All posts by jb38
Below are all of jb38's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Phil: On checking your location in relation to the Otford transmitter you appear to reside at only half a mile away from it, and although the transmitter is only rated at 6 watts at that distance it will appear as far more powerful and might be killing reception by overloading the tuner in whatever you are using.
Maybe you could indicate what type of aerial you are using plus the model of your TV or box you are using, but if you are using a roof top aerial then unplug it and try a short length of wire (about 4 feet or so) connected into the aerial socket and then carry out an auto tune.
If though you have access to a set top aerial then use that instead of the wire, but the point of this test is to provide a weaker signal for the receiver, because if it works in a fashion then an attenuator in line with the main aerial is required.
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Phil: On re reading your posting I feel that I misinterpreted what you were meaning insomuch that I thought that you could not receive anything at all, whereas KMJ obviously sussed out that your query was in relation to the number of stations missing rather than my initial interpretation, so please ignore the content of my reply.
Thanks / JB.
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Craig: The best way to work out what you require is by remembering that each of the output ports on an LNB operates individually, and if you are intending installing a Humax twin tuner recorder (e.g: Humax FOXSAT-HDR) then it in common with "all" twin tuner recorders requires two feeds from the dish, i.e: one for each tuner.
The other point is that "if" your Sky box is a Sky+ version with two inputs, then one of them will become redundant when you cancel your subscription as Sky will kill access to the recording / playback side of the box, this sometimes being done at the same time as your ability to view package channels.
As you have already installed a Quad block then you will have one output spare when the Sky box reverts to being a standard box (if it is a Sky+?) as it will only require one of the two spare ports as only LNB1 input will be used.
If you find that you do not have enough ports for any configuration of equipment you may decide on, then all you require to do is change the Quad block for an Octo type which obviously has eight output ports.
By the way, to find out what channels you will be able to view once you cancel your subscription simply remove your card and have a search through the EPG, remembering that although certain channels will still be seen listed its not necessarily the case that you will be able to view them.
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David warren: The aerial installations seen along the Newtown Road indicate that Freeview reception in your area is from the Malvern transmitter, but though judging by the fact that many of them are on extended poles suggest that the area is not one that is particularly good for reception and that could well be your problem.
As far as trying to obtain a signal on a portable aerial in the attic space is concerned I very much doubt if you would achieve any level of success, because if residing in a newer build property its possible that the building has been constructed using insulation containing a metallic element and that has a serious blocking effect on RF signals, especially low powered ones.
If the BT engineer has suggested that your roof aerial is the problem then this could well be the case, but though there is a test that you could try yourself on both the roof aerial and also your portable one, this being to try a manual tune test on the BBC and also ITV, "if" that is your TV allows manual tuning as some unfortunately don't.
What to do is press menu / installation / tuning / and see if manual is an option, if it is then enter Ch53 but do NOT press scan or search, because on most equipment as soon as a channel number is entered the signal strength of that channel will be indicated, make a note of what's seen then press scan or search.
The reason why I mentioned not to press scan is because as soon as you do that the signal threshold system comes into play whereby if the signal is under a certain level it will simply be by-passed and not stored, but whatever the result of the above test change the channel number to 57 (ITV1) and do the test again, giving an update on results.
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adrian_tcp: As far as the aerial mounting is concerned its a case of the entire aerial being in effect being turned on its side, because the vertically polarised COM signals from Rowridge radiate on 200Kw whereas on horizontal its only 50Kw, however the fact of you having said that you suffer from pixilation on the PSB2 & PSB3 muxes does not give much hope as far as glitch free reception is concerned, but though it depends on what you observe on a signal quality check, because if both the strength and quality are seen to fluctuate within a certain range but never at any time rapidly dip to near zero and back again, then keeping the signal running at a high level can in many cases help to keep pixilation to a minimum, but if the quality is seen to frequently dive to zero and back then no matter how fast it does it the picture will suffer.
The problem is, that when that sort of thing occurs there is virtually nothing that can be done at the receiving end that will help the situation as the problem is outwith local control, as its basically caused by the signal path from the transmitter to the receiver being affected by obstructions along the way, and with the most commonly experienced reason being trees and such likes even if they have shed their leaves, and with quick check over the signal path between Rowridge and your area indicating quite a number of hazardous areas for RF signals.
However, I suggest that you carry out the check referred to, that is on the assumption that your TV or box does offer both a strength and quality indicator and giving an update on the results of the check.
