Antenna Direction in Perth

[mikey]

HI Guys is there a website that gives me an indication of where to point my antenna in perth for digital TV reception??? I am located South Of River.

I have tried to make some adjustments on it, but then I loose some channels and then pick up other channels.

any help appreciated.

[beer4life]

HI Guys is there a website that gives me an indication of where to point my antenna in perth for digital TV reception??? I am located South Of River.

I have tried to make some adjustments on it, but then I loose some channels and then pick up other channels.

any help appreciated.

G'Day Cobber,
You are not indicating as to which channels that you are trying to receive.
Is it Terrestrial or Satellite?
If Satellite, which Sat and which band? C band or Ku ?
Be aware that several sats viewable in OZ are close together, 2 Deg apart.
Try these for Satellite:

Optus C1 @ 156 Deg East.
For Optus Sats, you must also allow for their 'Preset Skew' of approx 40 Deg.
Adress: Perth
Latitude: -31.955°
Longitude: 115.859°Satellite: 156.0E Optus C1
Elevation: 33.2°
Azimuth (true): 57.9°
Azimuth (magn.): 59.6°
Skew: 45.9°
You can click and drag the marker
----------------------------------
This has got to be the best:
GorbTrak,
http://members.chello.nl/%7Eberry.walda/Index_EN.htm
------------------------------------


If on the other hand you are talking about Terrestrial, You will have to establish accurately your location and that of the local transmitters.
More than likely, you are talking about Terrestrial, as you have posted in that section.
You can safely assume that the digital transmitters are the same as the old analogue or co-located with them. Just follow where the neighborhood antennae are pointing.



I do hope that this is enough information to point you in the right direction, if not, please give us more details as to what you are trying to achieve.
Kindest Regards, " The Druid ".

[Farmsky]

Use maybe.

If you know the coordinates of the transmitter (see below) and your reception site use this nifty .



Note: The blue ones are digital.

But the problem is most likely with the antenna selection and physical location of it, plus for digital you really must use good Rg6 quad shield cable and f connectors throughout etc.

Analogue reception is a good indicator of likely digital reception.

Perth Television Channel Plan

Band 1 - VHF
2 - analogue ABC

Band 3 - VHF
6 - digital commercial
7 - analogue commercial
8 - digital commercial
9 - analogue commercial
10 - analogue commercial
11 - digital commercial
12 - digital ABC

Band 4 - UHF
28 - analogue SBS
29 - digital SBS
31 - Analogue Community TV

Give us quick a run down of your analogue reception channel by channel?

And the current antenna?

And your digital reception woes?

[dryfry]

Have the narrow end of your aerial pointing towards Kalamunda/Bickley (the hills) Or if you are in the Armadale area point it towards the Canns Road tower in the hills at Bedfordale .

This is the coverage map for the ABC's main transmitter site


This is the map for the ABC's Bedfordale transmitter. This is UHF

[Farmsky]

Ta Dryfry.

Perhaps Roleystone's an option?

However it's a lower power transmitter. Roleystone broadcasts both analogue and digital channels on Band 5 UHF.



ABC Coverage map Roleystone

A Band 5 UHF antenna is required for Roleystone.



ABC coverage map Perth

A Band 3/4 VHF/UHF antenna is required for Perth.



As suggested earlier, the neighbourhood antennas should 'point' you in the right direction

[mikey]

HI Guys, thanks for all the replies, I'll try to give you some more info...

I am located in Seville Grove (Almost Armadale), I have analogue tv works fine for all channels except ABC and seven is snowy at times, I have bought a SD box, thought I could connect it up tune it and off I go, however, in it's current position (Antenna) 7 is good, nine has no service at times and ten is OK but pixelated and ABC has nothing...

I tried to tweak the antenna a bit, and got 7, 9 and 10, but 10 is still pixieated and nothing for ABC. I should point out SBS is good on all occasions.

My antenna is pointed in a northerly direction from our house towards I guess the bickley area where I can see some masts on the hill and in the general direction that the other antennas in the are point.

The antenna itself is maybe 2 years old now, and is approx 1.5 meters long.

thanks again for your tips and advice.

[Antennaman]

You need the correct antenna oriented to the correct transmitter/translator for your area.

