Insane need to maximise analogue equipment

[beagle]

When people put their own aerials up which work do they re-use the old wiring to their floor, and if so does it work?

Do the aerials they put up look the same as the communal antenna, i.e. pointing the same direction, the same number of elements (metal bars) in the same orientation (horizontal, vertical, cross), and do they have  reflecting plates which the communal one doesn't?

Have any of the experts actually measured the signal coming out of the aerial and/or amplifier, or are they just claiming reception is good because the other aerials work, or because their computer generated coverage map says it should be?

Just to depress you further, if the cabling is the problem then switching to digital may well not fix it. Interference that cause a momentary flash on analogue can throw the error detection so badly that digital will skip the picture entirely for two or three seconds (like when you play a DVD with a hair or bad scratch on the surface). On the plus side, once you get the error rate down to zero there's no point spending money to improve the signal strength further.

[Griffin NoName]

On the plus side, once you get the error rate down to zero there's no point spending money to improve the signal strength further. Hehe. Goodee. If ever.

The coboys have variably claimed to have actually measured the signal. Who knows.

Digital works fine. Mine used to skip the picture until I tightened up all my aerial connectors.

Mostly the people who have no problem have sat. dishes.

Some I suspect only watch digital (all the ones who report their pics are fine have sat. or digi).

The analogue viewers with bad pics are spread across all floors.

I think 1 person has an actual own "aerial" on the roof and I don't know if it was new wiring but I strongly suspect it was. No point asking them as they wouldn't have a clue. 

No one has a clue round here. Except me. And I have so many they cancel each other out.

[beagle]

I'm guessing the people who have satellite either have their own high quality cable to roof dishes, or the dishes wall mounted outside their windows(?).

Does anybody get Freeview terrestrial digital through the communal aerial/wiring, and if so does it work?
If not, how else are they getting non-satellite digital? NTL/Telewest Cable?

The terrestrial digital signal is weaker than analogue in most cases, so if it's coming down from the roof using the old cable and is ok then the cable is probably in the clear. Could it be the communal aerial has been changed to one that's good for terrestrial digital but bad for analogue?

[Griffin NoName]

I'm guessing the people who have satellite either have their own high quality cable to roof dishes, or the dishes wall mounted outside their windows(?).

There's one wall dish. We are not allowed to have wall dishes so there was a fuss about it. It's hidden behind a huge tree (but works) so I don't see what the fuss is about. I don't know about the rest. I did a questionnaire but like all questionnaires it was limited, mainly because getting any info at all out of anybody is like drawing teeth. I only asked questions I thought people could answer, except for one, which was do you have any equipment that might be intefering with the signal. No one answered that one

Does anybody get Freeview terrestrial digital through the communal aerial/wiring, and if so does it work?

Yes me and yes it does.

And I assume others too. There are only a few who seem to rely on nothing but the analogue any more.

Could it be the communal aerial has been changed to one that's good for terrestrial digital but bad for analogue?

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As far as I know it's never been changed ever since the 1970's The only person who would possibly know is The Treasurer and he has never mentioned a new aerial having been erected and I find it hard to believe he wouldn't have mentioned that as we have endless endless conversations about the life history of the building....... and in particular the aerial.

But of course it's not impossible. Even though the constant stream of cowboys have said it's fine. why haven't any of them tried to sell us a new aerial 

[beagle]

Does anybody get Freeview terrestrial digital through the communal aerial/wiring, and if so does it work?

Yes me and yes it does.

And I assume others too. There are only a few who seem to rely on nothing but the analogue any more.

That's weird. The Freeview digital signal is almost always weaker than analogue (and will be till they switch analogue off), so it's odd that it works fine and analogue doesn't.  The only things I can think of are that:

The communal antenna is optimised for digital.

The roof amplifier works better at the digital frequency than the analogue one (I'm not even sure they're at significantly different frequencies).

People's set top boxes/digital TVs have better internal amplifiers, being more modern, than those old analogue sets.

