Hi Scott5566,
the easy way to diagnose this problem is to borrow a free view box from a friend plug it into your aerial and see if the problem still occurs.... if it doesn't, you have a dodgy box, take it back and explain how you know that it must be faulty
If on the other hand both boxes show the same fault check you coax, the most common problem I come across is bad connections the inside wire must connect to the inside connection and the hairy shield wire must be connected to the outer metal connection and the wires should never touch (excuse me if this sounds patronising but you have no idea how many times I have seen setups where the outer wire has been cut off completely)
if everything looks ok then the last thing to suspect is your aerial......I have no idea what a DAT 45 ariel is but the best aerial solution is to get the correct one for your transmitter these are colour coded to match and you should be able to find out which colour you need from the bbc or from a good radio specialist don’t buy one with a black cap on the end as these are multi purpose aerials and although they will work for any transmitter they are never the best solution.( avoid buying from Argos , b&q homebase etc).
As far as moving your aerial is concerned the basic rule is that it should be pointing directly at the transmitter with out obstruction the easy way to do this is with a map and a compass (sometimes moving the aerial up down or even to another point on your roof can avoid tall buildings, trees or hills). You may also have to raise your aerial if you have any temporary obstructions such as Lorries passing on a road between you and the transmitter (I know someone who once, could only receive a picture when the iron gates at the entrance to his farm were open).
Anyway I know this doesn’t answer your question about meters…. But I hope it’s of help.
Once again I am not trying to be patronising but hopefully thorough.
darcy
