All posts by Chris.SE
Below are all of Chris.SE's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Paul Dursley:
Well both Wenvoe and Mendip are still listed for Planned Engineering so as you already know, we aren't certain of exactly what work is taking place or whether the Reserve Antenna have been used at any point.
However, without wishing to be a pessimist, the other thing that is different is less rain, so if rain is penetrating your aerial or downlead somewhere, it could now be drying out.
Something to keep an eye if you then get issues after any period of sustained rain.
| link to this comment |
Jill:
Just for clarification, were you missing those other channels as well? Or is it just Create and Craft?
I'm afraid Arqiva never provide details of the engineering work or how long it may last, some of which can be weather dependant.
I don't suppose there's any chance your loft aerial has been disturbed from its normal position?
Recently, anything external that may disrupt signals - scaffolding, solar panels, metal flues etc.?
After another check, I see you should have had a postcard from Restore TV, to check, put your postcode in https://restoretv.uk/post…ure/
It's possible you may now be getting interference from a new/upgraded phone mast which won't always have obvious/immediately noticeable effects on all multiplexes. So if this persists that is worth pursuing for the Free Filter.
Do you have any amp/splitters to feed more than one TV/box?
| link to this comment |
Steve Donaldson:
Apart from the rarity of diplexers these days, the cost of them is not peanuts, and so there seems little point in spending that sort of money when, as you've pointed out the "split" on one of those is at C38 and Wenvoe's Local mux is on C37, The other one requires F connectors, a further expense.
BUT more to the point, I'd rather check that the strength of Paul's Backwell signal is sufficient for such insertion loss when a low loss splitter in reverse may do the same job at a fraction of the cost. Many have successfully done it that way.
That's assuming that with the "normal" signals he's now getting, they don't allow sufficient signal from Wenvoe of the side of his Backwell aerial, however his post suggests that he does get sufficient signal.
There's little point in spending money on a "perfectionist" solution that's not needed IMHO.
| link to this comment |
Steve Donaldson:
Paul did say it was over 20 years old, so no doubt a 14-element contract yagi. Interesting side note even though that image is supposedly 2009, the house next door has/had an aerial pointing at Mendip as well! (Yet an image down the road is 2022!).
Yes atv are always a good source of information, often a good starting point.
Considering the age of Paul's aerial, hence my ongoing concern about possible water penetration.
That said, if one is going to continue to rely on the reception of Wenvoe off the side of a Backwell aerial, whilst the 28 element Group K Log Periodic might give adequate Backwell signal, even with a wider beamwidth it might be too good in directional properties for Wenvoe, and because there are differences between vertical and horizontal polarisation, we can't be sure (the 56-element might be worse in this latter respect).
It could be best to rely on something more basic such as
https://www.blake-uk.com/aerials-tv-yagi/14-element-contract-pcb-balun-group-k-channels-2148.html
But this is all where a decent aerial installer would be able to test on location and install the simplest most straight forward aerial setup to achieve the desired results.
| link to this comment |
CHRIS JACKSON:
If your postcode is TN31 7HP (not the typo of 77 per your original post), then according to the Freeview reception predictor, you are not in the beast of locations for reception from Heathfield. Whilst this is a general prediction for your postcode it may not be precise for you particular location. However, having had a quick look on Streetview over your general postcode (even though it's a 2015 image) I see no reason why the general prediction shouldn't apply.
Unless you normally have good reception from Heathfield with few reception problems, then you may want to consider having your aerial changed and point it at Dover, especially if it's an original aerial for Heathfield and over 20+ years old, as it could now be out of the correct aerial "group" as it could be C/D whereas you ideally need a Group K for either transmitter.
I didn't see many external aerials in your postcode, maybe yours is in a loft, which won't improve the reception from Heathfield either. Where I did see external aerials, one with quite an array (as well as satellite dishes), they were pointing at Dover (also having Planned Engineering) I'm afraid.
| link to this comment |
Bob Reeve:
This is extremely unusual that you would be without signal for so long due to engineering work, especially as it appears the BBC multiplexes are now Line fed, and the D3&4/PSB2 is off-air from Rowridge.
Did you perchance retune when you had no signal?
If so, I'm afraid that was the worst thing to do, it would most likely have cleared your correct tuning, I assume you were previously correctly tuned.
You cannot tune to signals that are not there or are badly pixellated that can't be decoded.
If this was the case, try retuning again.
Also do other basic checks, such as make sure your aerial looks intact and is still pointing correctly. Also that the coax downlead isn't flapping in the wind, and that you have no corrosion or water in any accessible coax connections.
Another possibility is that your reception may be being wiped out by a new or upgraded mobile phone mast causing interference. Put your postcode here to check -
https://restoretv.uk/post…ure/ and if Yes, get in touch with Restore TV for a Free Filter.
If you provide a full postcode here we may be able to offer further advise.
| link to this comment |
Paul Dursley:
Hi again. Any immediate degradation after the rain could certainly suggest water ingress, however if engineering work is still listed (we won't know until tomorrow) then maybe judgement over a longer period would be a good idea.
If at the end of the day the existing aerial is in good enough condition for reinstallation, I'd strongly recommend brand new double screened coax for the downlead.
We eagerly await await further updates.
(PS. no need to repeat a seperate post, we both see all the posts).
| link to this comment |
Bob Reeve:
Hi. Just FYI, the filter you probably had previously would most likely have been for 800MHz. The new one would be for the 700MHz band which would also clobber 800MHz so would be substituted.
| link to this comment |
Alistair McNair:
It's not an upgrade, it's Planned Engineering (which is usually maintenance). The post before yours is the answer to your question.
PS. This is a free technical helpsite.
| link to this comment |
Thursday 18 April 2024 2:17PM
jill:
You shouldn't have any problems with reception in your location BUT the Oxford transmitter has been listed for Planned Engineering for a few weeks.
If you made the unfortunate mistake of retuning when you had no signal, this will likely have just cleared your correct tuning.
You cannot tune to signals that aren't there or are badly pixellated and can't be decoded
I assume you mean the Create and Craft TV channel at LCN85 which is carried on the ArqA/COM5 multiplex, so I'd expect you to be missing other TV channels such as Sky Mix LCN11, Sky Arts LCN36, Film 4+1 LCN47 and others.
If so, your best bet will be to do a MANUAL retune (go into your TV settings) for Oxford UHF channel 37.