This is something I’m seeing increasingly often. This type of wall plate has been fitted in their millions since the late 1960s / early 70s so some are now over 50 years old.

The older, original ones were manufactured to a higher standard and quality than most of the wall plates that have been available over the past 20 to 25 years or so but although being of a superior quality, these 40 / 50 year old plates are now suffering from old age and fatigue.

Although the failure of these older plates do have a good excuse in that they have done well to survive beyond 40 plus years, the newer, mass produced ones don’t as I’m often finding faults in the recently manufactured plates that have been produced on mass over the past 25 years.

With the older original 1960s/1970s bakelite type wall plates the problem seems mostly to do with their input socket hole at the front, having had coax plugs shoved in in out over the decades they are now getting very sloppy and there is often not enough grip to retain the coax plug and lead sufficiently, so as a consequence the contact and connection between the socket and coax plug is poor.

TV wall plates less than 25 years old suffer with the same problem as described above but often in addition to this they also suffer with various types of problems on the reverse side of the plate which is impossible to see without removing the plate from the wall.

Many have simple printed circuits, often with blobs of solder here and there which over time develop tiny hairline cracks or dry joints. These cracks in the circuit board are very hard to see unless you have lots of light and a good magnifying glass, I often find that they are the sole reason for major TV reception problems and if they are part of TV system which uses a 12 volt Power Unit / PSU, then multiple TVs will be effected all at once.
Click on my Cowboy & Bodgers Gallery and scroll down to “Installer Fault 13” for further reading.

Other types of wall plates will sometimes have resistors and or capacitors attached to the board on the back of the plate, these plates have various uses and are designed for different reasons but can again be a problem source.

Clicking on the wall plate photo above will produce four images.
Changing the faulty wall plate in my example above gave an 8db increase in signal strength, 3db is equivalent to a doubling of power so the 8db gain achieved on this occasion cured the pixilation and channel loss problem this customer was experiencing.

A bird of this size, (pigeon in my photo) sitting half way along the TV Aerial as this one is, is unlikely to cause much in the way of break up or pixelation on the TV but if the incoming signal to your TV from your TV Aerial is very weak or only just sufficient then a bird of this size could just tip the signal over what is known as the “Digital cliff edge” If this happens then pixelation or loss of picture altogether could be expected.

Should the bird have decided to perch on top of or much closer to the dipole section of the Aerial then there would be a greater possibility of reception problems (The dipole is the most important part of the TV Aerial and is the part that has the coax cable connected to it)

I would guess that if the bird had been sitting on the Aerial in rain (unlikely but possible as birds prefer to shelter in trees etc when raining) then the chances of problems would increase.

As birds are unlikely to stay too long in this position, hopefully any signal reception problems are usually short lived.

If by any chance you can determine that during periods of pixelation you do have an uninvited guest relaxing on your TV Aerial then see my News Blog – “TV Aerials used as a platform to launch Aerial assault on garden patios and conservatory roofs” for further reading as there is a solution to the problem.

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This problem is becoming more and more common and will perhaps be an on going problem for some years to come.

In the years running up to the analogue switch off, which in our region was November 2011 there had been many thousands of High Gain WB TV Aerials or Digital TV Aerials installed. Many of these are now starting to fail

There are a couple of different reasons as to why this is happening but over the last few years I’m seeing more and more of these Aerials literally falling to bits.

One reason for so many of these Aerials now starting to fail is that in the years running up to the Analogue switch off and Digital switch over there were many so called professional companies and individuals jumping on the Digital Aerial replacement bandwagon, many of which had little previous experience or knowledge of the TV Aerial industry.

Also it’s not an uncommon mistake for a DIYer who has limited knowledge on the subject of Aerials / TV signals to go out and buy the biggest, longest, highest gain TV Aerial he can afford, often, mistakenly thinking that if they buy the biggest Aerial and they end up with having too much signal it’s going to be better than not having enough. Unfortunately this was also probably the reasoning behind some of the “Fly By Night” so called professionals too, not to mention the fact that these guys would also over sell the idea of having a super high gain Aerial to any unsuspecting customer in order for them to make super high gain profits.
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The problem with these super high gain, multi element Aerials is two fold. Firstly, because of their increased weight and size this type of Aerials wind loading is substantially greater than for a smaller lower gain Aerial so consequently the bracketry holding them as well as the fixings and pole etc all needs to be much more substantial than for a smaller/shorter Digital Aerial, this was often neglected by the fly by night Aerial riggers during that time. As I drive around today I notice many heavy weight / high gain TV Aerials placed upon skinny and inferior one inch diameter poles, all waiting for the next big gust of wind to bring them down

Secondly, these Super High Gain Aerials also have many more elements / components than the shorter, smaller versions.
With more elements comes more weight so weight saving was achieved as much as possible during their manufacture by making the elements out of flimsy pressed aluminium and or the use of poorer quality lighter weight plastics. All in all this has meant that many of them are now starting to fall apart after a relatively short period of time.

