What to do if the antenna does not pick up channels. Indoor antenna

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Every car these days is equipped with a radio, which no driver can do without. Regardless of what media you like to listen to in your car, virtually every driver uses the radio in their car from time to time. But sometimes the radio receiver lets us down, receiving the radio signal poorly. This is of course very annoying. What to do in such a situation and what is the reason for the poor performance of the car radio?

If the radio in your car begins to poorly receive a radio channel, this does not always mean that the radio antenna is to blame. After all, the source of interference can be tall buildings, towers mobile operators standing along the road and even a flash of sunlight, which can cause electromagnetic radiation.

In most cases, when there is poor reception of radio channels, the reason is precisely external interference, and not a breakdown of the car’s radio equipment.

So don’t rush to contact electricians with complaints about your car’s radio equipment. First you need to find out what is the reason for the bad radio receiver. Here are five ways you can improve the reception of your favorite radio channels.

1) Check the car antenna

If your car is equipped with an external metal antenna, there is always a risk of damage to it, which will lead to deterioration in the quality of radio reception. For example, the external retractable antenna can become damaged (car wash workers often move the antenna to avoid damaging it and then simply forget to retract it again). It can also be damaged by a bird in the parking lot. Or the machine's antenna may be damaged due to ice formation in winter time. Especially during freezing rain, which can easily bend the antenna and even break it completely. Remember that even minor, unnoticeable damage to the external retractable antenna can significantly affect the quality of radio signal reception.

Therefore, at the first sign of a drop in the quality of radio reception of the radio, check the condition of the external car antenna.

It is quite possible that your antenna is simply not extended all the way and therefore radio channels are received with interference. In this case, you only need to extend the antenna according to the vehicle manual.

If your car is equipped with an electric antenna that extends using a button, then due to ice formation, the antenna may not extend completely. In this case, the signal will be received with interference. Unfortunately, on many cars, antennas are usually installed out of the driver's field of vision, and you may simply not notice that the antenna is not fully extended. Therefore in case bad reception radio signal, be sure to check the condition of the antenna.

If your antenna is frozen and does not extend, do not try to pull it out of the car body with pliers. This way you can not only damage the antenna housing, but also the electromechanical mechanism that extends it out of the car.

2) Check antenna connections

The most common cause of poor radio reception in a car is a poor connection between the car radio and the antenna connector. The fact is that if the antenna cable has a poor connection to the radio (with radio tuner), then the quality of radio transmission from the antenna to the receiver will be low. As a result, you will hear interference or only radio noise. Unfortunately, over time, body vibration causes many wired connections machines weaken and are also susceptible to corrosion from moisture. This also applies to the connectors connecting the radio receiver to the antenna. As a result, the driver begins to experience difficulties in setting up high-quality radio channel reception.

So if you encounter poor-quality sound when listening to the radio in a car, then immediately after checking the antenna for damage, inspect the cable connecting the antenna to the radio. To do this, you will need to remove the radio from the car or push it forward from the center console to inspect it. back tuner, where the connector for connecting the antenna cable is located.

If during visual inspection If you find no problems with the connector, do not rush to install the radio back. Please note that the cable or connector may have hidden damage. So turn on any radio channel that has interference and turn up the volume to listen extraneous noise. Then move the antenna cable (for example, you can move the radio antenna connector). If the connection is reliable and tight, then you should not hear any changes in the sound of the radio channel. If you hear noise, crackling, etc., then most likely either the antenna cable or the connection connector is damaged.

3) Buy a new radio antenna for your car

When checking the connection between the antenna and the radio receiver, you may find that your antenna has signs of rust, dents or even breaks; in this case, without installing a new antenna, you will not be able to return the quality of signal reception to the previous level. Please note that it can damage not only the antenna mast itself, but also its connectors at the point of connection with the cable that goes to the radio tuner in the car's head unit.

Also, many modern cars in currently began to be equipped with new types of radio antennas. This type of antenna is a mesh sticker that is glued to the rear or side windows of the car. These flat panel radio antennas have some aesthetic advantages over external metal car antenna masts. Firstly, the mesh antenna is glued inside the car and cannot be damaged at a car wash, by birds in the parking lot or from the formation of ice.

