Freeview Issues

[Ian157]

I have been having terrible problems with Freeview for a while now. ie no or low signal. Picture break up.  Recently it has been down completely. No HD or SD channels.

I spoke to an aerial fitter who said this area was particulary bad for Freeview reception  Mainly due to atmospherics and interference from Europe.
He came over the other day to check the aerial and connections etc. All were ok but he said the signal strength was poor.  I did fit an amplifier but he said the issue with that is it tends to pick up erroneous signals and can make things worse.

I decided reluctantly to have a dish fitted for Freesat. Which he did. I was going to do it myself but the time i had bought the dish and cabling etc and then trying to adjust the dish to the Astra 2 satellite was a bit too much for me. 
I bought a Manhatton Freesat box as it was the cheapest available.

At last i have a stable signal without any issues. 
Lets hope it lasts.

Ian

Linkback: https://staticforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,653.msg1486.html#msg1486

[DaveE]

This seems a fairly common problem, I.e. freeview issues, at least near where we have our ‘van. Switching to Freesat seems to. be the standard answer for most folk around the area. We have not suffered too much over the last couple of years and have dithered about whether to switch. As yet we’ve stayed with Freeview but I suspect it’s something we will get round to in time.

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[TonyM]

I had a similar issue when I moved house. Try aiming your aerial at the next nearest Freeview transmitter and retuning your TV. You might need a compass and a signal strength meter or similar. You also may have to manually retune to get the best results (I did) but that is very easy. (I used this website for the frequencies. https://ukfree.tv/section/TV_Transmitters ) I did use an amplifier as well. Cured the issue and no problems since.

Hope this helps.

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[Sparkalicious]

Cheers TonyM,

This is something that we are also considering doing. I want to go down your route first though Tony. I've just struggled to find the best way to work out where the nearest transmitter is to me. There doesn't seem to be an obvious website. I'll have to do another search.

TonyM, what booster did you use if you don't mind me asking?

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[TonyM]

 Hi Sparkalicious,

The aerial engineer (he works for Kelly Communications) used this bit of equipment - Optima 4-Way Variable Gain LTE Distribution Amplifier DA4-12 -  118394. Costs about £24.

The splitter is fitted between the aerial and before the TV. (If you have more than one TV, each should ideally have a dedicated aerial cable from the splitter.) The amplifier part can be fitted anywhere in the aerial circuit. Mine is behind one of the TV's. It does need a 230V power supply.

Just a thought, have you got a suitable aerial?

The website I mentioned in my previous post should give all the information you should need, including transmitter location maps and their frequencies.

Let us know how you get on.

TonyM

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[DaveE]

In our case Tony the local town and surrounding area is notorious for poor freeview reception in certain weather conditions. We are in reality less affected than most but it does get to us sometimes.  The towns Facebook page is repeatedly getting posts about poor reception.

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[Sparkalicious]

Thanks Tony,

We are heading down in a couple of weeks and we'll look at all the options. I need to look at my 3G/4G connection as well.

We just have the bog standard aerial that came with the van. Only have one TV but there are times it drives us nuts. Now we are not going to rent any more we are happier to do some more homely modifications. I actually have a spare aerial I was supposed to fit at home, another job I never got around to, in the loft. I may have a look at that and see if that would suit. 

We can get ok TV reception but from time to time it just breaks up and the HD channels are a no go

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[Ian157]

I know when i was having issues with Freeview. On the Freeview downdetector website all areas near here people were having issues. The nearest other transmitter is nearly 65 miles away.

I think the signal from that would be far too weak to get any sort of decent reception. Especially with atmospherics and other erroneous signals.

I am pretty happy with Freesat. There are more HD channels than Freeview and so far no picture breakup.

Ian

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[TonyM]

I understand 4G/5G phone signals can cause issues, especially if there is a mast near to you. You can get filters for this or change to an aerial that will filter it or get a masthead amplifier with a built in filter.

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[Sparkalicious]

Great tips guys, thanks.

I will have a good looksy when I get down to Cornwall. Hopefully in a couple of weeks.

For FreeSat, do you use the same aerial cable to the inside of the caravan from the dish or do you need to run a separate line?

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[TonyM]

On my last caravan, the cables ran uninterrupted from the dish to the Freesat box. Remember to leave some excess cable to allow for repositioning etc. You can if you want run the cables from the dish to a wall mounted socket in the van so you can then plug in another suitable length of cable to connect to the Freesat box or the TV if it has a built-in Freesat tuner.


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[Ian157]

The person who installed the dish ran a dual coax cable from the lnb down the drainpipe and up under the floor behind the tv.
The cable is nearly unnoticeable. He made a hole just big enough for the dual cable then sealed underneath.

I don't have a Freesat recorder but the option is there if it is ever needed.

I don't think you can use the same cable as the tv aerial as its a different impedence.



Ian



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[Sparkalicious]

Never thought of going underneath. That is a good option if I can't follow the route that was done when the original aerial was installed but obviously Willerby have the advantage of installing the cables before all the walls went up. I'll have to see what options I have.

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[Ian157]

That's true. With yours being a new static maybe Willerby fitted a Satellite cable too?

Is there a junction box with satellite and aerial connections on it?

Ian

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[Sparkalicious]

Ooo, I'll have to check but, if my experience of house building is anything to go by, if it costs extra they won't bother, even if it's a couple of inches of wire.

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