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All posts by MikeB

Below are all of MikeB's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.


mikem004: Possibly thousands of other people are...judging by the number of people who complain of signal breakup in similar circumstances. See here: Freeview signals: too much of a good thing is bad for you | Switchovers | ukfree.tv - 12 years of independent, free digital TV advice However, your readings are really odd - 86% is a little high (75% is perfect) but seemingly fine. 66% but breaking up? Thats odd - the lower threshold shouldn't be that high. Might be a question for JB38 or Dave Lindsay...

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M
Full technical details of Freeview
Tuesday 22 July 2014 8:44PM

Ms Alexander: Sorry, it sounds like your aerial has a fault, possibly caused by the storm. The TV isn't getting a signal, hence the blue screen (there is probably that message on the screen as well). The TV/box are working fine, their just not getting anything, and they are telling you that..

You could see if the aerial lead/s at the back of the set, etc have come loose or out. If they have then everything should work fine, but if they are OK, it sounds like your aerial needs looking at. Unfortunately, that is going to cost you. I'm sure someone might be able to suggest someone reliable in your area, but general advice is not to choose anyone with an 0800 number or something similar, or just a mobile number on a flyer. To have a completely new aerial and good cable, £150-180 is reasonable, although it might be a bit cheaper than that, depending on where you are and who does it (but certainly less than £200 all in).

However, someone might look at your system, find out its something small, such as a broken connection, and charge you relatively little. Hopefully, this will be the case.

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Emley Moor (Kirklees, England) transmitter
Tuesday 22 July 2014 10:26PM

mikem004: It might - certainly some TV's are more sensitive than others.

However, as I said, your situation is odd. If you were 5-10km from a transmitter, and had breakup with 100% signal strength, then that would be easy. If its far too low (30%?), then that also makes sense - a duff aerial connection, etc.

But to have breakup on Com4 when the signal strength is actually perfectly OK is just weird.


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Lee gammon: Your just 4km away from a transmitter, and 21km from the main one (click on DigitalUK link), so its highly likely your getting too much signal (nothing to do with the box). See here: Freeview signals: too much of a good thing is bad for you | Switchovers | ukfree.tv - 12 years of independent, free digital TV advice

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Full technical details of Freeview
Wednesday 23 July 2014 9:18PM

Peter Young: If you click on the DigitalUK link, they reckon you should be fine for Hannington, but a bit dodgy for Waltam. On the other hand, the home to mast plot looks fine for both, and if your on Waltham, if anything, your signal might be too strong.

Forget about the DVD recorder - its happening on both your TV's, so its about your reception (although I hope you didn't pay too much for the repair, considering the cost of a new PVR). Are both TV's attached to one aerial? Is there a booster as part of the system? What transmitters are your various TV/recorder tuners tuned into? What signal strength are you reading? And have you checked to make sure that no part of your aerial system is damaged? (the storm was pretty bad where I was).

It sounds like your aerial system has a fault, perhaps a loose connection, water, etc. You might need someone to come and look at it.


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Feedback | Feedback
Thursday 24 July 2014 3:14PM

martssmart: It could be that your recorder is doing an update at that time (most do), and does not record. However, thats odd, since most machines notice you want to record something, and leave the update until later.

If the problem is at the same time each day, could be interference, perhaps from a thermostat, etc. Have a look around, to see what might be an issue.

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John Pilkington: Good that it got sorted, and something I'll remember when I'm working tomorrow.

Although the auroupdate feature can be annoying, its very good at finding new channels without any need for retuning - which is why it should just be left to its own devices.

Of course now that you've got Notts TV, what do you think?

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M: You could start with a postcode....

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Dave
Friday 25 July 2014 2:43PM

Stewart: A full postcode would be helpful (so we can see what transmitter your using), but it might be useful to look at the signal strength of your various channels.

Dave is going to be lower power than some other mux's, and if your fgetting a problem with your aerial (corrodsion, etc), then that might mean a degraded signal, which is showing up on Dave first.

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Cliff Sinclair: As the page above explains, the first thing to do is check your system for faults. Loose aerial lead (or busted?), is your aerial OK, etc

You should be fine for Waltham (your closer than I am), so it could be that your aerial circuit has a problem, and its that mux which is showing the first syptoms.

Elliot: Which transmitter are you tuned into? Depending on the direction of your aerial, your fine for the Wrekin, Malvern or Sutton Coldfield. But your just 1km from Kiddeminsters transmitter - which might explain why BBC breaks up, the signal muct be very high.

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