All posts by jb38
Below are all of jb38's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
sian Lawrence: Your best policy by far is to enquire at one of these other flats to find out if they are in the same boat as yourself as far as having to seek permission is concerned, because although they are also likely be on a lease they might not be renting privately as you are, and in situations such as yours its usually the case that permission is required from the landlord before any approach is made to the leaseholder.
Purely for information purposes, if by any chance permission is not granted then if your flat has a bedroom with a S/SE facing window you could use one of these small portable satellite dishes sitting on its tripod facing into the glass.
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Pippa: Do you already have a Sky box?, because if not then you should consider purchasing either a Freesat box or alternatively a Freesat PVR (recorder), the latter requiring twin inputs in exactly the same way as does a Sky+ box.
Cannot really advise on Freeview reception without having knowledge of your location, this in the form of a post code or one from nearby such as a shop etc.
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Jason: If you provide the exact model number of the TV as printed on the plate fixed on the back panel then this will (or might) enable the menu system to be checked out.
By the way practically all devices have some form of reset facilities accessed from the menu, these usually referred to as: Factory reset / Default setting / First time installation etc, etc
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Bill R: Just to add to that said by Dave Lindsay, you should also ensure that the aerial you are using is actually facing Sandy and not the Oxford transmitter which is approximately 10 miles closer, this latter station indicated as providing a slightly superior signal on the reception predictor.
The other point to note being that Sandy's commercial channels radiate on 10 Kw under the level of the PSB channels.
Sandy : 30 miles / 37 degrees.
Oxford : 21 miles / 268 degrees.
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Marrian: The normal way of connecting these items together would be that the common lead (or socket) on the scart switch box would be connected into the TV.
You then connect a scart lead between the one of the inputs on the scart switch box and the AV1 output on the DVD recorder.
Then connect another scart lead from the other input on the scart switch box to the socket marked TV on the Sky box.
Finally use another scart lead between the Sky boxes VCR scart socket and the DVD recorders AV2 input socket.
In operation if you just wish the view the Sky box then you simply press the button on the scart switch box to connect it into the TV, but if you want to record from the Sky box onto the DVD recorder then first of all select the channel you want to record from on the Sky box, then press the button on the switch box to connect the recorder into the TV.
You then go into the recorders "input select" menu and select AV2 as the input otherwise it will try to record from its internal tuner, however as soon as you select AV2 input the Sky picture should be seen "via the DVD recorder", you can then make an instant record or alternatively set the timer on the DVD to record whatever from the Sky box , but remember not to change the change the channel on the Sky box unless you have set the Sky box to automatically change channel via the "autoview" facility on the programme reminder.
If you have any problems then it would help if you provided the model number of the DVD as well as the TV.
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Bill: If you remove the card that will reveal all the channels that you will be able to view once you cancel the contract, which I may say might not be that much less than you presently do unless your viewing habits are centred exclusively around package channels.
However the recording and playback side of your box will become inoperable when you cancel the contract unless you are will to pay a monthly subscription of around £10.00 to Sky, as Sky retains control (on a permanent basis) to the access codes necessary to enable the recording / playback side of box to operate.
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Bill R: Thanks for the update, but with regards to having a new wideband aerial fitted, although this is undeniably the best thing to do (provided not of the so called high gain variety) I feel that I should say that if the channels were being received earlier on in the evening then its most likely that they still will be there, but though with them sitting at a level that's slightly under the threshold level required to resolve a picture on your receiver, and in cases like that a simple in line variable booster (such as Argos 534 / 4235 @ £11.99) should lift them up enough to restore them.
You can verify this for yourself by going into your TV or boxes "manual" tuning menu and entering Ch48 (mux used by Sandy's Film 4 etc) but do NOT press search or scan, because as soon as you enter the mux number the signal strength should be shown, make a note of the level seen then carry out the same procedure again but on mux Ch51 (ITV3 / 5 USA etc) and noting the level as before, finally use the procedure again on Ch52 (Pick TV / Dave etc), if the results of comparing the three levels only reveals fractional differences between them this is the type of situation that boosters are usually successful in.
Purely for information purposes, listed below are the mux channels used by each station.
Sandy: 27 - 24 - 21(HD) - 51(ITV3) - 52 (Pick TV) - 48 (Film 4)
Oxford: 53 - 60 - 57(HD) - 62(ITV3) - 59 (Pick TV) - 55 (Film 4).
Argos item number: 534 / 4235 (£11.99)
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Bill: Best policy! although speaking from the engineering point of view I would always recommend paying that bit extra for a Humax box whether it be for Freeview or Freesat (latter in your case) as although a fault can develop in any electronic device Humax's are by far the best for reliability.
Undermentioned is a link to the manufacturers site illustrating some particularly good buys at reduced prices under the heading of "Grade A", the Foxsat HDR seen at the top being the one I have been using myself for just over two years and with a virtually faultless performance, the only minor problem being with the remote control locking up every few months, this instantly rectified by taking one end of the battery out and pressing any button to discharge the circuitry.
By the way, the items seen on the link are frequently updated and so its best to search about within the various sections listed on the left hand side.
Humax FOXSATHDR-G Freesat twin tuner 320GB PVR (Grade A) - HUMAX UK Direct Sales Website
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Andrea green: If your neighbour is experiencing exactly the same problem as yourself and you are NOT using a communal aerial then its possible that some fault has developed at the transmitter, its therefore best to refrain from carrying out any further rescan operations as all you will do is lose the channels already stored in your TV or boxes memory, if of course you haven't partially done so already!
Unable to make any checks on the status of the transmitter without knowledge of your post code, or at least one from nearby such as a shop / post office etc.
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Monday 25 February 2013 9:18PM
Roy Barton: I don't think that Jamie was referring to anything connected to signal strength but more the case of the technical characteristics of the actual signals themselves being identical from both aerials, which of course they are, although problems can still be experienced as referred to in the next paragraph.
Although I am not privy to the details of the aerial set up at Rowridge, the reason for the high power radiating on vertical polarity is to avoid the possibility it causing interference to distant stations and not connected in anyway to the station providing some form of slant polarisation, because as far as using an H and V polarised aerial diplexed together to receive signals from the Rowridge mast is concerned this type of thing is really a non starter, because rather than provide the best of both worlds its liable to be the opposite by it creating the potential for possible phase clash problems to occur in locations where the horizontal signal is received at a reasonably high level, viewers at distances being somewhat better off because of the horizontal component being low.
The only type of situation where a pair of identical aerials facing the same transmitter is capable of giving great results is when they are arranged as a phased pair, the setting up of same really being outwith the domain of most (excl engineers) except the most dedicated enthusiast armed with a high quality signal meter, as it takes the utmost precision (as well as a good deal of patience!) to set up this type of system otherwise no advantage whatsoever is gained, plus even when perfectly set up the advantage can be lost if the signals being received are corrupted by ground reflections etc which unbalances the system.
Of course this type of set up is used more for killing off a signal that's not wanted in favour of the one that is.