Snap Crackle and Pop

That's about the description of various Freeview channels on my Ferguson
digital tuner.

It's about three years old, have they improved ? should I get a new one ?

Hair dryers, mobiles phones, cars passing by in the street, just about
everything you can think of seems to interfere with the signal, mainly the
audio, it just chirrups, clicks and generally drives us all barmy.

We have a top of the range aerial from Maplins, one of the gold coloured
ones, inside the roof space with a 25db mast head amp

Could this be causing the problem ?

Have I really got to put the aerial outside ?

Ordinary terrestrial signal never had these problems with the aerial in the
roof space, surely digital TV technology isn't weaker and cannot cope where
the old signal could ?

Then again all our mobile phones cause all sorts of things to crackle and
pop within the house, not just the telly.

My iPhone seems to be the main culprit, makes the clock radio upstairs go
bonkers even when my iPhone is downstairs twenty or thirty feet away.

Not just my iPhone that does it my work colleagues do it as well.

My old Windows Mobile handset was just as bad.

In a nutshell it's all crap, we've now started watching TV over the
internet, doesn't seem too bad and never get any interference not like on
Freeview.

Could my problems be solved by getting a more modern Freeview receiver ?

In message , Jim
wrote

Could my problems be solved by getting a more modern Freeview receiver ?

Probably not.
What is the quality of the aerial down-lead that you have connected to
your quality gold plated aerial?
http://www.wrightsaerials.tv/articles/coax-cable-quality-hmdi-m.html


--
Alan
news2009 {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

"Jim" wrote in message
...
That's about the description of various Freeview channels on my Ferguson
digital tuner.

It's about three years old, have they improved ? should I get a new one ?

Hair dryers, mobiles phones, cars passing by in the street, just about
everything you can think of seems to interfere with the signal, mainly the
audio, it just chirrups, clicks and generally drives us all barmy.

We have a top of the range aerial from Maplins, one of the gold coloured
ones, inside the roof space with a 25db mast head amp

Could this be causing the problem ?

Have I really got to put the aerial outside ?

Ordinary terrestrial signal never had these problems with the aerial in
the roof space, surely digital TV technology isn't weaker and cannot cope
where the old signal could ?

Then again all our mobile phones cause all sorts of things to crackle and
pop within the house, not just the telly.

My iPhone seems to be the main culprit, makes the clock radio upstairs go
bonkers even when my iPhone is downstairs twenty or thirty feet away.

Not just my iPhone that does it my work colleagues do it as well.

My old Windows Mobile handset was just as bad.

In a nutshell it's all crap, we've now started watching TV over the
internet, doesn't seem too bad and never get any interference not like on
Freeview.


I take it your region hasn't gone through DSO yet. We are in the process of
going through DSO in the North-West of England at the moment and I can tell
you that DSO changes everything.

Your current problems MAY be solved by upgrades/repositioning aerial/cable
but my advice would be to sit tight and wait for DSO. Until then use
either/or analogue/internet/satellite/cable.


Could my problems be solved by getting a more modern Freeview receiver ?


Unlikely, but no harm in trying someone else's Freeview box.

Sheila

"Sheila" wrote in message
...

"Jim" wrote in message
...
That's about the description of various Freeview channels on my Ferguson
digital tuner.

It's about three years old, have they improved ? should I get a new one ?

Hair dryers, mobiles phones, cars passing by in the street, just about
everything you can think of seems to interfere with the signal, mainly
the audio, it just chirrups, clicks and generally drives us all barmy.

We have a top of the range aerial from Maplins, one of the gold coloured
ones, inside the roof space with a 25db mast head amp

Could this be causing the problem ?

Have I really got to put the aerial outside ?

Ordinary terrestrial signal never had these problems with the aerial in
the roof space, surely digital TV technology isn't weaker and cannot cope
where the old signal could ?

Then again all our mobile phones cause all sorts of things to crackle and
pop within the house, not just the telly.

My iPhone seems to be the main culprit, makes the clock radio upstairs go
bonkers even when my iPhone is downstairs twenty or thirty feet away.

