analogue gets more snow which is barely watchable if at all. It is snowy all over but with thick bands that have more snow, it is not lines.

The antenna is horizontal and pointing north west, approx 310 degrees by google earth.

all help is appreciated

[James T Kirk]

Tony C, on Nov 8 2011, 08:55 AM, said:

Hi All

We do live on the eastern side of a hill which blocks Tamborine. The antenna man told us about this and has set the antenna to suit. He said that we will only get Brisbane stations as a result, not my preference but better than nothing.

When we have reception is it great, even analogue is not too bad, a little snow but watchable.

When we get the interference it tends to knock out all digital stations, although sometimes we can still get ABC and SBS (no interest to us).

When the digital signal is lost it is usually for long periods of time (couple of hours), and the analogue gets more snow which is barely watchable if at all. It is snowy all over but with thick bands that have more snow, it is not lines.

The antenna is horizontal and pointing north west, approx 310 degrees by google earth.

all help is appreciated

Hello Tony

I see you are where I suspected and your installer has chosen to receive Brisbane VHF from Mt Coot-tha, it may be a good choice but unsure at this time.

Can I suggest it's time to meet your neighbours and have a look around at their antennas and see what their reception is like, not a foolproof solution but will gather you some info on what's possible.
Are you able to recognise the difference between a VHF antenna and a UHF antenna? If so what are your neigbours using, what's the polarity and where are they pointing? If you suspect there is a bit of confusion on where they actually get TV from ask them if they can get the 5:30 Gold Coast news on Nine, if they do you know for sure they are not using Brisbane's Mt Coot-tha and are using Mt Tamborine, Mt Springbrook or Currumbin. It may seem surprising that I ask about Currumbin too however there are people there at Pacific Pines who certainly use Currumbin and you can pick them by their vertically polarised UHF antennas.
Let us know what you find.

James

[Tony C]

James T Kirk, on Nov 8 2011, 10:48 AM, said:

Hello Tony

I see you are where I suspected and your installer has chosen to receive Brisbane VHF from Mt Coot-tha, it may be a good choice but unsure at this time.

Can I suggest it's time to meet your neighbours and have a look around at their antennas and see what their reception is like, not a foolproof solution but will gather you some info on what's possible.
Are you able to recognise the difference between a VHF antenna and a UHF antenna? If so what are your neigbours using, what's the polarity and where are they pointing? If you suspect there is a bit of confusion on where they actually get TV from ask them if they can get the 5:30 Gold Coast news on Nine, if they do you know for sure they are not using Brisbane's Mt Coot-tha and are using Mt Tamborine, Mt Springbrook or Currumbin. It may seem surprising that I ask about Currumbin too however there are people there at Pacific Pines who certainly use Currumbin and you can pick them by their vertically polarised UHF antennas.
Let us know what you find.

James

Hi James

I will check with neighbours about their reception and see what they say.

not sure what vhf and uhf antennas look like but I have had a look around and of the other houses on my side of the road 4 are a flat square shape that point west (probably tamborine) and three including mine which point (roughly) the same direction. the two others are like a ladder (equall length rungs) with a vee at the mounting end and mine has uneven length 'rungs' no vee at the base. these three are horizontal

[nbound]

VHF aerials have elements (what you are calling "rungs") that are about 400-500mm or even more.
UHF aerials have smaller elements, probably about 200mm

The three main aerial types are Yagi, Log Periodic, and Phased Array. Google images of those and see what comes up. (note: yagi's exist with and without [but generally with] the corner reflector [or "vee at mounting end"])

The other thing these guys want to know if whether the aerials elements point up/down of the aerial itself (vertically polarised), or not (horizontally polarised).

It may help these guys with signal strength in you area by counting the elements on the yagis, or just a rough guess of aerial length (ie. 2ft, 4ft, etc.)

Edited by nbound, 08 November 2011 - 04:51 PM.

[James T Kirk]

Tony C, on Nov 8 2011, 02:28 PM, said:

Hi James

I will check with neighbours about their reception and see what they say.

not sure what vhf and uhf antennas look like but I have had a look around and of the other houses on my side of the road 4 are a flat square shape that point west (probably tamborine) and three including mine which point (roughly) the same direction. the two others are like a ladder (equall length rungs) with a vee at the mounting end and mine has uneven length 'rungs' no vee at the base. these three are horizontal

Hi Tony

If yours is the only one with wide "rungs" around 600-700mm across then you might be the only one looking at Brisbane. As for the other two antennas with a vee it sounds like they are UHF if their "rungs" are only around 200mm across.

The flat square one's you think are looking at Tamborine are most likely an antenna called a phased array and they'll have two or four squat looking X's on the front side stacked one above the other if looking at Tamborine.
The one's you describe as being like a ladder, if the "rungs" are horizontal the antenna is installed horizontal.

For the two antennas above to make them used as vertical:
the flat one would be rotated 90 degrees so that the X's are now tall and skinny and side by side.
the one like a ladder would be turned 90 degrees so the rungs are straight up and down.

The "rungs", which is a nice way to describe them are generally called directors and reflectors depending on the design, a term that just about covers everything is to call them elements.

Hope you have good luck with the neighbours.

James

[Tony C]

I have done some more research, and spoken with the neighbours.

The ones with phased array antennas are all pointing at tamborine and have good reception. They are all horizontal.

Mine appears to be vhf antenna, horizontal, pointed at brisbane.

Two neighbours have UHF antennas, both horizontal, both with good reception (most of the time). one is pointing same direction as mine, the other slightly more to the west.

No one has the same problem that I have although one does lose channel 7 digital occasionally. Mine is the only one with consistant problems.

