point me in the right direction

[Philquad]

our old uhf directional antenna points to newcastle (mt sugar loaf) nsw
but theres a new transmitter up at nelson bay 2315 that is closer, lots being pointed that way now
my question is, how can i check if the uhf antenna is the same for both directions without testing it?

i really mean where can i check to see if sugar loaf mt & n-bay transmitter spit out the same frequencies?

thanks

[ol' boy]

There is a site for it Phil, actually there are lots of sites./




I used to use DTV forum or something like that, plus there is the Government Sites that show all freqs

[mtv]

Phil,

Do you get reliable reception now?

Is there any real reason to change? eg: different programming?

Here's the link to the government website.



Enter your address and you should get options.

Be aware though that many translators are much lower powered compared to main transmission sites and the frequencies may differ.

Some also require antennas to be vertically polarised and others horizontally polarised.

Australia is also currently undergoing a TV channel 're-stack' which is moving all UHF frequencies above channel 51 to lower frequencies.

In some cases, this may require a change of the type of antenna to ensure adequate reception on the new frequencies.

It would be helpful if you know the make/model or have a pic of your existing antenna to determine its suitability for existing and post-restack frequencies and transmission sites.

If you would like to PM me your address, I can provide specific info for your location and advise any upcoming re-stack changes.

[gordon_s1942]

Philquad, according to the Myswitch site, the translator on Gan Gan is a Vertical signal on UHF and Newcastle (Sugerloaf) while being UHF as well, is Horizontally polarised.
If that is correct, then you really need an antenna correctly polarised to get the best of both.
Also according to the Myswitchsite, neither location broadcast on the same channel and because you have asked, I am guessing your antenna faces Sugerloaf and is Horizontally polarised otherwise you should be able to 'see' both transmitters.
The only real advantage in having coverage from both apart from the Gan Gan transmitter being less affected by atmospherics would be if the translator drops out for any reason, but then, so can Sugerloaf too.
I choose an address of 19 Bonito street Nelsons Bay (Corlette) but obviously depending on where you actually are in relation to Gan Gan would affect your Newcastle signal.

I see on the map it shows a 'Variable' signal from up near Waughope which surprised me as I thought you would have lost that after all the changes.

I stress if I am reading this information correctly, you could leave what you have in place and you MAY be able to install an antenna facing Gan Gan and using a splitter/combiner, have all on the one cable.
However BIG warning that doing what I said MIGHT cause signal problems (overload/interference) because of the Gan Gan translator being so close !!!

One of the best holidays I ever had was in the now demolished cabins at Fingal Bay many years ago..................

[Philquad]

i have a fair idea on doing this as i installed uhf's ect when they 1st come out & sugar loaf trans is a good 70 kms from here
were talking massive fishbones with 34 db mastheads on 30 foot poles sometimes
using my trusty old field strength meter (phil looks to the roof next door)
i can see he has a piss little uhf "yes in vertical position" with no mast amp!
i have a 12 foot wired pole with a massive old 18db directional & a 34db amp as well

so i take it from below, if my antenna range works for sugarloaf as below, it should cover the nelson bay freq also? if i vertical it, correct?

Nine NBN36 585.500 Mhz 250.00 kW Omnidirectional Horizontal – NBN Site Mt Sugarloaf
ABC ABC37 592.500 Mhz 250.00 kW Omnidirectional Horizontal abc.net.au NBN Site Mt Sugarloaf
SBS SBS38 599.500 Mhz 250.00 kW Directional Horizontal sbs.com.au NBN Site Mt Sugarloaf
Ten NRN51 690.500 Mhz 250.00 kW Directional Horizontal – Broadcast Australia Site…
Seven NEN53 704.500 Mhz 250.00 kW

Nine NBN28 529.500 Mhz 600.00 W Directional Vertical –
ABC ABC30 543.500 Mhz 600.00 W Directional Vertical abc.net.au
SBS SBS31 550.500 Mhz 600.00 W Directional Vertical sbs.com.au < nelson bay
Ten NRN33 564.500 Mhz 600.00 W Directional Vertical –
Seven NEN42 627.500 Mhz 600.00 W

[gordon_s1942]

Yes but with a Caveat !!!!

I am not sure if you have been an ardent follower of this particular Forum but while the Multi element antenna changed from Horizontal to vertical and pointed to Gan Gan should work ok, my main concern is the MHA as it may cause overload, This is an area MTV often counsels against using unless its an absolute necessity and depending how close you are to the translator can cause real problems.
Even when both Newcastle and Gan Gan do the Retune later this year it shouldnt cause you any problems.
Just remember your in a high salt air corrosion area being so close to the Sea which makes me wonder just what condition your current system is in if its been up a few years, might have some fun with rusting up by now.
Personally I would go the lazy way and buy a small UHF antenna, a coupler/splitter and connect it to what you already have.

[mtv]

Those are the current channels/frequencies you have listed.

At present, you require a horizontally-polarised Band-5 (or wideband) UHF antenna for Mt Sugarloaf and a vertically polarised Band-4&5 (wideband) UHF antenna for Nelson Bay, which the official coverage area is listed as Port Stephens.

Post restack, the channels will be:

35 36 37 38 39 from Mt Sugarloaf (still horizontally polarised and using a Band-5 or wideband UHF antenna) Channel 34 is unallocated

28 30 31 32 33 From Nelson Bay (still vertically polarised) Channel 29 is unallocated. These frequencies will only require a Band-4 UHF antenna, or a wideband UHF antenna should also be fine.