But unfortunately, such flat antennas do not receive the signal very well. Especially in big cities and hilly areas. Also, the main disadvantage of an antenna on glass is the need to purchase a new one if it is damaged on the inside. Moreover, it can be damaged very easily by simply touching the glass with something sharp.

So despite the new external antenna on the body of the car still has a number of advantages in terms of the quality of radio signal reception.

4) Install a radio signal amplifier in the car

Usually, in the case of poor-quality radio signal reception in a car, radio amplifiers are not very effective. Especially if the reason for the poor quality sound of the radio channel is related to a broken antenna or wear antenna cable and connectors. But usually with this type of damage, poor reception of all radio channels is observed.

But sometimes, even with working radio equipment, each driver is faced with uncertain reception of just a few radio channels. What to do in this case? Indeed, the power of the radio signal from all radio stations is different and radio channels can indeed be received differently by our car radio equipment. How, then, can you tune your favorite radio channel to high-quality sound?

In this case, radio amplifiers can come to your aid. But remember that if interference when receiving a radio station is associated with high-rise buildings or terrain features, then a radio signal amplifier will not help you.

5) Change the radio

In general, the radio tuners in the music head units of modern cars, which are installed at the factory, are of sufficient quality for reliable reception of radio channels. But unfortunately, not all radios are created equal. For example, it is not uncommon for even expensive digital audio units, providing incredible high-quality sound from CD/DVD media, to be equipped with a not very high-quality radio tuner. Moreover, low-quality radios are even found in expensive premium cars. Sometimes the quality of radio signal reception in economy class cars is even better than in luxury ones.

So if you have checked all the radio equipment and have not established the cause of poor-quality radio signal reception, then most likely, if you cannot do without the clear sound of radio channels, you will have to change your standard radio to a better one, which has a more advanced radio tuner.

When choosing a radio, pay attention to the brand and its cost. Remember that cheap units will not be able to provide you with high-quality radio reception in your car.

Professional craftsmen will perform full diagnostics antenna equipment. If necessary, they will adjust or replace the antenna, cable, splitter and other devices that provide reception and transmission of television signals.

If the TV from the collective antenna shows poorly, the malfunction may be caused by:

damage to the television cable;
failure of a tap, cable socket, splitter;
loss of contact in the connection of the antenna plugs.

Failure of the antenna cable coming from the low-current panel to the apartment may be due to mechanical damage, strong kinks during installation or prolonged use. Diagnosis requires:

visually assess the integrity of the cable;
measure resistance;
check the cable connection to the TV, antenna socket, crab, coupler.

If the antenna does not work well and a break or separation of the cable is detected, you need to splice the cable or restore the connection using f-plugs. If the old cable fails, it must be replaced.

We will quickly and efficiently diagnose, repair or replace tv cable. If the TV does not show well from a common antenna due to a faulty sockets, plugs, splitter or coupler, our technicians will restore the contacts in the connections, repair or replace the failed equipment.

Is your terrestrial TV antenna not working well? In addition to problems with the cable and equipment installed in the house or apartment, the reason may lie in the antenna. To amplify the signal, you need to adjust the receiving direction, install an amplifier, or install an antenna on a mast structure.

If the TV from the satellite dish does not show well, the causes of the malfunction may be:

loss of satellite;
failure of the receiver or converter;
corrosion of the “plate”;
loss of signal due to snow accumulation;
weak signal strength;
obstruction of the antenna by trees or construction objects.

Loss of the satellite signal occurs due to weakening of the fasteners and displacement of the “dish”. In this case, the antenna needs to be adjusted. Our specialists will quickly and efficiently cope with this task. If the signal loss is caused by corrosion, we will replace the antenna. If the converter or adapter fails, we will repair or install a new device.

A TV from a satellite dish may not show well if the signal strength from the satellite is weak. To solve the problem, it is necessary to install a mirror of a larger diameter. In cases where the signal supply is obscured by buildings or trees, the equipment is moved to an open area.

If your antenna does not pick up channels well, contact us! Reasonable prices, efficiency and high quality of work - at your service!

A bad TV antenna signal immediately affects the picture quality. And sometimes sound. If you like to watch TV, this can't help but be frustrating. Our technicians will help you fix the problem of poor antenna reception quickly and inexpensively.

Why is there a bad signal on the TV antenna?

