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All posts by Michael Perry

Below are all of Michael Perry's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.


Lori
If you click on the "L's DigitalUK tradeview" link to the right of your name above you will see that the main transmitter for your area is Oxford, which uses a Group C/D aerial mounted with bars horizontal. That transmits ITV Meridian, which is why you are getting Meridian programmes. it is just south of west from your location at 252 degrees.

If you prefer the London services you will need a different aerial mounted with the bars horizontal and pointing in a different direction (on a bearing of 152 degrees, roughly south-east) to receive services from the Crystal Palace transmitter and to retune making sure you get the programmes from the lower frequency multiplexes only. The aerial will need to be a Group A type or alternatively a Log-Periodic type which will be suitable for correct reception in the foreseeable future.

Hope that helps?

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doris:

If you look immediately below your posting you will see that your local transmitter was off air from0751 until 0919 this morning for engineering work. The BBC HD services were also off air at the same time.

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dave:
It would appear to be an 'in house only' use project for people working inside the BBC and not available to the rest of us.

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Connecting it all up | Installing
Sunday 24 August 2014 8:56PM

ann :

Having worked in that area I would expect the reception from Crystal Palace in your part of Waddon should be reasonable but you may find that the traffic on Stafford Road may make reception using a 'set top' aerial somewhat variable.

I would suggest having an aerial installed, preferably of the log-periodic type - a good aerial installer will know what that means - as that will be suitable for the foreseeable future services.

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Hollow:

There are a number of locations referred to as 'West Hill' so we ideally need a post code to determine the signal reception conditions are where you live.

All transmitters used for Freeview transmissions provide BBC1 and ITV1 amongst other PSB services and Stockland Hill provides a 'full service' range as shown near the top of thse pages. So we would need your help to identify why you don't appear to be getting those services.

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ITV 3
Tuesday 26 August 2014 8:26PM

D Lavington One possibility is that you have too much signal! There is a threshold on all tuners that should not be exceeded at the strong signal end as well as there being a minimum level needed to get relaible signals. At just 4 km from a very from a very powerfull transmitter you may have just too much signal. It is worth trying reducing the signal by fitting an attenuator where the aerial lead fits into your TV. You could try a variable one, suich as this Aerial Coaxial Cable Variable Attenuator: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics (there are other types and suppliers), and adjust it gradually from its minimum setting and allowing the TV to respond to the changes which means waiting a few minutes between each small adjustment. There could, of course, be other reasons for the problem but this is worth a try for very little expenditure.

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Eve:
Have a look at your aerial and try to determine the compass bearing it is pointing towards. Then look at the "E's DigitalUK tradeview" alongside your posts and check which transmitter is at that compass bearing from your home. Once you have decided which transmitter it points to, try manually tuning to the channels used by that transmitter. You can find those on this website or by doing a search online.

Mendip may be the nearest 'full service' transmitter but the hills around Portishead and between there and the Mendip mast could be a problem, especially if you're in one of the lower dips.

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Sarah As you are on a communal aerial system you will need to contact the person/organisation responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the flats to get them to ensure the communal system is working correctly and delivering all the channels available in your area. But before you do that, ask others in the same block what programmes they get from Freeview (not Sky or FreeSat). It will help us if you give your location (in the form of a post code) so we can advise whether you can get all the Freeview programmes or just some of them as not all transmitters provide all the programmes. As far as your bedroom TV is concerned, is there an aerial outlet available in the bedroom? If there is, you should get the same programmes as the living room TV. If not, you will need to provide a coaxial cable connection into the bedroom in a safe manner. You cannot just join the wires together but you need some form of signal splitter. These can be a powered type which means you don't lose any signal strength (you may get more), or an unpowered typre which is worth a try as they are relatively cheap but you do lose some signal strength. One such is at COAXIAL 2 WAY AERIAL CABLE Y SPLITTER ADAPTER for TV/FM,Game,VCR/VHS Combiner | eBay but others are available. If you need coaxial cables, buy ones that already have the plugs fitted. Hope that helps?

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Graham slater:
It could be that the new TV is less sensitive than the old one, so it needs more signal to get the wanted programmes. Generally Hitachi sets are pretty good and the Sharp models I've seen may not be as sensitive so might need more signal. The symptoms you describe are exactly those experienced when the signal level is just on the borderline between too weak to get a picture (hence the messages) and just about enough to work though it may pixelate at times.
St Agnes is not an ideal location for reception but when you move the situation may offer better reception conditions.
Good luck with the move and I hope your signal reception is stronger. I'm moving in a few weeks too, but will still be on the Mendip transmitter where I currently live and where I move to. Don't trip over all the packing cases!

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Feedback | Feedback
Sunday 31 August 2014 8:14PM

Elizabeth Mahria

UK Freeview signls are not available in Munich. It is far too far away from an UK transmitter for the signals to travel that far. Even many parts of Northern France are unable to get UK Freeview signals.

The only possible option may be to try a large dish aimed at the satellites positioned at 28 degrees East and tuning to the Freesat signals. The dish needed will be much larger that that used anywhere in the UK.

The other possible option is to use the 'catch up' services such as the BBC iPlayer or similar via the internet.

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