Signal Strength

[Rod H]

I was watching the great new digital signals yesterday and as I live 3 k in a direct visual line to Mt Tamborine my signal is perfect. On CH 9 Gold Coast News , at the end of their programme , they had a small segment about the start of transmissions and informed us that for the next three weeks ALL transmissions would only be on HALF power so that might explain why some people don't get a very good signal right now . My son lives in ashmore and does not get a very good signal and when I told him about the TX power being half he was a bit happier in that he may get a satisfactory signal when FULL power comes on in three weeks .

Rod H

[Nakaleen]

I'm the same. I am in Nerang and can get SBS and ABC (made a few DVD hehehe) But I was disapointed that all the others are bad (3-5fps) and I can't even get Seven at all.

Now at least I know why. Thanks.

[DigitalTech]

Hi Nakaleen

The digital broadcasts from 7,9,10 are currently at the same power as the ABC/SBS between 9am-4pm , and at 1/2 power between 4pm and Midnight.

Full power will be 2x the power of ABC/SBS !!!

(PS SBS/ABC will be off between midnight and 1am tonight for the cut-over to the new antenna)

Therefore i'd be looking at other problems if u cant receive the new channels.

[Nakaleen]

The digital broadcasts from 7,9,10 are currently at the same power as the ABC/SBS between 9am-4pm

Roughty the same times I am at work

But I'll set up Simple TVR to record some daytime stuff tomorrow to see how full power is like. Pitty its mainly crap on the daytime

[Digitalguy88]

From yesterday night until now, No signal from NBN.

[Adam-O]

I was watching the great new digital signals yesterday and as I live 3 k in a direct visual line to Mt Tamborine my signal is perfect.  On CH 9 Gold Coast News , at the end of their programme , they had a small segment about the start of transmissions and informed us that for the next three weeks ALL transmissions would only be on HALF power so that might explain why some people don't get a very good signal right now . My son lives in ashmore and does not get a very good signal and when I told him about the TX power being half he was a bit happier in that he may get a satisfactory signal when FULL power comes on in three weeks .

Rod H

 

I live in Ashmore and get all of the channels perfectly. I'd be looking at other things (such as antenna and cabling) rather than the power of the signal.

Also realise that "half-power" isn't as low as it sounds. Power signals are logarithmic not linear, so for example, a signal twice the power won't go twice the distance. You need 10 times the power to go twice as far. So this works in reverse too, when you halve the power, you don't halve the distance, you just shave a little off it.

In saying that, the extra power will definitely help and will make the signals more robust and more immune to interference and impulse noise.

Adam

[Digitalguy88]

thx ur explain. But I am still don't understand that why every channel is working except NBN? These channel all from Tambrine Mountain, why only NBN no signal for me?

[Tweet]

Adam is correct in rhis, to double the effective radiating distance requires 8 times the radiated power (usually taken as 10 to accomodate greater losses), the cube of 2. This is the same for nukes.....sadly.

Doubling the radiating power will not significantly improve reception.

You may possibly require an adjustable gain Masthead amplifier and or a higher gain UHF antenna.

As an example,I live 10 K's from the Mt.Tamborine transmitter and use a Kingray masthead amplifier coupled to a 91 element 'X' UHF antenna,as such I get perfect signals only when the masthead amp's gain is set at maximum.I think the radiating pattern of the tower is not entirely omnidirectional and requires me doing this to obtain best reception.

I use a rotatable antenna and fine adjustment will determine whether I receive all channels at 100% signal quality or not. Some channels are slightly offset in location at the moment. Using such an arrangement allows for DXing of digital signals. Eventually if all channels radiate from Tamborine then it will be digital heaven.

So what may seem extreme measures in one location may be the answer in another.

The channels I receive at 100% signal quality and 93 % signal strength are (some with antenna adjustment), Seven,Nine,Ten,SBS,ABC QLD,ABC NSW,NBN,Prime and the Bribane transmissions on VHF.

But of course location it the most determining factor for any reception of signals.

Jaycar carries the 91 element 'X' UHF antenna for those interested.

C.M

[flytiger41]

thx ur explain. But I am still don't understand that why every channel is working except NBN? These channel all from Tambrine Mountain, why only NBN no signal for me?

I believe that there is something "different" about the NBN ( & nine) streams. My TEAC DVB300 plays up with those streams, whilst the signal strength is constant, the quality goes up & down, causing pops & breakups every couple of seconds.

Maybe that is why your card doesn't like NBN too?

I wonder if anyone can confirm what that difference is??

TEAC did a software upgrade that fixed a simmilar issue with the ABC from Mt. Tambourine last year.

Neil

[duke]

I can't get SBS or SC Ten and NBN has no sound

[steveb1503559504]

Just a note for some of you guys having trouble receiving NBN. If you are using the antenna feed in conjunction with a VCR, some of the new VCR's output channels are set to UHF 68 or 69. The signal from the box could wipe out the digital received signal.

Also the new Foxtel boxes are set to output their UHF channel on 69, so if your using some sort of RF combiner or similar, that might be the cause of your problem.

Another factor to take into account is that if your attached to a communal antenna system, people in other units connected to the system can also affect your reception if they are using Foxtel/VCR's that output around UHF 68/69. (usually a poorly designed one).

If your having trouble with NBN audio it is most likely because your box/card has selected the AC-3 Audio stream instead of the MPEG audio stream. Some boxes defer to the AC-3 stream, but only output it on an Optical connector, or the box has to be told to decode the AC-3 stream. Nine also transmits AC-3 on their SD service.

If your having reception issues with any channel, if you post, include the details of what type of box/card you have, as well as details of your antenna system. Also please provide a location and what transmitter your looking at.

All these details will help us diagnose your problem, and during this time of transmission testing it will give us good feedback.

SteveB

[Rod H]

Adam-O. You are quite right about the power not making a big difference. I was wrong in stating that my son has a poor signal in Ashmore , he phoned me after he read my post and corrected me . He gets a great picture but the signal "Quality" strength is not as high as it could be so he is going to try a few ideas to hopefully remedy this . I got it wrong , I thought he said that he got a poor picture ..... As Dagwood Bumstead used to say "fathers are a sorry lot "

Rod H

[duke]

I live in an apartment building and all the channels around the 500-700mhz range don't seem to be able to received. I think that's Prime GC, SBS and SC Ten.

[Tweet]

One thing that's a great bonus when you get 100% signal quality and high signal strength is.......ABSOLUTELY NO GLITCHES.

Everything including the washing machine and microwave produce zero interference.

I have had a constantly perfect reception in a difficult reception area since the switch-on at Mt.Tamborine...NOT ONE INTERFERENCE GLITCH even from passing motor vehicles.

I'm stunned as in the past I've had a real battle with Ham radio operators,ignition noise,household glitches,for I thought I would have to live with it but now there is a complete absence of noise.

And quess what, this is without resorting to RG6 cabling or 'F' connectors.

So if you can attain high signal strength and 100% signal quality,you are going to love DIGITAL TELEVISION.

C.M

[comfort1503559810]

After a recable with RG6 I can get all local channels fine but am still getting glitches on brisbane channels, abc and sbs. This is at 5pm. Hopefully they are still fine tuning and the other channels come into line over the coming weeks..

[TV4FREE]

So if you can attain high signal strength and 100% signal quality,you are going to love DIGITAL TELEVISION.

C.M

That means your BER is spot on for digital.