From the information presented by others it would seem that a band 5 UHF antenna pointing to the Roleystone translator would be the preferable option.

UHF digital signals are always better than those on VHF, as they are usually less affected by impulse noise and other impairments.

However, if the signal from Roleystone is not sufficiently high in level, a masthead amplifier may be required to improve reception.

If you do not know what a band 5 antenna looks like, use your favourite search engine to assist with this task.

At the end of the day, a properly qualified & trained antenna installer is the best way to achieve a satisfactory outcome.

[Farmsky]

HI Guys, thanks for all the replies, .....

So this is a summary of reception

Perth (Bickley) Television Channel Plan

Band 1 - VHF
2 - analogue ABC - No reception

Band 3 - VHF
6 - digital Ch 7 - OK
7 - analogue Ch 7 - Snowy reception
8 - digital Ch 9 - OK
9 - analogue Ch 9 - OK
10 - analogue Ch 10 -OK
11 - digital Ch 10 - Pixellated
12 - digital ABC - nil reception

Band 4 - UHF
28 - analogue SBS - OK
29 - digital SBS - OK
31 - Analogue Community TV - OK?

Since you can see the masts, your reception from Bickley would most probably still be the go and SBS reception more or less proves this.

You antenna is clearly a Band 3/4 antenna, however, it may be damaged or inadequate as it's band 3 performance is very poor, particularly on Ch 11 and 12. The 'no digital ABC' is a real concern.

If you have analogue snow (Ch 7), you'll have difficulties with reception on similar digital channels.

Four more questions.

1. Is there local interference? Things that spark e.g electric fences.

2. What brand/type is your stb? Most cheap boxes are simply that .... cheap and will not work with marginal signals.

3. What is the condition and connections on the feeder cable.

4. What is the digital reception experience of your neighbours ... and what is different?

As you have found moving the antenna can change things and that is simply by rotation.

As antennaman advises, a good tech will survey your site and find the best location, height and antenna type. Location can be critical for digital reception, particularly if interference is involved.



However if you wish to persist we're here to help.

An antenna like this (Hills Antenna Spectramax SMX24) would likely be the ducks guts.

[mikey]

So this is a summary of reception

Four more questions.

1. Is there local interference? Things that spark e.g electric fences.

2. What brand/type is your stb? Most cheap boxes are simply that .... cheap and will not work with marginal signals.

3. What is the condition and connections on the feeder cable.

4. What is the digital reception experience of your neighbours ... and what is different?

1. No interference, Can see masts from my roof, nearest tree in antennas direction is about 70m, other than that, nothing at all.

2. I've got a cheap SD box (DVX 555U) and a Leadtek HD card in my computer, the SD box is of no real concern, the computer is used most often. I have quite a good signal indicator on the computer and the STB is always between 51 & 53%.

3. All cable and connectors are in great condition, 1 cable goes to a 2 way splitter (F connectors) then to each device approx 1 meter from from splitter, and I have also taken the splitter out of the equation but still arrive with the same issues.

4. Not sure about neighbors...

[Farmsky]

OK.

So the SD box and tele is ok ..... but the computer card is crap?

That's par for the course as computer cards are deaf. They must work in a tough environment.

Only solution is a bigger and better antenna. ie more signal in (not an amplifier btw)

You've probably got something like on the roof.

[mikey]

Nah, other way around, the computer is heaps better than the SD box in terms of signal and quality. I have a 26" LCD on the SD box and a 24" & 17" LCD on the computer. But use the 24" mainly for TV and the 17" as the working screen (all wide screen).

The computer is what is used most often at the moment.

Yeah, antenna is somewhat similar to the link, but it's a hills...

[Farmsky]

Yeah Hills site was down this morning.

It seems this fairly new installation was for digital only reception, so at some stage did it work ok?

Assuming the antenna and connection is not damaged, the short answer is either find a 'better' location on the roof (difficult) or simply replace the antenna with a bigger one.

is a good cheap alternative (and entirely reliable source) if u can't buy local.

