Digital Signal very strong one day, "no signal" the next! - Advice?!

Compudaro

Here's the setup,

House in Wicklow - about 50 feet above sea level. Have a "traditional" aerial setup (see photo!) which I used to use for analogue TV and now I'm using for digital. I'm no expert but I assume the biggest aerial (which faces Wales is UHF and the others (facing Dublin) are VHF?. They're not new aerials but that said, as I type, the digital signal strength is reading "High" according to the built-in digital tuner on my TV. My issue is that sometimes (like today) - it's strong, tomorrow, I could easily have "no signal"! I'm getting the digital Irish stations as well as the digital stations from Wales perfectly right now. There is a traditional booster box in the attic with 2 inputs (one marked UHF, the other VHF, with each aerial cable connected accordingly) and the outputs connected to my TV's.
As I understand it, my analogue aerial setup shouldn't really be receiving such a strong digital signal but as it stands - when it works it's flawless - when it doesn't I get nada.
So the question is, what is causing the intermittent loss of signal - weather/atmospheric conditions or my old equipment?! I don't really want to go climbing the roof so is there anything I can do to help maintain a digital signal everyday? (new "digital" booster box perhaps, to replace the old analogue one?)

Thanks in advance.

Wicklow town?
Have you a sea view?

The top aerial is a group B vertical for arfon in wales.
The middle one is vhf horizontal for kippure and the bottom one is presumably your tv3/TG4 aerial also pointed to kippure.

I have some good news.
If you are having trouble wit arfon,you will have or should have perfect reception from Blaenplwyf with that aerial even though it's group B.
Blaen will be unshielded and 20 times the power of arfon and comes on air next month.
You may have to tweak your aerial in it's exact direction ,the top aerial and you will have to change it's polarity to horizontal -that means turning it on it's side so the rods on it are sideways [like the kippure vhf aerial].

The group B should be suffecient for Blaen even though it's group A but if worst comes to worst,you can get a cheap group A.

Call a good local aerial installer as your kit probably needs servicing anyway.

What was your analogue welsh like before it switched to digital?

p.s with digital it's all or nothing unlike the old analogue.
So if signal drops below a threshold,then you lose picture entirely whereas with analogue it just got snowy.
I'd be confident though that you will get a good signal from Blaen in wicklow next month and it's a full service ie more than 90 channels unlike arfon which you are currently using.

polyfusion

You weren't specific, but when you're getting "no signal", does that include the Irish digital channels?

If it does, I'd suspect a dodgy connection somewhere, then faulty booster box after that (I'm no expert either, but I don't think there is a specific "digital" booster box; it should work for both analogue and digital).

If your analogue from Wales was always good, then it's unlikely that you're on the edge of either getting/not getting enough digital signal to produce a picture.

Compudaro

Thanks so much for the detailed advice Black Briar. To answer your questions now:
Very close to the sea with a perfect view of it! Analogue reception from Wales was reasonable but always weather-dependent. I'd love to avoid a trip up to the roof (or to call a pro in to do it!) but going by what you said it seems I'll have to bite the bullet! Sitting here watching Digital TV all afternoon - not a single glitch! Would a digital booster box help in place of the old analogue one currently in the attic? (I understand that a booster box is never going to beat a quality aerial setup though!). My final query - could would a new aerial in the attic work (facing Wales?) or is that a silly suggestion?

Thanks to you too Polyfusion - to answer your questions - when there's "no signal" both the irish and welsh digital disappear. Maybe that's good news and means I don't have to adjust the aerial setup? Wonder if it's the booster box at fault?

polyfusion

Yes, your aerials are probably grand for getting the signals you want. I'd be looking at the leads and connections first, and then the booster box. I'm not an installer or expert, but I'd begin at the TV and check that all leads and connections are in good order. Sometimes giving them a "wiggle" can show if there is a bad connection somewhere. Check both cables that were store-bought and then the connections on any runs that were DIY'ed. Could be as simple as a problem with the lead running from the faceplate on the wall behind your TV to your receiver/TV tuner (had this problem with an old pre-made cable like this myself recently - cable looked grand, but inner rod part on terminal connection was actually detached from the wire and causing intermittant loss of signal whenever the cable was moved slightly).

compudaro-if you pm me,I'll give you the number of a guy that will service that for you for not too much.
I'd wait though untill blaenplwyf is on air and get that done at the sametime.

