Screw MTV, I just want my TV

New Television Antenna, Norman Rockwell - via Artchive

Nearly two months ago I wrote about our awful television reception and wondered how long we could avoid not having it seen to.  Well, I've cracked.  I can't stand it any more.

In my head it's like there's no connection to the wider world.  Sure, there are closed networks like Facebook to which I'm connected.  But I can't turn on the TV news with any assurance I'll see it, or tune in to a program that other people are talking about, to see if I like it.  It's like the unfiltered universe is off limits and it feels constricting.  Mrs G says she doesn't like having no choice in the matter, and I agree with that.  It would be fine if we were zealots about it and chose not to watch TV, but being forced to forego the televisual delights is just not working for us.

I reckoned we'd spent enough money on equipment in an attempt to fix this ourselves and, no disrespect to my brother (who has helped us with this so far), it was time to call in an equipped expert.

"Gary", from Raytronics, was here this afternoon.  They offer a free signal check and quote service, so I figured there was nothing to lose by having the guy over.  Fifteen minutes later he had it sussed.  My brother was right about the cable from the mast to the splitter needing replacement.  What he couldn't have assessed was the fact that no power was making it to the mast-head amplifier because the splitter in the roof is also pretty much kaput.  Signal at the antenna is fine, it's just not making it to the devices down here in the house.  The quote is very reasonable - not much more than it would cost for me to just buy the stuff and install it, but (a) I wouldn't have known whether I was getting it all done, and (b) someone else is doing it.  I call that a win.

By next Tuesday night we should have reliable TV reception, which we can choose to watch, or not.  A pity he couldn't fix it today, because Amazing Race Australia starts tonight.  :-(