MAGHERA ??

patoinsf

Does anyone know when MAGHERA is going to full power. I am in one of those blue squares that dont have a signal yet.
Thanks..

The Cush

Saorview's full public launch according to these posts, May 11th maybe?

Black Briar wrote: »

Also another important bit of information...Most tx's apart from cairn hill are not on full power at the moment.
Cairn hill is currently on it's max power for DTT as they are testing equipment in the Republic and NI.
All other transmitters except those with NI overspill will be going full power from saorviews official launch date [may 6th ?] which in most cases will mean a 6db increase in received signal.
That increase includes all the non border area in fill sites such as Arklow,Gorey,Suir valley etc.
So expect an improvement in reception there in fringe areas.

Black Briar wrote: »

The service goes official from may 11th.

patoinsf

Thanks for the info.
Looking forward to the 11th so I can see rte clearly and actually get Tv3 for the first time in 10 the years that I have been living in gortachalla (west Galway).

Sponge Bob

Gortachalla is down in a hole near Moycullen. I think you would be much better off looking for a Castlebar or Tonabrocky signal down there which requires a Group A aerial...the correct Maghera aerial would not be optimal.

The fact you never had TV3 seems to indicate you are possibly receiving Castlebar or perhaps even Cornamona which do not TRANSMIT TV3. What frequency is TG4 on ? If you have neither TV3 or TG4 you have the wrong aerial entirely and always did.

I thought maghera was on full power anyway.

Machinehead

Sponge Bob wrote: »

I thought maghera was on full power anyway.

Today I'm at about 20% signal quality. I can get massive variations on this figure, sometimes touching 100% from Maghera. On occasion results from Mullaghanish
can out perform Maghera, even though my aerial is directed NNE towards Clare. I figure all these variations can't
be totally attributed to atmospherics & even at this stage they are still playing around with the power output.

patoinsf

I have two aerials one is a rectangle shape with what looks like four coat hangers in front of a mesh rectangle, and the other is a straight bar with five vertical bars along it. I am facing toward Clare but have tried swivelling the aerials in all directions (full 380 degrees) to see if it improves the signal. Just to clarify I have no digital signal and very poor analogue. TV3 and TV4 both come in but you cannot see them. On a really fine day you might see TV4 with a fair amount of snow. The aerials are above the gable so about 30ft high. Gortachalla is indeed in a hollow and we are also surrounded by forestry.

Sponge Bob

patoinsf wrote: »

I have two aerials one is a rectangle shape with what looks like four coat hangers in front of a mesh rectangle, and the other is a straight bar with five vertical bars along it.

The first is a UHF wideband grid antenna ( pic below) and the second a VHF , the VHF picks up RTE1 and RTE2 and works but you UHF appears not to work at all so I suspect a cabling problem between the aerial and the TV. I would get 12m of RG6 cable in B and Q and run it straight from aerial to TV outside house and in window. Then retune.

The mesh should face the transmitter and the x elements should be behind it away from the transmitter. This one is shown oriented VERTICAL in Wattys piece on aerials here.

http://www.techtir.ie/book/export/html/1003541




It should be horizontal for Maghera and Castelbar and Vertical for Tonabrocky. It may not be great with Castelbar and Tonabrocky as widebands do not do group A very well. I think your cable is shagged though and recabling and fiddling about should find a transmitter and picture. Where are the 2 aerials combined, in the attic ?? Both are supposed to 'join' together somewhere and go through the house together.

Try bypassing combiner with one of these and see what happens.

Gortachalla is indeed in a hollow and we are also surrounded by forestry.

In a hole AND surrounded by trees, sorry I forgot about them and now the leaves have grown back

Vince Cable

Sponge Bob wrote: »

The mesh should face the transmitter and the x elements should be behind it away from the transmitter

Since when? (and the pictured aerial is horizontal)

Trevord

Vince Cable wrote: »

Since when? (and the pictured aerial is horizontal)

Aerial in pic is not Horizontal. That's vertical.

The horizon is horizontal - that's the easiest way to make sure you don't get confused.:D

Peter Rhea

Trevord wrote: »

Aerial in pic is not Horizontal. That's vertical.

It's horizontally polarised, that's what matters here.

Sponge Bob

I never use these wideband grids, just yagis or contract aerials.

Does "horizontal" refer to the orientation of the MESH or the orientation of the bowtie elements ( the x shaped bits). I always assumed it was the mesh.

In the pic above the mesh is vertical but the bowties are horizontal.

The Cush

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Does "horizontal" refer to the orientation of the MESH or the orientation of the bowtie elements ( the x shaped bits). I always assumed it was the mesh.

In the pic above the mesh is vertical but the bowties are horizontal.