You'd be better off getting a new group A aerial though for an extra 50 or 60 quid and at least getting him to check all connections for you.
Your existing amp should be fine.

Blaen switches on its bbc a mux this wenesday actually and the rest come on on march 10th,

gtg60

Aaah, this is a very interesting thread! Good advice (as always) from Black Briar

@ Compudaro
Can you PM me your location (I'm in Wicklow town too) and keep this thread updated on how you get on? If you're successful and have a similar sea view as me then I may go down this route!

@ Black Briar
How hopeful are you that this will work? Won't Wicklow Head block a lot of the signal like it does with Preseli?

coylemj

Deleted User wrote: »

The top aerial is a group B vertical for arfon in wales.

How can you tell from the photo that it's a Group B?

coylemj

coylemj wrote: »

How can you tell from the photo that it's a Group B?

No but I know where a vertically polarised aerial like that on top of a uhf/vhf kippure array would be pointed to.

I'm from the area

@gtg60 Aberystwyth is more or less due East of Wicklow town so no.

marclt

The wait for Blaenplwyf is almost over... switchover there starts tomorrow night!!!

gtg60

Deleted User wrote: »

@gtg60 Aberystwyth is more or less due East of Wicklow town so no.

Not From Wicklow town it's not, Arfon is due East, Aberystwyth (from looking at Google maps) is about 30 degrees more to the South, hence my concern. Suppose I'll just have to wait til Wednesday to see who's actually receiving it.

marclt

gtg60 wrote: »

Not From Wicklow town it's not, Arfon is due East, Aberystwyth (from looking at Google maps) is about 30 degrees more to the South, hence my concern. Suppose I'll just have to wait til Wednesday to see who's actually receiving it.

The Blaenplwyf signal is going to be significantly stronger than Arfon, it will be twice as strong as Preseli on the PSB muxes, so it's fair to say that it will pump in along the east coast. It might even be more reliable than Preseli, and there doesn't seem to be any co-channel issues to worry about at present.

Roll on Wednesday..

gtg60

marclt wrote: »

The Blaenplwyf signal is going to be significantly stronger than Arfon, it will be twice as strong as Preseli on the PSB muxes, so it's fair to say that it will pump in along the east coast. It might even be more reliable than Preseli, and there doesn't seem to be any co-channel issues to worry about at present.

Roll on Wednesday..

Yes, I'm very excited about the potential, I just hope I can 'see' it from here

coylemj

I'm also waiting anxiously for Blaenplwyf, I even drove from my house on the southside to the coast at Killiney with a GPS loggger following as close as possible the line of sight to make sure that there was no big obstructions along the way, I'm reasonably optimistic that my Sagem Picnic will pickup BP as I think I have a clear view to it.

Here are the compass (true) bearings from Wicklow town to the Welsh transmitters. Add 4 to convert to magnetic.

Arfon 87
Blaenplwyf 117
Preseli 140

gtg60

coylemj wrote: »

I'm also waiting anxiously for Blaenplwyf, I even drove from my house on the southside to the coast at Killiney with a GPS loggger following as close as possible the line of sight to make sure that there was no big obstructions along the way, I'm reasonably optimistic that my Sagem Picnic will pickup BP as I think I have a clear view to it.

Here are the compass (true) bearings from Wicklow town to the Welsh transmitters. Add 4 to convert to magnetic.

Arfon 87
Blaenplwyf 117
Preseli 140

Ah good man, I had a look at Google maps and guessed Blaenplywf was 30 degrees more south than Arfon!

Fingers crossed eh?

mrdtv2010

gtg60 wrote: »

Ah good man, I had a look at Google maps and guessed Blaenplywf was 30 degrees more south than Arfon!

Fingers crossed eh?

The frequency is Channel 27, which will operate at 40kW. BBC Mux A services. The others start broadcasting four weeks later including the DVB-T2 HD mux (new box required circa £170, available from Friday 19th February or thereabouts..). If anyone is still getting analogue from Wales then they are on B-P. Its the last West Wales group to digitise fully.

