All posts by Dave Lindsay
Below are all of Dave Lindsay's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
BS WALL: It would be useful to know which channels are. Are you referring to BBC and ITV, C4 (i.e. PSBs)?
At your location, the two possible transmitters would appear to be the local Weardale relay and Bilsdale.
It would also be useful to know which transmitter you are receiving from. I guess that you are probably getting the full service (PSBs+COMs) and therefore must have your aerial direct at Bilsdale rather than the local Weardale relay (which only carries PSBs).
Refer here to the list of Freeview services by PSB/COM multiplex:
DTG :: DTT Services by Multiplex
If your aerial is on Bilsdale, your receiver could perhaps have tuned to it for the COMs (because it is the only transmitter of the two that are broadcasting them) and to Weardale for the PSBs (maybe because they are the stronger PSBs of the two - despite being at opposite polarity to the aerial).
If so, then perhaps the EPG information is different from Pontop Pike than Bilsdale (as Weardale is a relay of Pontop Pike) and this is the reason that it is not building up.
Check to see which channels it has tuned to and whether they match the direction of your aerial:
PSB1 | BBC One | Bilsdale=C26 | Weardale=C44
PSB2 | ITV1 | Bilsdale=C29 | Weardale=C47
PSB3 | BBC One HD | Bisdale=C23 | Weardale=C41
COM4 | ITV3 | Bilsdale=C43
COM5 | Pick TV | Bilsdale=C46
COM6 | Film4 | Bilsdale=C40
For each of these services bring up the signal strength screen and check that the tuned channel number matches that of the desired transmitter.
Also look in the 800s for the PSBs from the other transmitter.
Due to Weardale being interleaved with Bilsdale's COMs, the best way is to use manual tuning if available. If it's not, then this is going to be more tricky.
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Peter: Unfortunately only the main transmitters and some larger relays carry all channels. The Commercial broadcasters don't consider it worth their while to transmit from the smaller sites like Wall.
The only possible transmitter at your location is Pontop Pike, if it were possible. Digital UK Postcode Checker does not think that it is possible, although such predictors should always be taken with a pinch of salt.
It would appear that you live at the bottom of a 70m slope on top of which is Cock Wood:
Terrain between ( m a.g.l.) and (antenna m a.g.l.) - Optimising UK DTT Freeview and Radio aerial location
I'm not an aerial installer, but the impression I get is that you don't really have any chance. At the bottom of such a steep drop trying to receive from over the brow of the hill is one thing, but add to that the fact that the trees are (from what I can see) on that brow.....
That said, keep your eyes open for new aerials pointing at Pontop Pike. These will be north west (at 321 degrees) and will be horizontal.
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Claire: See my posting to Alan, above, Thursday 27 September 2012 1:56PM. If you have a group A aerial which will likely be the type installed in the days of four-channel analogue then you may need it replacing.
Group A is the bottom third of the band of frequencies and now the COM channels are all in Group B (middle third), which are in the 40s.
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Trevor Milburn: Rather than install a new aerial, could you feed the TV from the Pontop Pike aerial? The expense of changing this may be less than the cost of installing or paying an installer to fit a new Bilsdale aerial.
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frank: No, Limavady won't be broadcasting RT/TG4 because it has been deemed that there is sufficient overspill from transmitters in the Republic. Whether you can at your particular location is another matter. In your general area, Moville would seem the most likely.
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Helen: I've responded extensively in the exchange with Gerry, of which you ask similar questions.
All Freeview transmitters broadcast on low power pre-switchover for the simple fact that there aren't enough spare channels/frequencies for them to operate high-power analogue and high-power digital at the same time. Thus, there are quite a few on the fringes who only receive Freeview at switchover.
On the basis that the analogue signals propagate to your location, it is expected that the full-power digital ones will. In 10 days time you will know whether you can receive BBC channels via Freeview. I think that there is a good chance that where there is good analogue reception, that there will be good digital reception after switchover.
The reason for exact engineering works is quite irrelevant. In general it is to do with the transmission of TV signals and not because engineers have nothing better to do.
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Ian Gilkison: Bilsdale is broadcasting HD but your receivers do not contain the required DVB-T2 tuners.
The Sony set is labelled as "HD Ready" which means that it can show HD pictures but does not have the means to receive them off the air.
The specification for the LG model, both on the LG website and in the manual does not appear to say what type of tuner it has. Amazon does say only DVB-T for the tuner and it also says "Full HD" in the product title. This also gives no qualification to the ability to receive HD signals off the air and just means that it can show the maximum resolution of a HD picture, 1080p.
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Saturday 29 September 2012 10:50AM
Mick Carter: Some receivers retune when unattended so as to add new channels. If this is a full scan, it may put you back to square one. Not all receivers allow this to be disabled, but if you can, you might want to disable it. If you can't and it does as it pleases, then you will have to cross that bridge when you get to it.