All posts by Richard Cooper
Below are all of Richard Cooper's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
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My Freeview box has no EPG, is blank on FIVE, ITV3, ITV4, ITV2+Wednesday 15 June 2016 10:32AM
Norwich
John H: Hi, John. An Aerial Flylead is used to connect from a TV aerial socket on the wall to an aerial input socket on a TV or set-top box. They are also used to connect set-top boxes and recorders to TV sets. These will have a male aerial plug at each end. A 'mux' is indeed an abbreviation of 'multiplex'. You can find lots and lots of information about the multiplexes available from Rowridge on this very website: I will copy and paste the link to that right here for you:
Which Freeview channels does the Rowridge transmitter broadcast?
Simply copy and paste this link into the URL or address bar of your internet browser and then scroll down below the coverage map to find the information about the multiplexes. Any more questions, do not hesitate to post them! Richard, Norwich, Weds. 15th. June, 10:30 a.m.
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Hi, Brian. I was under the impression that West Wilts local DAB multiplex had recently been changed to VHF Band III Block 10D. Richard, Norwich, 15/06/2016 @ 10:40 a.m.
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Glengorm (Argyll and Bute, Scotland) Freeview Light transmitterWednesday 15 June 2016 2:51PM
Norwich
James Stewart: Hi, James. There are no faults at or engineering work on the Glengorm transmitter today, the last engineering works at Glengorm having taken place roughly one month ago on 16th. May. Maybe you and your neighbour need to carry out re-tunes in order to restore your channels from Glengorm. I would, however, check all of your aerial leads and plugs first, to ensure that there are no loose connections or 'shorts' before carrying out a retune, and I would also ask you to advise your neighbour to do likewise. Hope this advice helps, Richard, Norwich, Weds. 15th. June, 2:50 p.m.
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Liam: Hi, Liam. From Northampton , the county town, the Sandy Heath transmitter, which is in Bedfordshire is almost due East. Alternatively, the Waltham on The Wolds transmitter, near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire is almost due North. N.B. These data are from Northampton itself. Modify the data if you are not in the county town! If you wish to use Sandy Heath, you will require a wideband (W)or total band (T) aerial. If you wish to use Waltham, a wideband (W) or total band (T) aerial is required for that too. Suggest you experiment with bearings and test maximum signal with a DTT signal finder, available from aerial accessories suppliers, especially for the task of aligning an aerial to a transmitter. Hope this helps, Richard, Norwich, Wednesday 15th. June, 8 p.m.
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Brian: Hi, Brian. In order that we should be able to help you, we need a more detailed postcode than NW3, although I suspect that if you are in the Hampstead heath area, that you are using the Crystal Palace transmitter, which is South/South-East of Hampstead Heath and your tv aerial should be pointing in that direction. There are no faults or engineering work on Crystal palace at the moment, which would suggest that there is a problem somewhere within your installation. Do you have your own personally owned external aerial or is it a communal aerial system shared with other residents? Please come back with a more detailed postcode and the answers to the questions I've posed, and then we can try to help you further. Richard, Wednesday 15th. June, 8:20 p.m.
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Want to know which transmitters will carry extra Freeview HD? |Thursday 16 June 2016 8:30AM
Norwich
Harry: Hi, Harry. Coincidentally, I was discussing something similar with an associate yesterday! In the second World War there was a group of low power local radio transmitters around the country to provide War news to local populations. The criterion for a town to have one was that it had to have a population of 50,000.A town with population 50,000 in the early 1940s was a relatively large town back then! Tameside is a significant area within Greater Manchester isn't it? Richard, East Anglian yokel, Norwich.
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Will there ever be more services on the Freeview Light transmitThursday 16 June 2016 9:01AM
Norwich
Tim Asling: Hi Tim. The simple answer to your question is "No", because there is a subscription-free system called FreeSat, whereby you receive UK television from the Astra 28.2East and Eutelsat28A (28.5 East) satellites. For this system you would need a satellite dish, which would cost you in the range of 15 to 60, plus satellite tv cabling to get down to your tv, F-connectors, etc. You also need either a Freesat set top box or a Freesat enabled tv, such as those that Panasonic do. You get 60 TV channels, 13 of which are HD. There are currently also 38 radio stations. If you want 'on demand', then you would need either a 'SMART' set-top box, rather than an unintelligent one! The trickiest thing from a D-I-Y point of view is aligning the dish, but the layman can do it, with the aid of a satellite signal finder and an assistant pair of hands to help you. My friend did all this himself in Norwich five or six years ago, before digital switchover and has never looked back. Bonus: high atmospheric pressure and temperature inversions don't affect satellite tv reception like they do digital terrestrial! Richard, Norwich.
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Will there ever be more services on the Freeview Light transmitThursday 16 June 2016 9:18AM
Norwich
Tim Asling: Hi Tim. Me again! I wanted to ask whether you had ever tried to get Crystal Palace on Freeview at your location? You might need an aerial with more little cross-piece elements than your present one and you'd have to arrange it with these elements horizontal, rather than the vertical polarisation you are using for Chesham. You then need to point the aerial in an East/South-East direction towards Croydon and re-tune your Freeview tv or set top box. Worth a try as you can purchase a Crystal palace aerial for 25 pounds online! Richard in Norwich.
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John Marsh: Hi, John. The licensed maximum coverage area for the Liverpool mux is virtually from Lytham St Annes in the North down to Ruthin in North Wales. I can't say if there have been any power increases. It is more likely that transmitters have had modifications to their directionality - at least that's what's been happening to our local DAB transmitters down here in East Anglia! Richard, Norwich.
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Wednesday 15 June 2016 10:23AM
Norwich
peter mercer: Hi, Peter. I have just checked Armitage Bridge relay for issues and engineering works. There are neither taking place today. Have you tried to get your HD and other missing channels this morning? By the way, if you've done a retune recently, it is probably best to retune a couple of times more when you know that Armitage Bridge is working properly again, so that the channels you usually get are once again memorised by and are 'locked in' to your set! The best way to ascertain that Armitage Bridge is working properly is to ask a neighbour who has an outside aerial, with its elements (rods) vertical and pointing towards Armitage Bridge in Netherton. If such a neighbour can get HD channels and is not experiencing loss of other channels, there's something wrong with your installation that requires attention! Hope this helps, Richard, Norwich, Weds. 15th June, 10:20 a.m.