UK Freeview in Virginia

Lpfsox

Hi folks

Does anyone know if it's possible to get UK Freeview (not freesat) in Virginia? I've got an aeriel pointed at Cairn Hill for Irish DTT but I'd be interested in getting it moved/modified so I could pick up UK Freeview from Brougher if it's available. I'm living in the Drumlins estate, just off the Bailieboro road.

If anyone knows whether this is possible, or the name of a local installer who could help me out with the aeriel I'd be grateful.

Thanks in advance

Vic_08

There is currently no digital terestrial TV in NI. It is not due to switchover until 2012.

muincav

Vic_08 wrote: »

There is currently no digital terestrial TV in NI. It is not due to switchover until 2012.

What planet are you on? There has been digital terrestrial television in Northern Ireland for years now!
I live in Cootehill and have been using Freeview boxes and TVs with built in Freeview to watch UK digital channels for at least 5-6 years. I find if your aerial is pointing towards the Black Mountain Enniskillen transmitter it is the best hope you have, but saying that I am only speaking from personal experience in the Cootehill area, it may be different where you are or maybe unavailable.

Best of luck with it and if you do get the channels,,,enjoy.:)

woolymammoth

my dad gets all the brittish channels too, in the stradone area. Has been for years, since they started broadcasting i think.

Dubh Geannain

Sister in Ballyjamesduff gets them too.

If you're having trouble with receiving the digital free to air, there's always Freesat which offers a lot of the same channels.

PauloMN

You probably have a smallish wideband aerial for RTE etc.. To get Freeview from the North, you'll need a larger, higher gain grouped aerial in addition to the RTE one. You're best bet is to look around the houses near you to see what they have on the roof - this is usually a good indicator of what's possible.

The aerials for UK television where you are will probably look something like this:


The direction it is pointing will indicate the transmitter it's receiving from, as will the polarity. The one above is horizontally polarised and is pointing towards the left.

The main NI transmitters are currently transmitting analogue on full power and digital on reduced power - the switch over means no more analogue but increased power for the digital transmissions which is good for us in the south trying to avail of it. If your neighbours get good clear analogue currently it's a pretty safe bet they'll get digital after analogue switch off, if they don't already get it now.

These are the main NI transmitters:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/transmitters/tv/region_northern_ireland.shtml

Clicking on each one shows a list of lower power relays, but it's unlikely you'd receive a relay - probably Brougher Mountain would be your best bet. From the link above, you'll see a group A aerial horizontally polarised is what you need - as high gain as possible so fairly big, and with a masthead amplifier. This setup will work for current analogue (and Freeview if you can get it now) as well as after switch-over.

There's lots of good information here also. Some of the regulars there might live in the area or close to it.

Lpfsox

thanks for the replies folks.

That aeriel photo is very similar to the one I have PaoloMN, except I've got a secondary "spur" bit sticking out about half way down the mast as well.

I know about freesat (and have it already in the sitting room), but I've feeds from the aeriel into the bedrooms so if I could get UK freeview then I wouldn't need additional receivers etc, just the tvs which have digitial tuners built in.

All I need really is someone who can twirl the aeriel around for me to receive the channels if they are available (and ideally modify it or whatever so I can still retain Irish DTT from Cairn Hill - maybe the second spur bit could be used for this?). I've posted a similar question in the freeview section, but no joy yet.

Anyway, it's good to know the signal could be available - will post back and let you know if I get any further with this one.

PauloMN

If the "spur" looks like this:


then that's a separate aerial for RTE and it sounds like you should be already setup if you have the larger aerial from the post above also.

Did you get them installed yourself originally or were they on the house when you moved in? Might just need to be aligned, or maybe the masthead amp is not getting power. What connections do you have coming into the main living room, and are you getting analogue BBC/ITV at the moment?

Lpfsox

Hi PauloMN

yes, that looks about right - I'll take a pic and post it (won't be there until the weekend though).

