251 replies to this topic

[alanh]

Royal Knight,
Read the first post in this strand.
It only recommends two antennas. For you you do not want one with any amplifiers.
Set the length of the rabbits ears to the band 3 length specified there.
It may be a good idea to buy a male to female antenna cable so you can move the antenna to the inside of the outside wall.

AlanH

[sav3r]

Hey,

I have read through all the threads and I think I got the bulk that I have to get, but I am still not sure what the last sentence in the first post means.

Quote

Models

For Band 3 Telescopic rods (rabbits ears) All have identical performance
The best is;
Jaycar Rabbits ears, UHF Log Periodic 30/36 dB amplifier gain.
followed by;
Rabbits ears VHF, 4 element UHF Yagi L4017 or
Rabbits ears VHF, 4 element UHF Yagi L4017

Forget all others.

I live in Robina, QLD and that means I have H5, correct me if I am wrong. Does that mean I should buy one of the three models?

so long and thanks for your help

[alanh]

sav3r,
Please post in the Gold Coast viewers' forum. If your transmitter is Mt Tambourine, then the answer is yes.

AlanH

[Barryp]

I am having an unusual problem with an indoor antenna, and can't find any answers in the regional forums. About October last year I bought the following antenna:

http://www.dse.com.a...duct/View/L4074

It was giving excellent reception on all channels using a TEAC PVR until about 3 weeks ago when we started getting picture break-up and sound glitches but only on SBS, SD and HD. All the other channels still work fine. I've rescanned a few times and tried moving the antenna but that only makes the other channels deteriorate. So my question is, is there anything particular about the frequencies SBS uses that might contribute to this? (For the record I am in Randwick in Sydney).

[alanh]

Barry,
Your answer is in the Sydney Viewers' Forum

AlanH

[heath_147]

Hello,
This might sound a bit stupid, but if your indoor antenna couldnt get tv reception because of double brick wall, would moving it to in front of a window help the reception??? (what im trying to say is does tv reception go thru glass any better) I live in parafield gardens area of adelaide.
Thankyou, heath_147  

[beeblebrox]

heath_147, on May 2 2010, 06:30 PM, said:

Hello,
This might sound a bit stupid, but if your indoor antenna couldnt get tv reception because of double brick wall, would moving it to in front of a window help the reception??? (what im trying to say is does tv reception go thru glass any better) I live in parafield gardens area of adelaide.
Thankyou, heath_147  

Not so stupid if the window faces the direction of the transmitters then yes it can make a huge difference... not to say it's still going to be reliable as nothing beats a properly installed external antenna but if you're renting then worth a go.

I know I have customers using AX31B winradio antennas mounted in front of windows in numerous impossible to get and external antenna situations that are very happy...

[CryptWizard]

I live in a unit in Sydney.

Using the little antenna included with my USB tuner, I can receive SBS, TVS and 3D TRIAL almost perfectly, but it cannot even detect the other channels.
The building antenna (if there is one, the plug in the wall gives terrible analog reception, so I'm not even sure if there's an antenna) gives no digital channels at all.
Some really old rabbit ears (set up according to the instructions in this thread) can't pick up any digital channels at all either.

How can I pick up ABC, 7, 9 and 10?

[alanh]

CryptWizard,
The antenna supplied is only good for UHF.

CryptWizard and Kari666,
Go to the first post in this strand, you both need an H34. So read the post all the way through with antenna recommendations at the end.

AlanH

[CryptWizard]

The DSE link on the first post is broken.

Is this the one you recommended? http://www.dse.com.a...duct/View/L4017

[alanh]

CryptWizard,
Yes,
I will fix the link

AlanH

[jake123]

aye ppl i have a PX Digital indoor tv antenna and it doesnt allow me to pick up channels 9, 7, 10
im in sydney and i really need help

[alanh]

jake123,
See the first post in this strand. Use the band 3 recommendations as a trial.

If it is not successful go and post in the Sydney viewers' forum and state your suburb.

AlanH

[dig2all]

jake123, on Jun 14 2010, 08:10 PM, said:

aye ppl i have a PX Digital indoor tv antenna and it doesnt allow me to pick up channels 9, 7, 10
im in sydney and i really need help

tested their aerials and found basically they don't work.  few of the indoor ones do.  nice plastic moldings and great marketing though.

[vintec]

hi all, new to dtv forum but i've learnt so much over the last 24 hours thanks to everyone's contribution, especially alanh. never know chores as trivial as getting tv signal could be that technical and complicated, things we took for granted.

Quote

Models

For Band 3 Telescopic rods (rabbits ears) All have identical performance
The best is;
Jaycar Rabbits ears, UHF Log Periodic 30/36 dB amplifier gain.
followed by;
Rabbits ears VHF, 4 element UHF Yagi L4017

after reading alan's guide, i found something contradicting. to my understanding, digital antennas ignore analogue signals, which are band 1 & 2 channels, causing less interference and allowing cleaner amplification. However, both the antennas quote above aren't design for digital signals but are highly recommended by most users, compared to some designed for digital signals. As for L4017, i'm not sure whether to touch that again after some bad experience.

so i'm torn between putting my money on physics or users experience. and of course, there are a lot factors in getting a good digital feed. and that i could return the products for change of mind but it's just too much hassle after all the drams i've been through lately.

i've also read a lot about using a small outdoor antenna beats even the higher end indoor ones. I'm tempted to get DSE L4066 and either attach it to security door outside or top of my bookshelf indoor. any opinions? it is designed for digital signals too

[DrP]

Antennas don't ignore signals.  Their design make them receive more or less signal at given frequency.  Far too much weight has been placed, by some, on antennas covering inappropriate frequency ranges (but also the desired frequency ranges) causing poor reception.  If the existing antenna and cabling system performs acceptably then that's all that matters.  If acceptable reception is not obtained and it is determined that the antenna needs to be replaced and analogue reception is no longer important then the use of an antenna that is designed to receive the frequencies digital tranmission occurs on and not other frequencies can't hurt.  It is not however a requirement to getting good reception.


