Hello and please help ^^ Several Missing Freeview Channels!

[ezziecat]

Hi all,

I am new to the website but registered in case you could help - we've just moved to a different area of Nottingham (did live in NG3, now live in West Bridgford in NG2) and I am having trouble getting all of the Freeview channels.

When I first scanned the tv, I used the indoor aerial that we were using in our old flat (which I had to buy then as the only tv aerial there was for virgin cable tv); it is a little one with a booster from Argos (Masterplug AER3B-MS), but no channels were picked up at all :S

I then tried with the (old-looking) aerial that comes out of the wall, and got most of the freeview except:

ITV 1
Channel 4
Channel 5
ITV 2 (i think - whatever channel 6 usually is)
Channel 4+1
More 4
E4

From another forum i've gathered that this probably means i'm missing all of 'mux 2' but what that means and its implications has gone straight over my head I'm afraid!

Also, as I can't remember all the freeview channels, I thought i'd say there are no channels in the following places:
number 27, 33, 42-69, 73-79, 86, 91-92, 100. I'm not sure if i'm missing any of the radio stations.

Any advice you could give on what's going on and how to fix or otherwise circumvent the problem would be awesome, thanks :)

Dria

[nodrogd]

Yes, you are missing Mux 2. The chances are the signal will be way too weak for an indoor aerial as apart from a small area of Nottinham served by a relay station the majority is served by Waltham, which is some distance away. The old aerial you have connected I have no doubt will not be suitable as the frequencies used for digital cover a wider frequency range than the analogue in that area. To recieve the full freeview service you need a wideband aerial pointed either at Waltham or at the Nottingham relay.

[ezziecat]

Okay, and is that an exterior aerial you mean? As we're renting, I doubt there's much chance of them changing it for us :(

If my indoor aerial is too weak, why did it work so well in my old flat (we were higher up, but then we were close to town too and west bridgford is quite flat with not much blocking the signal)?

[nodrogd]

TV signals can vary a lot over short distances, and particularly in built up areas. This is a real problem with freeview in areas where the analogue signal has yet to be switched off, as the digital signal is far weaker than it needs to be.

I can only suggest trying your indoor aerial in different positions and then re-tuning again. If this doesn't work then getting the rooftop aerial changed is the only option. The present rooftop aerial will be useless after May next year anyway as the analogue will be switched off then, so I would chance pushing the landlord to get it changed.

[ezziecat]

I am getting digital signal from the rooftop aerial though, hardly any analogue...

[nodrogd]

Depends if you're prepared to do without the ITV mux. If you say theres a lack of analogue as well its a sure sign that whats up on the roof is on its way out anyway.