Freeview picture pixelated and disappearing randomly

I can't tell you why

We have the Irish Saorview channels coming in through an aerial on the roof which is boosted by a powered box in the living room. The signal is split in the attic to Saorview ready TVs in different rooms.

The signal can be good on any one TV, while it becomes pixilated, delay or no picture on another TV. The good and bad TV can vary.

The signal quality can change without any other random device or appliance being turned on or off. It can stay bad for a number of hours. I have checked and rechecked many of the connections.

Any suggestions from you electrical experts.

The Cush

Darragh D ADI wrote: »

Freeview picture pixelated and disappearing randomly

We have the Irish Saorview channels coming in through an aerial on the roof which is boosted by a powered box in the living room. The signal is split in the attic to Saorview ready TVs in different rooms.

Is your problem with Saorview or Freeview?

Freeview is the UK terrestrial TV service via an aerial pointing at a UK transmitter and Saorview is the Irish terrestrial TV service via an aerial pointing at an Irish transmitter.

Where are you located approx.?
The powered box in the living room, is that an amplifier or a power supply for a masthead amp located near the aerial on the roof?
How is the signal split in the attic to the different TVs?

Darragh D ADI wrote: »

The signal quality can change without any other random device or appliance being turned on or off. It can stay bad for a number of hours. I have checked and rechecked many of the connections.

When did this start happening?

I can't tell you why

Problem is with Saorview only.

Living in Swords, North County Dublin. Not in a valley or anything either.

The box in the living room is a power supply for a masthead amp, I believe.

The split in the attic is very basic, non-powered splitter.

Saorview was never good for us. It does seem to have gotten a little worse recently / gradually. I can't put a date on it. But never good may be a starting point to try fix.

The Cush

is your aerial pointing at the Saorview transmitter recommended for your location - http://www.saorview.ie/what-is-saorview/make-the-switch/coverage-map/
Kippure or Three Rock? Is it pointing north to NI and Clermont Carn in Louth?

What type of aerial are you using?

I can't tell you why

The aerial does seem to be pointing north. But so does every aerial on the road?

The aerial looks to be this one. http://www.tvtrade.ie/wide-band-grid-uhf-aerial.html

PS: Good links.

The Cush

Darragh D ADI wrote: »

The aerial does seem to be pointing north. But so does every aerial on the road?

Was that aerial used to receive the UK channels from NI previously?
Can you receive the Freeview digital channels with that aerial at the moment?

Can you identify the UHF channel no. or frequency Saorview is coming in on at the moment? http://www.2rn.ie/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/SAORVIEW-Frequencies-Rev-2.6.pdf

With that masthead amp maybe you're receiving too much Saorview signal from Three Rock or Kippure at the moment or too little from Clermont Carn? Too much signal can be as bad as too little.

I can't tell you why

Yes, we used the same aerial for the Northern Irish / UK channels.

We use a dish for the UK Freeview channels now, which works fine. But on initial tuning some of the TVs did pick up the UK channels using the aerial. They then generally, removed themselves from the TVs somehow. They stayed on one, but that TV then locks if you stay on the UK channel using the aerial.

Not a clue about the UHF channel.

The Cush

You're probably receiving the Saorview signal from Clermont Carn.

I'm not sure how well the freeview signal can be received in your area now with the right aerial installation since the old analogue signal was switched off from NI. Maybe someone here might have better info regarding NI reception in your area now or consult a local aerial installer. The advantage of Freeview NI reception via the aerial is that the UK channels are available to all TVs without any extra boxes.

The masthead amp could also be faulty resulting in a weak signal being split between the different TVs. A local installer should be able to determine this.

If you're no longer interested in Freeview via the aerial then you could spin that aerial around to Three Rock or Kippure which should give you stable Saorview reception on all TVs. Use the Saorview coverage checker to find the recommended Saorview transmitter for your area - http://www.saorview.ie/what-is-saorview/make-the-switch/coverage-map/

I can't tell you why

Thanks for your help The Cush. I may looking into spinning the aerial south.