SAORVIEW Signal Strength

rolexeagle1

hey guys

i live in a concrete apartment block on the ground floor in Rathgar, I used to have a plug in digital tv aerial that I had on the window sill and would pick up the digital channels no problem.

however since the switch over i ant get anything on it. Any ideas? Could the signal not be getting through the concrete walls in my building, they are about 1 and half foot thick?

What would u recommend? I don't think I am allowed erect an aerial on the outside of my building. I would like to get BBC and E4 etc what type of box would I need to purchase for this? The TV itself is already Saorview ready


thanks

Capt'n Midnight

For TV make sure the antenna is in the same place as the one that worked.
Antenna at the window has a better chance. Try front and back windows.

To get UK channels you will need a satellite dish facing the same way as others nearby and a receiver.


If anyone else in the block has an antenna or satellite dish then you maybe able to hook into it with their permission if you can't put up your own. For the satellite it would mean swapping out the lnb with one that can take 4 cables.

John mac

I used to have a plug in digital tv aerial that I had on the window sill and would pick up the digital channels no problem.

you just need to retune the tv then. the channels were changed a couple of weeks ago.

Peter Rhea

OP is in Rathgar. Three Rock's channel change was in July.

notmadetolast

Its 18th nov 2012, Beaumont dublin and im only getting a signal strenght of 1 on the tvs built in tuner and no signal on the saorview box from powercity. saorview better picture better sound.. ! more like no picture no sound....:mad: Aerial is large on side of house and rooftop pointed at dublin mountains. Anyone else getting sqaures and picture keeps stopping when watching a program..?

winston_1

srumball wrote: »

hey guys

i live in a concrete apartment block on the ground floor in Rathgar, I used to have a plug in digital tv aerial that I had on the window sill and would pick up the digital channels no problem.

however since the switch over i ant get anything on it. Any ideas? Could the signal not be getting through the concrete walls in my building, they are about 1 and half foot thick?

What would u recommend? I don't think I am allowed erect an aerial on the outside of my building. I would like to get BBC and E4 etc what type of box would I need to purchase for this? The TV itself is already Saorview ready


thanks

First of all there is NO SUCH THING as a digital aerial. Any aerial does not care what whether the signal is digital or analogue. indoor aerials only work for about 10% of the population, so I guess you are one of the 90%. Why it worked before I don't know, guess you were on the edge so to speak. The broadcasters designed their signal for outdoor aerials 10 metres high, that's just above the average roof. You and your neighbours need to ask your landlord for a communal aerial, not unreasonable these days.

As for UK channels, I'm not sure at your location but if they are available via an aerial a Saorview ready set should get them. However I imagine at your location a satellite dish and satellite receiver would be required.

Peter Rhea

notmadetolast wrote: »

Aerial is large on side of house and rooftop pointed at dublin mountains. Anyone else getting sqaures and picture keeps stopping when watching a program..?

Has the aerial been up for long? Maybe post a pic. It mightn't be the right kind of aerial, could even be VHF.

notmadetolast

Peter Rhea wrote: »

Has the aerial been up for long? Maybe post a pic. It mightn't be the right kind of aerial, could even be VHF.

I have the right aerial, i have been receiving soarview for 2 years now since the had the rte news station since testing , i used it for the analogue signal before and the signal was 4 strenght , sometimes the saorview engineer on the mountain does be messing around with the strenght or something , seems to happen on a sunday but sometimes they just turn it off for 30 mins in the day ..i ..i think their broadcasting equipment is below par and i expect more problems in the next few months just a gut feeling we will have to see. The triax combo box i had before saorview approved was a complete heap of sh**e it kept crashing and had to unplug it from the wall just to turn it off used it for a year too many bugs in the software and the good guys in powercity let me xchange it for a new tv with saorview tuner as the tv i had had freeview tuner as it was from argos.

Extinction

If your aerial is installed that long and you have been having so many problems then it is possible that it is a vhf aerial as Peter suggested. It is also possible that even if it is a uhf aerial that it has had its day and needs to be replaced, there could be water in it for example, there is also the possibility that the cable has degraded over time. It is however unlikely that a saorview engineer is messing with the signal. The solution would be to get an installer out as the problem is obviously with your equipment.

