Why the television plays up in Cunit
Cunit is the last town on the Tarragona coast before the province of Barcelona, and that shows in terrestrial reception. Between the beach front and the estates climbing the low hills there are differences in height and in tree cover that leave two houses a few metres apart receiving very differently. These are the causes we meet most:
- Doubtful aim. Because of its position near the provincial boundary, an aerial in parts of Cunit may pick up more than one transmitter. If nobody has set it with a meter, it easily ends up halfway between the two and certain channels break up.
- 5G overload. Amplifiers older than the second digital dividend do not filter the 700 MHz band, which mobile telephony now occupies. The result is pictures freezing for no obvious reason.
- Pines and terrain. On estates with tall trees, the growth eventually blocks an aerial that once had a clear view.
- Outdoor materials worn out. In the beach-front blocks, salt corrodes connectors and clamps; in the houses higher up, the sun cracks the cable.
The first thing we do is measure. With a field meter we can tell whether the problem lies in what reaches the aerial, in the amplifier or in the indoor cabling, which stops us replacing parts that are perfectly good. If you need a new installation, it is set out under TV aerials and satellite dishes.
The estates of Cunit: Els Jardins, La Costa, Els Rosers and the rest
Most of the municipality is taken up by estates of detached houses: Els Jardins de Cunit, La Costa de Cunit, Els Rosers, Can Toni, Can Torrents, Can Moles and Plademar, among others. Many were built as second homes and are now lived in all year, by families who work from home and need the television, the wifi and the security to work as well as they would in a city flat.
In this kind of house we mostly do three things:
- A properly mounted individual aerial. A firm mast, a suitable UHF aerial, a 5G filter and an amplifier that shares the signal among all the televisions without losing quality.
- Tidy indoor distribution. We replace chained splitters with tap-offs, or a multiswitch where there is satellite as well, and put points where you actually need them.
- A dish where one is wanted. For international channels via Astra 19.2° E or Hispasat 30° W we fit and aim satellite dishes with mountings suited to the wall or the roof.
Cameras and wifi for houses with a plot
A house with a garden on a Cunit estate has needs a flat does not. The first is knowing what is going on when you are away. We fit CCTV with IP cameras and an NVR recorder you can check from your phone. We position the cameras to cover the entrances, the door and the through routes on your own plot, without taking in the public street or neighbouring houses beyond what the rules allow, and we put up the monitored-area notice.
The second is getting the internet everywhere. Villas in Cunit tend to have two floors, thick walls and outdoor areas such as a pool or a porch. One router is rarely enough. Depending on the house we propose:
- Wired access points, the most stable option wherever cable can be run.
- Mesh wifi systems when cabling is not practical.
- Powerline as a help in particular rooms.
Good wifi is also what keeps IP cameras running without dropouts. More detail under wifi solutions.
The poble and the beach front
In the centre of Cunit and the buildings near the promenade the situation is closer to other coastal towns: associations with a communal aerial, old amplifiers, door entry systems starting to fail and residents asking for satellite. Here we work with the chair or the property manager, go over the whole communal installation and, if the building has no ICT, propose a gradual improvement that does not force major works. If the trouble is in the entrance panel or the handsets, we renew door entry systems too.
From the call to the field meter
- You write to us with a description and, if you can, photos of the aerial and the amplifier.
- We set the visit, grouping it with other Baix Penedès jobs.
- We measure and diagnose on the roof and at your sockets.
- A free quote before anything is replaced.
- We finish by checking the signal and retuning the televisions.
Cunit, the northern edge of our area
Cunit is the furthest town from Salou along the north coast of those we cover, around an hour on the AP-7. That is why we plan visits ahead and carry the commonest materials, so that we can finish the job the same day whenever possible. On the same route we cover Calafell and El Vendrell.