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nedbedrock

4 posts

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#74983 11-Jan-2011 10:24
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At the weekend, I brought a nice Magic TV unit.  I was confident I had a strong signal to my TV.

However, when running the setup process, the process came back with ' No Channels Found'

This lead me to beleive my signal was too weak.

However I have since found out that the signal was too strong.  I like within clear line of sight of the transmitter, even if it is about 8km away.

The Magic TV support was very useful and suggested I add a 'Variable Signal Attenuatior' $12 from JayCar to the aerial cable.

On doing so, and turning the signal down 70% the units set up function worked perfectly.

I suggest that Magic TV add this possible issue to their online support FAQ's or add a variable signal attenuator to the units.

I'm sure that this is not a unique issue as there are thousands of housholds living between me and the transmitter.

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Dunnersfella
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  #426067 11-Jan-2011 11:54
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I thought the Magic TV box (and other Freeview terrestrial PVR's for that matter) were designed to solely run on UHF aerials, and the issue would arise when they were mated with a VHF/UHF combo?
Is the box you picked up from JayCar essentially just splitting off the VHF component of the signal per-chance?



nedbedrock

4 posts

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#426264 11-Jan-2011 19:22
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I only have one aerial.

In certain situations the freeview box can actually receive too much TV signal. This attenuator (signal reducer) goes in line and has a variable control.


Dunnersfella
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  #426265 11-Jan-2011 19:24
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Sure - you will only have one aerial, but it may be a case of it being a UHF/VHF combo aerial.
It can show up as 'too much signal'... there's a post on here somewhere that talks about this exact thing.



nedbedrock

4 posts

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#426266 11-Jan-2011 19:31
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Thanks.

I'm no expert, I was happy to fix the problem and felt i should share it.

Cheers for your input

layman
25 posts

Geek


  #430743 24-Jan-2011 21:37
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Hi,

I too am having the same "no channels" problem. Just bought a Magic TV and the auto setup found nothing. I have a TV with a built in Freeview HD tuner and it's working fine. However when I plug the aerial into the ANT in port on the Magic TV the signal strength is zero. Hopefully someone has some ideas? I guess I could try an indoor UHF aerial, but as I said the TV works great on Freeview HD.

Cheers

Layman.

nedbedrock

4 posts

Wannabe Geek


#430772 24-Jan-2011 22:22
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Hi,

If the indoor aerial worked, then it is likely to be the same issue as I had at the start of this topic and alson the same remedy.

I hope that helped.


 
 
 

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Dunnersfella
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  #430780 24-Jan-2011 22:32
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Re: layman.
When you hold the aerial cable a few meters away from the MTV plug, do you start to get signal? If so, it's a sure sign that you're getting too much signal and an attenuator is required. $12 or so from Jaycar.

layman
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  #430831 25-Jan-2011 07:21
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Dunnersfella: Re: layman.
When you hold the aerial cable a few meters away from the MTV plug, do you start to get signal? If so, it's a sure sign that you're getting too much signal and an attenuator is required. $12 or so from Jaycar.


Thanks for the help guys. Dunnersfella, I assume you mean a few millimeters away from the MTV plug. Have just tried that, and no change in the signal strength. I think I'll take the box back, and get them to try it in store, before trying the indoor antenna option.

Cheers.

Dunnersfella
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  #430873 25-Jan-2011 09:18
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Ooops, I did mean millimeters.
If the box works in-store, then I'd personally grab the attenuator first - you'll get a much better, reliable signal that way.

layman
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  #430927 25-Jan-2011 11:28
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Magic TV box          $599

Variable Attenuator  $15.00

Misc Connectors       $14.00

Membership to geekzone..... PRICELESS!!!

Thanks guys, your legends.

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