Help: My high gain aerial can't get all the Freeview channels I expected
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My high gain aerial can't get all the Freeview channels I expected


My high gain aerial can't get all the Freeview channels I expec

You need a "wideband" aerial rather than a high gain one (see all about aerials). Also, if you use a signal booster in the setup, this can cause problems with digital signals.

Can I suggest that you try the following:

1. Check that all the connectors are OK, in particular that there are no stray wires and that both the outer shield and inner wire are connected;

2. If you are using any signal boosters, turn them off;

3. Check to see if you have anything like a VCR connected via a UHF fly lead - sometimes these can changed to use channels such as 68.

4. If you have a wideband aerial, if you can try raising it up an additional metre;

See also all about aerials.



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J
john barker
Wednesday 28 September 2011 5:26PM
I take it you have no answers with our postcodes
K
KMJ,Derby
Wednesday 28 September 2011 6:39PM
john barker: You don't say what aerial you are using. If it is pointing at the Leek relay (set for vertical polarisation, at 26 degrees/ NNE) you will only receive the PSB muxes as this is a Freeview Lite transmitter.On the other hand the Digital UK postcode checker predicts that with an aerial on Winter Hill you should have reasonably good reception on all six muxes. Aerial set for horizontal polarisation and pointing NNW at 333 degrees for Winter Hill. Sutton Coldfield is shown as currently giving poor reception on SDN and ArqA, but good reception on ArqB and the PSB muxes. Aerial set for horizontal polarisation and pointing SSE at 165 degrees for Sutton Coldfield. Predicted reception is of course dependent on there being no local obstructions such as trees or tall buildings in the signal path.
K
KMJ,Derby
Wednesday 28 September 2011 6:50PM
Iain: You are predicted to have good reception on all six muxes from Sutton Coldfield at present, but this deteriorates to variable for the COM muxes in late 2012. Winter Hill currently gives good reception on the HD mux and ArqB, this improves in late 2012 to give (reasonably) good reception on all six muxes.
M
mary
Sunday 2 October 2011 12:35PM London
I installed new tv with built in freeview this morning. retuned several times, still no itv 1. Aerial is new one on roof
H
Heidi
Sunday 2 October 2011 1:54PM Halesowen
Hi,currently using Virgin cable TV so didn't worry about the freeview until I purchased a new LG TV yesterday with built-in Freeview. Plugged aerial into new TV, did the auto tuning but no channels can be found. Have unplugged the Virgin box from the downstairs TV and tried to re-tune freeview on that but same problem exists - no channels found. When going into the system information log on my old tv, "no signal" is coming up but I can't see anything wrong with the aerial which is located on the roof of our house. Can anyone help? Postcode is B63 4PB . Many thanks H .
M
michael green
Wednesday 5 October 2011 9:54AM
i find itv 3 breaks up on late night recording any ideas?
J
jb38
Wednesday 5 October 2011 10:10AM
michael green: Its impossible to assist when you havent mentioned your location (pref: post code) as its not known what transmitter you are receiving from, ITV3 on some temporarily being on low power.
J
jb38
Wednesday 5 October 2011 10:22AM
Heidi: You are forecast as being able to receive from either Halesowen (@ 1mile) or Sutton Coldfield (@ 14miles)

If its Sutton Coldfield then your signal could be too strong which could be blocking your tuner, so for a test if you have access to a set top aerial connect into your TV and carry out a retune, if you get any results (no matter of what sort) then you will require to purchase a simple attenuator to place in line with your TV's aerial socket.
J
Jason
Thursday 6 October 2011 11:03AM Cardiff
Hi, have been unable to pick up sky news on Freeview for past week, have retuned numerous times on all 3 tv's we have which have separate boxes, Any advice?
S
Scott Sanford
Thursday 6 October 2011 10:29PM
mary: I have freeview on my new tv. I have the recommended ariel for my area and all i can receive is bbc channels! Can you please help? Thanks
R
Rodders
Sunday 9 October 2011 1:11PM Chippenham
Retuned my tv and have now lost film 4 and quest and a few musuc channels
I have tried unplugging the booster box, but makes no difference
I live in Chippenham, Wiltshire
Can anyone help
S
sue
Monday 10 October 2011 11:50AM
i have a new lcd tv inthe bedroom which has built in freeview but i can only get a few channels on it all the ithers say 'no signal' so i bought a new ariel which is a one for all an covers all the tvs in the house (even tho i have sky downstairs) and it still doesnt work , so i plugged my freeview box back in to see if that worked with the new ariel and i can only get terrestial chanels. the ariel is on top of my wardrobe near the window and i have tried adjusting it several times. my postcode is cf236us
J
jb38
Monday 10 October 2011 4:00PM
sue: Your nearest station is Wenvoe (@ 7mls / 233 degrees) although you are also forecast as being able to receive Mendip (@ 30mls / 131 degrees) at the same level, although I do have my doubts about that indication, that said, there is also a Freeview "Light" (limited channels) transmitter called Mynydd Machen (@ 6 mls / 16 degrees) although its indicated as being variable for reception, but because it uses low channel numbers it may be shoving the ones you want up into the EPG 800 ranges, so check up there to see if this applies.

