When a televisionsignal is broadcast from a transmitter, some of it disappears upwards into space and is lost. However, during certain weather conditions, the “lost” signal can become bent back towards earth and received much further away than normal. The lost signal can potentially travel great distances, up to many hundreds of miles.
This is known as tropospheric ducting and can distort or prevent television reception.
What causes Tropospheric Ducting?
Normally, the higher you go into the atmosphere, the colder it is. However, high pressure can cause a temperature inversion. This is where a layer of air in the troposphere will be at a higher temperature than the layers of airbelow it. Some of the television signals from a transmitter bounce back towards the ground and potentially again up to the inversion, effectively creating a duct for the signals to travel along.
When does it happen
Tropospheric ducting oftelevision signals is relatively common during summer monthsespecially during evenings in periods of stable and fine weather. However, it can happen at any time of the year. It tends to happen when we have hotdays followed by rapid cooling at night. This is why it is common near the coast.
When we are aware of this happening, we will put up a news item on Works and Warnings.
What impacts does it have?
Becausethe signals can travel further afield it can become possible to receive services you can’t normally get. For Freeview, your aerial can pick up signals from distant transmitters as well thosefrom your local one. If they are on the same frequency, it can cause co-channel interference. This will cause temporary picture break-up (pixilation). These additional signals can sometimes cause problemswith relay transmitters in our network.
How long does it last?
This is hard to estimate as there are many variables that cause tropospheric ducting. It often appears at the same time on consecutive days and then can disappear for several months at a time.
What should you do?
At these times, there is nothing you can do butwait until the weather changes.You should not re-tune your television when this happens. If you have re-tuned werecommend doing a manual re-tune to the transmitter your aerial is pointing towards. We have a guide to help you manually retune.
