All posts by David Warner
Below are all of David Warner's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Freeview 106-201 all gone.
Crystal Palace had engineering work last night apparently.
No BBC News HD No BBC4 No Al Jazeera despite 2 retunes
And no information from Freeview - is this supposed to be a transparent process?
| link to this comment |
I'm SW9 8SE but live next to a railway viaduct at roof-height. My signl was perfect with a large Band A yagi mounted in the loft - but with the migration of Muxes 7 & 8 to Ch 55/56 I have problems. Wideband aerials seem to cannot get me a good enough signal at the low frequency and high frequency end of the band to avoid picture breakup and loss of sound spasmodically when trains pass.
What I also wanted to comment on was your station cahrt above. Very helpful - but Channel 40 is now Sony Crime, and according to my TV is going out on Channel 22 482 MHz (presumably Freeview Channel 40 was re-allocated afer yor chart was compiled).
| link to this comment |
MikeP: Thank you for your recommendations, which are obviously correct, though do not take into account living in a 4 storey terraced house in a conservation area in inner London.
I before I go for Freesat I think I will try an 18 element yagi to try to up the signal enough to overcome the issue. Funnily enough 2 weeks back the Freeview engineers fitted a 28 element Log periodic which got rid of the reflections on my upstairs TV, but I completely lost reception on Channels 106-113 on the downstairs TV.
Reverting to my original 10 element yagi brought all channels back, but obviously also brought back the picture and sound glitches with the trains on the viaduct.
| link to this comment |
Can't say why, but over the last couple of days signal in my location seems a bit lower than normal - getting interfeence from passing trains particulalrly on Sky News 233, which I have not had for a long time.
| link to this comment |
I would never have know this if it wasn't poster here.
Radio Times has True Entertainment as channel 48 but True Movies is not listed.
My set did not need a retune to get these channels.
| link to this comment |
Huw Radley: I think your Crystal Palace signal may be borderline. So if something like adverse weather conditions or some unexplained power reduction at Arqiva occurs your DTV drops out until the signal level is restored to a level the TV can use.
I have had similar problems. I live only 3 miles from Crystal Palace, but my aerial is in the loft. Heavy rain on the roof, verdant leafing on trees over the road or even gradual creeping out of alignment of the aerial itself can take out weaker channels - especially the COM7 and COM8 HF ones for BBC News HD etc, not to mention those interesting channels like PBS America and Smithsonian.
If your aerial if old (like from 2008 or something) this would certainly account for lake of BBC News HD etc as those channels now need Band T aerial, not Band A as someone said upthread.
| link to this comment |
Huw Radley : Agree with MikeP - your aerial is not suitable for Freeview Channels 91-99, 101-113.
It probably works OK with other channels, including BBC One - Channel 5 HD.
What interests me in your comment was this "there are 6 Panasonic TVs here".
Does this mean you have some sort of splitter running one aerial into up to six TVs?
If so, given you are on the fringe of the Crystal Palace reception area, have you consided upgrading your splitter (if you do indeed have one)?
| link to this comment |
I've been having COM 7 and COM 8 problems at Crystal Place - Britain's Numero Uno I am led to believe.
About a month ago (end of April we had very heavy rain, and I lost all the channels on COM 7 (BBC News HD and all the odds and sods - including Channel 4 HD +1. As my aerial in a self-installed loft aerial (which one might be forgiven for thinking a reasonable thing to do - as I am only 3 miles from Crystal Palace), I tried all sorts of manouvering of the aerial to tilt it upwards, move it more easterly, move it more westerly etc to no purpose.
Two days ago I lost the COM 8 signal - which is a disaster for me, as I am very particla to PBS America +1 - only available in the mornings on Freeview channel 93. I aso lost BBC Four HD of course - meaning I can't vada (see Polari dictionary) those posh programmee by Andrew Graham Dixon etc on art - which is exactly why you need HD.
