Very bad TV reception

[AdamW]

There is a weird one at my parents' house. On really hot days in summer we can pick up a French FM radio station, very clearly... But my parents live in Surrey, so there is a good 80-100 miles between their house and the French coast, as well as the small matter of all the hills in the way. As well as the in-leaf cedar of atlas trees, horse chestnut trees and redwoods surrounding the house.

Somehow you get the signals bouncing off layers in the atmosphere and there is a clear-as-can-be FM radio station, that just happens to be babbling away in French. I think we even got an RDS tag once , can't remember the name though.

 

[IanDB]

Somehow you get the signals bouncing off layers in the atmosphere

That's what it's down to. Especially when you get an "Azores High" (nothing to do with what you may choose to smoke in your spare time I hasten to add) coming over.

You can get some wierd atmospheric effects due to the layers - even causes significant problems with air traffic radar. (Don't fly in the summer?)

 

[masona]

I was told that the digital tv aerial pick up the signal round trees & building but wasn't the case with me when I moved it in a difference position.

 

[keyplayer]

Hug the trees, bin the telly, pocket the licence money.

 

[jcdotcom]

'nother thing you might like to check out is polarisation of the signal. We had rubbish reception, despite being able to see the TV mast, until I found out that (through TLC's website, www.tlc-direct.co.uk) that our local transmitter gives vertically polarised signals and our aerial was fixed horizontally (that's the small fins being horizontal!) a quick 90° rotate and it was sorted.
Worth also looking at other aerials in the street before risking life and limb on the roof.