This Easter weekend with its drizzly wet conditions saw my Digital reception almost disappear on more than just the ABC which has been playing intermittently for some months.
From the 'turn off' of the Analog until the 'restacking' last October when our channels went from Band 5 to Band 4, my reception on all channels was around 95%+ unless it was a really bad storm or the power to the translator went out but this weekend saw 3 of the 5 channels 'go walkabout'.
At first I thought the loss back in October was because of a change to the equipment at the translator but the three near me who receive that translator had no experienced no disruption to their reception.
So I wondered if the problem was at the antenna and I was going to get the local installer out to see what signal was there but due to my Kidney stones deciding to cause me hassles, that was put on the back burner.
Last Friday it went really bad with not only the ABC disappearing early in the day to be followed with 10 by early afternoon and by evening, 7 was really pixeling and thats how it stayed over the weekend.
While the weather was generally lousy, it wasnt that bad as I have seen it to loose a signal.
To cut to the chase, I realised that another TV which I dont use on Terrestrial reception is on a different cable run to the others and when I did check it, it wasnt playing up so I soon concluded it wasnt the antenna.
It turns out after some fiddling that a 2 way amp splitter in line was the culprit and when I bypassed it, everything came good.
Despite the advise to the contrary by those in the Forum about using amplifiers and the problems they can cause I left these in place because they appeared to be functioning as they had done for several years.
The moral of this saga is a little knowledge is a dangerous thing and as I constantly seem to prove, I am exceedingly dangerous !!!!!!!
I stand unequivicably behind everything I say , I just dont ever remember saying it !!
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Guiseppe, I have a Kingray MHA under the 97 element Yagi antenna on the far end of 110 metres of cable thats connected to another 'Pass Through' MHA then another 6 metres of cable to the Power Injector which was connected to this 2 way splitter I think has gone bad with a 1 metre lead to the TV, the the other 'leg' went to a another splitter/amp and connects to the Kitchen and 2 bedrooms.
This was done piecemeal over a number of years to get what I could of our deep fringe analog reception and with 'Blind Freddy's' luck, it worked !!!
The translator I receive from is only 12 kms distant but is beamed away from me and throw in the topography, that I even receive static is fortuitous to the extreme.
I know 'cascading' Amps is a big No-No without the proper test equipment and the knowledge to do so and I certainly had neither but I had nothing to lose by trying as I had bugger all to begin with.
Pure pigheadedness and a 'I had nothing to lose attitude' kept me at it to try to receive the new digital transmissions and I was close ( 3 of the 5 channels) until I had a flying visit from MTV who in a few minutes had found the "sweet spot' I needed but I now Iwould never have found it on my own.
I stand unequivicably behind everything I say , I just dont ever remember saying it !!
Guiseppe (09-04-15)
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