All posts by Chris.SE
Below are all of Chris.SE's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Firstly, at time of posting there are no problems, faults or engineering work at Mendip.
As already mentioned by StevensOnln1, this page needs updating, but not just because of the recent Mux changes, there have also been one or two programmes Close and/or move multiplex in recent times (most of these often require some sort of retune). Now some specifics.
As already mentioned, there were some MUX changes on the 27th -
COM7 moved from UHF33 to UHF36.
ArqA (COM5) moved from UHF56 to UHF33.
LBS mux has not changed in anyway and is still on UHF51.
BrizzleRocker: MikeP has already responded to your remarks, he was not suggesting you climb up and fiddle with your aerial but check all connections (that you can easily reach). I fully endorse his comments, and those for future aerial requirements.
Bruce: Does your TV have an HD tuner and were you getting the COM7 Mux (eg. BBC News HD etc) before the MUX change? If you don't have an HD tuner you would not know, or if you have an HD tuner and couldn't get COM7 previously, then it's possible your aerial cannot receive UHF33 satisfactorily and you may need a new aerial. If all your aerial connections are fine, then it may be worth following a full Freeview Reset as sometimes with several changes some sets can get "confused" and not sort the channels correctly.
Comments to Bruce could also apply to anyone who can no longer get Pick, Dave & Sky News etc (ArqA - COM5) which is now on UHF33.
Fedup: Your problem could be due to a similar issue with your aerial BUT the reason you can get UHF33 on your older STB is because most STBs had greater signal sensitivity than a lot of more modern TV sets. This was because in the days before the full DSO, the digital signals were much weaker than now, most STBs were made to cope with this.
For those having problems with Welsh channels, then a Manual Retune may be the best option (you might have to do a full Reset with the aerial unplugged first to clear all memory). Look at your user manual to find out how to do these things (or look at the links on this site for a guide).
For those wanting to do a manual retune, the UHF channels are as follows -
UHF33 (ArqA-COM5), UHF48 (SDN-COM4), UHF49 (BBCA-PSB1), UHF51 (LBS) reception depends on location, UHF52 (ArqB-COM6), UHF54 (D3&4-PSB2). For those with HD tuners - include the following - UHF35 (COM8), UHF36 (COM7) and UHF58 (BBCB-PSB3).
For those wanting a list of Digital changes at Mendip, consult Freeview UK at Coverage Checker - Detailed View
To check reception at your own location, click on Change Address just below the big pink menu bar and then enter your postcode, make sure you have Detailed View ticked.
A list of current Freeview channels can be seen here - Digital UK | Channel listings
Planned Engineering work can be seen here - Digital UK | Planned engineering works
Hope you all find the above helpful.
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Gary Corby: Could you correct the postcode you entered into the site. It looks as though you missed the digit for the last part of the postcode as the terrain plot and Digital uk checkers think you are in BS3.
StevensOnln1 has provided the most likely explanation, however if you have an HD tuner and were receiving COM7 on UHF33 satisfactorily before the change on 27th Feb., then there may be another cause.
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Gary Colby: Just to add what has already been said, you shouldn't have any trouble with reception once your aerial has been sorted. AFAIK there's no new buildings in the Concorde Rd area of the trading estate that might obscure the signal, and especially as you've implied you aren't having any issues with the other UHF channels from Mendip.
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Graham Richards: The listings at the top of this page are indeed in need of a major update. Please see my post on
Tuesday, 6 March 2018 Chris.SE 3:55 PM on page 171.
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phil: You are not correct in what you state. StevensOnln1 has explained it correctly. Sometimes for obscure reasons tuners can miss a channel on an auto scan. If you've experienced those sort of issues (and you have an adequate signal - which might mean a new aerial to achieve that!) then it often pays to do a factory reset/a complete scan with the aerial unplugged to clear all the stored information from the set and then start again.
Barrie Wreford: The transmitter power for COMs 7&8 has not changed since the UHF channel move. It is slightly lower than the other main muxes, but this should not affect your reception - especially if you can see the transmitter! This is also confirmed by the DigitalUK Coverage Checker Coverage Checker - Detailed View for your location. As others have mentioned previously, sometimes poorer reception on one mux can be due to a possible bad connection somewhere in your system. It would be worth checking through that all the connections, coax & aerial plugs/sockets etc are clean and free from corrosion or damage. I presume you have checked that the aerial hasn't moved in any recent high winds and is pointing correctly. If it's been installed for some considerable time, it could be worth checking the connections at the aerial itself if all else has failed to resolve the problem.
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Andy: It's a likely minor reception change due to a retune at Oxford - but that will depend very much on your exact location. You need to do what MikeP has suggested to confirm.
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Terry: David Newton is very unlikely to respond to your query as his post is very very old, and his problem appears to be due to having an old band C/D aerial.
In your case it's as StevensOnln1 explains, you will get ITV Central instead. This is because of the way ITV distributes the HD channels to transmitters - it's separate from the SD channel distribution.
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Albert Honey:
I assume you were using the Hannington Transmitter before the retune event. How reliable were the signals previously?
You are obviously in a very awkward location, what are your neighbours picking up?
It may pay to do a retune with the aerial unplugged to clear all previously stored information and then repeat that with the aerial reconnected.
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K Gardner:
If you click on the link for "digitaluk trade" at the bottom of your previous post, it will show you the predicted reception for you on the appropriate channel for each mux at Winter Hill.
COM7 (UHF55) and COM8 (UHF31) are indeed on a lower power of 22.9kW and 22.6kW respectively.
There is no main mux on UHF56 currently, this is a local mux and is only being transmitted with 2kW!
Now, if you are picking up this local mux OK, it does suggest there are unlikely to be any major problems with your aerial/coax, however bad/dirty connections at plugs and sockets etc have been known to mess up reception of an individual UHF channel, so it's worth just checking all your connections are clean and connecting ok. I'm assuming that you do have a wideband aerial.
What is not helpful here, is you will see that the predicted reception for you for COM7 (UHF55) is much poorer than COM8. This will most likely be due to co-channel interference from other transmitters on UHF55 and other than checking your aerial alignment, there's unfortunately not a lot that you might be able to do to improve things.
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Tuesday 20 February 2018 6:32AM
Keith Farrington:
As MikeB has suggested, if you are able to pick up the interference on a radio, that could help your track it down.
Considering the time of day that this is occurring, it might be some form of "central" heating coming on. I've put the "central" in quotes because it equally could be an electrical heating system not necessarily a boiler powered system. The other possibility at that time of day might be some timer-controlled lighting designed to give a "welcome" home or even an "occupied house" impression to deter possible burglars etc. Obviously it depends on the type of lighting whether it will generate interference, but a failing connection on a circuit could equally be culpable.
Asking neighbours if they are experiencing problems can also help to maybe track it down, but if they aren't home at the time this occurs they may not notice a problem that might be happening with some of their own equipment, so it's also worth asking if anyone has had any heating/lighting repairs or changes or breakdowns at around the time this first started.
Hope the suggestions are of some help.