No TNT signal

[Frenchie]

My son has had a TNT decoder for Xmas but for some reasons we can't get a signal in our home .. ( he tried it at his dad's and it was fine ..)

So we thought it might come from the areal ( right word ??) which is in the attic.

My house is only 5 years old, and we live in a medium sized city  ( Niort) ..

Any idea as to why it won'"t work here ?? [blink]

 

[Tim]

This is almost certainly going to be an antenna problem - I've had a quick look at the TNT website http://www.csa.fr/pdf/Niort.pdf and it shows that there is a TNT transmitter covering Niort. Not living in your area makes it a bit difficult to be more specific but do you know if any of your neighbours get TNT? Asking them and seeing what sort of antenna they are using may help point you in the right direction.

Also, there may be somebody on this forum reading this in your area who may be able to help more.

 

Tim

[Frenchie]

Merci beaucoup Tim.  Ill try and ask the neighbours, good idea.

Thanks for searching on that website. Very nice from you .

 

[Martin963]

The main transmitter for Niort is at Maisonnay about 30 kms SE of Niort itself.   It is very high powered and a well installed aerial should work with no problems.

However,   attic mounted aerials can be a problem for TNT;   in addition if the aerial is very old it may be a band specific one,   and for reception of TNT in your area you need a "wide band" antennae.    A house less than five years old is unlikely to be suffering this problem though.

All that said,   what are your analogue pictures like?   Most importantly,  what do France 5 and M6 look like?   Snowy?  Shadows?   Or nice and clear?   You do really need very good analogue pictures if TNT is to work properly,   as the digital signals are (at present) transmitted at a relatively  low power.

Does your son's box get ANY of the TNT channels?

In addition (and without wishing to pry) is his Dad's house in the same area of France?    If not you will need to do a rescan on the box to educate it to its new transmitter.

( I realise I ought to add that there is a low power analogue town relay for Niort at the "Usine des eaux" and if your aerial in the attic is currently pointing that way then you are sunk for TNT without getting it moved.    However,  most aerials in Niort do (in my experience) point at Maisonnay;   without actually seeing your situation it's impossible to say though.)

[Frenchie]

I don't know if the antenna is pointed at maisonnay or not .. I guess the only way to know is to get up there ...

As for Fr5 and M6; it is ok but not as clear as the other channels ..

What should I do then ?

My son's dad lives in Granzay , next to Beauvoir sur Niort, his antenna is on the roof.

Thanks for explaining all this to me, I really appreciate .

This forum can be so helpful ..

MERCI .

[Martin963]

Well then it's not a rescan problem.

But the fact that you're not getting as clear pics on 5 and 6 suggests that your aerial isn't pulling its weight properly,   and as Timco said it's the thing that needs reviewing.

Costly as it's likely to be the only reliable solution is to get a professional in to put a new aerial (with sufficient gain) up on the roof (or chimney or whatever).   Make it clear that you want it for TNT reception -  a serious pro will know the area and will have a signal meter with which he (she?) can test the field strength in various possible locations on the roof and then decide how to proceed with regard to height,  gain,  amplification etc etc.

The one thing you could try for about €20 is an indoor signal amplifier.    If your son's box really won't get any channels at all it's probably not worth bothering,   but if some multiplex's come in but not all then a signal amp (placed between your existing aerial and the TNT box) can make the difference.   However,   it's not a technologically elegant solution,  and it's annoying to shell out €20 - 30 to find it hasn't worked!

Finally,   do try and see if you can get the box to display a signal meter.    They all have different ways of getting at it,   but it's normally an on-screen bar graph  (0 - 100,  often changes colour too).    You may need to read the manual,  and you may need to tell the box which channels to check the signal on.

The channels on which you need the info are 24/37/54/59/62;   digital transmission is different to analogue in that your "not so good" analogue pictures (a gradual degradation as the signal drops) is translated into a digital "cliff" for TNT - ie enough signal = good picture,   not quite enough signal = no picture at all.