santa bought my daughter a durabrand dig set top box cg5660-m, but it dont give us itv c4 c5 and many others channels. arghhhhhhhhhhhhhh......any ideas, using outside ariel, picks up signal from bluebell hill, maidstone, we in sittingbourne kent..

nicola m, January 2008

With digital TV, several programs are transmitted on the same channel.

Check out this website:

http://www.wolfbane.com/cgi-bin/tvd.exe?DX=L&HT=10&OS=me10+2qs

You would probably be best using the Bluebell Hill transmitter, but it depends whether there's a good line of sight form where you are.

Some channels are transmitted at a lower power or are more prone to interference than others, so your box may not receive some of the more difficult channels.

Check out if the channels you can't get are all in the same group(s) at this site:

http://www.unsatisfactorysoftware.co.uk/dtt/dtt.cgi

As the earlier answer says, there's no such thing as a "digital aerial", but it is good to get the right aerial for the channels used by your transmitter.

Use an outside aerial (you can loose 6dB of signal [half] just going throiugh a roof)

Use a decent, fully screened cable as well, not the cheapo co-ax that was so popular in the past.

Have the aerial as high as you sensibly can

Keep it away fro other aerials and metalwork.

Check out

http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/freeview_problems.htm

as well.

John, February 2008

You need to try a 'Wideband' antenna as some of your frequencies have big separations.

t, January 2008

im using the external aerial, plugged into digibox ?? my postcode me10 2qs...........cheers

nicola, January 2008

There is no such thing as digital aerial. Most aerials cope OK in good signal areas as long as they are outdoors and correctly aligned. Loft aerials and indoor aerials only work in very good signal areas. (Don't know what an analogue aerial is.) There are some odd occasions where, because of the frequency separations at transmitters you need to move from a 'grouped' aerial to a 'wideband aerial' but that is unusual and is not a 'digital' aerial. ( I can't check for you because all my tools work on post codes not transmitters.)

However before you worry about that you must ensure that the signal from your aerial is good by checking all connectors and that the aerial is pointed in the right direction. The reason for this is Freeview, being a digital service either works or it doesn't - as you have found out.

t, January 2008

Have you had a digital aerial fitted or are you trying to use your old analogue one?

Colin, January 2008