When you consider that there are TV Aerials out on roof tops that are still working perfectly today after 40 years of service, then the 5 or so years life of these expensive High Gain Digital Aerials is not good to say the least.

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This particular DIY bought TV Amplifier seems to be one of the most commonly bought TV amplifiers available and I’m guessing it’s because of it’s extremely low price tag. This Amplifier is generally only sold by the large retailers.

I have been called out by numerous customers over the past 5 years or so, some of them requesting that I install them a new TV Aerial only to find that there is nothing wrong with their Aerial but one of these Amplifiers is sitting behind the TV set which then turns out to be the sole cause of their TV reception problems.

I’ve found a variety of faults produced by these amplifiers from just simply not working at all to them producing a huge amount of amplification and with just about every other fault possible in between. I would strongly recommend giving this Amplifier a wide berth.

Also when installing a TV Amplifier behind your TV set or up in your loft you need to know just how much signal you are giving the Amplifier for it to amplify, then reading from the specification sheet (If there is one) consider the Amplifiers gain and noise figures and understand what that might do for your TV/s picture……All in all buying an Amplifier to fix TV reception problems by the average DIYer is not an easy task and not a good idea.

I guess that some DIYers attitude is – if it works it works if it doesn’t I’ve only lost a few quid. As an example – a good quality Amplifier should cost many times the price of this one but unlike this one it’ll probably last a lifetime. As the old saying goes “you get what you pay for” as regards Amplifiers this couldn’t be more true.

So if you do have an Amplifier that looks like the one in my photo above and you’re experiencing TV reception problems then the first thing to do would be to remove it and with a bit of luck it could just be the sole source of your interference.

Trees and foliage can cause major reception issues either for a TV Aerial or Satellite dish.
For obvious reasons the spring, summer and autumn months more so than winter but not exclusively so as large Leylandii Conifers are a problem all year round and even more so when they are wet.

Sky satellite dishes normally suffer problems with reception when a tree or foliage puts on their first spurt of growth during spring.
Something like an ivy or creeper that has grown up on the same wall as the dish can easily be pruned or cut back before it becomes a problem.

Note – any leaf matter in front of the face of the dish will have a dramatic effect on the signal being received so ideally, and also to make life easier, pruning should be done before the foliage reaches the dish face.

I often find that customers are surprised when I point out that the small amount of leaf matter that is growing in front of their Sky dish is the only reason why they are experiencing pixelation and picture break up.

Trees that cause a reduction in signal reaching a Satellite dish are normally within 100 meters of the dish. Over the years I have climbed (using my ladders) many trees to snip off an offending branch or two.
If the tree is sited in a neighbours garden or on public land then sometimes the only option would be to lift the dish higher or if that’s not possible to re-site the dish in a different location.

Trees that cause a reduction in signal reaching a TV Aerial on the other hand can be as much as a mile away or more depending the lie of the land. Some trees can act as a complete block with regards to an incoming UHF TV signal from a transmitter especially the likes of a large conifer that’s in close proximity to, and taller than the TV Aerial itself.

Although the above example is extreme I do see large conifers causing this problem from time to time. Much more common are trees that are in the near to middle distance away from the TV Aerial and the effects on your TV viewing will depend on what type of tree it is, the time of year and the weather conditions at the time etc.

A tree such as the Poplar (in full leaf) which is whipping back and forth in a strong wind can cause havoc with your TV viewing.
If your TV Aerial is pointing through trees, such as Poplars and you experience a lot of pixelation when it’s windy then my services may be required in order to find another TV transmitter in a different direction.

This particular fault is not over common as I only attend to a few each year but I do see many more while on my travels around the county.

In this example, the industry standard PVC tape had degraded due to sunlight, also the original installer had only wrapped the tape once around the pole.

When a coax cable becomes loose from a pole and flaps or just moves in the wind it will cause the soft copper inner core to snap.
A common place for this to happen is immediately inside the dipole cap, click on my image above to enlarge.

As soon as the inner copper core snaps all TV reception will normally be lost in an instant.

Should you have a dangling length of coax that’s moving in the wind regardless as to where it might be hanging from, one thing is for sure, unless its made secure the inner copper core WILL BREAK, EVENTUALLY and at that moment TV reception will likely be lost

The weather can impact on a TV’s reception in a few different ways but the following example is one of the most common. The example below is copied from my News Blog titled – “Do not adjust your set” Dated 15th of November 2012

I’ve received numerous calls over the last couple of days from people experiencing problems with TV reception. If you don’t normally suffer with reception problems (Picture break-up and/or missing channels) and the problems have started within the last couple of days, it is more than likely that the current weather situation is to blame.

