All posts by Michael Perry
Below are all of Michael Perry's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Ian Young:
the best source is the Digital UK Coverage Checker at Digital UK - Coverage checker Put in your post code and house number. Then scroll down to see which transmitters are receivable at your location and scroll down again to look at the channels used by those transmitters.
The listings also give the compass directions for the available transmitters so you should check that your aerial is pointing correctly to the preferred transmitter. Note that aerials have 'side lobes' that also receive signals but not as strongly as tha main direction, so one of the other possible transmitters may be on a bearing to be received via a side lobe.
You should also check the signal strengths of all your multiplexes as that is more important than the quality reported by the TV. You ideally need betyween 60% and 85% as too little signal as well as too much sigfnal; can cause reception problems, see the article 'Too much of a good thing' on this website at https://ukfree.tv/article…d_f.
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KevinL:
The signal pass-through of your Panasonic HD recorder electrical requires power to send the signal from the input socket to the output socket - it is not a simple direct connection but has some electronics in between. That needs to be powered to allow it to perform the pass-through properly. Hence it was attenuating signals differentially but returned to normal as soon as the power was returned.
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Coach:
The BBC4 HD service is carried on the BBCB muliplex which is on Channel 21+. So you need to have a good wideband aerail that has good performaance at channel 21 as well as all the way through to channel 56 (COM8).
Put your post code and house number into the Digital UK Coverage Checker (http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/coveragechecker/) to get the correct bearing from you to the transmitter and then check that you aerial is the required wideband type as well as being correctly aimed at Sandy Heath transmitter (if that is indeed you best option transmitter).
I assume you have checked all the aerial cables and connections already, including unplugging any coaxial plugs/sockets and refitting them?
Please also check the signal strength shown by tyour TV set but DO NOT RETUNE. Let us know what the reported strengths are please?
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Colin Evans:
5 USA is on the same multiplex as ITV3, Drama, etc. So if they are being received without problem than there must be some other problem. Transmitters do not go to reduced power on one multiplex only unless there is a fault and none are reported and that would affect all the other programmes on that same multiplex.
So to help you we need a full post code, just the location is not sufficient to look up the reception conditions.
If you can see the transmitter mast you may have too much signal so please check what the reported signal strength is on the SDN (COM4) multiplex that carries 5 USA, etc. You need the signal to be between 60% and 85% ideally, see the article 'too much of a good thing' on this website at https://ukfree.tv/article…d_f.
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M McDougall:
Please provide a full post code so that we can look at the predicted reception at your location. Heathfield transmitter covers a large area and thousands of homes.
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Leigh Wilson:
Looking at the Digital UK website for planned engineering works at Digital UK | Planned engineering works shows that the Durris transmitter could be on reduced power, which would likely give the reduced service being experienced. Please advise all those affected to NOT RETUNE as that will only delete all the correctly tuned services. Digital UK do not show when this work will be completed.
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Steven Horsley:
It has been stated many times on this website that the owner is the only person who can do as you request and he is not available currently.
Instead, you can do as we regular contributors do and use the services provided by the Digital UK website at Digital UK | Home
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David Afleck:
Firstly there is no such thing as a 'digital' aerial. All UHF aerials of a wideband type will receive all the available signals, the type of modulation does not affect how it is received.
Secondly, please check all your aerial cables and connections, if there are coaxial plugs/sockets please unplug those and the refit.
Thirdly, check the signal strengths of the affected multiplexes, You want to have between 60% and 85% ideally, too much or too little gives bad results.
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Sunday 28 October 2018 10:35AM
Nick:
The clues I picked up on are that you have several trees nearby which I assume are in line with the signal path from the transmitter to your aerial. They are often a problem because of the leaves growing in spring and falling in autumn. They get wet as well and both those affect the way signal travel past the trees. Is it possible to site the aerial so it does not look through the tree canopies? It is usually better to mount the erial to look around them or over them.
The other is that you have a loft aerial but I am unaware that any planning authority is allowed to restrict your having a single aerial mounted externally (there are rules about multiple dishes and their size but you are allowed one external dish and one external aerial normally. I suggest you ask the local planners about that apparent 'rule'.) However, there may be a covenant applied to your property that may restrict the use of outdoor aerials - but that is not a planning matter but one of common law relating to ownership and use of land.property. If there is one it will be mentioned in the deeds of your house, which should be discussed with your lawyers.
I am not aware of any reduction/change in the radiated power of COM7 and COM8 from Sandy Heath, they appear to be the same as they were before the move. Because the frequencies used are now higher the signals are affected a little differently than before due to atmospheric absorption effects, etc.
Tiles do affect reception, especially when wet or covered with snow. It is also important to have the aerial as far away from water tanks and/or pipes as is possible and definitely not 'looking through' them. Loft insulation that has a metallic film included will also cause reception problems with an internally mounted aerial in the loft. The same is true for any layer immediately below the tiles as any metal between the aerial and the transmitter will cause problems.