All posts by Chris.SE
Below are all of Chris.SE's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Dr Noel Meeke:
In addition to the above detail there is the following consequential off-air reports for Ridge Hill -
From 10:02am to 1:04pm on 3rd Nov 2023 BBC Radio 2 Off the air due to essential engineering
Likewise, similar for Radio's 3 & 4
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Steve Donaldson:
Hi. Yes my set does ask, but I don't think that has anything to do with streaming per se because iPlayer and some of the other streaming services ask for a postcode as well.
It also asks for a Region if I do an automatic full retune because of the many occasions that I pick up at least two regions. Usually, on the rare occasions that a retune is needed, I generally do manual retunes for the specific UHF channels.
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Paul :
No need to apologise ;)
Ah, one thing I realise I'd hadn't explicitly mentioned for you (I'd mentioned it elsewhere in 5the thread) and that was about retuning.
If you are correctly tuned to all the Wrekin's UHF channels for each of its multiplexes then Do NOT Retune.
You cannot tune to a signal that is not there or so badly pixellated that the ste won't be able to decode it. The usual effect of doing so is to clear your correct tuning, then of course you won't know when the signals are normal.
The best thing to do here would be to do a Manual retune for any of the missing multiplexes. Once you have them tuned in then leave it.
For the COM multiplexes SDN/COM4, ArqA/COM5 & ArqB/COM6 the UHF channels are C41, C44 & C47 at the Wrekin.
Just to note for the PSBs - BBCA/PSB1, D3&4/PSB2 & BBCB HD/PSB3 they are C26, C23 & C30.
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Andy:
You aren't in the best of locations for reception from Sudbury as there are some hills about 9km out on the line-of-sight.
You may have noticed in the post 2 before yours, that the transmitter is currently having Planned Engineering, and if they are needing to operate on the reserve antenna which will be lower down the mast, this will not help with reception in your location, and additionally there may be interruptions to transmission.
However, I would not have expected that you'd have no reception for a week. If at any point your set showed No Signal or had badly pixellated pictures, did you perchance Retune?
It is never recommended that if you were correctly tuned previously, that you try retuning when you have no signal or badly pixellated pictures. You cannot tune to a signal that is not there or can't be decoded. The usual outcome is that it will clear your correct tuning and then you have no reception when signals return.
Even if you didn't retune yourself, some sets will do automatic retunes when they have no signal, this is more trouble than it's worth. If so, go into settings and if you can find one to turn off this automatic tuning, turn it OFF. It's also possible that in certain weather conditions it may incorrectly tune to weaker signals from another transmitter which then disappear as the weather changes.
Taking all these possibilities into account go into settings and check you are correctly tuned to Sudbury's UHF channels for each of its multiplexes.
The 6 main multiplexes are on UHF channels C44, C41, C47, C29, C31, C37 that's in multiplex order -
PSBs1/BBCA, PSB2/D3&4, PSB3/BBCB HD, COM4/SDN, COM5/ArqA, COM6/ArqB
If you are missing any of those, it will usually be best to try a manual retune for each of the ones that are missing. If you are not tuned at all, then try an automatic retune.
IF you are tuned to any incorrect UHF channels then you'll need to clear the incorrect tuning first. Usually the best way is to unplug the aerial and carry out a full automatic retune and as no channels should be found the tuning should be cleared.
Do check obvious things such as your aerial looking intact and still pointing correctly (compass bearing 10 degrees - that's 10 degrees E of due North) with its rods (or squashed Xs) horizontal.
Check that your coax isn't flapping in the wind and check all accessible coax connections for any corrosion or water.
Post back with more detail if you need further help.
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Tony1234:
Hi. This is obviously frustrating.
Whilst the BBC were unable to be certain whether or not your reception may be affected (no doubt at any given time) I doubt very much they have no "transparency" of the work. They will know exactly who to contact at any given time if they need up-to-date information that doesn't get to them automatically.
The difficulty here is that predictions are based on measurements done some while ago across the area with the transmitter operating normally and with the (external) reception aerial 10m above ground level.
They will not know where you aerial is or what the precise likely effect would be for you when on the Reserve Antenna.
However, I still have a niggling feeling something isn't quite right. Where is your aerial? If it's not external on a pole, and it's in a loft, has it been disturbed at all?
Are there any external things on the roof or changes to the roof, such as lead flashing on the line of sight, solar panels near, new electric cables, water tanks, metal flues, scaffolding, etc.
Are there any trees that have grown tall, new tall buildings etc. very nearby or on the line of sight?
Have you altered anything at all or moved any equipment since you last had continuous trouble free reception?
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Andy:
If those UHF channels C44 & C47 are showing as tuned in the tuning section and the relevant BBC channels are showing in the EPG but you aren't seeing pictures or getting broken sound the you should not try retuning again, it will not achieve anything (after from maybe losing the tuning!
If either are missing then do a Manual retune (where you select the UHF channel to tune) just for the missing one(s) not an automatic one or full retune.
A lot of transmitters, especially main ones, seem to have had a lot of extended Planned Engineering this year. Arqiva never give detail of the work but we've discovered in some cases that it's to ensure that the structures and guy wires etc are sound and protected so that they continue to be safe and secure. Obviously working at height and close to the mast means it's necessary to reduce power or interrupt service etc. on occasion and with some of the abysmal weather we've had some works will over-run longer than was planned. No end date has been given (and usually isn't).
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Jody:
Here's another interesting technical article about Freeview Play HD channels
https://cleanfeed.thetvroom.com/15427/opinion/next-gen-freeview-starts-with-an-hd-swap/
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Jody:
You are quite correct that it has do do with the set being compliant with Freeview Play specifications and so having Freeview Play. Your set should have a "Channel Manager" somewhere in Settings which would allow you to swap channels around to suit your own requirements.
On some sets/makes you might have to do it by using a "Favouites" feature.
In any event I would expect Samsung to do a Firmware update at some time which will take care of such "swaps" in the future to avoid LCN 1, 2 etc being left vacant.
It will be some considerable time yet before SD channels on Freeview are closed down, there are far too many SD only sets still in use.
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Friday 3 November 2023 1:43PM
Tony1234:
Update.
Whilst it will still be useful to know about your predicted reception as mentioned above,
I've just found some further information about what is going on at Wenvoe - work on transmitter mast stays. It talks about engineers working at height and close to the mast and reduced power and shut downs.
Whilst the article is primarily about the FM services, it does give a passing mention to TV at the end of the article. It's pretty obvious that reduced power on some of the TV transmissions may be required when work is so close to the mast. Shame the item isn't more explicit!