174 replies to this topic

[wls]

Moved into a place in Coniston about 18 months ago and the reception is very bad at times.  The next door tentant and previous tentant here paid and installed a new digital antenna about 2 years previously and they both share this antenna.
The best way I can get reception is through a Topfield PVR ... it seems to boost the signal and I get 90% reliability using this. If I use the TV the reception is stuttered and sometimes ( Chanel 10 is the main culprit ) unwatchable. I have PayTV and used to watch the loacl channels throug that ( its easy to use one remote ) but now the only local station I can get using that is SBS.

Look I want to dump PayTV ,  paying for ads...yuk. But FTA is unreliable.

Location..... about 2/3 up Healsip street Hill, clear view to the coast and wollongong stadium/town centre etc

[alanh]

wls,
What is your neighbour's reception like?

Are you East of Bridge St, West of Robwald Av or East of Wanson Av? The signals from the main Illawarra transmitters at Knights Hill (near Robertson) is weak just there.
For this transmitter the antenna is pointed at 218.7 ° (South West)

Transmission channels
WIN36 CTC37 Southern CrossTEN CBN38 ABWN51 SBS54
Before the end of next year ABWN51 wil move to channel 36 and SBS54 will move to channel 35

Other alternative;
There is a transmitter set for Wollongong (Escarpment Rd Brokers Nose) and the antenna needs to be pointed 358.8°. (North of you) This signal is much less powerful.
WIN40 CTC43 CBN46 ABWN52 SBS54

CBN (Prime)  to channel 42
ABWN moves to channel 41
SBS to channel 44.

I must stress that the exact location of the antenna is important not only where on the building it is but also its height above the ground. Small variations in height can make a big difference.

Since different transmission channels are used on the different sites, the receiver will have to be rescanned through the installation menu, to retune to the different channels.

There is no obvious reason why Southern Cross TEN should be any worse than any other FTA channel.

I suggest you read the first post in this strand and get the landlord to get an endorsed antenna installer to check the installation Type your exact address into http://myswitch.digitalready.gov.au/ and there is a link to many.

There may be a fault, or the antenna installer can use a meter connected directly to the antenna and move it to a better location.

AlanH

[nbound]

By the sounds of it, you'll need to get someone out to figure out why your the signal to your unit is poor (assuming your neighbour's signal is good).

You should have a reasonably good signal from Knights Hill, depending on exact location. The main other transmitter to try is the transmitter at Brokers Nose. Having LOS to either of these would be a good start, but not required for good reception.

If your system is correctly set-up, it should be just as reliable (probably more) than your Austar (ie. approaching 0% downtime).

For comparison Ive had reliable Illawarra transmitter installations from as far as: just east of Lake George near Canberra, or Goulburn, or north/west of Taralga... down in the middle of Wollongong you shouldnt have too many troubles at all.

Edited by nbound, 13 March 2013 - 12:08 PM.

[wls]

Neighbour installed a device from Dick Smith and that improved his reception but its not perfect.  My picture looks perfect on a good day but then sometimes it has a lot of interference and 10 dissappears. Yes, 10 is bad for some strange reason......

I am north-east of Bridge street and it lookd like the attenta faces south-east ( will have to get a compass ). I may get some photos's as well and make a link to here

Now there are a few large trees south-east and higher up the hill and they are clearly higher then the attenta.






btw: landlord doesnt care about the TV and thats why the previous tentant and next door had to pool their money


and thanks for the replies

[nbound]

Landlords have certain obligations in regards to TV antennas/outlets in NSW. Might be worth looking into.

Before my antenna installing days, I have had to force a landlord to install a working antenna myself.


Your antenna shouldnt be pointing SE (towards Warrawong/Port Kembla), but SW instead (More towards Dapto/Albion Park/Knights Hill)

If he installed the antenna himself, then all bets are off as far as what the problem is, hehe. Might be worth calling out a technician.

Edited by nbound, 13 March 2013 - 01:23 PM.

[Rusty Juggler]

nbound, on 13 March 2013 - 01:21 PM, said:

Landlords have certain obligations in regards to TV antennas/outlets in NSW. Might be worth looking into.

I believe (but someone may prove me wrong) that a landlord has no obligation to provide an antenna per se however, when there IS an antenna when a tennant moves in the landlord has an obligation to maintain it.

Rusty

[nbound]

Rusty Juggler, on 13 March 2013 - 01:44 PM, said:

I believe (but someone may prove me wrong) that a landlord has no obligation to provide an antenna per se however, when there IS an antenna when a tennant moves in the landlord has an obligation to maintain it.

