215 replies to this topic

[alanh]

Les,
FM Radio stations on Mt Sugarloaf
2JJJ 102.1
2KKO 102.9
2NUR 103.7
2NEW 105.3
2ABCFM 106.1
2XXX 106.9
A search for Mt Sugarloaf for AM stations produced no results however

AM radio stations are:
2HD 1143    2HD Broadcast Site SANDGATE
2NC 1233    Broadcast Site BERESFIELD
1341    Broadcast Site Birmingham Gardens NEWCASTLE
2EA 1413    Broadcast Site HEXHAM
2PB 1458    Broadcast Site BERESFIELD
2RN 1512    Broadcast Site BERESFIELD

AlanH

[wahroonga farm]

lesftv, on Mar 16 2007, 06:59 AM, said:

Alan,
My computer has been down for a while and anyway I have been far too busy of late to even look at this site. Looking at the quote above, What on earth are you talking about? There are 6 AM transmitters on Mt.Sugarloaf. These are the vision carriers of the 6 analog TV tranmitters. Glenn has already aluded to this in previous posts - and yes, he was right.
Now, all you have to do is calculate the relationship between these vision carrier frequencies to ascertain the AM interference on SC10 of which I have spoken. And, to repeat, this is in the domain of the diligent antenna installer to prevent this interference happening.
lesf

Still like the 'diligent installer' to explain a bit more how he works the 'black arts' for this one:)

[GlennP]

Carterrrr, on Apr 12 2007, 06:09 PM, said:

Hi Glen
This will hurl the moggie among the feathered lot --- A few years ago in Woodberry, several hundred metres from the transmitter, it was possible to hear ABC programs through the speakers of a record player --- which was not fitted with a radio tuner. NO TUNER!  I have experienced it.

Cheers
NOEL GORDON

Hi Noel,

I won't disagree with that, if you're close enough to a high enough powered transmitter your toaster could talk, but that wasn't the original question asked.
It was does the AM radio transmissions interfere with TV reception & the answer is no.
Radio's & TV's have circuits in them to filter out unwanted signals, any interference or "tuner overload" from nearby high power transmitters is usually picked up by part of the circuit outside the tuner (usually pre or in the amp) or by external leads, in your case the power lead &/or your house power wiring could have been acting as an antenna & feeding the reception into the amp.

If you had a TV that runs off battery power (or DC-AC power inverter on your car) unless it had poor tuner sensitivity you could quite easily sit at the lookout on Mt Sugarloaf & watch a TV channel without interference from any of the others, same as you can with your radio (in car or portable).
I bet when you were in Woodberry you could still listen to other radio stations without interference from the ABC transmitters couldn't you?

Cheers
GlennP.

[alanh]

GlennP,
The following are the Cyclomotive Forces for each of the Newcastle AM stations. The cyclomotive force is the signal strength in Volt/metre at 1 km from the transmitter antenna.
Newcastle 2HD 0.550
Newcastle 2NC 1.300
Newcastle 1.290
Newcastle 2EA 1.335
Newcastle 2PB 0.445
Newcastle 2RN 1.300

You should try keeping out 12 V/m. This means that a 1 m long piece of wire will have 12 Volts from end to end with a high impedance load. Consider this when the TV signal strength is in hundreds of microvolts. The filter must be at least 100 dB to make the signals identical in voltage. You then have to add another 40 dB to make the patterning invisible.

What you say is all well in theory, but it does happen particularly if the TV on channels 0-3. This is because the dipoles in the antenna are easily a metre long.

For evidence Example from the ACMA

The reason it is not much of a problem in Newcastle is that the TV transmitters are very powerful, UHF and they are not very far from the AM transmitters. The highest powered AM transmitters in Newcastle are 1/5th of those used in capital cities.

