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 B:
Try connecting the aerial direct to one feed for a single TV and see what happens. The fact that you are getting 71 channels with the aerial disconnected does imply the signal is very strong.
It could be that the additional signal from UHF C32 is causing overload somewhere (remember the old PSB1 mux on C50 is still simulcasting - channel numbers 751 et seq. so those will very old Group C/D aerials that won't receive C32 have a period of time to get the In Home support for the aerial change - which is the primary cause of the need to delay the final changes as the In Home support is difficult or impossible with the social distancing requirements).
If the gain on the booster/splitter is variable, try turning it down a touch, otherwise you might need to experiment with an attenuator (you can get a variable one for ~5 on eBay). Try moving the aerial around in the loft if that's possible, even just changing the bearing slightly if nothing else is practical.
| link to this comment |
MikeP:
We have been through this argument before, the 100% is NOT ALWAYS too much and won't necessarily "cause problems", and is what he had before (if you bothered to read his original post and he has no problem with the other muxes), it's a totally arbitrary figure dependent on the set manufacturer and he doesn't necessarily NEED to turn it down to your arbitrary figure of 70-85%.
I do suspect though that there is now some overload with the "extra" mux still broadcasting, which is why I suggested he experiment in the manner mentioned. The overload may be desensitising things sufficiently that the weaker COMs 7&8 are not getting decoded, but he needs to prove that by carrying out the suggested checks.
There is no point in continuing to refer to arbitrary 100% and 70-85% figures of a meaningless whatever signal level that's not a defined standard that all set manufacturers use. If it is overload, he'll need to reduce the signal to an undefined level that restores satisfactory reception of all muxes.
Aerial direct to one set is the first check to carry out. Simply moving the aerial - (maybe slightly off-beam) may also be a solution. As you well know RF can be a bit of a black art at times.
| link to this comment |
Bob McCulloch:
As per the post immediately before yours, the Planned Engineering may have been the cause. Some sets/devices will do automatic searches/retunes if they lose signals, or if you did one, it may well have picked up another weaker transmitter whilst some Winter Hill multiplexes were on reduced power or briefly off-air. There is no Planned Engineering listed this week (doesn't mean they aren't doing any!!) so one might expect things to be back to normal. The BBC aren't reporting any faults affecting their channels and Freeview aren't indicating any issues affecting reception.
Exactly which channels have you been having a problem with?
If you look at your set's tuning section and the signals on the main multiplexes look normal, you could try a retune to see if it restores the ones that you are having problems with, but try it this way - Unplug the aerial and do a full automatic retune which should clear all previous tuning as no channels will be found, then plug the aerial back in and repeat the same and hopefully all the correct channels will be restored.
A reminder when looking at you tuning section you should see specific UHF channels for Winter Hill for each of the multiplexes in the order listed as follows -
PSB1/BBCA, PSB2/D3&4, PSB3/BBCB HD, COMs 4-6, COMs 7&8, Local G-MAN, Local L-MAN, Local L-LIV
UHF channels C32, C59, C54, C58, C49, C37, C55, C56, C57, C24, C21
You will also undoubtedly have PSB1/BBCA simulcasting on UHF C50 with the programmes at LCN751 et seq. in your EPG, this is so that those with older Group C/D aerials that can't get the BBC SD channels in their normal LCNs from UHF C32 have time to get free In Home support for a new aerial from Freeview - but that has been suspended at present because of the Covid-19 situation as has the the remaining 700MHZ clearance retune events.
