All posts by Michael Perry
Below are all of Michael Perry's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
David Cooper:
Kent covers a large area. To assist we need a full post code, please.
| link to this comment |
Chris Morris:
Belmont transmitter is in Lincolnshire.
In hot weather Tropspheric Inversions occur and disrupt the transmission of RF signals. That has happened every year since we started using UHF transmissions in the early sixties. As it is a perfect natural phenomenon that is well diocumented there is nothing anyone can do about it.
Your comment about amplifiers is potentially misleading. That the signal is digitally encoded has no bearing on the signal strength, which is what an amplifier is all about. If you have too little signal, the picture and sound break up. Likewise, if you have too much signal the same happens, but for different reasons. Ideally you want the signal strength to be between 60% and 85%, the quality is not relevant to this.
Put your post code into the Digital UK Coverage Checker at Digital UK - Coverage checker and you will see that your reception should be good and reliable. You could also check that your aerial is correctly aimed using the bearings given on that page. If recption is not good, then you may have a problem with the connections between the TV and aerial, so they should all be checked.
| link to this comment |
NJ:
Further to that said by Nick Anderson, relying on internet delivery is fraught with problems because so many areas do not get sufficient connection speed for even SD downloads. A friend lives in Herefordshire and gets just 130 kbps so downloading an SD programme lasting 1 hour would take more than 6 hours! And the whole village is just as poorly served. Transmitting using RF is still the best way to deliver TV and radio content. The internet has a very long way to go before everyone can use it for TV and radio services.
Turning off the Freeview transmitters is a non-starter for many years yet. Note also that some areas cannot get Freesat or Sky because of hills and mountains obstructing their view of the satellites.
| link to this comment |
Nigel Owen:
The signal quality is not relevant, it is the signal strength that is of greatest importance. The transmitted signal strength does not vary at all at any time, unless the engineers are working on the transmitter or aerial system on the mast. There is currently no work being done on the Ridge Hill transmitter.
However, if you look at Coverage Checker - Detailed View you will see the predicted reception for your location. the BBCA, BBCB and D3&4 multiplexes are expected to be good and reliable. The SDN, ARQ A and ARQ B multiplexes are expected to be variable.
If your problem affects the transmissions on channels 28 (BBC A), 25 (D3&4) and 22 (BBC B) then you should carefull check all your aerial connections and ensure the cable is undamaged. There is nothing you can do about reception on channels 21, 24 and 27. the services on COM7 and COM 8 are not available at your location.
It appears that you are in a difficult reception location. It may be worth considering Freesat?
| link to this comment |
R Gray:
As stated, there are no engineering works reported on the Eyemouth transmitter.
You may well be suffering from tropospheric lift conditions which can affect one, some or all of the transmissions, depending on the frequencies being used and how they are being affected by the natural phenomenon. DO NOT RETUNE. Patience is a virtue in these circumstances as nothing can be done about the effects that have been known for over 50 years.
| link to this comment |
David Cooper:
You have a choice of transmitters, Ramsgate is 1 km away but is a 'lite' transmitter. Margate is 6km away and is also a 'lite' transmitter. Dover, 27km away, is the other alternative and it may give better results on all except the ARQ B multiplex.
Check where your aerial is aimed and which channels the TV is tuned to.
| link to this comment |
Shane Durrant:
Please be patient as the prolem you are describing is exactly what happens in hot weather. The atmosphere undergoes a temperature inversion which causes RF signals, like TV and radio, to travel further than normal and causes loss of signals and/or intereference. There is also an effect called Tropospheric lift which gives similar effects and is perfectly natural. There are no cure for these effects which are perfectly natural and have been known for over 50 years (and it's nothing to do with Global Warming either).
| link to this comment |
Joe Cox:
If you wish to receive email notifications from this website, go to the top of the page and find the section immediately below the rolling headlines. That asks for you emai, address so the site can send you the emails.
| link to this comment |
Jason Mack:
It is not due to the transmitter work but the weather. It is a well known natural phenomenon that occurs every year in warm weather and there is nothing anyone can do about it.
Patience is a virtue in these conditions.
| link to this comment |
Monday 2 July 2018 4:31PM
.:
Atmospheric conditions have affected high frequency signal transmissions for a great many years and that has not changed at all. It's not got worse or better but is subjsct the precise conditions found in the layers of the atmosphere most responsible for the propogation of RF signals. It is a perfectly natural phenomenon so noby has any control over it.
There have not been any substantiated claims that digital brodcasting will be any different from analogue. As StevensOnln1 says "there is nothing that make digital signal behave any differently to analogue when broadcast through the air."
So it is not because the transmissions are digitally encoded, analogue transmissions are equally affected.