Freeview now in Meath!

Gonzo

I have a 20 year old aerial and a Philips HDTV and did a rescan of my channels and now am able to receive many freeview channels which really surprised me because reception of the old analogue channels from Northern Ireland were always so bad in my area, it used to be like watching channels through a snowstorm! Now there all coming in very clear.

However there seems to be a few channels im not getting such as ITV3, FiveUSA and 5*, should I be able to receive this channels? I am not receiving any HD channels either so perhaps I should buy a freeviewHD box in order to get these?

The Cush

Gonzo wrote: »

However there seems to be a few channels im not getting such as ITV3, FiveUSA and 5*, should I be able to receive this channels? I am not receiving any HD channels either so perhaps I should buy a freeviewHD box in order to get these?

Those channels are on the 3 lower power Com muxes (commercial), I'm not sure if a better aerial/masthead amp will improve the situation. Someone more familiar with the area might be able to advise.

FreeviewHD box or TV with built-in DVB-T2 tuner will be required for the UK HD channels.

PeterDuggan

Gonzo can you say whereabouts in Meath you are please and what sort of aerial, amp, and mast you're using. Thanks.

Gonzo

PeterDuggan wrote: »

Gonzo can you say whereabouts in Meath you are please and what sort of aerial, amp, and mast you're using. Thanks.

sorry but I havent got a clue what type of aerial I have other than its all rusted and over 20 years old. Analogue reception from it was never good except for the Irish stations but now have the majority of the freeview ones coming in perfectly clear. I am living in Dunshaughlin and now get perfect reception of Channel 5, all the bbc's, UTV, UTV+1, ITV2 and ITV4, all the channel 4 stations including Film4, E4, Channel4Seven, Sky News, Dave, Challenge etc.

Mr Cumulonimbus

Gonzo wrote: »

However there seems to be a few channels im not getting such as ITV3, FiveUSA and 5*, should I be able to receive this channels?

You maybe receiving these on UHF ch 23 from Divis. If so, it could be co-channel interference from Mt Leinster which also transmits on 23.

Peter Rhea

Gonzo wrote: »

. . . am able to receive many freeview channels which really surprised me because reception of the old analogue channels from Northern Ireland were always so bad in my area, it used to be like watching channels through a snowstorm! Now there all coming in very clear.

The signal is probably just above threshold & any drop in level or increased interference will see you lose reception completely. Digital is 'all or nothing', not like the gradual degradation of analogue.

there seems to be a few channels im not getting such as ITV3, FiveUSA and 5*, should I be able to receive this channels?

As mentioned already, these are on the SDN mux: at Divis, this is co-channel with Mt. Leinster & at Brougher it's co-channel with Divis (as are all the Brougher com. services) & a lot lower powered than the Brougher PSB services.

doogb

Can anyone pick up Freeview near Ballivor, Co. Meath ?

I have UTV, More4 etc on channel 21, the signal is ok but pixelates occasionally. Every now and again I am able to get the BBC channels on channel 27, picture is always breaking up.

The aerial is attached to the chimney and not easily accessed, just wondering if I should leave it alone or get it realigned.

Ta

squod

doogb wrote: »

picture is always breaking up.

Think I have 46 channels now here in Navan. Constant loss of signal when cloud cover goes. Tried e-mailing the saorview support people. their advice was to spend a small fortune in the vague hope of improving things slightly.

Peter Rhea

Saorview doesn't have 46 channels. Any problems you have with reception of UK channels are no concern of Saorview.

Mullaghteelin

The Dunshaughlin area looks like it's in a lucky position for Divis.
Its far enough west to miss the Mournes, and the path to Divis manages to find a gap between the highest mountains on Cooley. Dunshaughlin sits on a relatively high but flat plain, about 100 metres above sea level, so that also helps.
Divis is around 80miles/130kms away.

Dr. Nick

Just re-tuned my parent's tv and it's picking up all the UK channels, location is Kiltale - halfway between Trim and Dunshaughlin. They have a big old traditional aerial on the roof. Some pixilation but generally good reception.

