broken digital signal

velvetybubbles

is there anything that can be done about the tv breaking up when ever a motor bike goes past, someone uses a lawn mower or strimmer etc

breaks up the digital signal :mad:

never happened on analogue

aliEnRIK

Does the tv show the 'signal strength' anywhere?
If its low then a signal booster would probably help

That said, if its causing problems just because somones using a strimmer then it could be you have VERY 'dirty mains' (Full of interference). In which case a tacima mains conditioner should help

Does the aerial wobble or something? Maybe it just needs tightening up and the connections checking out?

Hammyman

velvetybubbles wrote: »

is there anything that can be done about the tv breaking up when ever a motor bike goes past, someone uses a lawn mower or strimmer etc

breaks up the digital signal :mad:

never happened on analogue

Yes. Get a TV aerial man in to replace the water filled corroded manky 20 year old co-axial cable that runs from the TV aerial. Co-ax cable has a 5 year lifespan however with TVs you can usually get away with it and not notice much difference until a source of interference is introduced.

weegie.geek

The cable will already have picked up the interference rik, you'll probably be amplifying the interference too.

New good quality shielded aerial cable is probably the best bet.

fwor

velvetybubbles wrote: »

the tv breaking up when ever a motor bike goes past

I have a similar problem with a neighbour's (petrol driven) lawnmower. From your description it sounds as though at least some of the interference is radiated and not coming via the mains supply.

I found that an aerial amplifier did not help - probably for the reasons given above.

However, one thing that did help was to raise the aerial higher above the roof and to point it slightly further upward. It did not completely eliminate the interference, but the picture is now watchable, with only occasional smaller broken-up areas.

velvetybubbles

aerial and cable is all new and is positioned well higher than other roofs etc, if u light a electronic lighter it also reacts if thats any help,
but thanx for all the replies x

Hammyman

velvetybubbles wrote: »

aerial and cable is all new and is positioned well higher than other roofs etc, if u light a electronic lighter it also reacts if thats any help,
but thanx for all the replies x

If the antenna and cable is new and you're not using an amplifier and you're in an area with decent signal strength then unfortunately the problem is the TV and its down to a shoddy design of the front end receiver - mainly its inability to reject interference - and there's nothing you can do other than change the TV for a different make/model.

aliEnRIK

What IS the make and model of tv?

Id also have to question the new aerial etc. Its possible its been done by a cowboy, or hes slipped up somewhere

weegie.geek

If a lighter affects it (which surely isn't strong enough to affect it at the aerial end) then it sounds like a problem nearer the TV. Dodgy cable terminations etc.

Is the freeview tuner built-in, or is it a standalone one? It could be a badly shielded tuner in the box. I had a tuner that died every time a car went past. Swapped it for a different one and it was fine.

googler

I have a loft-mounted aerial, and all cable goes down the wall cavities, so is unlikely to be corroded. The house is barely 12 years old, so the cable should still be in good condition. The aerial feeds an amplifier in the loft, which in turn feeds the digiboxes two floors down.

One night, working on my computer, I dug out the little hand-held vacuum cleaner that I use for cleaning it out. Switched this on, and was greeted with a wail from downstairs, OH bemoaning that the picture had gone haywire on the (freeview) digibox.

This isn't mains-borne interference, and it's hardly a significant source of radiated interference. It strikes me as crummy design on the part of the digibox manufacturer.

I've since repeated the same situation with an electronic hair trimmer and a small battery-operated fan.

bonzer

As it's cheap, I'd probably try replacing the aerial cable between the wall and the freeview box first, in case that's picking up the interference. Should be double screened coax, with shielded connectors - couple of quid. Avoid running it adjacent to other cables as far as possible - particularly mains.

If that does nothing, try borrowing a different Freeview box and see if that does any better - as pointed out above it may be the box/TV has rubbish shielding and is picking up the interference internally. You could possibly try shielding the box yourself with a layer of tin foil above and below, although this is tricky get right and you need to be careful not to obstruct air vents. However since it costs nothing, worth a try, you never know.

After that I'd move onto the aerial cable from the wall to the roof.