You should not require a high-gain antenna, or an amp for the Nelson Bay translators.

You haven't said what band/s your existing antenna is designed for.

If you intend to change the polarity and direction of your antenna to point at the Nelson Bay translators, I would highly recommend replacing an old antenna with a new one designed specifically for the post-restack frequencies.

The restack channel change date currently set for Nelson Bay (Port Stephens) is 24 June 2014.

The restack channel change date currently set for Mt Sugarloaf (Newcastle) is 4 September 2014.

[Philquad]

yea i think ill just buy a cheap yagi & turn is sidewards
i do need my amp, i got 7 outlets & the fox looped back through the system
i got a funny feeling my old uhf wont pick up the lower freq

[mtv]

yea i think ill just buy a cheap yagi & turn is sidewards
i do need my amp, i got 7 outlets & the fox looped back through the system
i got a funny feeling my old uhf wont pick up the lower freq

I higher-gain antenna would be better than an amp, but if you also need the RF Fox distributed, then you probably will.

Best to have an antenna designed for the frequencies as the Band 4 channels will be greatly attenuated if you are using a Band 5 antenna.

A comparison from the transmission sites:

Mt Sugarloaf 25kW

Gan gan Hill 600W

[Philquad]

trust me, when i was young & installed the you-bout new uhf antennas ( some of you's were in nappies)
i had to use the highest gain directional uhf antennas you could get. 1 was a parabolic made here by sat tracker antenna company
it had a 24db gain, huge satelite looking curved back, with a rather large pointy bit at the front $150 a go, in 1990
a 34db kingray uhf amp on a 30 foot pole, still could not get perfect uhf on all 4 channels (3 was still vhf) lots of nelson bay areas had bad line of sight to sugar loaf mt.
even tried 2 uhf with 1 pointed north to northern rivers for prime, but the uhf diplexer has too much loss, so we had high vhf ch 8 specific antennas for that
my field strength meter was a 10 inch black & white portable with a rechargeable 12 volt battery taped to the side, input to a small uhf antenna, you lined up channel ten as it was the highest freq
& thats where it went.

[Antennaman]

my field strength meter was a 10 inch black & white portable with a rechargeable 12 volt battery taped to the side, input to a small uhf antenna,

That how I did my first FSM, with a meter on the AGC line, calibrated to 1mV for all the channels of interest.

Have you tried just tuning the TV to the Port Stephens channels regardless? In the interim, it may just work if you are close enough.

[gordon_s1942]

yea i think ill just buy a cheap yagi & turn is sidewards
i do need my amp, i got 7 outlets & the fox looped back through the system
i got a funny feeling my old uhf wont pick up the lower freq

Doing it that way will be quicker, cheaper and leaves everything in use in place, all you have to do is decide how to 'Mix' it all together.
If thats been up since the 90's (aggregation?) you can bet your going to have rusty nuts and bolts on the antenna etc. Gan Gan isnt much of a hump as humps go but it would certainly would affect the reception from Sugerloaf around the main shopping area down to the Marina I would think as its in between them.
The last time I was on Gan Gan the whole area had been burnt out from there through to Raymond Terrace and the view around was spectacular because all the foliage was burnt away.

The difference between Bands 4 & 5 on UHF is only millimetres in actual size.

NOTE: I just checked the Myswitchsite and the ABC, SBS and NBN are already on Band 4 with NEN and NRN to move from Band 5 to 4 during the retune, so if their all ok now, they should stay that way , but if they dont you have the option of using the Gan Gan transmitter.

I am on band 5 here using a '97' element Yagi (love the way they reach that number) in a really bad signal area and I am confident that if nothing else is changed, I will still have the same quality of Signal after the retune in December.

[mtv]

The difference between Bands 4 & 5 on UHF is only millimetres in actual size so your old antenna should still work satisfactorily.

I am on band 5 here using a '97' element Yagi (love the way they reach that number) in a really bad signal area and I am confident that if nothing else is changed, I will still have the same quality of Signal after the retune in December.

The 'difference' can be as great as reliable reception and no reception in marginal signal areas.

In good/excellent signal areas, the proverbial 'piece of wet string' will work.

Most of those 96/97 element yagis are wideband anyway..... designed for both band 4 and 5.

[Philquad]

yes i wont be mixing gordon
the good ol vhf is still on the pole but disconnected
dont even need the pole now, might get a tile mount & a new uhf, it would look nicer, & im sure it will puck up gan gan (8km away)
sugar loaf wont interfere as its in the complete opposite direction as gg

heres the new shoal bay wharf gordon,

[mtv]

... might get a tile mount & a new uhf, it would look nicer, & im sure it will puck up gan gan (8km away)

Should most likely do the job well.

[gordon_s1942]

yes i wont be mixing gordon
the good ol vhf is still on the pole but disconnected
dont even need the pole now, might get a tile mount & a new uhf, it would look nicer, & im sure it will puck up gan gan (8km away)
sugar loaf wont interfere as its in the complete opposite direction as gg

heres the new shoal bay wharf gordon,

When I said mixing could cause interference has nothing to do with which direction your antenna's are facing or the polarity they are receiving.
Its all to do with the frequencies and signal strength and thats where Mugs like me who havent a clue of what their doing may be lucky and fluke a good installation but more often than not, we have to call on someone like MTV to sort out their mistakes.

[Philquad]

yep, thats why theres a fern on my roof with a yagi in hand at the moment