TV aerial not working.

cajef

Inactive wrote: »

If TV Aerials worked OK in lofts, there would be no external aerials.

Mine works perfectly in the loft, mind you I am only one mile from the transmitter mast.

I had to put an in line attenuator in the feed as it was actually overloading both the TV and DVD recorder tuners after the digital switchover.:eek:

Inactive

cajef wrote: »

Mine works perfectly in the loft, mind you I am only one mile from the transmitter mast.

One of the lucky few.;)

A.Penny.Saved

darich wrote: »

I bought 3m of new co ax cable and a new splitter this evening.
Connected everything up.
Still no signal.

I tried connecting the aerial to analogue TV and get a very bad picture. It's unwatchable. And no sound.

I'm starting to think that something in the roof construction is blocking the signal - I don't think my signal could go from so good to almost nothing by simply moving the aerial a couple of metres into the loft.

I was thinking that I could buy another extension and run it through the open loft hatch and that would eliminate the existing co ax cables.

Looks like I'll need to think about erecting it outside as some have suggested but that won't be as easy as the loft.....and is a lot less appealing!!!

Still interested to hear ideas or thoughts on a solution in the meantime.

thanks

If you have a portable TV it would be worth taking that into the loft with an extension to power it if you have some boards and then try tuning to Analogue with a short Aerial lead and minimum amount of connections. Move the Aerial around to see if you can get a picture. If not then I think the only option is outside using brackets on the wall with an aluminium mast. Just make sure that the brackets are long enough to get the mast past any soffit and fascia.

There are different types of bracket available, T&K, single mounts of various types and cranked depending upon the Aerial, mast and position you want to mount it.

Aerials also come in different varieties, the Yagi that many people put up are big with the rear deflector and noticeable whereas log periodic have no deflectors so are much less noticeable but do have lower gain. They can still give very good reception and are not as prone to interference as Yagi's. I had a Yagi but replaced it with a log periodic and it is a lot smaller and less noticeable even fitted with bird spikes to stop birds crapping down my porch windows when they perched on the yagi. Try perching on them you little B@****ds!

You could try your aerial in the bedroom with the aerial pointing out the window if you have a window in the direction of the transmitter. That would indicate whether the roof tiles are attenuating the signal so much that the roof is not really an option without a very big aerial.

This site shows information about your expected digital reception. It does tend to be very cautious and over estimate the required Aerial. The url does have a naughty looking exe in it but it's a well known site which doesn't cause problems.

This site might help for information but prices are not very low if ordering.

Inactive wrote: »

One of the lucky few.;)

Mine worked in the loft as well, even with a really rubbish aerial but with that it didn't get all channels. A better aerial, one with all the elements intact and the reflector not hanging off would probably got it working but would of been in the way with storage with such a low roof.

Inactive

I still think that the OP's best option is to have the old aerial that worked OK mounted back where it was, he/she knows that it worked OK when fitted there.

If a signal is borderline, then it can work most of the time, but as soon as there is any atmospheric pressure around, it will cease to work properly.

Log Periodic aerials are not really suitable for weak signal locations, they will of course be fine in medium/ high signal locations.

scotsbob

cajef wrote: »

Mine works perfectly in the loft, mind you I am only one mile from the transmitter mast.

Me too, I have a loft aerial in a semi detached property, back home in Scotland, which is 16 miles from the transmitter.

The aerial is pointing at the partition wall with the neighbour and still gets a strong signal on all Freeview channels. I haven't noticed any aerials on neighbours roofs either, so they must be happy with their signals.

darich

Inactive wrote: »

I still think that the OP's best option is to have the old aerial that worked OK mounted back where it was,

Not possible unfortunately (or fortunately as far as I'm concerned).
The chimney stack was where the previous aerial was mounted but the stack had to be removed because it was letting in water.
So no chminey stack anymore - just a line of ridge tiles in line with the rest of the roof now.

So my options are - loft aerial, or wall mounted one with large brackets and long mast to clear the eaves.

Loft aerial is looking less and less possible hence the whole thread

darich

A Penny.....thanks for that last reply.

Loft is partially floored so easy enough to move around. Also easy enough to get a portable in there and try working off the analogue signal....I read today that if the analogue signal is pretty good then it normally means the digital one is too.

One thing I did notice last night................
Connecting the centre core of the co ax cable to the aerial while on analogue I get a very bad picture. So bad it's difficult to identify people or programs....but it's a signal of some sort. But a soon as I connect the braided part, the screed goes blank(blue for the portable) and I lose the sognal completely.

Is that a clue to anything else?

A.Penny.Saved

darich wrote: »

A Penny.....thanks for that last reply.

Loft is partially floored so easy enough to move around. Also easy enough to get a portable in there and try working off the analogue signal....I read today that if the analogue signal is pretty good then it normally means the digital one is too.

Analogue is broadcast at a higher signal strength and does mean that the digital signal is at the low end of operable in many places. A slight drop in signal strength due to anything attenuating the signal can lose channels very easily. Digital tends to work or not work, you don't get it fading out like analogue.

One thing I did notice last night................
Connecting the centre core of the co ax cable to the aerial while on analogue I get a very bad picture. So bad it's difficult to identify people or programs....but it's a signal of some sort. But a soon as I connect the braided part, the screed goes blank(blue for the portable) and I lose the sognal completely.

Is that a clue to anything else?

It might be worth checking the cables again in a good light as there could be a short. Wire it out of the loft in daylight before taking it back up into the loft. It does sound like there is a wiring problem.

Or take it down into an upstairs room and see if you can get a picture with it pointing out of a window if there is a room which faces the transmitter. Try that before re-wiring it.

cajef

darich wrote: »

. But a soon as I connect the braided part, the screed goes blank(blue for the portable) and I lose the sognal completely.

Is that a clue to anything else?

There is a short circuit in the cable somewhere, losing the signal completely when the braid is connected indicates that the centre core and braid are shorting together, are you sure that the cables and coax plugs are made up correctly.

closed

If you are at all unsure of how to wire the plug, and how to mount the aerial for correct polarisation, post a pic of your wiring inside the coax plug, and a pic of the aerial in situ

does it have a colour coded piece of plastic in the end, is it pointing in the same direction as everyone else's. any trees, hills, buildings in the way?

http://www.aerialsandtv.com/index.html