Other BP mux frequencies from 10 March 2010:

MPEG2 T1: 24 (40kW), 25 (10kW), 22+ (10kW), 28 (10kW)

MPEG4 T2: 21+ (40kW)

gtg60

gtg60 wrote: »

Not From Wicklow town it's not, Arfon is due East, Aberystwyth (from looking at Google maps) is about 30 degrees more to the South, hence my concern. Suppose I'll just have to wait til Wednesday to see who's actually receiving it.

I'd have thought arfon is north of East whilst Blaen is south of East.
Both fall into the category of more or less due East.

With nothing in the way and double the power of presely [which I don't lose down here even in wet foggy weather] and which always is above 70% signal strength...then I'd be pretty confident that you will be on a winner with Blaen from wenesday.

I'm going to try for it here,though it's supposed to be shielded for arklow to mar dhea protect an un needed and asyet unbuilt arklow dtt rte tx.
My aerials are twins and group B but horizontal so might pick up the high power mux.
They easily pick up the shielded Blaen as it is.
We always had a weak blaen here.

coylemj

Deleted User wrote: »

I'd have thought arfon is north of East whilst Blaen is south of East.
Both fall into the category of more or less due East.

You may have missed this post of mine from earlier today, I've stored the OSGB Grid References of the Welsh transmitters in my digital map (from the BBC Transmitters website) and calculated the bearing from main st. in Wicklow Town so these are pretty accurate, Arfon is E, (3 degrees north of East so you are technically correct), BP is ESE and Preseli is SE.

===================

Here are the compass (true) bearings from Wicklow town to the Welsh transmitters. Add 4 to convert to magnetic.

Arfon 87
Blaenplwyf 117
Preseli 140

===================

I appreciate that.
I've yet to see an aerial installer that I know who knows an area use a compass on a roof-so roughly is where I point.
After that it would be the strongest point on a meter.

Wenesday and for the next 3 or 4 weeks is a good time to be setting up Blaen as analogue will still be on aswell as the new high power digital service BBC A.
It should work very very well with a group A and amp.

gtg60

Except for me
I just spoke to a local installer and he said that (for my exact location) anything more southern than Arfon is a waste of time.
I hope he's wrong but I always thought it was unlikely here...

coylemj

gtg60 wrote: »

Except for me
I just spoke to a local installer and he said that (for my exact location) anything more southern than Arfon is a waste of time.
I hope he's wrong but I always thought it was unlikely here...

He's talking BS, there are lots of my neighbours around Leopardstown with big Yagis pointing to Divis in NI which is 92 miles away which by co-incidence is exactly the distance from Wicklow town to Blaenplwyf.

gtg60

gtg60 wrote: »

Except for me
I just spoke to a local installer and he said that (for my exact location) anything more southern than Arfon is a waste of time.
I hope he's wrong but I always thought it was unlikely here...

He is wrong.Totally wrong for wicklow town and the sheer width and strength of the blaen digital beam.
Tbh,sounds like he hasn't a clue other than arfon and isn't up to speed on digital high power transmissions or the stability of them.

He's like a dentist that only pulls them or fills them.

coylemj

coylemj wrote: »

He's talking BS, there are lots of my neighbours around Leopardstown with big Yagis pointing to Divis in NI which is 92 miles away which by co-incidence is exactly the distance from Wicklow town to Blaenplwyf.

And add to that,the distance to blaen is almost completely sea path.
Uhf signals love seapaths.

mrdtv2010

Deleted User wrote: »

And add to that,the distance to blaen is almost completely sea path.
Uhf signals love seapaths.

We'll see tomorrow. As marclt pointed out a while back there is supposed to be a narrow null towards Arklow with a 9dB restriction (that would reduce the ERP to 5kW in that arc which IIRC is about 15 degrees, higher than Arfon's 2.8kW) The 40kW will be belted out towards BP's northwest (including Dublin behind that) and southwest ( with Wexford behind that). Basically anybody getting analogue from BP today should get it tomorrow on DTT. On other forums its reported that there's already quite a lot of overspill from Preseli into BP's service area which didn't happen in the analogue days. And anybody willing to buy a T2 box (pricey to begin with), will be able to answer the $64k question: does it work with RTENL DTT tests as well?

coylemj

mrdtv2010 wrote: »

Basically anybody getting analogue from BP today should get it tomorrow on DTT.

