Aerial or Set Top Box Fault?

csnann

i would like to know if the digital reception problem I am having is more likely to be coming from my aerial or from my set top box. The picture on the UHF44 channel is sort of stripy - it looks like there are lines of colour following the movement, there is also no sound at all on these channels. Channels 5 and 15 disappeared when I did a reinstall. The other channels are watchable but there are occasionaly little coloured squares of colour popping up here and there, with momentary losses of sound. This is the first set top box that I have owned so I am not sure if these are common problems if they go wrong.

The reason I thought that it might be the aerial is that the trouble started after a thunderstorm and as the aerial is about 12 years old it might have just deteriorated. I have replaced my old flylead with a CT100 grade one and that improved the signal strength quite a bit. The analogue channels work perfectly.

espresso

If you enter your details into this site, it will show the channel numbers for each of the Mux's used. If you compare those channel numbers to the analogue ones given here you should see if your existing aerial is capable of receiving them i.e. in band.

csnann

Sorry, I should have said that I was receiving all the channels until a couple of days ago, so I know that something has gone wrong with my equipmet somewhere. Do you know of a site that describes common faults in television equipment? This is the first digital box I have owned so I don't know what to look for!

espresso

If your analogue channel frequencies are similar to the digital Mux frequencies and analogue is working fine, it would point to your digital box being sh@gged if you have already tried re-scanning.

csnann

According to that website , they are all in the UHF 40-54 range so I will have to order a new box. Thanks for your time.

espresso

Well that does seem to prove that your aerial is working OK as "analogue is working fine". Probably damaged by the storm (gone a bit deaf).

:eek:

csnann

I have checked all the connections indoors and the reception on the less affected channels (UHF 47, 49 and 54) has cleared up, the picture on UHF 44 is a bit better, although there is still no sound and I still can't get UHF 41 (though I had it before this trouble started). As I live in a rented flat I don't want to buy a new aerial if I can avoid it, do you think a signal booster would be any help?

showman36

csnann wrote:

I have checked all the connections indoors and the reception on the less affected channels (UHF 47, 49 and 54) has cleared up, the picture on UHF 44 is a bit better, although there is still no sound and I still can't get UHF 41 (though I had it before this trouble started). As I live in a rented flat I don't want to buy a new aerial if I can avoid it, do you think a signal booster would be any help?

You need a mast amplifier and connect it as close as you can to the aerial, an amplifier that you plug into the back of the tv will just amplify the interference and will be a complete waste of money, there is no real substitute to fitting a good wide band aerial

albertross_2

The op is in a flat..

I have a plug-in (not masthead) amp on mine, and it is the difference between no breakup, and occasional picture breakup on certain muxes.

A_Nice_Englishman

Another possibility might be that water has got into the cable; the fix obviously benig to replace it (with good quality CT100).

I wonder whether aerials and cables are the landlord's or tenant's responsibility?

csnann

I live in a council flat. According to the tenant's handbook aerials are the responsibility of the tenant but as it is wired in under the plaster to a wall socket I am not in any hurry to try replacing it!