All posts by Philip Davies
Below are all of Philip Davies's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
All Blaenplwyf Channel 25 programs are now permanently pixillated ('flying lego blocks',) and sound scrambled (squelching,, squawking, hiccuping, crunching, gulping, sneezing, squeaking noises) with a good strong signal yet only low-average to poor signal quality indicated. Also programs are appearing on different numbers after different tuning attempts (eg Horror, usually 70, can appear on 13, or even on BOTH at the same time, OR on 800; and CCTX can appear on 70 and sometimes on 13). There was work on Blaenplwyf transmitter - correct for SY24 5BT my location) a couple of weeks ago, when Channel 25 [is that multiplex 25 ?] started breaking up, and the Website warned of weak signal and possible picture breakup. However, this problem has been recurring for years now, and increasingly often, being now permanently unviewable. The 'Quality' meter on my freeview box goes up and down from average - with interference - to poor - with picture obliteration and sometimes disappearance of signal altogether (with signal strength indicating 'good' even when no picture or sound are produced !). All other Channels and programs have, and have always had, excellent signal quality and strength, with no variation, so obviously my equipment and aerial are not the source of interference, and it is the signal emanating from Blaenplwyf which is defective - yet elsewhere in the region there is no such interference ! This leads me to suspect that somewhere in the neighbourhood there may be a source of powerful electrical interference; a new Sky dish did go up next door, but only recently and the problem pre-dates that by several years. I'm told the new mobile phones can destroy freeview reception, but wouldn't that affect ALL programs ? What could possibly affect one channel, and leave all others from the same transmitter, and through the same equipment, unaffected ? And how can a strong signal be degraded on only one channel ? Any help would be appreciated.
| link to this comment |
Just received my at800 filter to deal with 4g interference that I suffer on one - and only one - Freeview Channel/Multiplex from Blaenplwyf. The thing is just a gimmick - it actually made my picture and sound on Channel 25 - all programs - even worse. All other Channels/Multiplexes are free from interference. Unfortunately they are also increasingly taken over by long advertising breaks every few minutes, and consist chiefly of repetitious recycling of the same old programmes. Everything was fine with reception until they allowed a complete free-for-all scramble for mobile phone services. I'm tired of having to constantly fiddle with Freeview to keep program sI already had, and having to put up with the random disappearance of others that used to come through with no problem. I've heard that even Freesat has its share of interference, so I'm not attracted to paying to have a dish and new equipment for that. Sky is far too expensive; I already have Netflix - whose catalogue is not as good as it used to be - and I don't have any more available sockets - or cash - for other streaming services. So increasingly I must watch on the small screen of an old PC with a very shaky video processor at low resolution. Thank goodness I can still rely on the radio and that completely reliable technology known as A BOOK ! And they call it progress !!
| link to this comment |
Chris.SE: Thanks for your detailed and interesting response to my problem with mux 25 (that's Com 4 I think), on Blaenplwyf. All you say is to the point and valid. However, I have eliminated the possibility that it is my local situation - reception, equipment, local interference - which is the source of the problem: I can say this definitively because a friend 4 miles up the road with only Freeview has the exact same interference on all the mux 25 programs ! So it can only be a problem at the propagation end of the signal, i.e. the Blaenplwyf mast itself. I have done a full factory reset and retune also - no difference. I fear they have messed up this mux good-and-proper by taking bandwidth from Freeview to make way for mobile phone services in future. Of course nobody I write to or phone for help wants to admit this because Freeview is very much the 'poor relation' where broadcasting is concerned, it seems to me. Anyway, it seems mux 25 is a write-off and nobody in authority is bothered - except I got sent a 4g filter by 'at800' - which just made the picture worse and anyway then I was told there isn't any 4g or 5g coverage around here at present in any case ! No wonder almost no-one I know bothers with Freeview, but prefers to pay for cable or internet streaming.
| link to this comment |
Horror+ gone without warning replaced by another pointless 'reality' channel. Blaenplwyf gives the best coverage here - which then only means a 'limited' service. It also seems Freeview is going to be switched off in a few years anyway. More info. please.
| link to this comment |
Thursday 28 January 2016 6:11PM
Borth
There is (as you know) a DAB transmitter for Ceredigion at Blaenplwyf. I live at SY24 5BT (Llandre) and I have a new top-of-the-range receiver which picks up a good FM signal from Blaenplwyf on an indoor aerial. However, on DAB even the stronger signal of the BBC's DAB stations is unstable and constantly subject to intolerable interference. I had been warned that the British DAB standard was a very compromised and unsatisfactory broadcasting medium when I bought this radio. However, my radio is fortunately also capable of picking up the allegedly improved DAB+ signal. I must ask when this promised usable form of digital radio broadcasting will replace the utterly inadequate DAB signal broadcast at present? Frankly, the current DAB service must be regarded as a ridiculous waste of time and money, and is in urgent need of replacement.