Rippy

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

For TV make sure the antenna is in the same place as the one that worked.
Antenna at the window has a better chance. Try front and back windows.

To get UK channels you will need a satellite dish facing the same way as others nearby and a receiver.


If anyone else in the block has an antenna or satellite dish then you maybe able to hook into it with their permission if you can't put up your own. For the satellite it would mean swapping out the lnb with one that can take 4 cables.

DO NOT DO THIS!
By doing so you are joining the earth of two dwellings together via the tv cables.
There is a very real electrical risk associated with this and it is not legal.
It is only permissible to do this via a tv distribution system with an independent earth.

Peter Rhea

notmadetolast wrote: »

I have the right aerial, i have been receiving soarview for 2 years now

Even the wrong aerial will work if the signal is strong enough, but will be unlikely to leave you any margin to cope with any small deterioration in signal.

notmadetolast

Extinction wrote: »

If your aerial is installed that long and you have been having so many problems then it is possible that it is a vhf aerial as Peter suggested. It is also possible that even if it is a uhf aerial that it has had its day and needs to be replaced, there could be water in it for example, there is also the possibility that the cable has degraded over time. It is however unlikely that a saorview engineer is messing with the signal. The solution would be to get an installer out as the problem is obviously with your equipment.

Hmm.. ur not reading my post properly the saorview approved receiver was the problem in the past as i said its only tonight im losing the signal thats why i wanted to know what signal strenght anyone in dublin is getting ?

Extinction

notmadetolast wrote: »

Hmm.. ur not reading my post properly the saorview approved receiver was the problem in the past as i said its only tonight im losing the signal thats why i wanted to know what signal strenght anyone in dublin is getting ?

Sorry but I was sure I read this in your post '' sometimes the saorview engineer on the mountain does be messing around with the strenght or something , seems to happen on a sunday but sometimes they just turn it off for 30 mins in the day''
That was why I assumed you lost signal on more occasions than tonight, my mistake, dam those saorview engineers, could they not take Sunday night off and stop messing with your signal?

notmadetolast

Extinction wrote: »

Sorry but I was sure I read this in your post '' sometimes the saorview engineer on the mountain does be messing around with the strenght or something , seems to happen on a sunday but sometimes they just turn it off for 30 mins in the day''
That was why I assumed you lost signal on more occasions than tonight, my mistake, dam those saorview engineers, could they not take Sunday night off and stop messing with your signal?

Ya the ironic thing is i dont really watch tv mostly at the weekend only and mostly on a sunday. I just got thumbed off with tonight cos my hd sat receiver that i bought in the maplin store broke after 14 months of use so my fall back was the saorview but then the picture kept freezing on the 9 oclock news.. making no sense of having a tv liecense as the tv is only capable of receiving a picture only half time so i should only pay half the tv liecence fee...:P

Extinction

You aren't having much luck with the auld tv thing are you? You should get yourself a radio, much safer!

Peter Rhea

notmadetolast wrote: »

. . . my fall back was the saorview but then the picture kept freezing on the 9 oclock news.. making no sense of having a tv liecense as the tv is only capable of receiving a picture only half time so i should only pay half the tv liecence fee...

And put the other half towards getting your aerial sorted out?

notmadetolast

Cost me 750 euro for 5 tv points with saorview and 5 sat boxes and aerial install no money left for that. I,ll check the signal strenght in the day time so u know it cant be the aerial.

The Cush

notmadetolast wrote: »

I have the right aerial, i have been receiving soarview for 2 years now since the had the rte news station since testing , i used it for the analogue signal before and the signal was 4 strenght ,

notmadetolast wrote: »

Cost me 750 euro for 5 tv points with saorview and 5 sat boxes and aerial install no money left for that. I,ll check the signal strenght in the day time so u know it cant be the aerial.

When you say you have the right aerial, is it a UHF wideband, Group A or Group C/D? Which transmitter is it pointing at, Kippure or Three Rock?

