Dodgy digital TV - Mains problem?

We live in a poor TV reception area (really must get a new aerial!), so the digital will often go a bit dodgy. I notice, however, that it always pauses when something electrical switches (lights, the fridge, the heating etc). I doubt that it's the digital box, as this has happened with both of two independent ones that we've had. Now, it could be simply what happens when the signal is pretty marginal, but I got to wondering whether it says something about the state of the wiring. Just wondered whether anyone had any bright ideas?

Reply to
GMM
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In message , GMM writes

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Reply to
geoff

Yes, get someone in to check your aerial and the signal.

We had bad signal for a while, and on getting someone in to check the aerial, we found that the old connections had corroded. A new aerial made all the difference.

Paying £35 -50 for the expertise, testing equipment and new aerial (not to mention avoiding the need to get up on the roof) was a bargain.

Reply to
OG

In article , OG scribeth thus

Yes that was. Around here its nearer £200 as the digital cowboy riggers cash in;(...

O/P, Where are you and what transmitter do you use?..

Reply to
tony sayer

Nevertheless, boxes do vary in their sensitivity to such interference. Our old Pioneer On Digital box never suffers from impulsive interference, but a Humax PVR fed with the same signal is much worse. So whilst the suggestion to get your aerial/leads checked and if necessary replaced is a good one, don't rule out the possibility that a different DigiBox might help.

Richard.

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Reply to
Richard Russell

Do you have a masthead amplifier? Its a little box fixed to the mast outside about 1 metre down from the aerial. In some places the voltage drops momentarily when something switches on. Hits me because I live at the end of a long overhead line. This might cause the amp to stop amping so much for a moment and cause the glitch.

Probably a good time to upgrade. If you are in a fringe area a Televes wideband aerial (DAT 45 or 75) is probably the best bet with a Televes masthead and PSU. Which reminds me to get out the scaffold tower and install mine. Still in the box after four months!

Peter Scott

Reply to
Peter Scott

geoff formulated on Thursday :

That is to be expected in a poor signal area - it is just the brief signal from the switching breaking through and swamping the TV signal. It could equally be poor quality coax at fault, allowing the interference to into the cable. Might a basic (none Sky) satellite system be a better option than terrestrial?

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

I can beat that; I've got a nice branded aerial that's sat on top of my son's wardrobe for almost 2 years now without being fitted. Maybe next weekend....

Matt

Reply to
matthew.larkin

Hee hee. There ought to be an acronym or phrase like those round tuit badges that people used to get. Suggestions invited. Especially if it has a kind of hermetic masonic secret ring to it, so that only we know what it means.

Anyway I know when it'll be you'll do it. The day after you (or someone more important in your household!) get half-way something looked forward to and the piccy starts to pixellate. Mind you I wouldn't have minded the Croatia game going that way.

Peter Scott

Reply to
Peter Scott

Why are you suggesting that the OP gets a wideband aerial when he hasn't told us what transmitter he uses? A grouped aerial may be more appropriate. Incidently, which transmitter are you intending to point your Televes at?

Reply to
Graham.

In article , Graham. scribeth thus

Bill Wright reckons an Antiference 18 element is as good that those thelves bling things!...

Reply to
tony sayer

Talcolnestone. Go on. Your are going to tell me it's no good for that! Aaargh! At least I haven't fitted it yet.

Peter Scott

Reply to
Peter Scott

'fraid so Peter. All Tacolneston channels, pre and post switch-over are at the top end of the band, and a Group C/D aerial is best. That means you can achieve the same or better gain and directivity with an aerial a fraction of the weight, wind-loading, and, of course, price.

Reply to
Graham.

In article , Peter Scott scribeth thus

Taccy?, Where are yew in darkest Narfolke?..

Reply to
tony sayer

I knew it was C/D but didn't see why a wideband should be a problem. You seem to be agreeing except for the factors you've listed. I don't think the long C/D aerial I'm replacing is any lighter nor less liable to wind pressure. So I guess I'll go ahead and use the Televes, which is shorter. What do you think of Televes amps? The one I've got has three variable gain inputs (UHF, VHF and DAT) that it multiplexes down to one feed cable. Feels well engineered.

Peter Scott

Reply to
Peter Scott

Thas roight bor

We keep it's joys a secret so that not too many people want to move here. Some one suggested that as there's only about 5 km of Norfolk border that isn't a river, we ought to build a wall or a moat. Trouble is we can't afford that as we need the money to stop the sea washing some of us away. I was outraged to see agricultural land described as 'low value' in some boneheaded politician's drivel excusing the neglect. Ask 99% of the world's population what land is most valuable and they'll say land you can grow food on. What weird ideas the great deep thinking ones have got!!

Unfortunately the glitterati seem to have discovered where I live in North Norfolk. They'll go away before long I expect.

Peter Scott

Reply to
Peter Scott

I can't comment on the amp but in general terms a Yagi aerial like what most all TV aerials are is essentially a narrowband device, the supposed wideband versions have overall lower gain across the whole band and hence if you can its a good idea to use one for the narrowest band possible where they will have the best gain...

And then you may not need the pre amp;)...

Reply to
tony sayer

In article , Peter Scott scribeth thus

Enough of 'em are piling up the A11 on a Friday nite;!..

Now most of North Norfolk isn't that well served by Taccy hence the relay stations there;(....

Reply to
tony sayer

Very true. I live in a dip at about 50 km from Tac. Some weather conditions produce poor reception. I need high amplification - 26 dB masthead and a distribution amp. Trouble is that when there is a freakily good signal I get strange effects as well.

So I reckoned it was time to start again, with new aerials and masthead. I have switched to a slightly longer 2 inch dia mast and am going to put it on a higher part of the house. Hopefully all will be well then. I'll experimentally screw the gain down to an acceptable level under worst conditions to avoid the freaky stuff.

Does anyone know why terrestrial signal meters are so much more expensive than those sold for satellite setup? I used to borrow one for setting up but can't any more and I'm not going to lash out 250 pounds.

Peter Scott

Reply to
Peter Scott

Far from being optermised for reception wideband yagis are always a compromise, simply because they are wideband. There are situations where you have no choice but to use a wideband due to the spread of channels allocated to a given transmitter but this is not the case at Tacolneston. You can understand the advantages of distributing these one-size- fits-all aerials around the country, you need to go to a specilist stockist to get a grouped aerial. I understand that the "semi wideband" Group E is difficult to obtain, even to the trade.

A decent group C/D aerial would out-perform that Televes and be smaller and lighter, it would also be "tuned" to the availible DTT MUXs (and analouge channels), and be better able to reject out-of-band signals such as TETRA. To sum up that aerial may work perfectly, but it sounds like your intention was to optimise your installation. Ping Bill Wright on uk.tech.digital-tv if you want a more expert opinion.

Reply to
Graham.

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