Cairns Digital TV Reception in a Nutshell

Digital v Analogue:

With old analogue television signals, as the signal strength is reduced, the picture will steadily become noisier or fuzzy. With digital transmission however, the quality of the picture remains unaffected until quite suddenly the picture disappears  altogether. This is due to the nature of the signals being sent from the transmitters. Therefore with Digital terrestrial TV reception you have basically two conditions “you either get a picture or you don’t”.

It's clearly very important to make sure that a receiver is normally operating well above the threshold, so that variations in signal level (due for example to the antenna moving in the wind, or foliage growing on trees between the antenna and the transmitter) don't tip the signal over the cliff. As a rule digital signals can vary as much as 20% so it is important to get as much signal strength as possible.(But not too much!). We usually like a signal strength of at least 70dB on all stations before we are confident of trouble free viewing.

There are six digital TV transmitters in the Cairns district:

1. Mount Bellenden Ker - VHF & UHF transmitter
2. Green Hill (Gordonvale) - UHF transmitter
3. Goldsborough Valley Reservoir - UHF transmitter
4. Mount Yarrabah (Cairns South-East)- UHF transmitter
5. Mount Williams (Redlynch Valley) - UHF transmitter
6. Saddle Mountain (Trinity/Kewarra/Kuranda) - UHF transmitter

Mount Bellenden Ker is the main transmitter with the most power, (it is also VHF and VHF signal bounces around better than a UHF signal), so it is always preferable to use that transmiter. However that's not always possible due to the terain of Cairns, hence the additional transmiters. (Or more to the point repeater stations as they are fed off the Bellenden Ker signal. (If BK goes down, they all do!).

You should receive 22 digital TV stations in Cairns:

• 5 from ABC

  • ABC1 on channel 2
  • ABC1 on channel 21
  • ABC2 on channel 22
  • ABC3 on channel 23
  • ABC News 24 (in HD) on channel 24
• 5 from SBS

  • SBS1 on channel 3
  • SBS1 (in HD) on channel 30
  • SBS2 on channel 32
  • SBS3 on channel 33
  • SBS4 on channel 34
• 6 from Seven

  • Seven1 on channel 7
  • Seven1 on channel 70
  • Seven1 on channel 71
  • Seven2 on channel 72
  • Seven Mate (in HD) on channel 73
  • TV4ME on channel 74
• 3 from WIN

  • WIN on channel 8
  • GEM (in HD) on channel 80
  • GO on channel 88
• 3 from Southern Cross Ten

  • Ten on channel 5
  • One (in HD) on channel 50
  • 11 on channel 55

Because of all the repeated stations we are actually getting 17 different channels to choose from at present, the repeated stations will more than likely turn into stations in their own right in the future giving us more free to air stations.

You should also be able to receive 4 digital radio stations on your TV set as well:

• 2 from ABC
• 2 from SBS

Each broadcaster transmits all their stations over one frequency, for example ABC on channel 8 (191.5mhz - VHF) transmits five TV stations and two radio stations over the same frequency, this is called "Multi-Channeling".

So in short, you need to tune into 5 channels to receive 22 TV stations and 4 Radio stations.

So how do I tune my TV into the right transmitter?

Simple (in most cases). Firstly determine what sort of antenna you have and where it is pointed. (see HERE for antenna types). If it is a combo antenna, it should be pointed at mount Bellenden Ker near Walsh's Pyramid (same goes with a VHF antenna). Take note however, a combo can also be used on a UHF transmitter, so be sure of where it is pointed.

A UHF antenna can be pointed to any of the five UHF transmitters listed above. A UHF antenna pointed at Bellenden Ker should only pick up SBS, but stranger things have happened. A UHF antenna should also be more or less in line of sight to the transmitter, whereas VHF is much more forgiving.

If you go to your TV sets menu, you should be able to to find the tuning function, from there re tune your set following the menu of your TV. Unfortunately I can't tell you here how to tune your individual model TV or set top box as they are all different. As the old saying goes "If all else fails read the instructions".

You can use the tuning guide below to see if you are tuned into the right transmitter.

Remember, you only need to tune into five channels to get the 22 TV stations and 4 Radio stations. You also need to be sure you are tuned into the right transmitter or you will encounter problems with your signal. (e.g. you may be pointed at Yarrabah, but you may be receiving a signal from Bellenden Ker instead).

If you are still having reception problems after doing this, please give us a call and we will be happy to assist.

Digital TV Frequencies in Cairns

Network	Site Name	Freq- uency	Power	Cha- nnel	Polar-isation	Antenna Pattern
Ten	Bellenden Ker	177.5	50 kW	6	H	Omni
ABC	Bellenden Ker	191.5	50 kW	8	H	Omni
Seven	Bellenden Ker	219.5	50 kW	11	H	Omni
Win	Bellenden Ker	226.5	50 kW	12	H	Omni
SBS	Bellenden Ker	536.5	200 kW	29	H	Directional
ABC	Mount Yarrabah	627.5	1.5 kW	42	V	Directional
Seven	Mount Yarrabah	634.5	1.5 kW	43	V	Directional
Ten	Mount Yarrabah	655.5	1.5 kW	46	V	Directional
Win	Mount Yarrabah	676.5	1.5 kW	49	V	Directional
SBS	Mount Yarrabah	697.625	1.5 kW	52	V	Directional
ABC	Saddle Mountain	627.5	500 W	42	H	Directional
Seven	Saddle Mountain	634.5	500 W	43	H	Directional
Ten	Saddle Mountain	655.5	500 W	46	H	Directional
Win	Saddle Mountain	676.5	500 W	49	H	Directional
SBS	Saddle Mountain	697.625	500 W	52	H	Directional
ABC	Mount Williams	760.625	100 W	61	H	Directional
Seven	Mount Williams	781.5	100 W	64	H	Directional
Ten	Mount Williams	802.5	100 W	67	H	Directional
Win	Mount Williams	718.5	100 W	55	H	Directional
SBS	Mount Williams	739.625	100 W	58	H	Directional
ABC	Green Hill	627.500	100 W	42	H	Directional
Seven	Green Hill			TBA	H	Directional
Ten	Green Hill			TBA	H	Directional
Win	Green Hill			TBA	H	Directional
SBS	Green Hill	697.625	100 W	52	H	Directional
ABC	Goldsborough	571.5	100 W	34	V	Directional
Seven	Goldsborough	585.5	100 W	36	V	Directional
Ten	Goldsborough	599.5	100 W	38	V	Directional
Win	Goldsborough	592.5	100 W	37	V	Directional
SBS	Goldsborough	578.5	100 W	35	V	Directional

Transmitter Coverage for Cairns Courtesy of the ABC

Mt Bellenden Ker

Mt Yarrabah

Saddle Mountian

Mt Williams

Green Hill