Radio Times

Q I have a digital TV with built-in Freeview. Since getting it, I've noticed that whenever my neighbour uses his ride-on mower, my TV picture breaks up. I have a roof-mounted aerial and the neighbour is at the other side of a one-acre field! What can I do?
Viv Bell, Bournemouth, Dorset

A It sounds as if your signal is weak. Look at your Freeview settings: there should be an option to show signal strength. If it's below 30 per cent, there may not be much you can do. Freeview's signal will be boosted once analogue TV is switched off, but in your region, Meridian, that won't happen until 2011/12. In the meantime, try moving your aerial cable away from mains cables or sockets. If you see any improvement, it might help to buy a surge protector for your mains plugs. More likely, you'll have to upgrade your aerial.

**

Do you have a question for Doctor Digital? Just get in touch using the form below.

Wow - I was getting a terrible signal on Channel 4 and ITV freeview. Having read the recommendations here I moved the cable away from nearby power sources and now it's perfect. Thanks! How does that work?

Having problems getting certain channels on freeview/bt vision using belmont transmitter and getting bbc/itv/channel4& 5 great together with 32 channels but can't get sky news or espn -It's a new digital ariel and i've boosted the signal with a mast head amplifier and 12v booster any thing else i can do i've noticed when using a manual channel the signal for the sky news is still showing poor but the one for the itv1 +itv 2 / itv 4 is excellent It's driving me potty !!

My freeview box told me to retune my digi box which i did. I was able to get most channels and then a few days later they suddenly vanished and every channel apart from the BBC Channels say no signal even though I could get them the day before they went.

i can get some of the channels but quite a few are missing like bbc 1-2- & 4 & sometimes I have to move the aerial so what do you suggest the higher I put the remote the more channels I get I need your help now please.

Hello there I seem to get quite a few of the channels but some show no signal at all how can I make sure that I can get all the freeview channels.

I have a set top box and did as I was told and retuned upon returning home today. However, now I have very intermittent reception for itv1 itv2 channel 4 (and associates) and channel five. i had been having problems with the itv and c4 channels prior to this for the past few months and had hoped the retune would make it better but instead it is worse and now I have no channel 5! What do I do?

Ilive nottingham in the aspley area. I have an integrated freeview system and up untill a couple of months ago we had no problems at all on any channel.But recently the BBC midlands channels reduced in signal strength.We have retuned but now get look north instead. Anyway two months and umpteen retunes still BBC 1, BBC 2,and BBC 3 are weak signal strength 5 sometimes 4.Why is this happening when all the other stations are at signal strength 9 and have been all the time.We thought that the 30 Sept retune should have sorted it but no.Beeb 1,2, and 3 are still the same.Why ?

FAO pilipala - It depends on the general reception in your area but yes, a set-top aerial will receive Freeview. The only problem is that it may be hard to find a good spot and a good direction to point the aerial.

Install the aerial and run setup/find channels on your digibox. See how many it finds and then how many are watchable. You may well be in luck but it's possible that you'll have to repeat this a couple of times to get the best reception.

Don't be surprised if channels appear to come and go. I've got a set-top aerial connected to my office Mac and at times I can get a "no signal" warning for a few seconds before the channel appears perfectly.

Also, reception varies at different times of day so check in the daytime and in the evening - especially if you have a PVR and are planning to rely on your set-top aerial for recordings when you're out.

Wil freeview work from an indoor aerial or do I have to have one on the roof

FAO simba - The best advice, I'm afraid, is to talk to the taxi firm: tell them you're getting interference. There's anecdotal evidence that taxi firms are good at responding to this, but there's no guarantee.

Plus of course you need to be able to dart to your window fast enough to see which firm is driving by.

Every time a taxi drives past my signal breaks up, it is fine at other times, I heard something about the cb radio needing a compressor to stop this happening, and that they cost a few pence to install, is it illegal for taxis to operate without the compressor in place? It is only private (not black) cabs that cause this problem

FAO mac - There have been reports of people having similar problems from this transmitter: you're probably best off calling the helpline on 08456 50 50 50 or going to digitaluk.co.uk.

Caldbeck switched over back in July; did you find problems immediately or have they been worsening? If you haven't already, you could try retuning your box, though some people say they've lost channels after doing that.

FAO Rach - The first thing to check is your aerial: it sounds as if it may have been knocked out of alignment.

can you tell me why the freeview reception from Caldbeck transmitter is worse after the switchover?

I brought a 22" digital tv with built in freeview back in March. At that time I could recieve 40channels plus but about a month ago I lost all the channels except 6 (only BBC channels) I have tried to re-scan for the channels but I can only get up to 10 channels back but then I loose them again within days. Any suggestions?