If by the way it does, then you should blank the channels stored out by scanning without the aerial connected, (or reset box) then before reconnecting the aerial start another auto-tune whilst watching the channels rise in the progress bar, and as soon as they pass about Ch35 reconnect the aerial and that will allow Wenvoe (or Mendip) to load. This said taking it that channels can be seen in the scanning progress bar, as in some boxes they cannot!

Freeview is terrestrial, and you should in theory be able to receive Wenvoe on that aerial, but this being totally dependant on whether or not you are in a screened location.
P
Pam Whittle
Tuesday 18 October 2011 7:47AM Bolton
The T.V.in the Living room does not receive all the channels that the T.V. in the Kitchen
doe's. Have tried rescaning etc, cananyone offer any advice?. We live in Bolton,so I
guess Winter Hill will be our for us.
Briantist
Thursday 20 October 2011 7:26AM
Pam Whittle: I would look at the Freeview reception has changed? | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice page for suggestions.
B
Bill
Tuesday 8 November 2011 8:35AM
My postcode is CA17 and we don't get DAVE or YESTERDAY among our allocated freeview channels. Is there any way around this? - e.g. using high gain aerial + booster and / or pointing aerial at a transmitter which does all freeview channels?
J
jb38
Tuesday 8 November 2011 10:11AM
Bill: Maybe so! but Caldbeck which I assume you are referring to, is only transmitting on high power on its main PSB services, the commercial multiplexes reportedly on low power until 2012.

Main PSB on 100Kw, COM's on 15Kw, which at your approximate distance of 36 miles away could well be difficult to receive, if not indeed impossible in areas such as yours.
M
Mike Dimmick
Tuesday 8 November 2011 12:46PM
jb38: Caldbeck COM muxes are on low power until 24 October 2012, to reduce interference to the low-power digital services at Divis (Mux 1, A and B). Divis completes switchover on 24/10/2012.

Bill: You might be using a Freeview Light transmitter such as Kirkby Stephen - in which case replacing the aerial with a good quality Group A design, horizontally polarized and pointed at Caldbeck, may still produce good results. We need a full postcode to give a better answer.
J
jb38
Tuesday 8 November 2011 8:51PM
Mike Dimmick: Thanks for that info, I knew it was sometime 2012 but the exact date, and yes! on reading Bill's posting again it would appear that he is actually stating that his area is not allocated these COM channels, this really confirming what you mentioned regarding his aerial possibly pointing to Kirkby Stephen.
B
Bill
Wednesday 9 November 2011 9:02AM Kirkby Stephen
Mike / jb38 - Thanks for that. Full postcode is CA17 4NQ. As far as I know current signal is received from (relay?)xmitter on top of ash fell which is within 1/4 mile and I can actually see it (if I go on the roof!)but I believe it's v low power. In any case it doesn't xmit DAVE or YESTERDAY on freeview! (CA17 4NQ)
Briantist
Wednesday 9 November 2011 9:08AM
Bill: Your local relay is Ravenstonedale.
B
Bill
Wednesday 9 November 2011 1:19PM
Briantist,
Don,t take this the wrong way, but the relay I refered to on ash fell is no doubt listed as "Ravenstonedale" (which is the village where we live.
T
tony
Wednesday 9 November 2011 2:30PM Great Yarmouth
Hi there ,

retuned my digi box today , and have have all channels but not the bbc's ie , BBC 1,2,3, and new24 , my postcode is nr30 2jd , great yarmouth area, as the screen said update i did ,my box worked fine untill with all channnels untill this update !!! if this is how change over is goiner work, what a pain, any1 know whats up
M
Mike Dimmick
Wednesday 9 November 2011 2:58PM
tony: First, make sure you do a full retune - also called first-time installation, full reset, factory reset, virgin mode, default setting. It may be under the Software Update menu rather than under Installation or Tuning. Some boxes won't store channels that they think they already know about, you have to clear the existing channel list. You'll need to do this again on the 23rd.

