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All posts by jb38

Below are all of jb38's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.

J
All of the free TV channels in the UK
Tuesday 24 November 2015 11:52AM

John L Potter - et al : Unfortunately, this programme was removed from the Freesat platform on the 19th November, reasons for unknown, it now only being viewable on Sky (no-card i.e: free) 266.

However, although not necessarily being a straightforward operation dependant on the brand model of the box / TV being used, the programme can still be viewed on a Freesat device if the transponder used by Showbiz TV is "manually" tuned in whilst the device is set on "other sat" mode, or in other words non-Freesat mode.

Frequency etc details as below.

Frequency: 11.38650 (6 being 9 on some Freesat devices, 0 being ignored on others)
Polarisation : H
Symbol rate : 27500
FEC : 2/3

Other programmes will also be seen listed as well as Showbiz TV, all of only being able to be viewed when the TV or box is prior set on "other channels" listings.

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J
Drama
Wednesday 25 November 2015 9:20PM

Lorna Smith: As no faults are listed against the Keighley full service transmitter, nor is there any engineering work taking place at same, this is inclined to indicate that the problem is connected with your installation, or at least your indoor aerial.

The channel numbers referred to relate to the COM4/SDN transmitter, other channels broadcast by this transmitter being (10) ITV3 / (16) QVC / (26) ITVBe, if you are also unable to receive these programmes? then you are not receiving COM4.

Apart from making a local enquiry (neighbour etc) for the purpose of ascertaining if anyone else is experiencing a similar problem, the other thing that did cross my mind being, albeit unlikely, is that your TV has possibly picked up the Keighley Town transmitter, COM4 not being transmitted by this station.

However, the possibility of this happening or not cannot be checked unless a post code is given, and which can also be one from somewhere nearby, such as a shop / post office, this enabling details of the transmitter covering your area to be checked.

Regarding "indoor aerial", is this loft mounted? or are you meaning a "same room" type?

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Paul: Yes, please do, as I am reasonably confident that you will be impressed with the results from this device.

By the way, the undermentioned link is to Amazon UK, one of the suppliers of Manhattan Plaza T2 Freeview HD receivers and the comments made by purchasers of same, the majority of being as would be expected, that is complimentary.

Manhattan Plaza HD-T2 Freeview HD Box with Apps: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics





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David Lodge: I very much doubt if it would offer any improvement as far as reliability of reception is involved, as practically every other station shown as being possible to receive (inc Bluebell Hill) in DUK's trade reception predictor, indicates reception as being a mixture of variable to poor in your area, this being somewhat backed up with the forecast of the signal dB levels expected from the various stations in question, as indicated on digital UK's (ex Wolfbanes) technical reception predictor.

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J
Freeview reception - all about aerials | Installing
Thursday 26 November 2015 9:12PM
Torpoint

Phil Jones: Indications are that the only station receivable in the postal code area of PL11 3JA is that of the local Freeview - light - Downderry transmitter, zero reception indicated from Caradon Hill, but with the exception of traces of a signal from its PSB3 /BBCB HD transmitter on Mux C22.

The reception problem from Caradon Hill basically caused by the signal from same suffering from a reasonably sizeable line-of-sight obstruction from just under 1mile prior to your location, obstructions of this nature affecting reception to a much higher degree the closer they are to the receiving aerial.

However, if the post code in question covers a somewhat larger area? then you might be able to receive a signal of sorts from Caradon Hill, as a few test p/code tests from around your area indicated reception as being extremely variable, insomuch, Torpoint receiving good signals from both Caradon and Plympton.

Therefore, dependant on the type of indoor aerial being used, purely for test purposes, try mounting it up in the loft with the aid of a coax extension lead, the aerial being mounted horizontally and pointing at an angle of 348 degrees for Caradon.

Once done, go into your TV or boxes set up menu and select "manual tune", entering C28 (Caradon's BBC) into the box but "not" searching or scanning, because if any traces of a signal is being received, the strength / quality of will show up on the indicator bars. If it does, use that indicated to fine tune the position of the aerial.

Should reception from Caradon prove as being possible, then you could try tuning in the other three commercial multiplexes, namely C21 - C24 - C27, COM7 (C31) and COM8 (C37) being much lower powered HD transmitters.

Further advice dependant on outcome of test.


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Mike Webster: Re the "no signal" message referred to, the question being, on what?.

If though a Freeview device is involved, then a post code (or one from nearby) is required in order to access details of the transmitter covering your area.

The above mentioned not required for Freesat or Sky boxes.

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Dastardley: Problems of this nature are nearly always caused by some problem associated with the coax feed from the dish, or even a defective port on the dish.

Although the problem has maybe cleared for the time being, the next time it happens try swapping the two inputs over and see if this rectifies the situation, as LNB1 is the main input on a Sky box used for normal viewing, LNB2 used mainly for recording, therefore if swapping the two inputs over returns the box to normal viewing, the fault has to be caused by a defect in the coax feed presently connected into LNB2 input, i.e: the ex LNB1's input.

If this is found to be the case, then unscrew LNB2's "F" connector (ex LNB1) from the box, further unscrewing same from the coax and checking that "all" strands of the braiding have been pulled back over the outer covering of the coax, as sometimes a single strand of the braiding can accidentally become wrapped around the centre core of same. If though all appears to be OK, reassemble the connector.

The problem that might now be experienced is by whether the dish is accessible or not?, as the "F" connector fitted on the LNB end of the coax (previously checked indoors) could well be the reason for the problem, as faults of the nature mentioned can be as the result of water having crept into the "F" connector on the LNB causing intermittent short circuits to occur.

Needless to say, check the connector out in exactly the same way as previously done with the one on the box.

Further advice dependant of feedback.




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Dastardley : In addition to that already said, if the signal check referred to was carried out whilst you were actually viewing a programme and "not" when the signal had dropped out, then ignore the advice already given and check both sets of connectors at each end of the coax. The reason for this being, that if the signal check had been carried out whilst the signal was down then both LNB inputs would have indicated "not locked", as LNB2 dropping out on its own would not have any effect on normal viewing, therefore both inputs has to be defective.

As previously mentioned, the most likely reason for your problem is by water having contaminated the LNB's "F" connectors, or alternatively (albeit less likely) by defective ports on the LNB, therefore if the "F" connectors check out as being OK and your LNB is of the 4port variety, (Quad block) try swapping the connectors on the LNB over to the two spare ports. By the way, ports are not dedicated to any particular input, all ports being exactly the same.

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js: Although possibly already aware of this, but he problem only affects Freeview transmissions, as Rishtey Europe is perfectly OK on both Sky 822 and Freesat 661.

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Richard Sutton: That can only happen if Mux 25 is still stored in the tuner, therefore the way around the problem is to to carry out an auto-tune on your equipment "after" having removed the aerial from same, verifying the procedure has been a success by witnessing "no signal" on any attempt made to select a channel.

If OK, reconnect the aerial followed by "manually" tuning in each Mux required from Ridge Hill, substituting C29 for C25 as shown below.

C28 - 29 - C22 - C21 - C24 - C27 - C32 - C34

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