All posts by Chris.SE
Below are all of Chris.SE's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Richard Mudge:
Hi Richard. The aerial should be pointing at compass bearing 111 degrees - that's 21 degrees S of due E, almost ESE.
The Freeview predictor shows you should get good signals from Mendip for the 6 main multiplexes (not the Local one as you are off-beam for that, it's beamed towards Bristol - you can always try a manual tune on UHF C30 as it may be weak and an autotune may miss it).
However, the predictor says you can also get good signals from Wenvoe and Stockland Hill which you may get from sidelobes (even rear ones) of the aerial's reception, so you may have to manual tune Mendip's UHF channels to make sure you get them correctly.
Mendip's correct UHF channels are C32, C34, C35, C48, C33, C36, C30. That's is the order BBCA/PSB1, D3&4/PSB2, BBCB HD/PSB3, SDN/COM4, ArqA/COM5, ArqB/COM6; Local mux.
If you can't get the Mendip (Bristol) Local multiplex, you could try a Manual tune on UHF C37 which is the Local mux from Wenvoe, which you might get off the back of the aerial albeit possibly weak.
Whilst you may not especially want Cardiff local news on LCN7, you may like to get the other channels carried on the mux.
See Channel listings for Industry Professionals | Freeview for which channels are carried on which multiplex.
Bear in mind that standard Tri-boom's are a wideband aerial unless this is one of the newer K Group tuned versions, so you might need a (free) filter from restoretv.uk if any 4/5G mobile masts using 700MHz set up near you - but you should get a postcard from restoretv.uk if so, but it doesn't always happen.
I'm glad your tri-boom is being loft mounted, they have a high wind loading and would need sturdy mounting if external!
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Yvonne Fuller:
You mention "aerial" when I presume you mean "dish". Dishes or the LNB on the dish only need to be a fraction out of alignment to stop receiving signals.
Is all the external cabling securely fixed and not flapping in the wind?
Also the LNB may have failed.
You best bet would be to borrow another satellite receiver if you can and check your Dish, LNB and cabling are ok, or get someone in who knows what they are about!
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Stuart Tier :
Do NOT retune. The Local mux is on UHF C37 at Rowridge (602MHz0 as you mention.
You haven't said how good a signal the Freeview predictor gives for the Local mux (or given a full postcode so we could check) but it's "temporary" loss is most likely due to current weather conditions.
As mentioned in the post before yours -
It is not simply "high pressure" that gives the problems as some reports would suggest. It's Tropospheric Ducting/Temperature Inversion which can often accompany high pressure but the conditions can be very variable, you can't correlate this with what you "see" of the weather or simple barometric pressure. Such conditions have been present over several recent weeks affecting different parts of the country at different times and they don't usually affect several multiplexes at once (it depends where the interference is coming from).
There is some present now which could be affecting parts of the south.
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William Rose:
Have you tried a manual tune for UHF C42?
Please confirm which way your aerial is pointing as you should also be able to get very good signals for all multiplexes from Emley Moor.
Where is your aerial, on the roof or in the loft? I assume that if you are actually supposed to be getting your signal from Hagg Wood then the aerial rods (or squashed Xs) are vertical. Have you looked at the aerial?
Is it pointing almost due North with rods vertical, or compass bearing 65 degrees - almost ENE with rods horizontal, or less likely compass bearing 223 degrees - virtually SW with rods vertical?
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mark stephens:
Have you checked the connections between the set top box and the TV to make sure everything is plugged in correctly?
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William Rose:
Two checks you could do.
Have a look in your EPG LCNs in the 800s and high 700s above the radio channels. When auto-retuning some sets can get their memory a bit confused and think that the "correct" numbers are already allocated and put channels up there. If you find the PSB2/D3&4 channels are up there, then unplug the aerial and do an automatic retune which should find no channels and clear memory. Then plug the aerial back in and manual retune your UHF channels.
If that hasn't fixed the problem, check with your neighbours whose aerials point at Hagg Wood. Are they getting the ITV/Ch4/Ch5 channels on PSB2? If they aren't either, then there is obviously an unreported fault. If that's the case, I've had little confidence that Freeview are either efficient or helpful in dealing with transmitter faults, so try phoning one of the TV companies, try Channel 4 on 0345 076 0191 or Channel 5 on 020 3580 3600 who seem easier to contact by phone.
Tell them you can't find any listed faults for the Hagg Wood transmitter, you've tried the usual retunes, Freeview are of little help and your neighbours are not getting the PSB2 multiplex either.
As far as the Emley Moor option is concerned, you postcode is predicted to get good signals, you are only 8km from Emley, and I'd be surprised if those distant trees and hill would significantly affect the signal but check with any nearby neighbours that have an aerial pointed at Emley and ask how reliable the reception is generally.
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John H:
Stuart Tier :
Just to be clear, Com8 closed 2 years ago, and Com7 at the end of June. The "over time" list has not been updated with all the changes. UHF C37 is now the Local multiplex as per the full listing at the very top of the page.
The co-channel interference on C37 could be coming from France, it could also come from any UK transmitter using C37, it is entirely down to the particular Tropo conditions at the time. Transmitters from elsewhere in Europe and even the north of England have been received on occasions in the past.
John I'm sure you realise that your reception from Rowridge can be variable to poor, depending on multiplex. In your case, Findon is the only transmitter predicted to give you good reception, even then that's only the 3 PSB multiplexes as it's a "Light" transmitter. Whitehawk Hill is predicted to give variable reception of the 6 main and Local (Brighton) multiplexes.
Yours is a "tricky" location as I'm sure you know!
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steve P:
StevensOnln1 is much more knowledgeable in this area.
I'm no expert in this area as I don't use satellite but isn't that loss down the the fact that ITV have removed some of the SD channels and they are now only in HD?
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Mike H:
Glad you've managed to find and fix the problem. Also worth noting, HDMI leads should be kept as far away as possible from aerial coax and flyleads as HDMI has been known to cause interference although this was more common with C55, but has been know to affect a broader spectrum of frequencies.
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Tuesday 4 October 2022 12:45PM
Susan Wade:
Hi Susan. You should normally have no problems with reception from Stockland Hill in your location. There are currently no reported problems/faults or Planned Engineering at Stockland Hill.
Have you looked to check your aerial is still where it should be, is intact, and pointing in the correct direction which should be compass bearing 69 degrees, that's 21 degrees N of due E (compare to neighbours if need be). Also check the downlead is not flapping in the wind.
Check all your aerial and any flylead connections behind your TV to ensure everything is connected properly.
There is one remaining problem which may have caused temporary loss of signal and if you retuned at all with no signal it usually just clears the correct tuning. It's never advised to retune when you have no signal when you had been correctly tuned.
Current weather conditions are causing problems for some.
It is not simply "high pressure" that gives the problems as some reports would suggest. It's Tropospheric Ducting/Temperature Inversion which can often accompany high pressure but the conditions can be very variable, you can't correlate this with what you "see" of the weather or simple barometric pressure. Such conditions have been present over several recent weeks affecting different parts of the country at different times and they don't usually affect several multiplexes at once (it depends where the interference is coming from). There is some present now which is predicted to be quite strong in your area.
Check in your TV tuning section that you are correctly tuned to Stockland Hill's UHF channels as per the lists at the top of this page. If you retuned you might have inadvertently got tuned to another transmitter whose signals disappear as conditions change.
Manual tune those UHF channels if need be as automatic tuning may miss them if conditions are not favourable at a given instant. You may have to try several times in these conditions if you aren't correctly tuned.