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Saorview poor signal quality in apartment

  • 18-12-2020 12:34am
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,168 ✭✭✭


    I'm in an apartment so can't mount an outdoor aerial; I've been relying on the antenna pictured below for Saorview which has been working fine all year but a few weeks ago the signal quality has been dropping rendering channels unwatchable.

    I'm only a few miles from Three Rock and can see it from the apartment. Would anyone have any ideas why the signal has recently become so poor and what, if anything, I can do about it?

    Would a different aerial help?

    514vb1w74JL._AC_SY741_.jpg


Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 21,852 ✭✭✭✭dxhound2005


    That aerial got a couple of really bad reviews on Amazon UK, back in 2012. The only way to find out if another aerial would improve matters is to try it and see. I don't know anything about indoor aerials myself.

    Check the signal strength readings on Channel 30 frequency 546 MHz, and 33 570 from Three Rock. A perfect picture does not necessarily indicate a strong signal. There is a small margin in signal received, between a perfect picture and no picture.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 496 ✭✭Elvis Hammond


    oneilla wrote: »
    I'm in an apartment so can't mount an outdoor aerial; I've been relying on the antenna pictured below for Saorview which has been working fine all year but a few weeks ago the signal quality has been dropping rendering channels unwatchable.

    I'm only a few miles from Three Rock and can see it from the apartment. Would anyone have any ideas why the signal has recently become so poor and what, if anything, I can do about it?

    Has the aerial been moved, or have you tried moving it, to see if that has any effect? You haven't put anything in the room that might obstruct or reflect the signal?


  • Posts: 2,827 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    aluminium backed plasterboard?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,168 ✭✭✭oneilla


    Has the aerial been moved, or have you tried moving it, to see if that has any effect? You haven't put anything in the room that might obstruct or reflect the signal?

    I didn't move it before this signal issue started a few weeks ago. I have since tried repositioning it but it doesn't help at all. Weird thing is last night around midnight I was able to watch a programme on RTE1 and it was fine but tonight all channels are unwatchable

    I haven't bought any new appliances, furniture or anything


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,168 ✭✭✭oneilla


    aluminium backed plasterboard?


    Hmm possibly. There is foil behind the radiators but the signal had been working all year just fine.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,168 ✭✭✭oneilla


    That aerial got a couple of really bad reviews on Amazon UK, back in 2012. The only way to find out if another aerial would improve matters is to try it and see. I don't know anything about indoor aerials myself.

    Check the signal strength readings on Channel 30 frequency 546 MHz, and 33 570 from Three Rock. A perfect picture does not necessarily indicate a strong signal. There is a small margin in signal received, between a perfect picture and no picture.

    uS6wS5r.jpg

    eoHxMX6.jpg

    This is what comes up when I go into manual tuning on my TV.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 21,852 ✭✭✭✭dxhound2005


    Signal quality is the important one, and that is a low reading. If moving the aerial around does not improve it, try a new aerial.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,168 ✭✭✭oneilla


    Signal quality is the important one, and that is a low reading. If moving the aerial around does not improve it, try a new aerial.

    Might see if I can get one of these so.
    https://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/9338924/Trail/searchtext%3EAERIAL.htm


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,168 ✭✭✭oneilla


    My signal is significantly better today to a point that channels are watchable yet I haven't moved the aerial or turned on/off any appliances :confused: Could it be something from an adjoining apartment? Weather?


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 21,852 ✭✭✭✭dxhound2005


    oneilla wrote: »
    My signal is significantly better today to a point that channels are watchable yet I haven't moved the aerial or turned on/off any appliances :confused: Could it be something from an adjoining apartment? Weather?

    Significantly higher Quality reading?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,167 ✭✭✭Ger Roe


    Those small indoor antennas are a black art - working then not working and varying with the weather and the amount of people in the room etc. If you can see Three Rock from the apartment, is there any possibility of putting a small antenna outside on a balcony?

    I once set a tv up in an apartment close to Three Rock by simply using a correctly spaced UHF dipole ('cats ears' telescopic) placed outside and fed in through a small hole in the window frame.

    It was a really cheap antenna, done as a test, but it worked and has continued to work without interruption for five years now. The antenna was bought for €1.50 and the key to success is it being outside, polarised correctly and in a strong signal area.

    Take the same antenna inside, and you are back to standing on one leg at full stretch to try and get a reliable picture.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,168 ✭✭✭oneilla




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,168 ✭✭✭oneilla


    Significantly higher Quality reading?

    Yeah the signal % on the TV's tuning menu was still jumping but rather than flick from 100% to 20 it was going 100% to 50/60. I dunno if that means much but the channels were watchable and I hadn't moved the aerial


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,168 ✭✭✭oneilla


    Ger Roe wrote: »
    Those small indoor antennas are a black art - working then not working and varying with the weather and the amount of people in the room etc. If you can see Three Rock from the apartment, is there any possibility of putting a small antenna outside on a balcony?

    I once set a tv up in an apartment close to Three Rock by simply using a correctly spaced UHF dipole ('cats ears' telescopic) placed outside and fed in through a small hole in the window frame.

    It was a really cheap antenna, done as a test, but it worked and has continued to work without interruption for five years now. The antenna was bought for €1.50 and the key to success is it being outside, polarised correctly and in a strong signal area.

    Take the same antenna inside, and you are back to standing on one leg at full stretch to try and get a reliable picture.

    No balcony :(

    The annoying thing is that it had been working fine all year and then the signal went to s**t a few weeks ago.

    Could something like a metal shed nearby affect signal?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,167 ✭✭✭Ger Roe


    oneilla wrote: »
    No balcony :(

    The annoying thing is that it had been working fine all year and then the signal went to s**t a few weeks ago.

