All posts by Chris.SE
Below are all of Chris.SE's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Nigel Crisp:
The site owner hasn't had time to keep up with all the changes from the 700MHz clearance, so I'd think correcting this error isn't going to be given a high priority I'm afraid.
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nhs worker:
Hi. This is an independent help site, we aren't the broadcasters or transmitter engineers, but we can offer advice and information.
Normally you shouldn't have any problems with reception of the main BBC and ITV channels. You could just check that the aerial is pointing the right way, it should have its rod vertical and be pointing roughly WSW (251 degrees) at your location.
Freeview or the BBC aren't reporting any faults at this time, but there has been some weather related "tropospheric ducting" in recent days which may have disrupted signals for some viewers.
(For an explanation see Effect of tropospheric ducting on Freeview | Help receiving TV and radio ).
It's not normally a good idea to retune when you have lost signals or they are breaking up as this often just clears the correct tuning.
If you have no ITV/Ch4 signals at present, you could try another retune to see if they get restored correctly.
If the signals are just breaking up still, check the cables and connectors from the aerial socket to your TV etc. especially any flyleads as these can have faulty connections which in some cases can affect just the one multiplex (group of TV channels).
If you still have problems post back with a bit more detail, eg. is it happening at specific times etc.
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Richard:
It doesn't look like it from the information that's currently available. DAB reception in the area is very patchy and depends on exact location as to whether you'd likely pick anything up from Ilfracombe or Huntshaw Cross. I doubt signals from any transmitters on the S.Wales coast are strong enough either. You should have good FM reception though, but it may be from one of the Welsh transmitters eg. Haverfordwest in which case you'd find BBC Radio 4 on 104.9MHz. But I would have thought you'd also get FM from Wenvoe.
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Tim Pullman :
The D-max channel is on the ArqB multiplex on Freeveiw at LCN37 see Channel listings | Freeview
The +1 channel is only on satellite (D-max is also on satellite).
Are you getting any of the other channels on the ArqB multiplex eg. 22,25,29,32,35,36, 39,42,47,71....etc.
If you are getting those other channels then try a retune. If you are not getting them, we'd need a full postcode to look at predicted reception at your location, which may be marginal.
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Roger A.F. Dean:
Hello Roger, first, it's not a good idea to post address details etc on a public forum, the postcode is adequate.
Secondly, it's not "our" equipment, this is an independent help site, not the broadcasters or transmitter engineers, but we can offer help and advice.
Apart from the HD channels on the PSB3/BBCB HD multiplex, the channels 22,25,29,32,35,36, 39,42,47,71....etc. are on the ArqB multiplex. To get these extra commercial channels your aerial would need to be pointing at the Stockland Hill transmitter (bearing 46 degrees ~NW) with the rods horizontal, but reception of all multiplexes from there (apart from PSB3 funnily) is predicted to be variable at your location. The two local relays you can get with good signal only carry the PSB1-3 multiplexes, both require the aerial rods vertical - Budleigh Salterton to the ~NW bearing 53 degrees, and Dawlish bearing 300 degrees ~WNW.
Even if the aerial has it's rods horizontal pointing at Stockland Hill, you could still be picking up the transmissions from Budleigh Salterton (or even Dawlish) as it's so close.
You'd need to check in your TV's tuning section which UHF channels it's tuned to for each multiplex.
For Stockland Hill it's C26, C23, C29, C25, C22, C28 in the order PSBs1-3, COMs4-6
For Budleigh Salterton its C44, C41, C47 and Dawlish it's C48, C32, C33 both for PSBs1-3
If your aerial is not rods horizontal pointing at Stockland Hill then you are lucky to pick up the COM multiplexes!
Otherwise it's possible it might have been recent atmospherics disrupting reception.
if you still have problems, post back with more detail about the UHF channels your set is tuned to and which way your aerial is pointing.
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Richard Maher:
Whilst I sympathise with some of your comments, this is a help site where people can post and ask questions and ask for help. It has always struck me as rather odd that in these circumstances people don't read all of the recent posts on the transmitter page of interest to see if their query/problem has been raised (and answered) by anyone else.
As far as the Sutton transmitter page is concerned the UHF channel information is correct, the power needs updating to 20W & 10W for HP & VP but that's hardly going to be of interest or affect anyone except those that have good technical knowledge, as far as the average user is concerned it's a VERY low power relay.
UNLESS you mean Sutton Coldfield, in which case the main 6 muxes UHF channels/power are correct, the double entries in the table for COMs 7&8 and Local need correcting as do their power, but a lot of the information has been mentioned in recent posts there.
Both the Waltham Tx page and this one (post before yours) have recent posts from me giving the updated situation. Many of the Tx pages (especially the main ones) have similar comments from regular posters here where they aren't up-to-date and someone has had a query.
The site owner is the only one that can make changes as I think you've probably read and hasn't had time to even respond to some messages he's been left, never mind make the many remaining changes resulting from the 700MHz clearance. There's over 1100 transmitters in the UK and most of the data has to be manually inputted from OFCOM and DUK documents, a task I don't envy him!