Gonzo

Mullaghteelin wrote: »

The Dunshaughlin area looks like it's in a lucky position for Divis.
Its far enough west to miss the Mournes, and the path to Divis manages to find a gap between the highest mountains on Cooley. Dunshaughlin sits on a relatively high but flat plain, about 100 metres above sea level, so that also helps.
Divis is around 80miles/130kms away.

How come we get a much picture from Freeview compared to the old analogue signal from Divis which was always terrible. The picture on BBC1,2 and Channel 4 used to be like watching through a snowstorm and UTV used to be grainy at best whilst areas slightly north like Navan used to get much better picture.

Digifriendly

Gonzo wrote: »

How come we get a much picture from Freeview compared to the old analogue signal from Divis which was always terrible. The picture on BBC1,2 and Channel 4 used to be like watching through a snowstorm and UTV used to be grainy at best whilst areas slightly north like Navan used to get much better picture.

Simply that new high powered digital transmissions are penetrating much further south than old analogue ones. This seems to be the case the other way round with Clermont Carn Saorview reaching further north than old analogue signal. I can even switch off my masthead amp and still receive breakup free Saorview.

Peter Rhea

Gonzo wrote: »

How come we get a much picture from Freeview compared to the old analogue signal from Divis which was always terrible. The picture on BBC1,2 and Channel 4 used to be like watching through a snowstorm and UTV used to be grainy at best

DVB-T receivers need a lower signal level than was required for good analogue pictures. In fact, the maximum recommended is around the same as the minimum needed for decent analogue. Your signal level could even be way below the recommended minimum (which includes an extra margin) & could still deliver watchable reception most of the time.

The DVB-T transmissions are also structured to behave like a large no. of closely spaced narrowband signals, spread over a wide bandwidth, rather than a handful of wideband carriers occupying the same bandwidth, & use this fact along with error correction code & frequency interleaving to greatly increase resistance to multipath fading, which could badly affect analogue reception at long distances.

lawhec

Digifriendly wrote: »

Simply that new high powered digital transmissions are penetrating much further south than old analogue ones. This seems to be the case the other way round with Clermont Carn Saorview reaching further north than old analogue signal. I can even switch off my masthead amp and still receive breakup free Saorview.

It's also a case that with DVB-T & DVB-T2 that received pictures and sound is very much an all-or-nothing affair, 1db can be the difference. Often called the 'digital cliff' effect, whereas analogue pictures progressively deteriorated with weaker signal strength and quality, with digital once you have passed the threshold of the minimum signal strength needed to receive a multiplex (alongside a bit of elbow room to allow for reduced power for works at transmission sites, poor weather conditions etc. - an easy way to check this is to fit a 6db attenuator between the coax plug and the TV or receiver, if you still get all channels without breakup you should be fine almost all the time) then signal quality is what matters.

Most TV's with built in Freeview (HD)/ Saorview tuners and said STBs have a signal level meter available, often in the TV menu. A few only provide one detail but most others will provide an arbitrary signal strength and signal quality scale similar to that for a Sky receiver for satellite. It'll often be marked either as a percentage or a scale from 0-10. Depending on the receiver, your signal strength might be 80-90% but if the quality is between 0-20% you will likely receive no channels to watch or listen to. OTOH your signal strength level might only be say 25-30% but the quality is around 80-90% and you have channels that don't have picture break up or audio that cuts in and out.

A few days ago I took off a broken masthead amp on my grandparents aerial aimed at Clermont Carn and simply joined the two coax cables that previously went into the amp together with F-connectors and self-amalgamating tape to waterproof them, and all Saorview signals came in (albeit with low strength, about the same as the SDN and Arqiva muxs from Brougher) with no reports of breakup since then. Up until then my grandfather generally put up with very snowy pictures for RTÉ, TV3 and TG4 that varied from one day to the next and when the amp went a few months ago, he lost them completely. Now, he can't believe how clear even the SD channels are and he enjoyed watching the Champions League soccer last week on RTÉ Two in HD. A very happy outcome.

richiemac

I have all the RTE's and Freeview's(bbc,utv,ch4+5 ) etc. in Dunleer area. Coming in nicely via my stb....I want to replicate this for a relative 4 miles down the road. At the moment he can only pick up RTE's with my box.....Got a new aeriel as the old one was in bits and got a group B masthead amp as recommended by the local electrical shop.....what do i need to do to make it work ? Is B the right amp ? The aeriel i got is 12 element mounted horizontally.......just want to make sure i have the right gear before i go fitting it....any help would be great on this.

