All posts by jb38
Below are all of jb38's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Jonathan : Also meant to add, that unless you are using a magic eye system in the bedroom for changing channels on the Sky box then make sure that you do "not" have RF2's output powered up.
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Jonathan: If Freeview reception on the lounge TV is perfect then what you have reported can indicate that the Freeview signal being fed to the bedroom TV is being attenuated at some point, and so to check this out if the bedroom TV is free standing (not wall mounted) take it through to where the Sky box is located and couple the aerial (presently connected into the Sky box) directly into the TV followed by rescanning same on DVB and which on completion should result in a fully populated EPG list, verifying if it does by carrying out a test on following six channels with each of representing one of the six multiplexes used by Bilsdale, or indeed any main station.
1 - 3 - 10 - 11 - 18 - 101 (only if an HD set)
If all channels check out OK then reconnect the aerial into the Sky boxes aerial input socket then couple the Sky boxes RF output into the TV using a short jumper lead, this then being followed by repeating the previous channel test, if all channels still check out OK then return the TV to the bedroom and repeat the mux channel test.
The purpose of this rather long winded test is to ascertain where the signal is being attenuated.
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Richard: Although an over powerful signal can indeed cause problems, its impossible to assess as to whether or not this is likely to apply in your situation unless a post code is supplied.
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Richard: As Tacolneston @ 25 miles away would appear to be your Freeview station then I doubt if an excessively high signal level would be the cause of your problem even although what you have reported could suggest that it is, its a pity that you didn't purchase a booster of the variable gain variety as those types are far more flexible by allowing any suspicion of an excessively high signal level causing problems to be instantly verified or dismissed, and example of a variable gain type seen on the under mentioned link.
The one thing that I did notice though was that the tall BT building with aerial array on top of, is not terribly far away from Tacolnestons signal path, and if any form of high powered RF radiation was emanating from that source then a booster would make the effect on a Freeview TV or boxes tuner worse, but though its really a case of whether or not you have checked as yet with any of your neighbours to find out if they are also experiencing similar problems to your own, because should they be then the problem is outwith your control and as such its pointless wasting time experimenting with your installation in the hope of finding a solution.
Two points I would like to know, 1: what model of "one for all" have you purchased? - 2: where is your aerial mounted (loft or roof)
Buy Plug-In 1 Way TV Aerial Signal Booster at Argos.co.uk - Your Online Shop for TV aerial boosters.
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Jonathan: What you have reported as far as your findings on having returned the TV to the bedroom is concerned, i.e: that although all channels were still there the reception was a bit iffy on some, strongly suggests that the overall signal level that your system is operating on is running a bit on the low side, and with the coax link between the Sky box and the bedroom reducing this further with the result that the channels carried on some muxes (transmitters) are encroaching on the critical level required for reception, Sky box excluded as its signal is generated immediately prior to passing along the link cable.
Another point to note being, that although your lounge TV can apparently give perfect reception on Freeview this is most likely because that its fitted with a more sensitive tuner, as tuners can have quite wide variations in sensitivity and which are not always connected with the price of the equipment that they are housed in, i.e: some low cost tuners can sometimes excel over higher priced models.
Taking all into consideration I feel that your system would benefit from the addition of a two way powered splitter / booster such as the SLX brand type sold by Argos, the aerial being connected into its common input and with one output being fed into the lounge TV and the other into the Sky box and which should alleviate the problem with your bedroom TV.
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Jonathan : This is the "Philex" (not SLX) brand item referred to, although Philex and SLX are the same company.
http://www.argos.co.uk/st…mber /1080287.htm
Under refers to a 2 way variable gain type with built in 4G protection therefore being a somewhat superior device.
SLx 28101HSG Gold 2-Way Plug-Thru Signal Booster for 4G Device: Amazon.co.uk: TV
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colin: Your problem is possibly connected with the engineering work currently being carried out at the Belmont transmitter, as a "liable to interruption" notice was posted on the engineering notice board as starting from Monday 21st.
That said, it would still be advisable to double check on this by making an enquiry with a neighbour to find out if they are being similarly affected.
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Lily Bryson: Anyone residing in an apartment block served by a communal aerial system experiencing problems with reception should always adopt checking with a neighbour to determine if they are also experiencing similar problems as the number one priority, because the chances are that they might well be!
The second point being, that if a programme is selected from the EPG guide list (or even just directly!) and it results in a blank screen then its most inadvisable for anyone to retune their TV, as in most cases the blank screen is simply being caused by the signal level received having dropped under the level required to produce a picture and which "will" return of its own accord when the level rises again provided that the TV / box has "not" been retuned, because the action of retuning wipes out everything already stored in the tuners memory and which will "only" be reloaded into the tuners memory again if the signal has returned to normal, because if it hasn't then the situation has been created where further retunes will be required at random times to recover the programmes.
The main point being, that if the EPG guide list is still being displayed then the TV / box has "not" lost the programme channel irrespective of whether or not anything is seen when the programme channel is selected.
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Jonathan: Unfortunately not! as I wasn't aware that you were using a magic eye, and as far as I can see none of the other types sold by Argos are suitable for use with a magic eye either, as boosters intended to be used with a magic eye system have to be fitted with what's known as a DC bypass to enable the power from RF2 to reach the magic eye, the version seen by opening the link having this facility.
My only reservation about this booster is that its one of the lower gain 6dB types, although this is probably suffice for the purpose intended in your installation.
By the way, these types are exceedingly popular and as such are available from a variety of outlets.
2 WAY DIGITAL TV SKY AERIAL SIGNAL BOOSTER AMPLIFIER BYPASS | eBay
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Tuesday 22 October 2013 5:15PM
Jonathan: Your latter statement is contradictory to the preceding one, insomuch >> the only channel I get is Sky on analogue >> however the fact of you receiving the Sky boxes RF modulator can suggest that your cabling is OK, and so try a test by temporarily removing the Sky boxes aerial input and also the RF output that goes to the bedroom and link the two together, then carry out a rescan on the bedroom TV making sure that its set on DVB or whatever its referred to on your set.