All posts by Michael Perry
Below are all of Michael Perry's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Sewme:
To offer any meaningful advice we need to check what the reception conditions are at your location, so please give a full post code so we can check.
From what you say, I would suspect that you have either too little signal or too much - but can't tell without the post code. It would also help if you give the signal strengths of channels that do work.
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Martin Matthews:
According to the 'digitaltrade uk' data you should be using Caradon Hill transmitter which only transmits West Country services, so it is likely that your TV is getting signals from somewhere else. Your aerial should be aimed at a bearing of 198 degrees. Look at Which Freeview channels does the Caradon Hill transmitter broadcast? to check which channels you should be using to get the services you want.
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My Freeview box has no EPG, is blank on FIVE, ITV3, ITV4, ITV2+
Sunday 14 May 2017 10:23AM
Trowbridge
Sunday 14 May 2017 10:23AM
Trowbridge
Susan Andrews:
Please provide a full post code so that we can look up the reception conditions where you are located. It varies a lot in any town, even from house to house so giving us just the town does not help at all.
I suspect you either have a problem with you aerial or cables from that to the TV. Check each connection carefully and ensure it is in food condition.
You say you have weak signals on some channels, what are the signal strength readings? Ideally it should be between 55% and 85% for SD channels and between 60% and 85% for HD channels. Any less or any more would be a problem and cause variable reception as you are experiencing.
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bourchier:
To offer and advice we need a full post code so that we can examine the reception conditions at your location as it varies across the served area due to terrain and buildings.
It is just possible that the recent high pressure has created a natural effect often called tropospheric lift, or just 'lift, whereby the signals become temporarily variable and unreliable. That would give the effect you are describing.
Please check your signal strengths, they should be between 50% and 85% for SD channels and between 60% and 85% for HD channels. If you have less then you need to examine your aerial system for poor connections, etc. If they are over 85% then you have too much signal and need to fit an inexpensive attenuator.
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Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) Full Freeview trans
Thursday 18 May 2017 8:48AM
Trowbridge
Thursday 18 May 2017 8:48AM
Trowbridge
Dylan:
Your problem is the mini-dish, the ones fitted by Sky are often too small for reliable reception when there is significant moisture in the air between your dish and the satellite. You cannot amplify the satellite signals so the only real solution is to have the dish replaced with a larger one and preferably moved away form facing the wall.
The one other thing you can do is to check that all the connections are making good contact and that the F-connectors do not have any strands of the outer metal braiding touching the inner central copper core.
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Dylan & StevensOnln1:
A 35cm dish is usually fine in Kent but may still suffer from problems in snow, etc. In London a 45 cm dish is better. That is usually OK up to about a line between Ipswich and Salisbury (the satellites are to the South East so the divide is not horizontal across the country), that is why I use a larger dish in West Wiltshire. Going further north and west, a 55cm dish is needed up to a line roughly between York and Stafford. Further north than that you need a 65cm dish but in Aberdeenshire and further north and west you need a 90cm dish. Dishes smaller than those suggested suffer exactly the problem you report. I did the original work on dish sizes and installation for the TV industry when I worked for a major TV rental company as a Senior Technical Training Manager, so I have some experience and knowledge that is relevant.
Be aware that the Planning Laws only allow two antennae, usually an aerial for terrestrial reception and a single dish for satellite reception. If you want to fit a further dish you must obtain planning permission from your local planning authority, see Planning Permission: Houses and buildings up to 15 metres high | Satellite,TV and radio antenna | Planning Portal for more details. If you are planning to fit an even larger dish, generally more than 90cm across, you will also need planning permission as is often the case in the Shetlands and further north.
The LNB, the block on the outer end of the arm in front of the curved dish, you can get good quality ones with 4 or 8 outlets that can feed several set top boxes. PVRs need two inputs so that you can record one channel whilst watching another. Always buy and fit the lowest noise figure and best quality LNB possible.
If you don't want to receive from other satellites in a different orbital position then it is rarely necessary to fit a further dish. The Astra satellites used by Sky and Freesat are at 28.2 East and 28.5 East, both being receievable with a single dish. There are many other satellites possible, such as those at 16.5 E and 19.2 E but they would require a different dish with planning permission.
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Dave Freeman:
This is not the website to use to contact Arqiva about transmitter problems.
The 'digitaluk trade' entry below your post suggests that Faversham is likely to give variable reception at your location, but Bluebell Hill could be better.
There is a posting under yours from Transmitter Engineering (drawn from the BBC Engineering website) that shows there is work on problems at Faversham.
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Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) Full Freeview trans
Saturday 20 May 2017 9:00AM
Trowbridge
Saturday 20 May 2017 9:00AM
Trowbridge
Dylan:
In such circumstances it is worth asking your local Planning Authority whether they would require you to seek formal planning consent to have two large dishes. The link I gave states that you do not need planning consent "if you are installing two antennas, one is not more than 100 centimetres in any linear dimension, and the other is not more than 60 centimetres in any linear dimension (not including any projecting feed element, reinforcing rim, mounting and brackets" so you cannot have two 90cm dishes without obtaining planning consent. I am assuming your live in a single occupancy property, either detached, semi-detached or terrace. Please read the whole of the relevant section on the Planning Portal to be sure you understand the legal requirements.
In Brixworth, you don't need an 80cm dish for Sky/Freesat, a 60cm will be sufficient as long as it is fitted with a good quality LNB, not a cheap one. The same is likely to be true for the satellites at 19.2E and 16.5E if they are the ones you want to use, but they are not normally available using a single dish unless you have a dual LNB mounting fitted that can be adjusted so that each of the LNBs can 'see' a different satellite. Note that you cannot combine satellite signals so you cannot join two cables to feed from two dishes into a single receiver input. They have to remain separate from the LNBs all the way to the receiver inputs.
You should check the User Manual for your satellite receiver about the EPG query, not knowing what make/model it is means that we cannot look it up for you but you should have the manual already.
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My Freeview box has no EPG, is blank on FIVE, ITV3, ITV4, ITV2+
Saturday 20 May 2017 9:09AM
Trowbridge
Saturday 20 May 2017 9:09AM
Trowbridge
Em:
We cannot answer your question unless you give a full post code for your exact location, a partial code is not sufficient. There are over 1000 digital TV transmitters around the UK and without that location information we cannot determine which of them you might be using!
It is highly unlikely that there is any transmitter fault lasting for several days, so you need to check all your equipment and connections. Retuning has made matter worse for you as you will have lost all the tuning information that your receiver had previously so you would be not be able to tell whether the fault in your equipment has cleared up.
If your neighbour has the same problem, are you in a block that uses a communal aerial? If so, then you need to contact the management organisation for that building to report the problem so they can instigate investigations as they are responsible for such aerial systems.
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Friday 12 May 2017 9:05AM
Trowbridge
Susie Burnett:
I suggest you contact Front Runner themselves, there is a link near the top of the page.
This website has no connection with any broadcaster and is entirely independent.