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All posts by Chris.SE

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


All using Mendip:

It seems a number of posters are not reading back at the information and advice already given to people with similar or identical problems, so I will repeat most of the information I & others have previously posted.

The changes that have taken place have been planned for several years to clear those UHF frequencies for use by new 5G mobile services. The changes are managed by OFCOM and the transmitters operators (usually Arqiva).
Note this site is not owned or managed by any of the broadcasters or transmitter operators, it is a help site for people with Freeview problems.

The changes at Mendip mean that channels have moved from those previously covered by a C/D group aerial. Some very old C/D aerials won't pick up lower UHF channels C32-C36 satisfactorily, but many will. For those still having problems with the lower UHF channels 32, 33 etc, then your aerial system may need upgrading to a T Group or Wideband & for those where the aerial is an issue, as long as they don't also have Cable and/or Satellite, they may be eligible for assistance with an aerial change from Freeview as detailed on this page Important changes to Freeview TV signals | Freeview (Important changes to Freeview TV signals).

For up-to date information about channel numbers & predicted coverage at your location, go to Digital UK - Coverage checker and put in your postcode & ensure the box 'Detailed view' is ticked.
The "final" UHF channels for Mendip are now 32, 34, 35, 48, 33, 36 for the main 6 muxes, 55 & 56 for COMs 7&8 and 30 for the Local Mux. Note 35, 55 & 56 are HD muxes that you will only get with an HD tuner.

For those still having problems with the new UHF channels, check other things such as poor connections on all your connectors by unplugging them, check connections and plugging in again. Also check that your aerial hasn't moved in high winds.
If you have any devices with RF outputs (such as game consoles, old video players, sky boxes etc) make sure they aren't set to any of the new channels. Try a channel above 56.

If you are still having trouble getting all the muxes tuned in on some devices, try a complete retune with the aerial unplugged to clear all the current tunings. Then reconnect the aerial and ideally do a manual tune for the UHF channels listed above to avoid any clashes with Wenvoe signals. Some devices will allow you to choose a region after an automatic scan where you are getting more than one transmitter.

Finally, some of the information on this site is incomplete or out-of-date. Brian Butterworth (the site owner) has posted elsewhere about the mostly "final" position listings showing on a lot of transmitter pages, and this is in part due to a bug in his code, but keeping up with all the changes across the country is no mean feat. But thanks anyway to Brain Butterworth for providing and hosting the site at no cost to us.


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js:

Whilst the responsibility for the EPG is with DigitalUK, this does not detract from the fact that I've not seen any reports elsewhere about this issue and don't get these errors on my transmitter. How do you know it's not a transmission fault at Winter Hill? You've previously said that you've not had any satisfactory response from DigitalUK, so a conversation with Arqiva MIGHT possibly move this issue forward. Or have you had some updated information that you haven't mentioned?

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Another link I forgot to include in my last post Digital UK | Channel listings which is where you should get an up-to-date list of which channels are on which multiplex. You can order the list by LCN, Mux etc by clicking on the heading of the column.

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Full technical details of Freeview
Monday 24 June 2019 9:55AM

A Lloyd:

Unfortunately the site owner has not been able as yet to update all the information. Visit Digital UK | Channel listings should give an up-to-date list which you can order by LCN, Mux etc by clicking on the heading of the column.

Stephen:

If this occurs at exactly the same time each day then it could be caused by interference from something controlled by a timer eg. central heating, discharge lighting etc. Do your neighbours get a similkar issue? or see below.

NasS: & Shopps:

As mentioned elsewhere COMs 7&8 are now SFNs (Single frequency Networks) on UHF 55&56 and if you aren't close enough to your particular transmitter, then you may get interference from other transmitters which may be constant or vary with weather system changes and prevent and reception of the those muxes.

