Welsh digital switch over-Irish reception questions answered

Verso

Hi all,

My setup is in North Wexford on the coast and I currently receive Preseli and Mt. Leinster broadcasts through a 48 element Wideband aerial. As the Preseli broadcasts vary in quality between 55% and 75% depending on conditions I have decided to change to a Group B aerial.

In this regard I ordered and received a Triax Unix Group B 52 element aerial over the internet. The only thing is that it's colour code is a dark blue instead of the code yellow. The aerial description is all that I ordered and is described as Unix (B).

As I am not too well up on all aerial coding I would appreciate any comments as I do not want to erect this aerial if it is not correctfor my location.

prioryc

over the last few weeks since rte stopped broadcasting my channels have gradually re-appeared but some mux are only on 37/38% all day long while others are fine at 60-80 but today everything is perfect on all channels(bit foggy out,dull,little wind) so i don't expect them to stay for long but any suggestions on how to boost the signal by that last few % for the sky/dave/e4 multiplexes would a new masthead/fresh cable help ,booster or an aerial upgrade if so high gain or wideband/cai benchmark 1234.grade ab etc? for best results anyone that has had same issue but resolved their missing mux/channels cheers
*also forgot to mention i have multiple sources found found for each channel

20/20

Verso could you post a link for where you bought the aerial,and let us know how you get on setting it up,I was going to try and set up something for my fathers holiday home in Blackwater and he has a sea view which i believe should help.

mrdtv2010

prioryc wrote: »

over the last few weeks since rte stopped broadcasting my channels have gradually re-appeared but some mux are only on 37/38% all day long while others are fine at 60-80 but today everything is perfect on all channels(bit foggy out,dull,little wind) so i don't expect them to stay for long but any suggestions on how to boost the signal by that last few % for the sky/dave/e4 multiplexes would a new masthead/fresh cable help ,booster or an aerial upgrade if so high gain or wideband/cai benchmark 1234.grade ab etc? for best results anyone that has had same issue but resolved their missing mux/channels cheers
*also forgot to mention i have multiple sources found found for each channel

Very interesting. It would appear you are getting multiple transmitters. I would be inclined if funds permit to get a Vision 40 or its twin cousin wideband log periodic with masthead, a rotor, and new cables, wideband masthead. You need to work out which txs you are getting: B-P is Group A, Arfon & Preseli are Group B, and Llanddona is E/W. The advantage of a rotor system is that you can cash in on varying propagation conditions, the three main stations are all horizontals and full Freeview, and you can set up separate lists of channels in various Freeview boxes designed to handle multiple transmitters. This is a clever but pricey solution.

aerial man

Verso wrote: »

Hi all,

My setup is in North Wexford on the coast and I currently receive Preseli and Mt. Leinster broadcasts through a 48 element Wideband aerial. As the Preseli broadcasts vary in quality between 55% and 75% depending on conditions I have decided to change to a Group B aerial.

In this regard I ordered and received a Triax Unix Group B 52 element aerial over the internet. The only thing is that it's colour code is a dark blue instead of the code yellow. The aerial description is all that I ordered and is described as Unix (B).

As I am not too well up on all aerial coding I would appreciate any comments as I do not want to erect this aerial if it is not correctfor my location.

no that should be fine. triax always have blue tips. if you need to check, the element ia approx 141 mm for group B tips like this.

Verso

20/20 wrote: »

Verso could you post a link for where you bought the aerial,and let us know how you get on setting it up,I was going to try and set up something for my fathers holiday home in Blackwater and he has a sea view which i believe should help.

As hereunder. I took this from a previous post on Boards (thanks GTG60). I have found this company very efficient in delivery and pricing.

http://cpcireland.farnell.com

I will post again when I install the aerial.

You should get good results as you are nearer to Preseli than I am and I am very happy with my results even with a wideband .

prioryc

mrdtv2010 wrote: »

Very interesting. It would appear you are getting multiple transmitters. I would be inclined if funds permit to get a Vision 40 or its twin cousin wideband log periodic with masthead, a rotor, and new cables, wideband masthead. You need to work out which txs you are getting: B-P is Group A, Arfon & Preseli are Group B, and Llanddona is E/W. The advantage of a rotor system is that you can cash in on varying propagation conditions, the three main stations are all horizontals and full Freeview, and you can set up separate lists of channels in various Freeview boxes designed to handle multiple transmitters. This is a clever but pricey solution.

last year for the switchover my tv switched with presley so group b narrows it down a bit...cheers

prioryc

just found this looks like interesting reading lots of info with nice shiny diagrams too hope its of some use to the forum

http://www.aerialsandtv.com/aerials.html

mrdtv2010

mrdtv2010 wrote: »

Very interesting. It would appear you are getting multiple transmitters. I would be inclined if funds permit to get a Vision 40 or its twin cousin wideband log periodic with masthead, a rotor, and new cables, wideband masthead. You need to work out which txs you are getting: B-P is Group A, Arfon & Preseli are Group B, and Llanddona is E/W. The advantage of a rotor system is that you can cash in on varying propagation conditions, the three main stations are all horizontals and full Freeview, and you can set up separate lists of channels in various Freeview boxes designed to handle multiple transmitters. This is a clever but pricey solution.