Rusty

That is my understanding also, i dont know for certain but I beleive if there is cabling for terrestrial distribution (and antenna has blown off, been removed/stolen) it is also required to be maintained/reinstalled.

Edited by nbound, 13 March 2013 - 02:07 PM.

[mtv]

Rusty Juggler, on 13 March 2013 - 01:44 PM, said:

I believe (but someone may prove me wrong) that a landlord has no obligation to provide an antenna per se however, when there IS an antenna when a tennant moves in the landlord has an obligation to maintain it.

Rusty

That's correct.

An antenna (and associated cabling, amps, outlets, etc) are 'fixtures' and are part of the property which are required to be maintained by the landlord.

Unless it's agreed to in writing, if a tenant adds an antenna, cabling, amps etc, it must remain with the property when the tenant vacates the premises, as it has become a 'fixture' an is forfeited to the property owner.

If a tenant plans to add/modify any 'fixture' they must obtain written permission from the property owner (or agent on the owner's behalf)and if the tenant plans to take any fixture with them when they vacate the premises, they must also have written permission from the property owner(or agent on the owner's behalf)and to either return the premises to the 'pre-modification' condition, or pay to have restorative work done, or to forfeit the equipment, the latter being the usual.

The complexity comes with antennas and the changeover to digital.

If the antenna was working OK with analogue,then the landlord isn't obliged to pay for an upgrade to the antenna for digital.

Most landlords will try and do things on the cheap and usually try to fix things themselves, or a 'handyman' they know, rather than specialised trades (eg: experienced antenna techs) so it's often best for tenants to pay for a tech themselves to sort reception issues.

If you're lucky to have a good landlord, they may come to the party and pay for it, but most landlords are pretty tight with such things.

[alanh]

Nice to see how many hangers on repeat what I have said in different words.

WLS rather than a photo a brand and model of antenna and amplifier is also very useful.

Nbound,

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Quote

Posted Yesterday, 10:04 AM
By the sounds of it, you'll need to get someone out to figure out why your the signal to your unit is poor (assuming your neighbour's signal is good).

You should have a reasonably good signal from Knights Hill, depending on exact location. The main other transmitter to try is the transmitter at Brokers Nose. Having LOS to either of these would be a good start, but not required for good reception.

Read my post, this information has been provided and the path is not line of sight in either case.

Quote

For comparison Ive had reliable Illawarra transmitter installations from as far as: just east of Lake George near Canberra, or Goulburn, or north/west of Taralga... down in the middle of Wollongong you shouldnt have too many troubles at all.

Just because the high powered Illawarra transmitter can reach Taralga, does not mean it will reach Conniston when there is terrain is in the way. I checked the terrain out. Stop posting uninvestigated posts. People spend money as a result of it and waste it.  You are the reason why endorsed antenna installers are required. They have to measure the signal levels on site and get real information.

Don't guess on the NSW Tennancy Act, read it to find out.

MTV,
In Conniston, no "digital" antenna is required because the band 5 antenna was also required during analog for the Illawarra site. It was only the Broker's nose site which had channel 4 analog.

AlanH

[dbrmuz]

alanh, on 14 March 2013 - 11:04 AM, said:

Nice to see how many hangers on repeat what I have said in different words.


Stop posting uninvestigated posts.



AlanH

Surely the ultimate proof that Alanh is nothing but a troll,operating with the endorsement of this forum's owner/s.Now why do we suppose this is allowed?

[nbound]

alanh, on 14 March 2013 - 11:04 AM, said:

Nbound,

• Member
  
• 
  
• 773 posts

I wasnt aware that my posting stats on the forum had much to do with anything.

alanh, on 14 March 2013 - 11:04 AM, said:

Just because the high powered Illawarra transmitter can reach Taralga, does not mean it will reach Conniston when there is terrain is in the way. I checked the terrain out. Stop posting uninvestigated posts. People spend money as a result of it and waste it.  You are the reason why endorsed antenna installers are required. They have to measure the signal levels on site and get real information.

Wow, coming from you?

I have said more than once in this thread that while Knights Hill should be strongest, Brokers Nose is another possibility. And it was offered as generalised advice. I have said it might be worth getting a technician out. What would being endorsed/unendorsed change about what was written. Its the same advice he would get if he called up any reasonable antenna installation business.

