335 replies to this topic

[mtv]

I think PM's are disabled until a member has 10 posts.

[M'bozo]

FlashMan,

I have created a temporary email address: deleted

Marc.

[HillsTas]

Hi Guys,

Flashman, I will be in Georgetown of Friday (1st June) with my Hills Digital Meter. Now I dont do installs, nor do I sell to the end user, but I can give you some pointers as to who to use, what to user or if you can use what you already have but change the direction/cable etc...

If Marc has already teed something up with you then go with him, he has a lot more field experience for the north of the state but if you wanted me to drop in while I was up there, then let me know. Email is david.howlett@hills.com.au

Cheers
Dave

[FlashMan]

Thanks for your generosity Guys, I am full of gratitude.

[mtv]

Hills Antennas, on May 28 2007, 08:36 AM, said:

Flashman, I will be in Georgetown of Friday (1st June) with my Hills Digital Meter.

Dave, what meter is it? Does Hills have it's own-brand meter now?

[FlashMan]

I have a phased array set up for horizontal polarisation; I think! It doesn't look like your diagrams. In the pdf, yours is four bays of dipoles and reflectors. Mine has three horizontal layers.
Looking from the front, it has eight wires in front of sixteen wires in front of thirty-two wires.
The first eight wires are shorter than the next sixteen etc. The sixteen are in pairs. Four pairs of two down each side.
The rear 32 are 4 lots of four down the two sides.
It actually looks like a 3 dimensional cross between the Yago Uda (except the wires lengths are not uniform), the log periodic and the phased array.
The signal leaves there and goes into the mast head amplifier.  
There is then a log periodic, also mounted for horizontal polarisation.
It has 15 elements ranging from about 450 mm (900 mm total width) down to about 40 mm a side.
The signal leaves there and goes into the mast head amplifier as well.  
(Sorry this is so long)
The single cable goes into the ceiling and to a splitter box. This has been bypassed by the previous owners so there is a join here.
(There are three TV outlets in the house with only one connected)
It then goes to the outlet where I have connected the television.

Flashman

[beeblebrox]

mtv, on May 28 2007, 04:52 PM, said:

Dave, what meter is it? Does Hills have it's own-brand meter now?

They've had a Hills "badged" one for a while now.  got a brochure on it somewhere.. pretty basic meter but it does BER..

[HillsTas]

beeblebrox, on May 28 2007, 09:15 PM, said:

They've had a Hills "badged" one for a while now.  got a brochure on it somewhere.. pretty basic meter but it does BER..

I wouldnt say it was basic. I have seen and used basic meters and this isnt one of them. I does MER, aBER, bBER, SNR, Network ID, MPEG Service lists, C/N Ratio, has an adjustable range spectrum, custom memory plans, frequency offsets, datalogging function, DC at RFin sniffer, PASS/MARG/FAIL status for Digital, HP/LP rate, Auto Guard interval recognition, constellation chart, PID info, weighs only 1.1kg and more...
It is also available with a Satellite meter built in!

Now I have not yet seen a meter that does all of that for the price (sub $2000). The only thing it seems to be missing compared to some of the up market meters is a CRT or LCD built in.

[HillsTas]

If you are interested in more on the Digital Strength Meter, e-mail me and I will send you the PDF of the flyer, manual and the powerpoint presentation we use to train the users.

I apologise for the outburst above, but to call this meter basic is not particularly fair or true.

Dave

[mtv]

Dave,

Email sent.

[M'bozo]

Quote

but to call this meter basic is not particularly fair or true

No, it's not.

The Hills meter looks like a rebadged Rover.

I could be wrong, however the specs for it read like my PDA-7.

At the risk of starting an off topic meter thread  

Be interesting to see what the latency is like.     

(Like to have a play with one.)

[HillsTas]

I will have my demo unit with me next visit if you want to have a look (and dont tell anyone but your on the money about the rebadging).
Latency differs, the Spectrum is a bit slow but the DB reading on the Measure screen is quite quick. I will give you a call Thursday Marc.

Dave

[M'bozo]

Thanks Dave.

Look forward to your call.

[FlashMan]

Hi Everyone,
I would just like to thank David who had a look over my antenna / reception problem this morning
(for free! Wouldn't accept $ or beers as payment).
You'd have to go a long way to find someone as generous with their time and advice.
I think that even my teenage daughter will be happy (and that is saying something).
Thanks David and cheers for the help.

[HillsTas]

No problems Flashman, as I said it was good to have a break from customer calls all day.

For those who are interested here is what we found:

Phased Array and Log Periodic on an extended CFB which fed into a Hills Diplexer/Amp (didnt look inside but will hazard a guess it was the LNDA).
Coax used is RG59
Antennas feed into an old Matchmaster screw and saddle splitter which used to go to daughters room, living room and a third to the far wall of the living area, except it had been disconnected and the lead from antenna was connected to the farr wall plate which was not being used.
Flylead was rabbit gnawed AIRCORE!!!

