All posts by Chris.SE
Below are all of Chris.SE's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Peter Berry:
So if I've understood you correctly, as Freesports is on the COM8 multiplex, you are getting all the other channels on this multiplex which include BBC4 HD, QVC HD, QVC Beauty HD, Quest HD, CBeebies HD, 5Star+1, NOW XMAS, Together TV+1, PBS America +1, and Forces TV.
See Channel listings | Freeview for a full list of which channels are on which multiplex.
Unfortunately, I can't see what the Freeview Detailed Coverage checker is giving for predicted coverage at your postcode because it seems broken for the main multiplexes at your postcode. However the Summary says you should get all 143 Freeview channels (include the Radio & Local ones) and is showing (good) predicted coverage of the local multiplex from Crystal Palace, which is where I assume your aerial is pointed (at bearing 55 deg. so that's slightly E of NE).
If it's just this programme that's missing, it could be due to the set's memory needing clearing.
So, unplug your aerial and do an automatic retune - this should clear the memory as no channels will be found.
Plug the aerial back in and then repeat the automatic retune which should restore all the multiplexes and channels.
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John F:
Thanks for that feedback John, (and my suspicions were exactly as yours) I will provide some "feedback" to Freeview (which no doubt they aren't going to like!). I'm afraid you aren't the only one that has has some poor responses from that 0808 number, they need a good kick up the ......
But what's more, the BBC have now reported the following for Haslemere (haven't checked since the 27th until now) -
From 1:57pm on 27th Nov 2019 to 11:02am on 28th Nov 2019 BBC B HD Reduced quality due to a fault
So it seems there's more than one part of FreeviewAdvice that doesn't know it's ar*e from its elbow!
Hope the others that were affected provide some feedback.
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John:
That's good news. Do you know what he did to sort it out, it could be useful info for future reference?
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Martin Buchan:
You have posted on an Analogue Radio page for your area, rather than the Perth TV page. No matter, there are not any problems being reported there.
Out of curiosity, what time did you do that first retune and only get 12 channels of low quality?
Without a full postcode, we can't see what Freeview gives as predicted reception in their Detailed Coverage Checker for your location. If you had no problems before, by my reckoning you should be getting at least 21 TV channels, not counting Freeview LCN100, and the two Red Button channels (250 & 601). That assumes that you don't have a set with a HD tuner, so not getting 6 HD channels. You might even be able to receive more channels from a different transmitter.
If you were getting problems with the main BBC channels in SD, it could be due to having a very old Group B aerial. If they are a problem, providing you don't have Satellite or Cable TV you can get free help by contacting the Freeview Advice line on 0808-100-0288 where they should be offering to send an engineer to replace your aerial with a Group A which is what you'll need to have satisfactory reception of all multiplexes on the Perth transmitter.
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wes.w:
It's not Freeview making these changes, it's the broadcasters themselves (Freeview do it on their behalf). The changes give greater coverage as COMs 7&8 are not receivable in all areas.
It's worth keeping an eye on Service updates | Freeview where they should post information of such changes - but sometimes they can be a bit slow!
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Philip:
Your Humax PVR should have no problem getting C56!
Is your aerial a Wideband or a Group B (the latter will have a yellow bung in its end)?
If it's a Group B, you may not be getting quite enough signal for the PVR - its sensitivity may be less than your TV.
Does the aerial plug into the PVR and then a flylead from the PVR to the TV or are you using a splitter?
If using a splitter, then try swapping the outputs and/or flyleads over, it maybe a poorer output on one side of the splitter or an iffy flylead.
But before you do all that, sometimes the Humax may need its memory clearing before a retune. Try unplugging the aerial from it, then do an automatic tune which should clear the memory as no channels will be found. Plug the aerial back in and then do the automatic retune. Hopefully this will restore all the multiplexes.
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John:
Thanks for that, he obviously approached that in the right way, I hope your trouble free reception continues.
At this time AFAIK there has been no decisions made about when the COMs 7&8 transmissions will cease either at Black Hill or any other transmitter that currently carries them. We are certainly not expecting any closures before mid-2020 and it's anticipated many may continue until 2022, but it will all depend on OFCOM and the Mobile operators. The frequencies currently used (C55&56) are allocated for SDL usage. This hasn't been auctioned yet. It's also uncertain when there will be handsets available that can use 700MHz SDL, never mind the operators bring such services into use.
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Doug Morrison:
I don't know where you found that information but it was inaccurate. See Channel listings | Freeview for a list of channels, their LCNs and which multiplex they are on.
Sky News is still at LCN 233.
It's not uncommon that problems like this occur and it's often caused by the set's memory needing clearing. This usually achieved by unplugging the aerial and doing an automatic retune. This should clear all previous tuning as no channels will be found. Then plug the aerial back in and do a further retune either automatic or manual on the UHF channels for you transmitter. This should restore all multiplexes and all the correct channels in the correct LCNs.
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Richard Fielden:
There have been no major changes at the Hannington transmitter since April 2018, except that the Local multiplex had a doubling in power to 10kW on the 24th July this year.
As you will see from the Hannington transmitter page there aren't a number of people posting with similar issues.
Transmitters do periodically have Planned Maintenance, but the transmitter doesn't appear to have been off-air recently and the BBC haven't recorded any transmitter faults in the last 5 days. It is still possible that there might have been some sort of interruption to your signals which as you suggest could be caused by a fault on your own aerial system, or for some reason you have become tuned to a different transmitter which either doesn't transmit the COMs 4-6 multiplexes or signal is much weaker. You may be in a marginal reception area for Hannington, but whichever of those possibilities may be the case, we need a full postcode to see what the Freeview Detailed Coverage Checker is predicting for your location.
It's unusual for someone to lose just COM multiplexes due to an aerial or cabling fault but it is possible depending on signal strength as problematic connections, water ingress etc. can seem to affect reception of just an individual or several multiplexes.
I suggest you approach this as follows - check all your coax plugs, connections, flyleads etc, unplug connectors check for corrosion or other problems and reconnect them. See what signal strengths and quality you are getting for the multiplexes shown in your TV's tuning section, this might indicate problems with your installation. Also check that your downlead looks undamaged and that your aerial seems intact and pointing in the correct direction.
Then unplug the aerial and do a full automatic retune, this will clear the memory as no channels will be found. Plug the aerial back in and do a further retune.
If this has not restored all your channels, post back with that full postcode so we can look at which transmitters and multiplexes might be receivable at your location, this will help to consider what is happening.
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Friday 29 November 2019 10:19PM
Tom McFarland:
Unfortunately the site owner has not been able to find time to update any listings here. For an up-to-date list of which channels are on which multiplex, see Channel listings | Freeview
Unfortunately, as you know, you can only get the 3 PSB multiplexes on Light transmitters.