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Thread: Ham radio operator corrupting my digitaltv?

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    Default Ham radio operator corrupting my digitaltv?

    I live in Frankston Vic at a bottom of a hill and have a Ham radio operator 50 metres in front of my antenna, and an illegal pottery back yard factory. Well it's in the suburbs they might
    be legal if the council have knowledege of their shed they use as a shop in their front yard.
    running 25 metres away. Anyway at various times of the day
    Nine HD breaks up with extremely poor signal quality and is totally unwatchable even audio cuts out. Same with ABC SD and HD. Nine SD has 100% quality
    at this time.

    What should I do and are they the likely culprits?
    It costs $50 for a Communications investigator to come out and investigate.
    The interference sometimes lasts up to 8 hours at other times half an hour or so. Often everyday during the daytime.

    I have a high gain Antenna from Hills and normal analogue reception shows
    diagonal lines through the picture and random white dashes on some channels



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    If your in a recognised TV reception area and if it is the amatuer at fault then they have to stop BUT you must make a proper complaint and let the authorites take the appropriate action.
    You can approach them and tell them of your problem and make sure you have times,dates and if possible, I would video your TV signal when it is playing up as it can identify the nature of the interferrence.
    Its also possible YOU could have a dodgy themostate on a hot water heater or any other sort of electrical devise or a neighbor could so dont go fired up blaming the fellow with the antenna without proof.There are many devises that can blow a TV signal off the screen other than a radio.
    Majority of amatuers bend over backwards to ensure they have suitable filters on their equipment.

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    Question Intrference?

    Quote Originally Posted by pheggie View Post
    I live in Frankston Vic at a bottom of a hill and have a Ham radio operator 50 metres in front of my antenna, and an illegal pottery back yard factory. Well it's in the suburbs they might
    be legal if the council have knowledege of their shed they use as a shop in their front yard.
    running 25 metres away. Anyway at various times of the day
    Nine HD breaks up with extremely poor signal quality and is totally unwatchable even audio cuts out. Same with ABC SD and HD. Nine SD has 100% quality
    at this time.

    What should I do and are they the likely culprits?
    It costs $50 for a Communications investigator to come out and investigate.
    The interference sometimes lasts up to 8 hours at other times half an hour or so. Often everyday during the daytime.

    I have a high gain Antenna from Hills and normal analogue reception shows
    diagonal lines through the picture and random white dashes on some channels

    G'Day,
    Your first plan of action would be to check out your own equipment by a process of elimination. The most likely culprit is your own TV or other appliances.
    You seem to be setting out to alienate your neighbor instead of a friendly chat with some mutual testing.
    The interference that you describe does not agree with the method of operation of an Amateur Radio Station.
    You would only need to listen on the Amateur Bands to hear that they transmit in rather short overs. From a few seconds to less than 3 minutes at a time.
    I would suggest that if you're at the bottom of a hill, your own Antenna is probably favoring one channel and is poorly designed for your location.

    Kindest Regards, " The Druid ".......

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    it is seldom the ham operators fault, generally it is poor quality TV design and antenna installations

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    Thanks guys. Are guys like Mr. Antenna qualified to fix difficult Aerial problems?
    Several years ago I rang an antenna guy and he refused to even look
    at my house after I told him I'm at the bottom of a hill and was having
    reception problems. I have gas hot water so I don't have a thermostat.

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    Premium Member rob916's Avatar
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    Go and ask the Amateur, if he is causing the problem he is probably willing to help you, if not he can probably help you find out who or what is.
    What happens if I press alt + F4?

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    Quote Originally Posted by porkop View Post
    it is seldom the ham operators fault, generally it is poor quality TV design and antenna installations
    Exactly.
    Why is it that the amateur always gets the blame? That's what irks me

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    Quote Originally Posted by vk6xlr View Post
    Exactly.
    Why is it that the amateur always gets the blame? That's what irks me
    Ignorance mainly...the only exposure some people have had to Amateur Radio is (an inaccurate) " Hancock's Half Hour" sketch comedy on the subject....back in the 1950s....

    No Amateur Operator deliberately causes interference.

    The fault generally lies in the equipment which is being interfered with, not the transmitting equipment.

    Both 'sides' of the argument have limited protection and the first step should be to notify - calmly and rationally - the suspected Operator.

    I have been accused of causing interference and have suffered verbal abuse, but when the interference continued when I was 2000km away on holidays the complainant felt fairly silly !

    You cannot demand that the Amateur Operator cease his transmissions....it is much better to solve the problem rationally or it will cost you money.

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    pheggie,

    Most likely it's inadequate TV signal levels/quality being received by your antenna, especially if the hill you are at the bottom of is in your signal path.

    If this is the case, the signals are probably on the 'digital cliff edge' and even changes in atmospheric conditions can cause them to 'drop off' with pixellation & sound chirps, then loss of reception altogether.

    If there are strong communications signals close to you, this may also cause loss of reception, due to those signals being so much stronger than the weak TV signals. This is not a fault of the amateur operator, just poor TV reception.

    I'd recommend having your signals checked.

    You may require an antenna upgrade or changes to your antenna mounting position, etc.

    It's critical that whoever you get to test your signals has a thorough knowledge of RF transmission and reception principles, as your TV signals may also require amplification, which can add problems with close-by RF transmissions, with filtering required and can be complex to set-up wthout the knowledge, experience and the equipment to measure your digital TV signals and all other signals (eg: spectrum analyser).

    Most Jims/Mr Antenna techs do not have sufficient skills or the equipment to do this type of job, which may be why the guy you contacted didn't want to know about it.

    Your amateur operator neighbour would probably know far more about these types of things than your average antenna installer.

    As mentioned, have a friendly chat with your neighbour..... most amateur operators would be quite happy to lend a hand.

    If you have problems with signal measurements, let me know.

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    Premium Member Peck's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rob916 View Post
    Go and ask the Amateur, if he is causing the problem he is probably willing to help you, if not he can probably help you find out who or what is.
    Quote Originally Posted by mtv View Post
    pheggie,



    Your amateur operator neighbour would probably know far more about these types of things than your average antenna installer.

    As mentioned, have a friendly chat with your neighbour..... most amateur operators would be quite happy to lend a hand.

    If you have problems with signal measurements, let me know.

    I agree with rob916 & mtv.

    I have neighbours across the road who still think that my cable internet and Computers are the cause of their TV Reception Interference.
    They are very old so its hard for them to understand that it is not me causing their interference. It could be their 20yo Fridge or Freezer, Maybe even be from their neighbours behind them?
    Anyway my point is.. Life is short everyone has their faults! Go ask your ham operator nieghbour he is probably a nice guy and will help solve your problem. I know I would if I were him
    In doing so you could be making a good friend or at least a good neighbour

    Cheers!
    A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.

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