DIY TV Antenna Sydney Archives - Nu-Life TV Antenna

What Are The Digital TV Frequencies Used in Australia?

August 15, 2023 by NLFWPAdmin

Australia’s diverse and expansive landscape is home to many beautiful sights, but it can also pose challenges for TV reception. Fortunately, technology has allowed us to overcome these challenges, and now, quality TV transmissions are accessible to many. Here at Nu Life TV Antenna, we specialise in TV antenna installation that provides you with the ultimate television viewing experience. Let’s delve into the world of TV transmissions in Australia.

Understanding TV Frequencies in Australia: A Comprehensive Guide

When it comes to enjoying free-to-air television in Australia, the quality and reliability of your reception depend on various factors. One of the crucial aspects is understanding the frequencies, RF channels, and bands used for TV broadcasting. In this guide, we’ll delve into these details to provide a comprehensive overview.

RF Channels and Centre Frequencies

Australia’s TV broadcasting uses VHF and UHF frequencies with a specific bandwidth of 7 MHz for each channel. This means that each successive channel is 7 MHz apart from the previous one. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the RF channels and their corresponding centre frequencies:

VHF RF Channels

RF Channel Number	Centre Frequency (MHz)
6	177.5
7	184.5
8	191.625
11	219.5
12	226.5

UHF RF Channels

RF Channel Number	Centre Frequency (MHz)
27	522.5
28	529.5
29	536.5
30	543.5
31	550.5
32	557.5
33	564.5
34	571.5
35	578.5
36	585.5
37	592.5
38	599.5
39	606.5
40	613.5
41	620.5
42	627.5
43	634.5
44	641.5
45	648.5
46	655.5
47	662.5
48	669.5
49	676.5
50	683.5
51	690.5
52	697.5
53	704.5
54	711.5
55	718.5
56	725.5
57	732.5
58	739.5
59	746.5
60	753.5
61	760.5
62	767.5
63	774.5
64	781.5
65	788.5
66	795.5
67	802.5
68	809.5
69	816.5

This specific 7 MHz bandwidth ensures clear and smooth transmission, free from interference with adjacent channels.

TV Bands in Australia

Australia’s TV channels are organised into different bands, each encompassing specific RF channels:

Band	RF Channel Range	Description
A	6 – 12	VHF
B	28 – 33	UHF
C	34 – 39	UHF
D	40 – 45	UHF
E	46 – 51	UHF

These bands enable an organised distribution of frequencies and play a crucial role in minimising interference.

LTE Filters in Australia

With the proliferation of 4G LTE mobile networks, there can be potential interference with TV reception. In Australia, LTE filters generally pass FM and TV up to channel 51, with LTE rejection from 694 MHz onwards.

This filtering helps in eliminating any disruption from mobile network signals, ensuring that your TV reception remains clear and uninterrupted.

Why Does This Matter to You?

Understanding these aspects is vital when selecting and installing a TV antenna. By being aware of the specific channels, bands, bandwidth, and LTE filters, you can choose the appropriate antenna and positioning for optimal reception.

How Nu Life TV Antenna Can Help

At Nu Life TV Antenna, we specialise in TV antenna installation, understanding Australia’s TV frequencies, channels, and bands. Our team uses this knowledge to provide top-notch service tailored to your location and preferences.

Whether you’re looking for a new antenna installation or troubleshooting an existing setup, we’re here to ensure that you receive the best possible reception, free from any interference or disruptions.

Contact Us Today

For more information or to schedule a consultation, contact us at 9549 0082. Let Nu Life TV Antenna enhance your free-to-air TV viewing experience in Australia, providing professional and reliable solutions.

What Is The Best TV Antenna in Australia?

May 16, 2021January 22, 2021 by NLFWPAdmin

The Best Digital TV Antenna in Australia For You

If you have bad TV reception and are looking into upgrading your TV antenna system, you might be searching for a top 10 list of the best indoor or outdoor TV antennas in Australia.