Not just my iPhone that does it my work colleagues do it as well.

My old Windows Mobile handset was just as bad.

In a nutshell it's all crap, we've now started watching TV over the
internet, doesn't seem too bad and never get any interference not like on
Freeview.


I take it your region hasn't gone through DSO yet. We are in the process
of going through DSO in the North-West of England at the moment and I can
tell you that DSO changes everything.

Your current problems MAY be solved by upgrades/repositioning aerial/cable
but my advice would be to sit tight and wait for DSO. Until then use
either/or analogue/internet/satellite/cable.


Could my problems be solved by getting a more modern Freeview receiver ?


Unlikely, but no harm in trying someone else's Freeview box.

Sheila

There are people on here that know more than me but it sounds like you have
pointed out a problem at the start.

The amp is needed why.

If the aerial is any good the signal should be OK without an amp. If the
location of the aerial means that an amp is needed then you have the aerial
in the wrong place.

a 25db amp is boost around 500 times so the signals local to you are
getting a big boost straight into the front end of your receiver causing
desencing . The TV signals are very weak compared to the local signals and
even with the boost are probably not very clean so any more noise on the
signal will cause the problems you describe.

Try moving the Aerial and remove the amp or reduce the gain as required.
then see what you get.

In my experience amps are not always a good thing..

I went to a house once where they had a amp and a problem with the TV. I
retuned the TV and found a "Chanel" where ALL the channels were on at the
same time. My aerial colleague called and fitted a huge attenuator and all
was OK.( he charged around £5 as a favor to me).

Seems a cowboy rigger had fitted a hi gain 18 element aerial on a very tall
, large pole and put a big gain amp on it . as it is in my area I know a 10
element would suffice but the customer had paid lots of money for this
install.

Gary

We have a top of the range aerial from Maplins, one of the gold coloured
ones, inside the roof space with a 25db mast head amp

Oh good grief!

Bill

"Bill" wrote in message
...
We have a top of the range aerial from Maplins, one of the gold coloured
ones, inside the roof space with a 25db mast head amp

Oh good grief!
Bill


I was thinking something more obscene than that

Steve Terry
--
Get a free Three 3pay Sim with £2 bonus after £10 top up
http://freeagent.three.co.uk/stand/view/id/5276

At 02:57:50 Mon, 16 Nov 2009, Bill wrote in article 9aGdnatsy6QyIp3WnZ2
:
We have a top of the range aerial from Maplins, one of the gold coloured
ones, inside the roof space with a 25db mast head amp

Oh good grief!

Dunno nothing about Maplins aerials but I do know that a decent aerial
in a loft space can work well for Freeview using a mast-head amp in a
marginal reception area.

Until recently though, I could only get a good signal on channels 56 and
65 - channels 59 and 62 being so weak as to be almost useless.

I was about to give up hope of getting BBC 4 on Freeview when I thought,
what if I move the aerial to the other side of this beam? So I moved
the aerial about two feet sideways and it made all the difference...
What were the weaker channels are now the strongest and reception is
rock solid across the board.

UHF is funny stuff.

In article ,
John Legon wrote:
At 02:57:50 Mon, 16 Nov 2009, Bill wrote in article 9aGdnatsy6QyIp3WnZ2
:
We have a top of the range aerial from Maplins, one of the gold coloured
ones, inside the roof space with a 25db mast head amp

Oh good grief!

Dunno nothing about Maplins aerials but I do know that a decent aerial
in a loft space can work well for Freeview using a mast-head amp in a
marginal reception area.

It all depends on what the roof is made of - and which band you are using.
Red concrete tiles can attenuate the signal by 30dB on upper Band V. And
then you have the fact that the aerial isn't looking over the rooftop next
door but through its roof, too.

--
From KT24

Using a RISC OS computer running v5.11

You have to ask yourself several questions.
How much did they spend of the budget on making the aerial look gold and
did it really make it corrode more slowly?
Did you scrimp on the downlead quality
which transmitter are you aiming at and are you sure you are aiming in the
right direction

Also, you need to realise unless your region switched over, the digital
signal is weaker than the analogue.


