All posts by Chris.SE
Below are all of Chris.SE's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Mike:
As far as I can discover it is still transmitting "The Pulse" aka "Pulse 1" on FM 102.5 @2kW on that site.
Its current licence runs until 03-12-2024, it's part of Bauer Media Audio Ltd.
Note: the transmitter map position shown here is incorrect (as are quite a few analogue stations on this website, due to a misreading of ordnance survey National Grid co-ordinates).
| link to this comment |
Mrs. Pocock :
Personally I wouldn't use any washing powder to receive Freeview :)
I've managed to find a postcode for that beach area.
You'd need a Group K aerial.
Whilst there are some local relay transmitters, they won't give you all the channels and signals will be a bit unreliable down there on the beach.
You should be able to get good signals from the main Mendip transmitter (West local news) or Wenvoe (Welsh local news). Wenvoe signals should be stronger.
Considering that you are likely to have problems with seagulls (and maybe other birds) perching on aerials and causing damage, you need something fairly sturdy.
I would tend to go for something like this Blake Log Periodic -
56 Element Log Periodic Group K Aerial - Blake UK
You'll also need a suitable pole and bracket to secure the pole to the chalet.
The aerial should be mounted with the rods horizontal. You'll need an F connector to connect to the aerial and some double screened cable similar to CT100. And of course a coax plug for the TV end as well as someone who is competent at fitting the plugs etc.
The aerial should point at Compass bearing 86 degrees (that's almost due E) for Mendip 57km away.
Or pointing at Comp[ass bearing 20 degrees (that's almost NNE) for Wenvoe.
| link to this comment |
Jim Hill-Jones:
I'm afraid it's not a simple as that. Apart from element spacing element length is also important, particularly the dipole (often folded so isn't readily changed!).
Let's just get some basics out of the way.
Firstly, does it have a coloured plastic bung in either end? What colour, or is it Black or Grey? How old is it roughly.
Secondly, have you already been using it and has reception been OK? But now you are finding reception problems, you should note that Beacon Hill is on Planned Engineering work this week , so there could be disruption to reception!
(There's also some weather related interference issues present which might affect some).
Beacon Hill requires a Group B aerial (although Group K or T or Wideband would work). The disadvantage of T & Wideband is the potential vulnerability to Mobile Interference should a new/updated mast operating at 700MHz start up near you.
In Swansea, previous location may be critical (full postcode) to try and identify the aerial, and was it mounted with the rods vertical or horizontal?
If vertical then it'll have been Kilvey Hill which is Group A (again K, T or Wideband would work).
If horizontal which direction was it pointing? Approx.ESE would have been Wenvoe, if approx. NNW it could have been Carmel.
Wenvoe is now essentially a Group B (but K may be slightly better for its Local mux on C37) but if the aerial was originally used to receive COMs 7&8 when they were on air, it could be T or Wideband (age or coloured bungs may help determine)..
Carmel was originally Group C/D but changed to Group K with the 700MHz Clearance in 2019 but a C/D might have continued to give adequate reception from Carmel in a good location.
So we might be able to establish if the aerial you have might be adequate for reception from Beacon Hill and whilst it's likely that you should get good signals from Beacon Hill, we need a full postcode to check predicted reception due to changes in local terrain.
| link to this comment |
nick:
Well the predictors give C37 COM6/ArqB predicted reception to be better than SDN or ArqA right across your postcode even though reception of all can change across the postcode, lower numbers doing slightly better. Very odd.
So why C37 usually goes first is a slight mystery. Not easy to find all transmitters that use C37.
(BTW C39 used by Tacolneston).
The date is above the post or block of posts if several on the same day!
| link to this comment |
Richard Sutton:
Have you checked out the potential interference situation from other sources? Depending on possible sources, that can affect only a small band of frequencies.
Did you tweak the gain to try and find a happy compromise with the Quality figures?
I'm not prepared to conclude it's the trees until you can rule out other possible sources of interference, whilst I do think it's likely. As I explained trees can cause multipath reflections which can occur in a narrow band of frequencies and may only cause an issue at certain distances away. Sometimes repositioning an aerial can resolve such things, on the other hand it could create different problems.
Who owns the trees? Can you not get them trimmed or chopped down?
Whilst the Freeview predictor shows Sutton Coldfield as the only other transmitter likely to give reliable signals on all multiplexes (compass bearing 8 degrees) it can't be relied upon 100% as the local terrain and obstructions can often make a big difference as you move around the postcode.
Malvern (vertically polarised) might be another possible option as 2nd best , almost due West.
You need to look at the visible line of sight locally in the directions I mentioned in a previous post.
If you decide to reposition the aerial you need a proper professional installer who has proper signal strength measuring equipment and a spectrum analyser, that won't be especially cheap but should be able to decide on the best possible transmitter at your specific aerial position.
Failing all that, you could consider Freesat. If your set already has a built-in satellite tuner all you'd need is a dish and LNB (& cable).
| link to this comment |
S. Ayres:
To add to what StevensOnln1 has said, I noted that it's also predicted that your location can get signals from one of the Oxford Local multiplex channels (one of the few main TXs that has two). which means it could also get signals from the Oxford main multiplexes (but not strong enough for reliable reception). As it happens the BBCB HD multiplex from Oxford is also on C47 which is why you are predicted to get poor reception (less reliable) from Leamington Spa as there would be interference from Oxford (on all 3 muxes).
A few days ago weather conditions were such that interference from distant transmitter was quite likely and this is maybe what you experienced. BUT as a general point it is never a good idea to retune when you have badly pixellated pictures or no signal if previously correctly tuned as this will often clear the correct tuning and you end up tuned to the wrong transmitter whose signal will probably disappear as conditions change again.
You should be able to deduce which transmitter HD mux you are getting on C47 from looking at the BBC1 HD name - if Oxford it will be South, If Leamington Spa it'll be West Midlands
It's also possible under those weather conditions you may have picked up Medip which also uses C47 for BBCB HD, in which case BBC1 would be BBC ONE WestHD.
Poor signals that are suffering co-channel interference is why you get Quality drops.
You also mentioned amplifiers and such matters can be compounded by too much gain so this is something to watch out for.
Depending on your particular aerial, how good it is with side-lobes and cross-polar rejection will make a difference to what interfering signals you pick up especially if you have a lot of amp gain.
What Signal Strength and Quality figures are you getting on each multiplex?
| link to this comment |
Lynne WRIGHT:
Without a full postcode of your location (or very nearby pub/shop/public building etc) it's impossible to advise about reception.
| link to this comment |
proberts:
When there was a misreading of ordnance survey National Grid co-ordinates by one of the site-owners software packages.
The transmitter map position shown here is incorrect (as are quite a few analogue stations on this website, for that reason
| link to this comment |
Saturday 29 April 2023 7:02PM
charlotte mitchell:
If your set it connected to the Internet and you can stream (without worrying about usage) when on QVC LCN16 you can press Red and choose QVC Beauty or QVC Style.
Otherwise QVC Beauty is at LCN37 and QVC Style at LCN38. However both more multiplexes last Wednesday (when the remaining BBC Regions also became available on HD) and some sets will have needed a retune.
If you need further advice please post back.