FAO mel - No. You do get some little variation between how well different Freesat digiboxes receive channels but not significantly.

You will find that the signal almost certainly improves after switchover, however, when analogue channels are switched off and the power is boosted to Freeview.

my son doesnt hav fantastic freeview signal in his room but he does have most freeview channel. My question to you is if i was to buy a tv with built in freeview does this help improve the signal?

I'm after a cheap Freeview Signal Monitor/meter. Any ideas please ?

FAO kev - Unfortunately this is perhaps the single greatest failing with digital TV over satellite or Freeview: strong rain, very dense clouds or snowfall will interrupt the signal.

If you're getting it under moderate rainfall, do you have satellite or Freeview? With satellite you may be able to greatly reduce the problem by getting your dish realigned: conceivably it's just a little off and your signal strength is borderline. Check with a local dish engineer.

For Freeview you may similarly improve things by checking and perhaps replacing your aerial. But even if you do nothing now, you should find the problem is at least reduced after switchover when the Freeview signal is boosted.

i have a weak signal when it rains

FAO shaun - It's unlikely that you're in an area that won't get any Freeview signal but it's possible you're in a spot where coverage is weak. Enter your postcode into the Freeview coverage checker here: http://www.freeview.co.uk/availability

That is only a guideline: if you happen to live in the shadow of tall buildings, you'll find it difficult receiving channels even if the checker says they're available.

Did your mum have the aerial fitted? Whoever put it up may need to adjust it. And, last, when you run the digibox's setup and tell it to scan for channels, look for an option called "exhaustive scan" or "fine tune". Your box may not have this option at all but if it does, it can help.

FAO Jenny Oakes - Does your reception vary at different times of day? You do have a weak signal but it's possible that it's because your aerial needs adjusting. It's also possible that you would benefit from a new aerial but even without that you should find that all signals improve after the digital switchover which for Preston begins on 4 November.

That improvement will be because the digital signal is currently quite low-powered; if it were increased to what will be its normal strength then it would be interfering with today's analogue channels. So there will definitely be an improvement when analogue is gone and digital can be fully powered up, but Preston City Council is only saying that "virtually all" households will be able to get 20 of the most-watched Freeview channels. Some will be able to get 48, so depending on where you are, you may still need to look at adjusting or replacing your aerial.

hi ave just got a freeview box and i can't get a signal and my mums just bought out side ariels what wull i do ??

Reception on Channel 4, E4, ITV, etc very poor or not existent at the moment. I'm in Preston. Does anyone know why this is?

Digital transition has occurred and for those who claim the stations will increde signal strength, I have two bridges I would like to sell you. Nothing but complaints from viewers and TV stations. Go govt.

FAO matt - Signal strength isn't a great indicator: you can go lower than 60% without seeing noticeable problems. Plus, the signal will be boosted after the switchover date so it won't be a problem then and it may not be a permanent problem now.

Try rescanning for channels. The major terrestrial ones haven't moved so you're unlikely to pick them up if you haven't before but it is possible and there have been other moves so you may well get further channels.

More likely, your aerial is the problem. If it's a set-top aerial, you need to experiment with where you put it and unfortunately there may not be one single spot that gets you everything. And it will change throughout the day and into the night, too. For these reasons, a rooftop aerial is best but if you have that and are still getting problems, is there any chance the aerial has been knocked out of alignment?

Conceivably if there has been a lot of building work near you then offices and towers could be blocking your signal and then there's little you can do, I'm afraid.

alright doc i just bought myself a tv with intergrated freeview. it doesnt pick up channel 1,2,3or 4 the other channels that it picks up signal quality is never above 60% we have 2 sky box's in the house aswell. the digital turnover isnt until 12th august is there neway 2 get a better signal or shud i just get another sky box

Did you have the new aerial fitted for you? Since you're so close to the transmitter it's unlikely that adjusting the aerial position will help but it is a possibility. You could also check to see where the cabling runs from the aerial to your TV set: if it's passing by a lot of electrical equipment, you may see an improvement by just moving it away from them.

Neither option is guaranteed to give you great results but fortunately there is one more thing: once your area goes digital and the old analogue signal is switched off, the Freeview channels will be boosted anyway. Right now they can't be broadcast at full power without interfering with analogue signals so even if you can't improve your picture quality now, you will find it gets better after switchover.

i have purchased a 17" digital tv with built in freeview, on the Fenton transmitter, but find some of the stations breaking up. i fitted a new aeriel reccommended by an aerial specialist but because i couldn't receive some channels at all i fitted a mains powered booster to the cable inlet behind the tv. i can now receive the freeview channels but several on them keep breaking up. can you help please? i live withing a few hundred yards of the fenton transmitter but on a lower level!