My advice, as usual and considering that you are considering an external antenna, is that if you are not familiar with what design antenna is suitable for your area (ie, you are asking here!) it is probably a good idea to employ a reputable antenna installer to do the job properly - ie, use a meter etc to work out what needs to be done to get the 'best' reception possible.

Edited by DrP, 28 June 2010 - 03:36 PM.

[vintec]

thanks for the prompt reply and apologies for not being clear the first time. i drafted a long post but decided not to bore any readers and eventually left out some information.

if this information helps, i live in Taringa QLD, about 5km LOS away from Mt Cootha transmitter but IIRC, i don't get the LOS to the towers since the exact place i live in is sort of at the bottom of a valley

basically, i've used Rabbits ears VHF, 4 element UHF Yagi L4017 to a certain success until recently, when it's really hard to get SBS and even some of the channels now. sometimes even require a few rescans on tv to get them working again. i'm renting in a MDU and the available MATV antenna can only get ABC and IIRC, channel 10. indoor antenna is the only way to go and i was wondering if the extra $20 is worth an outdoor antenna (DSE L4066) that can be mounted on my security door or top of bookshelf

cheers

[vintec]

bit the bullet and went ahead with DSE L4066 outdoor antenna. got good signals for all channels except SBS, almost gave up until i plugged in the power inserter and voila!

what exactly is the power inserter? amplifier and/or filter?

[alanh]

vintec,
There is an amplifier in the base which is powered by the plug pack and the power inserter.

AlanH

[Giggler99]

Is it possible to add an amplifier to amplifier on an indoor antenna to boost the signal more ??

[adzy]

Hi I live in Mildura where the switchover has taken place and I want to recieve digital tv in my room, as we have two tv's already connected to the roof antenna in both the lounge and dining room I am using an Indoor antenna in my room, it is just one of those cheap ones and can't find a brand. I can pick up the 7, Sbs and 10 channels with a bit of wriggling it around but it is all in black and white. I mainly watch ABC anway so wondering what I can do. Is there a digital indoor antenna i can use. Since we are renting I don't want to have to get an antenna installed for my room. I could pick up all channels fine on the old analog system.

cheers :-D

[mtv]

adzy, on Jul 24 2010, 02:27 AM, said:

Hi I live in Mildura where the switchover has taken place and I want to recieve digital tv in my room, as we have two tv's already connected to the roof antenna in both the lounge and dining room I am using an Indoor antenna in my room, it is just one of those cheap ones and can't find a brand. I can pick up the 7, Sbs and 10 channels with a bit of wriggling it around but it is all in black and white. I mainly watch ABC anway so wondering what I can do. Is there a digital indoor antenna i can use. Since we are renting I don't want to have to get an antenna installed for my room. I could pick up all channels fine on the old analog system.

cheers :-D

It sounds like you don't have the tuner/TV set up correctly for starters, with getting only black & white pictures?

What digital tuner are you using? eg: integrated tuner in a TV or STB... make/model.

[alanh]

adzy,
The most likely cause is that the STB is selected on NTSC instead of PAL
Otherwise there are 3 possibilities
1. If you are using a STB and an analog TV the colour control is turned right down
2. You only have the yellow video cables connected between the two above, you also need to connect the red and blue ones.
3. You are using an STB with a small transmitter in it. You will be using an antenna cable  between the two. Then you need to fine tune the TV.

As far as antennas goes to get stable reception use an antenna in the indoor antenna link in Mildura Switchover

AlanH

[MLXXX]

alanh, on Jul 24 2010, 05:54 PM, said:

2. You only have the yellow video cables connected between the two above, you also need to connect the red and blue ones.

Here alanh is referring to a high quality form of video connection from a set top box to a TV, using three thick cables coloured Red Green and Blue, known as component video cables.

Assuming you are in fact using a set top box:

You can end up with a black and white picture just using a single component cable because the Green socket on a set top box provides a component luminance signal. All three component cables (Red Green and Blue) are required for correct colour, if using this form of high quality connection.  They have to connect to the correct sockets, normally coloured red green and blue respectively.

As for "yellow", that's the colour used for the old fashioned thin composite video cable, which provides colour but at fairly basic quality, using a single cable (although often combined with audio grade red and white cables for the stereo audio).  If you only have a yellow cable available for connecting the video, it should be plugged into the "composite" output socket of the set top box and the composite input socket of the TV.  These sockets for composite video are coloured yellow, not surprisingly!

However we're a bit in the dark, adzy, not knowing what type of set top box you're using.

Edited by MLXXX, 24 July 2010 - 11:41 PM.

[HDJOHN]

Im in Epping, Vic. Need a really good HD Indoor Antenna.  Parents won't allow me to install another aerial point in my room for my USB turner.

Can anyone recommend a good HD Antenna?

Cheers