All posts by Chris.SE
Below are all of Chris.SE's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Gill leonard:
I don't know if the BBC have engineering staff of sick as they haven't reported the transmitter as being off-air. I hope it's back for you soon, as there doesn't seem to be any other information available!
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Robert :
Firstly, there is NO difference in an aerial for digital or analogue. An aerial receives RF signals, it doesn't care if they are digital or analogue!
Yes, the aerial could have been disturbed, for your .locale, it should be pointing at compass bearing 310 degrees, that's 5 degrees W of NW, and its rods (or squashed Xs) should be horizontal. Generally speaking the odd couple of degrees shouldn't make much difference considering the beamwidth of most aerials, but local conditions ie. trees, neighbouring buildings and such like may mean it needs to be tweaked one way or another.
But first, check you are correctly tuned to Caradon Hill's UHF channels. Go to your TV's tuning sections and look for the UHF channel for each of the 6 multiplexes (groups of channels).
In the multiplex order PSBs1/BBCA, PSB2/D3&4, PSB3/BBCB HD, COM4/SDN, COM5/ArqA, COM6/ArqB, -
the UHF channels for Caradon Hill are C28, C25, C22, C21, C24, C27.
See Channel listings for Industry Professionals | Freeview for which channels are carried on which multiplex.
A couple of weeks ago, weather conditions caused interference to reception for some viewers, if you retuned at any time when you had pixellated pictures or no signal, it most likely will have cleared the correct tuning, it never advised to retune in those situations.
If you find you are incorrectly tuned, you could try retuning as currently you should get excellent reception.
If you find you have to go into the loft to check the aerial, also check that the coax connections/cable don't appear to have been damaged.
If you aren't getting BBC Southwest at present, I'd expect you to be having the same problem with the other BBC channels as they're on the same multiplex.
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tony:
Perhaps you could try reading the last paragraph of the post that's 2 before yours Midhurst (West Sussex, England) Full Freeview transmitter | free and easy
"Other than that I assume you are correctly tuned to Midhurst's UHF channels C48, C35, C36, C29, C34, C33 (note unfortunately the site owner has made an error with some of the updates at the top of the page)."
The above is in multiplex order PSBs1/BBCA, PSB2/D3&4, PSB3/BBCB HD, COM4/SDN, COM5/ArqA, COM6/ArqB
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James Robinson:
As far as we know COM7 will close nationwide at the end of June because that is what the current licence says. COMs 7 & 8 always were temporary muxes. There is no other planned closures known (The D3&4 and SDN mutliplex licences have just been renewed, ArqA & B currently run until 2026).
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Peter:
The Marlborough transmitter is a Freeview "Light" transmitter which means it is an "in-fill" "Public Service Broadcast" transmitter for those parts of Marlborough that can't get reliable signals from the main Mendip transmitter of which it is a relay, or any other nearby main transmitter.
The "commercial" operators that run multiplexes that have channels such as Dave & Drama, do not consider it commercially viable to provide the extra transmitter equipment for such multiplexes when the potential number of viewers it would serve is very small.
As you haven't given a full postcode, we can't help or advise on your reception from Marlborough which may be due to your location or possibly the current Planned Engineering at Mendip which might affect this relay.
How old is your aerial installation? Have you looked at your aerial - does it look intact and still pointing the correct way? Is the downlead secure and not flapping in the wind?
If you provide a full postcode we should be able to advise the correct direction for your aerial for the best signals from Marlborough or another transmitter.
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Rob Taylor :
It's highly unlikely that a transmitter would be off-air for 2 days without any faults being reported and I can't find any at present, and it doesn't appear to have been listed for any Planned Engineering.
If there was any brief interruption to the signal a couple of days ago for whatever reason and you retuned, then that will likely have just cleared your correct tuning and you'll need to redo it. It's never advised to retune when you have no signal or badly pixellated pictures.
If that wasn't the case, have you checked that your aerial is still pointing the correct way and the downlead is undamaged? Also check all the connection behind your TV etc.
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Clive Standring:
Olivers Mount is currently listed for Planned Engineering with the Possible Effect of "Screen may go black on all or certain channels".
So that is the most likely cause of what you've seen. Do NOT retune!
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Ben Ware:
As you haven't given a full postcode, it's not possible to give a definitive answer, but in that area generally, it is highly unlikely, as you are not likely to get any reception from Crystal Palace even if your aerial was pointing that way. All the other transmitters you might receive do not transmit COM7 which is the multiplex that carries Quest HD.
COM7 was always a temporary multiplex until the frequencies were needed for mobile use, and it's due to close by the end of June 2022 under the terms of the current licence. No announcements have been made about what will happen to any of the channels on COM7, most people are expecting many will just close.
See Channel listings for Industry Professionals | Freeview for which channels are carried on which multiplex.
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Monday 4 April 2022 4:44PM
David Sampson:
I would also advise NOT to buy most types of aerial supplied by screwfix. A lot of them will be what the trade call "bacofoil" aerials. They are quite flimsy and it often only needs a few pigeons to land on them and bits are bent or broken will can adversely affect reception. Most will also tend to be wideband which will not have as good a gain as a grouped aerial which is what you are likely to need to stand a chance of getting reliable signals.
Some parts of Hunmanby MAY be able to receive signals from another transmitter, quite a few may not - that's why there's a relay transmitter. This is why a full postcode is needed to look at the predicted reception. It's possible that for some, signals may be received from 3 main transmitters BUT they will not always be reliable, especially with the wrong kind of aerial.