Weak terrestrial signal

Forums › Freeview (DVB-T/DVB-S) › Weak terrestrial signal

PANiCnz

936 posts

Ultimate Geek

#83106 10-May-2011 20:34

Hi,

I'm currently living in a rented house in Greenlane, Auckland and am having issues with my Freeview signal from my UHF antenna.

When connected to my Samsung TV (with an internal tuner) I will receive a clean picture for around 45 seconds followed by 15-20 seconds of no picture, this also occurs with the DVB-T tuner in my HTPC suggested a signal problem and not the tuner. Both the TV and HTPC report the signal around 30-40%.

A visual inspection of the external antenna suggests it is pointing west and its alignment mirrors that of my neighbours.

Other than paying someone to fix it, or rerunning new cables is there anything I can try to enhance the signal?

My parents currently have a powered signal booster attached to their TV that was installed by a servicemen due to a weak signal (their property is in a lull), would something similar help here?

I've had a look on the Jaycar and DSE website and they have one signal booster, however the packaging say it will only help with signals that are already strong but not strong enough to split.

If a signal booster is a viable option can anyone recommend a make and model? and a place to purchase?

Thanks
PANIC

mthand

148 posts

Master Geek

#467754 10-May-2011 21:22

There's no point amplifying a poor signal.

Is your aerial the same type as the people around you? Are they the same height as yours? How long has it been in place? Have you had better signal before?

Once you get a decent signal, take that into a masthead amp to fortify it.

If you don't have the tools, or the confidence, you should get someone in.

TrendMicro

Best TrendMicro deals for antivirus and malware protection(affiliate link).

xarqi

727 posts

Ultimate Geek

#467755 10-May-2011 22:03

Check for corrosion of elements or where water may have entered connections.
Try tweaking the direction of the antenna to see if that helps.

Jaxson

7680 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#467791 11-May-2011 08:11

Definitely get up there and check where the cable joins into the aerial. Usually this is a little plastic box you will have to open. You might need to clean up the connections in there if it is not a more modern F screw connector point. If it's just a screw clamp thing then cleaning this up means:

Undo the clamp and get the cable out completely.
Grab some fine sand paper and clean the board connection so it's shiny again.
Look at the end of the cable and if necessary cut the end off and strip some wire further back so it's all clean from corrosion.
Put it back together and seal it up properly again.

I would start there and work backwards. As mentioned above, getting an amplifier seems to be the first instinct, but if the signal is bad you get a big pile of stronger bad out of the amplifier.

PANiCnz

936 posts

Ultimate Geek

#468058 11-May-2011 21:06

Thanks for the replies, looks like its time to get my butt up on the roof, fingers crossed it just need a realignment and clean up of the connections.