What I did:
Replaced flylead with RG6 Quad
Measured output at the living room plate, signal between 47 and 55 dBuV.
Post BER was around the 1xE4 to 1xE5
suggested getting Marc to align antenna with Mt Barrow
Suggested using RG6 and using F Type splitter instead of the S&S.

I did not take the money as I didnt really do anything and I dont drink Beer so is no use to me either!!! I was more than happy to take a break from work to help a fellow DTV member, although I will leave the hard work to a professional!

Cheers
Dave

[austruckie]

Hills Antennas, on Jun 2 2007, 04:50 PM, said:

No problems Flashman, as I said it was good to have a break from customer calls all day.

For those who are interested here is what we found:

Phased Array and Log Periodic on an extended CFB which fed into a Hills Diplexer/Amp (didnt look inside but will hazard a guess it was the LNDA).
Coax used is RG59
Antennas feed into an old Matchmaster screw and saddle splitter which used to go to daughters room, living room and a third to the far wall of the living area, except it had been disconnected and the lead from antenna was connected to the farr wall plate which was not being used.
Flylead was rabbit gnawed AIRCORE!!!

What I did:
Replaced flylead with RG6 Quad
Measured output at the living room plate, signal between 47 and 55 dBuV.
Post BER was around the 1xE4 to 1xE5
suggested getting Marc to align antenna with Mt Barrow
Suggested using RG6 and using F Type splitter instead of the S&S.
very nice of you to go to the trouble to help some without seeking a reward, other than satisfaction of doing a good turn.  cheers alan
I did not take the money as I didnt really do anything and I dont drink Beer so is no use to me either!!! I was more than happy to take a break from work to help a fellow DTV member, although I will leave the hard work to a professional!

Cheers
Dave

nice to see some one help without  gain except for the satisfaction of helping a fellow man, good on you.  alan

[M'bozo]

FlashMan, on May 26 2007, 03:15 PM, said:

I think I should have someone visit and measure the signal, assess my antenna type/s and direction/s and give advice on what the most appropriate next step should be.

I took down the ALCAD AP369 phased array, opened it out (it was still in shipping configuration), spent a bit of time on the roof and found a sweet spot with levels just under 35dBµV with cBERs of 1xE3 to 1xE4. Added a Kingray MHU44G masthead amplifier and called it a day.

Removed the other antenna and hardware as they were now redundant.

[Vookie23]

Hi all, don't post much on here, but avidly read the forum, so hello.  I built in the Port Sorell regon in a poor signal area about 2 years ago,, have had the local antenna man out a couple of times to do a signal strength survey for digital coverage to no avail.  Earlier on this year a lovely man from island antennas came out and moved my antenna down the yard and we finally got quie a good signal.   Anyway...  Since the weather has improved our reception has progressively got more and more "glitchy" to the point where it is nearly unwatchable, could this be due to the good weather of late with interference from Melbourne??  Could it be due to tree growth near the antenna (i'm grasping at straws I know).  Is there anything you can suggest to help me, I do not want to waste the 700 dollars I spent on getting the antenna moved just to go back to an analogue reception.  Thanking you all in advance.  HEEEEELLLLLLLLPPPPPPPP!!!!!

[alanh]

Vookie23,
The moisture in tree leaves will absorb the signal particularly if it is in the path between the antenna and the TV transmitter. This will give you this problem. Is it constant or only at one time of day. It is not interference from Victoria.

If you go to the first post in this strand and click on the TAS link, you will notice that there is a digital ABC translator (ABNT channel 53) in Gumbowie Drive Port Sorrell. The ABC site says it is on air. I would ask the other networks when they will install digital translators on this site. This service needs a small phased array on its side because it is vertically polarised where as the Mt Barrow transmitters are horizontally polarised.

When all of the local translators come on air you can use your existing installation but the antenna will have to be rotated to its side position and rotated towards Gumbowie Drive.

AlanH

[M'bozo]

Vookie23, on Nov 23 2007, 08:19 PM, said:

Hi all, don't post much on here, but avidly read the forum, so hello.  I built in the Port Sorell regon in a poor signal area about 2 years ago,, have had the local antenna man out a couple of times to do a signal strength survey for digital coverage to no avail.  Earlier on this year a lovely man from island antennas came out and moved my antenna down the yard and we finally got quie a good signal.   Anyway...  Since the weather has improved our reception has progressively got more and more "glitchy" to the point where it is nearly unwatchable, could this be due to the good weather of late with interference from Melbourne??  Could it be due to tree growth near the antenna (i'm grasping at straws I know).  Is there anything you can suggest to help me, I do not want to waste the 700 dollars I spent on getting the antenna moved just to go back to an analogue reception.  Thanking you all in advance.  HEEEEELLLLLLLLPPPPPPPP!!!!!

If, as I suspect, it is this antenna pictured here, I'm guessing either the vegetation around you has changed, or the weather of late is causing dispersion of the signal and consequent problems. In the past, growth spurts in Spring & Autumn have caused this

There was no margin for error with that instal owing to your location, however, all that may be required is a slight change of position around the antenna's current position to restore signal.