Besides its not an uninvestigated post because I used to live a few suburbs over in the CBD, worked in the area, and have a reasonable understanding of the coverage areas of those transmitters, and know what antennas are used in the general area. The area in question is for the most part well covered from Knights Hill, despite the terrain. You cannot rely on myswitch to provide you with signal level readings, if it did, then signal meters would be absolutely useless. Weak spots are often not in the correct locations (even by hundreds of meters), bigger/smaller, weaker/stronger, non-existant.

Of course you somehow beleive you can offer better advice, based on a computer projection that is only a general guide, for a specific case.

We all checked the terrain and levels out on myswitch, I just used them as intended, a general guide.

If you consider every bit of advice without readings uninvestigated, then you shouldnt be posting here either.

---------------

alanh, on 14 March 2013 - 11:04 AM, said:

Don't guess on the NSW Tennancy Act, read it to find out.

If the OP wants to he can. I dont see what the big deal is with this (beyond your trolling). I dont need to know it myself (beyond a general understanding) because I liase with the real estate agents/landlords who come to that decision themselves.

Edited by nbound, 14 March 2013 - 01:11 PM.

[Malich]

alanh, on 14 March 2013 - 11:04 AM, said:

Don't guess on the NSW Tennancy Act, read it to find out.

Of course, it's OK to guess when you're Alan and talking about COFDM, the anti-siphoning list, H.265, ATSC SFNs, corrosion, etc - you don't even have to admit you're wrong, just argue for a while, start a pointless thread or two based on misinterpreted press releases, then slink away!

[GoForMoe]

Considering Alan's advice comes down to 'here's a list of channels - call an endorsed installer' - I'd remind him that the reason people post on a forum like this is to get advice to complement what an antenna installer could do. If you know what your likely options are and the likely cause of issues before you get an installer out, you can know whether they know what they are talking about, or at least know if the work they quote as needed relates to the general advice.

Educated guesses from people familiar with the area, who have had similar problems or have an understanding of the systems involved assists greatly in narrowing down specific issues and helping to make sure that when you do get a professional out that you get value and a good result.

Posts on this forum certainly show not all installers are the honest and helpful kind - and unless you have a personal recommendation it's hard to know who is good in an area (being 'endorsed' is not enough). Having a starting point of knowledge is always good.

[wls]

Actually the antenna does face south-west and I have no idea of what brand it is. It was installed by a qualified technician and I cannot afford to pay someone else to come out and check it out (my job went to China last year  ). It is also too high for me to get to.

Yes, I asked here because basically I dont have any idea about antennas and wiring for TV etc.

Like I said I get an improved performance using the Topfield PVR 2460. It displays to bar graphs at the bottom ( blue & green )  and the ABC/ SBS show atm nearly 90% for both but 10 shows arounf 80% for green but the blue shows from 5 to 20 .  WinTV is just about 10 and 7 not far below the ABC and SBS. Not sure which signal they refer to but I am going to try and download a manual for the PVR to find out.

.Now if I just the TV the reception for 10 & 4 is basically unwatchable but 7 / ABC/ SBS are quite ok. Now what confuses me is why some are ok and others are bad. And I am unable to watch all free to air TV ( except one SBS channel 30 ) through the Austar box..... but I think its something to do with them.

Just for interest, in the other 2 ftats they have an old type of attena and they have real bad problems and the landlord doesnt want to know.......

Will check out some of the other links and c what I can find out

[dbrmuz]

nbound, on 14 March 2013 - 01:02 PM, said:

I wasnt aware that my posting stats on the forum had much to do with anything.

Well seeing he has no ****ing idea anyway,it's entirely possible that Alanh thinks this is just a dick-measuring contest.Of course,he's taken the idea of someone liking a "big dick" a little too far-since he IS a big dick.

nbound, on 14 March 2013 - 01:02 PM, said:

Of course you somehow believe you can offer better advice, based on a computer projection that is only a general guide, for a specific case.


If you consider every bit of advice without readings uninvestigated, then you shouldnt be posting here either.

He definitely should not be posting here,and the reasons why he still is are...currently unexplored.Surely the site owner/s are not THAT desperate for page views they're actively encouraging this troll,knowing full-well the knowledgeable members around here will come and post up some actual real information? Or are they...???