You are getting a low level of interference which the digital error correction is totally removing.


I doubt it's the last one but your digital box probably has a display for signal strength and error rate which you can look at. An error rate above zero but which does not result in the picture ever breaking up suggests the last of the above possibilities.

If there are only a few people left on analogue isn't the obvious solution to switch them to Freeview? Probably only cost around £50 for a set top box each*, which wouldn't buy you much aerial expert consultancy.
You could try a test box first in each flat in case it is just you with lucky cabling/digital signal strength.

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* Or £150 for a special Beagle-supplied version (the same box with a picture of a dog stuck over the Sony badge).

[Griffin NoName]

....your digital box probably has a display for signal strength and error rate which you can look at. An error rate above zero but which does not result in the picture ever breaking up suggests the last of the above possibilities.

I can check that.

If there are only a few people left on analogue isn't the obvious solution to switch them to Freeview? Probably only cost around £50 for a set top box each*, which wouldn't buy you much aerial expert consultancy.
You could try a test box first in each flat in case it is just you with lucky cabling/digital signal strength.

If only life were that simple. I did say it was an insane need. I cannot describe the depth of resistance. Everyone having to buy a box because the aerial doesn't work? No way, Jose. The aerial ought to work. .... <snip several conversations> well you'll need a digital TV OR a digital box connected to your TV in 2008 ANYWAY <snip ignore statement> <snip repeat statement> < snip they have to sort the aerial out > <snip endless >

I have three digiboxes (and now a DVD tuner too!!) to get round not having a decent analogue signal. But you'd think they were something from Mars.

These are people who haven't yet heard of VCRs let alone DVD.

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* Or £150 for a special Beagle-supplied version (the same box with a picture of a dog stuck over the Sony badge).

Is that the HMV badge ? that might go down ok 



[/quote]

[beagle]

Oh boy. OK.

Plan A.

Set up a residents' committee with the purpose of looking into the practicality of setting up a commission to investigate the possibility of an enquiry into the feasibility of involving further consultants, with a view to providing a preliminary technical report into the relevant issues, with due regard to environmental and health and safety issues pertaining to staff operating at altitude.

With a suitable definition of what constitutes a quorum that should stall everything until the analogue signal has been turned off and the buggers will have to have what they're given.


Plan B

Push the whiners off the roof.


Plan C

Pay a relative a tenner to come round in a boiler suit with a clipboard and explain patiently that analogue will never work, due to the proximity of the vertical helicons to the gudgeon pins, and the inability to source that particular type of thermostatic non-return valve any more, guv.


Plan D

Explain that the roof amplifier has been damaged due to one of the residents watching large amounts of porn. Not to worry though, the technical experts reckon they'll be able to work out which flat it was with just a few more hours work. Expect a few residents asking for "a quiet word".




Nice picture, but I understand HMV have retired Nipper for a year and Gromit will be standing (sitting?) in for him.

[Griffin NoName]

Thanks. I believe I can run options A,C and D concurrently with Option B as the backup. Option A is a cynch. We are well down that path already and the quorum is 3 - easy.

Last night I got two instances of digital picture loss which hasn't happened for months and months. Mind you, the BBC news has had a spate of this; now we go to our intrepid reporter in ForeignTroublesSpot, what's it like there Jeremy?....... We seem to be having trouble at the moment, we'll come back to Jeremy later.

[beagle]

That sort of nonsense wouldn't have happened with Kate Adie.

It's hard to know which are proper wars and which sabre rattling now she's not sent out to the real ones any more.

[Sibling Chatty]

I really like plan B, bud D has promise in the 'extraneous cash in pocket' field.

[Griffin NoName]

That sort of nonsense wouldn't have happened with Kate Adie.

It's hard to know which are proper wars and which sabre rattling now she's not sent out to the real ones any more.

You can tell she is a no nonsense sort of person from her quote on that link. A woman who calls a lavatory a lavatory !