Got bored this afternoon - now what?

[HPsauce]

It's become an intellectual challenge, otherwise I would have given up long ago.

[HPsauce]

Originally Posted by HPsauce

Meanwhile I'll crack on sorting out a suitable 12V power supply for the DVB-T box.

Then I thought of a clever trick.................
Would it run on the 10V output from the tuner driving the aerials? No worries about when it switches on using that.
Sadly, it won't - not enough "ooomph" but definitely worth a try, only took a couple of minutes to bodge a test lead together using one of my spare WICLIC connectors.

[HPsauce]

Significant progress today; it was warm and dry enough to pop out and sort out some wiring.

Ran a 12V supply to the DVB-T tuner from the old analog one, sadly has to be with the ignition on, there's nothing that goes "live" at 12V when you just turn the RNS on; fixable with a relay I guess.
Slung the remote cable into the cabin out of the boot and in the NSR door, tuned in to Radio 4 (no reception on my driveway) and went for a local drive.

I was only 200 yards up the road, getting out of my little local valley and it started spluttering into life - Gardeners Question Time I think.
Headed back downhill and off to the other side of the main big valley onto some flatter ground and it was getting much better so I switched to Radio 3 for something more soothing though it really still wasn't listenable while moving due to breakups.

Stopped in a layby used by school buses and tried TV - that was actually working very well when parked (as was radio) and only about a mile from home so still quite a distance from the transmitter (Crystal Palace).

So, a bit more tidying up to do (still waiting for some bits to arrive) and lots of experimenting with the 4 onboard aerials to try. But the principle of using the existing aerial(s) with phantom power from the old tuner seems worth pursuing.

These pictures (sorry about the reflection of my fingers) shows how a small increase in signal strength from moving out of the valley has given a huge increase in reception quality.

[HPsauce]

Tried a different aerial connection and a different road - more open land near M25 with no obstructions. Was able to listen to digital radio while driving and no crackles, until I hit some trees and hedges. Again, only just over a mile from home; definitely need to experiment with the aerials.

The aerials leads are numbered 1 to 4; without having to take things apart does anyone know which is located where and if they have any other characteristics that differ?

Picked up BBC1 OK while parked on an M25 overbridge:

[limoncello]

you can get this with the oem tv, the m62 is not to bad with reception most of the way, but the m1 is dire specially at speed, so i wouldnt expect perfect reception at the moment from any system while actually moving

[HPsauce]

Originally Posted by limoncello

wouldnt expect perfect reception at the moment from any system while actually moving

I wasn't expecting any reception at all, so it was a pleasant surprise.

Especially if you looked at my current multi-aerial bodge.

I've been having a read on multi-aerial DVB-T diversity systems that are actually designed to allow reception at speed; it's surprisingly difficult to achieve.

[HPsauce]

Originally Posted by HPsauce

WICLIC connectors.

One of the problems with these is that the plugs seem to be available, though not cheap. Sockets on the other hand are a problem, hence my "cannibalisation" of the diversity unit.

But I've now found these (in Poland!) though again, not cheap and I'm not 100% convinced they're correct.
To SMA: http://www.tme.eu/html/EN/_framesymb..._EN_pelny.html

To SMB: http://www.tme.eu/html/EN/_framesymb..._EN_pelny.html

[HPsauce]

Originally Posted by limoncello

still have the old antenna if you want it, was going to put it on ebay with the old tv, but if you need it.....

Well my £5.50 version arrived this morning, and it works.

I'm still waiting for some extension leads to link boot to cabin so tried a test indoors, with the car DVB-T tuner connected to a monitor and just hanging this aerial out of a window in my office - right next to the car.

It actually works surprisingly well, though atmospheric conditions today are very different to yesterday so reception is better. Getting 63% signal strength and over 90% quality - both TV & radio are clean and crackle-free.

[HPsauce]

Originally Posted by HPsauce

Well my £5.50 version arrived this morning

So after checking it works I decided to give it a quick try in the car - just sitting on the drive.

It works to a reasonable extent hanging out of an open window, but not inside the car - the double-pane glass is the main obstacle as I found by dangling it from a coathook at the rear then opening the window.

But moving it around the cabin I found that placed on the rear parcel shelf in very close proximity to the retracted rear privacy screen it worked the same as if outside with pretty good reception. The metal of the screen frame must be acting as some sort of reflector or extension on the aerial I guess - I'm no expert on how aerials work!
In close contact with the window glass and embedded elements it didn't work, nor anywhere at the front or sides.

Thinking about what to try next I'm not convinced that my "phantom power from the old tuner" system is working properly as there is little signal strength change when I connect it up, whereas this £5 aerial shows a huge jump when 12V is supplied. So next I'll see what happens with a good 12V to the onboard aerials.
Sadly, no change.....

[limoncello]

mine worked well on the back screen , but believe it has to be attached well, mines a d3 though so maybe theres some differences,