Sudden loss in quality of Freeview Lite signal

adox

I'm in Rush Co Dublin and have a tv with a built in Freeview HD receiver and an aerial on the roof that was originally there for analogue.

I've been using it for a combo of Freeview lite/Freeview HD for the last few months with near perfect signal strength and quality. We are talking high nineties for both.

However this evening I've had major break up on the Freeview signal and looking at the Sony TV menus, the signal quality has dropped from high nineties to below 50% with fluctuations lower down to loss of signal.

I initially though that the recent weather may have damaged my now ageing aerial and cables but checking the Saorview channels and they are showing 100% both for strength and quality. I did a rescan to see if that made any difference but the Freeview channels are still the same, very weak.

However I've noticed a lot more channels coming through, Sky News, Dave, Food Network etc. all with very weak signals with constant break up. I presume these are coming in from a Freeview transmitter as opposed to a Freeview Lite transmitter?

Also could these be my issue? I'm not sure if the digital world is the same as analogue, in the sense that when I had analogue, atmospheric conditions could degrade the signal from the North, usually in the summer. Is this what could be happening here? Freeview signal is leaking through due to atmospheric conditions and interfering with the Freewview Lite signal?

Anyone else having similar issues?

Ronnie Raygun

Are the Freeview services you had all along still on the same UHF channels, still coming from Kilkeel?

adox

Ronnie Raygun wrote: »

Are the Freeview services you had all along still on the same UHF channels, still coming from Kilkeel?

Yep seem to be. 39 for HD channels and 42/45 for the standard channels.

Ronnie Raygun

What about the UHF channels for the commercial services (Dave etc.) you're picking up?

adox

Ronnie Raygun wrote: »

What about the UHF channels for the commercial services (Dave etc.) you're picking up?

Give me two secs to check........

Coming in on channel 49.

Ronnie Raygun

The Winter Hill transmitter, near Bolton, has that mux on ch.49, it just moved to that channel about a week ago. This transmitter is picked up on our east coast under certain conditions.

Kilkeel shares channels with Moel-Y-Parc in Wales, maybe that's your interferer. Didn't think conditions were especially conducive to this kind of thing atm.

adox

Ronnie Raygun wrote: »

The Winter Hill transmitter, near Bolton, has that mux on ch.49, it just moved to that channel about a week ago. This transmitter is picked up on our east coast under certain conditions.

Kilkeel shares channels with Moel-Y-Parc in Wales, maybe that's your interferer. Didn't think conditions were especially conducive to this kind of thing atm.

Thanks for your input. So it's most likely Moel-Y-Parc that is the problem? If that's the case I don't have any quick fix.

If there's a chance it's the Winter Hill transmitter I'm wondering is there some way I can retune without picking these channels up to see if that helps?
I'm pretty sure there is no way of deleting channels on my telly.


#edit. Maybe do a manual retune to include Kilkeel only to see if that helps?

Ronnie Raygun

Retuning won't do anything about co-channel interference. Only aerial work will have any effect.

You're wide open to it on the east coast & the signal from Kilkeel will be pretty weak to begin with anyway.

adox

Ronnie Raygun wrote: »

Retuning won't do anything about co-channel interference. Only aerial work will have any effect.

You're wide open to it on the east coast & the signal from Kilkeel will be pretty weak to begin with anyway.

Ok thanks for your help. Looks like I'm just stuck with it so.

FREETV

Maybe he could clamp something to block the offending signal if it is being received from the back or side of the aerial, a board with a lead sheet or aluminium foil perhaps Ronnie? My Dad has channel 23 from Divis completely wiped out from Divis by the co-channel Mount Leinster transmitter and I was thinking of trying to do something to block that transmitter from being received at the back of his aerial.

FREETV

Can Divis not be received in Rush with a twenty feet long mast?

adox

FREETV wrote: »

Can Divis not be received in Rush with a twenty feet long mast?

I'm using a vertical grid aerial so no chance of Divis for me.

adox

I would be interested to hear if anyone else has noticed a loss in signal quality recently? If you have a chance just check your signal on Freeview Lite channels and see if your reading is lower than it has been previously.

Ronnie Raygun

I assume you are aware there is no actual separate service called "Freeview Lite"?

It's just that the commercial mux operators didn't consider it economical to broadcast from all transmitters.

Fingleberries

adox wrote: »

I would be interested to hear if anyone else has noticed a loss in signal quality recently? If you have a chance just check your signal on Freeview Lite channels and see if your reading is lower than it has been previously.

In Balbriggan, the Freeview HD Channels from Kilkeel (BBC1, 2, UTV and CH4 HD) have all been temperamental lately and would disappear while the SD versions remain OK.

I had thought that it was just my STB.

adox

Fingleberries wrote: »

In Balbriggan, the Freeview HD Channels from Kilkeel (BBC1, 2, UTV and CH4 HD) have all been temperamental lately and would disappear while the SD versions remain OK.

I had thought that it was just my STB.

Thats weird. My HD channels have had a stronger signal than the SD channels when Ive had problems, despite all of them being affected.

Ronnie Raygun

Fingleberries wrote: »

In Balbriggan, the Freeview HD Channels from Kilkeel (BBC1, 2, UTV and CH4 HD) have all been temperamental lately and would disappear while the SD versions remain OK.

The NImux from Black Mountain uses the same channel as the HD mux from Kilkeel.

It's been mentioned before as a possible source of interference.

Peter Rhea

FREETV wrote: »

Maybe he could clamp something to block the offending signal if it is being received from the back or side of the aerial, a board with a lead sheet or aluminium foil perhaps . . .

It would be more sensible to get a better aerial that doesn't pick up so much from unwanted directions, maybe combine aerials into a more directional array.

FREETV

Peter Rhea wrote: »

It would be more sensible to get a better aerial that doesn't pick up so much from unwanted directions, maybe combine aerials into a more directional array.

I wonder would a Triax Unix 100 get channel 23 back from Divis for my Dad in Trim who misses Quest in particular because of co-channel Mount Leinster?

Peter Rhea

This thread is supposed to be for people receiving from Kilkeel to discuss any problems they may be having.

dominoman

I am in Skerries and have noticed over the last few weeks that the quality on channel 42 from Kilkeel has been dropping on my grid aerial. I also have a Antiference - TC18/A pointed at Divis and channels 21 and 23 have also been a bit of hit and miss lately.

castle2012

In laytown getting from Killeel .hd mx not working for me but the two sd mxs working perfect