All posts by jb38
Below are all of jb38's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
kuffman: Are you sure you are not hesitating when pressing the sequence?, as after pressing services the "4-0-1-select" has to be done as an even consecutive action with no hesitations between any of the actions or it wont work, so dont look at the screen whilst carrying it out.
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kat: Unfortunately not be aware of your whereabouts makes it difficult to provide an answer to your query, as checking the Freeview reception possibilities for your area cannot be done without a post code being given, these in most cases being an approximate location anyway and "not" pin pointing a persons residence.
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Alex: I have seen it reported that Ch66 reception from Tacolneston is very weak, and your hard drive recorder is only likely to be picking it up because its more sensitive than the TV.
You should try a Ch66 signal check on your TV to see what the level / quality is showing as, plus if not already doing so, try plugging your aerial directly into the TV, as if by doing that the signal then shows a significant rise carry out a fresh re-tune storing as necessary.
Although the weak signal is not hopefully going to be a permanent feature, but if you do find that the picture is reasonably stable with the aerial directly into it, then you could purchase a two way powered splitter and use that to feed both devices, as each would then be receiving the same signal strength.
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aaron: It already partially is, and the change will be complete at the end of this month. Your aerial should be mounted vertically, that is with the elements running from top to bottom (on its side as you put it) and with it obviously pointing at the transmitter mast in question and "not" anywhere else.
The other point to note is that its a repeater of Waltham and "not" Sandy (Anglia) which for local news services has always been a bit alien, as Stamford is much more aligned with Peterborough and not Nottingham, Derby etc.
Please also note that it will not have the same full range of programmes as is obtainable from Waltham either, as the transmitter is in the category of being a "light" services one, this not changing!
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Tim: Before you call anyone in, getting back to scratch, although you have said that the aerial was well aligned you did not actually confirm that it was vertically positioned, is it? Another possible factor exists and that concerns the booster, have you tried by-passing it? as although used indoors they are very reliable its not impossible for one to develop a fault.
And to narrow the problem down further, you should really try to determine if you are the only one experiencing difficulties by making enquiries locally, as if they weren't then that would be a positive indicator as to the possibility of some other fault applying like cabling etc.
A final puzzle I have concerning something you said on the 15th @ 09.12am, that being your comment that your recorder was tuned to another transmitter and as such is less affected, what transmitter?
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Tim: Sorry to keep on about it, but it wasn't if you had checked the booster connectors I enquired about, it was asking if you had tried by-passing it? meaning to remove the in / out plugs and join them together.
The reason for requesting this check is that if a fault developed in the booster it would be like fitted a large value attenuator in line with the aerial input.
However, if the plug joining exercise is too inconvenient to try, a simpler way of testing the booster is to simply switch off its mains power whilst watching the TV, because if the picture rapidly vanishes then its OK, but if it makes little difference then that suggests that it isn't!
For accuracy, this test should really be done whilst the picture is bad, this just in case its failing later on in the day due to thermal reasons.
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Robert Towning: Assuming that are using Waltham, HD will not be transmitted from there until the second stage of the switchover on the 31st of this month. You should though be receiving BBC far better than any of the other channels, as the BBC multiplex is on high power.
I suspect that the EPG1 BBC you are receiving is from elsewhere, so either carry out a signal check which should indicate the EPG1 Mux channel, or have a look up in the 800 ranges to check if another BBC is indicated there, or even just carry out a manual tune on Mux Ch61 (Waltham BBC1) to check what comes in.
If that procedure gives the desired result, the only way of storing BBC1 in the EPG 1 position is to first of all blank the memory of stored channels, this done by removing the aerial and carrying out a re-scan, then when complete re-connect the aerial and then as before carry out the manual tune on Mux Ch61 again, storing the results.
You can then select to add channels, this filling in the rest without upsetting the BBC already stored.
Some TV / boxes have an area selector in their tuning menu facilities, this cutting short the procedure, but they are all different to each other brand dependant so its difficult to give precise instructions.
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Lawrence: These channels you have mentioned are on full 150Kw power, so purely for a test try carrying out a re-scan without the aerial connected for purposes of blanking out anything stored in the memory, then once done reconnect the aerial and do a manual tune on Mux Ch25 (Ch4/5/ITV2 etc) storing the results to enable you to make checks on picture quality etc, giving an update on results once done.
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Brian King: As has been said by Briantist / Matt, some devices are more sensitive than others, but an easy way to even this out, albeit on a temporary basis, is to use a simple booster in line with the least sensitive device, as this will lift the signal to just above the level that is causing you the problem.
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Thursday 18 August 2011 8:52PM
aaron: That transmitter you see in Barnack Road was only built to cater for the converted or newer upmarket properties dotted along the waterfront areas of Stamford, (plus a few others!) as these are effectively screened from both Waltham and Sandy, as many of the properties you see further along the Barnack Road itself (near Cummins Generator factory) can receive signals perfectly OK from Waltham, that being the purpose of the single log periodic aerial mounted much lower down the mast, i.e: to pick up the signals from Waltham.
The analogue signal from the Stamford transmitter was always very difficult to receive at any distances much past the level of the Empingham Road junction where it leaves Scotgate, likewise the top end of Tinwell Road if going to the West, so needless to say that come the end of the month a few more tests will be carried out to see exactly where the digital signal can reach compared to the previous analogue one.