Experts identify 5 main reasons why the antenna signal deteriorates.

Weak or faulty contacts on the TV antenna connector, tuner, splitters, cable. Try moving a little all the connectors that are within your reach. If the picture changes, the reason has been found.
You cannot change connections, especially if it is a TV or antenna connector, as there is a chance of completely damaging the socket. Purchasing a new nest is an expensive proposition.
Cable. If there are breaks or kinks along its length, this is reflected in the TV picture. A coiled cable creates a source of interference for indoor antenna, especially if it is nearby. If the antenna is located on the roof, the signal loss in the cable can be significant. In any case, you need a specialist with equipment to repair radio-electronic or satellite systems.
It's not worth studying self-repair cable. The technician will replace the damaged section, cut off the excess length, or recommend measures that will improve reception without replacing the cable. And you don't have to spend a lot of money on it.
Amplifier malfunctions. If the antenna serves you for more than 5 years, the amplifier capacitors fail. On Chinese antennas they will need to be replaced even earlier. In addition, if the antenna is passive, the amplifier will deteriorate due to permanent job, power surges. Weather also affect if the antenna is installed outside. What will the master do in in this case? He will repair the amplifier if it can be repaired, and replace it with a new one if it cannot be done without it.
Sometimes bad signal TV antenna due to the fact that the amplifier is not powerful enough for your reception area. After measuring the signal quality, the technician will recommend a model that will provide the perfect picture for your TV.
Damage to the antenna. This will be visible to the naked eye: the antenna is crooked, tilted down, fallen, the grille is bent. Branches, heavy objects, ice and snow on the antenna are also causes of interference. In some cases, you just need to rotate the antenna correctly and the reception will be perfect. What to do if the TV antenna signal is bad? If before this the antenna received excellent results, and you are able to correct it yourself, go for it. If you need to determine where to install it, call a specialist.
External. This includes malfunctions of the TV itself, interference due to buildings, weather, background obstacles, weak signal from the TV tower and so on. The most the technician can do here is to recommend an antenna or amplifier model that can amplify the signal, or move the antenna to another place where there is no interference.

The ARS-Master workshop professionally eliminates problems with the antenna signal. If you experience unstable reception or interference, call us!

Only repairmen who have received appropriate education, qualifications and experience. This excludes negligence and an unprofessional approach to the matter.
We repair terrestrial and satellite antennas, digital TV. It doesn’t matter whether your equipment is old or new, whether it’s Chinese or European, the experts will sort it out.
Guarantee. If the problem reappears within the time specified in the warranty card, the technician will repair the antenna free of charge.

In most apartments and even private houses within any even small city there are problems with the quality of reception TV signal now there is almost none, since cable television is installed almost everywhere. Most apartment buildings in cities with a population of over a million may have several cable TV operators, which gives residents a pretty good choice.

But as you move away from the city center, the availability of cable TV High Quality gradually “reduces to nothing.” And outside the city, as a rule, cable TV completely absent.

Therefore, most summer residents are content to watch at most a few channels of terrestrial television, which they can catch on. Moreover image quality often leaves much to be desired. Especially if the summer cottage is located far from the emitting terrestrial television station, then on the TV screen you can see a lot of interference from "snow" to "streaks" and black and white image instead of a color picture.

In most of Russia terrestrial television is still being transmitted to analog format. This method of signal transmission has one significant drawback: the signal-to-noise ratio drops significantly with distance from the emitter.

With distance from the television center, noise (interference) begins to dominate more and more over the main signal. This is precisely what manifests itself in the appearance of “snow” on the screen. If the cottage or village is very far from the transmitting station, then the noise will eventually interrupt the signal completely, and It becomes impossible to watch a TV channel at all.

Now the country is introducing the transmission of TV signals in digital format, and over time it is planned to completely abandon the transmission television programs in analog format.

What is the advantage of digital TV over analogue?