[Antennaman]

That antenna man on the roof of farmsky's post bears a striking resemblance to some guy called Nick from Jim's Antennas? I can't help to make the observation that he is using an antenna unsuitable for digital reception.

mikey, some good people to deal with in Perth are: . The picture of the Fracarro LP345HV is an ideal antenna in a prime signal region for the Bickley transmitters, and they can probably advise which one would be suitable for your local translator.

[Farmsky]

That antenna man on the roof of farmsky's post bears a striking resemblance to some guy called Nick from Jim's Antennas?.....

Spot on! I like pictures Not the best advert .... stolen from homepage!

Yes good advice on the Fraccaro (good digital antennas for medium to strong signal areas) and a local supplier.

It does seem odd though that the existing antenna isn't working better; particularly on the high VHF channels ... pixellating on Ch11 and missing Ch12 altogether?

I wonder if there isn't a problem in the antenna's VHF combiner?

[jamesv]

mikey, some good people to deal with in Perth are: ..

Slightly off topic but just be sure you get a firm quote off them. My son had a sat dish installed about 6 months ago. He had all equipment (including cable) from using dm500s at his old house.

Install took about 30 mins and they charged him $190 which included "assistant's" time.
Good job but an easy one - way more than was estimated (about $130 from memory...as I booked it for him). They even tried to charge him for cable which was his own..

[Antennaman]

jamesv,

I don't consider that is off topic, and is certainly something to watch out for.

My co-worker & I go on every job for safety as well as efficiency reasons. We always work out a price before we start, (with conditions applying if we feel there are unseen problems that may cause a variation to that price.)

Our combined labour rate is higher than some of the competitors, but having said that, there is plenty of work out there, and it is a free market.

Of course, two can work at a higher efficiency to complete the job quicker when attuned to each others needs.

There is a minimum distance related charge that applies regardless, and estimates can be given on first contact, but these are estimates only.

I only selected Northside as I like the presentation of their web site, their work practices seem similar to ours. No warranty express or implied was given by that recommendation.

antennaman.

[jamesv]

I agree with you antennaman and would not have a problem using Northside (I thought you may have been them) if I had the need in future . The job they did was fine and not overly expensive to me. Just my son was and still is on a tight budget with 2 kids and the extra $60 was a bit of a blow on the already empty hip pocket. cheers

[tytower]

jamesv,

My co-worker & I go on every job for safety as well as efficiency reasons. We always work out a price before we start, (with conditions applying if we feel there are unseen problems that may cause a variation to that price.)

like they fall through the roof or cut the tin at the wrong spot

Our combined labour rate is higher than some of the competitors, but having said that, there is plenty of work out there, and it is a free market.

Of course, two can work at a higher efficiency to complete the job quicker when attuned to each others needs.

My installers had one guy on the roof and one on the ground as a go-fer , the bloke on the roof fell through and the downstairs guy went- fer the step ladder which let go on the second rung and broke his ankle. Then they wanted to charge me extra because it took so long .

There is a minimum distance related charge that applies regardless, and estimates can be given on first contact, but these are estimates only.

I only selected Northside as I like the presentation of their web site, their work practices seem similar to ours. No warranty express or implied was given by that recommendation.

antennaman.

I think you would be pretty safe in thinking that someone here is not likely to sue you, Servicemen who must state the obvious always worry me as to why they don't just stop talking so fast , are they trying to hide something?

[Antennaman]

like they fall through the roof or cut the tin at the wrong spot

assuming they turn up when they said they would, (if at all), with their flies and shoelaces undone, bumcracks showing, and using mobiles with unacceptable ringtones.

My installers had one guy on the roof and one on the ground as a go-fer , the bloke on the roof fell through and the downstairs guy went- fer the step ladder which let go on the second rung and broke his ankle. Then they wanted to charge me extra because it took so long

Don't forget the bloke in the van supervising, who had to keep going back to the depot to keep getting something they were short of or had forgotten and of course refreshment breaks, all while the meter is running.

I think you would be pretty safe in thinking that someone here is not likely to sue you, Servicemen who must state the obvious always worry me as to why they don't just stop talking so fast , are they trying to hide something?

No nothing to hide there is so much information to download we have to talk fast to make sure it all gets out and nothing is forgotten not everyone has the number of machine cycles or memory capacity required to keep up no need to be worried the problem is mine.