Check whether your box is on the list of equipment that is known not to work with 8K mode - www.digitaluk.co.uk link icon http://www.digitaluk.co.u…ment . If you haven't retuned for a long time it could also have a problem with a larger Network Information Table - see www.digitaluk.co.uk link icon http://www.digitaluk.co.u…tnit .

There are also some boxes which have a bug meaning they can't pick up transmissions in 8K mode when there is a negative frequency offset. The box will say 'T810' on its sticker somewhere. See vestelpvr.futaura.co.uk link icon Unofficial Vestel PVR Information (UK) - T810 Freeview Recorder and vestelpvr.futaura.co.uk link icon Unofficial Vestel PVR Information (UK) - Digital Switchover for more information on those.

Assuming you didn't have any trouble with BBC Two analogue before switchover, it's unlikely to be single-frequency interference. It could be that the total signal level received is now too large, though, now that the new Great Yarmouth transmitter has started up.

If the BBC channels are stored - after doing the full reset - but are too weak to actually use, your box may have tuned into Great Yarmouth rather than Tacolneston. There may be a working set up at 800 or so in the channel list. In that case, see Digital Region Overlap for thoughts on how to sort this out.
M
Mike Dimmick
Wednesday 9 November 2011 3:08PM
Bill: Yes, the Ravenstonedale transmitter is 'Freeview Light', it only carries the three public service multiplexes, so you wouldn't expect to get Dave or Yesterday.

The predictor shows a poor chance of getting reliable reception of the commercial muxes from Caldbeck. The PSB muxes offer a good chance of reliable reception. You could try it, but you might need to have a particularly large aerial installation.

If you do this, Digital UK show that your reception of the commercial multiplexes from Caldbeck will get worse after the Bilsdale transmitter switches over next September, for about a month before Divis (Northern Ireland) switches over. Once that's done, Caldbeck's commercial muxes can go up to their full output power, restoring roughly the same (still poor) prediction.

It may be easier to go with satellite, although Dave and Yesterday are both Sky-exclusive subscription channels at present.
T
tony
Wednesday 9 November 2011 3:20PM
Ahhh well looks like the my settop box is out of date now , done whole retune , first time and all , still no bbc stations , another rip off i guess like the license fee !!! just to make me spend more ohh well
Briantist
Wednesday 9 November 2011 3:36PM
Bill: I just posted the correct name as it turns into a link...
A
Angela
Tuesday 15 November 2011 10:01AM South Shields
Hi, bought a new tv with built in freeview and since installing its lost a few channels, can anyone help. the stand alone freeview box picked up all channels. NE33 4JY
Dave Lindsay
Tuesday 15 November 2011 12:47PM
Angela: One possibility is that your TV decided to tune to the signals from the wrong transmitter. See this page for more info:

www.ukfree.tv link icon Digital Region Overlap | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice

The simplest and most generic guidance I can give you to make sure it is tuned correctly is to re-scan with the aerial unplugged and then plug it when it gets to 25%. The objective here is to have the aerial unplugged when it's scanning the frequencies used by the transmitter you don't want. (DN31NJ)
Dave Lindsay
Tuesday 15 November 2011 12:52PM
Angela: One other thing; if you have a signal booster/amplifier, try removing it. See this page:

www.ukfree.tv link icon Freeview signals: too much of a good thing is bad for you | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice (DN31NJ)
P
paul
Thursday 24 November 2011 10:36AM Keighley
i live in west yorkshire i re-tuned both my digital TV and my freeview+ box and itv4 breaks up badly it was fine before i re tuned i have lost some of the radio channels also BD21 3DB emley moor transmitter has anyone got any idea's
Dave Lindsay
Thursday 24 November 2011 10:49AM
paul: I guess that if you're receiving directly from Emley Moor in Keighley that you must be in the flats which means that the aerial is high up?

I think that the problem might be that your receiver has tuned to the signal from the Keighley or Keighley Town transmitters.