I am considering pointing my antenna at tamborine to see if its any better. Am I likely to have a problem because of the vhf antenna? Can I swing it back without too much drama if it doesnt work?

regards

Tony

[alanh]

TonyC,
Follow the first post in this strand.
A VHF antenna trial will be a waste of time.
Use the H5 link and the recommendation for a blocked path.

Mt Tambourine is the correct transmitter for your site.

Brisbane is not a recommended transmitter for your area.

AlanH

Edited by alanh, 14 November 2011 - 02:10 PM.

[Tony C]

Hi Alan

I looked at your drawings of antennas and mine is a similar style to page 1, it has 11 rungs ranging in size from about 200mm up to about 600mm. It is about 700mm long. It is horizontal. Is that a vhf antenna or a digital?

I will aim it toward tamborine and see how it goes

Thanks to everyone for all past and future advice, I didnt realise that it would be so hard to get good tv reception

Tony

[M'bozo]

Tony C, on Nov 14 2011, 05:36 PM, said:

drawings of antennas

Have a look at all these antennas courtesy of the Hills catalogue, and see if one is similar to what you have. (You'll have to click on the sub headings under "TV Antennas" to see pictures of the different types.)

Alternatively, you could take a picture of your antenna & post it here.

Tony C, on Nov 14 2011, 05:36 PM, said:

I didnt realise that it would be so hard to get good tv reception

.

If you get the right installer and the right advice, it shouldn't be.

[bellotv]

Tony C, on Nov 8 2011, 09:55 AM, said:

Hi All
.......When the digital signal is lost it is usually for long periods of time (couple of hours), and the analogue gets more snow which is barely watchable if at all. It is snowy all over but with thick bands that have more snow, it is not lines....

all help is appreciated

Me thinks here lies the clue

[Tazzy2Heads]

bellotv, on Nov 14 2011, 10:11 PM, said:

Me thinks here lies the clue

Tony,
Do you have a 'booster' in the system ?
  If you do this is a bit of a long shot , the power pack that supplies the volts to the booster may be over heating for some reason and the thermal safety
  cut out in it could be shutting it down, no power up the coax, no Digital tv , extra snowy Analogue, then after a while it cools down the cutout resets and
  power is restored and the pictures are back until the cycle starts again depending on the ambient temperature how quickly.
  Tazzy.

[bellotv]

Get the impression that TonyC is in a bad reception spot so assuming that there is most likely a masthead amp.

I'm thinking along the lines of an intermittent filter cap (or dry joint on it ) in the masthead amp assuming its fed from an AC power injector.Seen this before.
That causes the "bands of snow" and screws the BER on digital .
If this is the case ,using a DC type power injector  (Kingray PSK06 for example) may provide a band aid solution.

Hey TonyC , was the mastheads amp replaced or are you still using the original ?

Have also seen corroded connections on plugs/sockets/splitters /connectors ,cause fairly similar results where a masthead amp is used with an AC power injector.

If its this then don't piss about trying to "clean them up" ,chop them off and replace them .

Edited by bellotv, 15 November 2011 - 06:31 PM.

[Tony C]

Ok I have now changed the direction of the antenna and aimed it at tamborine which has helped in that we have tv every night. Admittedly digital does drop out occasionally and it does pixelate sometimes, but it is beeter than losing all stations for the night. BTW I can now get local news yahoo

The antenna is a Poltec LP 35 (climbed on the roof) is that a good product? Should I look to change it for something better? if so, why?


http://www.poltec.com.au/products.htm

Edited by Tony C, 16 November 2011 - 10:17 AM.

[alanh]

TonyC,
If you want to completely remove the breakups you need a band 5 only antenna. (Particularly when it is raining) Roughly half this antenna is not being used to receive the Mt Tambourine signals.
As I said use one of the antennas recommended in the H5 link in the first post of this strand.

AlanH

Edited by alanh, 16 November 2011 - 11:59 AM.

[M'bozo]

Tony C, on Nov 16 2011, 11:16 AM, said:

Should I look to change it for something better? if so, why?

Most likely, however:

In a poor reception area, the approach is to test with a number of antennas in a number of locations to find the best spot to mount the most suitable antenna.

At the same time, the amount & type of amplification, if required, can be calculated.

At UHF, moving an antenna 50mm (and sometimes less) in any plane, can have a marked effect on received signal levels.

A DIYer might be able to get it right, but let me tell you, I done some pricks of locations where it can take up to a couple of hours testing before I either go ahead, or give up, on a terrestrial reception solution.  

[James T Kirk]

Tony C, on Nov 7 2011, 12:25 PM, said:

I have recently moved to Pacific Pines and after the antenna man installed a new antenna and booster I have excellent reception.... sometimes...

Hello Tony C

Having now read all of your input from the research and testing you have done and considering you engaged an antenna installer to set this up for you, it is quite legitimate for you to get the installer back and get him to reconsider his decision to set up your home for VHF Brisbane reception. If this occurs he should re-evaluate reception of Mt Tamborine with a UHF only antenna being used.

Your ability to easily improve reception as compared to that left by the installer, does raise concerns over the skill level of the installer himself.
I just hope he is willing/capable of correcting this for you with a suitable antenna and it should be at his cost.

James

Edited by James T Kirk, 16 November 2011 - 08:13 PM.

[RMF]

James T Kirk, on Nov 16 2011, 05:55 PM, said:

Your ability to easily improve reception as compared to that left by the installer, does raise concerns over the skill level of the installer himself.
I just hope he is willing/capable of correcting this for you with a suitable antenna and it should be at his cost.

James

^^^^  What he said!

Why he would choose to use Brisbane as a source is beyond me, as you would also not receive the extra Gold Coast channels, Prime 7 (CH6), SC 10 (CH5) and NBN (CH8).
Installers like this should be named and shamed IMHO.