If you can't pick up the analog signal from BP today is there any chance of picking up the new Freeview signal tomorrow? I believe it's a more powerful signal and one that travels well so am hopeful.

coylemj

coylemj wrote: »

If you can't pick up the analog signal from BP today is there any chance of picking up the new Freeview signal tomorrow? I believe it's a more powerful signal and one that travels well so am hopeful.

Bp is heavily shielded to the west on analogue.
Thats why people in wexford use presely and in wicklow largely use arfon.

If it was omnidirectional and not shielded,then for the last 20 years using Blaen in wicklow and wexford would have been a no brainer.

The digital is not supposed to be shielded except in that tiny arc towards arklow which incidently still leaves it 2.5 times stronger than arfon inside that arc.
So yes there should be no problems.

We'll see.

mrdtv2010

Take a look at this trade view postcode prediction for the village of Aberdaron, last stop on the NW peninsula of Wales before Greystones and Dublin. See the difference between today and tomorrow on Blaen-Plwyf BBC Mux A and how its clear the full 40kW is indeed being fired to the North West from 0600 tomorrow.

http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/postcodechecker/main/trade/LL53+8BP/1/0

Note that the postcode predictor is also giving the HD launch dates for Preseli and Arfon as well: so HD is coming to the South east just before the World Cup.

mrdtv2010

mrdtv2010 wrote: »

Take a look at this trade view postcode prediction for the village of Aberdaron, last stop on the NW peninsula of Wales before Greystones and Dublin. See the difference between today and tomorrow on Blaen-Plwyf BBC Mux A and how its clear the full 40kW is indeed being fired to the North West from 0600 tomorrow.

http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/postcodechecker/main/trade/LL53+8BP/1/0

Note that the postcode predictor is also giving the HD launch dates for Preseli and Arfon as well: so HD is coming to the South east just before the World Cup.

And firing towards the South West (Fishguard) from tomorrow, with Wexford behind this postcode:

http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/postcodechecker/main/trade/SA65+9AA/1/0

Note that CCI is predicted in that area of Fishguard from 2012 when Divis comes on air but that won't affect Ireland as the Wicklow Mountains form a natural shield from Divis.

Which mux is presely hd going to be on?

*edit just to add-I was receiving most of presely's missing channels this week from what I presume was Llandonna on ch 50 that must have been from a lift...Interestingly today though on ch50-signal strength is 28%-not enough for a picture but there none the less on group B twins pointed to presely*

mrdtv2010

Deleted User wrote: »

Which mux is presely hd going to be on?

*edit just to add-I was receiving most of presely's missing channels this week from what I presume was Llandonna on ch 50 that must have been from a lift...Interestingly today though on ch50-signal strength is 28%-not enough for a picture but there none the less on group B twins pointed to presely*

50+, 20kW. same as BBC B. Before the World Cup. Llandona Channel 50 is only 10kW and has Arqiva B channels so I wonder if it was a lift indeed. Preseli 50 won't be powered up till June. It would be very interesting if somebody had a logperiodic high performance system with a rotor and masthead to see what is available regularly from Wales apart from Arfon and Preseli before tomorrow. No one has mentioned Llanddona and I suspect its too low down and obstructed by hills on Anglesey. Certainly those two extreme point postcode predictions I posted earlier show the radiation pattern of the new BP. Even with the narrow 9dB restriction towards Arklow this could be a much better performer than Arfon as its a Group A (they are obviously expecting CCI from Divis in 2012 in the Fishguard area, another Group A station after DSO) and it will have all six muxes with HD from the 10th of March.

I think people in Wales may not be so happy as HD will comprise BBCHD, ITV1HD, S4CHD and from the autumn 5HD. In the rest of the UK they will have 4HD instead of S4CHD so in N Wales and S Wales I suspect aerials will be directed towards Winter Hill and Mendip respectively. The HD boxes will start to proliferate from March, the cheapest I have seen is £129 and the lowest price for the Humax T2 is apparently £149. These boxes will also upscale Freeview SD channels to 1080P or 1080i. If people do buy one in Ireland and it works with Irish DTT then these will be the future proof high end choice. It is unlikely that Freesat will be able to carry 4HD or 5HD in the clear for quite some time due to the lack of 2D type satellite capacity for several years making Freeview HD a much more attractive FTA HD proposition than Freesat in the UK.

