All posts by jb38
Below are all of jb38's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Peter Stacey: Even although your aerial might be located in the loft you have to beware of the fact that by being located at only 16 miles from the high powered Emley Moor transmitter you could still be suffering from signal overload problems, as that condition displays "exactly" the same symptoms to one of a weak signal, with picture break up etc as well as the signal quality indicator seen diving up and down.
Its one point that you mentioned that makes me a bit suspicious that this might be applying, that is when you stated that the indoor (set top) type aerial sometimes helps, as if a signal overload situation was in evidence then that type of aerial would make a difference by the fact of it picking up a weaker signal which would correct the problem.
A factor that can make the situation worse is "if" the distribution splitter in the loft is of the powered type? as if it is this will also give a slight boost to the signal, so should it be of that type then just for a test try taking its aerial input out and connect it directly into the feed for the TV in the lounge and to see what effect that has on the problem.
That being said though, I also appreciate that the situation might be the complete reverse of an excessively high level of signal that's causing of your difficulties, as I see that Beecroft Hill is located at only roughly 2 miles away, and a relay station would not be necessary so close to you if reception was excellent across the board in your area, but the issue of the signal level will need to be verified one way or the other to determine if its excessively strong or not.
Further advice given dependant on the outcome of the test, although please note that this test is only required if the splitter is of the powered type.
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Clem: The reception of any channels other than from Hanningtons main PSB multiplexes cannot be expected to be reliable until after April 18th when they start operating on full power, and with any variations presently found in reception when using different devices being down purely to the fact that some devices tuners have better sensitivity than others.
Whats said basically applying to reception from the East of the station, such as applies in your case.
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Jack: To be perfectly honest about it I am beginning to suspect that there might be an element of the coincidental attached to this problem having started shortly after your Dad replaced the aerial cable, as its inconceivable that a device will only pick up BBC channels and nothing else, as that could suggest a problem with the actual TV.
The reason I say this is that every channel from Moel-Y-Parc has an offset frequency on it bar BBC1 and the HD service, this being why I wanted you to try ITV Mux Ch59 from Winter Hill as it doesn't have one on that channel, however the fact that you cannot pick up either its maybe just because of your location in relation to it, plus the other factor of it being at a much greater distance away.
The only sure fire way of knowing whether it is the TV at fault or not would be to try another set on the same aerial, if this was at all possible to arrange? but as another test I would like you to check what the actual signal level / quality is showing at on the only channel it has picked up, namely BBC.
Another point I wondered about was whether or not your aerial has an amplifier installed in line between it and the TV? if it does then for a test try by-passing it followed by carrying out another re-tune.
By the way my comment of offsets was made as this can cause problems on some devices, as "some" Samsung's from the near past weren't exactly trouble free.
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Simon Gillett: If it was working OK before and all you have done is to alter (but not extend) your cabling, then the problem could possibly be caused if you have bunched that particular co-ax lead along with any other cables going through an access hole etc, as to be quite honest about it these devices in most instances just work and no more at the best of times, as they are not only very sensitive to the type of co-ax being used but also the length of.
Another thing that can cause them not to operate correctly is if the eye is positioned too close to the TV, as most TV's radiate interference in their immediate vicinity and that is picked up in the eye.
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DE: It would have been of assistance if you had stated the model number of the Panasonic TV in question plus of course your location, this for purposes of verifying that you are actually in an area where HD is presently being transmitted, because not everywhere has it as yet.
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marilyn: Its always fatal (as you have found out) to re-tune a TV or a box if any channels "appear" to be lost, as in reality they are "not" and are still stored in the TV / boxes memory, with the reason for not being able to view them simply because that for various reasons they are being received under the minimum strength that the receiver can operate on.
Re-tuning under these reception conditions always results in what's already been stored in the memory is lost and creating the necessity of having to carry out frequent re-scans to recover them, this only being possible when the signal strength rises again.
Crystal Palace is shown as the station that covers your area and where on-going engineering work is always taking place in preparation for switchover in April, this the most likely reason why your signal dropped under the reception threshold.
By the way if one device can pick the channels up but another cannot, then all it means is that the one that can pick them up has a more sensitive tuner or that the signal its receiving is better than the others, this usually always happening in situations where a non-powered splitter has been used.
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Neil Henderson: The common link between the items mentioned is the TV, and so maybe you could indicate what make / model it is? also is the Virgin Media box an HD one?
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Lynsey A: Thanks for your update on the situation albeit being a rather unfortunate one, but if the installer carried out an on site test and thats what was reported then nothing can really be done about the situation, except that is, hope that possibly through some miracle the tree gets blown down at some time or it suffers some other misfortune. (seems a bit nasty though as it might actually be quite decorative!)
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Mr P.J.Ball: Just to confirm that if you have a Humax HDR FOX T2 then you should be able to receive HD transmissions from Rowridge on Mux Ch21 from the date mentioned.
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Saturday 25 February 2012 5:40PM
JASBIR: The answer depends on the model of TV you are using plus whether or not the Sky box you are using is an HD type?
You will also have to provide your location (pref: post code) so that your reception possibilities can be checked on.
Further advice given based on reply.