All posts by Chris.SE
Below are all of Chris.SE's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Adrian:
As currently noted at the top of this page, P:ontop Pike is currently having Planned Engineering which may be the cause of signal loss. Current weather conditions are another possibility.
If you still have the LCNs listed in your EPG (eg.101-105 & others) then at least you haven't lost your correct tuning - retuning is a bad idea when you have no signal, you cannot tune to signals that aren't there or cannot be decoded, the usual result is to clear the correct tuning.
If the correct tuning has been lost, then MANUALLY retune C45 until you manage to get your signals back.
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BN Butterworth:
Brian -
From "Your Comments"
https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Pontop_Pike/PGSTART640/irt720100 gives a Pontop Pike page with just P1 and P49 showing as the pages, and NO comments visible - until you refresh the page - other than regular responders here, people would not realise to do that.
Not the first time I've mentioned this issue, and it affects several other transmitter pages, can you please please try and fix it.
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Constance Hawthorne:
Your location has line of sight to the Hannington transmitter (assuming you have no nearby tall buildings or trees very close by on that line) which is at compass bearing 348 degrees (slightly N of NNW).
You'll need a Group K aerial with med-high gain mounted with its rods horizontal.
You'll also need suitable mounting brackets etc for the chosen installation point.
Don't let any one tell you that you need a Group B, T or Wideband as all those have responses above C48 which is now used by many Mobile phone masts and can give interference to Freeview reception if such signals are received.
You may also need a Free filter to block such signals as you are surrounded by a number of mobile masts close by. Your postcode should have received a postcard from Restore TV.
See https://restoretv.uk/postcards-not-sure/ put in your postcode to check, then contact them for a free filter.
Is this aerial installation something you are going to do yourself, or get a professional installer to do?
I'd suggest something like a Blake 28-element Group K log periodic
https://www.blake-uk.com/28-element-log-periodic-group-k-aerial.html but it'll depend on where it's going to be mounted, you might need the higher gain 56 element BUT make sure its a Group K as other variants are available which you don't want!
A professional installer should be able to supply the correct item and ensure it's installed correctly.
What do you mean by Freeview BOX? Do you not have a TV that can receive Freeview? What make/model of TV do you currently have?
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Moss Man:
Oh well, I missed that, obviously spam deletion as StevensOnln1 suggested. Have to watch referring to previous posts by page number. I think the "link to this comment" always works correctly but might need to double check on that!
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P Cooper:
Apart from echoing StevensOn;ln1's comments, as you haven't given a full postcode we don't know how good or mediocre your predicted reception might be, nor whether you may be suffering 700MHz interference from a new/upgraded mobile phone mast.
StevensOn;ln1 has given you the link to check and request a Free Filter. Even if your postcode isn't listed, I'd still request a Free Filter if there's any mobile masts nearby.
Over the years I've come across a number of TV Dealers and Aerial Installers who don't even have the correct equipment - Spectrum Analysers and the like - to check for interference etc. never mind knowing how or where to check if a transmitter is having Planned Engineering!
Beacon Hill, like many main (and other) transmitters have been having Planned Engineering work on and off for many months though none currently listed. Arqiva don't elaborate of the work being carried out and we know that some of it is weather dependant.
There have been no reported faults for Beacon Hill in the last 5 days - the BBC are usually on the ball at reporting those when any BBC services are affected.
There has been some intermittent and variable Tropospheric weather conditions in recent weeks (the BBC and Freeview issued warnings about possible reception problems) and your location might be a bit more vulnerable to co-channel problems in such conditions especially from the continent!
Have you thoroughly checked out your own aerial installation, made sure the aerial and connections are intact and it's still pointing correctly and that the down lead isn't flapping about and is undamaged? The number of times I've seen people complain about a transmitter problem and they haven't even looked up at their aerial and then find it's pointing at the pole star!
I also gave a background in TV, and a few years ago I was having signal issues with some UHF channels and had been suspecting it was a transmitter problem UNTIL I suddenly realised that my downlead had several cracks in its sheath!
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P Cooper:
In addition to my last, |I forgot to mention that the "Live Faults" map here hasn't been updated for some while due to some bugs in the site software after some OS updates.
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Steve Maddox:
Hi. These days, full retunes are generally not a good idea. It is very rare there are any channel changes on the PSB multiplexes, they are usually minor channel changes or additions/removals on the COM multiplexes. These changes usually occur on the 3rd Wednesday of the month.