However, as your search might show, this is hard to find for one simple reason. There is no ‘best’ digital TV antenna for free to air TV reception in Australia.

There are definitely different grades of quality when it comes to TV antennas available in Australia (read more about TV antennas), but the best TV antenna for you and your specific requirements depends on a number of factors.

We provide a brief overview of the most important factors in this articles, but please click the link above to learn more about TV antennas to help you select the best one for you.

Indoor or Outdoor Antenna?

This decision will most likely be one of budget. If you are looking for a quick, cheap, ‘hope for the best’ type of option, you can try an indoor TV antenna. However, don’t be surprised if only a few of the channels come through (or even none at all).

There may also be a situation where your apartment building doesn’t have free to air TV cabling into each unit, so you may be left with the only option being an indoor TV antenna.

Indoor antennas are normally a lot less expensive than outdoor antennas. A very good quality one, like the Matchmaster 01MM-CA02 will often have a stylish design and not look out of place next to your TV or soundbar. You should probably avoid the ones available online only or through traditional retailers – they are normally generic overseas ones that are for use in any country in the world (not really designed just for Australia). Learn more about the best indoor TV antenna in Australia.

The Best Outdoor TV Antenna

Well, where do we start?

You will need to take into account your specific location (suburb), the height of your roof, the coverage and signal quality in your area, and a few other factors to determine which is the best outdoor TV antenna for you.

Here are just a few things you will need to look out for:

Are the TV signals in your area on VHF or UHF frequency? If UHF, then what Band does your transmitter use?
Do you need a high gain or low gain antenna?
Is signal quality poor in your area? If so, you will need an antenna with better receiving characteristics to ensure your MER signal reading is a Pass. If you require higher quality, then you will likely need a bigger antenna (more elements), and one that is narrowband (not a log periodic antenna or combination antenna) to help reduce noise levels.
Directional or omni-directional? This is a little more rare, but omni-directional TV antennas can be used for caravans and moving vehicles.

To compare the cost of an indoor antenna vs an outdoor antenna, read more about outdoor TV antenna installation cost in Sydney.

If you think you have got a handle on all of that, then it is best to stick to a high quality, Australian made antenna.

For an overview of which type of design of TV antenna you should consider for VHF digital TV signals in Australia, read our article dedicated to “What Is The Best Type Of TV Antenna In Australia?“.

However, if you would like a specialist TV antenna man to visit your residence to provide you with a free quote on how to get your TV channels back on the screen, contact one of our friendly staff on 02 9549 0082.

TV Antenna Sydney

August 29, 2022June 23, 2020 by NLFWPAdmin

It should come as no surprise that the most important piece of equipment in any TV antenna system is the TV Antenna itself! In our guide outlining the 10 Steps to Perfect TV Reception in Sydney, it is the first step listed in order for you to get your TV back to picture perfect.

What Frequency Band - VHF, UHF or Combination?

All antennas are ‘cut’ or tuned for different frequencies. You can get antennas that are used for enhancing 3G or 4G mobile phone reception, antennas for FM or DAB radio, GPS antennas and of course TV antennas. Each of those types of signals are all broadcast on different frequencies.

VHF (very high frequency) bands, which are from 30 to 300 megahertz (MHz), are used for TV signals to be broadcast on the main transmission towers in Sydney, which are located in Artarmon.

UHF (ultra high frequency) bands, which are a large range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), are also used for TV signals in Sydney, however, these are broadcast (sent) from different transmission towers that are located in hard-to-reach areas. Basically, wherever the main VHF TV signals cannot reach, the Government has kindly organised for new transmissions on other towers to make sure everyone in Sydney can still get a reliable TV signal. The location of these UHF towers in Sydney are as follows:

Kings Cross servicing Kings Cross, Sydney CBD and Eastern Suburbs
Manly servicing Manly and Mosman
Razorback Range servicing South West Sydney
Kurrajong Heights servicing the North West Sydney
Bouddi servicing Bouddi
Woronora servicing Woronora

If you are close to one of these areas, then you might get a better incoming TV signal on UHF rather than VHF frequency bands. This should always be tested onsite, however, the Australian Government’s MySwitch website may provide some assistance in determining what is right for you.