Bowtie directors = polarisation. (http://www.techtir.ie/book/export/html/1003541)

Sam Russell

Sponge Bob wrote: »

I never use these wideband grids, just yagis or contract aerials.

Does "horizontal" refer to the orientation of the MESH or the orientation of the bowtie elements ( the x shaped bits). I always assumed it was the mesh.

In the pic above the mesh is vertical but the bowties are horizontal.

The mesh could be a solid sheet of metal. As long as the bars are close together, then it will act as a reflctor.

That bow-tie aerial is horizontal. The vertical bars in the reflector are just to stop it falling apart.

Ronnie Raygun

patoinsf wrote: »

...the other is a straight bar with five vertical bars along it...I have no digital signal and very poor analogue.

That VHF aerial looks to have its reflector missing (or maybe the mast can do that job for VP?)

Would only affect RTE analogue.

patoinsf

my set-up currently has the bow ties in front of the mesh, I will try as you suggested running a cable directly from the aerial to the TV and putting it in different positions. I have a digital meter I used for setting up my FTA dish so will see if it gives me a signal. It is not the easiest thing to get at but will try tomorrow.

Sponge Bob

patoinsf wrote: »

my set-up currently has the bow ties in front of the mesh, I will try as you suggested running a cable directly from the aerial to the TV and putting it in different positions. I have a digital meter I used for setting up my FTA dish so will see if it gives me a signal. It is not the easiest thing to get at but will try tomorrow.

Leave bow tie in front of mesh, point sse .... but do run new cable.

Vince Cable

patoinsf wrote: »

my set-up currently has the bow ties in front of the mesh

That's where they're supposed to be, the mesh is the reflector.

The 'bowtie' dipoles face towards the transmitter & the aerial should be mounted with the correct polarisation.

The setup as it is with vertically polarised band III aerial & horizontal pol. UHF grid is correct for Maghera.

dellWlan

patoinsf wrote: »

Does anyone know when MAGHERA is going to full power. I am in one of those blue squares that dont have a signal yet.
Thanks..

Did it happen? What percentage of full power was it at??

lucernarian

The VHF aerial is indeed missing its reflector. Shouldn't DTT from Tonabrocky be roaring in around Moycullen? That will be in the path of the Maghera aerial. But... I think the grid aerial would have to be turned around to Vertical polarisation and it doesn't show analogue. It sounds like the signal is too bad to explained by the aerials used so I agree with SB to get the cable replaced.

I'd also suggest to have a look at the junction box where the two aerials are joined onto the one cable entering the house, and the box on the aerial where the cable connects with the aerial. If there's any water able to get in then it will cause havoc with reception. Too many times I've see those sorts of things not properly waterproofed.

The pole is not much higher than the roof so when you've looked at the aerial and cable, you may have slack on that pole to let you raise the aerial higher than previously.

Sponge Bob

To_be_confirmed wrote: »

Shouldn't DTT from Tonabrocky be roaring in around Moycullen? That will be in the path of the Maghera aerial. But... I think the grid aerial would have to be turned around to Vertical polarisation and it doesn't show analogue.

Not sure about power, they should have line of sight, it is lined up with Maghera like you said , and they should be able to see the red light at night in Tonabrocky ( DTT is on a lower mast up there) but Tonabrocky is rather low power and partially null to the west ( Loughwell direction more than Gortachalla)

I am hoping they see _something_ from Tonabrocky at the bottom of the UHF band and then rotate the aerial 90 degrees to get something usable. Good signal testing weather with these sudden downpours

Peter Rhea

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Good signal testing weather with these sudden downpours

It's not the rain I'd be worried about, avoid working at aerials in this kind of weather if possible.

patoinsf

Thanks a million for all the input. I am actually not going to go near it at the moment (there is thunder and HEAVY downpours) but as far as I remember the last time I stood on the chimney I counld not see anything in any direction except forest I will take it all apart toward the end of the week if the weather improves and see about the cost of a longer pole to try to raise it higher than it is at the moment I would love to know if there is some way of finding out if the transmitters are indeed at full power since it seems that I should probably wait until they are. Thanks for the clarification on the bowties being in front of the reflector and I will try both H and V while I am doing it since it is going to take a couple of hours messing about anyway. Again I really appreciate all the input. one other thing is does the lenght of the run greatly influence the signal I am using RJ6 and the cable run is at least 100ft with two splits to different rooms.

Sam Russell

patoinsf wrote: »

...... one other thing is does the lenght of the run greatly influence the signal I am using RJ6 and the cable run is at least 100ft with two splits to different rooms.

I would put a masthead amp on the pole, powered from below. It will make the cable run irrelevant, and give you the best chance of a good stable signal.

desaparecidos

How does one pronounce Maghera?