I'm still in the process of trying to resolve this issue. I should point out here that I have lived in the house since 1986 - and have because of technical chnages got through 5 loft aerials due to tansmitter technical changes (stating with Channel 5 retune - remember that?) I presently have a 20 element Yagi array - which I upgraded to from my previous 10 element Yagi aerial, last time Arquiva screwed up (if it was they) and I had COM7 COM8 problems.
When I installed the 20 element there was a Freeview calculator which gave you the correct compass bearing to use to Crystal Palace - or which ever transmitter you needed. This now seems to have gone from cyberspace.
Can I please have the correct bearing from 290 Coldhabour Lane SW9 8SE to Crystal Palace?
Can you also comment on whether the trees on the opposite side of the road coming into verdant leaf may had sut down my COM7 and COM8 signal? Should I apply for conservation area consent to have them felled?
Why is COM7 and COM 8 radiated at a mere 40kW at Crystal Palace when the other multiplexes are 200kW? (except the local London Live/Sony Movies multiplex LW (channel 35) which is 20kW.
By the way this local low power multiplex comes in so strongly from Crystal Palace to Brixton that you don't need an aerial to receive it - even with verdant trees on the other side of there road!
| link to this comment |
Thanks for you detailed reply.
I have a compelling argument as to why my problem is NOT caused by high signal levels.
All Freeview channels carried by "Old" channel numbers 22, 23, 25, 26, 28, 30 and 35 are being received perfectly. This includes channel 30, which in London carries the Full HD channels BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, CBBC and TBC (this being a narrow bandwidth H264 commerical gospel channel).
My problem is only with the low power COM7 and COM8 which radiate at 746MHz and 754MHz.
My own theory is that these much higher frequencies are attenuated more by the roof felt and the slates.
Then of course there is the matter of the trees - which change with the season.
I asked you if you could direct me to a website to give me the compass bearing to Crystal Palace.
Such a site existed a year ago - but not now, as far as I can see.
I notice that when I installed the 20 element aerial - it was ordered from CPC around 20th October 2019. With a compass. Having endured some months of BBC Four HD misery on the non-performing 10 element aerial installed may in April or May 2018, I got six months of decent reception.
Until the leaves came out on the trees??
You said in your replay that the Crystal Palace COM 7 and COM 8 signal had been boosted from 40kW to 84 and 81kW. Where did you get that from. I am wondering whether they have actually altered the radiation pattern - pointing it towards Nigel Farage perhaps, rather than rebellious Brixton?
Just to repeat my TV shows now sign of overloading on Freeview 1-105. Or 231-235.
On the other hand it shows severe lack of signal on channels 106,107,109 etc PLUS 93 PBS America+1 (which I watch a lot in the morning - or did until now).
The TV I use has a sort of signal strength indication - but this seems a bit unreliable.
Your comments about my railway viaduct problems - yes is the signal is week all sorts of things happen to the picture (chopped in half, goes green, sound screetches like bats), Currenntly this woud happen on channel 93 - PBS+1, although most of the time totally unusable.
On the other hand all the non-HD channels plus BBC1-Channel5 HD are very stable.
Over to you mate.
PS the aerial currently installed is https://cpc.farnell.com/a…1003
I do have all the previous ones, except the very first Band A on for analogue which I scrapped.
But I don't see a 10 element 1990 wideband installed for analogue channel 5 OR the Band A 10 element aerial I had to install when Freeview went HD (for me 2010), or the 10 element Band T aerial I had to install when Arqiva/OFCOM introduced the wretched COM7 and COM8. I don't see how they will help me now. You are only suggesting that because of you incorrect hypothesis about the signal being too strong.
| link to this comment |
Wednesday 21 March 2018 4:35PM
Lost BBC4 HD and BBC News HD (and all channels between Freeview 106 and 202).
Problem started shortly after midnight. Have retuned twice - as worked was appafrtently scheduled.
No joy at all. 106-201 still missing.