As of Thursday 15th of November 2012 the UK is under the influence of a large anticyclone or high pressure system which is centred over Central Europe.

When this happens reception from some transmitters can be adversely affected.

Most homes that have TV Aerials pointing towards the Ledbury/Ridge Hill transmitter and are located in areas surrounding Droitwich, Redditch, Bromsgrove and the north west part of Worcester are on or close to the outer limits of the designed transmitting/reception range of this transmitter.

Although the distance from this transmitter is not normally a problem for most of us most of the time, on the odd occasion, once or twice a year or so when the right weather conditions prevail and possibly due to interference from other transmitters poor reception can be experienced.

I remember many years ago the BBC weather man would sometimes make an announcement during the weather forecast, telling us not to adjust our sets, indicating that it was the weather that was responsible for the poor reception.

Although I’ve not heard these announcements for a long time and despite the fact that we are now fully Digital it seems that the weather can still affect TV reception in a similar way to how it did when TV first occupied the corner of our living rooms.

So the same old rule still applies….

“DO NOT ADJUST YOUR SETS”

My recommendation is simply to do nothing and wait for the weather to change.

But if the thought of having to miss another episode of Coronation Street or Eastenders becomes too much to bare and you want to reduce the risk of this happening in the future then please give me a call as there is sometimes a relatively cheap and inexpensive solution to the problem.​

If you you are able to watch SKY on secondary TVs throughout your home there is a reasonable chance that you may see this type of interference from time to time.

It only affects TVs which are connected to the SKY box via TV coax, often there is also an amplifier involved although this usually goes unnoticed as it’s normally tucked away in the loft.

This type of interference which are sometimes referred to as “buzz bars” are frequently accompanied with a crackling / spluttering sound with the bars running horizontally across the screen and it can last from just a split second to as much as two or three seconds at a time.

Many people report that the interference is worse in the evening and although there is a chance that this could be true it’s more than likely that more TV viewing is done in the evening so it’s a more noticeable problem during peak viewing times.

With the roll out and upgrade of many mobile phone transmitters to 4G this interference is becoming more and more common, and it’s 4G which is to blame!

Prior to 2014 there were millions of SKY boxes manufactured and sold with their modulators set to RF Ch 68 and if you’ve had secondary TV/s connected to your SKY box there is a reasonable chance that the factory default frequency setting of Ch 68 has not been changed, even if it has been altered there is still a good chance that its been moved to either Ch 67 or 69, unfortunately any RF output channel which is used from around Ch 55 and up is susceptible to this type of 4G interference so I guess that there are many, many thousands of people throughout the country which are affected.

One good thing is that this type of interference is normally easily cured.

If you’re competent enough to alter the SKY boxes RF frequency then I would still suggest you give me a quick call and let me know which terrestrial TV transmitter your Aerial is pointing at and I will tell you which RF Ch number to use.

If you chance it and go it alone there is a reasonable chance you will wipe out a group of Digital TV channels if you guess and choose a random RF number.

If what I’ve written above all sounds to complicated then just give me a call as I’m more than happy to talk anyone through the simple process of altering the SKY boxes RF setting, over the phone….FOC.

Please note – The new SKY Q system is not affected by 4G interference, also most SKY boxes manufactured and sold after 2014 have had part of their modulators removed making it more difficult (but not impossible) to watch SKY on secondary TVs, consequently there’s less chance of 4G interference.

Over the years I have supplied many hundreds of these and I’ve seen many hundreds more in properties where I’ve not been the original supplier.

First of all I’d like to point out that which ever make, model or version you may have, and there are many versions of the same thing, almost all of them are extremely reliable.

If you find that the light on your magic eye is no longer lit or you are unable to watch Sky or change channel on Sky don’t think for one second that the Magic eye is at fault (unless of course you’ve just stood on it and it’s internals are hanging out) The probability of the eye being at fault is as close to nil as you can get.

I often get called out to magic eyes when customers think they are faulty and interestingly I sometimes see another new one along side the old one where the customer has popped down to Homebase or a similar store and purchased another one only to find the new one doesn’t work either.

The only problem with magic eyes (normally) is that they are totally dependent on the 9 volts that travels along the cable along with the Sky signal from your Sky box. If the connection from your secondary TV/s back to your Sky box is less than perfect you will experience problems.

So if you loose your Sky pictures on your secondary TV/s then the place to check first is at the back of the Sky box (usually located under your main TV in the lounge) Check and make sure a coax cable is connected to the socket marked “RF 2”

If you have just had a new Sky HD box fitted then don’t waste your time looking for a RF 2 socket as this socket no longer exists on box’s made after 2013 /14, if this is the case the only way forward is to call someone like myself for further advise.

If you have more than one extra TV connected to your Sky box then be aware about calling Sky at this time as it may prove to be a frustrating task and although it’s perfectly legal they may not be too happy or helpful knowing that you have multiple TVs connected to your Sky box.