Alan

[lesftv]

alanh, on Apr 15 2007, 07:44 PM, said:

Les,
FM Radio stations on Mt Sugarloaf
2JJJ 102.1
2KKO 102.9
2NUR 103.7
2NEW 105.3
2ABCFM 106.1
2XXX 106.9
A search for Mt Sugarloaf for AM stations produced no results however

AM radio stations are:
2HD 1143    2HD Broadcast Site SANDGATE
2NC 1233    Broadcast Site BERESFIELD
1341    Broadcast Site Birmingham Gardens NEWCASTLE
2EA 1413    Broadcast Site HEXHAM
2PB 1458    Broadcast Site BERESFIELD
2RN 1512    Broadcast Site BERESFIELD

AlanH

Alan,
What about NBN Vision           86.25Mhz
                 ABC 5a Vision     138.25Mhz
                 SBS Vision          646.25Mhz
                 ABC 48 Vision     667.25Mhz
                 Prime Vision       709.25Mhz
                 SC10 Vision        730.25Mhz       all analog.

So there ARE 6 AM transmitters on Mt. Sugarloaf. Now all you have to do is work out the frequency relationships of these frequencies to ascertain the reason for the AM patterning on SC10 analog. And, yes, it is still an issue for the antenna installer.
lesf

p.s.
It is
Triple J
KOFM
2NURFM
NEWFM
ABC Classic FM
NXFM

You are in WA. Try not to argue with folk in other cities around Australia.

[alanh]

Les,

Some quotes from my original question.
"By the way, do you know of any problems in the Beresfield, Woodberry, Thornton, Ashtonfield, Turro and Heatherbrae areas. I am thinking of AM interference causing corduroy patterning on analog, and unstable pictures and sound on digital."

"Re the Beresford area, The ABC has a 10 kW Local radio transmitter on 1233 kHz and a 10 kW Radio National transmitter on 1512 kHz. If the power level is high enough it causes a corduroy style pattern over an analog picture. In digital it causes picture & sound breakup. The above transmitters are 10 kW each. I know it is a problem with 50 kW transmitters.

The effect is intermodulation between the TV signal carrier and the AM radio carrier to make the interference visible.

Notice I mentioned the name of radio transmitters and not the vision vestigial sideband full carrier signals.

So I take it that you have never seen this AM radio interference on analog TV

AlanH

[lesftv]

alanh, on Apr 17 2007, 07:58 PM, said:

Les,

Some quotes from my original question.
"By the way, do you know of any problems in the Beresfield, Woodberry, Thornton, Ashtonfield, Turro and Heatherbrae areas. I am thinking of AM interference causing corduroy patterning on analog, and unstable pictures and sound on digital."

"Re the Beresford area, The ABC has a 10 kW Local radio transmitter on 1233 kHz and a 10 kW Radio National transmitter on 1512 kHz. If the power level is high enough it causes a corduroy style pattern over an analog picture. In digital it causes picture & sound breakup. The above transmitters are 10 kW each. I know it is a problem with 50 kW transmitters.

The effect is intermodulation between the TV signal carrier and the AM radio carrier to make the interference visible.

Notice I mentioned the name of radio transmitters and not the vision vestigial sideband full carrier signals.

So I take it that you have never seen this AM radio interference on analog TV

AlanH

Alan,
I said that I haven't dealt with this problem for 25 years. You will have to go back and search for my answers to your questions in previous posts. It seems you haven't taken in my input to this issue. Perhaps you may need a basic lesson in "amplifier theory".
You seem to be, indeed, a duffer in basic electonic theory.
lesf

[fredofrog]

I have two questions about reception re: Westlakes and Mt Sugarloaf

1 - I'm in the Westlakes area and direct my UHF antenna to Mt Sugarloaf. When checking the signal strength to adjust the antenna after being directed to Forrester Beach the installer disconnected the booster box saying it wasn't necessary. Surfice to say without a ladder at present to reach the 2nd storey I cannot check if any BB equipment is there or not. Was it advisable to disconnect? My current signal strength (except SC10 tends to stutter at times) is good via the STB and average via analogue.

