UHF aerial help Wellington

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mailmarshall

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#19863 3-Mar-2008 21:00

Hi I live in Wellington in an area that is on the side of hill and can't see Mt Kaukau. At the mo I have Sky via satellite but I noticed that at some stage the people before me must have had Sky UHF.

The UHF aerial is rather rusty and the cable coming from it looks in very bad condition - infact its stuffed. I have tried to get a picture on the tv using the existing cable and not much joy. The picture is very snowy.

I am thinking of rewiring the cable to the UHF aerial and was wondering if there are any tutorials out there. Can someone help me? May also get an amplifier as well.

The UHF is so I can get DTT...

Thanks

eXDee

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#114447 3-Mar-2008 21:41

Just make sure its solid core cable not stranded when you buy a new one.
Other quite useful UHF info here:
http://www.av1.co.nz/terresinstall.htm

Sorry - unsure how to wire up a UHF antenna, but googling around could help, as its just a standard UHF install, same as you would use for analog, provided both are transmitted from the same place.

allstarnz

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#114489 3-Mar-2008 23:45

mailmarshall: Hi I live in Wellington in an area that is on the side of hill and can't see Mt Kaukau. At the mo I have Sky via satellite but I noticed that at some stage the people before me must have had Sky UHF. Thanks

Maybe they got it off another transponder? Depending where you live this could be somewhere such as Baxters Knob?

There is a really good interactive map somwhere that I can't find right now.

cyril7

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#114513 4-Mar-2008 08:09

Hi I live in Wellington in an area that is on the side of hill and can't see Mt Kaukau

Can you be more specific there are three transmitters in the Wellington district.

Here is Kordias Lower NI coverage map its quite well resloved so you can zoom way in, as you can see much wellington southern areas are vaguely covered.

Cyril

mailmarshall

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#114516 4-Mar-2008 08:38

Cyril: I am in Wilton and looking at the map link you sent me, it looks like I am OK but there are some areas close by that appear to be in the UNCERTAIN catergory. I am bascially right behind the town belt (Tinakori Hill).

cyril7

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#114522 4-Mar-2008 09:05

Hi, definetly uncertain, other option is can you see Fitzherbert, its the site on the Hutt hill near the Wainuomata hill road above Seaview.

It would be worth just doing a quick rewire job on the old antenna to see what kind of reception you get, if you can get clean analog reception then things would be looking up. Suitable tests would be KauKau MaoriTV Ch54Horizontal, or Fitzherbert Ch54Vertical.

Cyril

browned

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#114534 4-Mar-2008 11:53

probably won't apply to you but if you are on the outskirts of a reception area for DVB-T then one of these babies might help :-)

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/MXDAT75.html

I had one mounted in the loft of a rental in Cambridge, UK. Cambridge was on the outskirts and would only pickup singles on a crystal clear wind free fine day (damn trees). It is 1.8m long and looks nasty on the roof if not overkill but damn it works great.

You can also get signal enhancers but these will normally work well in clear conditions but just add to the signal loss in wet conditions.

Cheers
db

cyril7

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#114560 4-Mar-2008 13:24

KauKau to Wilton is only 2-4km at most, for a prime Tx this is not the fringe, however an indirect path due to Wellingtons terrain is a problem, I would recommend a broadside array as opposed to a hi gain Yagi.

Cyril

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graemeh

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#114575 4-Mar-2008 14:37

Since we all seem to be jumping in with "will I get DVB-T at my house" I thought I'd try too.

The map posted earlier didn't really help. I'm in Aro Valley. We currently get TV3 via a UHF aerial. That aerial was put in by sky for sky TV before they had satellite. I'm not sure where it's pointed but it works.

Can anyone tell me which transmitter it is likely to be pointed at and what my chances of getting DVB-T are?

Thanks
Graeme

cyril7

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#114581 4-Mar-2008 15:06

TV3 analog is on UHF repeaters in Wellington from the following:

Thorndon/GlenmoreSt 45V, Haitaiti 47V, Karori West 45V, and Fitzherbert 42V. It is also on Aro Valley VHF 10H, and Northland 10V.

My guess is you are either looking at Haitaiti or Fitzherbert, goodness knows, if its Fitzherbert (that has got a DTT Tx) then see if you can get MaoriTV 54V or Prime 46V, if you can get those on that antenna then you may have a DTT chance.

If you are any of the other smaller repeaters then your chances are not good. There is supposed to be two other infill SFN repeaters in Wellington (which will have the same channeling as Fitzherbert and Baxters Knob) but as yet I have no details of where they will be.

I recon with the fickle layout and hills of Wellington more will end up on the DTH DVB-S service than would like, but at least its very reliable and give consistant results, rather than a fading DVB-T signal rattling up some enclosed valley.

Cyril

graemeh

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#114586 4-Mar-2008 15:45

Thanks for your help. We do get Maori TV and Prime on UHF so I guess it's Fitzherbert. Since the aerial was put in for Sky and Haitatai doesn't seem to have Sky that confirms it is probably Fitzherbert.

I guess it's time for me to go and buy a DVB-T tuner card and try it out.

cyril7

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#114590 4-Mar-2008 16:09

Yep especially if its Vertical, if Horizontal then it would be KauKau, but I doubt you will see that from down the valley. If the analog pics are pretty much noise free with little impulse noise or bursts of image breakup, and pretty much ghost free (not quite so important as this is one of COFDMs strengths) then DTT should be fine.

If you have a VHF antenna as well that coupled to that UHF antenna, then I recommend that you remove it and the coupler/diplexer and run a new RG6 (preferably quad shield) lead from the antenna to your shiney new DTT reciever.

Cyril

graemeh

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#114596 4-Mar-2008 16:21

That job will have to wait until next time we have the house painted which is likely to be in a year or two. It's around 12m up to the roof with the aerial sitting on it.

mailmarshall

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#114650 4-Mar-2008 19:17

Cyril: thanks heaps for all the info.

I will check all the wiring and the 'state' of the aerial next time its not windy and I get on the roof.

Dont seem to get receive Maori Tv or Pime at the mo (using the aerial) but can get C4, poorly though.

Will a broadside array antenna help if the current aerial is stuffed? I am hoping its somethign simple as getting new cable.

cyril7

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#114654 4-Mar-2008 19:30

From afar its far too hard to undertand if its a bad antenna or bad location. However on the surface where you are is not a good location.

Cyril

mailmarshall

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#114690 4-Mar-2008 20:54

Hmm wish i could point it to a transmitter somewhere in south Welly as I can see Melrose/Newtown from a distance from my place?