All posts by Chris.SE
Below are all of Chris.SE's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Anthony Rogan:
Can you try and find a link to something with a picture of that Nikkai aerial. Is it an amplified one?
It may or may not make a difference as you are so close to the transmitter but these types of aerial aren't always the best in some conditions.
Having said that, there are two things to mention.
1)The Planned Engineering may be finished, as Divis is no longer on the list BUT that's no guarantee if past experience is anything to go by!
2) There is currently some moderate to strong temperature inversion/tropospheric ducting conditions affecting large parts of the UK and these weather conditions can disrupt reception for brief or longer periods. The conditions are predicted to last for a few days.
If one of the predictions is accurate NI could be more likely to be affected at present!
The BBC also mention the weather conditions on their Works and Warnings page, but the transmitter tool won't always have current conditions.
So conclusion at present is, keep trying the manual tune on C48 and/or C33. It may be best to wait until weather conditions change before jumping to any further conclusions, but an on-line link to that aerial would be helpful.
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Rex Watson:
It's because Freesports is on the COM7 temporary multiplex (due to close by end of June 2022) and this is only transmitted on 25 of the UK's main transmitters and Sudbury isn't one of them.
It's most likely on COM7 for one of two (or both) reasons. Lack of room on the other multiplexes, and/or the cost of being on COM7 is (we believe) cheaper than other multiplexes.
There's been no announcements about what may happen to all the channels carried on COM7 and whether changes on the other multiplexes may occur.
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Mark Scarratt:
I assume you mean the BBC SD channels today (18/12) or does that include the HD ones as well?
When exactly was the previous occasion?
I can't find any faults listed for the transmitter and it's not been listed for Planned Engineering since the end of October. Most parts of your area should have very good reception from Llanddonna but without a full postcode the predicted reception in your locale can't be confirmed, it's possible you may be in an awkward spot!
It's possible that your problem today is weather related.
There is currently some moderate to strong temperature inversion/tropospheric ducting conditions affecting large parts of the UK and these weather conditions can disrupt reception for brief or longer periods. The conditions are predicted to last on and off for a few days.
The BBC currently have a warning in place.
That said there are a number of things worth checking.
Is your aerial external or loft mounted? How old is it (roughly)? Do you have a distribution amp/splitter?
Have you changed anything in your set up since this first started?
I would check that your aerial seems intact and pointing in the correct direction and that your downlead looks undamaged (especially if it is old) and not flapping in the wind if external. Also check all your coax plugs, connections, flyleads etc, behind the TV, unplug connectors check for corrosion or other problems and reconnect them. Flyleads are a common problem, try swapping/changing them.
If you ever retuned at anytime when you had no signal, that's never recommended as it usually just clears the correct tuning or you may end up tuned to weak signals from another transmitter.
Check in your TV's Tuning Section that you are tuned to the correct UHF channels for Llanddonna. These are C40, C43, C46, C41, C44, C47 in the order PSB1/BBCA, PSB2/D3&4, PSB3/BBCB HD, SDN/COM4, ArqA/COM5, ArqB/COM6
To be clear, the Main BBC SD Channels would be on multiplex BBCA UHF channel C40.
Check that you don't have any trees that have grown high that are on the line of sight to the transmitter (or very very close by) or things like scaffolding or new buildings.
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.
Make sure you don't have any HDMI leads near unscreened/poorly screened flyleads/aerial leads as HDMI has been known to cause interference.
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Anthony Rogan:
Are you sure that link is correct, it seems to be just a booster not an aerial.
I had a Nordmende Analogue TV in use many years ago, superb set it was.
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Anthony Rogan:
Well it's the aerial itself we are interested in at this point. Can you find a picture that's similar to the aerial if you don't know what it is? Is the aerial is in the loft as well?
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James Howe:
It's weather conditions I'm afraid. There is moderate Temperature Inversion/Tropospheric Ducting affecting large parts of the UK at present. Do NOT retune, it will more likely remove your correct tuning.
These conditions are predicted to ease later on Wednesday.
Despite the incorrect spelling, this link does work - simple technical explanation
https://www.bbc.co.uk/rec….jpg
Essentially it results in interfering signals from other transmitters in the UK or Europe reaching you and so your wanted signals are disrupted.
The BBC have a current warning on their Arrochar transmitter page.
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Peter Wingrove:
Unfortunately neither Arqiva or Freeview (on the FAQ page), have listed the UHF channel numbers for this Masham relay. If an auto retune doesn't work yo may have to try a manual retune. Ring the helpline 0800 121 4828 and ask them for the UHF channel numbers for Masham.
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StevensOnln1:
Yes, of course, had seen it before, but it should be on the FAQ page which is (in theory) more understandable for those who are not tech experts. As you know Freeview always need a boot up the .....
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Bryan Bond:
The transmitter isn't listed for Planned Engineering and I can't find any faults listed at present. It's most likely to be due to current weather conditions.
There is moderate Temperature Inversion/Tropospheric Ducting affecting large parts of the UK at present. Do NOT retune, it will more likely remove your correct tuning.
These conditions are predicted to ease later on Wednesday.
Despite the incorrect spelling, this link does work - simple technical explanation
https://www.bbc.co.uk/rec….jpg
Essentially it results in interfering signals from other transmitters in the UK or Europe reaching you and so your wanted signals are disrupted. It won't necessarily affect all multiplexes or necessarily at the same time if more than one. It can last for seconds, minutes, sometimes hours or longer.
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Saturday 18 December 2021 10:02PM
Dave Barter:
Hi again Dave. I suspect climate change might have some bearing on it happening more often.
It is weather conditions again I'm afraid, it's really annoying when you get affected.
There is currently some moderate to strong temperature inversion/tropospheric ducting conditions affecting large parts of the UK and these weather conditions can disrupt reception for brief or longer periods. The conditions are predicted to last for a few days.
Current BBC Warning -
"Latest Freeview works and warnings
High pressure impacting TV and Radio services across parts of the UK
Some viewers across parts of the UK might experience short-term interference to BBC television and radio service. This is being caused by a zone of high pressure, which causes problems to the links between transmitters and it also increases interfering signals in specific areas, which results in poor reception.
The conditions can move and change which makes it difficult to know where it will hit next. You can check if the problem is impacting your local transmitter using the transmitter checker tool. If there are no faults displayed it is possible the problem is impacting your radio or television system directly.
The majority of the BBC's transmissions are not affected by this period of interference, as the BBC's networks are engineered to be generally very robust. Television viewers may experience slight occasional pixelation or break-up or loss of service. Radio listeners may experience break-up of their services. Cable and satellite services are not affected.
At these times, there is nothing you can do but wait until the weather changes. You should not re-tune your television or radio when this happens.
If you have retuned your TV and continue to have problems with missing channels, or reception problems, as a result of the high pressure, you'll have to retune again once the weather has cleared. "
I don't know if you are interested but for technical explanations, see
https://www.bbc.co.uk/rec….jpg
and How does good weather affect my television? | Help receiving TV and radio
The link in the 2nd one isn't as good an explanation as the.jpg link I've posted (although someone can't spell tropospheric!! but the link works).