All posts by jb38
Below are all of jb38's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Mike Blackmun; Your problem can be caused by variety of different reasons, but with problems of that nature its always best to carry out a factory reset on the box, also called "default setting" or "first time installation", then follow this by carrying out another auto-tune.
Should this not make any difference then try the offending box on the aerial used by the lounge TV, coupling the box into the lounge TV via a scart lead and selecting that scart input on the TV's input selector menu, that is "if" the box doesnt switch the TV over automatically.
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Big Mart: If you enter your 4 digit password and carry out a "full rescan" there is no danger whatsoever of you affecting anything you have already stored, and although the TV at your other property isnt an HD model it doesnt really matter anyway, as you will still be able to see the actual HD channel that the Sony is picking up / recording but with you only being able to view it in SD.
Of course it would have been more preferable if you could have managed to try some other HD device on your present aerial system as what you have suggested is a second best but is certainly "still" worth a try, as if it records glitch free then it points to the signal you are receiving at your present location being sub standard.
As far as your other property is concerned, although I dont wish to appear as being a tad pessimistic, but I take it you have been in the area since any switchover activities (if that is) have taken place? as if you havent, then it brings another variable into the equation as far as the signal strength at your other property is concerned, although if its a Freeview TV then at least this will enable you to assess the situation regarding reception.
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maureen williams: If you have tried the 439 on the lead from the quad block that is used to feed the Sky+ boxes LNB1 input and it works, then there is no reason whatsoever for it not working on any of the other three feeds from the quad LNB unless either (1) that the outlet port on the dish is defective, or (2) that a single strand of the coax's braiding wire has got accidentally wrapped around the inner core of the coax when the "F" connector plug was being screwed on, so you should carefully unscrew it and look at it closely to make sure that this hasn't happened, although as you will obviously appreciate that this can happen on the one at the other end of the cable, and of course Murphy's law usually dictates that this problem is more likely to happen on the "F" connector at the less convenient location, namely the dish end.
If you could just clarify on a point though, is it the case that the old Sky dish completely out of the equation?
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Big Mart: It doesn't really matter where you can try the Sony so long as its on a different aerial system to that presently used, and if what you have mentioned is at all possible then all good and well and I would be most interested to know the outcome of your tests.
The other fact of you having mentioned that most other people in your street all seem to have Sky dishes can obviously be interpreted in two ways, as in most places where this is seen it can ring alarm bells insomuch that the area is one of bad reception, or of course that its just the case that Sky is favoured for reception, although in my experience its usually the former reason.
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Mark Jolly: If you could previously receive the HD channels OK and are receiving them from from a transmitter that has recently switched over to high powered operation, then it could be that you are now receiving an excessively high level of signal and which is blocking reception, this always showing up first on the HD channels.
If you can borrow a set top aerial then try that, the signal might not be good but you are only really interested in if you can get a signal at all, and if you do then you will require to purchase an attenuator to place in line with the TV's aerial socket.
Needless to say that if you have any type of booster on your aerial system then by-pass it.
You should also have provided a post code (or one from nearby!) with a query of this sort, as that would enable the signal levels expected at your location to be verified.
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John Beswick: If you use the Sandy transmitter then you should really have carried out a re-tune yesterday, as SDN changed its operating channel up to 51 as well as it being at the increased power of 170kw.
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Tony: Having gone over everything you have reported and noting the info regarding the distribution amplifier etc given on your latest update, I would like you to try your Horizon meter connected directly onto the end of the aerial lead before it goes into anything, as although the 30db reading you have reported is quite capable of giving good reception it should really be quite a bit higher than this (45db+) to keep well above the reception threshold of the tuner, or the slight variations in signal levels that occur on a daily basis due to weather conditions etc can start to cause problems.
The other unfortunate aspect about your set up is that you do not have any way of checking the HD reception via the aerial system used except on your WMC card, and there isn't enough info around about this device (the card) regarding its performance to be able to assess certain aspects about its performance, like for example if its known to be stable on a channel that has a negative offset on its frequency such as applies with C/P's HD mux, this being why I enquired if you had tried to receive HD from Sudbury as it transmits bang on frequency.
If your Horizon is giving a reasonably accurate indication of the signal strength you receive then take the attenuator out of line, as rather than attenuate the signal it could benefit from a slight boost, so if you find that the signal level is higher directly from the aerial than when measured at the WMC, then for a test link the aerial directly onto the coax that's used to feed to the WMC, giving an update on results.
It would be interesting though to know what kind of results you would get if your aerial was directed towards Sudbury rather than Crystal Palace
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Alan Tuthill: Go into the signal checking screen and observe the mux channel number thats shown associated with the strength / quality indication, if Ch26 its Crystal Palace whereas if Ch42 its Hannington, the only other alternatives are so low in level that its doubtful if they would be received.
By the way the BBC match for these channels is Ch23 (C/P) and Ch45 (Hannington).
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Andy springer: Is the picture reasonably OK on the second TV when the Sky boxes RF link is connected directly into it and NOT through your splitter / combiner?, if it is then try the link through the splitter again but NOT with the normal aerial connected into it as well, comparing the results between the two tests, as "some" of these splitters can reduce the signal level and so this aspect has to be eliminated.
If though the splitter does not reduce the quality of the picture but it does go downhill when you add the normal aerial into it, then that's inclined to indicate that the RF channel from the Sky box is clashing with a digital transmission coming down the aerial, and so you will require the change the RF channel on the Sky box.
As you haven't mentioned your location (post code, or one from nearby) then I am unable to advise on the channels NOT to use.
Just a point regarding the splitter, if its found that it does reduce the signal (more grainy) then you will have to connect the aerial into the Sky boxes aerial input, then the Freeview signal will pass through the Sky box picking up the analogue signal in the process and feeding both sets of signals into the second TV.
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Wednesday 9 May 2012 1:41PM
Mike: The AFC (automatic frequency control) range in your Sony's tuner should be able to cope with plus or minus offsets on a frequency if its a device that's been manufactured within the last 4 years or so, these plus or minus offsets having been made to keep the correct 8mhz spacing between adjacent channels and to avoid any possibility of interference being caused, and with this not necessarily being caused to another channel within the same station but another station located within RF range, albeit that in Rowridges case the use of Ch22 (COM5/ArqA) necessitated it to also have a positive offset on its frequency.