26 Feb 2015

A question about : help

Hello

I have tried freeview a couple of times in the last year or so, and had no success at all - even though according to the website I am in a coverage area

I bought a nother box tonight and gave it another go - NO JOY!

The guy in asda referred me to an aeriel for Ј19.99 I think it was called an element 32, which can be placed in the loft or on the roof.

I have no idea about this, and wonder if it will do the job and save me paying an aeriel engineer who I understand charge about Ј120?

If so, how would I install, how do I know which way to aim it etc etc?

Cheers

Best answers:

  • at the risk of asking a really embarrassing questioon
    how do I install, will I need to drill onto the roof?
    i am not diy man in anyway......hence my question
    also there is one for Ј19.99 an element 32, and another for Ј49.99
    The 19.99 is according to the box to boost poor signal but freeview receiving, the other is for no reception
    to be honest at Ј49.99 its adding up a bit, and I wonder if its better to get the pro's in?
  • Depends on how tall the buildings around you are, where you are in relation to the transmitter, and what your roof's made of I guess.
    My aerial's in the loft and gives a perfect reception. No need to put it on the roof or on a pole on the side of the house. You might find that simply laying it down on the floor of the loft, pointing in the right direction, will work. Might be that you'll have to mount it up there on a pole attached to the inside wall or something. Ideally you'd have a portable TV you could take up there with the freeview box while you align it.
    https://www.wolfbane.com/cgi-bin/tvd.exe?
    Check that. What kind of aerial does it say you need?
  • Are you sure you can get freeview with your existing set-up? The information about digital tv reception is often misleading.
    There are two types of transmitter. The main transmitters will usually be both digital and analogue. The relay transmitters are, for most of the country, only analogue at the moment.
    Here in Devon we have five main transmitters, and about a hundred relays which are being converted this summer when analogue will be ended. I pick up broadcasts from a relay transmitter so I cannot get freeview at the moment unless I buy another aerial and have it aimed at Stockland Hill instead. The website says reception where I live is possible but doesn't explain about the differences in transmitters.
    The way to tell if you can get freeview now before you buy a box is to go and look at your aerial - if the elements are horizontal (the spiky bits point sideways) you are on a main transmitter and should be able to get freeview. If the elements are vertical (spiky bits up and down) you are on a relay and will not get freeview until after switchover of your region, unless you can get a more powerful aerial and find the direction of a main transmitter. Some properties near me obviously have freeview - they have aerials about five foot long on high poles and pointing in the opposite direction to all the other neighbours.
  • Have a look here (ticking the box "I am in the aerial instalation trade") - https://www.digitaluk.co.uk/postcodechecker/ and also here - https://www.wolfbane.com/cgi-bin/tvd.exe?
    And then look here to understand the results - https://www.radioandtelly.co.uk/reception.html#wolfbane
  • To answer "whybelieve" --
    The best site I have found for relay transmitter switchover information is
    https://www.ukfree.tv/closedown.php
    It looks like all the current transmitters will be digital, and there will be at least one new one here in the southwest.
    Analogue signals gradually get weaker giving a fall in picture quality. Freeview signals being digital basically either work and give a good picture, or are too weak and the picture is very blocky or non-existent. There has been talk that some remote (coastal or valley?) areas in the southwest will not be able to get an adequate digital signal and will need a satellite dish.
    On a different aspect, looking at the https://www.ukfree.tv/closedown.php
    information on what will be transmitted, many people will only be able to pick up BBC,ITV, channel 4 and 5, not the extra forty channels that keep being mentioned in the advertising for the digital switchover.
  • Thanks that's a really useful website
  • In the meantime watch live tv on your laptop/desktop www.tvcatchup.com
  • all a bit of a disaster really...
    bought freeview box, no joy spo back to shop and then
    bought the Ј19.99 antenna, to put on roof / loft. Put it together but found in the instructionms I needed to start splitting cables and thread coaxal through it to then align to a transmitter or something in the loft....
    like I said no diy expert and aware shop wouldnt take back once cable opened, so back in box...customer service and cash back now
    me finks I ll stick to sky - CHEERS FOR ALL YOUR HELP
  • Thanks to this thread I have found out that my Freeview reception problems are down to the Rowridge transmitter.
  • It might be worth checking all the connections to the aerial too, in case something has come loose. It's unlikely that you'd need a new aerial, assuming you get/got decent reception on analogue
    www.paras.org.uk
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