Channel 4 has produced a few series in 2.35 : 1 ratio. New Worlds was one.
I noticed that in the Brisbane area, the frequencies that were previously TV channels before the restack 61, 62, 63, 64, 65 are now reading 100% signal strength for some sort of broadcast. 66 also have something but at 50-60% and 60 at a lower strength, possibly overspill from 61 and 65.
After the restack, channels above UHF-51 were sold off to mobile operators. The signals you are seeing are probably 4G/LTE signals.
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TV.Cynic, those signals you are receiving there, are 4G/LTE signals.
The can cause all sorts of problems in some situations, being that all older TV’s & antennas were designed to receive those frequencies.
Some of the new UHF antennas are only designed to go to channel 51, & they also have built in low pass filters, to filter out anything above channel 51.
Inline 4G/LTE Low Pass filters are available for installation into older antenna systems, or for if the UHF antenna doesn’t have one built in.
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Thanks for the replies. I was pretty sure it was 4G signals. Seems to have been a recent development in this area. In anticipation of this I had previously changed masthead amps for TV and FM to ones with 4G block. I had checked last year for UHF antennas 28-51 as I thought the gain would be higher for the same size 28-69 but at the time got a negative response.
Worth looking again?
I am in the process of refurbishing my antenna installation. I have an old high gain (lots of elements) log periodic that covers channels 0-69 that should probably be replaced. I use it feed multiple outlets for TV and FM radio (but not for FM DXing!).
Can anyone recommend a high gain replacement that covers Bands II, III and IV?
I didn’t think there was such a thing as a “high gain” antenna that covered ALL of 0-69?
I thought to get high gain across all TV bands, you needed 2 antennas. …
1 for VHF 6-12 (Band III) and 1 that would cover Band IV/V being 28-69 (or nowadays up,to 51).
Do a Google image search for “deep fringe antenna” - that’s the type I am talking about.
Looks roughly like this
Ah ok, I was thinking something like this
VHF
Was looking for a longer version of the above.
UHF
Any idea what is going on…please move this if it isn’t in the correct thread.
We had the antenna replaced with a filter etc and live in regional Qld. We are in a weak signal area. It has a masthead amplifier (somewhere in the roof not on the actual antenna).
It was all working fine for a month or so and today onwards no signals except for the ABC suite of multichannels. Win, GEM and GO! are saying no signal or they try to come up and it is a pixellated mess that can’t show anything. So really only can see the ABC !
Thinking perhaps it could be the Kingray Power Injector that plugs into the wall behind the tv ? Or the box in the roof ?
The antenna is picking up the signal from 64km away somewhere south of Rockhampton called Mt Hopeful.
The easier parts to look at are the parts inside the house near the TV. I would try to work out if one of the cables or the plugs at either end have a bad connection.
Check the coaxial cable from the TV to the power injector - unplug it and plug in again (both ends) and move the plugs at each end around a bit while the signal strength screen is showing to see if it fluctuates. Then check the cable from the power injector to the was wall socket and do the same thing (making a few assumptions about the set up here!)
Also try to see if the power amp for the injector is warm. Just some initial thoughts. Trying to check other parts would probably need a service call.
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Has 4GX been turned on in your area? Maybe 4G signals on the old TV spectrum are coming in and swamping your masthead amp. You may need a special filter to remove them.
I don’t think so.
The new antenna (photo above) has a 4g filter on it.
Hi there,
I agree with TV Cynic, that’s all you can easily do for now.
Does your TV display any signal strength / signal quality indicators - similar to what TV Cynic has posted further above?
Do they show low or high strength?
If good strength but low quality, I’m thinking that you COULD be getting co-channel interference during tropospheric conditions, as you are only seeing ABC, which is on UHF Channel 34, which is one of the less frequently used UHF channels. Are your neighbours having similar issues? If so, that might comfirm that theory.
Failing that, some other options might be:
- Having the masthead amp (assuming it’s an outdoor one) mounted on the pole closer to the antenna should help.
- A Yagi antenna could give better results.
- If you are closer to Yeppoon, Rockhampton East, Mount Morgan or Gladstone, they have other transmitters that might give you better results (though are not as powerful as Mt Hopeful). This would just require re-pointing your antenna on your roof and doing a rescan - seeing what your neighbours set ups on their roof are might help you.
TV Cynic, if you want to only use 1 antenna, go another Log Periodic, don’t use a combined antenna, they are the worst type of antennas. Combined antennas have too many losses & mismatches between the VHF & UHF parts, they were originally made for the low costs of install & to make the installation somewhat more compact & pleasing to the eye, not for signal quality.
If you truly want an exceptional signal quality/strength installation, use separate VHF & UHF antennas & use a diplexer.