The Kippure transmitter is recommeded for Saorview for your area, for analogue from that transmitter 2 aerials were required - UHF/VHF, can you identify the UHF channel no./frequency you're receiving Saorview on (Kippure UHF54/738MHZ, Three Rock UHF30/542mhz). Saorview from Three Rock moved to a lower frequency last July. As Peter says above the wrong aerial could cause problems on occasions.

What signal strength/quality does the TV meter display for Saorview normally? What is the make of the TV?

Are you using a distribution amp to feed the TV points?

notmadetolast

The Cush wrote: »

When you say you have the right aerial, is it a UHF wideband, Group A or Group C/D? Which transmitter is it pointing at, Kippure or Three Rock?

The Kippure transmitter is recommeded for Saorview for your area, for analogue from that transmitter 2 aerials were required - UHF/VHF, can you identify the UHF channel no./frequency you're receiving Saorview on (Kippure UHF54/738MHZ, Three Rock UHF30/542mhz). Saorview from Three Rock moved to a lower frequency last July. As Peter says above the wrong aerial could cause problems on occasions.

What signal strength/quality does the TV meter display for Saorview normally? What is the make of the TV?

Are you using a distribution amp to feed the TV points?

Problem sorted..! Turned out the cable wasnt plugged into the tv booster i disconnected it the other day.. and forgot to plug it back in .. thanks !

giggsy07

Great ending guys:)

STB

notmadetolast wrote: »

Problem sorted..! Turned out the cable wasnt plugged into the tv booster i disconnected it the other day.. and forgot to plug it back in .. thanks !

I honestly thought this thread was a wind up.

By the way the Saorview engineers don't turn off stuff for a half an hour.

winston_1

Rippy wrote: »

DO NOT DO THIS!
By doing so you are joining the earth of two dwellings together via the tv cables.
There is a very real electrical risk associated with this and it is not legal.
It is only permissible to do this via a tv distribution system with an independent earth.

As the 2 dwellings are in the same building they will be using the same earth.

There is nothing wrong with sharing a dish or aerial with another dwelling as long as it is correctly earth bonded. Communal systems in blocks do this all the time.

Extinction

Communal systems are earth bonded, this is something totally different to simply connecting cables from different apartments to the same dish.

winston_1

In practise it is no more dangerous than connecting 2 different rooms in the same apartment. The main danger is if a faulty piece of equipment puts the mains on to the cabling. People often mutter about different dwellings being on different phases and 400 volts etc. But for this to be a problem you would need 2 faults at the same time, one at each dwelling. Pretty unlikely.

Extinction

Phrases like 'pretty unlikely' mean very little when it comes to safety. Why not just do it correctly and make it completely unlikely?

winston_1

I believe I said in my post:

There is nothing wrong with sharing a dish or aerial with another dwelling as long as it is correctly earth bonded.

Extinction

How can you know if a dish shared between two apartments is earth bonded? By simply presuming they share a common earth?

I believe you said in your earlier post
'If anyone else in the block has an antenna or satellite dish then you maybe able to hook into it '
I didn't see any reference to earth bonding in that post.

winston_1

Extinction wrote: »

How can you know if a dish shared between two apartments is earth bonded? By simply presuming they share a common earth?

I believe you said in your earlier post
'If anyone else in the block has an antenna or satellite dish then you maybe able to hook into it '
I didn't see any reference to earth bonding in that post.

No, it was not ME that said that said that. Read it again.

It is quite easy too see if something is earth bonded , it will have a cable on it going to the earth point. Though it is the cabling that needs to be earth bonded as the dish itself is insulated from it by the plastic LNB bracket.

Extinction

Sorry, didn't look properly at the post.

I agree that it would be possible to see if something is earth bonded but I doubt many members of the public with no knowledge would be able to see. Many people can't see simple things like connectors that come loose or even the few, the occasional few that call me because they have no picture who cant see that their box is on standby never mind anything vaguely technical.

Some people cant even follow who posts what on boards :P