All posts by Michael Perry
Below are all of Michael Perry's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
DaveN:
The channel you use has to be chosen to avoid other signals available in the immediate area. To check that, we need to know which transmitter is in use and if there are any others nearby that may cause interference, so we need a full post code. That will then display some links that enable you and us to see which channels to avoid.
Normally one would look for what channel grouping is being used for the main transmitter and any local ones, so they can all be avoided. One should also avoid any channel from 60 and above as they are being used for 4G services.
Further advice depending on post code.
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Rachel:
The coverage predictor below your post shows that though Stockland Hill is considered by DigitalUK as being the better choice, it also shows that reception of the ARQA and ARQB multiplexes is at best variable and reception of the SDN multiplex is poor.
Looking at the pages on this website relevant to Stockland Hill, at Which Freeview channels does the Stockland Hill transmitter broadcast? ,">https://ukfree.tv/transmi…ill, shows that Al Jazeera is transmitted on COM6/ARQB and is an HD service. SInce the coverage prediction by DigitalUK, on Coverage Checker - Detailed View shows that multiplex as being variable at your location it is highly likely that you will always have reception problems. Note also that to get the channel you need either a full HD TV or a modern Freeview Set Top Box that includes and HD capability. (An 'HD ready' TV does not have an HD tuner so cannot get any of the services on an HD multiplex.)
Also, looking at the coverage map at Which Freeview channels does the Stockland Hill transmitter broadcast? shows that most of the area around Taunton is not served by Stockland Hill at all, hence the reception being at best variable or even poor.
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Rachel:
Please also see my response to your posting on the Belmont (Lincolnshore) pages, which I presume were posted there in error.
Further to that said by Richard, it is the perogative of the broadcaster to decide what service format they use. Al Jazeera have decied, it seems, to only provide HD services. As your reception of these around Taunton is rated as variable or poor than there is little we can do to change that. I am assuming you are trying to get the programmes using a full HD set and not an 'HD ready' one?
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Achut Shrestha:
Am I correct in assuming that you have two satellite outlets, but in different rooms? Are they both connected together by the cables being joined? Is there just a single lead coming out of the LNB (the box on the end of the arm in front of the dish) or are there two or more cables coming out?
If there is just a single cable, then that will explain your problem as that does not work, ever. What you need is at least a dual LNB with two cables, one feeding each room you want to have satellite services. Better is to have a quad LNB fitted (they are really cheap these days) with at least two cables feeding each room. That will allow you to have not just satellite receivers in each room (and working properly) but you have the option of having that ability to record one programme whilst watcjing another. That would need a satellite recorder too. Your housemate might want to have Sky+ and that requires two cables feeding his equipment, but the feeds to yours would be wholely independent of theirs.
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Alan & Richard:
Pretty much what I would have suggested. In time, most transmitters serving significant local populations will carry HD services as the method of encoding the digital data onto the carrier signal allows for a greater number of services to be offered - but it all takes time and money. Remember that such decisions have a commercial aspect so that can influence when and even if some transmitters become HD equipped.
Alan: Also remember that you may well need a different aerial if you want to try the other possible transmitters, their signals are often in a different aerial grouping. Plus remember that they are further away so could be weaker and more influenced by terrain and interference.
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Leonardo:
I assume you are discussing problems with satellite reception? If so, it would seem that your dish may not be of sufficient size to gather enough signal to cope with natural variations due to weather. An idea of your location would help (a post code will suffice) and an idea of the dish size installed.
If, on the other hand, you are referring to Freeview reception, then a full post code is essential to determine your local recption conditions. Objects, such as trees, in line between your aerial and the transmitter can cause signal reduction when the leaves get wet. There are other possible causes to so the full post code would be useful to help resolve the issues.
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Irene Cameron:
Sounds rather as if your box is playing up. Try turning it off completely, then removing the mains connection (either from the back of the box or from the mains wall socket - but be careful and ensure the socket is switched off if possible). Then wait at least two minutes to let the box turn off completely internally. Then plug the mains connection back in and turn the mains switch on the wall socket back on. Wait at least 5 minutes and then turn the box back on using the remote control.
That proceedure ensures that the whole of the electronics inside the box has been fully reset. Let us know if that resolves the problem, please?
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Richard:
I noticed in your response to Sharon Lloyd that you wondered whether the transmitters were set to reduce their power output at night. They are not. They radiate the same ERP all day and all night. If they didn't, they would not meet the requirement to serve the PSB channels to the whole of their service area all the time, the 'finge' areas becoming unserved due to lack of signal strength.
That has been the case since about 1954 when the early ITV transmitters started and were set up under an Act of Parliament. Those service requirements still apply today for all PSB services, but may be different for commercial transmissions. However, the equipment needed to turn dow the power of just the commercial services is not cheap and the saving does not warrant the expense.
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Terry Coles:
To assist with problems of this nature we need to know where you live in relation to the transmitter and to examine the local terrain, etc. To help us do that please supply a full post code (or that of a very nearby public building such as a post office or shop).
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Friday 17 June 2016 1:46PM
Ron:
Having written the original satellite dish installation manual for fixed dishes before the Astra satellites were originally launched, in 1988/9, I concur with Richard and jb38 that a Zone 1 dish is just not good enough for anywhere north of a line roughly between Ipswich and Taunton, north and west of that line you need at least a Zone 2 dish. In northern Scotland they need to use even larger dishes, often resorting to 90 cm ones!
With satellite reception you should never use an amplifier as they also amplify unwanted noise, as Richard stated, and that makes it more difficult for the error correction system to resolve errors. As long as there is sufficient signal to resolve the data, any stronger is merely 'good insurance' against signal reduction due to weather, such as rain and especially snow. It is highly unlikely that using a larger dish would be any detriment unless you try using a massive one over 90 cm in your garden (but that needs planning permission!).
It is always better to use the appropriate dish/aerial for the location, aiming to not need any amplification at all. Only in known weak signal areas could signal amplifiers be any benefit.