TV Signal Break Up Problem

[DixieDeanLiverpool]

I have a small 19" Samsung TV in my kitchen. It is fed from a 6 way splitter in our loft. Recently we noticed that the signal had deteriorated and the picture and sound was continually breaking up. I checked and made sure that the aerial lead was secure and would transmit a good signal. There was no improvement. I took the TV upstairs and tried it on a different outlet (all fed from the splitter). There was no improvement. I took the TV from upstairs and tried in the kitchen with the lead from the kitchen. It worked fine. I took the TV to a repair centre and they tried it on the aerial and found it worked great (although I suspect their aerial gets a very strong signal) with no issues.

Another thing I've also noticed is that when you switch the TV on you may get no picture or sound at all, but if you wiggle the aerial cable in the socket at one end or the other, it will then spring to life, although still in stutter mode, but almost watchable.

Anyone have any suggestions please?

 

[RandomGrinch]

Hi,

I've had a similar issue.

In my case, due to movement/insertion force etc; the aerial connector on the TV had a dry joint. I.e. the solder joint between the connector and the TVs PCB, had broken.

There was enough of a connection to maintain a signal most of, but not all of the time; hence random screen break-ups.

Alternatively, the aerial connector may have splayed a little causing a poor connection?

A different aerial cable may give a better connection, or the metal tangs of the connector can be pushed inwards slightly with a jewellers screwdriver.

If you don't fancy taking the TV apart to see if a dry joint is the issue, you could get a cheap freeview set-top box, or streaming stick and bypass the problem entirely!

I hope that gives you some ideas

Edit:
Most TVs have a signal strength test somewhere in the settings menu. Can you try this and see if fiddling wih the aerial lead/connector makes a difference?

 

[DixieDeanLiverpool]

Thanks for that. I did have a quick look inside the TV by removing the rear cover. The aerial socket appears to be mounted on a large rectangular silver metal casing with numerous feet which are soldered to the circuit board. The solder connections to the socket itself appear to be inside the metal casing and not immediately accessible. Is it something I might be able to repair myself?

Its a LE19B450C4WXXU. I've attached a picture of the unit from a PCB available on the internet.

Tuner

• DixieDeanLiverpool
• 12 Nov 2021

The centre of the aerial socket appears quite loose.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

The centre of the aerial socket appears quite loose.

That the tuner. If you are just splitting the signal six ways, I am surprised you are receiving anything. The 6 way splitter, needs to be changed for a 6 way powered distribution amplifier.

 

[DixieDeanLiverpool]

Sorry, Harry, indeed it is one of those, I was being a little short on words.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Sorry, Harry, indeed it is one of those, I was being a little short on words.

Do other TV's work on any of the feeds? Maybe a poor signal from the antenna feeding the distribution unit, maybe a failing down lead from antenna to amp.

 

[winston1]

That the tuner. If you are just splitting the signal six ways, I am surprised you are receiving anything. The 6 way splitter, needs to be changed for a 6 way powered distribution amplifier.

Not necessarily. It all depends on signal strength. I have an eight way splitter about 20Km from Crystal Palace with no problems at all.

The problem points to the TV as it is the same in other rooms whereas the upstairs TV works in the kitchen

 

[RandomGrinch]

The centre of the aerial socket appears quite loose.

That would be my first step - if you can pinch the centre connector in a little (with some needle nose pliers, or the end of a knife), that could give a little more purchase onto the aerial cable.

Secondly, a bit weird and may not be relevant to your model; do you have an option in settings called 'Standby Auto Tuning'?
If you do have, then disable it!
https://www.google.com/amp/s/bigtec...sing-freeview-reception-on-my-samsung-tv/?amp

And if there are no improvements after that, it may be the aerial socket.
We would then need to have a look inside the RF tuner. The top should un-clip, gently prise up the lid, a little at a time, moving all the way around.
If there is any looseness of the connector, hopefully it should be evident inside!

 

[DixieDeanLiverpool]

Thanks @RandomGrinch. It is indeed very loose. I took the top of the tuner unit but it is impossible to access the underside of the socket. I have found a replacement (used) main board which includes this unit on eBay. Only a little over £20, I've taken the plunge and bought it. I'll simply try replacing the whole board. If for some reason there is a fault with it, I'll try removing the tuner unit and fitting it to my existing board.

 

[RandomGrinch]

A very good plan!

If you don't get anywhere with the new board, remove the socket completely. That should give you something to solder a short bit of cable and a new socket onto.

Good luck

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Thanks @RandomGrinch. It is indeed very loose. I took the top of the tuner unit but it is impossible to access the underside of the socket. I have found a replacement (used) main board which includes this unit on eBay. Only a little over £20, I've taken the plunge and bought it. I'll simply try replacing the whole board. If for some reason there is a fault with it, I'll try removing the tuner unit and fitting it to my existing board.

I have my doubts, because the antenna plug connection does not have to be perfect metal to metal contact - usually just near is good enough to work. So I would looking for a fault other than in the TV itself.