All posts by jb38
Below are all of jb38's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Lyn: If referring to Satellite "free to view" from Sky, basically yes! (not Freeview as thats via a normal aerial)
That being said provided that you are outside of the main contract period with Sky and working on a month to month basis as far as being able to cancel your subscription is concerned.
You should also note that if you do install the Sky dish at the other location it can also be used with a Freesat box as well as the Sky one, that is if the LNB on the end of the dish arm is changed to a dual or quad block and another cable installed from one of its outputs to the Freesat box position.
Note:- A free to view card from Sky (@ £25.00) will be necessary to be able to view some channels including 5* (star) and ITV in certain area's.
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Lee Oxley: It really depends on how far away the tree is located from you, as although trees can be dastardly at killing RF signals this effect somewhat diminishes the further away they are from the receiving aerial.
Another point is that high gain aerials are affected worse than types with less gain, as generally the higher the gain the sharper the pick up pattern, this making any obstructions to the signal path have more of an impact. (only mentioned in case it applies!)
I suspect that you have used a letter rather than a numeral in the post code, so am unable to check what your reception possibilities are.
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A Davison: Nothing is indicated (as yet anyway!) regarding the HD transmitter, but if you have previously been receiving them OK then try a manual tuning scan on Mux Ch62 (810Mhz) and see what the indications are as far as strength / quality is concerned.
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colin green: Sutton Coldfield doesn't start transmitting HD until 21st September, however Litchfield is presently transmitting HD on Ch34 but only on 4Kw, and with the signal beamed towards Birmingham.
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J MURRAY: Regarding your latter question, no!
Its really a case of the commercial operators not considering that the area is large enough to be profitable, and as such not willing to pay for the Multiplex operating costs involved.
As you haven't mentioned your exact location, (post code) I had a look at the trade predictor based on Balloch Post office to check on the reception possibilities for the area, unfortunately no other transmitters seem to be within reach, this leaving Freesat as the only way of achieving a wider choice of programmes.
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Bob Grainger: Trade predictor indications show that you should presently be receiving BBC1/2 even slightly better than ITV1 from Sutton Coldfield, try a manual tuning scan on Mux Ch41, this being the transmitter channel for BBC1 etc.
Everything should improve come switchover, however although you havent mentioned anything about your aerial system, but should by any chance it be in the loft try moving it to another position within the loft area, as this frequently gets over the type of difficulty you mention, something thats not quite so easy to with chimney mountings!
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Dave Bell: Reception predictions can never really be anywhere near 100% accurate, and this especially so in the frequency bands used for Freeview reception, as just as in the case with the mobile phones where moving a few feet away can make a signal suddenly come up in strength (or vanish!) Freeview signals can do exactly the same, this being the problem with roof aerials in many areas, as the usual mounting position of the chimney stack is not necessarily the best spot for reception, this being where gutter mounts score as they can be easily moved to obtain the best signal strength.
Another problem with predictors being that some people take as the gospel what a predictor might show as being possible, especially if its classed as a trade version, whereas in reality although it shows predictions for each individual multiplex this doesn't make it any more accurate, as all this does is to make it capable of giving a more complex version of potentially misleading information to the unwary.
This being said with particular reference to the DTG group trade prediction system.
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michael morrison: Yes! on Mux channel 44 with the aerial being mounted vertically, elements top to bottom.
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John Glover: It would have been of assistance to know what your receiver box is? however no special requirements exist for any box just because its being used in a caravan, static or otherwise. (apart from 12volt operation in mobiles)
You have to appreciate that it could just possibly be that you are not in a good spot for reception, albeit that the predictor indicates that you should have good reception from Emley Moor. Another factor associated with what you are doing is whether or not the caravan roof is made of fibreglass or metal,(aluminium) as the latter is liable to affect reception in the same way as would a metal water tank near to a loft aerial.
The scart connection to the TV doesn't really come into the equation as it will not have any effect as far as your problem is concerned.
Pity you cant temporarily try a small ordinary aerial directly into the box to by-pass the T530 / booster box, as the Idle transmitter is only 2 miles away (@ 149 degrees) this being vertically polarised, the main transmitter Emley Moor some 18 miles away (@165 degrees) horizontally polarised.
To check what transmitter you are receiving go onto BBC1 whilst in the tuning menu / signal check area, and if you see Ch45 its Idle, with Ch52 being Emley Moor.
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Sunday 31 July 2011 8:41AM
Ann Lynn: Thanks for the update, the content of not really being of great surprise as everything you have reported is symptomatic or receiving an erratic signal.
This is also the reason why every time you carry out a re-scan stations change places, basically because when the TV/box is slowly scanning from Ch21 upwards and is on a channel that signal happens to be low on at the time, the box is just liable to by-pass it and not lock onto it, as the signal has to be at a certain level for a given TV/box to capture, this varying between brands.
Of course at this time of the year other factors could be coming it the equation like interference from other distant transmitters etc, but irrespective of whether this might apply or not the fact is that unless there is a fault on your aerial connections, then the situation is really out with your control.
On the issue of Freesat, if a persons residence can accommodate a dish being mounted facing South and not into a large tree, then no-one ever regrets it as reception problems effectively become a thing of the past.