2 - After the recent storms (around Tuesday 12/6) we were watching SBS1 via a SD STB and it unexpectedly stopped transmitting. Then the channel removed itself from the channel listings ie it was there since we first used it in 2006 and then it disappeared and cannot be rescanned in. I thought it was a program interruption or maintenance work so didn't think twice.

I contacted SBS and they said the transmission of SBS 1 and SBS HD (which I never had before) were fine. All four TV channels transmit at 599.5mhz. SO how does only 2 of 4 same frequency channels get picked up?

I've rebooted the STB and done rescans but no good. I also went to another place in Fishing Point but there the antenna was directed south so only Sydney and Central Coast channels (not ABC and SBS) were picked up on the STB and no signal was achieved at Arcadia Vale for those. The STB manufacturer said no upgrade or error was noted for this issue. SBS told my that someone in Perth with the same STB had the same issue there. Would a booster box make any difference here?

(STB = Kross yr 2006)

Lastly, is it possible to have an antenna with a multiple layout which can obtain signals from different transmitter locations?
PS The antenna is currently pointed as it was pre storm conditions and all available channels seem to broadcast at the same signal strength as before so I don't think it's an antenna problem but some advice would be appreciated

Regards

Rob

[hbg1968]

fredofrog, on Jun 19 2007, 06:52 PM, said:

I have two questions about reception re: Westlakes and Mt Sugarloaf

1 - I'm in the Westlakes area and direct my UHF antenna to Mt Sugarloaf. When checking the signal strength to adjust the antenna after being directed to Forrester Beach the installer disconnected the booster box saying it wasn't necessary. Surfice to say without a ladder at present to reach the 2nd storey I cannot check if any BB equipment is there or not. Was it advisable to disconnect? My current signal strength (except SC10 tends to stutter at times) is good via the STB and average via analogue.

2 - After the recent storms (around Tuesday 12/6) we were watching SBS1 via a SD STB and it unexpectedly stopped transmitting. Then the channel removed itself from the channel listings ie it was there since we first used it in 2006 and then it disappeared and cannot be rescanned in. I thought it was a program interruption or maintenance work so didn't think twice.

I contacted SBS and they said the transmission of SBS 1 and SBS HD (which I never had before) were fine. All four TV channels transmit at 599.5mhz. SO how does only 2 of 4 same frequency channels get picked up?

I've rebooted the STB and done rescans but no good. I also went to another place in Fishing Point but there the antenna was directed south so only Sydney and Central Coast channels (not ABC and SBS) were picked up on the STB and no signal was achieved at Arcadia Vale for those. The STB manufacturer said no upgrade or error was noted for this issue. SBS told my that someone in Perth with the same STB had the same issue there. Would a booster box make any difference here?

(STB = Kross yr 2006)

Lastly, is it possible to have an antenna with a multiple layout which can obtain signals from different transmitter locations?
PS The antenna is currently pointed as it was pre storm conditions and all available channels seem to broadcast at the same signal strength as before so I don't think it's an antenna problem but some advice would be appreciated

Regards

Rob

Hi, I live in Wangi Wangi (on the southern side of the hill), and always had problems picking up SBS and ABC TV, on my 2 Teac STB's. I had run new cables, put in a Kingray Amp, and even upgraded the Antenna twice. When one of the Teac units died, I purchased a Panomax HD recorder unit off Ebay. Though and behold, I had improved performance on the commercial channels, as well as on SBS and ABC. I then purchased a Lenoxx unit off Ebay, and the performance overall had improved on the main channels, but was not quite as good on ABC & SBS. Just recently, I saw a program on SBS we wanted to watch and it was unavailable. I did a rescan on both units, and it still did not come up. I sent an email off to SBS but still no reply.