No arfon in Gorey to the best of my knowledge.
Tara hill is in the way.
It's presely or nothing.Maybe Blaenplwyf but I doubt it as the town is south of casletown where I can confirm bp is as non existant as here.
In castletown you can pick up UK phone networks from wales which gives you a good idea of how well the null is working.

I'd say the multiple tx'es that were receivable today included llandonna.
Fog seems to bring signals in too actually in my experience.
Today was very foggy for a while.

Verso

aerial man; no that should be fine. triax always have blue tips. if you need to check, the element ia approx 141 mm for group B tips like this.

Thanks aerial man. I measured the element as per your illustration and it is exactly 141 mm.

I obviously have the correct aerial for Preseli and will go ahead and replace my current wide band with the new Group B.

Satdog

I've already posted this here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055858990 I'm also posting here as it is releval to this Thread.

Drove to Gorey from Wexford on Saturday via Ballyedmond and Ballycanew ie. not on the N11. There was hardly a contract aerial in sight. Most appear to have upgraded to high gain aerials. Some new builds also had the high gains erected. Another thing I noticed is that a large % had no aerial for Irish DTT so they are either not aware of it or are picking it up as a bonus from their Welsh aerial.

Verso

Satdog; Another thing I noticed is that a large % had no aerial for Irish DTT so they are either not aware of it or are picking it up as a bonus from their Welsh aerial.

You are probably correct here Satdog. On a high gain wide band aerial beamed at Preseli I can pick up the Irish DTT signals without any problem. I think that signals from Mount Leinster are powerful enough to be picked up either at the back or sideways to the aerial.

gtg60

Verso wrote: »

You are probably correct here Satdog. On a high gain wide band aerial beamed at Preseli I can pick up the Irish DTT signals without any problem. I think that signals from Mount Leinster are powerful enough to be picked up either at the back or sideways to the aerial.

Similar story here in Wicklow, Grids pointed at Arfon pick up the Greystones relay too.

mrdtv2010

Note this post and my response: Arfon in Dublin.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=65026012

timetunnel

i,m in the gallops, beside you. what type of wide band aerial would you recommend.[ what make and how big]
what direction would i point. would it be towards kiliney hill or the low area to the left of three rock.
thanks

You need a group B not a wideband.
It can also be used for kilkeel in NI when that goes digital.

You would absolutely definitely need to be pointing south of due east I should imagine and you would be best using a meter to peak the signal.
Otherwise you may have pictures one day and in some weather conditions nothing as you are not centred on the beam.

Theres no guarantee that it will work either as this is very marginal.
The slightest change in terrain over a few hundred feet would scupper the signal.

I'd also like to see arfon tested up there in rainy conditions.
Weekend signals from wales by the way were abnormally strong and are again tonight.
That means they are reaching further.
All channels on ch 42 from presely are working with me tonight for example and were at the weekend.

gtg60

Deleted User wrote: »

All channels on ch 42 from presely are working with me tonight for example and were at the weekend.

And why does it not work normally? Not strong enough or Mt. Leinster problems?

DigiDec

BP flying in on the northside of Dublin tonight too. Arfon has a weaker signal tonight.

FREETV

Hi, where abouts in North Dublin are you based please DigiDec and what equipment are you using to pick up Welsh Freeview? I am based in Swords at the moment and I am getting a 40 feet mast built for me this week and I am interested in experimenting soon to see what transmitters that I can receive. Well guys does anyone know whether I can receive reliable signals from Wales at that height from the ground with a high gain aerial and high gain masthead amp?

prioryc

mrdtv2010 wrote: »

Very interesting. It would appear you are getting multiple transmitters.

RTE has re-appeared on the mediacenter here with channels list & epg with 3 sources all showing 33/34/33% signal frequency//617.833//618.00//618.167//channel numbers729>737 channels rt1,rte2,(rtenl) tv3 name missing,tg4,rt news now,rt radio1,2fm,lyric,radio na gaeltachta
locator info 8564:1001:1101 (all not working)

in mediacentre >right click on channel name in guide >edit channel>edit sources for info shown above

(also uk channels dave,virgin1,five us/fiver working perfect until today )

gtg60

gtg60 wrote: »

And why does it not work normally? Not strong enough or Mt. Leinster problems?

Presely has a long almost entirely sea path and tidal variations affect it's signal strength.
Always during it's analogue days it could go from average strength to very very strong.
The same is happening with digital.
In the last few days it has been very very strong and trumped mt leinster.
Thats also why prioryc has got virgin usa and e4 etc in the past few days.

