All posts by jb38
Below are all of jb38's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Bob: By being located at less than 1 mile away from the Hastings transmitter its possible that you are receiving an excessively high level of signal which is causing problems in the tuner.
To verify if this is the case if you have access to a set top aerial then for a test try that, or just connect a piece of wire about 12/18" long into the inner part of the aerial socket and re-scan using that, giving an update on results.
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paul: Ch42 (ITV3 etc) is operating on very low power (100wats) until the 27th of this month and so reception will be poor when compared to the other muxes operating on 4Kw. Unfortunately there isn't really anything that you can do but wait until that date when the situation will be rectified.
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KAREN SMITH: If you are receiving Freeview from Bluebell Hill (at 7 miles) then your problem could be caused by the signal you receive from the BBC mux being excessively high, as the BBC (and only BBC) is transmitting on 20Kw whereas ITV is only on 4Kw, so needless to say that if you are using any form of booster then this has to be by-passed.
Should though you not be using one then purely for a test try a set top aerial, but if you cannot access one then try the test using a short piece of wire (about 18") pushed into the aerial socket of your TV or box, if either test stops the BBC from vanishing then you will require to purchase an attenuator to place in line with the aerial socket on your receiving device, one rated at about 6db or thereabouts being suffice.
It should be noted that "if" this is the problem then it will get worse on the 27th when all muxes start transmitting on high power.
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Steve T: Thanks for the report regarding reception at your parents location, and the fact that being located behind a hill / trees doesn't always mean that a signal is completely blocked as other factors come into the equation, the main one really being the distance that a person might be located from the hill as this can have quite a large effect on the signal strengths received, as well as being the type of situation where if comprehensive experiments are carried out with aerial positions its frequently found that higher is not necessarily better, with much lower down (gutter levels) usually being found to give superior results.
Of course another odd thing is found to apply with reception when in this type of non line-of-site situation, being, that if an aerial is perfectly aligned in one season and a further alignment check is carried out in a few months time when the season has changed, the outcome will usually be that the aerial will require to be trimmed a few degrees to the left or right to regain the perfect signal, this effect caused by the reflective properties of the terrain having changed.
This is in most cases is neither here nor there, but can be an issue when dealing with reception from a station where its commercial muxes operate on about 50% less power than the main PSB transmitters.
Of course the effect mentioned occurs in lots of non line-of-sight situations, but is something that's generally not realised as happening, albeit in some cases that a viewer might be noticed to have made a comment on having observed seasonal variations in the signal strength they receive, and which in many instances is caused by the aforementioned.
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martyh: Its very difficult to give an exact figure, but the average I get using a few 32" models as examples, e.g: Sony / Panasonic / LG's etc gives a figure of around 120 watts, one of the Sony's only being listed as having 90 watts consumption.
Plus of course you wouldn't really be using the Logic with a new set anyway, so its really out of the equation.
Will say though, your Philips CRT set does seem to be a bit greedy on power consumption, as a 32" (4:3) Panasonic CRT set with pro-logic sound that I used to have only consumed 140 watts, as I used to run it from a 175 watt 12volt / 250 volt inverter when the power failed, the inverters cooling fins only ever becoming mildly warm albeit there wasn't that large of a power loading safety margin.
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Colin Needle: If you have been carrying out frequent rescans then its possible that your TV's tuner memory is trying to store more channels than its capable of doing hence they are lost on switching off, carry out a factory reset, this sometimes called a "default setting" on your TV then follow this by another rescan.
Should though this be found not to have made any difference then a post code (or one from nearby) will be required, this being for purposes of assessing the signal level you are liable to be receiving.
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Dupree: Its quite impossible for anyone to be able to offer assistance when you havent mentioned your location (post code or one from nearby) nor whatever you are trying to receive Freeview HD on, as either its not being transmitted as yet (dependant on location) or its your receiving device that is not capable of picking it up by only having a DVB-T tuner fitted and not a DVB-T2 type which is necessary for HD reception.
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jim mccormack: The West coast of Scotland is a very large area and a more precise location is required, a post code or one from nearby being suffice, as the signal levels expected at your location can then be assessed as well as the transmitter that serves the area.
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jim mccormack: Please ignore my request for info on location as I failed to notice that the model referred to is a Freesat device, however regarding your ITV HD problem, does the ITV HD channel number 119 show on the EPG list but its just that you cannot receive it even although you have the box coupled into an HD Ready TV via an HDMI lead?
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Monday 18 June 2012 9:00PM
David Jones: Just came on a few minutes ago and spotted your query. The point about the Sky+ HD boxes is that unless you pay Sky a monthly subscription (of I believe £10.50) then you cannot using the recording side of the box, as Sky permanently retains the access to this.
However, as you do not have any particular interest in viewing Sky dedicated channels then I would just not involve them, and likewise advise going for a Freesat twin tuner PVR system, and which I am sure would suit your all of your requirements for a one-off payment for the equipment, and as far as a dish is concerned, I would advise you to check the adverts in your local paper for anyone that advertises dish installations and get a quote from them for a dish fitted with a quad outlet LNB (two feeds being required for a twin tuner device) bearing in mind that you can purchase complete brand new dish kits for as little as £35.00 or so from numerous e-bay sources, then all you would require to do is get someone to fit it up for you.
You should have a look at the Humax brand Freesat twin tuner recorders, as these can be obtained with hard drives ranging from 320Gb up to 1TB, Humax of course being a tad more expensive than some of the other brands, but you get what you pay for!
This is a link to the companies direct sales, although you will see them advertised on places such as Amazon etc.
Humax FOXSATHDR1TB Twin Tuner Freesat 1TB PVR - HUMAX UK Direct Sales Website