[alanh]

hbg1968,
You do not mention what type of antenna is being used See the antenna basics link and there is a link to diagrams to show the various types.
I also need to know what model of Kingray masthead amplifier is being used.

AlanH

[maconser]

I am new to this forum yet have been reading with glee the "my brains bigger than yours" responses located within this thread.

I am yet to see anything that might actually help a local installer improve the image of a "good installer". Lesftv seems to enjoy telling people that a diligant installer would do "this", yet fails to offer the advice.

So maybe back to the topic of conversation, "best reception for the hunter valley".

Can anyone offer a link or location for a copy of the transmission details for the local towers. ie, V or H and what the local frequenies/channels are. Maybe even a derees, minutes and seconds co-ordinate to allow installers a point in the distant to shoot for.

Also, the gurus here will know, what would your minimum readings be for this region on your meters. I know there is an industry minimum but what would you recommend before installing an amp etc.

Maybe a list of minimum BER, SNR/CNR, DBuV and MER ? This seems like a good forum so maybe if people started giving out practical knowledge the industry might start receiving better reiews.

Oh, and how much woud you usually (average) expect to pay for a standard install in the area [say thornton] (say to 3 outlets, no amp, 2 meter mast and bar, phased array (maybe hills ultimax 36 as described before), rg6q, all compressin f connectors etc) would $300 be stretching it ?

Glad to be a member and look forward to chatting more.
Maconser

[alanh]

maconser,
You obviously have not read the first post in this strand. You should also read the links including NSW and Antenna basics.

Alanh

[maconser]

alanh, on May 26 2008, 07:52 PM, said:

maconser,
You obviously have not read the first post in this strand. You should also read the links including NSW and Antenna basics.

Alanh

I have read all the posts within this thread. What is your point though. You were the one whom created this thread to get the best reception etc. Yet you fail to show how t aceive this adequately. You have given great and extended versions of the theory for this, yet you seem to have missedthe fundamentals of the actual installation.

Antenna basics apply to theory again, what are your actual meter readings of the region telling you though. Some regions seem to supply lower than average power levels yet still receive decent picture and sound quality at the end of the day.

Maybe some true to life examples of your hands on knowledge of this area would support your "text book" knowledge. IE, areas prone to certain interferences, areas prone to lower DB levels, where the deep fringe regions start and finish, areas where attenuation needs to be applied, yagi versus phased array or log periodical etc would help other installers perfect their installations too.

NB. The link entitled NSW is very poorly put together and extremely dyslexic to read (the pdf it opens). Surely there are better examples compilled somewhere.

Maconser

[wahroonga farm]

maconser, on May 26 2008, 08:55 PM, said:

Surely there are better examples compilled somewhere.......Maconser

I can't help but agree with you Maconser that the site is absolutely chock full of crap, woofle dust and smokescreens when it comes to a 'do it your selfer' actually achieving a reliable DVB-T signal.

Like most things, it's not rocket science; however there are some nuances of DVB-T that will be beyond the comprehension of many; including any number of 'experienced' installers. You're not well served in the Hunter in this respect on this forum.

If it's all you have; your $50 STB and analogue transmissions (whilst still being broadcast) are extremely powerful analysis tools.

So who do we trust?

Well ..... start with the Government agencies and equipment/antenna manufactures/suppliers for sound generally unbiased advice.

For example, for up to date analogue and digital transmitter information you simply can't go past the ACMA's publications. Download the 'Television by Area Served' pdf and simply 'search' it for your location with your pdf reader. Once you've found the transmitter location of your desire, along with all the pertinent details, you then might use Geoscience Australia, to determine the distance and azimuth of the said transmitter from your reception location.

Download the Laceystv catalogue which is chock full of goodies and unbiased technically correct tips and information charts.

And on it goes ....

Edited by wahroonga farm, 26 May 2008 - 10:04 PM.

[POWER AV]

Digital FTA antenna and A/V installers wanted for Newcastle, Maitland, Central Coast and Wyong areas with a large national company for full time or part time work, reply with email for more info.

