All posts by jb38
Below are all of jb38's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Miriam Cox: Did you carry out a "factory reset" / "default setting" before you carried out the auto-retune, although if your box offers "first time installation" then that automatically deletes everything stored, as its when remnants of a previous retune are lingering in the memory that these problems usually arise.
I suspect that ITV3 is actually there but just under the level that you can receive it, so if that box you are using has a "manual" tune facility enter Ch51 and see if any signal strength is indicated on the display bar without pressing tune.
By the way EPG 10 for ITV3 is the same anywhere in the UK, as the Ch51 referred to is the transmitter channel that carries it, at least as far as Sandy is concerned.
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Massimiliano: Judging by what you have said I suspect that its much more likely that the dish has moved slightly rather than the LNB having developed a fault, as the dish only needs to move the mearest fraction to knock the signal out.
You should press "services" then 4-6 and check the signal strength / quality thats shown on the two indicator bars (if any shown) then if you know the direction that the wind was blowing give either the left or right hand side of the dish a knock checking the result on the TV screen, as with a bit of luck you might be able to knock it back into alignment again.
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Mike O'Pray: Although I have my suspicions that something "might" be amiss with the masts radiation in the W/NW direction towards the Northampton area as too many people from all around that area are making complaints about bad reception on Ch51 since May 9th for it to be just a coincidence, but if your Goodman's TV allows manual tuning I would like you to go into the tuning menu and enter Ch51 but do NOT press scan, as if any signal is there its strength should immediately appear on the strength bar, if it does then give an update on whatever it might be.
The reason for requesting this action is that I suspect that the Ch51 signal is actually there but at a level that's just underneath the reception threshold as far as resolving a picture is concerned, although this would not stop the level still being seen on a signal check.
I havent as yet had time to check on your Goodman's or Panasonic as far as any known problems are concerned but will try to find time tomorrow, although I dont really think that there is anything to worry about in that respect as it could just be a low signal level that's causing the difficulties, as Ch51 is belting in at not far off 100% strength in the Stamford area where I am located.
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mike,: Going by the programme channels you have reported as not being able to receive your situation is slightly different from Lisa's insomuch that you are seemingly able to receive Ch48 but not Ch51 nor Ch52, whereas in the case of Lisa her Ch52 is OK but not Ch48 and Ch51.
I suspect that the two channels you haven't picked up are still likely to be there but just not at a sufficiently high enough level for your TV's tuner to lock onto during a scan, so I would be interested to know the result if you went into the tuning menu / manual tune and entered either Ch51 or 52 but do NOT press search or scan, as in many devices as soon as a channel is entered into the manual search box its strength appears on the level indicator bar even although its not actually stored.
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stuart smith: The reception predictions seen for your area indicate reasonably OK as far as the PSB channels are concerned albeit in reality that you are having problems with their reception, so if your aerial is in the loft then I would suggest that you try some experiments by moving the aerial to different positions within the loft, as its frequently found that by moving an aerial from one side to the other "in stages" can result in quite large differences in signal strengths, this being one of the benefits of a loft mounted aerial as its something that cannot be done with a roof mounted one for the obvious reasons.
By the way if you are able to do as suggested, I would leave the TV on its signal check screen so that you can get instant feedback on the results of your actions.
Do you use an aerial amplifier in the loft? as if you do not then one rated about 10db minimum would likely be found to improve things by keeping the signal at a higher level.
Maybe you could also provide the model number of your TV or box, as I notice that every channel on the Caldbeck transmitter has a negative offset on its frequency, and some devices can have problems with this situation.
I don't know if you can presently receive any of the three commercial channels from Caldbeck as they are indicated as being poor for reception in your area, but if you are receiving them then they do not increase in power until October 24th.
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stuart smith: I missed out the footnote concerning the power increase on the commercials, insomuch that although the power goes up from 15kw to 50kw the actual reception predictions being given for Oct 24th onwards has not really improved any, and indeed is a fraction worse.
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Alan: The transmitter engineering posting that preceded your own indicated that work is being carried out all week at the station with periods of interruption to the service being expected, and so "if" you have already been receiving HD then this will be the reason for presently not doing.
I only highlighted "if" just in case you are initially tuning the TV and its an HD Ready type of set, as these cannot receive an HD signal and can only display it via an external HD box.
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cathy: As your question is one concerning reception then you really have to provide a more precise location, a post code or one from a nearby shop or whatever, as the signal levels expected at your Mums location cannot be assessed without this info.
Although an aspect about what you have reported gives rise to doubt as to whether or not the problem is one of reception at all, or its possibly that your Mum is accidentally pressing an incorrect button on the TV (like AV on remote) and taking it off the Freeview box back onto its internal tuner and which will result in a blank screen.
This said, taking it that the box is coupled into the TV via a scart lead, although if your Mum was operating it OK before then what I have said should not really apply.
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Lisa: Apologies for delay in replying to your update, but if you read my reply to "mike," that immediately precedes this posting (15th @ 07.41am) that also covers what I feel is applicable to your own situation, insomuch that if the signal is actually there but just running at a low level that's not high enough for your TV's tuner to lock on to, then only the use of an aerial amplifier is likely to improve the situation, although an aerial being tried in different positions can in many cases be very effective, however I feel that in your situation this isn't really an option.
As far as these problem channels are concerned, namely Ch48 and Ch51, if you go into the "manual store" menu on your TV and enter Ch51 (714.000mhz) you might immediately see the signal strength being indicated without pressing search / scan, you could also try the test on Ch48 (690mhz), if though you do not see the strength being immediately indicated when you entered the channel / frequency then scan it anyway.
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Monday 14 May 2012 9:18PM
Tony: I really do think that rather than taking the in-depth analysis approach as to the possible causes of your complaint and maybe being tempted to spend no end of money as well as frustration in the process, that the reason for your problem would be discovered a lot quicker if you managed to borrow either an HD box or an HD capable (DVB-T2) TV and checked the results from your aerial system using one of these devices, because I have a sneaking suspicion that you are not really willing to consider the possibility that the problem could be caused by the card, and likewise are looking for reasons that excludes it, albeit I do accept that there is a very slight possibility that it might not be!
And with regards to the PC card, I do realise that issues existed between the WMC and the card, but I am referring to other aspects concerning comments seen made in various sources regarding the actual tuners performance including its ability to cope with an offset in the frequency of whatever its trying to tune in, as software wont necessarily help with that type difficulty any more than it does in a range of the older Vestel chassis Freeview PVR devices, with the results of a software upgrade in these devices being totally hit and miss, because the problem is more one of a hardware circuitry nature caused by a PLL oscillator with a semi rigid AFC range.