Saorview keeps freezing and breaking up

Dj

I installed a Ferguson Ariva at Christmas, satellite for the free view and just normal rabbit ears for the saorview. Everything was perfect until a few weeks ago when the saorview channels started to break up and freeze.

The free view channels are still perfect but the saorview is not watchable, any ideas on what the problem is or how I can resolve it, signal coming from Mount Leinster.

The Cush

Dj wrote: »

I installed a Ferguson Ariva at Christmas, satellite for the free view and just normal rabbit ears for the saorview. Everything was perfect until a few weeks ago when the saorview channels started to break up and freeze.

The free view channels are still perfect but the saorview is not watchable, any ideas on what the problem is or how I can resolve it, signal coming from Mount Leinster.

Could be your indoor aerial in conjunction with atmospheric conditions - weak Saorview signal. A rooftop aerial should reduce or eliminate the problem.

This from Saorview

Saorview Tech & Trade
May 24.

This great weather we are having is causing some reception problems for a few viewers in various parts of the country. The high pressure that gives us this nice sunny weather is also causing a tropospheric lift. This means that interference signals from other countries, or other Irish transmitters, are travelling further than usual. If a viewer has a good aerial installation, this will not be a problem for them. Viewers experiencing reception difficulties during this high pressure weather, in all likelihood, have a poor aerial installation.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Saorview-Tech-Trade/329691340422770

winston_1

Dj wrote: »

I installed a Ferguson Ariva at Christmas, satellite for the free view and just normal rabbit ears for the saorview. Everything was perfect until a few weeks ago when the saorview channels started to break up and freeze.

The free view channels are still perfect but the saorview is not watchable, any ideas on what the problem is or how I can resolve it, signal coming from Mount Leinster.

You are not getting Freeview which is a UK terrestrial service through an aerial, you are getting free to air satellite channels.
As far as Saorview is concerned, it is designed to be received off an outdoor UHF aerial 10 metres high. An indoor VHF aerial won't work properly as you have discovered.

excollier

10m high?? 10m above what? Sea level? Your local ground level? Your roof? Your head? You friend's head? Who says?
My aerial is about 150m high,from sea level, should I bring it lower, will it work better? I don't want to go up on that roof again, now I'm depressed.

Taltos

Have you tried a powered signal booster? Worked for me. Also have to totally power down my box every so often as saorview gets strange borders.

zg3409

excollier wrote: »

10m high?? 10m above what? Sea level? Your local ground level?

It's 10M above ground level. They used this to model coverage to decide where coverage would exist or not. They then installed the new transmitters and tested on the ground weak signal areas to see if the model was accurate. In the end they are adding some extra sites for technical as well as political reasons (and probably no TV3 on Saorsat).

Dj

Taltos wrote: »

Have you tried a powered signal booster? Worked for me. Also have to totally power down my box every so often as saorview gets strange borders.

I was thinking of getting a signal booster but wasn't sure what to get, something like this goo.gl/ThpM6 or an amplified aerial like this goo.gl/AFoM1

Thanks for all the responses, might go for the outdoor aerial if the booster doesn't work.

Peter Rhea

I would skip the booster & go for the outdoor aerial.

Some areas served by Mt. Leinster will have reception issues caused by Welsh transmissions which will only be resolved with the channel change at switchover.

JonathanAnon

Some areas served by Mt. Leinster will have reception issues caused by Welsh transmissions which will only be resolved with the channel change at switchover.

That's interesting .. My Saorview gets really bad during the summer (from Mt Leinster), I thought it was to do with the foliage on the trees or something... Doing a rain dance here so I can watch the match in digital..

The Cush

JonathanAnon wrote: »

My Saorview gets really bad during the summer (from Mt Leinster), I thought it was to do with the foliage on the trees or something... Doing a rain dance here so I can watch the match in digital..

Also note Saorview's comments quoted in my post above.

JonathanAnon

Hey, I just went to the saorview website about an hour ago... It work out (from it's automatic map) that I should be connecting to the transmitter to the East, in Kippure...

I had scanned a few months ago and it found the 666Mhz on Mt Leinster... But I rescanned tonight it's grabbing the signal from 730Mhz from Kippure now... And it's perfect... There's a digital signal meter with my TV and it's coming up with a similar Signal to Noise Ratio, but MUCH less uncorrectable errors... And the signal is pretty much perfect..

hopefully it will hold for the Euros, cos when it works, the HD is fantastic..

JP Liz V1

Taltos wrote: »

Have you tried a powered signal booster? Worked for me. Also have to totally power down my box every so often as saorview gets strange borders.

How can I do this please?

The Cush

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

How can I do this please?

What's your setup at the moment, do you have an aerial if so is it indoor or outdoor?

By a powered signal booster maybe he means some type of amplified indoor aerial or distribution amplifier. If the signal arriving at your aerial isn't good it won't improve it.

JP Liz V1

The Cush wrote: »

What's your setup at the moment, do you have an aerial if so is it indoor or outdoor?

By a powered signal booster maybe he means some type of amplified indoor aerial or distribution amplifier. If the signal arriving at your aerial isn't good it won't improve it.

Indoor aerial with saorview tv

Medic475

my saorview signal keeps freezing with a uhf areal on the roof

Medic475

my saorview signal keeps freezing with a uhf aerial on the roof

The Cush

Medic475 wrote: »

my saorview signal keeps freezing with a uhf aerial on the roof

It shouldn't so there must be a problem somewhere with your aerial installation.

It could the aerial you are using, the cabling, the transmitter you are pointing at.

How many aerials do you have on the roof?
Do you know which transmitter you receive the analogue channels from?
Do you receive analogue TV3?

What transmitter does the Saorview coverage checker recommend for your location?

Ger Roe

I think many of these 'Freezing Picture' reports could be resulting from the type of Coax cable being used.

If the installation is using a previously existing external antenna, or internal rabbits ears, it is unlikely that the Coax cable will have the required level of screening for the digital signal.

I have found that in cases where old (cheap) coax is used for digital signals, it can be affected by interference from 'spark' type electrical spikes caused by light switches, passing vehicles, and even ignition sparks from battery powered gas lighters.

The 'spark' EMI produced by any of the above, can cause the picture to freeze and break up.

Might be worth considering in addition to the possible weather, antenna direction related causes.

Ger Roe.