All posts by Dale
Below are all of Dale's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.Sudbury Arqiva multiplex B changes 16 November - retune require
Sunday 20 November 2011 10:42PM
Ipswich
Sunday 20 November 2011 10:42PM
Ipswich
Dave : would have applied, but I was planning my retirement, so that I could spend my days getting upset over Freeview channels that I don't even watch, and expressing that discontent on internet forums. I am now fulfilling that plan ...
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Sudbury Arqiva multiplex B changes 16 November - retune require
Tuesday 22 November 2011 10:41AM
Ipswich
Tuesday 22 November 2011 10:41AM
Ipswich
Dave : amazingly, you've just raised an issue that I was thinking about yesterday but hadn't got round to posting : basically, which Sudbury mast was/is transmitting what?
In answer to your first question, pre-DSO I received Mux 2 on CH56, which was always listed as being on Sudbury B, and I also received ALL of the other MUXes, which were listed as simply Sudbury, EXCEPT for 'Primary' MUX 2 (CH68) which was never receivable here in Ipswich, deliberately I think.
'Alternative' MUX 2 (CH56), although intended for Ipswich and other points East of Sudbury, was VERY hit and miss : I got it OK, but it often broke up ; my dad who is higher up got it without problems (though he does have a mast-head amp!) ; my brother-in-law who is slightly lower down never received it, even with a brand spanking new hi-gain aerial. I DID have my signal booster in situ at the time, so am guessing I might not have received it without. In fact, one of the things I have been wondering about this last week, is whether Arqiva have re-used the old 'alternative' MUX 2 directional transmitter to transmit ArqB on CH63 since last Wednesday! It would explain why people quite close to Sudbury (but NOT to the East) can't pick it up, and why to the East, like here in Ipswich, it is very weak (you will recall I got it back by reinstating my signal amp : that had been removed at DSO2 with no problems). If they HAVE done that, then they would surely have known the problems that would ensue??
Overall the issues that you raise are exactly what I was going to raise myself (great minds ...)
i.e. OFCOM says only 'alternative' MUX 2 was on Sudbury B but the ATV site shows ALL digital transmission pre-DSO happening from there ;
ATV do not account for 'alternative' MUX 2 transmission at all from those masts ;
why are the 'B' mast transmission height figures more than the 'A' mast, when all the other information shows that the 'B' mast is 30 metres LOWER in height?
I suspect we would need a local (i.e. Sudbury) Arqiva technician to answer these questions, as clearly there is much contradictory information on the internet. And though much of it is academic, I still have that 'niggle' that the ArqB / CH63 problems are somehow all wrapped up in the answer!
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Sudbury Arqiva multiplex B changes 16 November - retune require
Thursday 24 November 2011 4:45PM
Ipswich
Thursday 24 November 2011 4:45PM
Ipswich
Trevor : Sudbury is now officially a Group-E transmitter, yes.
When the COM MUXes go to full power in June 2012 they will be on Channels 56, 58 and 60 respectively, all of which are out of range for a Group-B aerial (though the first 2, at least, may be receivable if you're close enough to get a strong signal, I guess).
This, in fact, was one of the issues I tried to raise in the local press back in June, when Digital UK had a press statement published that, once again, said that most customers would NOT need new aerials, and that if you could get analogue OK, you would get Freeview OK! [Frequent visitors to this site will be aware that said local press (Ipswich Evening Star) refused to publish my letter because it contradicted the official mis-information]
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Sudbury Arqiva multiplex B changes 16 November - retune require
Thursday 24 November 2011 9:08PM
Ipswich
Thursday 24 November 2011 9:08PM
Ipswich
drgeoff : the chart that I've seen, as part of the excellent ATV Aerials site, shows that a Group-B aerial gain plummets after CH55 and is down to zero at CH60. Naturally, if you are getting a strong enough signal you'll still pull the higher channels in, just as you would with a coat hanger or similar!
Dave : I still consider, from the perspective of the ordinary man in the street like me, that when Digital UK say you don't need a new aerial for the switch to Freeview, then you would reasonably expect to receive ALL of the advertised channels. Every one I spoke too pre-DSO around here had that expectation, and thought it would happen from July 2011 : many have been sadly disappointed. Apart from people who visit forums like this, or are connected with the TV transmission industry in some way, no-one would have a clue as to what PSB or COM terminology means.
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Jonathon / jb38 : there's nothing on CH50 from Sudbury these days - ArqB switched to CH63 in November (that's when the problems started for most people around here)
Brian : can we remove the 'adverts' from aerial contractors, masquerading as satisfied customers, please?
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g sawyer : assuming you are on Sudbury, over half of the channels are not on full power until June. Yesterday is one of those on ArqB on CH63 which most people cannot pick up properly since its switch from CH50 in November. Digital TV refused to accept this had caused a problem at the time, and eventually most people, like me, got fed up with complaining and are reluctantly sitting tight until June.
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That should read Digital UK, of course. Or "I see no ships" as I prefer to think of them ...
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All good here in Ipswich (IP2) too. Have now removed the booster (again) which I had to reinstate when ArqB went from CH50 to 63 last November. Can now also get all MUXes on my set in the dining room, using just a loop aerial (albeit with some break-up on CH56 & 58).
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Julian : I also suspect you have an old Group-B aerial which only goes up to CH53 (officially) but is probably just getting CH56 and CH58, but not stretching to CH60. Radio Suffolk actually ran a piece on Sunday (by me) highlighting this potential problem with older aerials. You will need to do what Mark Fletcher says!
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Sunday 20 November 2011 8:35PM
Ipswich
Dave : thanks, I sit corrected!
And I should have known that the manager was Peter Monteith, as I've seen him talking tripe on the local TV news, and writing tripe in the local rag, before now!