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January 2009 Archives

Rain, Snow or Shine

Whether the weather is blowing a hooligan, snow is dusting the landscape, flood water is rising or you can fry an egg on the pavement. Our engineers soldier on come what may; alright there are times when the weather slows them down, but it not often that it defeats them.

Our engineers have the tenacity of the marines, but not only that, they always do their best to visit every job every day.  On those occasions where the weather or traffic has conspired against them, an office colleague will contact the outstanding jobs to explain the situation, provide an apology and re-arrange the booking.

However I am happy to report that we always try our best to be with our customers on the arranged day.

Safe Working at Heights

Our engineers are all trained and independently certified to work from ladders and roof ladders. They are equipped with a comprehensive set of PPE (personal protection equipment) this includes a hard hat, high visibility vest, 'fall arrest harness' ropes, carabineers, ladder stays, rubber anti slip mat for the ladder feet, ratchet strap, eye bolts and a cow-tail.  

On arrival at a customer's home, before starting work the engineer carries out a risk assessment to ensure that the job can be safely completed.  His inspection includes making sure that the work area is unobstructed, that if an item falls or is dropped it will not hit anyone. That the ladders can be safely erected and secured, that the roof and chimney appear to be structurally sound, etcetera.  Only when satisfied that it is safe and the risk has been managed/eliminated will he start the job. 

When installing a TV aerial for Freeview, Sky TV or BBC Freesat, our uppermost consideration is to ensure the safety of the public and the engineer.
These days it is simple and cost effective to fit BBC Freesat and/or Sky set top boxes to all the TV's in your home.  This solution is well worth considering when deciding on the best method of supplying high quality robust digital reception to your TV's.  The plusses are:

•    A 45cm dish with a multi-outlet LNB and multi-switching can be set up to supply an unlimited number of set top boxes.  The same dish will also operate both BBC Freesat and Sky TV (both networks use the same satellite).

•    A further benefit is that you can select the type of box to connect to particular TV's i.e. Sky+ with HD on the main TV, Freesat HD or Standard Definition on the other TV's etcetera.  The choice is unlimited.  

•    Also unlike Freeview there are no limited channel menus or reception black spots with BBC Freesat and Sky TV (subject to a clear line of sight).

To find out more about multi-room installations, please contact us by email or phone 0800 389 9025.  Our advice is free and without obligation, we also provide free on-site surveys for this type of installation.
The TV aerials, radio aerials, Sky TV and Freesat dishes that we install or adjust are these days aligned with a Spectrum Analyser; this is a piece of computerised wizardry that enables the operative to obtain optimum reception on every installation.

It was not too long ago that TV aerials were 'beamed' by an assistant looking at the pictures on the TV and shouting up to the engineer 'left a bit, right a bit' finally when they were satisfied that the pictures were at their best the aerial would be secured in position.

The advent of Sky TV coincided with a leap in electronic technology; this enabled the transition from unreliable hand-held analogue meters to the sophisticated Spectrum Analysers we use today.

The Spectrum Analysers our engineers are supplied with not only accurately align the TV Aerial or dish, but they also have an on-board TV screen to see the image and can measure the individual signal components i.e. gain, loss, audio, video, signal to noise ratio, chrominance, luminance etc.

If you are having reception problems then contact us.  We provide a free on-site survey service Freeview, Freesat, Sky and other reception problems.  Please contact us by email or phone 0800 389 9025.
There are occasions when it is not practical or possible to install a satellite dish onto a wall or the chimney; the more common reason for these instances are: Local planning restrictions, obstructed line of sight, structural issues i.e. concrete construction or plaster and lath etc.

In many instances we are able to engineer an effective and elegant solution to this challenge.  From a technical point of view it makes no difference if the dish is situated at ground level, so long as the line of sight is unobstructed at all times.

We simply adapt the dish to be mounted to a bracket that is known as a patio mount, we then discretely route the cabling into the home.

If you are having Sky TV or Freesat installation issues then contact us.  We provide a free on-site survey service for Freeview, Freesat, Sky TV and other reception problems.  Please contact us by email or phone 0800 389 9025
Both analogue (BBC1, 2, ITV, Channel 4 and 5 only) and digital terrestrial TV receivers (Freeview) need a good TV Aerial to guarantee the best picture quality. If you're using an indoor tv aerial, try moving it to a new location in the room to get a better signal. Loft aerials are usually better than set-top aerials; however your best option is always to fit an external aerial on the chimney or wall.

If you already have a rooftop aerial but are still having problems then contact us.  We provide a free on-site survey service to people who are experiencing these and other reception problems.  Please contact us by email or phone 0800 389 9025

Ghosting

'Ghosting' happens when analogue TV signals are reflected by a building or a tall structure; this causes multiple pictures to repeat on the right hand side of each other on the screen. Ghosting only affects analogue terrestrial TV signals - where your TV receives BBC1, 2, ITV, Channels 4 and 5 only. You cannot get ghosting with digital terrestrial television (Freeview).

Nearby tall objects which move such as cranes turning; trees swaying in the wind will cause ghosting to move about on the screen.

The problem you are experiencing may be caused by your TV aerial installation.  We provide a free on-site survey service to people who are experiencing these and other reception problems.  Please contact us by email or phone 0800 389 9025.

Freeview digital break-up

Digital terrestrial TV (Freeview) works differently to analogue terrestrial TV (BBC1, 2, ITV, Channels 4 and 5 only) and is usually more robust in dealing with interference and low signal strength. There are different causes of interference to digital terrestrial TV, but they all have the same symptom - what is called 'digital break-up'. This is where the picture freezes, seems to break up into little squares (pixilation) and the sound cuts in and out.

One solution is to set your digital set top box to re-tune itself; this will ensure you're picking up the right channels from the transmitter. Look up "scan" or "auto-tune" in the manual for your digital set top box and follow the instructions.

If this does not work, the problem you are experiencing may be caused by your aerial installation.  We provide a free on-site survey service to people who are experiencing these and other reception problems.  Please contact us by email or phone 0800 389 9025
There is a simple answer to this problem, but it does require a BBC Freesat box.

With a BBC Freesat box you can input your 'home postcode' i.e. if you have moved from Aberdeen to Canterbury all you need do is go into the set up menu and enter your previous postcode.  So although your new postcode is say CT99 9ZZ enter your old postcode AB99 9ZZ (or any UK postcode).

It's a doddle!

About this Archive

This page is an archive of entries from January 2009 listed from newest to oldest.

December 2008 is the previous archive.

February 2009 is the next archive.

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