In terms of lift reception you will probably start to see Mendip and Wenvoe from later in the spring when they are cut over to 100kW DTT operation. It appears that Mount Leinster 42, 45 and 49 do not significantly interfere with Preseli on its home turf according to reports and that Ch 39 RTENL is providing an excellent service in West Wales. I fully expect that during lift conditions in the summer that 42, 45, and 49 will be unusable at both Mount Leinster and Preseli. A tragic set of channel choices....

coylemj

Deleted User wrote: »

Bp is heavily shielded to the west on analogue.
Thats why people in wexford use presely and in wicklow largely use arfon.

If it was omnidirectional and not shielded,then for the last 20 years using Blaen in wicklow and wexford would have been a no brainer.

The digital is not supposed to be shielded except in that tiny arc towards arklow which incidently still leaves it 2.5 times stronger than arfon inside that arc.
So yes there should be no problems.

We'll see.

That's exactly what I wanted to hear, I couldn't understand why I couldn't get even a fuzzy picture from BP. If the analog signal to Dublin is being shielded but the DTT will not (except Arklow), then I'll be scanning the airwaves in the morning for the DTT signal from BP.

mrdtv2010

Note on the other thread that BP is now indeed being receive near Arklow on a Group B aerial pointed thirty degrees south to Preseli with very good results and that is inside the restricted power arc where the signal is probably just 5kW rather than 40kW.

Compudaro

Wow, this thread is a fountain of information - just wanted to update you on my current situation. The digital signal strength from Arfon (being received by my old UHF aerial) has been brilliant since my last post. The Irish DTT has been reasonably good. I'm very happy with the signal I'm receiving from Wales and my issue remains that sometimes I lose everything - both Irish and Welsh digital signals. I think I've narrowed it down to the dodgy booster box in the attic which has both a UHF and VHF input (from each aerial). Can anyone recommend a replacement (inexpensive) booster box which I could try out before biting the bullet and getting the entire aerial setup re-jigged and serviced?

Thanks in advance.

Compudaro

Compudaro wrote: »

Wow, this thread is a fountain of information - just wanted to update you on my current situation. The digital signal strength from Arfon (being received by my old UHF aerial) has been brilliant since my last post. The Irish DTT has been reasonably good. I'm very happy with the signal I'm receiving from Wales and my issue remains that sometimes I lose everything - both Irish and Welsh digital signals. I think I've narrowed it down to the dodgy booster box in the attic which has both a UHF and VHF input (from each aerial). Can anyone recommend a replacement (inexpensive) booster box which I could try out before biting the bullet and getting the entire aerial setup re-jigged and serviced?

Thanks in advance.

If you are handy at it,and can DIY-a reasonable group A will give you strong Blaenplywf,I'm convinced of that.
It has the full freeview service including Dave ,Viva and sky news etc-channells that are not on arfon

You needn't unmount the group B at all,just install it below the group B and veer it a couple of inches to the south of where your group B is pointed.
Run a separate length of new co ax cable from it and swap it into the amp instead of the group B - retune and see what happens.

coylemj

coylemj wrote: »

That's exactly what I wanted to hear, I couldn't understand why I couldn't get even a fuzzy picture from BP. If the analog signal to Dublin is being shielded but the DTT will not (except Arklow), then I'll be scanning the airwaves in the morning for the DTT signal from BP.

Sounds like you have something already up and running and pointing towards Blaenplwyf??
Is it wideband or group A? I'm a bit concerned that you haven't posted yet and am hoping it's because you are working and not near the aerial

gtg60

Compudaro wrote: »

Wow, this thread is a fountain of information - just wanted to update you on my current situation. The digital signal strength from Arfon (being received by my old UHF aerial) has been brilliant since my last post.