Obtaining a signal from Gumbowie drive, even assuming the commercial & SBS operators ever make an appearance there will be problematical owing to the use vertical polarisation, low power and vegetation between you and that transmitter as well.



A bit of a technical rant:  

For installations in marginal areas using Mt Barrow transmissions, I am experiencing co-channel interference leading to a loss of reception of the ABC from Lookout Hill in Victoria (another ABC transmitter - some poetic justice there?), but not other channels - yet

And then I won't even start on all the poor souls using the Kelcey Tier digital transmissions that are regularly wiped out by signals from Mt Tassie and Mt Major in VIC this time of year.

eg because of the weather pattern right at the moment I am receiving extremely low powered radio beacons from South Australia on UHF - just waiting for the WA ones to start coming in  

[Vookie23]

M, on Nov 24 2007, 04:43 AM, said:

If, as I suspect, it is this antenna pictured here, I'm guessing either the vegetation around you has changed, or the weather of late is causing dispersion of the signal and consequent problems. In the past, growth spurts in Spring & Autumn have caused this

There was no margin for error with that instal owing to your location, however, all that may be required is a slight change of position around the antenna's current position to restore signal.

Obtaining a signal from Gumbowie drive, even assuming the commercial & SBS operators ever make an appearance there will be problematical owing to the use vertical polarisation, low power and vegetation between you and that transmitter as well.
A bit of a technical rant:  

For installations in marginal areas using Mt Barrow transmissions, I am experiencing co-channel interference leading to a loss of reception of the ABC from Lookout Hill in Victoria (another ABC transmitter - some poetic justice there?), but not other channels - yet

And then I won't even start on all the poor souls using the Kelcey Tier digital transmissions that are regularly wiped out by signals from Mt Tassie and Mt Major in VIC this time of year.

eg because of the weather pattern right at the moment I am receiving extremely low powered radio beacons from South Australia on UHF - just waiting for the WA ones to start coming in  

Thanks for the reply, yes thats my antenna, will try and move it (after noting it's original position first) and see if that improves things, not very hopeful though

[M'bozo]

Vookie23, on Nov 24 2007, 11:20 AM, said:

Thanks for the reply, yes thats my antenna, will try and move it (after noting it's original position first) and see if that improves things, not very hopeful though

Moving the antenna refers to finding a spot somewhere in the current location as in left, right, up or down, and would be at best a guessing game without using a digital field strength meter. Initially the best spot was where it is now, but there was a small circular area within that location where it worked.

If no joy, you may have to contact me to have a look next time I'm out that way to see if that is the problem, or that something else is not the issue.

Marc.

[Vookie23]

M, on Nov 24 2007, 02:09 PM, said:

Moving the antenna refers to finding a spot somewhere in the current location as in left, right, up or down, and would be at best a guessing game without using a digital field strength meter. Initially the best spot was where it is now, but there was a small circular area within that location where it worked.

If no joy, you may have to contact me to have a look next time I'm out that way to see if that is the problem, or that something else is not the issue.

Marc.

Thanks again for the advice, moved the antenna around whilst the wife watched the signal strength (she loves helping, lol).  And have found a slightly better spot.  Still unable to get any abc signal at all, signal strength is less than 5% and has been problematic for a long time. For now the commercial chanels are not quite as glitchy as they were, thanks again.

Rick

[svEngineer]

Hi, I'm new to this forum but any help would be appreciated.

NO ABC-41 signal in BRIDGENORTH. 18km W of Launceston.

I'm having trouble getting ABC Ch41 & SBS Ch44 digital reception at Bridgenorth from Mt Barrow. However we are getting Ch38 booming in 88% signal SNR 24dB, CH 50 & 52 good as well but less signal%.  I have a Fracarro 20BL antenna hooked up to 50mtrs of quad RG6U, that I've been roaming around the garden with trying to get a better signal on ABC.  Best so far is about 10% with SNR 5dB.
I do not have line of sight to Mt Barrow.  
Would a phased array antenna have a better chance of picking up ABC & SBS? And should I try a masthead amp?
Is there a major difference in the transmitter positions on Mt Barrow that is causing this difference?

......
svEngineer
...........

[mtv]

More info needed please svEngineer

There are a few different models of Fracarro BL antenna, namely the BL4, BL5 and BL45... which one do you have?

(The BL5 is the one you need)

Did you have the channels ok until recently, or are you just setting up an antenna for digital now?

You say you've been "roaming around the garden with trying to get a better signal"

How high is the mast you are using?

There has been a lightning strike, which damaged the ABC & SBS antenna arrays last week.

Perhaps it's still waiting on parts for the repair. This will certainly affect your reception, as one of the arrays is the one facing west, basically straight at you.

If you have an obstructed signal path, a phased array may perform better for you, however, I'd suggest holding off until we know the repair to the TX antenna has been completed.