Freeview...Bah!!

[the_happy_traveller]

Last night I decided to drag out the old freeview box so I could have some of the channels not available on fta satellite.
Got everything set up, scanned for channels (all found OK) and guess what, the reception was worse than terrible. This is in spite of being only 3 miles from the Kimberley (Nottingham) transmitter and within a direct line of sight.
(I can see it from our upstairs windows)
Last time I tried, I was in North Wales and only had to point the aerial in the general direction of Liverpool and the signal came booming in.
Surely I can't be too close to the transmitter??

What else am I doing wrong??

 

[handyman 44]

are u watching on a plasma or lcd

 

[the_happy_traveller]

are u watching on a plasma or lcd

Nope, just a normal 20" crt.
Does it make a difference??

 

[mrMick]

this may sound like a silly question, but what do you mean by it being 'worse than terrible'? are you seeing pixellation/blockiness for example?

the plasma/lcd thing i believe is referring to those types of displays showing the poor picture quality often associated with over compressed digital signals.

 

[rolfw]

Yes you can be too close to the transmitter, the freeview box can be swamped with signal.

 

[the_happy_traveller]

Mr Mick
That's it, plenty of the old pixelation. Just when you think everything is OK, pic breaks up again.

Rolf.
I can only get a very low signal strenth as well.
Should this be the case being so close to a transmitter??

Thanks in advance.

 

[rolfw]

Just looked at the information on the Nottingham transmitter and it is very low power http://wwww.dtt-tx-info.org/current_tx.htm probably one of the lowest, have you tried your box upstairs on a portable aerial?

 

[the_happy_traveller]

Thanks for the link Rolf.
We live in a flat above a college and so we are on the 1st and 2nd floors of a 35' high building. I've tried the aerial in the bedroom and the loft.
On an indoor aerial, I get no signal at all.

 

[mrMick]

well, my 2p worth. could be a combination of things i guess. weak signal, too much compression being used by the broadcaster (doubt it would be that on bbc though..). i dare say it could even be the freeview box isnt working properly, would rather depend on age of box i guess.

 

[the_happy_traveller]

Thanks Mick
You're right with bbc, they are the best of the channels. Others range from breaking up to no pic at all. Box is working fine as far as I know.

Looks like I've just got to wait until the other channels become FTA.

 

[Yeshi]

It could need atenuating..

 

[2cvbloke]

I just noticed this thread and the pixellation sounds just like the problems my mum has with her TV and seperate Refurb former-OnDigital box, even my two freeview boxes (non-refurb OnDig box and an oggle box) do the same here, and the aerial (as far as I can see) has line of sight to the Pendle Forest transmitter, so one of two things is wrong, the receivers (the IDTV and the box) are overloaded with signal, or there's a cabling fault somewhere...

I live about 5 minutes walk from my mum's house and I have no troubles whatsoever, but I don't have full LOS to the transmitter, the only trouble I get is when some local guy on his hairdryer (read Scooter) whines past my house the ondig box occasionally pixellates....

 

[the_happy_traveller]

the only trouble I get is when some local guy on his hairdryer (read Scooter) whines past my house the ondig box occasionally pixellates....

Never thought of that.
Our aerial points straight over a main road which has a pelican crossing almost right outside our house. Maybe that has something to do with it. I do very occasionally have a problem with vehicles interfeering with the sat signal and the dish is 35' above the road.

 

[2cvbloke]

Never thought of that.
Our aerial points straight over a main road which has a pelican crossing almost right outside our house. Maybe that has something to do with it. I do very occasionally have a problem with vehicles interfeering with the sat signal and the dish is 35' above the road.

Could be a cabling problem there then, is your aerial downlead old or new? If it's old, just replace it with CT100 (or equivalent) satellite grade cable and you should be fine...

As for my onDig box, I have that on a splitter (not a cheapo one, a proper metal box one I salvaged from an old Nynex cable TV installation (whoops!!! Cable talk!!! ), it's branded "TVC") and the cable I use from the splitter is some of the spare CT100-type cable I got from Maplin a few years back and it works perfectly, could do with soldering the Belling Lee RF plug to the cable's core, but it's fine as-is, and I'm moving house soon so it's not a worry for me...

 

[PaulR]

A lot of traffic lights nowadays use radar sensing. No idea what frequency they use but I suppose it's possible that it could be causing some blocking of the receiver's front end if it'sin the line of sight.

They can be identified by a small horn perched on top of the light cluster usually pointing towards the approachng traffic. They are taking over from the inductive loop system in most cases. If Pelican crossing use radar they may also have a horn to deteect pedestrians.

 

[2cvbloke]

Bit off topic, but I noticed that a set of traffic lights in Nelson has PIR sensors ontop of the lights, I think it's for keeping the lights on Red when there's people crossing, then when no-one is crossing, the light's sequence starts, I guess...

 

[PaulR]

Bit off topic, but I noticed that a set of traffic lights in Nelson has PIR sensors ontop of the lights, I think it's for keeping the lights on Red when there's people crossing, then when no-one is crossing, the light's sequence starts, I guess...

Are you sure they're PIR? The ones for vehicle traffic are radar and I assumedthe ones for pedestrians are the same.

 

[the_happy_traveller]

Traffic interference, Radars, Ridiculously low powered transmitter.........
I think it can stay in the drawer.
I may try again when they decide to whack up the power a bit.

:-bash
Thank God for satellite.

 

[2cvbloke]

Are you sure they're PIR? The ones for vehicle traffic are radar and I assumedthe ones for pedestrians are the same.

Well, I don't actually know 100%, but there's an LED on the device (which is looking down onto the crossing) which blinks on and off in relation to any movement on the crossing, so whatever it is it acts like a PIR...

And I've watched when people cross, if there's just 1 person, the lights go back to green fairly quickly, but if there's a lot, and plenty of those who run accross before the lights change, they stay on red a lot longer, so they can't be on a preset time and must have a device to keep the lights on red...

Oh, and these particular lights were replaced last year from very old old preset-time ones...

Anyway, back on topic!!!
Erm, nothing new to add....

 

[BarMoo]

Traffic interference, Radars, Ridiculously low powered transmitter.........
I think it can stay in the drawer.

Best thing I have ever heard about FreeView. Long live Satellite.

Just looking at rolf's supplied link to transmitters: Emley Moor (not the smallest of transmitters by any stretch of the imagination).

ERP (KW) MUX 1 - MUX C = 5KW MUX D = 2KW

Makes me think of standing under a pylon with a fluorescent tube. [read: its power, but not as we know it].

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