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My Freeview box has no EPG, is blank on FIVE, ITV3, ITV4, ITV2+1, has no sound o

My Freeview box has no EPG, is blank on FIVE, ITV3, ITV4, ITV2+1, has no sound or the channel line up is wrong

My Freeview box has no EPG, is blank on FIVE, ITV3, ITV4, ITV2+
published on UK Free TV

To deal with the problem you must clear the channel list completely and then rescan - if your box has it in the menus, please the 'installation menu' to do an initial scan or a reset to factory settings or First Time Installation. You MUST delete the entire existing list of channels. On most boxes this technique can be also be used:

Try this:

1) unplug your Freeview box (or idTV) from the mains;



2) unplug the aerial from the Freeview box by disconnecting the cable from the 'RF in' socket;



3) wait 30 seconds;

4) plug Freeview box (or idTV) mains back in;



5) do a complete scan for channels - it will fail without the aerial. (This may be in the installation or initialization menu, and is distinct from any 'add channels option'). Once this is done your channel line up should be empty;



6) reinsert aerial by reconnecting to the 'RF in' connection;



7) do a complete scan for channels again.



The Freeview channel line-up provided by six "multiplexes" - each of which carry five or more TV channels, radio channels, text services and EPG data. In this diagram each ROW represents a multiplex. If you are still missing a whole multiplex (ie everything on the row) you may need to replace your aerial with a wideband type, purchase a larger aerial or you may have interference from a VCR, games console, Sky Digibox or similar.



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Comments
Sunday, 20 August 2023
C
Chris.SE
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

3:32 PM

Darren Brown:

Hi. No problem.
I've had a review of everything so far, leaving aside reception difficulties in your area, there's clearly a case of interference which we need to address first before even considering which transmitter may be best etc.
Chatton wasn't on last weeks engineering list but was the week before, and doesn't look as though it'll be on next weeks, so on paper, reception due to transmission effects should be back to normal!

The EPG issues could be related to this interference, but this might be a separate issue which can be considered once the interference problem is resolved which of course may fix that!

We need to get a better picture of how your signals are affected when the interference is present.
Whilst the engineering work was happening, you mentioned a Signal Strength figure of 14-18% for the SDN multiplex on C29.
To get a better picture of how your reception overall might be affected by this interference we need the Signal Strength and Quality figures for each of the UHF channel multiplexes.

Whichever you can do first (depends when you se my reply and can have time to check) -
Post the figures for each once the interference has started.
Post the figures from (during the day) when there is "no obvious interference" (the fly in the ointment at present is there's potentially variable Tropospheric Ducting which may cause interference to normal reception). You may need to look at those figures a few times to see how stable they are.

There may also be problems with interference from new/upgraded mobile phone masts as your area should have had postcards from https://restoretv.uk but this is more likely to cause an overall degradation in reception and not something that starts at some point in the evening so will consider this as a potential secondary issue. Let's see the figures first.

Now as you've mentioned this problem is regularly starting around 9.30pm it's either something on a timer if it's an exact time every day or something to do with "dusk" at this time of year - ie lighting coming on as it get's dark. See if you can identify which it is (exact time or dusk), and also correlate anything you can observe - street lights, your own lights, a near neighbours lights etc.
If it's an exact time it might be central heating but it could still be some lights that are on a timer!

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Chris.SE's 4,363 posts GB flag
D
Darren Brown
4:42 PM

Hi Chris, thanks for your reply. I have done a signal test at 16.30 today. Results are:

UHF 29 - Strength 10-14%, Quality 79-84%
UHF 31 - Strength 10%, Quality 55-73%
UHF 37 - Strength 14-18%, Quality 95-100%
UHF 41 - Strength 42%, Quality 100%
UHF 44 - Strength 35-52%, Quality 100%
UHF 47 - Strength 22-26%, Quality 100%

I will do another one tonight

Thanks Darren

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Darren Brown's 13 posts GB flag
C
Chris.SE
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

8:43 PM

Darren Brown:

Hmm. Well, those strength figures are generally lower than I would have expected and the fact that the Quality figures for the COM multiplexes are not a nice steady 100% explains why you are having some issues. The question is why the figures are low and I'm not going to speculate as there could be a number of reasons as we don't know anything about your installation at the moment.

