How good is the freeview reception in Potters Bar?  Keying my postcode into this DTT Reception Postcode Checker suggests that I might not get all channels.  Is that so?

http://www.dtg.org.uk/retailer/coverage.html

I keyed in my postcode to the website above and I got the message:

Quote:Some, but not all, DTT channels are avaliable at this postcode, and the exsissting aerial may need to be repositioned or renewed.

However, I, and alot of other people in Potters Bar have freeview and a v.good reception - I would recommend it.

On the same note, when I put my postcode into the freeview website, I got a similar message:

Quote:FREEVIEW doesn�t cover your area for the postcode EN6 xxx.

Although we have improved the signal within the existing coverage, we�re sorry that FREEVIEW is not currently available in your area.

red kite Wrote:How good is the freeview reception in Potters Bar?  Keying my postcode into this DTT Reception Postcode Checker suggests that I might not get all channels.  Is that so?

<a href='http://www.dtg.org.uk/retailer/coverage.html' target='_blank'>http://www.dtg.org.uk/retailer/coverage.html</a>

I get it fine on Laurel Fields but suffer from electrical interference, probably due to a low signal. The freeview signal is a lot less power than the analogue but the power will increase once analogue ceases. If you follow this page it will show you the real terrain clutter between your home and Crystal Palace. When if gives you the terrain map and hills in the way, you can over the mouse over them and put the grid-ref into Streetmap.co.uk to find where the obstruction is. For me there were two hills in the way, the main one at the top of the Ridgeway (30 metres higher than me!) and a second one in Cockfosters. If you're in the shadow of that hill the reception could be poor, but moving the aerial a few feet might provide a stronger signal.

Most of the independent channels are carried on muxes which use an encoding system that is less resilient to interference. The BBC mux and some others use a system which gives you less channels per mux, but more resilience to interference.

I have a loft aerial but the local installer (Mac from MCC aerials - he was great) said the signal level was more than adequate and re-aligned the loft aerial to suit and fitted a masthead amp. He said there were no guarantees that an external one would be that much better and of course the re-alignment and amp was much cheaper and more tidy than a full outside install. Unfortunately a lot of it is 'suck and see' so if and when I get him to do it I'll know properly.

Near the railway line there is a neutral section just north of here over which the southbound trains draw an arc as they come off power which causes a jump in the picture and a click on the sound. Whilst I could have been insistant about putting the aerial outside it may have been much the same, or even worse, with the aerial in free air the interference wouldn't have been blocked by the brickwok of the loft.

I think the upshot is to try it if you can, perhaps by borrowing a box to see how it performs. The channel allocations and muxes are listed here. Those carried on 16QAM muxes will be more resilient to interference than those on 64QAM.

Finally it's important to use fully screened aerial cable so the existing cable may not be usable. They even recommend one drop lead from the aerial down to the set with no wall boxes or anything!

I managed to borrow a box from John Lewis at Welwyn Garden City. They sold me a used model in an opened box on the understanding that if it worked ok I could change it for a new model of my choice, and if I didn't get good enough reception I would get a full refund.
It worked fine, so I bought one. Very occasionally I get a "splat" on both sound and vision, but it is still worth having. I only have a loft aerial, but I do live at the top end of Potters Bar.
So if you have any doubts try and "borrow" one as I did.

gbh Wrote:Very occasionally I get a "splat" on both sound and vision, but it is still worth having.

I've been trying to think of a word to describe that 'splat' thing for ages, but a splat is exactly what it is! I get those occasionally to, not very often, but its not much of a big deal. There are times when it gets really bad, say just one or two days a year an evening, so I just have to switch back to terrestrial. I don't know what causes this - have been wondering if its something to do with atmospheric conditions?

I live quite close to the railway line and during frosty conditions it kills it as the trains drag a huge arc behind them Both DAB and Freeview DVB-T are killed by this, on analogue you get a familiar crackle... Even stuff like the fridge or central heating kicking in can do the same on occasions.

slimgym Wrote:trains drag a huge arc behind them

Is this an electrical arc?