Transmission of a signal “digitally encoded” compared to direct transmission in analog format gives several advantages:

Increasing the noise immunity of transmission and recording paths of television signals.
Reducing transmitter power.
Significant increase in the number of TV programs transmitted in the same frequency range.
Improving image and sound quality in TV receivers.
Creation of TV systems with new standards of image decomposition (high-definition television).
Creation of interactive TV systems, when using which the viewer has the opportunity to influence the transmitted program (for example, video on demand).
Function "To the beginning of transmission".
Archive of TV programs and recording of TV programs.
Transmission of various additional information in a TV signal.
Select a language (more than the usual two) and subtitles.
Extension functionality studio equipment.
Possibility of adding radio to multiplexes

But there are also some flaws:

Fading and scattering of the picture into “squares” when the level of the received signal is insufficient, the data is either received with 100% quality or restored, or is received poorly with the impossibility of restoration.
Almost complete signal fading during thunderstorms.
Even a transmitter with a power of 10 kW and a transmitting antenna height of 350 m provides confident reception over a distance of 50 km, and as a result, the need for a larger number of transmitting centers than with analog TV (more frequent placement of transmitting antennas).

Since we are discussing from the point of view of an ordinary user mainly only image quality, then we can highlight only one main feature of digital terrestrial TV over outdated analogue:

Digital TV is very resistant to interference. To do this, the signal is encoded with some redundancy. Digital tuner will produce a perfect picture even if there is large quantity interference And it will do this until the signal-to-noise ratio drops to a minimum, when the signal arrives at the very edge of the equipment’s capabilities.

That is, in analog broadcasting, as the signal level drops, you will see the picture worse and worse. IN digital broadcasting you will not notice the signal drop until the tuner is no longer able to restore the lost pieces of the image, and it “disintegrates into squares” and then disappears completely.

Types of digital television

Based on the transmission channel, digital TV can be divided into four types:

Cable (DVB-C)
Terrestrial (DVB-T2)
Satellite (DVB-S)
Internet TV (IP TV)

We will not consider cable TV and IP television in the country due to their great rarity. But satellite and terrestrial digital television broadcasting in the countryside is relevant.

Moreover, satellite DTV has been used by consumers for quite some time, and in particularly remote areas there are no alternatives to it at all. We will look at it in our separate article.

But on-air DTV began to enter the lives of gardeners and summer residents relatively recently. Let's talk about him in more detail today.

Terrestrial digital television in the country

On-air network digital television broadcasting in the Russian Federation still in the process of construction and currently available mainly near large cities. But it already covers a significant part of the dacha areas. Therefore, the issue of connection has become very relevant lately.

How to connect to terrestrial DTV?

If you want to try connecting digital television at the dacha, first you need to determine does your site fall within the coverage area of one of the DTV transmitting antennas?. How the fish will be caught will depend on the location of the site. digital signal your TV receiver.

Most reliable way to find out, ask your neighbors in your dacha area, perhaps some of them are already watching TV channels in digital form. Then you can be completely sure that “the signal is reaching you.”

If no one in the area has yet heard of digital TV, then you need to try to find out whether your site falls within the boundaries broadcast radius of a local emitting DTV station.

Coverage area

The broadcast radius of a DTV station usually lies within 20-50 km, depending on the terrain and building density. On average about 30 km is reliable reception zone.

Each region has its own local organization - DTV operator, which is responsible for building and maintaining the network. On their website you can usually see the locations of broadcast stations and even coverage maps. Or you can get information from them by phone or written request.

The DTV network in the Russian Federation is being built by the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network.

Each region has a division of this organization.

You can call and find out everything by phone numbers in your region from the page.

If you are lucky and you find out that your dacha is located in the digital broadcast zone, then it’s time to decide necessary equipment for DTV reception.

Equipment

So, you already have a TV in your dacha, a plot in the DTV broadcast zone. Let's start installing digital television at the dacha. What else is needed to receive a signal? At a minimum you need an antenna.

Antenna for digital television reception

Universal HF/UHF antenna for digital TV reception

If a digital TV tower is nearby, then it is enough indoor antenna. I will say even more, I personally confidently caught a DTV signal in the city of Ufa on a meter-long piece of wire.

If the signal level is not so ideal, then you will need to install an antenna at your dacha to receive digital channels. Nowadays, most antennas on the market are well suited for this, since they support reception of signals in decimeter range(UHF/UHF).

For example, you can install the antenna “GAL”, “Locus”, “Zenith”, “Meridian”, “Ether”, etc. I bought my antenna in Auchan for 1000 rubles.

If you know the exact location of the DTV tower, then everything is simple: point the antenna on her and that's it. Usually this is enough to catch a signal and watch digital TV without problems.

