All posts by Chris.SE
Below are all of Chris.SE's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Stephen McGarry:
Thanks for the update. I'm afraid the site owner hasn't been able to keep up with all the changes resulting from the 700MHz Clearance and other consequential changes, also in addition currently has health issues, so I'm afraid we aren't expecting any shortcomings to be resolved in the near future.
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Jim H:
Although not currently listed, there will still be engineering work going on as not all (radio) services & Local multiplex IIRC have been restored.
Also, there has been some quite variable weather related Tropospheric Ducting in recent days which can affect reception because of interference being received from more distant transmitters in Europe or the UK - not all multiplexes are necessarily affected, but this isn't normally sustained for any lengthy periods.
It's never advised to retune when you have no signal or badly pixellated pictures as this will usually just clear correct tuning.
IF you need to retune a specific multiplex in such conditions - which should not be needed if you were correctly tuned before - then stick to a MANUAL tune of the UHF channel for that multiplex so at least you can check you have signal with adequate Quality (or very low errors) before you do so.
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Hare:
The age of the sets will have little or no bearing on this problem, if it's the same aerial for both, then both will see the problematic reception which may vary slightly depending on how well each set can decode signals with interference.
Check you are correctly tuned to Reigate's UHF channels, especially for the COM multiplexes - SDN, ArqA & ArqB as you can receive Crystal Palace with variable reception, and such current weather conditions can cause interference from more distant transmitters in the UK or Europe and you'll be more vulnerable if not correctly tuned.
The Local mux is on UHF C35 (not mentioned above) but note reception of it may be variable under normal circumstances
Which channels are you having a specific problem with?
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All:
As this hasn't been posted for a while, there were many changes to UHF frequencies across the country during the 700MHz Clearance program. The site owner here struggled to keep up with all the changes - there are over 1100 transmitters in the UK. Whilst a number didn't change, most changes were notified in PDF documents most of which had to be read manually.
Here on the Winter Hill page, two of the Local multiplex details haven't been updated.
For the sake of clarity, here is the current data -
In the multiplex order BBCA/PSB1, D3&4/PSB2, BBCB HD/PSB3, SDN/COM4, ArqA/COM5, ArqB/COM6
Winter Hill UHF channels are -
The main multiplexes are C32, C34, C35, C29, C31, C37
The Local ones are Local Manchester, Manchester GI on C24 & C27.
Liverpool Local mux on C21, Preston Local mux on C40.
If you hover over the C channel numbers, it should give you the frequency.
What you can receive and how well will depend on location, a full postcode is needed to look at predictions.
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alan hobson:
Oh dear. In the old analogue days you never heard of "continental interference" which we used to get fairly frequently in summer? In the old 405-line days it was Sporadic-E (lower frequency band - band I).
In bands II/III/IV/V (DAB is also affected) by what is "Tropospheric Ducting" the results can be similar - there are many DXers in the E and SE in particular who've been receiving foreign DTV and DAB and FM due to recent weather conditions! Both the BBC and Freeview have put out warnings when such conditions may affect a larger number of viewers.
Next, there is NO such thing as a "digital" aerial. Aerials are aerials that receive RF signals they don't care whether the modulation is digital or analogue. Sellers that call them "digital" are mostly those that just sell and assortment of things, no experience in reception or installation.
Since 700MHz Clearance and the closure of the last of the temporary COM7/8 muxes, there is no transmitter in the UK broadcasting on channels above C48. Final European ones on C55/56 are due to close/move soon. If you are referring to the details on the Winter Hill page on this site, two local muxes haven't been updated - I've repeated a post, the content of which has been posted a few times around this site.
The "problem" with Winter Hill (not the only one) was that it was originally in aerial group C/D. Now the main channels are in Group A (just) but a Group K aerial would be better depending on location and Local mux reception. Anyone with an old C/D aerial (depending on local signal strength) will possibly struggle with reception of the lower frequencies. The issue was addressed during the clearance programme by simulcasting the BBCA multiplex on C32 (started in Feb.2020) as well as it's original C50. Anyone who had no/unreliable reception of C32 could apply for the fairly well advertised FREE help for a new aerial. That simulcast timescale was extended until Aug.2020 before completion of the changes because of covid-19, so there was plenty of time to get he free help. Only a few cowboy installers did not tell people about the free help, though it was well advertised in/on local media.
Anyone buying a new aerial these days should buy a Group K (21-48) unless all their UHF channels are in Group A or B, though in a number of cases many Group K aerials perform better.
There are even Group K and Group A log periodics.
For some information about log-periodics, the Wiki article gives a good basic understanding as does the article from Don Valley Aerials.
Log-periodic antenna - Wikipedia
The log periodic | Don Valley Aerials
There's a BBC R&D article which I haven't has time to read but will no doubt be interesting -
A UHF log-periodic receiving aerial - BBC R&D
If you buy or use a Group T/wideband (or any aerial that receives above C48) then if a new/updated mobile mast starts close enough to you, you may suffer interference from them if they use the 700MHz band. You should be notified by a postcard from Https://restoretv.uk if you may be affected, but we are aware of cases where people haven't been. Where you have that problem, you can get a free filter from them.
Good aerial design is a complex matter, unless you love experimenting, then buy a suitable quality aerial.
Why are you buying Chinese made aerials if you don't want them? - There are UK manufacturers! But perhaps what is more important is the design and quality of the product. Eg. take a look at Aerials: TV, Radio, Wifi, 4G & 5G - Blake UK
You may also take a look at eg. A.T.V. Poles, Brackets, Clamps & Aerials Established 1994. who have an excellent reputation for quality products and technical information.
There are other UK Retailers/Wholesalers that sell quality products as well as UK made ones.
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David Warner:
No change here for me. AFAIK it's still under investigation. I've not heard any outcome.
Apps cost money to produce & that's probably why they don't have one at present.
TPTV Red button has always worked for me since the start of the service even though the red button doesn't appear on screen. Have you tried pressing red anyway?
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Karl:
Whether that Sony comment has anything to do with these EIT Invalid character codes which JS referred to, see top of Winter Hill (Bolton, England) Full Freeview transmitter | free and easy
Whether there's still something on either of the Great TV channels on the Local mux on C24, JS would have to look if he can!
Remember 100% signal can sometimes cause overloaded front ends which can cause issues such as freezing & similar or pixellation etc. However, if that user doesn't normally have a problem, then that's fine.
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Karl:
Also as mentioned in JS post before my last which I didn't see when I posted!
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Clyro Freeview: Off the air due to a fault from 28 Jun 18:54 until 28 Jun 23:28. .
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Monday 26 June 2023 1:32PM
js: & Karl:
Hi. This is certainly NOT my area of expertise. I have however managed to download the dump.7z file ok and Malwarebytes said it was ok and MS Defender didn't come up with an issue.
I haven't looked at the file, not having time atm but would need to understand how theses errors appear etc.
js, for my edification can you try and explain how some of this errors appear in the EPG listing or synopsis when looking at what the set displays, and/or what other effects they may have?