All posts by Chris.SE
Below are all of Chris.SE's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
david faulkner:
Hi David, hopefully the site owner will be able to resolve this problem.
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Paul Robinson:
Glad it seems to have settled down, Brierley Hill isn't listed this week (not that that necessarily means much!). In view of other information coming to light that I've been reading, it could be installation of "mobile telecomms" kit for 800/700MHz, we don't get told what the work is.
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Fiona Summers-Smith:
Well I'm sure if you've spoken to Arqiva, you may know what's going on, but you are the one that has missed the point. It's not only the rural areas that have no signal there are people in towns that would also be served by Bilsdale and/or relays, that have no signal! When a huge mast like this suffers major damage, coverage isn't something that can be restored quickly for everyone, whether rural or urban!
What are the model numbers on your Samsungs? we might be able to check for you, they really should have T2 tuners if they are that recent.
As mentioned, it has nothing to do with "levelling-up", it is simply that the commercial operators who are responsible for the multiplexes which are not transmitted by small relays, do not think that the investment in extra transmitters etc is worth it for the small communities involved, they would not see a return on the investment considering that it's the advertising revenue that has to pay for it. If you were to contact all the commercial broadcasters involved, they would likely say well, its all there (well most of it is and extra) on Freesat.
As you think your Freeview service is mediocre, then as StevensOnln1 suggested, consider Freesat.
The BBC made some changes to iPlayer a while ago, and some new aspects of it have quite a steep learning curve IMHO, personally I don't think it's quite as user-friendly in some respects. I hope you have discovered that you can wind forward (as well as back). The BBC can be quite stubborn when it comes to some criticism!
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Aaron:
No problem. IF it ever turns out that you find you aren't being given the right help by the BBC, do post back with detail about the help and answers they've provided.
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Aaron:
Sorry forgot to say that the post immediately before your last shows the transmitter is having Planned Engineering, so maybe this is an issue that will be dealt with (we hope), but still contact them just in case.
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David Faulkner:
Tacolneston was listed for Planned Engineering for 3 weeks in July. We don't know what the work was, but from information that is appearing in various places, there's a possibility it was in preparation for some 700MHz Mobile equipment. Work may have still been going on despite not being listed, the lists haven't been that accurate of late!
Just to complicate matters further, some Tropospheric Ducting has appeared in some places causing interference from other transmitters. Some predictions are showing this could get worse for a few days as the week progresses. But that will depend of whether the current weather forecasts change in any way which might have a significant effect on that.
However, if there are any new 700MHz mobile transmissions near you (do you have any mobile masts within say a couple of hundred metres) that could be deafening your receiver a bit. I note from your post that you have 100% signal, do you have an amp/distribution system? If so, if the amp has a gain control, turn it down a bit until the other mux signals just start to drop from 100% to make sure you aren't overloading the front ends anywhere. See if that has any effect on COM7 quality.
If you have a mobile phone that covers the 700MHz band, you might be able to get it to scan to see if there are any strong transmissions in the band.
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David Faulkner:
Sorry also forgot to add that sometimes it can take a while on this site for posts to appear, so hold on somewhat before trying to post again (I tend to take a copy of what I'm about to post if it's quite lengthy just in case the post fails and I have to repeat it). The site also eventually removes duplicate posts!
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Freeview should continue until at least 2034 as all the multiplex licences have been extended until then
Future of channels such as ITV2 and Dave secured as Freeview licences renewed for another decade - GOV.UK
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david faulkner:
Yes, Sudbury is further away from your postcode, and the Freeview Coverage Checker predicts poorer coverage from it. "Taccy" is very good, even COM7 is supposedly "quite good". You certainly took the right approach adjusting the gain of your amp/splitter.
Well if it's an easy thing to do for you - activating the MRD, especially when you consider what's claimed for the aerial, then why not? Have you got a variable attenuator or would you just rely on some fixed ones?
Whatever the outcome, I wouldn't rush to definitive conclusions for several days to give things time to "settle down" - ie. weather and any ongoing engineering.
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Sunday 15 August 2021 2:47PM
Jeffrey Morgan:
FYI, the main transmitter would be at Wenvoe.
All the BBC channels are carried on the same multiplex BBCA/PSB1 so they would all have the same signal strength and quality. A number of the other broadcasters' "supplementary channels" will be on some of the other multiplexes, the main ones being on D3&4/PSB2. The main HD channels are on BBCB HD/PSB3. All channels on a given multiplex would have the same signal strength and quality (unless there's a possible problem with your installation).
See Channel listings for Industry Professionals | Freeview for which channels are on which multiplex, note, there is no COM7 or Local multiplex at Aberdare, only a very limited number of main transmitters carry those.
All multiplexes at Aberdare are transmitted with the same power in normal circumstances. The transmitter hasn't been listed for Planned Engineering recently (when there might be power reductions depending on the work), however the BBC have today reported some faults on other services at the mast, so any work there might affect DTV.
Your reception of each multiplex will depend upon your location. Sometimes different multiplexes may not be received as well as other depending on the geography of the locale etc. Without a full postcode we can't advise if that might affect you.
Any problems with your aerial installation and cables can also affect different multiplexes differently, this is because some faults can be "frequency" dependent ie. affect some UHF channels differently from others.
Also check in your TV's tuning section that you are correctly tuned to Aberdare's UHF channels, they are -
C24, C21, C27, C25, C22, C28 for the muxes PSBs1-3 and COMs 4-6.
Any retune at a time when the transmitter was off-air, on reduced power, or there was interference due to whether conditions could result in incorrect tuning. Once correctly tuned you should not need to retune at any time unless you have an on-screen pop-up about a commercial channel on one of the COM multiplexes being changed by it's broadcaster. if your set has an auto-retune function when there is no signal, turn it off if you can, it's more trouble than it's worth.
Interference due to weather conditions is one of the more common events (no doubt more so because of climate change) and can occur when there is "tropospheric ducting" which can sometimes be caused by high pressure. These conditions have been present in the last few days affecting reception in various places, more so in the South of England and Wales. It may continue for a day or so. It can affect individual muxes differently (if at all, it is often frequency dependent), it can last for seconds, minutes or hours - it's not that predictable.
Do NOT retune in such conditions.
The usual symptom you'll see in the TV tuning section is a reduction is quality whilst the interference is present, they may also be an affect on the signal strength.