menuMENU    UK Free TV logo Archive (2002-)

 

 

Click to see updates

All posts by Chris.SE

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


cris:

As per my post 3 before yours, which refers to a previous post -
Rebuilding Freeview High Definition from 2019 onwards | free and easy COM7 is NOT due to stop after November.

If you are only able to receive BBC4 HD on one of your receivers, it sounds like your setup may be a bit marginal or you are in a poor reception area for COM7. If you provide a full postcode we can look at your predicted reception and if you tell us about your aerial and how the signal is distributed to the 4 receivers, we may be able to offer some constructive advise to improve the situation.

Also have a look in your TV's Tuning section - may be under something like Signal Strength or Manual Tuning and see what sort of Strength and Quality figures are for each UHF channel and post the figures. Ideally figures from the set on the longest cable run and/or the one receiving COM7 if different.

link to this comment
GB flag

Ian:

I assume you must be on moderately high ground if you have a clear view of the mast with the transmitter at a bearing of 189 degrees (9 degrees W of due S) from Market Drayton. I can't find any reports of current transmitter faults or maintenance.

When you say you've tried all suggestions, it's not obvious what that might include.
I assume that might have included a full retune. Have you tried a manual tune for UHF C44?
In case you've tried those and for some reason your sets memory has not allocated the programmes in the correct LCNs, you could try the following -
Unplug the aerial and do an automatic retune which should clear all previous tuning as nothing should be found.
(This may not work on some devices such as Youview boxes and a reset would be required).
Plug the aerial back in and carry out a manual tune for the Wrekin's UHF channels -
C26, C23, C30, C41, C44, C47 that in the multiplex order PSBs1-3, COMs 4-6.
If you can't manual tune, then do an automatic tune.

If that hasn't worked, have you changed anything in your installation? Has anything nearby externally changed recently - eg. scaffolding being erected, solar panels installed, an extension built where a wall is now on the line of sight? If none of those, post back with a full post code and more detail of your installation - eg. how old is the aerial what route does the cable take from the loft aerial - might it have been damaged? Any distribution splitter/amplifiers etc.? Check all you connections and any flyleads - breaks in cables may not cause loss of all channels.

Have a look in your TV's tuning section for what Signal Strength and Quality figures it shows for each UHF multiplex - may be in Manual Tuning.

link to this comment
GB flag
C
Information TV
Saturday 21 November 2020 1:15PM

StevensOnln1:

I think IT is just spam, like a load of other posts we've seen lately.

link to this comment
GB flag

Ian:

Hi Ian. If there is a break or bad connection in a cable it can cause signal reflections in the cable called Standing Waves. These often only affect small bands of frequencies and is dependent on things like the length of cable involved. Check for corroded connections as well, at the aerial and if you have a wall plate, behind that.

link to this comment
GB flag

karen:

Do you know which transmitter you are receiving? A full postcode might have been helpful, but it's likely that there are several transmitters you can pick up at your location.
Which way is the aerial pointing eg. SSW, N, slightly E of N, or SW, etc. and are the rods horizontal or vertical?

You could try the following - unplug the aerial and do a full automatic retune, this should clear all existing tuning as nothing should be found.
Plug the aerial back in and repeat the retune which will hopefully restore all your channels correctly.

See Channel listings for Industry Professionals | Freeview for which channels are on which multiplex, and if you are still missing channels try and identify which multiplex(es) are affected.
Have a look in your TV's Tuning section for Signal Strength and Quality, maybe in manual tuning. Make a note of which UHF channels each multiplex is on and the strength and quality figures and post back those you are getting.

link to this comment
GB flag

Anthony W Peerless:

The HD channels you are having problems with are on the temporary COM7 multiplex. See Channel listings for Industry Professionals | Freeview for which channels are on which multiplex.

COM7 is transmitted as a Single Frequency Network (SFN) on UHF channel C55 from 25 main transmitters around the country and because lower power is used, signal strength at some locations is not as good and reception may have interference issues as the signal is not as resilient. This can result in the receiver having lower signal strength and/or quality which some sets don't cope with too well.

Surprised that the LG is an issue! However, you may not have all the same leads connected when you are trying the Samsung, so if you have any extra Flyleads in use with the LG and/or extra HDMI leads, check that the Flyleads don't have any breaks in connection (swap) or try reducing the number of devices between the aerial and set if you have PVRs connected to the aerial. Make sure that HDMI leads are kept well away from any aerial and flyleads, especially when those coax leads aren't high quality double screened types, as there are a few cases where HDMI can cause interference to C55.

Having checked out the lead situation, try a manual tune on C55. This can sometimes resolve the problems of it not being found on an auto-tune. Obviously reception of all multiplexes is dependent on location, but more so with COM7 and Local multiplexes.
Some web pages aren't up-to-date with the correct transmitter UHF channels, so for clarity -

In the order PSBs1-3, COMs4-7, Local multiplex, the UHF channels are as follows
Crystal Palace C23, C26, C30, C25, C22, C28, C55, C35 (London Local mux)


link to this comment
GB flag

All:

As the last reminder is several pages back, some UHF channels updates may not have been done to the information at the top of the transmitter page. So -
In the order PSBs1-3, COMs4-7, Local multiplexes, the UHF channels are as follows
Crystal Palace C23, C26, C30, C25, C22, C28, C55, C35 (London Local mux).

link to this comment
GB flag

Anthony W Peerless:

Will be interested to hear :)

link to this comment
GB flag

John:

I refer you to my response to your previous query on COMs7&8
Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) Full Freeview transmitter | free and easy

So the updated situation is that the Clearance programme was eventually completed in August. OFCOM have scheduled the auction for sometime in January 2021. The rest of the situation is as previously suggested, until the auction is completed, we won't know if any MNO will have bought the Centre Frequencies (allocated for SDL use), nor will we know what timescale will be involved for such a purchaser to commission such equipment to use the frequencies and so give any 3 month notice as stated in the current multiplex licence.

link to this comment
GB flag
C
Film 4
Monday 23 November 2020 10:58PM

Bob Parker:

The Craigkelly transmitter is currently listed for Planned Engineering (with Possible weak signal at times).
It's quite probable that this has a bearing on your issue, a technical problem related to it may even be the reason for the maintenance.
The Film4+1 channel is on a different multiplex. See Channel listings for Industry Professionals | Freeview for which channels are on which multiplex, the UHF multiplex channels at Craigkelly in the order PSB1-3, COMs4-7, Local are -
C27, C24, C21, C29, C31, C37, C55, C32 (C meaning UHF channel).

I would think the picture would return without any further retune, but you could always try a manual retune for the D3&4 (PSB2) multiplex on C24 if you like.

link to this comment
GB flag