Have you tried a rescan just on the off chance you can pick up B-P now? I know it's unlikely being so far off and the wrong polarity but I'm very curious...

coylemj

Deleted User wrote: »

Sounds like you have something already up and running and pointing towards Blaenplwyf??
Is it wideband or group A? I'm a bit concerned that you haven't posted yet and am hoping it's because you are working and not near the aerial

Believe it or not I'm using an indoor aerial which by chance appears to be better at Group A channels. On a good day I can pick up Divis from the southside of Dublin and was hopeful but initial tests are not good for BP, got nothing.

I'm a bit worried that the folks in Arklow are reporting good reception when they were supposed to be blocked, maybe the blockers were mounted wrongly and Dublin is being blocked instead!

Compudaro

gtg60 wrote: »

Have you tried a rescan just on the off chance you can pick up B-P now? I know it's unlikely being so far off and the wrong polarity but I'm very curious...

Will that not just re-scan Arfon? How would I know if it was Blaen? I assume i wouldn't get anything from Blaen given that my UHF aerial has vertical rods and is aimed at Arfon?

What are the chances that a new booster box might help me out? When the digital signal disappears - I'm losing both Arfon and the Irish DTT which has to mean the box is faulty. Opinions on a replacment box plllllleeeease?!

coylemj

coylemj wrote: »

Believe it or not I'm using an indoor aerial which by chance appears to be better at Group A channels. On a good day I can pick up Divis from the southside of Dublin and was hopeful but initial tests are not good for BP, got nothing.

You need that aerial outside on the chimney and you need an amp.
Thats not a lot of expense for to have the thing working properly.
Welsh signals over water will not respond well to an attic aerial-you'll only have spotty now and again reception.
A roof outside job with amp and psu is the job.

I'm a bit worried that the folks in Arklow are reporting good reception when they were supposed to be blocked, maybe the blockers were mounted wrongly and Dublin is being blocked instead!

I doubt,they'd make that big a mistake!
Solid at 62% strength here.
Presely is above 80% but crucially as you'd expect pointed correctly with a group B,it has a solid 100% quality.

@ Compudaro

You just ask the tv to do a manual scan and it should give you a menu to input the channel number or a drop down.
Set that to 27and see if it finds anything.

Regarding the amp-the booster box is just a power supply unit.
If you are losing kippure ,then theres a problem somewhere-maybe a loose connection.
It's possible theres water entering the mast head amp [the little grey box at the top] and that needs replacing.
Or the combiner is faulty.

Tbh-that would be a job for a serviceman.I can give you a number or 2 if you pm.

What happens to analogue when you lose digital?
Any even slight weakening there?

gtg60

Compudaro wrote: »

Will that not just re-scan Arfon? How would I know if it was Blaen? I assume i wouldn't get anything from Blaen given that my UHF aerial has vertical rods and is aimed at Arfon?

I know, it's probably unlikely but who know as it's SO much stronger you might pick it up, worth a try...

Compudaro wrote: »

What are the chances that a new booster box might help me out? When the digital signal disappears - I'm losing both Arfon and the Irish DTT which has to mean the box is faulty. Opinions on a replacment box plllllleeeease?!

IMHO your aerials are fine, there's just something wrong with the connection(s) some where, from your picture there appears to be combiners and a masthead amp on the outside so I'm a bit puzzled why you would have a booster inside, unless it just powers the masthead amp?? Not really my area of expertise this, hopefully someone with a better opinion than me can chime in.

gtg60-it's more than likely the psu for the masthead amp.

Commonly referred to as a booster by most.

Compudaro

Just had a look at the box in the attic - it's a distribution amplifier box with 2 inputs marked UHF and VHF (fed from the aerials) and 4 outputs (coax) for the TV's in the house. Just tried bypassing it and the digital signal disappears!

New box?

FLievre

Compudaro wrote: »

Here's the setup,

House in Wicklow - about 50 feet above sea level. Have a "traditional" aerial setup (see photo!) which I used to use for analogue TV and now I'm using for digital. I'm no expert but I assume the biggest aerial (which faces Wales is UHF and the others (facing Dublin) are VHF?. They're not new aerials but that said, as I type, the digital signal strength is reading "High" according to the built-in digital tuner on my TV. My issue is that sometimes (like today) - it's strong, tomorrow, I could easily have "no signal"! I'm getting the digital Irish stations as well as the digital stations from Wales perfectly right now. There is a traditional booster box in the attic with 2 inputs (one marked UHF, the other VHF, with each aerial cable connected accordingly) and the outputs connected to my TV's.
As I understand it, my analogue aerial setup shouldn't really be receiving such a strong digital signal but as it stands - when it works it's flawless - when it doesn't I get nada.
So the question is, what is causing the intermittent loss of signal - weather/atmospheric conditions or my old equipment?! I don't really want to go climbing the roof so is there anything I can do to help maintain a digital signal everyday? (new "digital" booster box perhaps, to replace the old analogue one?)

