Way to test aerial signal?

[ewal]

This might not be the right forum for this, so please bear with me! Have recently finished up an interior DIY- involved sanding skirt boards/repainting walls of living room and now I am not getting a signal from my aerial.. I'm not sure what i've done, but does anyone know a way of testing to see if the cable carrying my signal has been damaged some how? (I'd rather exhaaust all other options before calling the antenna man!)

[Jason]

Hi @ewal,

Welcome to Workshop. Great to see you make your first post. Hope you find lots of great advice and information on the site. 

I'm sure a helpful member of the community will be keen to assist you with your problem.

My first suggestion would be to try a couple of different antenna cables to rule out that first. Then I'd check whether your television has a signal strength meter - they often show the signal strength when scanning for channels (accessed via the set-up menu). 

Jason

[Andy_Mann]

G'day ewal

I'm guessing that maybe you didn't mask off the TV aerial socket mounted on the wall/skirtingboard that you sanded & painted. Check to see if there's any dust or paint in the socket, as either will act as an insulator, & prevent an intimate connection between the socket a TV aerial lead which goes to your TV.

If it's dust, just see if you can blow it out, or use a cotton bud. If it's paint, trying scratching it out with a cooking skewer.

Be sure to let us know if neither of those suggestions work.

[darylhewston]

You could buy a Digital TV Signal Strength Meter but they are a bit on the expensive side if only using once. Try a continuity test by shorting out the aerial side of the cable (disconnect from aerial) and using a multimeter on ohms, you should get a reading if the cable is clear, then disconnect the 'short', you should not get a reading on your multimeter. Also, the balun on the aerial may have conveniently 'died' at that particular moment. These are easily replaced. @Andy_Mann has some great suggestions above. If your TV socket is damaged, they are easily replaced with new and not that expensive. Take the old one off the wall first to see what type connection it has. 'F Type' connectors (screw on) are required for digital TV.

[Coonan357]

Did you remove the aerial socket when you painted?  Also, if you have a masthead amplifier, which is a small usually grey box attached to the antenna mast, you will need a power supply to inject the power into he amp.  Have you maybe had a small plug pack plugged into the aerial socket and forgotten to put it back, as there will be no signal without it.  Also, is the wall socket a pal plug in type or a screw in 'F' connector?  I can help if you supply more info.

Cheers.

[Jason]

Thanks for joining in the discussion and sharing your expertise @Coonan357. Great to see you make your first post. I'm sure @ewal appreciates the assistance. 

Looking forward to seeing more of your posts soon and hearing about your own projects and plans. A very warm welcome to Workshop.

Jason