All posts by Chris.SE
Below are all of Chris.SE's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Andy leggatt:
Is the problem now resolved? There doesn't appear to be any reported transmitter faults.
However, current weather conditions might cause interference from other distant transmitters.
If there's any interference problem, or an interruption to signals and you get a No Signal message then you should NOT Retune, as this will usually just clear the correct tuning and you have to repeat the retune when signals are normal to restore the channels.
Otherwise please provide a full postcode so we can check predicted reception.
Have you received a Postcard from Restore TV at all?
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Ian Kennedy:
Most likely a mixture or even combination of factors through different periods over the recent weeks..
Planned Engineering being one, Wenvoe is currently listed and Mendip had been a couple of weeks ago (and may well be listed again in coming weeks!). This can mean the transmitter or some of the multiplexes may be on reduced power for some periods or they may be using the Reserve Antenna which is lower down the mast. This can mean you may receive a lower signal strength and that can also be dependant on your local topography.
The other significant factor in recent times is weather conditions. High pressure weather systems sometimes result in what's called Tropospheric ducting where signals from distant transmitters travel a lot further than normal so any transmission on the same channels result in co-channel interference (CCI). Not all multiplexes are affected as the conditions can be frequency dependant and it depends on where the interference is coming from as not all UHF channels will be the same from a given transmitter which could be anywhere in the UK or (nearby) Europe! The usual effect of this depending on the strength of the interfering signals, is in the first instance to see the Quality % start fluctuating (it should be 100% in normal conditions). If the interference is strong enough, signal strength will also appear to drop and both can eventually become 0% as the combination of the signals appear to be just "noise" to the receiver.
Another possibility is interference from a new/upgraded mobile phone mast that's started using the 700MHz band, but this would normally be a constant interference so you wouldn't normally see fluctuations in quality or signal strength. Where this is most likely, you ought to have had a postcard from Restore TV about that possibility - have you? Unfortunately not everyone has, but in any event, they can/will supply Free Filters to eliminate the problem.
Do NOT retune when you have any such conditions as this can just clear the correct tuning - unless you manually tune the UHF channels of your chosen transmitter but again with strong CCI this can still result in incorrect tuning.
HTH.
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Andy:
You are predicted to get very good reception of all Hannington's main multiplexes in your postcode, also good reception of the Reading Local multiplex on C34, you may be lucky and get a variable signal for the Basingstoke Local multiplex on C32.
So in view of your problems, it's worth having a good check of your aerial installation, roughly how old is the aerial?
Make sure it's pointing correctly - for your postcode, compass bearing 260 degrees, that's 10 deg. S of due W. The rods (or squashed Xs) should be horizontal. Also check the coax isn't flapping in the wind and has no damage or water ingress - check for water or corrosion at the back of the wall-plate or the coax plug on the end of the aerial lead. Check any coax flyleads haven't gone intermittent.
Do you have any amp/splitter to feed more than one TV/Box ?
Worth double checking your tuning in case you're inadvertently tuned to Guildford or Crystal Palace.
Hannington's UHF channels are C45, C42, C39, C40, C43 & C46 for the main multiplexes.
That's in multiplex order BBCA/PSB1, D3&4/PSB2, BBCB HD/PSB3, SDN/COM4, ArqA/COM5, ArqB/COM6.
Whilst Hannington is currently listed for Planned Engineering, multiplexes are not off-air for lengthy periods. If you haven't received the HD channels (PSB3) for so long, it's possible you have some constant interference, quite possibly from a new/upgraded phone mast. Your postcode should have received a postcard from Restore TV who can supply a free Filter to fix that problem. Have you had a postcard?
Any such filter should be fitted before any amp/pre-amp/splitter.
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Andy:
Hi. Do you know what the aerial is (make/model) it should also be a Group K ideally?
Yes, trees can be a major issue at times, especially if they are directly on the line-of-sight to the transmitter and the aerial isn't high enough. This can affect some multiplexes bit not always all of them. (Had a quick look on street view - you do seem to have a few of them!!).
Weather conditions tend to give more cases of Tropospheric Ducting these days - possibly due to climate change, or maybe related to sunspot activity, I believe it's somewhere around a peak atm.
As far as mobile phone mast go, you have at least 9 of them around you within 1.5km
Put your postcode in here https://restoretv.uk/post…ure/
You'll see you should have had a postcard, so phone them up. Now, if you have a masthead amplifier on the mast before your splitter, then an outdoor waterproof filter has to be fitted before the amp and they should send an engineer free-of-charge to do that for you. Even if it's only an amp/splitter say in your loft and you can't access it yourself - age or disability etc. then tell them, again they should send an engineer free of charge.
If you can access it, check whether it's coax plug connections or F-connectors, so you can ask for the correct filter with those connections.
HTH.
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Andy:
Thanks for the update, but did you mean "amplifier"? Or did you mean a Filter which you've fitted before the amplifier?
Have you got the HD multiplex back?
If not, then I would get onto Restore TV again and tell them that it still hasn't enabled you to get the HD channels back. The could well send an engineer free of charge. From reports that we get they are usually very thorough and resolve most problems.
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Sharon Claasen;
Which of the non-PSB commercial channels you get will depend on which transmitter you need to get your signals from.
Great Movies is carried on the SDN/COM4 multiplex which is only transmitted on the 80+ main transmitters. If you have to use a Freeview "Light" transmitter, none of the commercial multiplexes are carried on them. They mainly serve quite small communities and the commercial operators don't find it commercially viable to pay for extra transmission equipment on such transmitters.
If you provide a full postcode, we can check for you and advise if there are alternatives.
If you have a "smart" TV and reasonable broadband, Great have their own App - Great Player - on Freeview Play where you've got the choice of most of what they show.
You'll find the Broadcasters' Apps, eg. iPlayer, ITVX, etc either via a button on your Remote or via LCN100.
PS. The licence is simply required to watch any "live" TV transmission, not something meaning you'll get every available channel in the UK, whether it be via Freeview, Freesat, Cable, Streamed etc.
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Colin Tye:
You haven't said when this had started to occur, how long it's being going on etc.
What "symptoms" did you see? Did you get a No Signal message appear on screen?
Have you lost Channel 4 and Channel 5 as well? If not, exactly which channels have you lost?
IF you had a No Signal, hope you didn't Retune - you cannot tune to signals that aren't there or can't be decoded. This will normally just Clear your correct tuning!
As noted at the top of this page, the transmitter is undergoing Planned Engineering which may the cause of any loss which is normally only very short term.
As you haven't provided a full postcode either, we can't advise if a reduction in transmission power may result in signal loss as we can't check your normal predicted reception.
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Alan Peters:
Blaze is currently not one of the streamed channels on Freely and therefore relies on your Freeview reception of the SDN/COM4 multiplex. You may have noted that at the top of this page that the transmitter is currently listed for Planned Engineering and this is likely to be what's currently affecting your reception of that multiplex. Unfortunately they never state when the work may be completed.
For the current channels that can be streamed on Freely, see -
https://www.freely.co.uk/help/faqs/channel-list
For which Freeview channels are carried on which multiplex, see -
https://www.freeview.co.uk/corporate/platform-management/channel-listings-industry-professionals
You'll likely find that other channels on the SDN/COM4 multiplex that aren't streamed are also suffering the same reception issues.
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Tuesday 12 August 2025 1:47PM
David:
So you are saying your SD channels from "5" also have delayed sound on the D3&4 mux?
I'll see if I can check mine out later.