Poor Reception On Pick, Channel 11

[hellywelly4]

I have a Humax FVP 4000T which I use with a Toshiba TV. In the last couple of weeks the reception on recordings made on Pick has been badly broken up. I have gone to settings and Channel settings and done an automatic Channel search twice, but it's still bad. I have also had reception problems on Sky News. I don't have Sky TV but get the News Channel. I get my TV programmes through Freeview.
Does anyone have any idea what the problem is and what I can do to sort it out before I call in the TV repair man?

[Buenchico]

TV channels are transmitted in 'bundles', called 'multiplexes'. Each multiplex uses a different frequency. In theory you should have a separate aerial for each multiplex, so that the elements of each aerial can be manufactured to exactly the right length for perfect 'resonance' with the incoming signal.

Clearly that's impractical, so you use a single aerial that's only a 'rough match' to each of the multiplex frequencies, meaning that it's better at 'pulling in' some multiplexes than others.

Pick and Sky News are both transmitted by the 'COM5' multiplex, so it's clear that your aerial isn't very good at receiving the frequency which that multiplex uses. (You might also find that reception of stations like Dave and Really, among others, can be somewhat variable, as they're also on COM5).

The signal qualities and strengths at your aerial don't remain constant. They're affected by the 11-year sunspot cycle, individual solar flares, atmospheric pressure, precipitation, local interference and much more. When conditions are at their best your aerial can deliver a usable signal from COM5 to your Humax box but at other times it can't. So you need to find a way to improve the signal strength.

If you'd got loads of missing channels (across different multiplexes) you might have needed to call in an aerial fitter to provide you with a new aerial. However a problem which is only intermittently affecting a single multiplex can usually be solved by installing a simple signal booster.

One of these will almost certainly fix things for you:
http://www.argos.co.uk/product/5713543

You'll also need one of these to go between the booster and your TV:
https://www.screwfix.com/p/fly-lead-coaxial-plug-to-plug-1m/41720

. . . and you'll need to carry out a fresh scan for channels after you've installed them.

[hellywelly4]

Thank you for your wonderfully comprehensive reply. I have placed orders for both the things you recommended so hope to enjoy my tv better next week!