From there it is simple, if the best TV signal in your local area is broadcast on VHF frequencies, buy a VHF antenna. If the best signal is on UHF frequencies, buy a UHF antenna.

Oh and just to cover them off, combination antennas are antennas that receive both VHF and UHF frequencies. They are often used by installers who do not know how TV signals work and so they can be used in a wider range of situations to ‘guess’ which direction the signal comes from. There are only a few rare scenarios in which a combination TV antenna should be used, and quite often they result in a poor quality signal, can introduce interference into your TV antenna system and cause other issues. Overall, they are more harm than good.

Low Gain or High Gain?

A TV Antennas ‘gain’ or ‘power gain’ describes how well the antenna converts radio waves arriving from a specified direction into electrical power. This is very important to introduce a strong signal power straight off the antenna. Sometimes, if a high gain antenna is used over a low gain antenna, there can be enough signal power straight off the antenna to avoid needing to install other devices, like a TV Antenna Booster or other amplification devices.

It is often the case that antennas with only very few elements (arms) will be low gain, and high gain antennas will have many elements (up to 18 elements for a very high gain VHF antenna). A top quality high gain antenna should deliver you a minimum of 10db gain (on VHF) and some will get you 14db gain or greater!

UHF Antennas - Yagi or Phased Array?

UHF Antennas generally come in 2 shapes, being a Yagi or Phased Array. A yagi is the more traditional long, narrow antenna (used for VHF antennas), whilst a phased array TV antenna looks like a square mesh board with diagonal metal patterns.

A yagi antenna should be your go-to UHF antenna under normal circumstances. It will provide higher gain and a better quality signal under circumstances where your line of sight (LOS) to the transmission tower is relatively clear.

If the LOS from your rooftop to the transmission tower is terrible, and there are a lot of hills and valleys along the way, then your best bet may be to install a UHF phased array TV antenna. These antennas are better at picking up ‘scattered’ signals which become scattered due to the radio waves bouncing off hills, trees, bushes, and other objects before they get to your rooftop. Phased array antennas are a higher cost antenna than yagi antennas, so you are best to have a signal survey from your rooftop to determine which is the best in your local area.

Front to Back Ratio

The Front to Back Ratio of any antenna is the ratio of the signal power received from the front of the antenna compared to the signal power received in the opposite direction.

Whilst some may not look like it, antennas have a front and a back and it is crucially important that you do not turn them around 180 degrees to have them facing the opposite direction. However, if you were to do so, and you had a bad antenna with a low front to back ratio, there is a very slim chance it might still work for you!

However, the best TV antennas will have a high front to back ratio, and this is why. If an antenna can receive a signal from the wrong direction, it will introduce ‘noise’ and unwanted signals into your TV antenna system. Because we know that we only want signal coming from the TV transmission tower, we ideally want to completely block out as much other noise as possible. A high front to back ratio will mean that we get lots of good TV signal from the front, and minimal unwanted radiowaves from the back.

Built-in Filters

Depending on your location and proximity to telecommunications towers, you may suffer from strong 4G (LTE) mobile phone signals in your area. Whilst this might be great for making mobile phone calls and watching 4K movies on your iPhone, unfortunately, this can result in interference to your TV antenna signals.

There are a number of stages in which you can ‘filter’ out the unwanted 4G signals. You can have an in-line 4G filter (separate device), a 4G filter built in to your TV antenna booster, or you can eliminate the 4G signal at the source and buy an antenna that has a 4G filter built-in. Note that in some cases, you may require more than one device to filter the 4G signal as it can be very strong in some areas and cause a lot of interference issues for your TV signal.

In summary, there are a number of different attributes that you should look out for when selecting a TV antenna in Sydney. No matter which attributes you decide, there is also the build quality that you should definitely take into account. Australian made TV antennas are generally made out of higher grade aluminium, as compared to some international antennas, and have a more rigid construction. You can rest assured knowing that they are designed and made for Australian frequencies and Australia’s harsh and varying climate. It’s for this reason that many Aussie made antennas come with a 25 year warranty… they are built to last!

