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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.


If you've been following the updates on the links provided in the recent post above, Arqiva advised that the two temporary masts at Eston Nab and Arncliffe Wood will be retained as relays to supplement coverage (but not Sutton Bank), but note there have been UHF channel changes now that the Bilsdale Quarry mast is in service.

The UHF channels for Arncliffe Wood are C29, C31, C37 that's in the multiplex order
BBC A/PSB1, D3&4/PSB2, BBC B HD/PSB3

The UHF channels for Eston Nab are C27, C24, C21, C23, C26, C48, C30, C55 that's in the multiplex order
BBC A/PSB1, D3&4/PSB2, BBC B HD/PSB3, SDN/COM4, ARQ A/COM5, ARQ B/COM6, Local/(L-MDB), COM 7 that's according o the Freeview checker, but reception of the COM muxes is unclear.

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https://ukfree.tv/radio/prediction/
Wednesday 13 October 2021 7:44PM

Richard Owen:

Hmm, a bit of a difficult problem to overcome. You can't really angle DAB transmitting antenna so as to not have such a strong signal at ground level near the transmitter.

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Elizabeth Sweet:

That's a very long time to be without a signal, whilst you might have normally got signals from Bilsdale (which was of course affected by fire) assuming your aerial is pointing roughly WSW, but as you are very close to the Whitby relay transmitter you should have got some signals albeit the wrong region since the fire.
If your aerial is pointing easterly at the Whitby transmitter, then it has been subject to Planned Engineering this week (but not last) however there may have been unlisted work but it wouldn't be off-air for this long!

If you retuned or your set did so automatically when you had no signal, it will probably have just cleared the correct tuning.
The temporary Bilsdale (Quarry) mast is now operational and you should be able to get signals from it if your aerial points that way (roughly WSW).
Even if it points at Whitby, everything should be on air now.

Carry out a full automatic retune and hopefully your channels will be restored.
If you still have no signal then your need to check things like your aerial still being intact and pointing the right way (compare to neighbours) and check any coax plugs behind your TV etc for loose connections etc.

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Mike Davison:

Thanks for that update, does that include COM7?

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All free TV channels in the UK
Thursday 14 October 2021 10:51PM

David van der merwe:

When was the last time you retuned, do you know which of the other temporary transmitters you've been picking-up (if any)? The Sutton Bank one has been turned off now.
I assume your aerial is pointing at Bilsdale, for your locale it would be at bearing 299 degrees (30 degrees N of due W) with the rods horizontal.
The new temporary "Bilsdale Quarry" mast became operative yesterday using Bilsdale's listed UHF channels.

The UHF channels are C27, C24, C21, C43, C46, C40, C55 that's in the multiplex order
BBC A/PSB1, D3&4/PSB2, BBC B HD/PSB3, SDN/COM4, ARQ A/COM5, ARQ B/COM6, COM 7
Check in your TV tuning section that yo are tuned to those.

What sort of signal did you get previously from Bilsdale (Tyne Tess Region)? The current prediction for you suggests the COM multiplexes won't be received as reliably as the PSBs in parts of your postcode. You may get better signals from Bilsdale when the more permanent temporary mast is operative as it will be sited much closer to the position of the old mast.
See the Bilsdale transmitter page for much more detailed information.

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David Brewer:

No information available yesterday, but something must have been going on at Beacon Hill resulting in today's Engineering report.

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Vilma Knight:

Your initial report certainly suggested a problem with the community aerial distribution system failing.

The terrain around your immediate area has quite variable reception as neither the BBC nor Freeview predict reception from the Oxford transmitter for your particular postcodes, but suggest Mendip as the most likely transmitter (West region) and some relay transmitters are also potentially receivable. However predictors aren't always 100% accurate and some adjacent postcodes do have good predicted reception from Oxford.
Just to add that none of these possible transmitters have any reported faults.
I hope you've managed to get your communal system reported and fixed.

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Alistair Mowatt:

The Rosehearty transmitter does not have FM or DAB (you don't say which your reception problem is on).

If it's FM, the most likely transmitter is Meldrum roughly to the SSW of you, and the BBC are reporting -
From 10:11am to 3:46pm on 14th Oct 2021 BBC Radio 2 Slightly reduced power due to essential engineering.
Radio 2 is on 88.7 from there. The next nearest transmitter is Knockmore roughly to the WSW of you, Radio 2 on 88.2 and not reporting any faults.

If it's DAB, most likely reception is from Mormond Hill roughly to the SSE of you, the other possibility is Rumster Forest to the NW of you. Neither are reporting any problems.

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Saturday 16 October 2021 1:17AM

Robert cattle:

Quote "Arqiva Bilsdale say it's none of their business"
Who exactly did you speak to?

Arqiva are the organisation responsible for the Bilsdale transmitter which did transmit DAB, FM and Telecoms as well as DTT!
We were all under the impression that only DTT was currently being restored from the temporary "Bilsdale Quarry" mast, however there's a BBC report **Updated Thursday 14th October** which says -
"- DAB radio - Following the activation of the temporary mast, 30,000 households should now have improved DAB service. If you had previously lost DAB services we recommend you rescan your radio, as the new temporary mast won't appear in the Transmitter Checker tool yet."

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Sky News
Saturday 16 October 2021 1:28AM

Robert cattle:

Sky News is carried on the ArqA/COM5 multiplex.
Following the fire at the main Bilsdale mast, the temporary "Bilsdale Quarry" mast has now been brought into service (Oct 13th). You should do a retune and should be able to receive all multiplexes being transmitted from there (no Local mux though).
For your locale. your aerial should be pointing at a bearing of 284 degrees, slightly W of WNW with the rods horizontal.

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