If the exact direction is not known, then you need to gradually rotate the antenna until you find the most better position. Majority digital set-top boxes have signal level and quality indicator, which is displayed on the TV screen and from which you can find the best antenna position. This is usually done by two people: one person rotates the antenna, the second monitors the signal level.

When you have found the maximum possible signal level and the antenna is installed in the desired direction, you need to search for channels on the set-top box.

Setting up digital television at the dacha

The easiest way is to find the “Auto search for channels” item in the set-top box menu, and then the set-top box will do everything itself: it will find all available digital channels and number them in order.

List of digital terrestrial television channels

Now the interesting part: what channels does digital television show for free??

Since my dacha is in the suburbs of Ufa, and I am writing from my own experience, it means that I am considering digital terrestrial television in Ufa. But as far as I understand, list of channels throughout Russia will be the same with rare exceptions, so the information will be useful to everyone, and not just residents of Bashkortostan.

At our dacha the DTV shows 20 channels: 10 at each multiplex.

List of digital television channels

Here full list channels in Ufa:

1	"First channel"
2	"Russia 1"
3	"Match TV"
4	"NTV"
5	"Petersburg-5 channel"
6	"Russia K"
7	"Russia 24"
8	"Carousel"
9	"Public Television of Russia"
10	"TV Center - Moscow"
11	"REN TV"
12	"SAVED"
13	"The first entertainment STS"
14	"Home"
15	"TV-3"
16	Friday
17	"STAR"
18	"WORLD"
19	"TNT"
20	"Muz TV"

I hope I helped you understand all the nuances of digital TV. If you have any questions, write, I will definitely try to help you.

You can do without some things, but their absence causes some discomfort. The case when the TV shows poorly is an excellent confirmation of this. Constant interference is very annoying, so I want to get rid of it as quickly as possible and get a clear, beautiful picture.

Antenna and cable problems

If the TV worked fine all the time, and then the picture deteriorated greatly, then a reasonable question arises: why did this happen? To answer it you need:

check all connections;
check the condition of the cable, it may be pinched or broken;
make sure that the settings are not lost.

If the TV catches on the antenna, then you need to see if any trouble has happened to it. After strong wind, hail or snowfall, the antenna may change position, tilt, break, or a heavy object may fall on it. In the presence of individual antenna, it is necessary to check the reduction cable. It must be inspected visually and tested using an ohmmeter.

A satellite dish can also change its position under wind pressure, but it is very important for it to be oriented in a certain direction with great accuracy. When the position changes, the channels begin to show poorly or disappear altogether. To configure correctly satellite dish, one person should turn it, and the second should monitor the signal level.

It happens that the reason for a poor TV display is a breakdown of the receiver or converter. Check to see if the device light is on and if an access card for a coded channel is inserted. If the devices are under warranty, then you need to send them in for repair or replacement.

If you share an antenna with your neighbors, your neighbors show it well, but yours shows it poorly, then first check the cable. From the cable wiring in the panel parallel to the home cable, we throw a piece of another cable and connect it to your TV, bypassing the apartment wiring. If the TV starts to show better, then the problem is in the wiring, otherwise look for the reason in the TV or in the interference created by household electrical appliances.

Problems with cable TV

When connecting to cable television, when the signal is distributed via cable, the reasons for poor display may include incorrect setting channels. You need to reconfigure or contact your provider. If the image is clear, but the sound is wheezing, then in the settings you need to set the sound standard to DK.

After you have verified that everything is fine with the setup and the service provider has confirmed good quality signal, you need to check the condition of the cable. Perhaps it is too old, frayed in some place and needs to be replaced with a modern type.

There are statistics on the reasons why cable television shows poorly, and which very well answers the question of why communication problems occur. Here's most of them.

The TV plug is not fully inserted into the socket.
The integrity of the cable is broken.
Incorrect connection in wiring to TVs or apartments.
Using low quality dividers.

According to the connection diagram, the difference cable TV from antenna is that with cable, one transmitting node is installed in a small area of several houses. If for some reason the power supply to the node is interrupted, then all users who are connected to it will not receive a signal. In this case it is necessary to eliminate main problem, providing power to the node. Such issues are dealt with by utility services, and nothing depends on the users.