    Could something like a metal shed nearby affect signal?

    Unless it is blocking your window, I would say unlikely. Indoor aerials are not reliable, unless your signal is so strong that you could not fail to get a picture.

    If no balcony, try moving (extend cable if necessary) the aerial to the window. make sure it is pointing in the correct direction. Alternatively, try another antenna, even a wire dipole correctly cut and polarised and stuck to the window , might give a reliable result. The other thing to consider is the quality of the coax cable - unless it is shielded for a digital signal, it will pick up local electrical noise interference and block the TV signal. The digital signal is more sensitive to electrical interference and loss than the analog signal was - needs better quality coax.

    I never had much faith in the fancy indoor aerials that don't look like a proper antenna in the first place. If you get to put the current antenna at a window, place the telescopic elements totally horizontal and as retracted short as possible, pointing towards three rock and see if it makes a difference. That's the nearest you are going to get to a dipole with that antenna.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,073 ✭✭✭Digifriendly


    Ger Roe wrote: »
    Unless it is blocking your window, I would say unlikely. Indoor aerials are not reliable, unless your signal is so strong that you could not fail to get a picture.

    If no balcony, try moving (extend cable if necessary) the aerial to the window. make sure it is pointing in the correct direction. Alternatively, try another antenna, even a wire dipole correctly cut and polarised and stuck to the window , might give a reliable result. The other thing to consider is the quality of the coax cable - unless it is shielded for a digital signal, it will pick up local electrical noise interference and block the TV signal. The digital signal is more sensitive to electrical interference and loss than the analog signal was - needs better quality coax.

    I never had much faith in the fancy indoor aerials that don't look like a proper antenna in the first place. If you get to put the current antenna at a window, place the telescopic elements totally horizontal and as retracted short as possible, pointing towards three rock and see if it makes a difference. That's the nearest you are going to get to a dipole with that antenna.

    Tend to agree with this especially re interference. Also if a signal is on the cliff edge i.e. close to being watchable but not quite, so with digital this means pixellated picture then try to prevent aerial cable from touching other cables/wires. This can make all the difference.

    I did recommend the Telecam as it is probably the better indoor aerial compared to others but advice re indoor aerials given above is spot on. The signal has to be pretty good in the first place if indoor aerials are to work effectively.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 496 ✭✭Elvis Hammond


    oneilla wrote: »
    ... The annoying thing is that it had been working fine all year and then the signal went to s**t a few weeks ago.

    Could something like a metal shed nearby affect signal?

    It could; did its appearance coincide with your signal problem, or was it there all along?


  • Site Banned Posts: 113 ✭✭Dunfyy


    Put aerial outside window and see if that helps move your tv if you have to try rescanning


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 21,852 ✭✭✭✭dxhound2005


    The OP said that the glitch is gone and the Quality reading was over 50% yesterday. It was 23% when the picture was blotchy the day before.

    Might indicate a rare event intermittent fault, which may have been there at other times during the year when nobody was watching TV. Could be some problem with the cable from the aerial to the TV, or the connections either end.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,168 ✭✭✭oneilla


    Ger Roe wrote: »
    Unless it is blocking your window, I would say unlikely. Indoor aerials are not reliable, unless your signal is so strong that you could not fail to get a picture.

    If no balcony, try moving (extend cable if necessary) the aerial to the window. make sure it is pointing in the correct direction. Alternatively, try another antenna, even a wire dipole correctly cut and polarised and stuck to the window , might give a reliable result. The other thing to consider is the quality of the coax cable - unless it is shielded for a digital signal, it will pick up local electrical noise interference and block the TV signal. The digital signal is more sensitive to electrical interference and loss than the analog signal was - needs better quality coax.

    I never had much faith in the fancy indoor aerials that don't look like a proper antenna in the first place. If you get to put the current antenna at a window, place the telescopic elements totally horizontal and as retracted short as possible, pointing towards three rock and see if it makes a difference. That's the nearest you are going to get to a dipole with that antenna.

    I unplugged every other device that was plugged into the TV and it worked, perfect signal quality with no breaking up.

    I started plugging stuff back in and the Amazon Fire Stick with HDMI extender which boosts WiFi killed the saorview signal again.

    All of this also coincides with using mobile data recently. IDK if this is all coincidence or what


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,581 ✭✭✭khaldrogo


    I got saorview nearly a Yr ago. Rte 1 + 2 unwatchable most of the time. Got the box in power City and got the more expensive indoor aerial they had. Any way to improve things?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,167 ✭✭✭Ger Roe


    oneilla wrote: »
    I unplugged every other device that was plugged into the TV and it worked, perfect signal quality with no breaking up.

    I started plugging stuff back in and the Amazon Fire Stick with HDMI extender which boosts WiFi killed the saorview signal again.

    All of this also coincides with using mobile data recently. IDK if this is all coincidence or what

    It could be a factor. Best test now would be to move the antenna away from the TV (and other devices) and see what happens - this is where possible extending the cable and making sure it is of high enough quality, becomes important.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,168 ✭✭✭oneilla


    Ger Roe wrote: »
    It could be a factor. Best test now would be to move the antenna away from the TV (and other devices) and see what happens - this is where possible extending the cable and making sure it is of high enough quality, becomes important.

    With the fire stick unplugged I moved the antenna in as many different positions as I could and didn't get any breakup of signal. Plugged the fire stick back in and was getting the usual pixels and audio loss.


  • Posts: 2,827 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    By holding down the home button on the firestick remote you should see a sleep option.
    I also have a longer hdmi cable which I have used in the past to get a stronger signal but also takes the firestick away from the back of the TV


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