Digital TV signals (signal strength)

Snow_Dog

Im aware that at the moment the digital signal is at reduced power but i've been trying to find out how reduced this signal level is.

The reason being i've been trying to get a better TV signal for my parents who live in a bit of a signal blackspot, however for analogue the signal just gets a bit snowy on bad nights, on digital it just shuts down.

We've sorted out a high gain digital aerial, low loss foam filled foil and braid cable, distribution amp and the BBC signal from Rowridge (isle of wight) is still dropping out at times.

Hence the question, I know meridian is shutting down analogue in 2012 and was trying to find out how much the digital signals strength was going to increase by.

Woby_Tide

according to this http://www.ukfree.tv/simulation.php it will be 5 times stronger. Though elsewhere on the same sit ethey estimate only a +2.3dB output increase on a 31KW output (which is a 3rd of the claimed 110KW output). So in short looks like some confusion still

j1mgg

this might not be relevant but what are you using as in digibox. I have one and it is pretty rubbish but my old flatmate had one in the next room and everytime he changed channel the box would search for the strongest signal. he seemed to always getting a crystal clear picture where as i would get either no picture or a pixelatted one

Moneymaker

Rowridge has been suffering from continental interference during high-pressure days. It wipes out some multiplexes.

Snow_Dog

Cheers for the replies, I believe rowridge has lowered analogue power over the last few years anyway due to the frogs whinging that our signals are ghosting over there over their channels on bad days.

As for the digibox, he is using a Humax 9200T PVR which is supposedly a damm good unit with a sensitive receiver. Also built in digital receivers in a couple of Sony Bravias.

I must admit the sensitivity thing does differ between box's, we have an Oggle box picked up from asda a few years back for about £14 and its better than our other standard box that cost about £40, with we'd picked up 3 or 4 of those oggle box's.

Woby_Tide

what signal strength/quality is he getting with the Humax, I'm using a booster clsoe to the aerial on ours (though it is loft based), would that be a short term help until signal is finally boosted?

(For info our signal strength is about 54-66% across the muxes(muxii?:)) but 100% quality, about 26 miles from Rowridge)

Snow_Dog

Hi Woby_Tide, the old man is in Broadstone, but at the bottom of the hill, on the Hummy the BBC mux was running at 38-40% glitching quality down to 60%.

With the new aerial and we realigned he is now getting mid to high 50's%, probably 56-58% and quality is steady on 100%.

I am at the top of Cofre Mullen and with an ancient aerial on the skew (problably not even well aligned) im seeing 60% min on BBC mux.

If you're seeing up to 66% on a loft based aerial at 26 miles from rowridge I reckon you are doing well.

Muxii - not sure about that one, I presume its referring to the fact that several channels are multiplexed into one, so the thirty odd freeview channels are transmitted over about 5 or 6 frequencies but what would you call multiple mux?

Anybody got a definative answer to that one, muxes, muxies, muxii, or muxs?

Woby_Tide

We're Christchurch so I guess as we're relatively flat then straight out to teh island that there is little in the way to block signal. With the booster removed mine drops by about 5-10% on all muxes(!), from the figures he now gets(and teh 100% quality is the main one) soudns like you may be doing OK. Moreso when the signal is boosted in 2012. I'm not sure but is there not a repeater in Poole somewhere(I'm wondering about the mast at the Poole end of Ashley Road parkstone though maybe that is radio/analogue only currently) that may provide better signal, not that you necessarily need it

Snow_Dog

The poole transmitter is the one you are thinking of, its at Seaview next to the police station.

Unfortunately its signal power is so low at more than a couple of miles away Rowridge is still the stronger signal. I think it is meant to fill lower parkstone and oakdale which are in quite a dip, though ironically when I lived in Oakdale we still had better pickup on Rowridge.

There is also a transmitter on Canford Heath (I think its on the water tower) but that one I reckon is powered by four AA batteries the power it outputs.

I've just been reading up on digitalspy and someone on there pointed out that Rowridge transmits horizontal and vertical (though that might be post DSO) with some of the muxes being lower on horizontal than vertical.

Googling rowridge also brings up that quite a few people are suffering with signal loss from rowridge, and my neighbour was up his ladder saturday changing his aerial because of breakup from rowridge.

I know the atmospherics have been a bit dodgy lately but I wonder if they are playing silly beggars over there to keep the french happy by seeing how far they can drop the signal power.