smkranz0506 Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 Hello All, I am located in Berwick north area, but am situated on the wrong side of a hill (blocking Mt Dandenong transmitter). I have an antenna on rooftop, with masthead amp (old kingray unit approx 10 yrs old) mounted on mast. Without the amp, i do not have an acceptable signal. In Jan this year i begun to have severe reception problems where i would completely lose my signal at certain times of day. FInally during May, i figured it was LTE intereference and fitting an AI FAE60 lte filter at the input of my masthead amp solved my reception problems and had trouble free reception. (my mast head amp didn't have built in filter) Now, a month ago, i started getting intermittent problems again. This time, however, i don't lose all channels, but Nine and ABC are hardest hit and do not get a picture at all. Seven pixelates at times, Ten seems unaffected and SBS seems ok as well. On TV menu, signal check shows very high (10/10) signal strength, but poor signal quality (3-5/10 when no signal and 10/10 when signal is fine). I was up on roof and checked my existing filter and all seemed in order. (Still mechanically fastened and secured to masthead amp) I was wondering if I am again getting LTE intereference? Maybe the LTE strength is stronger than before and my FAE60 doesn't have enough attenuation? I understand that more and more 4G transmitters are being activated and perhaps the power is increasing in my area. I know that my street (small court on south side of steep hill), is a black spot on the telstra 4G coverage map. Any ideas or advice from people who know the Berwick north area and local TV reception issues recently possibly relating to 4G / LTE? Perhaps i buy a second filter and run two filters in series to provide double the attenutation? Thanks for any help. Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I am not a duck Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 (Still mechanically fastened and secured to masthead amp) Is the filter weatherproofed? Handy if you mentioned the make/model number of the antenna & model numberof the amplifier you are using. Presumably your signal comes from Mt Dandenong, otherwise the following comment is not relevant. If the masthead amplifier is a combination masthead amplifier, & it you can disable the UHF side of the masthead, try this, & see if the VHF channels still suffer interference. If they do, it is unlikely to be a LTE problem. (The UHF side of the masthead can be disabled by removing the combining strap, if indeed the amplifier has one, or, if you have a separate UHF antenna, disconnecting the UHF antenna.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smkranz0506 Posted October 14, 2015 Author Share Posted October 14, 2015 hello, the masthead is kingray MHW34FS (i think - going from memory) definitely the 34dB F connector shielded model. It has separate UHF and VHF inputs. Filter is connected to the VHF input and antenna is pointing to Mt dande. I am not sure of model of antenna, i haven't been able to easily identify it. (I wasn't original home owner). I do not have separate UHF antenna. i would say filter is weatherproof to some degree - i had to hack up the plastic box a bit to get the filter to fit. It still clips shut well, but i cannot guarantee water hasn't gotten in. the filter seems like it would be generally weatherproof in itself, as it has a fully chrome plated outside and f type connectors and i did not see any signs of exposure related damage when i checked on weekend. Regarding the combining strap, it is intact, which configures the input as combined VHF/UHF. If i break the strap, the second input will be UHF. Does this mean then any UHF signals received by the antenna via the VHF input will not be considered? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I am not a duck Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 If i break the strap, the second input will be UHF. Does this mean then any UHF signals received by the antenna via the VHF input will not be considered? That is correct, so you should be able to remove the LTE filter, & then see if 9 & ABC still get interference. (Of course, the antenna would need to be connected to the U/V input, which you have already mentioned it is. (You will not then be able to receive community TV, as that is still broadcast on UHF.) If you still have the issue, it would be time to investigate the antenna type & positioning, which, in a compromised reception area, may not be possible without the expertise, or measurement equipment, an antenna technician would use. Perhaps you can post an image of the antenna? (I'm impressed you could fit the LTE filter inside the casing of the masthead. I must look at that later today!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smkranz0506 Posted October 15, 2015 Author Share Posted October 15, 2015 thanks, i'll give it a go. Not sure if i'll get up this weekend, i'm running the marathon on sunday and don't want to do anything silly the day before!! yes, it's a perfect fit actually, the plastic casing has plenty of room when compared to the shielded die cast box on the inside. the spare room is taken up by the LTE filter. i'll try to grab a photo of it when open and also of the antenna. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beeblebrox Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 Sometimes 1 LTE filter isn't enough, in some cases we have had to use two. If you are using a 34wfs then run the antenna into the VHF input with no combining link... as what you are doing is still amplifing whatever uhf is coming through. (the downside is you will loose ch31 ) (I would put a 75ohm terminator on the uhf input for good measure).. or invest in a VHF only antenna/amplifier combination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smkranz0506 Posted October 21, 2015 Author Share Posted October 21, 2015 hello beeblebrox, thanks for your input. Yes, i'll cut the link and put 75ohm terminator on the UHF input on the weekend. Can't get up there during the weekdays. I'm not bothered to lose C31 anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smkranz0506 Posted October 25, 2015 Author Share Posted October 25, 2015 Hello All, went up on roof and cut the UHF link on the amp. I also removed the filter from the VHF line and also put 75ohm terminator on UHF input. Problem seems resolved! Thanks to all. i'll monitor the situation for a week to see if it's all good. I took a few photos (antenna, filter in place, after with link cut and without filter) but not sure how to include them in post? Can someone advise how to upload? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smkranz0506 Posted October 25, 2015 Author Share Posted October 25, 2015 (edited) sorry, tried to drag and drop images to this post, but didn't work. Pls ignore. Edited October 25, 2015 by smkranz0506 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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