Problems with TV reception

[granretire]

According to digital UK I should get a good signal from the Sutton Coldfield transmitter for my Freeview TV. But I am finding my viewing is interupted by a black screen saying something about not receiving a signal - it disappears before I have read it all! I have been having this promblem intemittingly for a while, but since the advised re-tune on 7th Match it has been much more frequent. Also the viewing appears to 'stutter' at times. I have 2 aerials, one in the loft and one on the roof. I used to use the loft aerial, but I had problems doing the re-tune and now use the external one.
Any suggestions as to what I can do, please

[Slarti]

Given the recent weather, I'd go out in the garden/street and have a look at the aerial on the roof, from a couple of different directions.

We had to have ours replaced a couple of months ago as it had bent in one of the interesting breezes. It was only rally noticeable from the back of the house, from the front it looked not bad.

Otherwise, is there something in line of site that could be causing problems? EG trees growing higher or new buildings?

Also, do you have a booster on the cable from the roof aerial? If not it is possibly worth getting one.

HTH
Slarti

[AleisterCrowley]

Correct aerial group for Sutton Coldfield ?
Should be a coloured 'bung' on the aerial, which is black (IIRC) for wideband

[jfgw]

Digital TVs can work with a weak signal but it must be high quality.

Most TVs will show you the signal strength and the signal quality if you look in the right place. Have a look in the "setup" menu, maybe under manual tuning or something like that.

Are the connections secure? Give them a wriggle and see what happens to the signal levels.

Some of the leads sold to connect the TV to the socket on the wall are rubbish. They are made of very thin cable and can be had in lengths of several metres. The longer they are, the more they degrade the signal. I prefer to make my own leads using satellite grade cable.

Who installed the aerial? Was it someone who knew what he or she was doing and who used good quality materials or was it a builder who bought the cheapest "low loss" coax and joined it using terminal strip ("chocolate block") connectors?

Was the aerial there when you moved in? Does it have a masthead amplifier? This is usually a black or similar box mounted on the mast as shown in the photo on here, https://www.digitaltvhelp.com.au/need-d ... -amplifier. If so, do you have the power supply for it? A power supply is here, https://www.screwfix.com/p/labgear-scre ... -12v/80459 . It sends 12V DC up the aerial cable to power the amplifier. People sometimes take the power supply with them when they move house thinking that it is the amplifier.

Julian F. G. W.

[Breelander]

Before you climb the roof to adjust the aerial, it's worth checking for transmitter faults or planned engineering work. Start by putting you postcode in here...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/receptionsearch

[granretire]

Thanks for all that - I will get working!
There is no booster on the external aerial that I can see
Most of my neighbours appear to have satellite or cable
Although digitaluk states I should be fine, the link OP gave to BBC transmitter checker states that 'no BBC freeview services are availble or unlikely to receive a reliable service'!! I find that strange as I had no problems say, 6 months ago with Freeview.
Now going to see if I can find signal strength under settings, or similar

[doug2500]

If it started recently there's also this possibility:

https://at800.tv/

New 4G could be interfering with your telly, and in strange ways. In my case only one telly out of three in the house was affected, but on it most channels were unwatchable.

[Redmires]

There's more info than you'll ever need on this site. One of the most comprehensive I've ever seen. Info like this may help - are you using a Group B ?

Sutton Coldfield is a B group and aerials on it should be horizontally polarised.

http://www.aerialsandtv.com/suttoncoldfieldtx.html

[granretire]

According to at800 I have not been sent a postcard and should not be affected by the new mobile signals
Looking at the Sutton Colfield, I am afraid that it could have been written in chinese as far as I am concerned. Inspecting the table at the end of the site states ch40 (BBC HD channels) is B, ch43 (BBC non-HD) is B, but ch55 (BBC news hd) is C/D. I have reception on these settings.
I have also inspected the strength and quality for these 3 channels. Ch55 is 96/97% strength, 100% quality, ch40,43 are both 100% for strength and quality.

[granretire]

Today I was visited by Freeview aerial guys. I have had lengthy conversations with Freeview (08081000288) in which I was asked to try various things - including doing a re-tune with the aerial disconnected and then repeated with it connected. The call centre in the end decided that I needed a FREE aerial adjustment and arranged for a 'home support team' visit. The 2 guys took off their shoes at the door - without being asked (I'm very impressed) and then connected some sort of meter to the aerial lead. They came to the conclusion that I was receiving too stronger a signal (I'm about 10 miles from the Sutton Coldfield mast) and I was also getting interferrence from the 4G mobile update. They have fitted a small black box to the aerial lead. Hopefully I will find all OK - most of my problems have been with evening viewing.
All praise to the free service received from Freeview.

[Breelander]

...I was also getting interferrence from the 4G mobile update. They have fitted a small black box to the aerial lead...

For those that may also be affected, more info on the filter and why it may be needed here...

http://www.getmedigital.com/news/articl ... filters/41

and here.

https://at800.tv/

[granretire]

Thanks for that - interesting reading