All posts by Chris.SE
Below are all of Chris.SE's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Steve Donaldson:
Thanks for that excellent detailed analysis Steve. I was contemplating taking a closer look but thought I'd wait and see what Tony1234 said in response to my queries.
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John Taylor:
Without a full postcode we can't check your predicted reception and which transmitter you should be receiving.
Which way is your aerial pointing (approx. compass bearing)? Are its rods (or squashed Xs) horizontal or vertical?
The BBC channels haven't stopped transmitting.
Which ones are you having a problem with? It it the SD ones at LCNs 1, 2, 9, 23, 231 etc & Radio 700-710 or/and is it HD ones 101, 102, 106, 107. If the latter are you getting ITV HD, Ch4 HD, Ch5 HD on 103, 104, 105? (Is your set HD with a DVB-T2 tuner?).
Do check some obvious things such as is your aerial looking intact and still pointing as it was, is the coax secure and not flapping in the wind? Check all accessible coax connections and ensure there's no corrosion or water. Sometimes these sort of problems can affect one multiplex without an observable effect on the others.
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Jody:
My set doesn't have the option direct (not a Samsung) I have to renumber.
I renumber the SD ones first to clear the LCNs.
So I did 1 to 901, 2 to 902, 4 to 904, 5 to 905, 9 to 909.
Then 101 to 1, 102 to 2, 104 to 4, 105 to 5, 106 to 9. I also did 107 to 8 as 8 is clear - my Local station is on 7, also 23 is too much hassle (2 key presses :o )
PS. Posts sometimes take a while to appear, so wait a minute or two to avoid a double post.
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Paul:
It's a 167kHz frequency offset (well IIRC 166.***kHz to be precise, not that it matters). It's there to help reduce co-channel interference where that may more easily come from a most likely propagation path in the most common atmospheric conditions. + (above) and - (below) are used at some transmitters.
Most TVs/Boxes that tune by UHF Channel (rather than Frequency) cope quite happily and tune correctly. A lot of such will round the frequency displayed to the nearest 200kHz (as does this site even in the listings at the top of the page). Again, IIRC it's only a few specialist devices such as Tuner Cards in PCs etc. that need to be tuned to the precise frequency, ie. 167kHz lower or higher.
It's not going to make any difference to your reception.
There is a body of opinion that suggests this is a hangover from Analogue days to help reduce the visual effects of CCI. The 167kHz is related to the line frequency used in 625 line transmission. They believe it's not needed with DTV which may well be the case, and the only reason that it's still there is because it would require hardware (transmitter) equipment changes to get rid of it. Why spend money on newer equipment when the older stuff is still working OK - being the obvious reason.
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Stephen Thomason:
It'll remain on UHF channel C30 (546MHz). If UHF channel numbers on this site are posted with a C immediately in front of the number, you can hover over it to get the centre frequency in MHz.
At present I can find no definitive statement from any authority that says it's now operational from the Bilsdale mast itself, having to rely on reports from a few techies in the know nearby. I'm hoping for a more precise update later this week!
Did you ever receive it in the past? If so, just keep Manual tuning C30 from time to time.
If you don't know, if you provide a full ,postcode (or click on the cog-icon at the top RHS of this page and enter it there) we can check if you are predicted to be likely to get it.
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Ken w moore:
Can't find any current reports of any recent faults, and the transmitter isn't currently listed for Planned Engineering (though sometimes the lists aren't 100% accurate).
If you have further problems, post back with a full postcode so we can check your predicted reception.
Do check some obvious things such as is your aerial looking intact and still pointing as it was, is the coax secure and not flapping in the wind? Check all accessible coax connections and ensure there's no corrosion or water. Sometimes these sort of problems can affect one multiplex without an observable effect on the others.
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Adrian:
Checking the TV signal in your TV's Tuning section should find that you have 100% Quality at virtually all times. Signal Strength ideally should be a touch below 100% to ensure no overload of the tuner front end.
When weather conditions cause interfering signals from distant transmitters the the quality can drop and fluctuate to the point where the interference is so strong that the signal becomes 0% as the set can't decode the signal as it looks just like noise.
As far as replacement aerials are concerned, you should use a Group K. Although the Windermere channels are in Group B, Group B antenna do not give adequate protection to unwanted reception above C48 from new/upgraded phone masts.
Have you had a postcard from https://restoretv.uk ?
To check the possibility of such interference put your postcode in https://restoretv.uk /postcards-not-sure
IF the answer is yes, contact them for a free filter first, as this interference may be the cause of your problems and the aerial may not need replacing.
If you need to replace the aerial, I would go for
https://www.blake-uk.com/28-element-log-periodic-group-k-aerial.html which you can get from them direct.
It is also stocked by some Toolstation stores Product Code: 31278 BUT make sure the actual product in the store is a Group K, it will say on the box. Older stock in some stores is still Group T which you do NOT want. If a local store is not accessible or not the Group K, get it direct from Blake.
You will also need an F-connector for the aerial connection.
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MossMan:
A lot of transmitters, especially the main ones have had extended periods of Planned Engineering this year. It's worth pointing out that it's a good 10 years since DSO and the masts, any guy wires, antennae and transmitter equipment has undoubtedly needed detailed checks and some (possibly extensive) maintenance to ensure ongoing reliability (and safety of course).
It's also worth pointing out that Mendip is an identical construction to the Bilsdale mast that caught fire in August 2021, so it wouldn't surprise me if there was extensive work to ensure (as far as possible) that a similar thing didn't happen to Mendip!
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Adrian:
Hi. What filter was it you tried? Was it what is perhaps commonly known as a 5G filter? or perhaps it was one that was common before the last 700MHz Clearance programme may called a 4G?
In any event the "5G" will also block "4G".
In either case Windermere didn't need an aerial change, so you may not have realised the situation.
Now, if it wasn't the recent 5G and when you enter your postcode at https://restoretv.uk /postcards-not-sure IF it says yes, you should ring them up on their free number 0808-1313-800. This is because you have a masthead amp and filtering should before any amp otherwise you are also amplifying the signal you don't want. In such cases they can organise an engineer to visit and fit the correct weather proof filter on the mast, BUT also they may replace your aerial for you, all free of charge.
If it says No, postcards haven't been sent, then proceeding with a log periodic would be the way to go, BUT read on.
I was assuming that you'd still need the masthead amp. If you are in a weakish area what sort of signal strength figures does your set give for each of those UHF channels?
It would also be helpful if you either gave a full postcode, or clicked on the cog-icon at the top RHs of this page and entered the postcode there, we could check the predicted reception and the topography.
If you are in a particularly weak area it may be better going for the 56 element log periodic with higher gain
https://www.blake-uk.com/aerials-tv-log/56-element-log-periodic-group-k-aerial-new-double-element-design.html
There isn't any special elevation adjustment, but in most cases it's not needed.
But i would like to see those figures.
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Sunday 5 November 2023 10:35PM
Steve Donaldson:
Yes it's annoying. I've used my Channel manager to move my HD channels to 1, 2, 4, 5 but not ITV as it hasn't yet implemented full local regional news - still only 4 main regions (+ STV, UTV & ITV Wales). I've put the SD ones in the 900s so any (manual) retunes don't mess things up.
It's also irritating that doing a basic search I can't quickly find the BBC web pages that covered the changes, there were some but I don't recall where they were. One shouldn't have to rely on other independent websites for the information (and sometimes there can be errors or misinterpretations)!