All posts by jb38
Below are all of jb38's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Simon: Thanks for this latest update and with the content of being very informative, insomuch that it somewhat confirms that the signal being fed into your flat is indeed of low quality hence the comment made about the signal to noise ratio, and why no amount of you reducing the signal helped the situation.
Regarding the copper wire test, this might have seemed on the face of it as being a bit amateurish, but RF signals of a non-microwave nature have up to a point a mind of their own and do not act in the same way as some of these matter of fact black and white statements sometimes seen made about them would suggest, as well as the fact that they act differently again in situations where lower frequency ranges are involved, this being why its so difficult to predict exactly what they will do, but though with you being so close to the 4 Kw transmitting station such as your are I knew through years of experience in the field of RF engineering that it would be difficult to stop a signal from reaching you except if you were located in something like a Faraday cage, such as is used for testing emergency radio beacons without them being picked by monitoring equipment, the cellar purely referred to for simplicity.
Anyway maybe you could further update on the progress of, or otherwise, regarding the distribution amp.
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Harry: Excluding any possibility of a problem existing in the coax link from the Sky boxes RF2 output to the upstairs TV, like a strand of wire accidentally touching the middle core in one of the plugs, then it might be that the RF modulator in your new box has a lower output than in the old one, this not exactly being unknown! and should it be the case with your new box then the thing that sometimes helps is to choose an RF channel at the opposite end of the range from wherever its presently sitting.
The usual procedure being to press "services" then in a continuous smooth flowing fashion "4 - 0 -1 - select" then in No4 position you will see RF outlet, select a new channel number then rescan your TV (in analogue) to pick up the changed RF output channel.
By the way if you have a really late box it might be "0 - 0 - 1 - select", this action best achieved by NOT looking at the screen whilst doing so.
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Glenn: And just in addition to what Mazbar has said, with queries such as yours you should really indicate your location (pref; post code) this being essential to be able to assess the signal strength expected at your location, as the source of the problem suggests that you could possibly be in a low signal strength area and which is always worse for picking up interference.
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Harry: I had meant also to add, that should you by any chance be using a normal aerial connected into the Sky box for purposes of feeding a Freeview signal to another location along with Sky, then avoid setting the Sky boxes RF channel anywhere between Ch40-54 to avoid interference from the very local Saddleworth transmitter station, and likewise the boxes RF output to the reception of it.
That said though, even with the RF channel set well outside of the range mentioned your analogue receivers tuner could still suffer slightly from the effects of a strong signal being detected, this resulting in exactly the same symptoms as a lower output modulator.
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Harry: Needless to say that "if" any aerial was connected into the Sky box and Saddleworth was having an effect, then if the aerial connection was removed from the Sky box the picture would instantly improve, although this effect can sometimes also show up if a strong Freeview signal is picked up in the coax lead between the Sky box and the TV by the coax thats been used having less than perfect screening.
Its just always something to keep in mind.
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Gerald C. May: Thank you for clarifying and indeed confirming that you were just advising John on a way to overcome his problem rather than having had to carry out this procedure yourself, my interest purely being for the notebook in case there were any new issues springing up with that particular model that I wasn't aware of, albeit of course if there had been then no doubt postings to this effect would have been seen made on other sites, which according to checks there haven't been.
Thanks again for clarifying the issue.
Regards / jb.
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Mike: Apart from what Samsung have told you and the others not, but the screen going blank for a brief period could possibly be caused by a somewhat easier to prove (or disprove) reason connected to you having referred to your "local" transmitter as being the powerful Rowridge station, that of the possibility of your TV receiving a slightly excessive level of signal, and something which usually always affects HD reception before SD, Samsung tuners being particularly sensitive to this.
Signals being received from anywhere always have slight intermittent fluctuations in their level, this either being up by a sudden reflection or down by obstructions, and "if" your signal is slightly excessive then it could be taken over the top by a reflection from some object like an aircraft turning or even the aluminium sides of a large vehicle, both not necessarily being immediately local to you.
Although this is not always accurate as indications can be upset by a strong signal, but have a check at the level being seen whilst of an HD channel, and depending on circumstances even try a set to aerial connected into your TV and see if HD is still there, and if it is check results by viewing it for a while.
It would though have made it easier to assess your signal situation with knowledge of your post code, or at least one very near to like a shop or whatever, as there is always the element of working in the dark without it.
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Harry: If its just the box that has been replaced then Sky can alter your card by a download, but its best to give them a quick call to confirm (or otherwise) this as I am not up to date on the contract side of things but only the technical aspects of the box.
Regarding the rooftop aerial and the distinct possibility of strong Freeview signals causing a problem with your Sky link, if you are viewing "Sky" on the remote TV and witnessing a slightly grainy picture, don't touch anything except to pull the roof aerial out of the Sky box then check if the picture is still grainy, as that's the positive test for this sort of problem.
And as far as checking the possibility of bad screening on the coax link, do not replace the Sky boxes roof aerial just yet but switch the remote TV over to Freeview and select BBC, and although its unlikely that any picture will be seen go into the TV's signal check screen and observe if anything is seen on the signal strength indicator, if not or its just at a very low level then that's OK.
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ELAINE BAYES: This is likely because you are not receiving the multiplex that's used by programme Ch12 (Yesterday), which could either be caused through having poor reception or alternatively by being located in a Freeview "light" transmitter area, exactly which impossible to verify without knowledge of your post code.
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Friday 30 March 2012 6:11PM
jason: If you do not have anything connected into your Sky boxes "normal" aerial socket then it should not really matter what RF channel you use on the Sky box, but by all means try setting it on another channel just in case the RF modulator is a bit iffy, setting of same achieved by pressing "Services" then "4-0-1-select" in a continuous smooth fashion (best done whilst NOT looking at the screen) then you will see "RF outlet" mentioned on the 4th position down.
If you find its sitting on 68 then try 66, not forgetting to rescan your TV (on analogue) after doing so, if its still not cured by this action try another channel of around 30 or so.
Regarding the second part of your question, if you have a normal aerial (roof or loft) connected into your Sky boxes aerial socket then you will be able to receive Freeview as well as the Sky programme that's being viewed in the other room (as presenty done) but only if you purchase a Freeview TV that also has analogue on it, then of course the correct setting of the RF channel is important as it might accidentally clash with a Freeview signal, this being where your post code would be of assistance regarding advice on the best channel to use.