Loss of ITV/Channel 4 freeview channels

[Katiebee]

I'm having trouble with my freeview ITV/Channel 4 reception. I've done some Googling and read about a lot of possible causes for this - multiplexes, mux, transmitter work, atmospherics, aerial pointing in the wrong direction - but a lot of the technical stuff just doesn't make sense! Can anyone explain in plain English how I can find out what's wrong?

Basically I had a freeview box which died on me a few weeks ago. Prior to that I'd been getting bad reception for the above channels so when the box died I blamed it on that. I went ahead and bought a brand new TV with freeview installed. For the first couple of weeks everything was fine and all channels were excellent. However, for the last couple of weeks, the ITV/Channel 4 channels have been appalling, with picture and sound break-up and picture freezing, though never complete loss of signal. I've done a rescan but that hasn't helped. I'm in Kent and it's been rather windy of late so I thought maybe that was the problem, but the weather has calmed and it's made no difference.

Please, how can I find out what's causing the problem? If it's to do with aerials or multiplexes or mux (whatever they are) why was everything OK for the first couple of weeks only to deteriorate later?

I'm a bit peeved at having paid out for a new TV only to find I'm not a lot better off - at least with the old set up I could just use the TV for ITV and Channel 4 when the freeview didn't work!

Thanks for any help you can offer.

[ChuckFickens]

Sounds to me like you've not got a wide band aerial (often, wrongly, called a digital aerial)

All aerials are "tuned" to work best at a certain frequency, as not all freeview channels are broadcast on the same frequency if your aerial is not wide band then it will be picking up on end of the frequency range better then the other end, hence why you get some channels and not others.

Atmospherics will also contribute to this and can knock out an already weak signal, and I can confirm that lately the atmospherics have been bad and have been effecting freeview reception (i've lost some of my channels over the last couple of weeks too).

A decent wideband aerial should sort out your problems.

[ACtheTROLL]

does your telly show signal strength?

mine shows a band when you switch channel giving date time blah blah and in the bottom right a signal strength indicator

my 'ikkle portable has an information button which shows it all on a seperat screen.

round our way ch4 film4 itv2&3 (strangely all bbc channels are pretty good)
but you can see the signal strength is bad .... and the transmitter info says that they are the ones on reduced power 'till the changeover

[PeteHull]

If it has worked ok in the past it could be a fault that has developed with your aerial. One of the causes I have come across quite often happens when an installer has draped the aerial wire down the roof and it has been laid on tiles. It will work for tears ok, however if it has been blown from side to side by the wind it can chafe through the insulation and the screen of the coaxial wire. (aerial cable) it then gets water inside it when it rains and alters the impedance which leads to a weakened signal.
Sometimes, if you unplug the aerial cable from your set, you can actually get water to come out of it.
Another problem can be that the top connector box on the aerial is cracked with age and also lets water in.

The best bet would be to get a reputable aerial installer (I used to be one before illness stopped me) and ask them to check it out.

You need a wideband aerial (which it seems you already have if it worked before) and 75 ohm low loss cable. If you can recieve channel 5 then that would indicate you have a wideband as it is transmitted on channel 56....

It can be complicated but also it can be simple if you understand it.

Hope you are sorted soon

Pete

[Cockney_si]

You will probably need to check your tv aerial, maybe it's moved with all the high winds recently.

[Katiebee]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I'll check it all out and hope for the best! And yes, I do have Channel 5 Pete!

Thank you again.

[middkazsam]

thats been happening to be alot too seems to be when the weather is hot more than windy