Is your aerial definately on Emley and not one of the Keighley transmitters?
Dave Lindsay
Thursday 24 November 2011 10:59AM
paul: You will probably have to resort to manual tuning.
I
Iain
Wednesday 30 November 2011 9:18PM Leek
ST13 7FE

Good reception but limited freebies channels (about 10)

Thanks KMJ. So does anyone know how much a tv aerial chap will charge to move my aerial from Sutton Coldfield to Winter Hill?!
K
KMJ,Derby
Thursday 1 December 2011 10:40AM
Iain: Digital UK have revised their predictions. They have included data to take account of frequency changes at various sites to clear C61/C62 and also appear to have changed predicted reception data for 2012 to 2014. For your postcode Sutton Coldfield now shows no deterioration from the present time which is for 99% chance of having reliable reception for 99% of the time on the PSB muxes and 90% chance of reliable reception for the COM muxes. Winter Hill is not so good with only Mux BBCB and ArqB currently having a better than 70% chance of reliable reception, in 2013 Mux BBCA changes frequency to C50 and becomes 79% and ArqA changes to C49 with a 74% chance of reliable reception. The other muxes remain arround 60% chance of reliable reception. This is of course always subject to there being no local obstructions in the signal path. If your aerial is set for vertical polarisation and pointing to the Leek relay you will only receive the PSB muxes, however if it is pointing to Sutton Coldfield (rods horizontal) but does not currently receive the COM muxes it might need repositioning to null out possible interference from Moel-Y-Parc.
I
Iain
Thursday 1 December 2011 2:50PM
Thanks I will check that KMJ
J
Jonathan Ashenden
Thursday 1 December 2011 8:10PM Southampton
Hi, (SO52 9JS)(rowridge)
I have 2 aerials in my loft.
the first one is a knackered old thing with about 10 straight bars going across and leads downstairs. this gives perfect picture in the living room. The 2nd is a new fancy hi gain thing with many x-wing style bars going across and a couple of large reflector things on the back and goes to my bedroom and this gives me about 4 channels - bbc1, 2, 3 and cbbc. I also use a booster but without it i even lose the 4 channels.
How do I solve this bizarre problem? I've looked around a few websites but not solved anything. My best guess is something about a wideband aerial. Is a wideband aerial similar to my knackered old thing. do I need one of those? or do i have to wait til march next year and everything will instantly work out?
its not the tv (tunes perfectly downstairs) or cable i use (tried 3 cables) and cant run another lead off the original knackered old thing.
M
Mark Fletcher
Friday 2 December 2011 1:11AM Halifax
Jonathan Ashenden,Southampton.Yer first loft aerial you described as a "knackered old thing" giving perfect reception in yer living room,is it coloured red at the tip,if so its a group A aerial and as Rowridge mast is currently and remaining a group A transmitter as such only group A aerials,never a group W wideband aerial should ever be fitted on a group A transmitter in poor reception or marginal areas within Rowridge itself.Which nicely comes to the point you mentioned about yer second loft aerial,which appears what you stated to be a newish X-Beam type aerial is it coloured black at the tip,then that will be a group W wideband aerial as such,and the wrong aerial come to that for a group A mast like Rowridge in a poor/marginal area.You do not need a group W wideband aerial as such on Rowridge,but only group A aerials.Look up the ATV (Aerials and Television) of Sheffield website,you will find that a group A Yagi 18A aerial,X-Beam XB16A for outdoor mounts or an X-Beam XB10A for loft mounts are recommended options in your locality.
Dave Lindsay
Friday 2 December 2011 1:05PM
Jonathan Ashenden: I second Mark's suggestion to look at the ATV website for loads of information on aerials.

It is worth bearing in mind that when switchover has happened, the transmission power will be increased. This means that any improvements/changes you make to your aerial setup are only of benefit pre-switchover as you current one *might* work after switchover.

After switchover, Rowridge will broadcast horizontally and vertically (it only does the former now). You will be best advised to re-orientate your aerials to vertical after switchover so as to have the greatest chance of getting the commercial multiplexes as they will be on lower power horizontally than vertically.
J
Jonathan Ashenden
Wednesday 7 December 2011 3:19PM Southampton
Bought the XB10A. Fingers crossed!
I'll give update when it arrives.
Anyone want to buy a fancy wideband aerial?
B
brian
Friday 16 December 2011 6:27PM
I have strange issue. I have roof top ariel pointed at winter hill (WN60PZ). Between ariel and transmitter is a row of trees so I boost the signal with an amp that also splits the feed to three rooms. One in the bedroom, one in the kitchen, one in the front room).