Sam Russell

desaparecidos wrote: »

How does one pronounce Maghera?

Ma-hera.

Trevord

desaparecidos wrote: »

How does one pronounce Maghera?

Whiel we're asking, how does one pronounce desaparecidos;)

Trevord

Will this increase in power make it easier for people to get saorview with rabbits ears?

Galway

Trevord wrote: »

Whiel we're asking, how does one pronounce desaparecidos;)

As it Spanish, its phonetic! des-ah- pa -ray- thee- dos

Sponge Bob

Galway wrote: »

As it Spanish, its phonetic!

:eek:

Sponge Bob

Trevord wrote: »

Will this increase in power make it easier for people to get saorview with rabbits ears?

Only in Galway City Trevor, that is why they put a transmitter in Tonabrocky.

Ond if the OP cannot see Tonabrocky from the roof for all the trees he will likely need masthead amplification for either Tonabrocky or Maghera.

lucernarian

patoinsf wrote: »

one other thing is does the lenght of the run greatly influence the signal I am using RJ6 and the cable run is at least 100ft with two splits to different rooms.

:eek:Merciful god, that's not helping matters at all! Maghera's TV3 and TG4 are at the very highest frequencies used for TV so the cable length disproportionately affects them. The length of cable is probably not causing the problem entirely. Though that length with a couple of splits combined with a weak reception spot like yours is enough to knock a good 13dB off the strength of TV3, assuming it's something like "RG6 satellite coax" type stuff. That can change a snowy picture to an unwatchable picture.

There's three ways to go about dealing with that.

One is to physically relocate the aerial to closer to where the TVs are. You can imagine that's an awkward job at the best of times when you have your pick of location. If the higher ground and trees are mainly to your south then having the aerial further away from them (say to the northern end of the house) would be best, with the aerial clearing the roof if that's in the way. If you try for Castlebar then the opposite applies if there are trees in the way to the north also.

The next is to replace all the cable with higher-spec stuff than what's called "RG6 Sat cable". There are similar brands of this better cable, called TX100 or WF100 or WC100 or PF100 etc. Here's a link to an Irish retailer for 100 metres and boards.ie have a 10% discount with them, the code is Boards.ie.

This crowd in the UK (http://www.satcure.com/accs/page8.htm) sell 50m reels if you won't get the use out of 100 though this cable can be used for any satellite or TV aerial connection and it's handy to have some spare.

If you're in a pinch for the cost of this, there's also this stuff which is available in 50, 100 or 250 metre rolls. http://cpcireland.farnell.com/pro-power/100ublk50m/cable-100u-digital-cable-black/dp/CB14501. I would regard this stuff as somewhat less durable for outside work because of the kinds of insulation used in the cable but the electrical characteristics are nearly as good as the TX100 etc mentioned above. If only a short length is used outside or else you use it for the indoor lengths only, it would work just as well as the rest. Delivery on that site is €6 per entire order and they sell all sorts of stuff including aerials and masts and amplifiers.

The third approach is to get a masthead amplifier which can be installed within 10 ft of the aerials but it should be installed after the combiner (where the two aerials are "combined" onto the one lead). You can't have the amp within 3 ft of the aerials or else you'll have feedback and the likes. This in isolation won't work that well with poor quality cable and won't work at all if the cable is split incorrectly. You then plug in a small PSU inside the house which powers the amp through the aerial cable. Some new TVs and DTT boxes also have this power supply for the aerial built-in. Here's an amp I've found to work well: http://cpcireland.farnell.com/proception/promhd11m/mast-head-amp-uhf-16db/dp/AP01830


Sorry for the long post! One other thing, how exactly is the cable being split to supply these other TVs? Is there a splitter box being used, a wee Y-shaped adapter or was the cable just spliced together and then taped up? Or is there some sort of distribution amplifier being used (an example: http://cpcireland.farnell.com/slx/28103f/amplifier-4-way-pro-slx-gold/dp/AP01503)

I would suggest that both options 2 and 3 would be the best way to go. Moving the aerial could work but for the hassle, it may not improve anything and the location where it is could already be the most ideal. The other 2 methods will definitely work especially in combination.

patoinsf

Thanks a million for all the info. I ended up moving the aerial to the other end of the house, raising it as high as possible and replacing the cable into the attic. my signal from maghera is now medium to good. Still lose picture every now and then (probably the fifty foot pine trees out the back) but it is clear when it is working. :):)

lucernarian

With nearly 100 feet of cable you'd probably see an improvement in reliability with a masthead amp if you are bothered to do it after all that! An amp and power supply are extremely easy to install, it's literally a case of cutting the cable near the aerials and then wiring the amp into the cable and making sure it's all watertight. Then plugging the PSU in, where the cable reaches your TV and then plugging a short cable from the PSU to the TV. Job done:)

One other thing, it's very important that when replacing the cable going to a couple of different TVs, proper splitters are used to do this too. E.g. http://www.tvaerials.com/product.aspx?productid=2352. Bad cable joins and splits have caused massive signal loss on a couple of cases I've worked on.

