It used to be a problem. All of a sudden your televison reception went from flickering on and off every couple of hours, until it started at irregular intervals, except it regularly happened when you wanted to watch what was on the box.

The Melbourne CBD presented one huge obstruction to getting a decent TV signal and those living in North Melbourne could not forget it.  Many customers put up stacked arrays, tall masts, amplifiers, and then television reception would still be patchy at best.

There is however good news. Along with the digital dividend, the restack has left lots of space where analogue TV channels dwelt. This space has now been used to transmit lovely high definition as well as the regular services reliably to many in the Melbourne Metro area.

It is no longer necessary to have a huge VHF CA16 type aerial. A narrow band yagi or uhf phased array vertically stacked will suffice. This offers obvious aesthetic improvements to your property as well as less risk of things coming adrift in heavy winds.

Amplifiers – will I need one?
The answer to this is a definite perhaps. Whilst the transmitter is particularly helpful, other buildings will still attenuate the digital television signal.

Do I need an LTE filter?

Long Term Evolution or 4G is the latest technology on offer from Telstra, Vodafone and Optus. It occupies the same frequencies as the older TV signals. If you’re using an amplifier, and many are, a LTE filter may help with these issues. Using narrow band rather than wideband aerials will also help to reduce potential LTE interference.

Any advice given in this article is general only. Work should be undertaken by a skilled and insured professional using good test equipment.

Do I have Amplifier issues?

Some amplifiers are more sensitive to weak signals, noise or interference than a passive system. It could also be that the amplifier has gone microphonic or developed a faulty capacitor. Amplifiers can also be easily overdriven. A spectrum analyser makes setting levels far simpler and is a prerequisite for quality workmanship and diagnostics.