Thanks in advance.

Do you have three yaggies on the mast???

mrdtv2010

Compudaro wrote: »

Just had a look at the box in the attic - it's a distribution amplifier box with 2 inputs marked UHF and VHF (fed from the aerials) and 4 outputs (coax) for the TV's in the house. Just tried bypassing it and the digital signal disappears!

New box?

Possibly. I think you have intermittent reception issues due to hardware/cable/connection problems: Irish DTT and Arfon DTT go down together. That means it isn't a propagation issue. You should check every connection, plug and PSU unit. It sounds like a classic intermittent fault. I would as Black Briar said be looking at getting a high spec Group A antenna as its clear that BP could be a better bet with its 5 SD and 1 HD mux.

Step 1: Check all the connections ruthlessly. (The fact that you get excellent reception reception most of the time means it isn't an alignment issue)

Step 2: Check all intermediate connections, plugs, RF output clashes from STBs

Step 3: Get a Group A antenna and see how it shapes up with BP over the next four weeks.

mrdtv2010

coylemj wrote: »

Believe it or not I'm using an indoor aerial which by chance appears to be better at Group A channels. On a good day I can pick up Divis from the southside of Dublin and was hopeful but initial tests are not good for BP, got nothing.

I'm a bit worried that the folks in Arklow are reporting good reception when they were supposed to be blocked, maybe the blockers were mounted wrongly and Dublin is being blocked instead!

Nonsense.

Complete waste of time. An indoor aerial will not hack it for BP in South Dublin or for Divis (maybe you get analogue, but the current Divis DTT stations are cochannel with Three Rock, changes after DSO to clear channels.) You should have disclosed this key fact. Outdoor antennas are needed for DX reception eg Divis or BP at the range. You mentioned they had big external antennas in Leopardstown for Divis/Kilkeel: that should have told you what the necessary infrastructure was!!! Buy a high spec wideband with masthead and a rotor. and mount it on the roof...

Compudaro

FLievre wrote: »

Do you have three yaggies on the mast???

Sorry - complete noobie here - I've no idea what's up there - what's a "yaggie" when it's at home?!

tmcw

FLievre wrote: »

Do you have three yaggies on the mast???

I'm guessing:

Top: UK TV
Middle: Irish VHF (RTE 1, 2)
Bottom: Irish UHF (TV3, TG4)

The Cush

Compudaro wrote: »

Sorry - complete noobie here - I've no idea what's up there - what's a "yaggie" when it's at home?!

http://www.aerialsandtv.com/aerials.html#AerialTheory(Yagi)

tmcw

Compudaro wrote: »

Sorry - complete noobie here - I've no idea what's up there - what's a "yaggie" when it's at home?!

Yagi is the type of ariels you have.

If you're finished with analogue, you could take the VHF aerial down, and omit the UHF/VHF box. Maybe it's the source of your dropouts?

Compudaro

tmcw wrote: »

Yagi is the type of ariels you have.

If you're finished with analogue, you could take the VHF aerial down, and omit the UHF/VHF box. Maybe it's the source of your dropouts?

Are my irish digital channels not coming in on that vhf aerial at the mo?

mrdtv2010

mrdtv2010 wrote: »

Nonsense.
You mentioned they had big external antennas in Leopardstown for Divis/Kilkeel: that should have told you what the necessary infrastructure was!!! Buy a high spec wideband with masthead and a rotor. and mount it on the roof...

All the aerials I've seen in that area are pointed to kilkeel actually,vertically polarised.
I'm talking anywhere from blackrock,right across the N11,up Brewery road,across towards cabinteely and north towards town and right up to Sandyford.
There may be Divis aerials above Sandyford alright,I haven't looked.