All posts by Chris.SE
Below are all of Chris.SE's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Andrew Fox:
I'll respond to your post on the Idle transmitter page. I doubt this has anything to do with the purported 5G masts.
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Andrew Fox:
Please provide a full postcode and which direction your aerial is pointing so that we can look at the predicted reception in your locale. Are the aerial rods (or squashed Xs) horizontal or vertical? Roughly how old is the aerial and downlead?
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P Wallace:
These sorts of intermittent type problem are often the most difficult to resolve.
Whilst I was going to say that it's unlikely to be weather related because of the way you've described your issue, it's possible that things like "Tropospheric Ducting" might be a (the) cause (there have been periods of this in recent times), but you should notice other factors if this was likely. See How does good weather affect my television? | Help receiving TV and radio for a rather simplistic and crude explanation.
Basically it results in interference from more distant transmitters in the UK or Europe. This is usually quite frequency dependent - in other words not all multiplexes may be affected, it could be just one. The effect may only last briefly, but because it's interference to the wanted signal, you should also see changes to the signal quality - again it could be brief. More typically the quality will drop (as may the strength but not always) until the set cannot decode the wanted signal. This can last for seconds, minutes or even hours depending on the precise weather conditions.
If the issue is affecting all multiplexes, the problem could obviously be an intermittent connection (flaky wiring!) there would usually be something to disturb a connection eg. equipment vibration (maybe due to usage - button pushing etc.) or more often disturbance to the aerial connection or downlead usually wind blowing either about, maybe a bird landing on the aerial, and so on.
The best way to eliminate this as a potential cause is to check every coax plug connection especially for corrosion, any ready made flyleads which can develop intermittent faults at the back of the plug etc.), check the downlead is secure and not flapping in any wind, check the aerial connection if you can access it.
Your issue does sound more like electrical interference from a "switching" spike. Does it occur at (exactly) the same time of day - could be something switching on a time-clock, could be things like boilers coming on or going off, fridge or freezer thermostats going faulty, particular lights being switched on/off, ...and so on.
It's a tiresome task of checking around to see if any such events happen at the instant you have the signal drop. The worst is it may not be on your premises, it could be a near neighbour, or even something commercial nearby where perhaps more "heavy" equipment switching is involved. These latter things are less likely but nevertheless possible, try and eliminate anything on your premises before worrying about external sources.
HTH. Post back with any further info that maybe helpful or queries if you need more help.
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Kev:
The Craigkelly transmitter has been listed for Planned Engineering. The signal may be weak when such work is being carried out and this can cause picture break-up/pixellation in some locations.
This is the most likely cause and is highly unlikely to have anything to do with any current 5G expansion - most current 5G expansion is in the higher frequency bands around 3.4/3.6 GHz, nowhere near TV frequencies.
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Scott:
To add to the above, Black Hill had been listed for Planned Engineering, it's possible work may have been ongoing resulting in your problem. If your set has an AUTO RETUNE function when there is No Signal, turn it off. These things are usually more trouble than they are worth.
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Richard Garrity:
Your location should have no problems receiving signals from the Mendip transmitter and it's not been listed for Planned Engineering recently and I can't find any recent faults listed.
Whilst most communal installations are channelised, not all are, and the location can also get excellent signals from the Ilchester Crescent transmitter and good signals from the Barton House relay transmitter.
Even with a horizontally polarised aerial pointing at Mendip, Ilchester Cresent is in an almost identical direction and signals could still be strong enough to be decoded but not necessarily reliable.
ITV/Channel 4/Channel 5 are on the D3&4/PSB2 multiplex which is UHF C34 from Mendip, so check that's the one you are tuned to.
Last weekend and a few days before that, there was some weather related "Tropospheric Ducting" - this causes signals to travel a lot further than normal, so you can get interference from distant transmitters elsewhere in the UK or Europe. Such interference doesn't necessarily affect all multiplexes as it's frequency dependent. If it had affected your signals and you retuned at the time, you might have got tuned to the incorrect frequencies.
Mendip's correct UHF channels are C32, C34, C35, C48, C33, C36, C55, C30. That's is the order PSBs1-3, COMs 4-7, Local mux, so if you aren't correctly tuned, clear any existing tuning and then do a manual tune.
Also check you don't have any corrosion or bad connection at the coax wall plate. Such problems can cause issues with just one multiplex.
Check in the TV's Tuning section that the Signal Strength is high and Quality is 100% for each multiplex. If you are still having problems, post back with the figures for each multiplex.
As a general rule, don't retune if you have pixellation or no signal whether it be due to maintenance, weather or faults as this generally will just clear the correct tuning and you end of needing to retune again when signals are normal (which may need several attempts!). These days there should generally be no need to retune except if you get an on-screen pop-up because a commercial operator has changed channels/multiplex on COMs 4-7.
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Michael :
Waltham isn't supposed to be on Planned Engineering now and nobody seems to be reporting any outages, no fault reports from the BBC.
If you were getting Sutton Coldfield instead of Waltham it would be Central West News rather than East, but you're unlikely to get good reception from Sutton Coldfield in any event, the BBC predict variable reception.
How does the signal strength and quality of the BBCA/PSB1 and D3&4/PSB2 multiplexes UHF C32 & C34 compare when you don't have the HD mux PSB3/BBCB HD which is on C35. Is the signal/quality lower on them than it is when you have the HD channels? This would indicate something not working correctly, not just the HD channels having a problem.
Have you tried to check for a bad/broken connection in the flylead from the set to wall plate even gently wiggle the plug in the wall plate to see if there's a bad connection there. Some times such faults can affect only one multiplex or one multiplex more than others.
How are the signal strength and quality figures on the bedroom TV? - If they are lower than normal whilst HD in the lounge is missing, this could indicate a communal system fault. Are you neighbours having any similar problems with the HD channels?
Sutton Coldfield BBCB HD is on C40, but you are unlikely to get any signal as the aerial is pointing the wrong way and is likely to be not good anyway.
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Michael :
I'll try and keep an eye on any reports of current issues at Waltham (hopefully any one else reading might post if they spot any info). The BBC in particular are usually very good in reporting any issues that affect any of their multiplexes or channels.
Did you ask if any neighbours had issues? In the absence of any known transmitter issues, it does sound like an issue with the communal system, which may of course only affect your one feed to the lounge for some obscure reason.
If neighbours are having similar issues or nothing else transpires, then it would be best to get the warden to get the aerial chap in to give it all a check out.
Keep us posted.
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Paul Robinson:
Hmm, either they have had some significant problems or there's a possibility (all my guesswork) that it's because of quite a few changes needed that'll result in the BBC HD channels (& maybe ITV) being regionalised by the end of 2022 (as announced by the BBC a while ago). I've no idea exactly what work is needed at transmitters (I know there's got to be some major equipment changes), I'll have to try and find out.
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Tuesday 27 July 2021 3:53AM
David Richardson:
Just to advise you that this is not Netflix's site (this is a free technical helpsite) and they are unlikely to see your comment here.