2
\$\begingroup\$

Digital TV Reception is not great in our area and sometimes we lose reception when conditions aren't favourable. Being UK Freeview, I'm pretty sure it uses the DVB-T2 standard.

Anyway, when reception is poor, varying the position in which the (RF Coaxial) cable running from the wall to the receiver is draped improves or worsens reception. Also, when you set it in a working position, as you move away it may mysteriously then stop working. Surely this defies science, but everybody else must have experienced the same thing?

Anyway, the socket has been replaced, the connections are certainly excellent, we've tried different cables, there are no stray strands within the wall box etc. so the only explanation I can come up with is that the earth or metal components of the wall box pick up signal from surrounding objects, or shielding of the cable is inadequate. Is there an established wisdom why the setup is sensitive to cable position?

I should mention - not everybody has a cathedral directly between their aerial and the transmitter. Perhaps this mysterious behaviour is down to some unknown property of his holy lordship.

Just to be clear, I'm not asking how to fix the problem, e.g. by amplifying the signal at source, although sensible fixes would also be welcome.

\$\endgroup\$
8
  • 2
    \$\begingroup\$ Coax cable is very insensitive to how it is run and what it is run next to, so long as you don't kink it or try to curl it up too tightly or make sharp turns with it. Most problems tend to be with the connectors/connections. \$\endgroup\$
    – SteveSh
    Jan 23, 2020 at 13:24
  • 1
    \$\begingroup\$ Maybe changing your faith or praying more might help. It's a possibility that a weak signal is screwed by interference and that interference gets worse or better as you move the cable. \$\endgroup\$
    – Andy aka
    Jan 23, 2020 at 13:24
  • \$\begingroup\$ @SteveSh my thought was - although the cable's well shielded etc., maybe the wall box isn't. It has a large metal front plate probably with significant capacitance, as well as unshielded cable. \$\endgroup\$
    – samerivertwice
    Jan 23, 2020 at 13:27
  • \$\begingroup\$ @samerivertwice as Steve said, the whole point of coax cables is that the fields inside them are completely independent from what happens around them. Unless your cable is broken, or your connectors are broken, or you're using the wrong cable for the frequencies you're dealing with, there should be virtually nothing you can do to the cable that would change the signal. \$\endgroup\$
    – Marcus Müller
    Jan 23, 2020 at 13:41
  • 1
    \$\begingroup\$ Just as a general remark: I replaced ALL the coax cabling in my UK house for Freeview as the frequency is higher then the old TV signals. I bought very high quality SAT cables with a loss of (I think) 10dB/100M (650MHz). And I did not use a Tesco £0.75 TV plug. (I have seen it sooo often that people spend £2000 on a TV and then £10 on the cable.) \$\endgroup\$
    – Oldfart
    Jan 23, 2020 at 18:17

0

Reset to default

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy