All posts by Dave Lindsay
Below are all of Dave Lindsay's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
KR: Ensure that your booster isn't amplifying the signal too much as that could be a cause of poor reception.
The objective isn't to get the signal strength as near 100% as possible. There is a threshold above which it works. You just need to be sufficiently above this threshold that natural variations in signal strength (due to weather etc) doesn't drop it below the threshold.
Failing that, you could always try the Kimberley transmitter as it is a full-service one and broadcasts the same regional programming as Waltham.
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KR: See
Freeview signals: too much of a good thing is bad for you | ukfree.tv - 10 years of independent, free digital TV advice
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Kerry : No, not a quality issue.
Is the 40-46% with the set-top aerial or the roof-top aerial?
If it is the roof-top aerial then are you very close to the transmitter?
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Peter: Because you're receiving them from Black Mountain and not Divis!
Black Mountain is a Public Service relay which means that it doesn't transmit the Commercial (COM) channels which are SDN, ArqA and ArqB.
Divis is on a bearing 280 degrees and your aerial will be horizontal. Black Mountain is at 232 degrees and your aerial will be vertical.
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Kerry : In view of your location, scrap the idea of trying a set-top aerial if you do not have one.
Set-top aerials pick up less signal than roof-top ones owing to the fact that they are closer to the ground and smaller. The idea was a rough test to see if it is too much signal.
As you are 30-odd miles from Brougher Mountain, you must have only just picked up the 500W pre-switchover signals. You were lucky!
The Digital UK Postcode Checker gives an indication as to what might be expected to be received. It does not even mention Brougher Mountain at all but regards Divis' PSBs as being "good". I think that this pretty much wipes out any hope of receiving Brougher's COMs as they are on the same channels as Divis' PSBs, this even being the case if you are in a location where Divis isn't useable but is sufficient to severly degrade reception of signals that share the same channel.
The design of the post-switchover Freeview network is such that the PSBs are available in all the locations (i.e. have the same coverage) as the former analogue. The COMs fit in around them. For whatever reason, presumably shortage of channels, Brougher Mountain's COMs have been put co-channel with Divis' PSBs and the obvious overlap of these two main transmitters means that the former has had to be severly restricted.
Do you know why you receive from Brougher Mountain rather than Divis? Having looked at the map, I suspect that you are going to tell me that the Crockandun Hills are in the way.
If you can receive from Divis, its COMs are on lower power than its PSBs and Digital UK suggests no reception of the former, whilst good reception of the latter. For this reason the likelihood of receiving anything more than you do now is doubtful.
I must emphasise that the predictor should be used as a guide and taken with a pinch of salt and this particular being the case in hilly terrain like where you are. What can and can't be received can vary over short distances, meaning that an area the size of a postcode can vary greatly.
If it turns out that it isn't possible to receive more channels than you do now terrestrially, then the only way is via satellite, the main free-to-air service being Freesat.
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Anthony Murray: It looks as though these two TVs don't have a HD tuner in-built.
I couldn't find the official specifications page on the Panasonic website, but I did come across listings on Play.com and eBay for it and both said that it is "HD Ready". This means that it won't receive HD signals, although I think that some people may have bought such sets prior to HD signals coming on air (i.e. before switchover) with the thinking that they will be "ready" to receive HD when it comes on air.
The specs on the Sony website say that it is "Full HD" rather than "Freeview HD". Full HD means that it will show HD pictures to the highest resolution of 1080p:
http://www.sony.co.uk/pro…#tab
The Sony website also says that the digital tuner supports MPEG2 so it won't show pictures with Saorview (as this uses MPEG4).
Freeview HD receivers are expected to work with Saorview.
Try a manual tune on C52. The TV may tune it but show no picture but will nonetheless indicate if you can receive Saorview.
In order to receive the NI Mux from Black Mountain on C39 you will probably need the diplexer removing (and hence the Clermont Carn aerial disconnected).
Realigning the Clermont Carn on Black Mountain "may" work (this includes retaining the diplexer), although as the diplexer "splits" at C38, adjacent channels are attenuated quite a bit so this could perhaps be doubtful:
Online TV Splitters, Amps & Diplexers sales
In a stronger signal area, this attentuation might not have been such an issue.
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adrian: You may perhaps need to be aware that the RT channels carried on Freeview that you are trying to receive are being broadcast from Black Mountain rather than Divis.
In many cases Divis-facing aerials will be sufficient in cases where Black Mountain isn't too far off Divis.
If this is your problem, you may be able to turn your aerial a bit so it points somewhere inbetween the two. In north Belfast I think this means that aerials may need to be turned a tad in the anti-clockwise direction.
The other thing is if you have a second aerial that you used to use for analogue RT and this is connected (perhaps on the roof) to the same downlead cable, then it may need removing in order to receive the NI Mux. If you do have such an aerial, then try manually tuning the digital (Saorview) signal for that transmitter. The most likely transmitter that you would be receiving from is Clermont Carn which is probably a bit clockwise of south with the aerial vertical and it broadcasts on UHF channel 52. When manually tuning, select DVB-T rather than DVB-T2, if it gives you the option.
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adrian: Try tuning in the NI Mux from Black Mountain. It is on C39 and uses DVB-T2 signal mode, so if your I-Can gives you that option (I'm not familiar with them), then you need to select it.
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Kerry : I should add that (maybe) "never say never" as far reception from Divis is concerned.
In the days of analogue (when the aerial was put up), Divis and Brougher Mountain provided the same four channels. Thus the question posed by the installer would have been one of which is best? This doesn't necessarily mean that it isn't possible to receive from Divis now it's digital.
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Tuesday 30 October 2012 1:02PM
Brendan: Quite a few transmitters that carry the Commercial (COM) channels have them at lower power than the Public Service (PSB) ones (usually half-power).