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All posts by Jon

Below are all of Jon's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.

J
Hannington (Hampshire, England) transmitter
Monday 21 May 2012 8:26PM
Farnborough

I could really do with some advice. Postcode is GU14 9RX, trying to get a picture from Hannington specifically for BBC South East.
Wideband aerial on 3m pole on chimney, with masthead amp, and then 2 way distribution amp.
My brand new TV upstairs gets a lovely picture all the time, yet my older TV downstairs fluctuates daily.
I've tried removing the dist amp, but a direct connection to the masthead has no effect. The upstairs TV works fine downstairs, which leads me to think it's TV rather than aerial related.
Are the tuners in the latest TV's significantly better? Is there anything else I can try? Banded aerial or 2 way masthead for individual feeds?
Thank you.

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JB,

Thanks for the reply. The TV is a Samsung LE32R41BD.
I knew that Hannington was problematic, but was hoping that the increased power post-DSO, and better coverage pattern to the east would give Farnborough a fighting chance.

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GB flag
J
Hannington (Hampshire, England) transmitter
Tuesday 22 May 2012 4:26PM
Farnborough

Thanks Dave,

I've tried turning the gain right down on the masthead, and fitting a variable attenuator, with no luck.
Using the signal indicator on the TV (which I appreciate isn't accurate) shows max signal at mid-gain on the masthead amp, showing 40%. Turning the gain up further or down lower results in a lower signal indication.
It looks like the TV is very sensitive to signal quality, so I might try a grouped aerial, with a 2 way masthead so I can remove the distribution amp as a source of noise.
Unless there are any other ideas from the experts!

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J
Hannington (Hampshire, England) transmitter
Wednesday 23 May 2012 12:58PM
Farnborough

Thanks again JB,

Yes the 40% is on the Samsung strength indicator - it also shows a bit error level of 4 which I understand isn't great.
Upstairs TV is a Samsung UE22D5003, which doesn't appear to have a signal indicator(that I can find).
Your point about Humax tuners is interesting as I have previously had a F2-Fox T which struggled as well.

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J
Hannington (Hampshire, England) transmitter
Wednesday 23 May 2012 7:14PM

Richard,

Thanks you're right. Upstairs I have a signal of 100 and a bit error level of 0.
Does that help in pinpointing a problem?

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J
Hannington (Hampshire, England) transmitter
Thursday 24 May 2012 12:21PM
Farnborough

Thnaks for all of the help so far. I've done the swap test with the following results;
Downstairs TV downstairs - Signal 34, bit error rate 4. Upstairs - signal 32, BER 4.

Upstairs TV upstairs - Signal 100, BER 0. Downstairs - signal 100, BER 0.

So it's definately TV specific. But to add a further complication I had perfect picture last night and this morning (8pm - 8am) with a signal of 42 and BER of 3, but by lunchtime it's gone again. Is there any reason for it being time of day specific?

Jon.

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J
Hannington (Hampshire, England) transmitter
Friday 25 May 2012 7:46PM
Farnborough

JB & Richard,

Thanks for all of the help and advice you have given.

Richard you are right, adding a booster just for the LE32 made no difference. I've come to the conclusion that I've got a rubbish signal at the aerial which no amount of boosting will help. At the moment a new TV isn't an option, so I've taken the plunge and bought a XB16B and 4 way masthead.

I just need to get my hands on a 9 metre ladder and I'm set! I'll report back when done, but thank you again.

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J
Hannington (Hampshire, England) transmitter
Wednesday 30 May 2012 10:30PM
Farnborough

I promised an update so here goes;

After a quick red herring whereby I found 6m of unbranded co-ax under the floorboards (which I cut down, giving a slight improvement, but not enough to receive the COM muxes) I got up my ladder.

Removing the old aerial I found a slightly corroded connection on the dipole. This alone may have been the problem, but having bought the new aerial I wasn't messing around trying to repair the old.
XB16B and Vision masthead amp fitted, I am happy to say that I have a great reception all round. Downstairs shows a signal of 80 and 0 errors. Upstairs is still 100 / 0, which I'll attenuate down.

Richard and JB, thanks for taking the time to try and help.

Jon

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