Hi TT,

Don't rush off out to by a "digital" aerial as I believe you have a problem.  According to wolfbane site your area is NOT yet covered by a digital transmitter. Neither the Matlock transmitter nor the one at Bolhill are due to go digital until 1st May 2011....

http://www.ukfree.tv/shutdowndetail.php?tx=SK297589
http://www.ukfree.tv/shutdowndetail.php?tx=SK295552

Are any neighbours able to pick up Freeview and if so which transmitter are they pointed at?

There are two wolfbane sites. One for Analogue and one for Digital. To work out what you need you normally have to look at the results from both and merge the data.  By the way there is no such thing as a "Digital TV aerial" despite what some manufacturers put on the packaging! Aerials marketed as "Digital" are generally wideband aerials and these are to be avoided unless absolutely necessary because wideband aerials have lower gain than narrow band aerials!

First we head off to the the Digital site..
==========================

http://www.wolfbane.com/cgi-bin/tvd.exe?DX=M&OS=DE4%203PD&HT=10

This says that there are currently no local digital transmitters and no distant ones either! This is probably because the wolfbane site takes into account the terrain (hills!) between you and the transmitters. For example if you tell it the aerial height is 75 rather than 10 meters it will tell you that you should be able to pick up the Waltham transmitter 37 miles away.  For that you would need a really big wideband aerial mounted as high as you can get it. It would probably also need to be fitted with a mast head amplifier (not a back of set booster amp - they are the devils work). A local professional installer who knows the local terrain might suggest another transmitter and other aerial options but I do believe you would need a skilled professional to set this up at the moment - assuming it's possible at all. A tree in the wrong place may make all the difference.

Now to the Analogue site...
===================

http://www.wolfbane.com/cgi-bin/tva.exe?DX=M&HT=10&OS=DE4+3PD

This says your area is served by two transmitters. One at Bolehill 2 miles away and one at Matlock itself. These are very very low power transmitters - just enough to cover the immediate area. The table says you need:

For Matlock: a "Group A, vertically polarised, amplified extra high gain aerial.
For Bolhill: a "Group CD, vertically polarised, amplified extra high gain aerial.

Note: A "Group A" aerial is a narrow band aerial designed to cover the lower part of the TV band. It will have higher gain than a typical wideband aerial.  A group A aerial pointed at Matlock will be also perfect for recieving digital from Matlock when it goes digital in 2011.

http://www.ukfree.tv/shutdowndetail.php?tx=SK297589

Please don't let some cowboy put up a cheap wideband aerial pointed at Matlock because that's all he has in the van.  A wideband is not really suitable for Matlock even if it appears to work.

Summary
======

You may have to wait until 2011 for digital but consult a professional to see if there is any chance of getting it from a distant transmitter before then.

See above if you want a new analog aerial. I'd be tempted to go for a large Group A pointed at Matlock, possibly with a mast head amp. This should work fine when Matlock goes digital.

Note your existing aerial might already be the correct type. It might just be old or need realigning or the down lead might be waterlogged.

Consider having that booster replacing with a low noise masthead amp.  If you need to feed more than one TV use a low gain Distribution Amplifier rather than a booster.

Sorry for any typos. In a rush.

Hi C/W,

Many thanks for that - I'll take a look at what the neighbours have on their chimney stack and see if I can spot the coloured bung.

I was aware that digital reception is supposedly not available, nor it seems, are there any plans to make it so - according to the BBC and a few local radio/TV retailers.

The Matlock transmitter is actually a couple of hundred feet below us and is sited in a gorge - I live high on a hillside and although we can't see it, we overlook the top of the transmitter mast.
No one up here has been able to utilize this transmitter for reception, and most are either Waltham or Bolehill.
Bolehill is actually at a similar height, but is round the corner from us further up the valley - and certainly not in line of sight.

I think our aerial is actually pointing at Waltham, despite it being the farthest away.
Any info on what cable I should use?
More soon

TT

If you do replace the aerial then most definitely yes,.....go for the proper satellite or digital type cable. 'Normal' co-ax is no good.  To give you an example...I am line of site to Ridge Hill - 14 miles away. Nothing in the way.  They're on a hill. I'm on another one.  Got a Freeview box and some channels couldn't be received. Bought a new aerial.  No improvement.  Replaced the cable.,  Bingo.

What a load of hassle Dave to watch a load of crap. Get a book mate or better still spend more time on sparky forums they are a LOT more fun  

OK - Have just taken a couple of photos - the smaller darker coloured aerial on the left is ours. No idea what types they are though. It looks to me that they are both pointing somewhere out towards either Sutton Coldfield, or Waltham?

The bright metal coloured one is our neighbour's - THEY CAN get Freeview.

His post code is hidden above  

I think all I can tell from the photos is that you probably have a "Grouped" aerial designed for part of the transmission band (all the little rods/elements are the same size and have constant spacing = optimised for one set of frequencies).

To get digital from Waltham (if that's where the neighbour is pointed) you need a wideband aerial instead. Your neighbours aerial looks like it might be a wideband but a bit hard to be certain from the photo.  

Is your channel line up as follows BBC 1 on 58, BBC2 on 64 and ITV on 61? If so it will be Waltham.

Just a quick recap - Cable types - Satellite ok, but is there a specific brand or part no I should be looking for?

Are all Sat cables the same quality and specification?

TT

CWatters wrote on Feb 28^th, 2008, 7:54am:

Seems to only be about 3-4db of difference, an ammount easilly made up for by going for a slightly bigger ariel and having a wideband avoids problems if you want to change transmitter or if they start broadcasting some freeview muxes outside of your areas normal band.