[ozjubb]

Hi all, I am looking at installing a new antenna and coax through our old house, just wondering if someone could recommend/advise me as to what a good antenna would be for the adamstown area (brunker rd, just up from the RSL club), currently have a UHF and a VHF antenna on the roof. I know I should get some good coax (quad shield) but am wondering about a masthead amp or one of those plug in amps which have 4 outlets on them as I have to split the signal to 4 outlets in the house, I assume the best orientation for the antenna would be a horizontal mount directed towards the Kotara transmission tower.

Any help or information would be greatly apprecited.

Ozjubb

EDIT:
OK so reading through the material available on the site, getting transmission from Kotara I should have:
Vertically polarised antenna installation.
Band 5, channels 36 - 69

Is this correct? Having a little trouble interpreting some of the details from the datasheet found http://www.dtvforum....showtopic=68753 as the set of columns on the right would indicate that I should have an antenna that covers channels 27 - 55

Edited by ozjubb, 08 February 2009 - 09:18 AM.

[chrisnco]

Fully agree mconser. I too have spent a full day trolling this site and replied to a few posts in the hope that someone may help in advising myself on the correct way to set up my antenna. After reading through through a few threads I said to myself 'jeez these people know their stuff and would surely be able to help'. It seems they would much prefer to chiack each other about something I cannot fully understand, but wish too, so I can get more than bloody three channels.

So for all you guru's of the industry can you please, with your infinite knowledge, advise all of us on what, where and how to get decent coverage.

My case; Live at Glendonbrook, 10mins east of singleton. Have had no tv ( 3 months )until yesterday.
              Require every component required to receive reception ie, antenna, cable, set-top box (?)
              Currently have new toshiba regza lcd
              After mucking about in bloody 40+heat I now get NBN, ABC, SBS and their off shoot channels, using an old antenna, kingray booster and a kingray
              power injector ( plugs into wall ).

Would like to renew the antenna, cable so I can get all chanels on this new freeview broadcast. Otherwise need ch 10 only for the motorsport  

All help appreciated.........

[alanh]

Chrisnco,

If you go to the transmitter list you will see Hunter Valley and the channels used on Mt SugarLoaf. It tells you you need a band 5 antenna. Since there is no translators near Singleton you will have to use the regional transmitter on Mt Sugarloaf.

If you got to the coverage area link and see if the colour is orange or blue. The problem of these maps are that they are approximate and do not include the local effects of hills near the antenna.

Next you click on the link for band 5 antennas which takes you to the manufacturers' websites. I have included their quoted gains.

Obviously if the area is blue you must use the highest number of dB available. If the path is blocked by the terrain, or the horizon, then in horizontal polarisation which you are using a phased array antenna is better.

As far as cable goes you need to use Quad Shielded RG6 and 'F' connectors.

Provided the DTV signal is of the correct strength and quality you do not need to know the frequency. Even if you have the frequency it will not find the programs if the signal is poor. The only time the frequency is required is when the receiver does not comply to Australian Standards.

Ozjubb,
Kotara is vertically polarised so use a phased array antenna on its side. They all cover the channels you require channels 36 - 53.


Please note that the signal strength and quality will also depend on the immediate terrain, position and the height of the antenna. So in more complex cases the signal at the antenna needs to be measured for strength and quality. The quality involves the measurement of the number of errors. Meters for this is well beyond that of the amateur installer.

bretho72,
I hope all your installations are band 5 antennas only to minimise errors, after all there will be no analog after the end of 2012!

AlanH

[ozjubb]

alanh, on Feb 8 2009, 10:56 PM, said:

Ozjubb,
Kotara is vertically polarised so use a phased array antenna on its side. They all cover the channels you require channels 36 - 53.


