Digital switchover help, please.

ampersand

Apparently I need to start this as a New Thread.
Posted last night:

Need help - techie hopeless
Quote:
Originally Posted by thmaga
I agree wholeheartedly with this, I often help out in internet forums solving reception problems and advising on aerial solutions and the amount of "Digital Aerial" junk about is horrendous.

If anyone does need any advice on the subject, point them in my direction, I'll try my best to keep an eye out for threads on here.

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Hello thmaga -
...well, you HAVE offered.

I don't watch much tv and - as of this evening - it's clear I won't see much at all.
All BBC has gone, although I have been happy with i-player more and more over the last months.
I neither have, nor want, Sky or any of those other things. Eventually, last June, I got round to opening a slimline 15" Technika Digital tv[model no. on back says 15ID-H187]which I'd bought in April 09 from Mr T, when they were mega-cheap. I sweated blood, but eventually got it more or less going[less, rather than more]and felt proud of getting this far. It gave me BBC 1/2, itv,c4[disappeared last week],5 and if I pressed a button on the remote, these increased to include Dave, bbc news, itv3, some sorts of sky, dreadful shopping, bits of absolute and premier radio etc.etc. I would have liked to see BBC 3 and 4 sometimes and some other supposedly available bits of Freeview.

I'm assuming signal strength is the problem. It has never filled up more than an inch or so along the whole bar. Since yesterday, beeb channels just have a msg reading 'No Signal'.

The only aerial is an old fashioned one up in loft, tied with...yes, it's true...bailer twine.

Don't have money for this sort of stuff, but still would appreciate sensible response - are there any alternatives please? Costs? I ask because, having seen the Mr T man last week, he said 'Ignore - it will all settle down quite soon - don't go spending money. It won't be necessary.'


Thankyou for any helpful, non-judgmental advice.
Not everybody lives by or through the box.:)
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Do I need to do something to aerial in loft?
Should I try and move it outside onto[redundant] chimney? I can clamber onto and about roof [am capable but ancient in Earth years lady] but would need another pair of hands to do more...I think...and these are not available.

Kurtis_Blue

Well this is clearly signal related, to keep it simple lets suggest it is the most common problem, low signal.

In order of cost you can try:

1. Re-aligning your loft aerial, move the aerial around whilst some one watches an analogue station (if you still have one) when the signal is best tie it securely. Look at your neighbours external aerial yours should be pointing the same way within the loft.

Whilst there check all cabling and connections between aerial and TV, these need to be perfect, no manky old electrical tape connections.

2 fit a one way masthead amplifier in the loft.

3 get some one to fit an external aerial.

Or if you have not had switchover yet just leave until then you will probably be OK.

EDIT STAY OFF THE ROOF.

ampersand

Thankyou so much KB, especially for not talking down to/at me.

Your 1st point, so clear and obvious - but I had not thought of it. Now I do, most others have dishes, but direction presumably needs to be same-ish..

re:Whilst there check all cabling and connections between aerial and TV, these need to be perfect, no manky old electrical tape connections.
Whilst there check all cabling and connections between aerial and TV, these need to be perfect, no manky old electrical tape connections.
Ah, so you've already been up there...:-)

2nd point - realise I can google this, but would appreciate your clear explanation and perhaps price guidance. Could I fit this myself?

I thought loss of bbc etc. meant changeover had already occurred - Cambridge/Newmarketish area.

Thankyou again - as Archers listener I'm aware Nigel met his untimely end by slipping from roof, although I wasn't in England at the time. I like doing DIY-ish things and feeling achievement glow later.

There is no-one else to help orient aerial-hence probs.

macman

Before you start clambering around in the loft, I suggest you take your TV around to a friend or neighbour and plug it in there to check that it is a signal/aerial/cable problem, and not the TV itself. That will save a lot of time wasting.
Unfortunately you've bought one of the worst brands on the market, Technika's are just Tesco branded cheap stock and are notorious for short lives, and often seem to fail soon after the 12m warranty expires, which in your case, it already has.
Assuming it's not the TV, then you need to say if your area has already undergone the digital switchover. If so, you may need an external aerial to get decent digital reception. If you have not switched over, have you tried it on the analogue tuner to see if you can get any reception on that?
Edit: there is no connection between terrestial reception and satellite reception, so your aerial should point to the relevant transmitter, not to the direction of any neighbouring sat dishes.
The digital switchover for your area is in progress, stage 1 is competed, you will need to retune again later this month. See here for more info.
http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/when_do_i_switch/anglia/sandy_heath

davemurgatroyd

Have you tried retuning the digital tuner on your TV?

DSO in areas around you was due 30th March onwards and at DSO when the analogue channels are switched off, the digital channels are often moved to the frequencies they originally used which often means that a new aerial or realigning the original is not required.

BTW satellite dishes and TV aerials very rarely should point in the same direction so that is no help to you at all - look only at aerial alignment.

ampersand

:)re
Unfortunately you've bought one of the worst brands on the market, Technika's are just Tesco branded cheap stock and are notorious for short lives, and often seem to fail soon after the 12m warranty expires, which in your case, it already has.

It had expired before I unpacked it - that's how important tv is to me.
'Cheap' for some is what I have to save for on pension, so it's all relative - yes, I know Technika is Tesco cheapie brand, but it had functioned well enough for my wants until 2 nights back. I had put any previous lack of channel down to that 1" signal strength indication along the apx 9" bar.

If I can take it somewhere[can't think of anyone atm]do I just plug it in?...then? Try remote? Don't really know what I'm looking for.
re:
have you tried it on the analogue tuner to see if you can get any reception on that?
How do I do this please?
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I am now reading your linky info.
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Thankyou too, davemurgatroyd - yes, need to try this retuning - it's the how bit next...please:)

mumps

When our area went to digital we lost channels and it was a bit chaotic for a week or so but then everything settled down, we got more channels and better signal. Hope this happens for you.

McKneff

I beg to differ on the Technica brand. I have two, one for 6 years and one for five. Not a flicker of a problem.

macman

But if you are o a tight budget, it's surely not very money-saving to buy an item and then wait until it's out of warranty before checking if it works?
Anyway, if it went off 2 mights ago then that is probably down to stage 1 of the DSO, which happened on 30/3/11. Your region would have been deluged with adverts/info about this?
Run an auto retune on it and see what you get.
The manual will tell you how to switch between the analogue and digital tuners.
If you want to test it elsewhere, then yes, just plug it in and see what you can get. But in the light of your later replies I don't think it's a fault with the TV.

ampersand

McKneff wrote: »

I beg to differ on the Technica brand. I have two, one for 6 years and one for five. Not a flicker of a problem.

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Yes, I do agree - correct for camera too, so far - 5 years on.
I also feel the moral leverage vs Mr T is worth something -and I Penelope Keith beautifully to good effect as and when necessary.;)

ampersand

re: But if you are o a tight budget, it's surely not very money-saving to buy an item and then wait until it's out of warranty before checking if it works?

It only came out of box then because previous ancient one stopped entirely.

I purchased it knowing that changeover was coming eventually.

re: But in the light of your later replies I don't think it's a fault with the TV. -
agreed.

Will try and do autotune, but unsure how to begin.