[wls]

Blue is the signal and Green is the quality

I have also checked out the myswitch site and it says signal area is good

[Tazzy2Heads]

wls
Do you have a window or glass door facing the direction that the other antennas are pointing, or failing that what are the walls made
of ?
There are small UHF antennas about that are quite powerfull and have mounting clamps at the back of the antenna.You may be able to buy one from your local antenna supplier and be able to take it back if it does'nt do the job for you, they are not that expensive anyway.
If that gets things happening then it shouldn't be too hard to make up a mount of some kind to hold it at the window inside or outside.That may get the Signal Quality better for you enough to get the channels reliable.
The thing your neighbour got from Dick Smith was probably the dreaded indoor amplifier, these have hit and miss results, usually
more miss than hit.
The 'landlord' problem is everywhere and it gets up my nose that they can take the rent and think people should put up with crapp or no tv reception in their rental but they sit at home watching tv on their own 'flatscreen'.
Goodluck with it
Tazzy

[alanh]

dbrmuz
You have contributed nothing but rude language. I will not stoop to your gutter

AlanH

Edited by alanh, 15 March 2013 - 06:10 PM.

[GoForMoe]

alanh, on 15 March 2013 - 06:09 PM, said:

dbrmuz
You have contributed nothing but rude language. I will not stoop to your gutter

AlanH

Again, you choose only to respond to the attack, not the constructive responses.

[dbrmuz]

alanh, on 15 March 2013 - 06:09 PM, said:

dbrmuz
You have contributed nothing but rude language. I will not stoop to your gutter

AlanH

And yet I've still contributed far more positive information than you.Go figure...

Edited by dbrmuz, 15 March 2013 - 08:04 PM.

[dbrmuz]

GoForMoe, on 15 March 2013 - 06:15 PM, said:

Again, you choose only to respond to the attack, not the constructive responses.

He only responds to those he half-understands.

[wls]

I am trying to watch the Grand Prix on 10 and its really bad......... nearly unwatchable. The 9 stations get a slight bit of interference and 7 is ok. ABS & SBS are great.
Weather is ok, very slight breeze and a few clouds overhead.

Tazzy2Heads, on 15 March 2013 - 06:04 PM, said:

wls
Do you have a window or glass door facing the direction that the other antennas are pointing, or failing that what are the walls made
of ?
There are small UHF antennas about that are quite powerfull and have mounting clamps at the back of the antenna.You may be able to buy one from your local antenna supplier and be able to take it back if it does'nt do the job for you, they are not that expensive anyway.
If that gets things happening then it shouldn't be too hard to make up a mount of some kind to hold it at the window inside or outside.That may get the Signal Quality better for you enough to get the channels reliable.
The thing your neighbour got from Dick Smith was probably the dreaded indoor amplifier, these have hit and miss results, usually
more miss than hit.
The 'landlord' problem is everywhere and it gets up my nose that they can take the rent and think people should put up with crapp or no tv reception in their rental but they sit at home watching tv on their own 'flatscreen'.
Goodluck with it
Tazzy

No I dont have a door or window  near the TV.  There is also house next door that is higher but the aerial is higher then that. And yes, the landlords just love the money rolling in but not rolling out

[Tazzy2Heads]

Tv and Radio signals will pass through brick walls and timber walls if there is no foil insulation in them. A high gain antenna inside
may get the Quality on the poor channels improved enough to make them more watchable,seems like your at the 'cliff edge' of the signal now on the crook ones.
I guess it depends on how long you are staying there as to how much money and trouble you want to throw at it.
If it was me I would try a Hills Ultimax Phased Array on say 5+ meters of cable and walk around the room when the channels are playing up and see if you can find a 'sweet spot' for signals.The Ultimax is more compact indoors than a Yagi type which can have
a long boom if it is a high gain type, also Phased Arrays can be more suitable for scattered signals.
Cheers Tazzy.

[wls]

Tazzy2Heads, on 21 March 2013 - 11:11 PM, said:

Tv and Radio signals will pass through brick walls and timber walls if there is no foil insulation in them. A high gain antenna inside
may get the Quality on the poor channels improved enough to make them more watchable,seems like your at the 'cliff edge' of the signal now on the crook ones.
I guess it depends on how long you are staying there as to how much money and trouble you want to throw at it.
If it was me I would try a Hills Ultimax Phased Array on say 5+ meters of cable and walk around the room when the channels are playing up and see if you can find a 'sweet spot' for signals.The Ultimax is more compact indoors than a Yagi type which can have
a long boom if it is a high gain type, also Phased Arrays can be more suitable for scattered signals.
Cheers Tazzy.

I have looked and they appear to big to be used indoors.  Basically the house next door is higher up the hill and they would block indoor signals.

[Storm AV]

WLS, if you decide to get it sorted i'd be happy to drop by on one of my weekly trips to the gong.