Please note that the signal strength and quality will also depend on the immediate terrain, position and the height of the antenna. So in more complex cases the signal at the antenna needs to be measured for strength and quality. The quality involves the measurement of the number of errors. Meters for this is well beyond that of the amateur installer.


AlanH

Thanks AlanH, had a bit of a wander around the neighbourhood this arvo to see what the neighbours are using, Most appear to be using either VHF/UHF combo's (horizontal polarisation) or the newer installs are using phased array's (horizontal polarisation) I assume from this that most of the houses in the area are picking up transmission for Sugarloaf rather than Kotara. As for terrain I have a clear line of sight to the Kotara towers. thinking I will go with a Hills Ultimax 36, using F-Type connectecters and RG6 quad shielded cable (I used to cable old coax computer networks, so should be easy enough). Figured I will install to 1 outlet initially and make sure I get good reception before splitting the signal to the other outlets, if I then get any signal degradation I will invest in a suitable Kingray amp (can't remember the model now, but have seen it suggested for band 5 on the forums).

Thanks

Ozjubb.

[chrisnco]

Thank you for your reply Alanh. I can now start doing a bit more research on where, and what to buy.

The antenna's you advised, will they pick up this new freeview as well ?

Yes where I live is somewhat blocked by terrain. Only get 1-2 bars on mobile phone and minimum strength with the wireless broadband using an outdoor antenna. So my hopes of achieving great reception at minimal cost may be a foregone conclusion...maybe cheaper to instal Austar...hmmm..

Just looked at the coverage map...I should not be getting any reception as I am in the non coloured zone...hmmm

Buggered if I know why but when a vehicle passes our house the minimum reception I do have is interferered with, very annoying finally trying to watch the news.....

Ozjubb, could you recommend a good antenna supplier ? Obviously you have done more 'homework' than I..

Thankyou for your help.

Edited by chrisnco, 09 February 2009 - 11:40 AM.

[ozjubb]

chrisnco, on Feb 9 2009, 12:27 PM, said:

The antenna's you advised, will they pick up this new freeview as well ?

Ozjubb, could you recommend a good antenna supplier ? Obviously you have done more 'homework' than I..

Thankyou for your help.

Have done homework as to what I need, most of the stuff (cable, connecters) I will get from Dick SMith or Jaycar. As for the antenna I haven't looked enough yet for a local supplier of the Hills Antenna I want, found this place online http://www.academytv...gory2_3.htm#149, still hunting though. Perhaps a local installer might provide some insight into where to buy from locally. I know DSE, Bunnings, Jaycar all stock a digimatch antenna that from what research I have done would be suitable for the hunter, but would prefer to go for the hills as that is what most of the new installs around me appear to be using.

Still perplexed as to what transmitter I should be aiming for (common sense tells me Kotara as it is closer) but as stated earlier most of the homes in my neighbourhood seem to be set up for Mt Sugarloaf transmissions.

As for the freeview question, any antenna setup that works for you now should get freeview as I understand it, as it is only the same digital providers pushing more data out on their streams to provide the extra channels, onyl thing I am not sure about is the freeview TV guide as I have read that you will need a Freeview Logo'd STB or TV to get it.

Cheers

Ozjubb.

Edited by ozjubb, 09 February 2009 - 05:55 PM.

[alanh]

chrisnco,
Does you present antenna pick up NBN 3 analog?

The mobile phone signal level is irrelevant. They probably have a repeater in Singleton.


ozjubb,
Can you see Centenary Lookout Charlestown?
See if you are in the orange on Kotara coverage area If so go for the Kotara option. It is likely that many antennas in your area were installed prior to the Kotara repeaters.

A better option is to get an antenna installer to measure the error rates in the signal. This is a good idea because all each network uses the same channel on all their lower Hunter Valley services. You need one signal significantly stronger than the others. Thsi will accurately tell you whether to use a Band 5 Yagi-Uda antenna for Mt Sugarloaf or a UHF phased array for Centenary Lookout.