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Carole:

As satman has already said, it's possible you are picking up the wrong transmitter. I'm afraid MikeP seems to have made an error there, as Talking Pictures on 81 is on ArqB multiplex UHF36 from Mendip, so in your particular location you will be getting strong signals from Wenvoe, and despite the predicted coverage you could even be tuned to Kings Weston. Are you getting similar issues with Ideal World, Yesterday or 4seven for example - all on the same multiplex? Can you get the Bristol Local mux ok, try LCN channel 7. Do you have anything on LCN channel 8?

Did you do a manual tune or an automatic one? Have you tried to look at the tuning settings to see what UHF channels you are actually tuned to? Your TV setup may have asked you to set a region, and even setting it to West, you'll still get Kings Weston.

How old is your aerial? If it's not a Wideband type (or type T) it could be a quirk in the performance that means you aren't getting UHF36 quite as well as the others lower down.

If you are struggling to find information in your Settings about the precise tunings you have, please tell us the exact model of TV that you have and someone may be able to tell you the exact methods to use - do you still have the manual for it?

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Dean:

A similar question about the age of your aerial as I've mentioned to Carole.
Now BS8 has a lot of buildings of varying height in it, so it'll depend exactly where you are. Put your full postcode into Digital UK - Coverage checker to see what it predicts for UHF36, and also try it again with your house number to see if it gives a different result.

MikeDow:

That's good news Mike, considering your location getting such good signals from Mendip! Might be a bit frustrating for local news though (unless you can get a decent signal from Rowridge off the back of your aerial).

Everyone that gets very good signals (in general) from Wenvoe:

You may find that the signal strength you are now getting from Mendip for COMs 7&8 (UHF55&56) is not as good as before even though you get 100% quality. In my particular location it's down a lot, which at present I can only put down to interference from Wenvoe & Oxford (as I also get signals from there). That of course is unless there is a Mendip Transmitter fault and the power is down (it's supposedly the same as before the changes) as I'm not convince the Fault reporting is up-to-date/correct, as the Bristol Local Mux was off-air/low power in the latter hours of last night and that has yet to be reported!


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Mendip (Somerset, England) Full Freeview transmitter
Saturday 29 June 2019 9:23PM
Badminton

Carole:

Further to my last post to you, a couple more thoughts/queries. Is your aerial on the chimney? Do you have more than one aerial? Have you looked at your aerial recently to make sure it hasn't fallen down or moved? Do you have an aerial amplifier and/or splitter to feed more than one TV or box?

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Tracy & MikeP:

I'm afraid I still think Sudbury is your best transmitter and Hardy agree. I'm not sure how Mike gets variable reception for SDN (I still think he has his comments for Sudbury & Sandy Heath interchanged). Reception should be Good for all 6 muxes from Sudbury.
Make sure you are tuned to the UHF channels for the Sudbury muxes ie. - 44, 41, 47, 29, 31, 37
The channels you mentioned are on different multiplexes (muxes) ArqA, SDN, D3&4 & SDN in the prder you mentioned. So apart from carrying out the checks I mentioned in my previous post, look at your aerial to make sure it's still pointing in the correct direction.

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Sue Jackson:

Apart from the movement of multiplexes to different UHF channels around the country (for which there are no more planned for Sudbury as part of the 700MHz clearance), unfortunately Broadcasters sometimes move their channels around to different LCN numbers and sometimes multiplexes.
This has happen twice recently. Back in May see Sony Channel changes | Freeview and most recently on 27th June see https://www.freeview.co.u…tml.

Unfortunately this means that you will no longer be able to get True Entertainment or True Movies as they've moved to Local muxes and there isn't one at Sudbury. Paramount Network & 5SELECT are both on the SDN multiplex.
You need to put your postcode into Digital UK - Coverage checker to see what the predicted reception at your location is.

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There was a report of a transmitter fault prior to those posts with weak signal for the BBC mux UHF48 but that was the 25th and should now be cleared assuming the information is correct. Otherwise as Mike suggests it's very likely due to current weather conditions.

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