Peter Rhea

If you're trying for Kilkeel (Freeview) & Clermont Carn (Saorview) on 1 aerial, both these transmit vertically polarised signals.

The signal from CC should be far stronger than Kilkeel, so the amp. could cause problems. A group B amp. won't be any use for the 2nd Saorview multiplex, whenever it starts.

richiemac

So i should mount aeriel with the elements vertical ? What group masthead amp will work best ? Should i use 2 aeriels into a diplexer ? Sorry for my ignorance, the fitting of this is easy for me, just need the correct bits.......

Peter Rhea

How many Freeview services are you receiving with your own setup? Is it the full service, including the likes of Film 4, Dave & Pick TV, or just the 3 public service multiplexes? Which UHF channels are they carried on?

Gonzo

is anyone in the republic picking up certain missing channels such as ITV3, 5usa and 5*, the reason im not getting these channels is due to interference from another transmitter in southern ireland from mount leinster. Is there a way around this so that I can finally pick up those few important channels that im missing? Shame that im missing those channels as theres quite a few channels on Freeview that I can pick up but are not viewable such as sky sports, and other channels which says i need a broadband connection and another box etc, Connect TV i think it's called..

Peter Rhea

There probably isn't anything you can do to shield your aerial from Mt. Leinster, as you'll need it up high & in the open to get Divis.

Another option is a phased array of 2 identical aerials, spaced in such a way that the Mt. Leinster signal received by each cancels out the other: probably just about do-able with the angles involved. Of course, you'd also have to find someone who can set up something like this, or learn yourself . . .

The Cush

Peter Rhea wrote: »

Of course, you'd also have to find someone who can set up something like this, or learn yourself . . .

You could start here - http://www.aerialsandtv.com/aerials.html#PhasedArray

richiemac

Peter Rhea wrote: »

How many Freeview services are you receiving with your own setup? Is it the full service, including the likes of Film 4, Dave & Pick TV, or just the 3 public service multiplexes? Which UHF channels are they carried on?

Getting the full service at my place....at work now so can't check UHF channels but will report back tomorrow. Thanks.

richiemac

Quick check there and receiving from 21 up to 69 i think it was.......just done a double shift so headin' for the hay...zzz

Does this mean i need a WB group amp so ?

Peter Rhea

If you're getting the full service in that part of the country, Divis (Belfast) is the most likely source. It uses UHF channels 21, 24 & 27 for the PSB services (24 is the HD mux), along with 23, 26 & 29 for the commercial offering.

These are all group A channels. The aerial groups will become less relevant as time goes by, but for long distance reception of these lower frequencies, a group A aerial is certainly worth having. Anything else, you're better off with a wideband, preferably a newer model whose design bandwidth stops at UHF channel 60. This channel cutoff point also applies to any amplifiers, as these measures will lessen the potential for interference from 4G mobile services. (While they remain above channel 60, anyway. )

richiemac

Set it up last night, using the WB mast amp and am getting nearly all the channels...missing 5*,dave,sky news,reality.pick tv and a couple of others.....need to spend a little more time aligning the aeriel i think. Have all the BBC,ITV,ChL4 & RTE's on the one aeriel. Pointing towards Kilkeel............just ran out of time, will report back over the weekend.. Thanks to all.

Peter Rhea

The only services you'll get from Kilkeel are those listed here.

The full service is only carried on the main transmitters (Divis, Brougher Mtn. & Limavady).

richiemac

AHH, that makes a lot of sense so ..... will try different positions. Will get a go at it again later today. Thanks Peter