All posts by Chris.SE
Below are all of Chris.SE's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
William Rose:
This is very strange. nobody is reporting a transmitter fault or Planned Engineering.
Where is your aerial, on the roof or in the loft? I assume that if you are getting your signal from Hagg Wood then the aerial rods (or squashed Xs) are vertical. Have you looked at the aerial to make sure it's still pointing correctly?
We really need a full postcode to look at your predicted reception.
You could also look in your TV Tuning section and try a manual retune for UHF channel 45 for the BBCB HD multiplex.
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Dave Bradney:
The transmitter was listed for Planned Engineering just over a month ago, but is no longer listed and I can't find any reported faults either.
Are you still living in the same place and using a set-top aerial? I'd check your coax connection and the lead from the aerial. The aerial rods should be horizontal.
If you've moved and using an external aerial, have you checked it's still pointing the correct way and the downlead is undamaged and not flapping in the wind? It's possible it could have been damaged in the recent severe weather.
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Anthony Rogan:
Hi Anthony.
Other than asking again if you've checked all you coax plugs, connections, flyleads etc, especially if you've altered anything around in your system at any time, unplug connectors check for corrosion or other problems and reconnect them. Flyleads can be a common problem, try swapping them. I should emphasise that problematic connections, etc. can seem to affect reception of just an individual multiplexes. This is due something called standing waves and effects on other multiplexes may be very minor and go unnoticed.
BUT there might be some issue at the transmitter that we aren't aware of, as I note that Divis is now back on the Planned Engineering list. These lists haven't always been accurate in recent times especially with all the problems that have arisen with the two recent storms, things have taken a while to get updated.
Apart from waiting to see if anything comes of that, trying a manual retune on C48 (and C33 just in case) now and again I'm out of ideas at present. Whether anyone else reading has experienced a similar issue, or if there is some unpublished change we'll have to wait and see. If I discover anything I'll post an update. Let us know how you get on.
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Helen:
Well that will depend on where you are in the Potters Bar area. The terrain can mean you may or may not receive certain transmitters and their multiplexes. So we'd need a full postcode and approximate compass direction your aerial is pointing in to be able to give more accurate detail as well as which region (eg. Londoin, Anglia or Meridian) that you normally get.
Which channels are you getting problems with?
Have you changed anything about in your installation?
All one can say without such information, is that the transmitters you are most likely to receive do not appear to have any faults currently listed, nor are they currently listed for Planned Engineering.
The best advice at this point is to check that your aerial seems intact and pointing in the direction it should be and that your downlead looks undamaged (especially if it is old). Also check all your coax plugs, connections, flyleads etc, unplug connectors check for corrosion or other problems and reconnect them. Flyleads are a common problem, try swapping/changing them.
See what signal strengths and quality you are getting for the multiplexes (groups of channels) shown in your TV's tuning section, that information may indicate issues with your aerial or downlead or possibly any distribution amp/splitter you may have.
Problematic connections, water ingress etc. can seem to affect reception of just an individual or several multiplexes.
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Vivien Hamilton:
Well it depends on where you are within your postcode. The short answer is No - from the Darwen transmitter. But maybe some parts of your postcode that haven't got line of sight issues to Winter Hill (it's only 7km from you) ie. trees, hills or nearby buildings in the way, may get good enough signals.
The issue is essentially that it's not considered cost effective by the commercial operators to add the transmission equipment to relay transmitters that serve only small numbers of viewers (and that's assuming frequencies to transmit on are available without causing interference elsewhere).
As far as getting reliable signals from Winter Hill, you really need an extremely good aerial installer that knows the area well (preferably CAI approved) to advise/install a new aerial. Winter Hill is in the opposite direction to Darwen for you. Have a look at your near neighbours' aerials to see if any point the opposite way, this will give you an idea. Ask them how reliable reception is if they do, as predictions for the 3 main PSB multiplexes are not as good as from your relay (but still quite good).
See Channel listings for Industry Professionals | Freeview for which channels are carried on which multiplex. (The 3 PSBs are BBCA, D3&4, BBCB HD).
The other option to consider is Freesat. A lot of modern TVs have built-in satellite tuners, so all you need is the Dish and LNB.
Personally I wouldn't rush to change anything unless you are happy about the budget. COM7 (at all main transmitters that have it which includes Winter Hill) will close by end of June 2022 (it was only a temporary HD multiplex). Whether anything will change with other multiplexes as a consequence is totally unknown at present (there's speculation but nothing definite), there's currently no room on the other multiplexes for COM7's channels so you might want to wait and see.
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Violet Iwanio:
The BBC have reported a fault but your signals should be back now. The HD channels should have been still on air.
From 10:04:55pm on 11th Dec 2021 to 11:36:25am on 12th Dec 2021 BBC A Off the air due to a fault
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Christine Barton:
StevensOnln1 is basically saying you need to be more specific. We don't know how or where you saw this.
Which transmitter do you get your reception from (there could be a transmitter problem) if you don't know a full postcode will be helpful.
Which channel were you on? Did you press the Text button on your remote or the Red button? If the latter, what did you select subsequently?
If you pressed the Text button, what page number did you see this problem on? (number is in top RH corner).
Is the problem still there now?
You can assume that neither of us are seeing a problem at present which is why all the questions.
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Keith:
You may be best asking them directly by contacting the station and asking them if the modulation depth is low on the Stockton Transmitter (1170 AM).
See Contact Us | Greatest Hits Radio for a choice of methods.
How does Virgin AM on 1242 AM from the same transmitter site compare? (Mind you they use 1kW power compared to 320W for GHR).
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Friday 10 December 2021 1:05AM
Teresa Edwards:
Just digging a little bit more - how recently has this problem arisen?
If it's only the last two weeks, my next question would be which TV region does your mum get, is it London, or is it South East/Meridian?
Is the aerial pointing West or approximately SouthEast, my guess is it may be South East in which case the aerial is pointing at the Bluebell Hill transmitter.
The Bluebell Hill transmitter has been on Planned Engineering the last 2 weeks with "Possible effect on TV reception - Possible Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels"
So the problems may improve when the engineering has been completed, BUT
That said, IF reception is much much worse when it rains, it sounds like there could be a problem with the aerial installation, this does not sound just like Mobile Phone mast interference, even if it were, it would not get worse when it rains.
The phone mast - exactly how new is it?
It may not be 5G but may still be operating in the 700MHz band which could give TV reception problems. That said, normally when masts like this appear, "Restore TV" frequently write to nearby and potentially affected households, but even if your mum has not heard from them it's still worth contacting them.
Bear in mind if the aerial installation is the problem, you'd need to contact a reliable aerial installer.