How to get freeview sorted?

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Troy_af
Troy_af Posts: 173 Forumite
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I have recently moved into a property and the freeview signal is very poor. Both up and down stairs. There is no aerial on the house and I've checked in the loft space and cannot see one there. Will there definitely be an aerial in my home somewhere since I'm receiving freeview?

Will the solution be to just get a new aerial or what?

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  • couriervanman
    couriervanman Posts: 1,667 Forumite
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    You must have some sort of aerial.....on roof.....in loft...or portable.....otherwise you wouldn't get a picture
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 5,186 Forumite
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    Troy_af wrote: »
    I have recently moved into a property and the freeview signal is very poor. Both up and down stairs. There is no aerial on the house and I've checked in the loft space and cannot see one there. Will there definitely be an aerial in my home somewhere since I'm receiving freeview?

    Will the solution be to just get a new aerial or what?

    Have you actually plugged in an aerial lead to the TV? Can you not trace the lead? Have a look on the roof and check where everybody elses aerials are pointing.
  • almillar
    almillar Posts: 8,621 Forumite
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    If it's not on the roof, in the loft, on a chimney or a wall, you may not have one. Is there a satellite dish? What cables do you have in your living room? What have you plugged into your TV?

    If you know what a coax cable looks like, that would carry satellite or aerial TV. Finding out what's at each end is important. Maybe it goes up into the loft and terminates there, and you can fit an aerial.
    What about your neightbours - do they have them on their rooves?
  • Troy_af
    Troy_af Posts: 173 Forumite
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    almillar wrote: »
    If it's not on the roof, in the loft, on a chimney or a wall, you may not have one. Is there a satellite dish? What cables do you have in your living room? What have you plugged into your TV?

    If you know what a coax cable looks like, that would carry satellite or aerial TV. Finding out what's at each end is important. Maybe it goes up into the loft and terminates there, and you can fit an aerial.
    What about your neightbours - do they have them on their rooves?

    I have plugged a coax cable into both upstairs and downstairs TV, directly to coax socket. Just the regular coax cable, not the screw type. I have another lead downstairs which looks like a screw on coax, I'm not sure what this is for.

    There is nothing at all on the outside of the house. All the other houses I've looked at have dishes which don't look like freeview (sky etc).
    I looked in the loft and could see anything. It's mainly filled with insullation, surely any aerial would be on the wall/high up, not under insulation..
  • almillar
    almillar Posts: 8,621 Forumite
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    OK, good. It sounds like you've got an aerial terminal upstairs and downstairs. And that screw fitting down stairs sounds like a satellite connector, or maybe Virgin Media.
    The presence of the wall sockets is a help, but of course doesn't guarantee an aerial, just the wiring, hopefully. Starting with upstairs, unscrew the wall connector. Hopefully there's actully a coax cable in there. Follow it. Hopefully it goes in a straight line up to the loft. Go into the loft and crawl to that point, where that aerial cable should come out. Is it there? Where does it lead to?
    I'm guessing if there was an aerial you'd have found it by now, so I guess you'll find the end of the cable.
    Do the same for the living room one, it might be easiest to crawl around the loft looking for it, once you've found the (easier) upstairs one.
    If you find the ends of two leads, you may get away with a splitter, and aerial, or if the signal isn't good enough, you'll need an amplifier.
    Dishes definitely don't look like Freeview - dishes are for satellite, Freeview is aerial only.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0 Newbie
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    If you have multiple outlets, I'd be looking for what's doing the distribution as well as the aerial.
  • Rodders53
    Rodders53 Posts: 2,150 Forumite
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    Location? That will determine what transmitter you will watch and the sort of signal level you might expect. Postcode of a shop, pub, church, school etc.,. close by you - not your own postcode for privacy reasons.

    New build houses frequently have cables in walls from rooms to the loft, left un-terminated for the new owner to install an aerial there or outside and get the cable into the loft for distribution to the rooms.

    Sometimes people take the strangest things when they move.

    Is yours a new build or a 'second hand' one? Owned or rented?

    If near enough to a powerful enough transmitter TVs can work on 'direct cable pickup'. I know my current home can @ 10 miles from Sandy Heath!
  • HWW
    HWW Posts: 103 Forumite
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    There may be an aerial amplifier hidden, that has been turned off or unplugged.
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