The bedroom and kitchen recieve all channels full strength. The TV in the front room only receives small number of channels. I've swapped all cables, TVs, and booster ports and results are always the same. The channels I do receive in the living room TV (BBC1, BBC2, BBC3, BBC4, ITV3, Pick, yest, Film4) all have 100 signal strenth and quality. Can anyone help??
M
Mazbar
Friday 16 December 2011 7:01PM
Brian in standish you should have great signal even with the trees have you moved your main tv to another point to check the tv is ok if the tv is fine on the other points it is your aerial point dont forget to retune when you move the tv. If it works on the other point your cable could be faulty on your main tv hope this helps c and a aerials ormskirk
J
jonathan ashenden
Friday 16 December 2011 8:49PM
XB10A works perfectly. Thanks to Mark Fletcher and Dave Lindsay for your help.
Dave Lindsay
Friday 16 December 2011 9:00PM
jonathan ashenden: Good to hear that you got it sorted.
Dave Lindsay
Friday 16 December 2011 9:01PM
jonathan ashenden: Out of interest, have you mounted your XB10A on the roof or in the loft?
J
Janaken
Sunday 18 December 2011 4:21PM
Had an issue with not receiving the main channels (bbc1, itv, etc) for my tv in the kitchen although the tele in the living room was working fine.
After checking the connections, the cause of this was because the wire in the wall plate was coming into contact with metal casing, insulating the wires resolved the problem.
J
jonathan ashenden
Sunday 18 December 2011 7:15PM
Dave Lindsay: Its in the loft
I
Ian Fellows
Saturday 24 December 2011 1:11PM
My aerial is on the gable end and faces the Ripponden Transmitter which is only about 8oo yards away. I have re-tuned my TV but still cant get ITV3,ITV4, Film 4 or the Freeview Channels 11,12,19,20,30,38,46 and 49. Is there anything I can do to receive these channels on a terrestrial set.
Dave Lindsay
Saturday 24 December 2011 3:11PM
Ian Fellows: Ripponden is a low power relay that does not broadcast the commercial multiplexes (COMs). The reason for this is because the COMs broadcast from 80-odd of the most lucrative transmitter sites. See here for more information:

www.ukfree.tv link icon Will there ever be more services on the Freeview Light transmitters? | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice

In some cases you might be able to receive from one of the transmitters that does broadcast these services. Obviously the lower down you are, the lower your chances.

Provide your post code or put it in the Digital UK website (tick the box to say that you're in the trade).

I did this for St. Bartholomew's Church (HX6 4DG) and it suggests that Ripponden is the only transmitter that can be picked up from. Looking at the contours, I'm not surprised. (HX6 4DG)
Dave Lindsay
Saturday 24 December 2011 3:47PM
Ian Fellows: Having located your post code, I ran it through the Digital UK predictor and it suggested that Emley Moor can be received from within it.

A post code covers a large area and that in a hilly area like Ripponden, what can and can't be received changes by property. The Digital UK predictor accepts house numbers/names to provide a more accurate result. I then entered your property's name which only returned Ripponden (no Emley Moor).

Bear in mind that the predictor is just that. For example, if you're willing to spend more on a larger aerial and taller mast then you might be able to achieve results (reception from Emley Moor) that you would otherwise not enjoy.

It might be worth looking around to see what neighbours have done.
E
eddie
Sunday 1 January 2012 9:21PM Wantage
Hi,
I have all standard freebies channels but since buying a new tv with Freeview HD built in we aren't getting any of the HD channels.
I've tried a few auto tunes and manual and it just doesn't seem to be picking them up at all.
The aerial is in the loft (town house so effectively the third floor) and the tv is a Samsung D7000.
Any help would be great, thanks.



Please post a question, answer or commentIf you have Freeview reception problems before posting a question your must first do this Freeview reset procedure then see: Freeview reception has changed, Single frequency interference, and Freeview intermittent interference.

If you have no satellite signal, see Sky Digibox says 'No Signal' or 'Technical fault'

If you have other problems, please provide a full (not partial) postcode (or preferably enter it in box at the top right) and indicate where if aerial is on the roof, in the loft or elsewhere.

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