I'm a bit surprised at the manner of the interference. An unsuppressed lawn
mower near here completely locks up the box so clicks sound almost like the
interference is coming up the mains to me.

Brian

--
Brian Gaff....Note, this account does not accept Bcc: email.
graphics are great, but the blind can't hear them
Email:
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________


"Jim" wrote in message
...
That's about the description of various Freeview channels on my Ferguson
digital tuner.

It's about three years old, have they improved ? should I get a new one ?

Hair dryers, mobiles phones, cars passing by in the street, just about
everything you can think of seems to interfere with the signal, mainly the
audio, it just chirrups, clicks and generally drives us all barmy.

We have a top of the range aerial from Maplins, one of the gold coloured
ones, inside the roof space with a 25db mast head amp

Could this be causing the problem ?

Have I really got to put the aerial outside ?

Ordinary terrestrial signal never had these problems with the aerial in
the roof space, surely digital TV technology isn't weaker and cannot cope
where the old signal could ?

Then again all our mobile phones cause all sorts of things to crackle and
pop within the house, not just the telly.

My iPhone seems to be the main culprit, makes the clock radio upstairs go
bonkers even when my iPhone is downstairs twenty or thirty feet away.

Not just my iPhone that does it my work colleagues do it as well.

My old Windows Mobile handset was just as bad.

In a nutshell it's all crap, we've now started watching TV over the
internet, doesn't seem too bad and never get any interference not like on
Freeview.

Could my problems be solved by getting a more modern Freeview receiver ?

"Jim" wrote in message
...

Hair dryers, mobiles phones, cars passing by in the street, just about
everything you can think of seems to interfere with the signal, mainly the
audio, it just chirrups, clicks and generally drives us all barmy.

We have a top of the range aerial from Maplins, one of the gold coloured
ones, inside the roof space with a 25db mast head amp

Get the aerial outside. And see if you can do away with the masthead amp
altogether.
The losses in loft space for UHF signals can be very high. So even though
you are using a high gain aerial its going to struggle to do a good job from
inside.
The mast head amp is going to amplify not only the signals you do want, but
also the ones you don't..... like the hair dryers, mobiles phones, cars
passing by in the street etc.
Adding an amp to a system only serves to amplify the interference in most
cases, so if its not needed, get rid of it. Sticking an aerial in the loft
with a booster is a nice idea, but its never the best option unless you live
in very high signal areas where you can afford the massive losses that come
with such an installation.
Fit high quality coax, with double screen, CT100 satellite coax or similar
as interference can also enter through the coax feed if the quality is
compromised.

Have I really got to put the aerial outside ?

Yes, ideally. No aerial in a roofspace will ever perform as good as an
aerial well placed outside, no matter what type of aerial it is. Unless it
is not possible, then get it installed outside. You`ll be suprised at the
improvement in signal strengh. You may find that it works well even without
the preamp. If it does then don't use the preamp.

Ordinary terrestrial signal never had these problems with the aerial in
the
roof space, surely digital TV technology isn't weaker and cannot cope
where
the old signal could ?

Unless you are in an area where Digital Switchover has happened, then your
digital signals are on much lower power than the analogue ones. Think about
it....

In a nutshell it's all crap, we've now started watching TV over the
internet, doesn't seem too bad and never get any interference not like on
Freeview.

Could my problems be solved by getting a more modern Freeview receiver ?

Maybe, or maybe not. I dont have access to your installation to see how
good or bad it is.
Sounds to me like you don't understand much about how UHF RF works. Your
first step is to get the aerial outside, as high as possible with decent
coax and try not to use the masthead preamp unless it is really needed. As
I said before, they amplify everything, even the interference you don't want
in some cases.

You have never said when you are located and what transmitter you use. The
first part of your postcode 'ie S30 3' and the transmitter you are getting
the signals from would be most helpful.
Hills between you are the transmitter can seriously affect the signal to
you, so that is another thing to think about.

Hope that helps.