A number of such minor changes took place on the 21st. Manually tuning of the affected multiplexes is usually the best way.
Sandy Heath is currently listed for Planned Engineering which can also add additional problems when retuning. Multiplexes may be missing for (usually short) periods of time (no signal).
IF you have TV channels showing "No Signal" do NOT retune that multiplex, the usual result is to clear the correct tuning, you cannot tune to signals that aren't there or cannot be decoded.
First check that the missing HD channels from PSB3/BBCB HD aren't in your LCN 800s in your EPG.
If they are, then is probably best to use the Programme Manager to move them. Or delete them or if they are completely missing, then manually retune the HD multiplex.
Sandy Heath's UHF channels are C27, C24, C21, C33, C36, & C48 that's in multiplex order -
BBCA/PSB1, D3&4/PSB2, BBCB HD/PSB3, SDN/COM4, ArqA/COM5, ArqB/COM6
There is a Local multiplex from Madingley on C35 but you aren't predicted to get it in your location.
Even with planned engineering, unless a multiplex is briefly off-air, you shouldn't have any problems with reception.
For a usually up-to-date list of which TV channels are carried on which multiplex, see
https://www.freeview.co.uk/corporate/platform-management/channel-listings-industry-professionals
The recent changes can be found at https://www.freeview.co.uk/help/updates-alerts/channel-updates-21-may-2025
Now there is one other factor that may be causing problems with your reception, and that's interference from a new/updated mobile phone mast now using the 700MHz band.
You should have had a postcard from Restore TV, there's a least one mast less than 1km from you.
Put your postcode in here - https://restoretv.uk/postcards-not-sure/
Contact them and request a Free Filter. Any such filter should be fitted between the aerial and before any pre=amp/amp/splitter feeding several TVs.
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Emma:
SO52 is a relatively large area and reception can and will vary across it. We need a FULL postcode to be able to check your predicted reception (and also the possibility of interference from new/upgraded mobile phone masts), ALSO need to be sure which way your aerial is pointing as it's possible to receive at least 2 main transmitters, if you are incorrectly tuned you won't get reliable reception.
Is your aerial pointing in roughly a NNE direction or roughly in a Southerly direction?
Have you lost any other channels? ITV & ITV+1 are carried on the PSB2/D3&4 multiplex as are Ch.4, Ch.5 and many of their "sister" channels.
Recent weather conditions have caused interfering signals periodically for some people.
Did you retune at any time when you had no signal or badly pixelated pictures?
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Dee:
I'm afraid a mistake you've made was to retune. You cannot tune to signals that aren't there, the usual result is to clear the correct tuning.
So instead of No signal you now have No channels!
None of the transmitters that your communal aerial may be receiving from have any reported faults, Whitehawk Hill just S of due E is supposedly normal, however Rowridge in a general WSW direction has Planned Engineering BUT it would not be the case that all multiplexes would be off-air for any length of time without some report of a problem.
As you are using a Communal aerial it is more likely that there is a problem with the system. The first thing to check is if you neighbours in the block are having similar problems. If not, try retuning once again to see if that restores the channels,
If you still have a problem and/or your neighbours have a problem, you'll need to report it to the the building management who'll have to get someone to come and check the system.
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Saturday 24 May 2025 4:11AM
Jane Harris:
There's a number of reasons that could cause this disruption to signals BUT your "mistake" I'm afraid was to try and retune, you were obviously correctly tuned to start with! You cannot tune to signals that aren't there or cannot be decoded, the usual result is to clear the correct tuning the you have no idea when the signals have returned to normal,
Weather conditions are one possibility, Freeview issued a warning as did the BBC who updated theirs this week -
https://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/work-warning/weather-warning/waw-high-pressure-19-may-2025
https://www.freeview.co.uk/help/updates-alerts/high-pressure-15-may-2025
There's also links to explanations of this weather phenomenon at the top of this page as well as my previous post here.
The transmitter you get your signals from may be having engineering work.
You may be getting interference from a new/upgraded mobile phone mast for which you'd be able to get a Free filter to block such signals.
As you haven't given a full postcode we can't advise on either of those two.
Have you had a postcard from Restore TV?
Obviously a fault on your aerial installation could be the cause, have you checked that your aerial looks intact and is still pointing correctly and that the downlead isn't flapping in the wind?
If you provide your full postcode we that then give some constructive advise on these.