All posts by Dave Lindsay
Below are all of Dave Lindsay's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Jeff Sutcliffe: In situations such as yours where you don't have line-of-sight, you are relying on refraction. Consequently, in some spots one signal may be good and another not so. It is always possible that C50 (the BBC channel) isn't good where your aerial is, it never having been used before.
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chantelle: The 800MHz 4G tests are being carried out in London and Brighton, so it's not likely to be your issue!!
Testing | at800
If your two televisions are served from the same aerial and the feed is split using a powered amplifier (booster) then the first suspect must be that the amplifier has failed. Be aware that just because its light is on, the device may have failed. I suggest that you try bypassing it by connecting the lead coming in from the aerial to one of the cables that run to one of your TVs. If it works then that suggests the amplifier is faulty.
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Jo Dee: I would use a AM (MW or LW) radio powered from batteries. Tune it away from a station and listen for any noise.
If the interference starts at a particular time then have it on at the start (and end) time and see if the start and end of the noise on the radio coincides with the TV signal breaking up, that way you know you are listening to the cause.
AM radios have a ferrite rod in which act as the antenna. They are most sensitive in the axis perpendicular to their length. Hence, if you hold the radio with it facing you, when the sound is the loudest you know that it is coming from in front of, behind, above, or below you (or somewhere on that axis). Spin round to where it is at its quietest and the source of the noise must be from either end of the radio.
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g gallagher: If you use a powered amplifier (booster) then the first suspect must be that the amplifier has failed.
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lesley aspin: No the signal is the same at all times.
I would suggest that there is some piece of electrical equipment nearby that is radiating interference. The fact that it starts at a regular time suggests that it is timed.
I would use a AM (MW or LW) radio powered from batteries. Tune it away from a station and listen for any noise.
Have the radio prior to the start time and see if the start of the noise on the radio coincides with the TV signal breaking up, that way you know you are listening to the cause.
AM radios have a ferrite rod in which act as the antenna. They are most sensitive in the axis perpendicular to their length. Hence, if you hold the radio with it facing you, when the sound is the loudest you know that it is coming from in front of, behind, above, or below you (or somewhere on that axis). Spin round to where it is at its quietest and the source of the noise must be from either end of the radio.
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Of course, the Divis COM channels are co-channel with the Darvel COM channels. So if there are spots where Divis' COMs come in then that could degrade reception of Darvel's COMs.
The COM channels carry ITV3, Pick TV, Dave, Film4, 4seven and others.
Perhaps in some cases a different aerial would be better at rejecting these unwanted signals.
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David : If you are receiving from Bluebell Hill then go to the manual tune function and scan UHF channel 54.
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K Smith: Ensure that BBC One is tuned to UHF channel 50, which is that of Winter Hill, by viewing the signal strength screen.
Failing that perhaps the signal level is overwhelming the tuner and you need some attenuation:
Freeview signals: too much of a good thing is bad for you | Digital switchover | ukfree.tv - 10 years of independent, free digital TV advice
If using a powered splitter to distribute the signal from the aerial, try using a non-powered splitter instead.
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Kate: As you appear to live in a block of flats then the suspicion must be that you have alluded to the fact that this is a communal aerial system. In which case this must surely be one possibility!
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Friday 17 May 2013 7:43PM
Jeff Sutcliffe: Once you have each set tuned to Winter Hill (having verified the channel numbers shown on the signal strength screens) then don't be tempted to retune. Your sets will give the best picture and retuning won't improve it.
With digital there is strength and quality. Quality is effectively the digits that make up the picture being intact. Strength is the level of the signal.
Amplification makes a signal bigger but cannot improve its quality. See:
Television Aerial Boosters / Amplifiers, Splitters, Diplexers & Triplexers