By the way if the brown coax referred to is of the thinner variety then it should be changed to a satellite grade such as WF100, but if its the thicker variety with a woven copper mesh that does not separate easily then its most likely perfectly OK.
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Naomi: Thanks for the info, however its rather ironic but that exact post code is not in either of the predictors used and possibly by it referring to a recently constructed area, however TR13 is indicated as being located at 1 mile away from the transmitter, the latter being on a bearing of 184 degrees and with vertical polarisation. I think that your best policy is for your husband to experiment with the aerial but whilst the TV is left sitting on the signal checking screen so that observations can be made on progress, this is done going into the menu system on the TV and selecting installation / tuning / then selecting manual tune, because on most equipment as soon as a transmitter channel is entered the level its being received at will be indicated, the important point being that after the channel number is entered do NOT press scan or search, as that will kill the indication. The channel numbers to use are indicated below, although I have included Redruth (a full service station) and Porthleven (@ 2 miles and PSB only like Helston) as one of these stations might also be possible, the former being located at 7 miles away on a bearing of 19 degrees but with its aerial being mounted horizontally as in the case of Porthleven. By the way you only require to use the first two channel in each list, as that will be sufficient to indicate if any signal exists. Channel numbers to use for tests / Helston (Aerial vertical facing 184 degrees) : 54 (BBC) - 61 (ITV) - 58 (HD service) Redruth (Aerial horizontal facing 19 degrees) : 44 - 41 - 47 - 48 - 52 - 51 Porthleven (Aerial horizontal facing 223 degrees) : 23 - 26 - 29
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Peter Henderson: Yes, its rather unfortunate regarding Ch5 HD being transmitted by Sky as encrypted, and of course it still is as I just checked it on my Freesat TV's "other sat" tuning menu. (12.266 H)
By the way, I realise that you would most likely have already known about what is available on a Sky HD box with and without the card being inserted, but many others aren't quite sure and so I thought I would clarify this for anyone else that might be reading the postings.
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Viv Gunton: Thanks for the updated info, and which reveals that you are located at just under 14 miles away from the Hannington transmitter which is on a bearing of 285 degrees from your location.
Crystal Palace is also indicated at 40 miles away on a bearing of 71 degrees and these two stations are indicated as being roughly equal for reception possibilities as far as reliability is concerned.
However, on looking at what you have mentioned regarding your set up there is one thing that I would advise changing, that being not to route your TV's signal through the recorder as that can reduce its level, and in situations such as yours its always best to use a two way powered splitter which not only supplies each device with the same level of signal, but also gives each output a slight boost, and judging by what you had initially reported I feel that your signal would benefit from receiving a slight boost.
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R H Yorke: On the occasions where you find that Ch4 or Ch5 is missing is ITV1, ITV2 or More 4 also missing? because these are all on the same mux transmitter.
Your location and circumstances are unknown, but type of problem is frequently associated with viewers who reside in slightly iffy reception areas whereby the signal is varying in level & quality (particularly the latter) during any auto-tuning that's carried out, something that can this cause corruption in the data being loaded.
There really isn't anything you can do about this other than to carry out another auto-tune and hope that it loads OK, but though it "might" correct the problem if you carry out a "manual" tune on the mux channel involved and save the results.
Another and better method is to delete all the channels stored in the memory by carrying out a first time installation but stopping before it carries out the auto-tune as you want to manually tune in the mux concerned, then after checking the EPG list to ensure that these programmes are there (as only programmes on the mux scanned will be) then use the "add channels" facility to populate the EPG again.
Manual tuning is always being better anyway as when a channel is being scanned its not getting pulled along by the band (21 - 69) scanning circuitry.
By the way, although an iffy reception area was referred to it should be noted that this can also happen if the signal is verging on being excessively strong, as the symptoms experienced when in both these type of situations is exactly the same.
Unable though to advise on the mux channel to scan as your location is unknown, this having to be in the form or a post code, or at least from somewhere nearby such as a shop etc.
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Friday 21 December 2012 4:08PM
Peter Henderson: Irrespective of what the facility might be called this is the details of what is available, and which all hinges on whether or not a basic Sky viewing card is being used, options listed below.
Free to view "without" a Sky card being used. (none inserted into slot)
BBC1 HD - BBC HD - NHK World HD
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Free to view "with" a Sky viewing card.
BBC1 HD - BBC HD - ITV1 HD (England and Wales only) Ch4 HD - Ch5 HD - NHK
World HD.