Both of you
Freeview is using standard digital channels which are all in band 5 in the lower Hunter Valley.

AlanH

[ozjubb]

alanh, on Feb 9 2009, 09:28 PM, said:

chrisnco,
Does you present antenna pick up NBN 3 analog?

The mobile phone signal level is irrelevant. They probably have a repeater in Singleton.


ozjubb,
Can you see Centenary Lookout Charlestown?
See if you are in the orange on Kotara coverage area If so go for the Kotara option. It is likely that many antennas in your area were installed prior to the Kotara repeaters.

A better option is to get an antenna installer to measure the error rates in the signal. This is a good idea because all each network uses the same channel on all their lower Hunter Valley services. You need one signal significantly stronger than the others. Thsi will accurately tell you whether to use a Band 5 Yagi-Uda antenna for Mt Sugarloaf or a UHF phased array for Centenary Lookout.

Both of you
Freeview is using standard digital channels which are all in band 5 in the lower Hunter Valley.

AlanH

Yep can see centenary lookout (from roof of house), and am in the orange coverage area, I imagine most installs were done prior to Kotara transmission, but newer installs (new estate across the road from me, only opened approx 2 years) all have UHF phased array antenna's but all of them are installed with horizontal polarisation not vertical, all seem to be aimed in Sugarloaf direction for getting signal rather than Kotara. Think I will have to get an installer around to put new antenna up to make sure it is the right one installed the right way for getting the best signal, would prefer to do cabling for the outlets myself though (save some $$$).

Thanks again AlanH, seem to be the only one around these forums that is willing to help the DIY'ers out from what I have seen so far.  

[ozymozzy]

Let's not forget that some of the guys giving advice here are professional installers. They don't have to, but they are often helpful and pass on useful information, especially when it comes to local knowledge. However, installing antennas is their livelihood so don't expect them to tell you all the tricks of the trade. My advise is to not piss them off either - you might need one of them if all else fails. ;-)

[ozymozzy]

If you are planning to replace your antenna system with a "digital" quality rig, my recent experience might be useful to you. I shopped around and bought half a dozen f terminals and a suitable crimping plier at DS, then 25m of quad core cable and a "digital" quality splitter from Bunnings. (Bunnings didn't have the tools, but their cable and splitter were half the price of DS). I intended to re-cable my existing Hills "Hunter" UHF antenna.

The plier from DS was useless and kept splitting the f connectors so I bought a genuine Hills R6 one from Mitre 10. I tried the remaining 4 f connectors using the Hills plier and 3 of them fell off when I pulled at them. When I finally went to replace the existing cable I discovered the old Hills antenna was badly rusted and about to fall apart.

The guy two doors from me was getting all sorts of interference on his old rig, so we decided to buy two new phased array antennas on ebay from a crowd in Melbourne. While we were at it we also ordered another 25m roll of R6 cable and a pack of 50 f connectors. (The price of 50 was only double the price of 10 at DS). Because we bought two antennas, they sent the lot to us for $10 freight. So far so good.

The second lot of cable was slightly thicker than the first lot and the connectors fitted a bit better. We still had to bind them with black plastic tape to keep them on the cable though. Other than that, the process went smoothly and my neighbor is over the moon. He's running two tvs without any interference or an amp.

A guy arrived a few weeks later from Foxtel to change something on their dish antenna. I got talking to him about the f terminal problem and he showed me the type and special tool they now use. He offered to change the ones I fitted and the difference is chalk and cheese. The only way to get his terminals off is to cut them off.

So, if you are going to do it yourself, you'll need the right materials and tools, and hope it all works. After my experience I would suggest getting a quote from a professional installer before jumping in. It might not cost much more and you'll have a guarantee of performance and reliability.

By the way, I've got a couple of cheap f crimping pliers if anyone is interested.

Edited by ozymozzy, 11 February 2009 - 10:43 PM.