All posts by Mike Dimmick
Below are all of Mike Dimmick's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Mr V Ward: You will need a Freeview box or an integrated digital TV. You can pick up a Freeview box at electrical retailers and even many supermarkets.
If you can't get digital TV after that, you might need your aerial system looked at. Perhaps try the Confederation of Aerial Installers' directory at Directory Search Page or the Registered Digital Installers Licensing Body at Registered Digital Installers Licensing Body | Welcome , or look for a local aerial installer in the Yellow Pages or phone book.
All your nearby transmitters have already switched over, or at least begun. Sutton Coldfield is the last and it will complete switchover on Wednesday, so you do need to sort it out - all analogue will end on Wednesday morning.
The Waltham transmitter needs a wideband aerial for all services, but most are available from a grouped aerial, as you would have had for analogue TV. At Sutton Coldfield, all services will be in the analogue group.
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Mr V Ward: If you're over 75 or disabled, you may be able to get help from the Switchover Help Scheme. See
The Switchover Help Scheme can help you make the switch to digital TV. | Switchover Help Scheme for more details. You will need to move fairly quickly as registration for this scheme ends a month after the final switchover in your region - which is Oxford on the 28th of September.
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Arthur: If you had trouble getting BBC Four before April's analogue switch-off, and trouble getting ITV4 and Film4 before the changes on the 14th, the problem is likely reception of C67.
I'm guessing that this is the longest cable run from the aerial? Is the splitter as close to the aerial as possible, and all cables run from there? If not, that may improve matters.
If the cables run outside at all, check that they cannot move and rub against the brickwork or tiles. If they have been, the outer insulation will have deteriorated and let water in - water in the cable increases the losses along it, and this is greater at higher frequencies than low ones.
A *small* amount of amplification before the splitter, to offset the amount of signal lost in the cables, may help.
You're very close to the transmitter - did you ever get a wideband aerial? If you didn't, there may not be very much signal going into the system on C67 in the first place. The highest frequency in use will be C52, from 23 November. Even as close as you are, a wideband is still recommended, although it won't have as much gain at lower frequencies as a Group A.
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john martin: There are a couple of Sagem boxes on Digital UK's list of equipment that has a problem with the large Network Information Table as used from 2008 onwards. A symptom often is that some channels end up tuned at 800 rather than their correct locations.
http://www.digitaluk.co.u…tnit
If you have entries at 4 and 5 in the channel list but they don't work, it may be a case of Digital Region Overlap. Signals from Belmont could be strong enough to tune in, though I would expect that Freeview HD boxes should store the best quality or strongest first, and ask which region to store if more than one is found. (Belmont is counted as a different region to Emley Moor.)
Do check that you don't have too *much* signal, you're still fairly close to Emley Moor. See Freeview signals: too much of a good thing is bad for you | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice for more information.
When retuning, do make sure you do a full reset as boxes may not store services they think they already have. All services change frequency at switchover. You will need to retune after 6am tomorrow to continue to get all services from Emley Moor, as it's completing switchover tonight. There should have been a leaflet or page in the manual of any box sold after 2009 explaining specifically how to do this at switchover.
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M Gardiner: See Digital Region Overlap.
If the issue is that the box found Mendip before it found Oxford, this problem will still occur after the 28th, because Mendip D3&4 is on C54 while Oxford will be on C60. The BBC services should be the right way round - at present - because Oxford BBC A is on C53 and Mendip on C61, though Mendip will have to move, some time in the next couple of years, to a different frequency to release C61 for 4G mobiles.
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Triode: Yes, since it completed switchover in April. If he couldn't get HD channels but BBC services, ITV1, C4 and C5 were otherwise fine, see What does "Full HD Ready" actually mean? | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice .
It's possible that something else was knocking out that one frequency, though it would probably have caused interference on Channel 4 analogue before switchover, and possibly Multiplex 2 before switchover and Multiplex A now. See Single Frequency Interference for an idea of what to look for.
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roy halls: I'd contact Panasonic's support. Some units did require the GuidePlus service on analogue in order to pick up the programme guide.
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Bob: See Freeview signals: too much of a good thing is bad for you | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice .
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Mr John Royce: You could be using Waltham or Sutton Coldfield. If Sutton Coldfield, tomorrow after 6am. Waltham still has one multiplex running at lower power, until 6am on 12 October.
Note that Waltham SDN - the one on lower power - is also outside the analogue aerial group, and a grouped aerial - one designed to cover only that group - will have little gain down at C29.
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Sunday 18 September 2011 8:19PM
Steph: If the communal aerial points to the Emley Moor transmitter, try retuning on Wednesday 21 September after 6am.
You may find you only get the channels on the BBC A, D3&4, BBC B (HD) and SDN multiplexes. If so, the university's distribution system will need updating to pass through the other two multiplexes. The ones I've listed will be using the same frequencies as the old analogue transmissions.
If you find other residents can get all the channels, take it up with the university.