9 things you SHOULD NEVER DO to keep good TV reception
1. Don't USE chinese moulded flyleads
These cheap, chinese-made TV antenna cords are the most popular think behind a TV set. Unfortunately where the metal coupler and the plastic join in these cables, there is little support not to mention the guage inside the cord itself is very fragile and very tempermental. Stepping on, bending, pulling, tugging or any slight abuse can destroy the performance of these cords immediately. Heck! They sometimes even come faulty straight out of the $2 shop packet!
These are the first thing to check for when you have bad Tv reception. We often, often, often (yes I said that 3 times to get your attention) go out to TV reception repair jobs and just replace these dodgy cables to fix the problem.
2. DON'T kink/bend your TV cord at the wallplate
TV Cabinets, beds, wardrobes and other furniture are responsible for damaging and kinking many, many TV cables causing signal deterioration. You won't be the first or the last that this happens to and that is why TV Magic regulary use these right angle TV cables: - especially made up to delivery outstanding service; making our customer's TV reception last longer.
3. Don't let your kids/husband/wife/D.I.Y 'so called expert' touch your cables
Can you see what's wrong with the connections/cables used below? Is there something missing? Something not right?
Something plugged in the wrong spot? Or perhaps the wrong cable used? Do you even know what all the connections are used for and what they do? If you didn't know immediately then you ought to not touch this stuff or you may effect the quality of your TV picture and sound.
At TV Magic we get calls everyday from 'meaning well' relatives who try to setup or play with the cables themselves. Below is a tidy, in fact very-tidy minimalistic system. Times your cables by 10 and yeah.... you get the picture.
4. Don't Move into an old unit with 'Daisy Chaining'!!
Okay so this one is a bit harsh. In the 50's older buildings were wired up in what's called a Daisy Chain fashion. The illustration below sort of explains how and what this is. Basically if your building has daisy chain wiring..your TV reception can be a luck of the draw since you could be at the start of the TV signal chain or at the end. The further you are along, in the chain the weaker your signal will be. To fix this; basically the building needs a digital upgrade which means new coax cable & installation. An Overhaul. Digital Upgrade. You should call 1800 TV Magic.
5. Don't let your solar panel company relocate your TV antenna!
We're sure solar panel guys are great at what they do which is to save you $ on electricity and install solar panels. Unfortunately the TV antenna sometimes is in a position that interferes with optimal performance/positioning of the solar panels. All too many solar companies are moving the TV antenna or satellite dish as a service to their customers only to find out that a few months down the track they've done something and the customer ends up paying for it anyway.
6. DON'T get mad that birds are good for business! So what can you do about birds?
We've heard all the tricks and bought all the gadgets. The bird zappers, the bird whirley firleys, gadget this, gadget that, one million zip ties, plastic snakes, fake cats, fake eagles you name it. For most of these methods the birds are too smart; the others are just not cost effective. Birds will continue to roost where they want to roost. You either need to have no roost or supply 240 volts of electricity to your roof! (Which is illegal).
OR...
You get a 'bird proof antenna'. Bird proof antennas are supplied by TV Magic. They elements are too thin for birds to sit on, meaning a roosting bird of significant size (such as the heaviest - the QLD cockatoo) can only sit on the shaft which will NEVER bend and not on the small elements that are crucial to your TV signal. The bird proof antennas cost as much as any other. They're also heavy duty and out-perform 99% of other TV antennas. We're the only guys in the industry saying we can fix your TV reception for the next 10-15 years! This is highly contributed to by our TV antennas!
7. Don't use long TV cords or join several TV cords together
When you don't have a TV point exactly where you want/need it - what do you do? You get a giant, great big long cheap cord from bunnings or dick smiths or dig up your ugly pile of spaghetti of cables from the garage and join a bunch together right?
Here's what you should do. If you must insist on not getting a TV point installed where you want it to be; at least get yourself one, good quality TV antenna cable made up by us or bought online from our online store.
Obviously, in all situations you ideally have a new TV point installed; have no cords running across the floor that you could trip on and everything looks neat & tidy. (Note to Tennants: if you are to have your landlord/real estate pay for this. This can be a little tricky. Give us a call. We have experience with getting these sorts of things acclomplished).
8. DON'T MUCK AROUND WITH THE TV TUNING/AUTO TUNE SETTINGS
If you live in regional areas (non-capital) chances are your TV antenna is picking up multiple TV signals from multiple transmitters. Doing a AUTO tune rather than a MANUAL Tune may cause your TV to 'tune into' the weaker signals as opposed to the strong signals. Have you got duplicate or triplicate channels of the same channel on your TV?? This may/may not be an indication of this scenario. In these regions techs expertly perform manual tunes only for peace of mind.
9. DON'T TAKE THE RISK OF USING A TV SERVICE OTHER THAN TV MAGIC AND HERE IS WHY!
We're fixing TV reception for customers on a daily/every second day basis where they have already paid good money for another antenna service/inexperienced electrician to do the antenna installation/reception repair. Take our word for it! We've got all the stories, we get all the calls.
TV RECEPTION EXPERTS
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