TV has got diagonal striping on it when watching terrestrial TV via the aerial in the roof. Not just one channel. I assume it is interference so I've tried bypassing the DVD/VCR and plugging straight into the TV, I've tried switching off the wireless router. I've even tried a different TV and get the same effect.

Anyone got any other suggestions to try?

any ideas from the morning crowd?

PS I've also plugged in the portable aerial into both the big TV and the upstairs TV and still I get the striping.

Are we talking analogue or terrestrial digital (Freeview) here?

If you still get striping on a different TV using a completely different aeriel, I'd suggest perhaps that it's environmental. Do you live under a pylon or have mains electricity delivered from a diesel generator in the basement maybe? (-:

Switch off cordless phones / microwaves / anything else electical in the vicinity, see if it clears up?

I live on the edge of a broadcast area (if you look at my block, four doors up from me all the roof aeriels change direction). Never got channel 5, ever, and analogue reception was prone to electrical interference (random static lines on the TV). Tried various fixes; a signal booster (which made no difference whatsoever), freeview box (which worked to an extent, but was a cheap box and inherently rubbish) and the end fixed it permanently by moving to Sky.

What's your neighbours' reception like, out of interest?

Cheers for the reply Cougar. It is analogue since I can't get Freeview. Interestingly I can only get channel 5 in a very poor form on the upstairs TV with the portable aerial. It is unwatchable on the big TV/big aerial.

I've tried switching off – and unplugging – most things but not tried the microwave yet. Will try tonight. The fact that the upstairs TV also suffers means it could be any number of things in the house not just in the vicinity. The funny thing is I don't remember it being like this on the old (smaller) TV that I have recently replaced. It is not TV specific as proved, but maybe I notice more on a bigger TV.

Will ask the neighbours too

It could be worth having a look at your aerial, has it lost any bits off it? if the reflector at the back has gone you'll get all kinds of interference, also does it point the same way as the neighbouring aerials?
When you unplug the incoming lead is it oxidising (white powdery residue?) if you tap the end into your palm for 10-20 secs, do you get any moisture from it?
Just wondering……

Portable aeriel was the same…

try the satcure website. Loads of helpful info

smurf

I've got a "slightly" better signal having done some jiggling about of the aerial, but still interference and – to be frank – I think the picture is a bit naff compared to my old CRT TV. Don't get me wrong, with DVDs and Blu Rays it is great and even iPlayer is pretty good, but old-fashioned terrestrial TV is poor. I remember thinking the same whenever I've seen terrestrial TV on other more modern TVs. Are the analogue tuners just not as good? I used to be able to fine-tune the signal a lot more on the old one. Or is it just that it is a much bigger TV and "old" terrestrial broadcasts simply don't look as good when bigger?

That's part of it. A HD TV will show up the shortcomings of the original source when they would previously have been hidden, but I've noticed that an amount of HD screens seem to be particularly bad at SD. (It's part of the reason I held off from buying one until the end of last year).

Fine tuning is still there, it's just automatic (and has been for a long old time; the little portable I had when I was a kid did it, and that must be 25 years ago).

You can't get Freeview? How come?

Freeview just hasn't been rolled out to Leek (Staffordshire Moorlands) yet. Buxton – 10 miles up the road – has it but we moved from there 3 years ago 😆

We don't even get channel 5!

(Although I have a Freeview HD tuner built in to the TV ready to go)

I'm in Leek too, and depending where you are you may be able to point your aerial to the transmitters over manchester way… That works well for our neighbors and they get freeview, etc.
Our reception is pretty poor too, especially on Channel 4 (and no 5), but the wife won't let me go onto the roof to mount our aerial up there 😥 and point it to Manchester

Is it a new TV with a freeview tuner built in?

I've always found that TVs with built in freeview tuners have TERRIBLE analogue tuners. We have a JVC downstairs that barely picks up analogue terrestrial TV, whilst our old analogue telly got a crystal clear picture.

I'd think about taking it back. For a telly manufacturer making a Freeview TV, the analogue tuner is an easy place to cut cost.

I'd think about taking it back.

I know I'm grumbling about it, but I think I can live with it until Freeview comes or I get Freesat. There are too many other good things about the telly and eventually the analogue signal is getting switched off of course. I'm sure by many standards the picture is OK.

Graham, where in Leek do your neighbours live? I'm on Moorland Road

I take it your antenna is pointed at Leek transmitter?
That's a group A, vertically polarised transmitter –
make sure it's vertically mounted

is leek transmitter that big thing on the Mount?

is leek transmitter that big thing on the Mount?

I've no idea, I've only been once & that was to do a job at that big Building society place on the way out

The grid ref for it [the transmitter] is SJ999561

in that case it is the one about 200m behind my back door on the top of the hill 😆

The antenna is pointed right at it and is vertically aligned. There is nothing but the house wall between them (antenna is in the loft)

200m?

The signal may well be too strong
put the feed straight into the TV & then slowly take it out – does the reception get any better as the plug is almost out?

is the antenna horizontally level or does it point up at the transmitter?

does the reception get any better as the plug is almost out?

not noticeably

is the antenna horizontally level or does it point up at the transmitter?

Neither. It points slightly down. Bear in mind the top of our house is pretty much the same level as the bottom of the transmitter.

I'd try to test it with an antenna outside if you can, fault finding in the loft is a nightmare
but try tipping it up a bit

Have you checked that the outer & inner core & braid aren't shorting at the plug &/or the connector block on the antenna?
1 whisker is enough to cause issues

will do

I'm suspecting it is the TV, since the old TV – still fresh in my memory – was a very good picture with analogue, except on football matches where numbers on backs of shirts were hard to read. I'm convincing myself it is the same quality picture but bigger and hence I notice the imperfections more.

That said there are still interference patterns that I need to sort.

Thanks

Quite.

If it does it with different TVs on different aeriels, you can rule both of those out as causes. Assuming there's nothing you can do environmentally, you're stuck until you get Freeview / Freesat.

Did you speak to the neighbours?

No, got back late from work last night so didn't want to bother them (and I forgot!)

If you still have a VCR try using that as your tuner instead of the TV, as mentioned above, analogue tuners in digital TV's are usually poor.

If there are no plans to upgrade leek to Digital transmission – bite the bullet and go for Freesat.

We're over on King Street, down by Halfords. Pretty much a staight view to Winter Hill (SD 660144), although it is about 42 miles away! I think my neighbors use a booster too.
The transmitter is the one behind your house, so you may actually be a bit too close to it to enable decent aerial/transmitter allignment…

If you still have a VCR try using that as your tuner instead of the TV

Already do. Have tried direct into the TV as well of course

bite the bullet and go for Freesat

due to the layout of the house this would involve either messy internal routing of the cable from outside or some holes in walls which – for reasons I won't go into here – can't be done at the moment. We have a dish already mounted but it will have to wait a few months

We're over on King Street

yeah I know it. Was eating at Peak Weavers the other week. Yum 🙂