Masthead amp rip off - anything i can do ?

[mikeyw]

About 6 years ago we had a new aerial fitted for freeview and a masthead amp as the signal is weak.....it worked fine for years.

Over the past few months i've noticed we are seeing picture break-up and bad signal errors with HD channels hardly working. My presumption was it was failing so reported it to the Aerial fitter. His claim is the MA was now too powerful after the analogue switch off and we'd need an new less powerful one.

I'm fairly annoyed about this - is there anything i can do apart from paying him again to put a less powerful MA is place ?

 

[FDJ]

About 6 years ago we had a new aerial fitted for freeview and a masthead amp as the signal is weak.....it worked fine for years.

Over the past few months i've noticed we are seeing picture break-up and bad signal errors with HD channels hardly working. My presumption was it was failing so reported it to the Aerial fitter. His claim is the MA was now too powerful after the analogue switch off and we'd need an new less powerful one.

I'm fairly annoyed about this - is there anything i can do apart from paying him again to put a less powerful MA is place ?

Unfortunately, he is probably correct.
At the same time as analogue switch-off, each transmitter site was re-engineered and the power increased substantially. Its likely that you don't even need a mast-head amp now.
One important thing to check it that its power supply is switched on and working. Otherwise your aerial, cable or existing pre-amp might be faulty.
Frank

 

[Robin0577]

You could try adding an attenuator at the TV end of the cable. It's a slightly self defeating way of doing things to have an amplifier and then counteract it with an attenuator but quicker and cheaper than sending someone up on the roof. You can get attenuators from Maplin and the like for a few quid and they just plug in between the downlead and the TV

 

[securespark]

The amp is accessible in the house, garage or loft??

What happens if you turn it off?

 

[plugwash]

My experiance with TV amplifiers is that when turned off virtually no signal gets through them.

 

[davelx]

Have you tried disconnecting the signal cables from the amp and linking them with a coupler to see if you still need an amp?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

The amp is accessible in the house, garage or loft??

Would you call it a masthead amp if it were there?

Edited so that securespark can understand it properly:

Would it be called a masthead amp if it were there?

 

[JohnW2]

Have you tried disconnecting the signal cables from the amp and linking them with a coupler to see if you still need an amp?

I suspect that he does not fancy the idea of climbing up the mast to try that!

Kind Regards, John

 

[mikeyw]

Thanks guys for the advice - like the attenuator option, worth a try for a couple of quid

 

[DetlefSchmitz]

I have to say that I think the thread title is a bit of an over-reaction. After six years, I don't think the guy owes you a free climb on to your roof. Nuff said.

 

[saladdays]

When was digital switchover in your area? Wouldn't the problems have started that very same day? It may be water ingress or a damaged aerial.

Also, check your signal strength here: http://www.wolfbane.com/cgi-bin/tvd.exe?MAP=661,936

Other ideas: check the signal with a portable aerial. Put the cable straight into your TV, not through a recorder. Stick an aerial in your loft.

It could be 4G interference: http://www.ukfree.tv/fullstory.php?storyid=1107052108

One other thing is to check mobile phone masts here: http://sitefinder.ofcom.org.uk/search Use the bearing from Wolfbane to see if your aerial point at the mobile phone mast before the tv mast.

 

[OwainDIYer]

Trying an attenuator may help if the amplified signal is too strong.

If the signal is now too weak and has deteriorated slowly, my first suspicion would be tree growth blocking the line of signal.

 

[winston1]

It could be 4G interference: http://www.ukfree.tv/fullstory.php?storyid=1107052108

No it couldn't. 4G is not in use yet.

 

[winston1]

Thanks guys for the advice - like the attenuator option, worth a try for a couple of quid

An attenuator won't work if the overloading is in the masthead amp.

 

[JohnW2]

An attenuator won't work if the overloading is in the masthead amp.

I don't know about you, but I frankly doubt that excessive signal strength or overloading anywhere is the cause of the OP's problem. More likely, I would have thought, the opposite (weak signal getting to TV), whether due to malfunction of the amplifier or problems with the connections from aerial to amplifier to TV.

I certainly don't really think that, after 6 years, he really should feel annoyed at anyone, let alone feel that he was 'ripped off' - it is very probable that he needed the amplifier when it was installed, even if he doesn't now (and maybe still does need it now).

Kind Regards, John.