For anyone in that situation, I don't know if they are putting affected people on a waiting list, you can try ringing them on 0808-100-0288
Just a further note for those within the reception area of the Preston Local mux L-PRN, it's on UHF C40.
| link to this comment |
Nick frazer :
Sutton Coldfield is listed this week for Planned Engineering with "Possible weak signal", so this may be the reason. But without a full postcode it would be impossible to comment further on the effect at your location.
| link to this comment |
MikeP:
My experience says there are so many instances I have encountered where it says 100% and presents no problem. It's 100% of an arbitrary figure, so get used to the fact that your arrogance is not appreciated. I'm not the only one on this site who has challenged this ridiculous claim of these arbitrary figures based on their experience. If you'd simply said you agreed with me that signal overload was a likely possibility instead of yet again posting such meaningless figures, there would be no argument. Furthermore, for the sake of making a point, if the signal was turned down to 70% on the strongest muxes, this may put the signal of the weakest muxes below a decodable threshold (off the cliff edge). It's simple, if overload is the issue, then the signal should be reduced JUST SUFFICIENTLY so that all muxes are receivable without issue, not some meaningless arbitrary figure. Indeed if front end saturation was happening, even with the signal reduced it may still say 100%, a lot depends on front end design. Don't bother to argue the point any more, you'll get the same response.
Steve B:
As I said previously, if the gain of the booster/splitter is adjustable, experiment by turning it down a bit, what the strength figure says is irrelevant (within reason), a consistent 100% quality figure is the primary aim. Try the aerial direct to one set as it's unlikely that this will cause overload, but see what you get. If that manages to get a signal on mux 7 &/or 8, then try tweaking the aerial position/bearing to maximise the COMs7&8 signals.
Then re-connect your standard set-up, if you then lose COMs 7&8 then it's clear that overload is causing the problem, get that variable attenuator, I found this one reliable in the past - eBay item number: 310160230552
| link to this comment |
It should be noted that the Redruth transmitter is listed for Planned Engineering this week with "Possible service interruptions"
| link to this comment |
MikeP:
How dare you lecture me about RF transmissions as though you are the only person on the planet that knows about these things.
As "nobody" has said "100% of what", as you clearly don't seem to understand what I've spelt out already.
YOU (nor I) know what 100% means on a variety of receivers, IT'S TOTALLY ARBITRARY depending on the design, you do NOT know if it is THE limiting strength. In some instances it WILL mean no Margin (poor design), in others they may be plenty of Margin. Each installation needs to be considered in its own right. Just get over it.
| link to this comment |
Steve B:
I'm afraid the UHF channel listings on this site for many of the transmitters are out of date, as the site owner has not had time to keep up with all the changes resulting from the 700MHz clearance.
For Winter Hill see my post Winter Hill (Bolton, England) Full Freeview transmitter | free and easy to Bob McCulloch at 12:42pm on the 8th April for a full current list of channels.
The final changes may not be implemented until next year according to the data currently supplied by Freeview/DigitalUK. I'd try carry on climbing into the loft a bit longer :) and wind down the gain a bit more. COM7 is on C55, COM8 on C56 and in quite a few places C56 is being received stronger than C55 since they changed the FEC on C56 to a 1/2 instead of 2/3. Neither will be as strong as the other multiplexes because they are transmitted with less power.
If you still have 100% signal on the others, you obviously have plenty of signal and it may still be saturating the front ends, turn it down more - you can always turn it up again if it doesn't help !! As I said earlier, the objective is to get 100% quality on all muxes, it won't matter if the signal level is less than (or at) 100% if it all muxes are received satisfactorily. Let us know how you get on - please.
| link to this comment |
mark white:
There aren't any reported transmitter problems at this time, I assume you are receiving from Hannington (but a full postcode would be needed to look at your predicted reception). There was some talk of atmospherics - Tropospheric Ducting - disrupting reception over the bank holiday - see How clear skies and fine weather can affect your TV reception | Help receiving TV and radio and the linked page.
If you lose signal and try retuning you may get signals from a different transmitter and lose them again as the propagation changes, and then you'll have to retune again and maybe unsuccessful in getting your regular signals back until the disruption subsides.
| link to this comment |
Tuesday 7 April 2020 9:08PM
tracey:
I suggest you try contacting the site developers as mentioned at the bottom of the page - Twelve Winds Consulting Ltd.