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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.

Full technical details of Freeview
Wednesday 16 March 2016 10:16PM
Trowbridge

Eric Brett:

I am not the designer but I suspect ypu may have changed a setting in your browser so that it shows a 'side bar' of items on the left side.

If you are using Firefox, go into the View menu and select the Sidebar option. There, untick the offending sidebar so it disappears.

Hope that helps?


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Gillian Leapman:

Not all transmitters carry Al Jazeera programming. We would need a full post code to determine which transmitter you should be using and what the signal reception conditions are like. From that we could determine whether your preferred transmitter carries Al Jazeera and if there are any problems.



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Turnpike Hill (Kent, England) Freeview Light transmitter
Saturday 19 March 2016 10:23PM
Trowbridge

Robin St.Clair:

If you are receiving any services from the Turnpike transmitter, you are not using 1980s technology but 21st Century technology. Freeview can be broadcast in SD or HD, depending on the transmitter. Every modern TV set can receive SD transmissions and those with Full HD Capable TVs wiol get HD services if their tranmitter has been upgraded to transmit that. It take time to upgrade over 1000 transmitters and some are unlikely to get all the services due to the relatively small number of potential viewers, meaning the commercial broadcasters will not get a 'return on investment'.

You can watch 21st Century technology simpley by watching any of the available Freeview services available in your area. Note though that local geography can affect the ability to receive any TV signals. Some place just can't get any TV, but most gate at least the PSB services.

Because you can get signals, apparently, fromTurnpike you can watch perfectly good programmes up to the current capability of the transmitter.


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Jeff Kitchen:

It would be very helpful if you would give a post code, or one of a very nearby shop, etc. Reason being that there are over 1000 transmitters in use currently and your location in relation to the preferred transmitter being important in case there are any obstructions affecting the signal.

Problems with cables and connectors do not show the same all the time but can vary with weather and temperature conditions.


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Fred:

It rather depends on where you live. All the 'main' transmitters and some of the smaller one carry all the Freeview channels. These are usually identified as being 'full Freeview' stations. Others are intended to 'fill in' poor reception areas and are generally small and low power so coverage is much less than a 'main' transmitter. Because there are fewer potential customers covered by these, the commercial pressures dictate that there is much less, if any, investment in these smaller transmitters by the commercial operators - it is just too expensive for very little return.

To get more channels you would need to be able to receive Freeview signals from a 'full Freeview' transmitter. To help identify whether that is at all possible in your location we need a full post code (or that of a very nearby shop/post office). With that information we can look at what transmitters are available in your area by looking at the data loinked to by the small blue boxes below psost, such as are shown at the bottom of this one and giving information on my reception possibilities.


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Harry Hyams:

It all depends on the design of the TV set. My LG does not automatically update either Freeview or Freesat, it has both. So some TV sets will automatically update Freesat if they are designed to do that. I don't know of any set that is designed to automatically update Freeview.


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GB flag

GMAN73:

One of the 'quirks' of RF transmission and cable feeds is that the exact cable length can affect the signal appearing at the 'output' end plugged into the TV set. If the cable happens to be an exact multiple of the signal wavelength in question then you can get complete attenuation of that signal whilst others are unaffected! It is a principle that was used at RF transmitters to support the feed cables from the transmitter output to the aerial. The standing waves inherent in a half-wave stub (that's the technical terms for the metal supports whose length is critical) mean that where the wires are connected there appears to be an open circuit despite the supports being conductive metal. If your aerial cable just happens to be that length, or a multiple of it, you can end up with no signal at that frequency, the others all being OK as they are different wavelengths.


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Oxford (Oxfordshire, England) Full Freeview transmitter
Friday 25 March 2016 10:13PM
Trowbridge

MikeB

As stated, my LG does not automatically update either Freeview or Freesat services so I have to do an update when the TV detects changes. It gives me a notice to that effect. I understand from others that this is more the norm than TVs automatically updating, which could be quite annoying if it happens while you are watchoing an interesting programme - a bit like the default behaviour of Windows 10 updates unless you change the default settings.


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ITV 3
Friday 25 March 2016 10:20PM
Trowbridge

John:

To enable us congtributors to assist with your reception problem we need to understand where you are in relation to any potential transmitters, Therefore, we need a full post code, or that of a very nerarby shop/post office, so we can determine how your reception is being affected. It is possible that your local transmitter is undergoingf engioneering work which often means rediced power operation or interruptions, but we can only tell with the aid of the full post code.


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Alan M. Smith:

To answer your questions, we need a full post code so the best transmitter can be determined. It will also allow us contributors to see if there are any potential reception problems caused by terrain or buildings, etc.


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