All posts by jb38
Below are all of jb38's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
ANTHONY CARROLL: As your TV already has Freeview the HDB70 is used purely for recording purposes.
Connect a scart cable between the GX210's ext1 output and your TV's AV1 input, the TV should switch to the GX210 when the latter is first switched on, otherwise use the A/V button on the TV's remote to select it.
Then connect a scart cable between the Freeview receivers AV1 output and the GX210's decoder input, (ext3?) make sure that ext3 input is permanently selected as such via the GX210's "input select" menu.
In operation, you simply leave the Freeview receiver switched on and press the A/V button on the TV's remote to connect it to the GX210, (if not auto already auto-switched over to it) then go into the aforementioned "input select" menu and make sure the decoder input is selected, this connecting the GX210's input to the Freeview boxes output enabling you to select what you want to record, likewise play back from the GX210 into the TV.
Unless you have analogue in your area (which you still use) don't daisy chain the aerial through the GX210, but connect it to the Freeview receivers aerial input, then from its RF output into the TV, the only thing being that as you haven't mentioned your location the signal strength expected isn't known, so if any glitches start to occur when the aerial is daisy chained purchase a powered two way splitter and give each device (TV and Freeview box) its own input.
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John Stubbs: I suspect that your problem could simply be due to a combination of your Freeview recorder not having a particularly sensitive tuner coupled to your signal being on the weak side, and so if not already using one then you could benefit from the use of an aerial amplifier to lift the signal strength, any amp being used should be about 10dB gain or so.
A reception check carried out indicated that (in theory) you are able to receive from Pontop Pike (@17mls / 249 degrees) as well as Bilsdale (@ 42mls / 168 degrees) and so your recorder might not have locked on to the best signal, therefore you should carry out a signal check whilst on a channel that's giving problems for purposes of finding out where its tuned to, this facility accessed via the tuning menu, because as well as the signal / quality indications being shown it will show the Mux channel associated with the indications.
Channels used by both are as follows,
Pontop Pike - Ch48 (BBC) - Ch55 (ITV1) - Ch59 (ITV3 etc)
Bilsdale - Ch34 (BBC) - Ch21 (ITV) - Ch31 (ITV3 etc)
Obviously more multiplex channels than these are in use, but three is sufficient for this test, and it should be pointed out that both stations involved are operating on low pre-switchover power levels, this not due to change until next September. (Ch48 BB)
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Andy: Purely on the connection query, you can connect the BT vision boxes AV1 socket into the Sky boxes VCR (No2) scart socket, with the Sky boxes AV1 connected to the single scart on your TV, as when you take the BT vision box out of standby it will pass through the Sky box to enable the viewing of its content, this should even work if the Sky box is in standby.
Alternatively, you could connect the Sky boxes AV1 into the second scart socket on the BT vision box, with the latter's AV1 coupled to the TV's single scart socket, this being exactly the same in operation as the first procedure.
However sometimes when a recording device is used with this type of configuration it can block signals passing through it, so try both systems out, should though you find that neither of the methods described operates correctly even with the device that's not required being placed on standby, then you will have no option but to purchase a switchable two way scart selector box, its common going into the TV with the Sky / BT vision box on each of the two scart input sockets.
Do not connect the aerial through the Sky box, but straight into the BT Vision box then into the TV. (if TV Freeview enabled)
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R Ives: No! as Sky effectively controls the recording side of the box, and which will have been disabled at the same time as was the ability to view subscription channels.
Sky charges £10.00 per month to allowing recording access.
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Chiny: Yes! manual tuning is in many cases being the only way of getting over duplicate channel pick up problems from the more distant (and unwanted) stations.
The aerial out to a certain point before reinserting, can work very well in lots of cases dependant on the type of equipment the procedure is being used on, as it can be a very "hit and miss" situation for many due to lots of boxes not actually indicating the channel numbers during the scanning process, as all that's seen is a very vague looking progress percentage bar, failures when using the procedure on equipment with this type of indication being very frequently experienced, even with the more experienced types!
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jean bremner: When you refer to connecting to a Sky boxes connector, are you meaning the inputs from the dish to the box? as the only device you can connect these into is a standard Freesat recorder, which if of the standard twin tuner type requires two inputs from the dish for satisfactory operation, this enabling one channel to be recorded whilst another is being viewed.
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ANTHONY CARROLL: When the TV goes blank after recognising the GX210 what happens when you press the menu button on the GX210's remote control? as what you have reported suggests that the DVD recorder is sitting on its default tuner input position, hence it goes blank as no signal exists on that position.
Just to check for satisfactory operation of the GX210 you should try playing a DVD back on it, as you have to be able to access its input select menu to be able to set its "ext 3" scart socket as the input or the Freeview box will not feed through it.
To make testing easier, try connecting the Freeview boxes AVI output straight into the TV's AVI input then leave the Freeview box on any of its menu screens, this so that this screen can be identified during tests and not get mixed up with Freeview being received internally by the TV itself.
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ANTHONY CARROLL: Just to add in case you do not have the GX210's manual, the "Input select" button I refer to is immediately on the right hand side of the button marked "Rec mode" situated on the lower section of the remote control, you keep pressing it until you see line 3 indicated.
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ANTHONY CARROLL: Well that indicates that the DVD to TV side is OK, what I would now like you to do is to pull the scart plug out of the TV's AV1 socket and leave it unconnected, (it being from the GX210) then pull out the scart plug that's connected to the GX210's top scart socket (line 3) and put it into the TV's AV1 socket, this to ensure that the Hitachi Freeview box is actually working. (make sure its the AV1 socket that's being used on the Hitachi)
If this works OK then replace both scart plugs to their previous positions, as that test will have confirmed that the problem is caused by the GX210's input line 3 not feeding the signal through to its AV1 output, so keep pressing the input select button until you see "line 3" showing on the GX210's indicator "on its front panel", as these are definitely the correct connections as I have the manual in front of me.
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Saturday 17 December 2011 5:17PM
alan: I find it a bit amazing that you are able to receive anything at all with the aerial set up mentioned when bring located at only two miles or so from a station containing multiplexes with an ERP of 100Kw, and so I can only assume that you are partially in an "under the umbrella" type of situation whereby being so close to the mast its main power output is radiating above you, as otherwise the tuner in your receiving device would be totally swamped by the signal thereby killing any chances of receiving anything, something many have experienced when their local stations switched to high power operation.
The point is, that tuners have a form of automatic gain control which reduces their sensitivity in strong signal situations, and trying to pick up a weak signal (i.e: Ch54 or Ch63) is made more difficult because the tuners wideband input circuitry will "still" sense the presence of high powered signal levels from the main muxes likewise it reducing its input sensitivity to avoid signal overloading problems, but which in turn reduces the chances of picking up weaker signals on other lesser mux channels, which it has to be said is really caused by the oddball situation at Sudbury, as I cant think of anywhere else operating with the same power differential level between the muxes. (albeit this being temporary)
You should really be trying experiments with a variable attenuator rather than boosting the signal, and although its a time consuming exercise you should scrub everything stored and try manual tuning of Ch54 or Ch63 with the attenuator set to various levels. Of course there is no guarantee that this would work either, as the reference to the "umbrella" effect can also be applied to the outputs from Muxes C / D, so its really a "hit and miss" situation that requires a level of experimenting in an attempt to effect a cure, if at all possible, as it isn't always!