Digital TV Tuning Frequencies In Sydney

June 26, 2020February 1, 2020 by NLFWPAdmin

In order for your digital TV tuner to display picture and audio on your TV, it needs to be tuned in to digital TV signals that get broadcast from a nearby TV transmitter. In Sydney, there are 4 main transmitters that can be used. Those transmitters are located at:

Artarmon (VHF; main Sydney transmitter)
Kings Cross (UHF)
Kurrajong (UHF)
Wollongong (UHF)

Digital TV Auto Tuning

Most TVs have an ‘auto-tune’ function which will mean the TV will do all the hard work for you and search for all DTV signals (and also FM radio signals that are being received by your antenna). However, if that is causing you issues (perhaps it is tuning in the wrong channels from the wrong transmitter by mistake), then the manual digital TV tuning option is the one to select.

Digital TV Manual Tuning in Sydney

If you are having issues with your TV’s auto tuning option, and have decided to try manual TV tuning, then here are the frequencies and bands you will need to select.

The first step, however, is to check what type of antenna you have got on your roof. Digital TV antennas in Sydney are designed to be either:

VHF only (Very High Frequency). These digital antennas have longer elements (arms).
UHF only (Ultra High Frequency). These digital antennas have shorter elements (arms), and often have more elements than VHF antennas.
Combination (VHF and UHF). These digital antennas have both short and long elements (arms).

Once you have discovered what type of antenna you have got, you will need to ensure it is pointing to the right transmitter (match it up with the transmitters listed above).

OK, so you know you have a VHF antenna pointed to a VHF transmitter (or a UHF antenna pointed to a UHF transmitter). Now it is time to start the manual tuning.

Digital TV Manual Tuning Frequencies in Sydney

Manual tuning ensures that your TV tuner is ‘looking at’ the frequency wave bands that are carrying the TV channels that you want to watch.

So, let’s take a look at what those frequencies are for each Free To Air Digital TV Channel at Sydney’s TV transmitters.

Digital TV Manual Tuning Frequencies - Artarmon (VHF)

Network	Service	Frequency	VHF/UHF Channel (Band)
Seven Network	ATN	177.5 MHz	6
Nine Network	TCN	191.625 MHz	8
Network Ten	TEN	219.5 MHz	11
ABC	ABC	226.5 MHz	12
SBS	SBS	184.5 MHz	7
Community Television	TSN	536.5 MHz	29

Digital TV Manual Tuning Frequencies - Kings Cross (UHF)

Network	Service	Frequency	VHF/UHF Channel (Band)
Seven Network	ATN	529.5 MHz	28
Nine Network	TCN	564.5 MHz	33
Network Ten	TEN	550.5 MHz	31
ABC	ABC	543.5 MHz	30
SBS	SBS	557.5 MHz	32

Digital TV Manual Tuning Frequencies - Wollongong (UHF)

Network	Service	Frequency	VHF/UHF Channel (Band)
Prime	CBN	599.5 MHz	38
WIN	WIN	585.5 MHz	36
Southern Cross Austereo	CTC	592.5 MHz	37
ABC	ABC	578.5 MHz	35
SBS	SBS	606.5 MHz	39

Digital TV Manual Tuning Frequencies - Kurrajong (UHF)

Network	Service	Frequency	VHF/UHF Channel (Band)
Seven Network	ATN	529.5 MHz	28
Nine Network	TCN	564.5 MHz	33
Network Ten	TEN	550.5 MHz	31
ABC	ABC	543.5 MHz	30
SBS	SBS	557.5 MHz	32

And that’s about it!

If you are still experiencing issues with your TV reception or want to check to see if you need a new TV antenna installation in Sydney, feel free to get in touch with our team by either submitting a Free Quote Request online, or by calling our friendly call centre staff on 9549 0082!