Band 2 & 3 antennas are still available, & then just get a Band 4 antenna.
Ultimate install will be 3 separate antennas, a Band 2, a Band 3, & a Band 4, then use a Triplexer.
Another option is using a Band 4/5 UHF antenna, (widely available & cheap) then put a inline 4G Low Pass filter on.
For ultimate reception quality & high gain, every channel across each band should arrive at the receiver almost equal in strength, 2-3db is acceptable, but remember a signal 3db higher or lower will be double or half the power respectively.
Even if all the signals leave the same TX location at the exact same TX power, losses in air purely due to the frequencies & the way radio wave propagate, will mean different signal strengths between bands at the antennas. Band 2 will always drive stronger than Band 4/5.
With separate antennas, attenuators &/or amps can be used to balance signal levels.
This all costs more money. A more robust, installation will always cost more, how far you want to take it is up to you, but don’t expect to put up a combined antenna & get long term reliable medium to long distance reception across all bands.
You’d need to get a competent antenna installer out to do some signal strength measurements, but if you don’t want to do any long distance reception, it may be cheaper & better for you, to use a lower gain antenna/s & then use a distribution amplifier to get optimal signal strength to the multiple outlets, rather than trying to suck every last uV of signal out of the air. Just get the signal you need (or a little above), then amplify it just enough to cover distribution losses in the installation.
TV_Addict,
Possible/likely thing is, a change in the weather has changed the signal path to your antenna, it may now be ducting further out & over the top of you, or it maybe refracting down short of you, in either case there’s not a lot you can do about it, but just wait out the weather change.
You say you are in a weak signal area, & 64km away is a distance, but it is possible that agin the weather could be refracting the signal down right on top of you now, & your signal strength is too strong (gives the same symptoms as too weak a signal)? In any case not much you can do, but wait it out.
Check all easily accessible connections & make sure they’re still firmly in place.
I don’t know the exact make & model of that antenna, so don’t know the exact gain figure, but it may not be the best antenna for your location?
You may get better reception with a phased array antenna such as the Hills Ultimax 36 (UMX36) or a stacked phased array such as the Fracarro PU8F or even PU16F?
Did the antenna installer give you any a signal strength readings report from both off the antenna & at the outlets?
If it’s not just a simple loose connection, in areas of weak signal strength, problems are very hard to diagnose & rectify without knowing what the signal strengths actually are.
Signal strength & quality level indicators on your TV/PVR, etc. are useless, there’s no official standard for them, & they vary widely not just by brand & model, but even by individual appliance. Rough guesstimation at best at what’s going on.
When you say “loose connection” do you mean on the antenna ?
I thought it was just a weather related issue. Yesterday was cloudy, calm and drizzly. However, it cleared in the afternoon and is clear and sunny today… after rescanning I am just picking up ABC’s channels. I’m wondering if the windy weather we’ve experienced, might have moved the positioning of the antenna somewhat ,
The Kingray Power Injector is warm whilst in use , plugged into the back of the tv’s powerpoint. I tried unplugging and replugging the cables in… no change.
The Tv does display signal strength - Says normal for the ABC. At times it tries to pick up Win and Gem but it is a weak signal as they come up a blocky mess and then it says “no signal” and the channel disappears from the channel list.
I asked and a neighbour who is in my street , not directly next to me but several doors down, can pick up everything crystal clear.
It’s a brand new antenna in the photo that was put in last month due to damage to our old one from the cyclone . It’s been working fine for a month until now. We’ve had rain before since then and not had this issue of losing 99 percent of the channels.
Could it be the masthead amplifier that is in the roof playing up ? No the antenna installer didn’t give any signal readings.
Someone is coming tomorrow morning to have a look.
A loose connection is most likely behind the TV, but could be on the antenna if it’s been rather windy.
If you’ve had recent windy weather, yes it could’ve moved the antennas position if it wasn’t tighten enough. The antennas generally have a stepped/notched clamp, which bites & digs into the mast, so if it’s tightened enough, it’s very hard to twist it on the mast.
There could be a problem with the masthead amp in the roof, but it’s unlikely if it’s brand new, the kingray amps are very high quality with few failures. I have replaced some that were probably 30 years old or more & still operating, the power injector plug pack is supposed to get warm when in use.
Let us know what’s found tomorrow.
Hmm… interesting. TV connections seem tight.
Yeah the Kingray amp… only had it 4 years. Though we do live in a coastal area… salty air/rust… maybe an issue.
Just a thought… wouldn’t be a fault in the television in built tuner ? .
Edit : Just checked this afternoon… am picking up ABC,2,3,24, and now WIN,GEM , GO showing are all clear and fine… still nothing else coming up though.