All posts by Chris.SE
Below are all of Chris.SE's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Sam:
I'm afraid Arqiva never give details of the Engineering work, some of which could be weather dependent and so subject to delays in completion etc.
Many main transmitters have been having extended periods of Engineering this year, it's worth remembering it's a good 10 years since DSO and there could be transmission equipment, and many other things needing extensive maintenance or replacement etc., guy wires needing greasing, retensioning, replacing and so on. Much of such work can't be done working close to the transmitter at full power.
When working near the top of the mast, use of the reserve antenna lower down the mast is sometimes an option.
This latter case, especially if reduced power is also involved, could easily mean signals severely reduced in some locations, maybe to the point of being too low to be decoded as a result of the terrain nearer you for example. As you haven't given a full postcode we can't comment on your predicted reception or whether you could be more affected in this way. Note also the COM muxes are lower power than the PSBs to start with.
IF perhaps you retuned when you had no signal, this could have just cleared the correct tuning. Retuning is never recommended when you have no signal or badly pixellated pictures, you can't tune to a signal that's not there or can't be decoded.
If all your COM6 channels are missing (rather than just no signal) try a manual retune of C48. It might be you have to keep trying over a period of time.
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Adrian:
Blake have an excellent reputation for good products and that amp spec. looks very comprehensive. Considering that it's not a very expensive item, it'd be worth trying.
There's all sorts of reasons why your existing amp/PSU might fail and it's probably not worth spending time even thinking about it considering its age!
Do check that the coax downlead is ok and not got any water penetration or other deterioration, it might even be worth replacing it considering its age, with quality double screened cable such as CT100 or similar.
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Chris Bratchell:
Clearly a badly worded article which is talking about the protection of Broadcast DTT and as it mentions Radio, then DAB as well. Whether that includes safeguarding FM isn't clear, but a large proportion of listeners would object to the closure of any FM transmissions until there is equivalent or better coverage from DAB.
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JONATHAN L PROUT:
You have posted on the DAB transmitter page rather than the TV Freeview page where you can see that the Transmitter is currently listed for Planned Engineering.
There have been no changes to DVB T1 or DVB T2 transmissions, there is one DVB-T2 multiplex (PSB2/BBCB HD) that carries all the HD TV channels which is transmitted on UHF C22 at Ridge Hill.
Arqiva never give details about what the work involves, some of which may be weather dependant.
Planned Engineering work may involve one or a combination of brief interruptions to transmission of one or more multiplexes, use of reduced power, or use of the Reserve Antenna (lower down the mast).
The latter in particular may mean you may struggle to get an adequate signal to be decoded, depending on the terrain nearer you (generally). As you haven't provided a full postcode we are unable to comment on your normal predicted reception and how you may be affected.
It sounds like the mistake you have made was retuning when you had no signal or badly pixellated pictures. You cannot tune to a signal that is not there or can't be decoded. If you had been correctly tuned, it's never recommended to retune when you have no signal, the usual outcome is it clears the correct tuning.
As you won't know when your signals will return to normal, your best bet is to do a MANUAL retune on UHF C22. You may have to try several times until you get your channels back.
Once all your channels have returned (to the EPG at least) then do not retune.
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Neil:
Hi there. I can't find any reported faults for the Penryn transmitter. How long has this problem been going on/when did it start?
As you haven't given a full postcode, we can't check your predicted reception from the Penryn relay/
As far as I can tell at this point, there are two possibilities -
1) Current weather conditions- there's a bit of Tropospheric ducting affecting your area of Cornwall at present, this causes signals from distant transmitters (in the UK or Europe) to travel further and cause interference with your wanted channel. (Eg. there is a transmitter in Guernsey that uses C31).
Not all multiplexes will be affected in such conditions, it depends on where the interfering signal are coming from. Do NOT retune - it'll probably just clear your correct tuning.
Such interference can come and go, last seconds, minutes or sometimes longer.
2) Have you received a postcard from restoretv.uk A number of postcodes in your area should have received them but we know of cases where they haven't been received.
To check, enter your postcode on this page https://restoretv.uk/post…ure/
If a number of you are getting "yes". you need to get in touch with them for a Free Filter. For those with amplifiers, the filter needs to go before the amplifier and if it's a masthead amp, then they'll have to send an engineer to fit an external one free of charge.
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Bristol_Rich:
I wouldn't rely on the postcode checker for problems I'm afraid, it's not always accurate.
Without your full postcode to look at your predicted reception, it's not possible to give any specific suggestions.
You mention 100% signal strength, do you have an amp or amp/splitter. If so, and it has variable gain, turn it down a touch so that the strength drops to just below 100%. Too much signal can be as bad a s a very weak signal with similar results.
There was a little bit of Tropospheric Ducting around yesterday morning, but that should have cleared by now.
Have a read of my previous half dozen posts on the Mendip transmitter page, any of the main content of which could be applicable, but pay particular attention to NOT retuning when you have no signal/badly pixellated pictures/broken sound, if you were correctly tuned initially.
Also to the possibility of mobile mast interference.
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Ian Leslie Jackson:
I agree with you that sets where you cannot disable automatic updating/retuning are a pain in the proverbial when engineering, weather conditions or even faults on your own aerial system my result in brief periods of no or weak signal. Panasonic should be able to provide a firmware update to add this functionality.
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Christopher Davis:
Without a full postcode and some confirmation about which direction (approx. compass bearing) your aerial points, and whether it's rods (or squashed Xs) are vertical or horizontal, we can't say which transmitter you should be receiving as there are 3 that you might receive and only 2 may give reliable reception.
Whilst this is the DAB transmitter page rather than the Freeview one, if you are receiving from Hazler Hill, there's no additional information about any problems, no reported faults in the last 5 days, and it's not currently listed for Planned Engineering.
Hazler Hill is a relay of Ridge Hill which is listed for Planned Engineering and has been for about 3 weeks, so any interruptions there could affect your reception.
IF you retuned at any point when you had no signal/badly pixellated pictures, you may have got incorrectly tuned to one of the other transmitters whose signals will be weak and unreliable as your aerial isn't pointing at them!
If you were correctly tuned, it's never recommended to retune when you have no signal/badly pixellated pictures/no sound - you cannot tune to a signal that's not there or can't be decoded.
For Hazler Hill check you are correctly tuned to UHF channels C45, C42 & C39.
Another possibility is interference from a new/upgraded mobile mast. You may have received a postcard from Restoretv but we know some that should have haven't.
Check here https://restoretv.uk/post…ure/
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Tom:
Steve Donaldson;
Sandy Heath is currently listed for Planned Engineering as noted further up the page. That's the most likely cause.
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Tuesday 21 November 2023 3:12PM
Chris Horn:
LCN71 was rebranded by the broadcaster as That's 60s on the 18th October.
At present it seems scheduled to broadcast only between 4am-6am and the rest of the time was supposedly a streamed channel. Streaming was only part working for some, it came up with a screen where you had to press Red, but nothing ever loaded. Now we have the screen you see.