All posts by MikeB
Below are all of MikeB's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Fiona Unick-Wagg: OK, I'm assuming that you have a TV, but your not getting a TV signal (if you want a TV, then come and see me!).
You havn't given your postcode (you can put into the site when you post), so I can't say why you cannot get a signal, but Tacolneston and the surrounding area is problematic. In fact the whole of North Norfolk is a bit odd (in so many ways...), with poor reception due to various factors (my parents in law live on the coast, and we have lots of customers from the area).
The area tends to be surprising hilly, and so reception is often difficult from Tacolneston or Waltham, and since most people live on the coast, which curves, headland, etc can also block the signal. For this reason, many people tend to tune into Belmost in Yorkshire, which is often a clearer signal. Freesat/Sky is the other option, since the geography makes little difference. If we had your postcode, Google Earth etc would enable people to see where most aerials point in your area.
Also remember that you might have a problem with your own system. A corroded joint, a split or worn cable (which lets in water), and old aerial about to fall apart, or even just a duff aerial lead from the socket to the TV can all have an effect.
And of course a weak signal, caused by engineering work can plunge a marginal but working system into not getting a signal at all.
If you supply a postcode, we can help rather more, but at least you have something to start with.
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Watcher: Yes, most of them do. However, considering that no one has to answer any of the questions at all, its best to be aware that:
1) many questions could be answered by just using the manual/common sense.
2) Or by looking up the FAQ's on this site or just a quick Google
3) Many questions have nothing to do with the site at all. I continually wonder why people ask questions of True Entertainment, etc, which really should be sent to True Entertainment...
4) If you want your question answered, then you need to give a reasonable description of the problem ('the picture isn't good' really is not helpful) and things like a postcode. None of us are the NSA (they already know everything about you...), but without a postcode, you can't find out what transmitter is being used, what in the way of the signal, etc.
5) I've learnt a huge amount of stuff from just reading this site - JB38 & Dave Lindsay are real stars, and they and many others really know their stuff. And without Brianist, there would be no site at all. But pinpointing a problem is often difficult, and might be due to all sorts of factors - it can take time.
6) Sometimes there really are no answers, or if there are people dont always want to listen. 4G seems to be blamed for everything...
If you have a question, lets hear it.
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Steve Coombs: You asked the much the same question on the 20th. Did you check that both aerials are seperate? Are connected to a booster or splitter? And that there are no breaks, loose connections, etc?
As I said before, the chances of two seperate systems both failing at the same time is very unlikely. It could be that the wiring on both aerials has developed much the same problem at the same time, and perhaps heavy rain has put in on the blink. Its possible that the coax was just intact enough to get a retune after drying out, but now its gone.
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dee: If your TV is telling it isn't getting a signal, its because its not getting a signal, which means your aerial has a problem. Could be the cable from the socket to the TV, or the coax up to the aerial, or a loose/corroded connection.
There seems to be a rash of this question at the moment - perhaps its the heavy rain?
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kamran akram: If someone think they can make money from such channels, then why not. I'm sure Freeview would be happy to have as many profitable channels as possible, providing they have the capacity.
Frankly, judging by the audience for the 'local' TV channels, there might be some space soon...
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Ian Cartwright: This page gives you whats available on Freeview, Freesat and Sky 'No Card'. All free TV channels (page 18) | ukfree.tv - 12 years of independent, free digital TV advice Sky giving you incorrect or misleading information? Shocked, just shocked!
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Jules: Could just be that Sandy Heath has upped its power level a little, and its flipping out that particular mux. Whats the signal strength on BBC1?
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Helen Stanley: Frankly, I'm surprised nobody has simply suggested Freesat to you - you live in a location where Freeview is difficult. and since you've said you replaced equipment, it would have been far more cost effective to go for Freesat in the first place.
However, you say you keep getting 'no signal', yet you've had your aerial checked. Have you followed the signal path from the back of the TV up to the aerial? 'No Signal' means that the TV is either getting no signal at all, or so little that the TV cannot read it. Some tuners are more sensitive than others, but if your getting nothing suddenly, its possible you have a loose connection, etc. Work your way back to the aerial if you can, becuase its likely that even a loose connection is making your situation worse - perhaps a splitter that feeds several TV's.
Check your TV's to see if any of them have Freesat/generic sat. tuner's built in. Although they became a bit less popular some years ago, in the last year or two LG and Sony have started putting them into their TV's, but generally not mentioning it. If you have make/model numbers, we can find out.
A twin LNB dish (watch/record) is around £99 to have put up (although a quad might be better for you) - you may even have a dish already. That would make more sense than trying to deal with a transmitter so far away.
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Wednesday 30 July 2014 7:20PM
Tent Bunny: I've got one of these boxes, and thery are not great, as I've commented before. However, there may be several issues that are bound up togeather which makes things more confusing.
Ok - first thing is to not bother to use the Goodmans remote for anything other than the digibox. It may or may not work with your existing equipment, but I just dont bother. I'm assuming you've got a CRT TV, with the Goodmans plugged into the first scart connection. If you are, use your normal remote (which is almost certainly a lot better than the Goodmans) to adjust volume, access to the DVD, etc. The only thing you should use the Goodmans remote for is to change the channel on the box, EPG, search for something using the coloured buttons/teletext, and switch it on/put it in standby.
Next, you need to read the manual. The box can be set up to go into standby after a certain time, and this standby mode is a red light (there is no amber). When its fully on, its green. You change from one to the other via the red standby button. I suspect that the box went into standby automatically, or you accidently put it in that mode. I'd go into setup and stop it going into standby automatically, but injstead just wait until its told to.
Right - although I'm no fan of the box, its pretty unusual to have two fail on you one after the other, showing much the same problem (mine is beginning to go, just outside its two year warrenty, but thats another matter). Your difficulty in finding channels chould be down to either of two reasons, or possibly a combination of both.
Unfortunately you haven't given the website a full postcode. Without that, its more difficult to know your position in relation to the various transmitters. However,there was someone from the LE postcode who reported their mum having a problem tuning in the same box, and I recognised the problem, since I've had a similar experience.
If your in the LE postcode area, Waltham is likely to be your transmitter. However, Belmont, although much further away, tends to be in the same direction. The Goodmans box scans for channels, and often picks up Belmont first. So you have picked up a transmitter, but much further away, and a much worse signal. The box does not let you manually tune - it just finds a transmitter.
If you go into setup, you can check the strength and quality of the signal (which sounds rubbish, hence the lack of EPG, etc), and where its coming from. If it's the East Midland transmitter (it doesn't call it Waltham), then your on the right transmitter (so one less possible cause). If it says Yorkshire, then thats Belmont - which is wrong. Best advice is to take out the aerial lead for the first 30% of the scan and the put it back in, and hopefully you might get Waltham (this is JB38's method). Then never ever retune until you really really have to.
If you are on the right transmitter (and frankly, your signal shouldn't be quite that low, even on Belmont), check your aerial. If you couldn't get a signal on your TV, or its really rubbish, its because the strength is too low for the tuner. That points to a problem with the aerial. In theory, aerial in the roof are not as good as ones outside, but it should be OK. I'd start with the aerial lead - just get a cheapish one from somewhere, and replace the existing one. If everything is fine, then thats the problem. If no change, then follow the signal back to the roof, making sure there are no breaks, corrosion or loose connections, because thats probably the cause of your low signal.
When you eventually get a new TV, it will have a digital tuner (most HD) bulit in, and life will be a bit easier.