Note – If you only have one extra TV with one mouse I would suggest a call to Sky, you will at least be offered something called an “i o Link” and for around £10.00 this would be your cheapest option. They will will send you the link in the post. When it arrives follow the simple fitting instructions that are included.

If you’ve had a new Sky HD box fitted (Since 2013 /14) and you’ve had the RF 2 problem rectified with the addition of another piece of equipment then look for the socket marked RF 2 on the other piece of equipment which is normally located within close proximity to the Sky box, again checking the coax cables are connected correctly.

If on the other hand you still have Sky pictures showing on your TV where the Magic eye is normally located but you can no longer change channel on Sky then the problem will usually lie within the coax cable and or coax plug/s.

First try wiggling the lead/plugs while watching the light on the Magic eye if you see it flicker then you have found the loose/poor connection and fault. Finally, if you have a socket on the wall try gently wiggling the coax plug from side to side inside the TV socket, again while keeping a careful eye on the light for the faintest flicker.

99.9% of the time it’s either the fly lead, the coax plugs, the socket on the wall or the lead that’s fallen out of the back of the Sky box and not the Magic eye which is at fault.

Locating this fault by following my simple steps above could save you a lot of time, frustration and of course, money. Good luck!

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Some years ago and before digital switchover I was contacted by a customer in Church lane, Martin Hussingtree near Worcester.

I was asked to upgrade their old TV Aerial system and also make it so that they could watch and control their Sky TV from other rooms in their house.

This was something I was doing on an almost daily basis around that time so I didn’t expect or foresee any problems.

After upgrading their TV Aerial my customer was then able to view all the new Digital TV channels that were available but what I didn’t plan for was an electrical buzz bar type of interference across the TV screen when they viewed Sky in other rooms. This buzzing across the screen lasted for only a split second but repeated every 2 or 3 seconds or so which made it annoying to watch Sky in those rooms

After checking for all the possible faults with the equipment that I had installed I then proceeded to check as many electrical items in the house that could and although I didn’t find anything faulty I did conclude that the interference was being produced from outside the property.

The only thing I could suggest to my customer was for them to go to the Post Office and fill out a TV/Radio interference form produced by the DTI.

About a month or so passed when I got a call from my customer to say they had just been visited by the DTI’s radio investigation unit and had found that the electric fence used by the local farmer to keep livestock in his field and out of their garden was the source of the interference.

I believe after making contact with the farmer by my customer the problem was resolved when the box with the battery and electronics inside was moved further away from my customers home.

In conclusion it’s just another example of what sort of thing that can affect TV reception. Please note, these examples are extremely rare and for most types of interference there is often a much more simple cause and subsequent cure.

Some time ago I was called out by a customer in Showell Green in Droitwich. He was complaining that most evenings and weekends he was unable to watch his Sky TV.

He also told me that during the week throughout the day there was often not a problem but around 6pm each evening the problem started again.

I needed to see the problem that he was experiencing so I arranged a call for after 6pm. On arrival at his property I noticed that the TV screen was a wash with lines and buzz bars coming and going every few seconds or so, which made it was impossible to watch anything via his Sky box.

I did all the normal checks starting with the easy bit which is to confirm that the box was connected and working correctly, which it was.

As the problem was one that came and went at different times of the day apart from making sure the dish had a direct line of sight to the satellite I guessed that there must be something outside the property which was causing the problem.

I rigged up a Sky dish, attached a meter and immediately noticed a strange pulsing on that too.

Dish and meter in hand I could see that the pulsing increased as I walked away from my customers home and peaked about 3 doors up on the opposite side of the road.

A neighbours car had not long pulled up onto their drive and on the dashboard I could see some flashing lights which I guessed were some sort of radar speed detector. Knocking at the neighbours door I asked if they could unplug the device so as to confirm the source of the interference and with immediate effect normal Sky TV viewing
was restored in my customers home.

A few years ago I received a call from the resident manager of Kingfisher Court in Droitwich.

Although I’ve come across this problem a few times over the years it was while installing a Satellite dish for customers Roger & Janice in Showell Grove, Droitwich late one winters afternoon that I once again ran into this quite rare phenomenon of an electricity substation interfering with signals coming from a Satellite.

Although the substation was on the other side of the road and not too close to their house it turned out that it was close enough to block or interfere with all signals arriving at the dish which was sufficient to make the Sky TV pictures unwatchable.

At the time the substation in Showell Grove was surrounded by a six foot wooden fence and I guess many people didn’t even notice it or know it was there, now as seen above (2015), it’s more obvious as to what it is.

The solution for my customers in this case was to move the dish to the front of the house (not so pretty) allowing part of the house to act as a shield between the incoming satellite signals and the electricity substation.

Finishing late that winters evening tired & cold it’s not an installation I will forget easily!