This is going to be a problem for some people with contract aerials pointed to mt leinster with no presely aerials as some will even experience mt leinster break up at times when presely is strong.

Arfon doesn't vary as much.

DigiDec

@FreeTV, I'm not far from you in Finglas, I have a wideband high gain with masthead amp, can usually pick up Arfon but last night was getting BP and a weak signal on the Presli channels too.

mrdtv2010

DigiDec wrote: »

@FreeTV, I'm not far from you in Finglas, I have a wideband high gain with masthead amp, can usually pick up Arfon but last night was getting BP and a weak signal on the Presli channels too.

Don't you have it in the loft? Outdoors would mean 24x7 from Arfon!

FREETV

DigiDec wrote: »

@FreeTV, I'm not far from you in Finglas, I have a wideband high gain with masthead amp, can usually pick up Arfon but last night was getting BP and a weak signal on the Presli channels too.

Good to hear, thanks for the quick reply DigiDec, I wonder will we just get Blaen only from time to time in certain weather conditions. I also have a large wideband with a 40db FTE Maximal masthead amp but I would buy a grouped aerial to receive a full Freeview Welsh transmitter in order to pull in all of the extra channels. Hopefully a mast height of forty feet from the ground will be enough as that is what I have asked a man to build for me this week. Does anyone else also have an opinion on my chances at my location here in Swords?

DigiDec

Correct, its still in the loft, haven't got round to mounting it outside yet !!

mrdtv2010

FREETV wrote: »

Good to hear, thanks for the quick reply DigiDec, I wonder will we just get Blaen only from time to time in certain weather conditions. I also have a large wideband with a 40db FTE Maximal masthead amp but I would buy a grouped aerial to receive a full Freeview Welsh transmitter in order to pull in all of the extra channels. Hopefully a mast height of forty feet from the ground will be enough as that is what I have asked a man to build for me this week. Does anyone else also have an opinion on my chances at my location here in Swords?

At Swords you are away from the ground clutter of Dublin City Centre and near the airport. The possibles include:

a) Divis & Kilkeel: if analogue is good DTT will be excellent in 2012.

b) Llanddona, although likely shielded

c) Arfon looks like the best bet judging by its confirmed reception in North & South Dublin

d) Possibly B-P but CCI from Divis analogue could be problematic.

e) Preseli is too far away for reliable regular reception.

f) As a long shot the IOM Port St Mary SFN.

FREETV

mrdtv2010 wrote: »

At Swords you are away from the ground clutter of Dublin City Centre and near the airport. The possibles include:

a) Divis & Kilkeel: if analogue is good DTT will be excellent in 2012.

b) Llanddona, although likely shielded

c) Arfon looks like the best bet judging by its confirmed reception in North & South Dublin

d) Possibly B-P but CCI from Divis analogue could be problematic.

e) Preseli is too far away for reliable regular reception.

f) As a long shot the IOM Port St Mary SFN.

Thanks, mrdtv2010, I think that I may be stuck with the freeview lite Arfon from what I have read here on Boards. I presume that Arfon will always be a freeview lite transmitter?

BigMoose

Does anyone know what HD channels Arfon will likely carry? C5 have indicated they wont bother with freeview for the time being and will by Sky only (if I've skimmed the digital spy forums right). Will it be a real C4HD or some Welsh variant? Which only leaves ITV1 HD and BBC HD which are both FTA via sat... Although there is some comment of the C5 space being given to the BBC, but I assume they'd launch any 2nd HD channel on Sat too.

mrdtv2010

BigMoose wrote: »

Does anyone know what HD channels Arfon will likely carry? C5 have indicated they wont bother with freeview for the time being and will by Sky only (if I've skimmed the digital spy forums right). Will it be a real C4HD or some Welsh variant? Which only leaves ITV1 HD and BBC HD which are both FTA via sat... Although there is some comment of the C5 space being given to the BBC, but I assume they'd launch any 2nd HD channel on Sat too.

BBCHD, ITV1HD, S4CHD in Wales (may be a composite of S4C and 4, will be launched next week), BBCHD2. From 2012: 5HD when they probably get the money after their analogue network finally closes down. Its possible the two BBC slots will morph into BBC1HD, BBC2HD. For the time being 4HD will still be FTV via satellite and 5HD is likely to be Sky exclusive for two years. Arfon will always be Freeview-lite: its a relay station.

mrdtv2010

FREETV wrote: »

Thanks, mrdtv2010, I think that I may be stuck with the freeview lite Arfon from what I have read here on Boards. I presume that Arfon will always be a freeview lite transmitter?

Yes. But 20 crystal clear SD channels and later 4-5 HD channels is a big step up on ropey reception via analogue AND Irish DTT.