All posts by jb38
Below are all of jb38's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Bob Ingram: As virtually nothing can interfere with a satellite signal this problem could suggest that the signal being received is not quite what it should be, press "services" then 4 - 6 and check the strength / quality indications, both should be level pegging at the equivalent to about 60% "minimum" as 75% is the norm.
If you find that the quality is down on the strength, then the dish is slightly out of alignment.
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David: I had also meant to add, that sometimes in a high signal strength area a picture of sorts can still be obtained if the "wall socket end" of the jumper lead from the TV or box is unplugged and your finger placed across the cable end.
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Nick: I cant recall ever having said that nor do I see Dave Lindsay having mentioned it either, as although Ch60 was indeed the subject of discussion I certainly don't see the word "projection" as such having been mentioned.
However on the subject of one channel being received at a very low strength compared to an adjacent channel booming in even although the ERP's of both transmitters are the same, this is just one of these things that can happen with multi-element radiator / multi-channel radiation sources even although they are all from the same mast, as no matter how precise the planning might have been RF signals do not by any means always conform to what's expected (or predicted) and can stray quite considerably from it, likewise there is always an element of pot luck involved should they all be received at roughly similar strengths to each other.
The only clue as to whether this situation may, or may not be applying cases where a signal is being received at a significantly lower level than another that's only one or two channels away, is for tests to be carried out at evenly spaced distances from the mast but on exactly the same angle from it, and if at one of these intermediate distances the channel that's weak at a distance is found to be slighter stronger than the one that was higher at the distance, then that points to a non conformity in the vertical radiation angle and which very little can be done about at the receiving end.
I only mention this for information purposes.
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Keith: You have to look at it from the point of view that the Lowestoft relay wasn't built for nothing, but because that reception from Tacolneston was less than satisfactory for many people in your area, and so is your aerial facing Tacolneston? this being located @ 25 miles away / 278 degrees on a horizontally polarised aerial, whereas Lowestoft is @ 2 miles / 25 degrees on vertical polarisation.
What signal strength indications are you getting on your TV or boxes check screen on any of the channels you are having a problem with, plus it would also be of assistance to know the model number of the device you are receiving on.
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archililia: These boxes are not suitable for anything other than what they were intended for, but as you are located at only 4 miles away from the Crystal Palace transmitter you "might" be able to get satisfactory reception using a set top aerial connected into a cheap Freeview box.
Set top aerial only being mentioned in case there was any problem with the aerial socket on the wall that you mentioned.
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Casey Finney: Without knowing exactly what posting you are referring to but with you being located at about 2 miles away from Fentons 2Kw (on PSB channels) transmitter then I cant see an amplifier of any type coming into the equation.
To put it simply, if the signal level entering a tuner is above the level that the tuner is designed to operate on then its input circuitry will be overloaded and causing elements instability to occur, this resulting in symptoms being seen that are almost identical to that from the opposite type of problem, that of a weak signal including the complete blocking of reception, sometimes this being of an intermittent nature if the signal is just slightly too high.
Its these similarities in symptoms seen that can mislead the unwary.
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Rob: A Sky boxes LNB 2 input is the one mainly used for recording, the two leads from the dish being identical to each other in the technical sense as well as being electrically independent.
As far as the Sky box is concerned, irrespective of what this device might claim as far as its protective qualities are concerned (in "my" opinion as an engineer dubiously!) I cant quite see how you are going to use it without upsetting the operation of the Sky+ box, as Sky+ boxes require both inputs to be permanently connected for satisfactory operation, as although the tuners as such might well be separate devices the outputs from them are interconnected with each other.
The other problem is, that you will not be able to record two channels at the same time
without the other dish feed being connected, and that somewhat by-passes any safety element that may exist with the single feed going through the device.
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Nick: When anyone is experiencing large variations in the quality of a signal being received there aren't really that many measures that they can take that's liable to have much of an effect, basically because that the reason for the problem is in most cases totally out with their control.
However, about the only thing that can be tried and which "sometimes" can improve the situation is to carry out some tests by trying an aerial (Logs perfect for this) in a variety of different positions, and especially so in the horizontal plane rather than the vertical, albeit that the latter does also come into the equation, but usually after a horizontal spot has been found.
Carrying out this sort of test without having the advantage of a professional signal meter on the end of the aerial obviously complicates the issue, but if you don't mind going to a bit of bother you could use the Icecrypts RF modulated output and feed it via a length of coax into some old analogue TV positioned somewhere near to the spot that's being used for aerial tests, obviously tuning the TV to the modulators analogue output.
You then go into the Icecrypts "installation" menu, and in the drop down box seen click on "channel scan", then in the "scan mode" select "by channel" and using the < - > arrows to select Ch60, and if there is any signal there to pick up it should appear in the strength / quality bars, and with that being even although its under the strength that would resolve a picture, so do NOT scan the channel.
You then obviously leave the set up indoors running on that screen and use the TV positioned outside to monitor the results of moving the aerial around, this method if adhered to, capable of giving results nearly as accurate as that obtained when using a professional meter.
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Sam: Well Sandy is located at 28 miles @ 133 degrees from your location whereas with Suzy its 20 miles @ 37 degrees, so your problem isn't necessarily directly linked to Suzy's unless through the possibility of atmospheric conditions applying in both cases.
Of course in cases where reception problems are suspected of being caused by external reasons, although I fully understand peoples reluctance into taking this action but making an enquiry with someone that lives reasonably nearby is really the only way of finding out for certain if the problem being experienced is common to the area, and in your case it would be particularly interesting to know if the resident of the third house up (white door as well as panel above) from the very end pebble dashed one is also having problems with Sandy, as their property appears to be fitted with a Log 40 aerial pointing towards Sandy, these aerials being a good standard to judge reception on whereby if they are having problems then anything will.
By the way a Log 40 aerial does not have a reflector on its rear and tapers inwards towards the front.
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Thursday 2 August 2012 5:17PM
Bill Moore: When that sort of thing happens its usually caused by the level of signal received being lower than it previously was when the Panasonic was originally scanned, the drop having allowed the signal to fall under the reception threshold of the receiver, this meaning that although the signal will still be there its under the level that can produce a picture.
Sometimes carrying out a manual scan rather than an auto one will re-capture the signal, but a post code (or one from nearby) is necessary to access the signal info, plus mentioning the model of Panasonic would also be of assistance.