As far as the Freeview site goes, I totally agree with you about the abysmal way in which the site is structured. When the DUK site (which was the place to go for the tech information) was merged into the Freeview site towards the end of last October, many of us found that is was badly done. I know I wasn't the only one that sent them a load of constructive comments about the way it worked. Some minor changes were made, but it's still badly structured. More recently they have made one addition which is of some use to those wanting technical information.
This site is about the only one where people can come and ask questions and generally get help from knowledgable and experienced engineers and other regular posters. You can try tweeting Freeview for help, but when there are significant problem they can take days to respond and when they do, more often than not they end up asking people to DM them a postcode etc. otherwise the sort of response you generally tend to get from them is instructions on how to retune!! I'll give you some links to useful places on the Freeview site which are generally up-to-date, although sometimes they can be tardy doing it.
Platform management | Freeview /channel-listings">Channel listings | Freeview
Platform management | Freeview /planned-engineering-works">Planned engineering works | Freeview
Service updates | Freeview
Recently added postcode/etc boxes on the following page takes you direct to the Detailed View of the Coverage Checker.
Platform management | Freeview
Unfortunately you still can't get a direct link to such a prediction.
You can get a variety of other (sometimes) helpful information on Help | Freeview
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Andrew Healy:
Crystal Palace is currently list for Planned Engineering with "Possible service interruptions", so yes there can be times when there is no signal. It is never a good idea to retune when there is no or very low pixellating signals as all this tends to do is to clear the correct tuning.
You'll need to try retuning again when/after signals return and of course you might need several attempts at that, as they never say when or for how long signals may be interrupted, but for a main transmitter like Crystal Palace it's unlikely to be that long.
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Tony:
Has your TV got a T2 (HD) tuner? It won't get HD channels otherwise. If you had HD channels before, it may be that because the transmitter is currently listed for Planned Engineering with "Possible weak signal" you may not have received them if you were tuning.
However, although I'm not quite sure what exactly you mean by "albeit top 2m100% then rest drop down", the UHF channels you've listed are not all Bluebell Hill.
The correct UHF channels are C32, C34, C45(HD); C40, C43, C46; C55&C56 (COMs7&8 HD); C21 (Local) -
That's for PSB1/BBCA, PSB2/D3&4, PSB3/BBCB; COMs4-6; COMs7&8; & Local in that order.
C23 & C26 are from another transmitter, most likely Crystal Palace.
I would unplug the aerial and do an automatic full retune to clear existing tuning (as nothing will be found), then plug it back in and carry out a manual tune on the UHF channels I've listed.
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Julie Shaw;
Hi. If I've understood this correctly, you moved your bedroom TV to the lounge and found a lot of extra channels. But when you moved the TV back to the bedroom, you didn't have the extra channels?
Are the aerial sockets in the lounge and bedroom run from the same aerial - if so I assume that there is a splitter of some sort and may be an amplifier?
If they are run from different aerials, can you describe the difference between the aerials and where they are located (chimney, loft, wall bracket etc.). Check that your downleads looks undamaged and that your aerials seems intact and are pointing in the correct direction.
In the bedroom, do you have any other equipment, PVRs etc. You should also check all you coax plugs, connections, flyleads etc, unplug connectors check for corrosion or other problems and reconnect them. Flyleads can be a common problem, try swapping them. See what signal strengths (if any) and quality you are getting for the multiplexes shown in your TV's tuning section, this might indicate potential issues with your downlead to the bedroom, if you post the figures.
Problematic connections, water ingress etc. can seem to affect reception of just an individual or several multiplexes (groups of channels).
If all the above seems fine, we'll need a full postcode to look at the predicted reception at your location. If it's marginal for some multiplexes this could indicate an issue with the installation,.
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Thursday 16 April 2020 4:33PM
Colin Dutton:
Well for Sutton Coldfield from your location your aerial should be pointing at a bearing of 91 degrees, virtually due East. (For the Wrekin it would be almost NW). The only transmitter that I would have thought you'd likely pick up, that is East Midlands region is Waltham and although it could be within the beamwidth of your aerial, it's more to the N of East, possibly ENE.
All the normal transmitters that you'd usually be predicted to get are all West Midlands.
Didn't the TV ask for your preferred region or postcode when setting it up initially?
Is this "retuning" to BBC1 East Midlands a regular event, or has it just been happening very recently? If the latter, it might be due to the fact that there's been a bit of Tropospheric Propagation about the last couple of days, see Effect of tropospheric ducting on Freeview | Help receiving TV and radio
The PSB1/BBCA multiplex is on UHF C43 from Sutton Coldfield and C32 from Waltham - you'd have to check your TV's tuning section to see which UHF channel it was on when you have the East Midlands.
IMHO receivers that auto-retune, particularly when signal is lost, invariably pick up the wrong signals, apart from which, retuning when you have lost signals is usually a bad idea because it just clears the correct tuning!
The best way to resolve this sort of issue is to turn off this automatic retuning in your TV's Tuning Section. Frequent retuning is not required, there's no further retune events for the 700MHz Clearance program for Sutton Coldfield and the only other reason for a retune is when some Commercial Broadcasters change their channels and/or have them moved to different multiplexes which isn't usually that frequent. You'd find out that had happened when you couldn't receive one of them, or see an on screen message, or keep an eye on Service updates | Freeview where there was in fact one such event yesterday.
When you know that's happened, you can initiate an automatic retune manually.
HTH.