Has there been a good improvement in TV3 and TG4 analogue? Maghera has received an increase in broadcasting power for DTT so you shouldn't be receiving any reception issues now with new cable...

patoinsf

I have actually changed to tonabrocky and the signal is coming in "very good" so I will leave it for the moment. The splitter I am using is a proper one. Thanks again for the help

Machinehead

To_be_confirmed wrote: »

Has there been a good improvement in TV3 and TG4 analogue? Maghera has received an increase in broadcasting power for DTT so you shouldn't be receiving any reception issues now with new cable...

Sure? My DTT from Maghera today has been the worst it's been for ages. Sound issues also on RTÉ Two:
rte2 sound issues

Sponge Bob

Nice one getting Tonabrocky working. Is it a Group A or that Wideband you used ?

lucernarian

Machinehead wrote: »

Sure? My DTT from Maghera today has been the worst it's been for ages. Sound issues also on RTÉ Two:
rte2 sound issues

There have been a number of reports of people receiving increased signal strength or improved reception around the time of 11th May. Also a poster here had been told by RTÉ that broadcasting sites away from border areas would be experiencing a power increase in time for the Saorview "official" launch during this month. I have no personal information on whether Maghera would receive a power increase.

A question for patoinsf, what way is the grid aerial now polarised? It needs to be rotated by 90 degrees if you're using it for Tonabrocky instead of Maghera. Not doing that (i.e. changing the grid aerial to Vertical polarisation) would result in massive signal loss for Tonabrocky. Analogue TV3 and TG4 from Maghera will be worsened in exchange for better DTT as Tonabrocky has no analogue broadcasts.

Machinehead

Maghera mux 1 on ch: 48 really strong today 100% strength & quality:D Mux 2, ch: 55 equally strong, yet still no content It had been posted a while ago that the new mast works were progressing well, any ideas when they are due for completion?

glimmerman123

Machinehead wrote: »

Maghera mux 1 on ch: 48 really strong today 100% strength & quality:D Mux 2, ch: 55 equally strong, yet still no content It had been posted a while ago that the new mast works were progressing well, any ideas when they are due for completion?

I am waiting patiently for the new content to turn up on mux 2. I tried ringing RTENL but got no answer then i sent an email and asked when will the mast works for Maghera be completed and also when can we expect to see new content on mux 2? I am still waiting for a reply.

Trevord

I drove by there last week and the second mast is now the same height as the original mast.

fabsoul

Trevord wrote: »

I drove by there last week and the second mast is now the same height as the original mast.

I live only 6 miles away the second mast is way over the old one now

Sponge Bob

fabsoul wrote: »

I live only 6 miles away the second mast is way over the old one now

It is only supposed to be c.10% higher, precisely how much higher does it look now ??

fabsoul

well it look a lot over, but maybe that just what they have on top for lifting it up

Sponge Bob wrote: »

It is only supposed to be c.10% higher, precisely how much higher does it look now ??

Sponge Bob

I'd be happy at 33% higher but I bet An Taisce an them shaggin Hen Harriers would go apesh1t if RTÉNL were to do that without planning permission.

glimmerman123

I just received an email from RTENL and it stated that the upgrade for Maghera should be completed by the end of the year. When i asked when can we expect to see tests on mux 2 from Maghera they said that mux 2 is only testing at the moment with no programs on it. So it could be awhile before we see anything turn up on mux 2.:(

Galway

glimmerman123 wrote: »

I just received an email from RTENL and it stated that the upgrade for Maghera should be completed by the end of the year. When i asked when can we expect to see tests on mux 2 from Maghera they said that mux 2 is only testing at the moment with no programs on it. So it could be awhile before we see anything turn up on mux 2.:(

See the thread I started but no one replied to!

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=72917934

Machinehead

glimmerman123 wrote: »

I just received an email from RTENL and it stated that the upgrade for Maghera should be completed by the end of the year. When i asked when can we expect to see tests on mux 2 from Maghera they said that mux 2 is only testing at the moment with no programs on it. So it could be awhile before we see anything turn up on mux 2.:(

End of the year?????
Wasn't mux 2 with RTÉ Two HD supposed to be up and running by September?

Will this mean that the mux 2 launches on other tx's be held back until Maghera is ready?