Analogue TV – TV aerials and connections

If your aerial is broken or out of alignment or the connections are corroded, the signal reaching your TV set will not be strong enough. This will result in problems with the picture or sound, such as 'snow' (a faint or grainy picture) and jumbled words on Ceefax (teletext).

If you are experiencing such problems, first try to find out if there is another cause:

• Check today's transmitter work to see if your local transmitter is affected by a fault or maintenance work.
• If possible, check another TV set connected to a different aerial - for instance, at a neighbour's - to see if that has the same problem.
• Make sure that your aerial lead is securely plugged into your set-top box or TV and check any other connections.

If there is still no improvement, you should have your aerial and its connections checked for faults.

Ghosting is a double image on the TV screen. Signals bounce off solid objects such as hills, tall buildings or cranes and reflect off shiny surfaces such as the sea. This can create a second, delayed signal and produce a ghost-like repetition of the main picture on the TV screen. Slightly changing the angle of your aerial, so that it is not pointing directly at the transmitter, may improve the picture. Alternatively, it may help to replace the aerial with a more directional one that focuses on the main signal and ignores other ones.

If you share a communal aerial (for example, in a block of flats) and you are having reception problems, the aerial may be faulty. See if other residents using the same aerial have the same problem. If there appears to be a fault with the communal aerial, you will need to report it to whoever is reponsible for the block - the council, landlord or property manager.