I got the aeriel installed, it's pointing at Cairn Hill because the installer said there was no way I'd get freeview and wouldn't even try pointing the aeriel at Brougher.

The setup is as follows:

Main sitting room: combi DTT/Satellite receiver (MVision MD200), all Irish DTT + UK Freesat channels.

Bedrooms: feeds from aeriel only. Good RTE reception, poor reception on UK channels (presumably from Cairn Hill/deflector as no channel 5 - but I've no way to be sure of that). TV in bedroom cannot pick up UK digital signal (integrated MPEG2 tuner only won't pick up Irish DTT so all channels coming in on analogue).

How do I tell if the masthead amp is ok (aside from climbing onto the roof - am 5'0" and not good with heights!!). If a signal is possible then I'd love to get the aeriel re-aligned but aside from the original installer I'm not sure who would be able to do this work and they wouldn't point the aeriel at Brougher in the first place!

PauloMN

Lpfsox wrote: »

Hi PauloMN

yes, that looks about right - I'll take a pic and post it (won't be there until the weekend though).

I got the aeriel installed, it's pointing at Cairn Hill because the installer said there was no way I'd get freeview and wouldn't even try pointing the aeriel at Brougher.

The setup is as follows:

Main sitting room: combi DTT/Satellite receiver (MVision MD200), all Irish DTT + UK Freesat channels.

Bedrooms: feeds from aeriel only. Good RTE reception, poor reception on UK channels (presumably from Cairn Hill/deflector as no channel 5 - but I've no way to be sure of that). TV in bedroom cannot pick up UK digital signal (integrated MPEG2 tuner only won't pick up Irish DTT so all channels coming in on analogue).

How do I tell if the masthead amp is ok (aside from climbing onto the roof - am 5'0" and not good with heights!!). If a signal is possible then I'd love to get the aeriel re-aligned but aside from the original installer I'm not sure who would be able to do this work and they wouldn't point the aeriel at Brougher in the first place!

First thing I'd ask is has the BBC reception always been that bad, even from day 1? Or is it a recent thing?

Also what direction are the antennas pointed in? For Cairn Hill from Virgina I'd imagine the RTE aerial is pointing due west (or close enough). It should be horizontally polarised if that's the case. What direction is the large aerial on top pointing?

Lpfsox

Hi

Thanks for all your help so far, I really appreciate it.

Reception on UK channels has always been poor. Both aerials are pointing west and are horizontally polarised as far as I can make out. I'll take a photo at the weekend and post it if it helps?

jim829

john o regan is the man to help you , dont have is number but just google him

CircusIntro

jim829 wrote: »

john o regan is the man to help you , dont have is number but just google him

My inlaws used him for years and he anything but the man to help you

Lpfsox

I still haven't got this sorted out - could you recommend an installer CircusIntro who might be able to help?

thanks in advance

Mayo Exile

Lpfsox wrote: »

Hi

Thanks for all your help so far, I really appreciate it.

Reception on UK channels has always been poor. Both aerials are pointing west and are horizontally polarised as far as I can make out. I'll take a photo at the weekend and post it if it helps?

From Virginia, your RTE aerial would need to be pointing slightly south of west for Cairn Hill, An aerial for the UK channels from Brougher Mountain would need to be pointing northwest. The mast itself is northeast of Enniskillen on the Fermanagh/Tyrone border.

hongler

Hi Lpsfox,

We've used Cormac at the Cavan Skyshop on a few occasions, never let us down. Good advice on all Sky/freeview options etc and good after sales service.

PM sent.

HTH

Lpfsox

I'll give him a buzz so, cheers Hongler

daithip

Just a quick note for you if you're thinking of installing a better aerial or having it upgraded, Garda Tetra radio system is due to be introduced in the Cavan/Monaghan Division in the coming months, so it would be worth your while to ask about getting a Tetra filter installed also, as if you ask anyone from Kells will tell you that on its introduction there it scrambled almost all the TV channels.