I'm moving to a property about 5 miles from Nottm Tx and no obstacles.
I'm currently a couple of more miles further with obstacles and a log periodic is working quite well.
However my new neighbours have said that they had major problems getting some decent reception.
Now the rear of the property is pretty well a vertical face about
50-60ft so would reflections be an issue and if so how what is the recommendation? Ordinarily I would just have got for some Log Periodic wideband aerial.
Of course the neighbours could have poor cabling but the aerial looks like a log periodic.
The directivity of the venerable 'fireguard' actually leaves much to be desired. With no director chain to increase forward gain the performance is really quite poor in that respect.
I had one on my test rig years ago for an article I did about directivity. It had very uneven front/back ratios, varying with frequency and the exact rear azimuth bearing measured. In other words, instead of a clean rear it had a very dirty one... There were some quite large rear lobes and some fairly deep nulls. An unscrupulous manufacturer (and these aerials were made by many firms) could quote a f/b ratio based on a null. Fair enough in a sense, because the forward lobe is very wide (no directors) so the aerial could be positioned off beam to maximize the use of a rear null. But that's not really a solution when the unwanted signals come from a relatively wide angle, such as they would if reflected from a somewhat uneven surface. And even the f/b ratio obtained by such chicanery is not at all impressive compared to the very clean and wide f/b ratio of a log periodic.
No. The properties are all detached and independent bungalows with (now non-functioning) chimneys.
The back rises to about 60' in less than 60'. It is mainly vegetation.
The properties all have aerials on the chimney stack. Most of the properties have the old, pre-digital, aerials and I guess the occupants have moved to Virgin cable.
My property has two of these old aerials but the feeds have been cut-off in the loft.
Not quite as there are a couple of houses on the opposite a ridge about 1/2 mile away. Would be visible if I could demolish them.
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shows a clear path.
I don't have full details of what the neighbour's issues were - he just said it took a lot of trouble to get it right when I asked if his reception was ok. Given the fairly clear path I could not understand why this should be so. Perhaps the installers had tried some cr@p aerial or not upgraded the cabling but then I started to think about the possibility of reflections.
An embankment won't reflect any signal. In fact it will screen you from possible interference from the rear.
The old Group A aerials as used for the Nottingham tx are fine for the main channels. They aren't right for the dross channels because the latter are outside the group. However, very few people who get a reasonable signal from the Nottingham tx have replaced their aerials because either they can't be arsed or they don't need to because everything works fine on the old aerial.
Are you sure the ridge itself is not in the way?
It often does. The resolution might not be adequate to show that the ridge is in the way.
I should think the installers were lifting his leg.
As a wild shot, I might suggest that any interference is likely to come from the vegetated hillside you mention. Signals received at the set could be disrupted by a localised shifting Earth signal?
I had hoped to get away with a lazy option and tried an indoor aerial supposedly for up to 9 miles range. Zilch - nada - nothing. Will a modicum of signal strength but zero quality and no picture.
As an interim test I have run the disused cable from one of the aerials (I don't know which) into the lounge and have tried testing just to get an idea.
I'm getting C49 C27 * C54 * C24 C46 C52 * C56
though only those marked * have any sort of quality.
My next door neighbour, with his newish aerial (see photos at
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) has had the aerial guy out again has he had lost BBC1 - though the weather over the weekend was not conducive to good reception). The aerial guy said something about another transmitter - my neighbour knows less about all this than I do so I don't get clear feedback. Wish he'd told me when the guy was there.
Now I'm not expecting top quality reception with the aerials I'm testing - I'm just trying to see what I can get before I buy a good aerial and cable. But it seems to me something weird is going on.
The properties are approx 5 miles SE of the Nottm Transmitter. I've added a path from Wolfbane.
So any clues? What aerial should I buy? Do I need an expert? Or shall I just get Virgin connected?
FWIW there was some really good signal propagation over the weekend that caused a lot of reception upset!. Our local test 100 watts DAB transmitter in Cambridge was heard up in north Lincs!.
That path profile looks fine.
Get a decent Blake aerial a log will be fine a run of decent quality cable No joins!, and put it outside as high as you can reasonably get and I'm sure it'll be fine:)
Yes there was indeed a lift in conditions while the foggy weather was around and that in itself will cause problems. Its funny but people seem to worry more nowadays than before. I suppose its because you could still follow stations with interference, but digital tends to just stop working completely on all the stations on the multiplex affected of course. I'd certainly not go virgin. Freesat maybe.
My tests were today - and my neighbour has said other neighbours have problems.
If I can get up to the aerial (see other thread about ladders on flat roofs) I'll see what line of sight looks like. There appears to be a clump of trees 1/4 mile away though Google Earth has them at the same elevation as my house.
I had a 26 element log from ATV aerials pointing to Nottm TX at the last property which was twice as far and the path skimmed two hills and no joins. But the old aerial and decrepid aerial it replaced had less problems - so in addition to my neighbour's problems I'm reluctant to jump in just yet until I've understood more of what is going on.
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