Obviously you have the aerial itself - was this install by a TV Aerial installer or yourself, and is it still pointing more or less at compass bearing 344 degrees (that's roughly a tiny bit N of NNE) with its rods horizontal?

Does the aerial feed one set directly, or do you have an amp/splitter to feed more than one set/box etc.?
If you have an amp/splitter or any amplifier a make and model number would be helpful.
Also a description of how all the equipment is interconnected? (eg. the aerial may first go to a Recorder and an RF output go on to the TV).
Does the aerial downlead have any markings such as CT100 or similar?
Does it terminate in a wall plate and you have short "flyleads" interconnecting theTV/Box etc.?

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Chris.SE's 4,363 posts GB flag
D
Darren Brown
9:13 PM

Hi Chris
Channels went off at 20.45 tonight and the street lights were on. Signal test as follows:

UHF29 - Strength 0%, Quality 0%
UHF31 - Strength 14%, Quality 53 - 74%
UHF37 - Strength 22%, Quality 100%
UHF41 - Strength 46%, Quality 100%
UHF44 - Strength 42-46%, Quality 100%
UHF47 - Strength 26%, Quality 100%

The aerial was installed by a TV Installer, it is pointing at more or less 344 degs and its rods are horizontal. The aerial only feeds 1 TV and the lead is plugged directly into the TV. There are no splitters or amplifiers.

Darren


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Darren Brown's 13 posts GB flag
C
Chris.SE
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

10:50 PM

Darren Brown:

OK, it's looking as though a street light is causing some interference - not an unknown event, probably your nearest one!
What sort of lighting is it - I'd guess because it's a newish estate that it may be LED?
They can, when faulty, cause as much of an interference problem as high pressure sodium lights!

I don't suppose you'll be up and have the TV on at the moment the street lights go off in the morning?
Seeing the figures improve especially C29 at the instant they go off, and perhaps confirm that the figures degrade by watching closely tomorrow evening it happens at the instant the light(s) come would show that this was clearly the main interference problem affecting C29.

If you can check your coax plug that goes into the TV and see that it's clean with no signs of wetness or corrosion. What colour is the cable and whilst you are there look for any markings identifying the type of cable?

As we seem to be narrowing that issue down, the general across the board low figures could be due to mobile phone mast interference which can overload the receiver and cause "desensitisation" as well as varying signal strength and quality figures.

I would contact https://restoretv.uk/ - you can ring them on 0808 -1313-800 or email them via their website (see Contact Us). Tell them that you believe you are having problems with interference which started sometime since they sent postcards to your postcode, you are having varying signal strength and quality figures which can be quite low at times and you'd like a free filter sent to you.
(This you would plug into the TV and plug the aerial into it).


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Chris.SE's 4,363 posts GB flag
Monday, 21 August 2023
D
Darren Brown
9:17 PM

Hi Chris, sorry just seen this now as ive been at work all day. The street lights are LED, The coax plug is clean. The cable is white but I cant see any markings on it. There is also a 5G mast outside the Eagle pub on Wealcroft which is pretty near where I live. I leave for work at 6am so if the lights haven't gone off by then, ill have to leave it till I get a day off work

Thanks

darren

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Darren Brown's 13 posts GB flag
C
Chris.SE
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

11:09 PM

Darren Brown:

No problem, but as you probably realise we need to be sure it's the street light(s) otherwise start looking for something else being turned on a dusk.

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Chris.SE's 4,363 posts GB flag
C
Chris.SE
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

11:13 PM

Darren Brown:

I could have added, before you leave, whether the street lights are still on or not, check if the interference is still present, ie is C29 still 0%.

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Chris.SE's 4,363 posts GB flag
Tuesday, 22 August 2023
D
Darren Brown
10:09 AM

Hi Chris
I woke up at 3am this morning. Channels were back on but the street lights were also on. Signal test showed C29 at around 14-18% strength. I also did another test at 5.50am. Signal strength was the same but street lights were off.

Darren

link to this comment
Darren Brown's 13 posts GB flag
C
Chris.SE
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

1:36 PM

Darren Brown:

OK, this implies it's something else that is getting switched on around dusk.
Do careful checks with all your own lighting and electrical stuff that may get turned on around those times.
If that yields nothing, see if you can spot any correlation between any near neighbour's lighting being switched on, that includes floodlighting of any description as well as maybe internal lights.

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Chris.SE's 4,363 posts GB flag
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