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All posts by Dave Lindsay

Below are all of Dave Lindsay's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.

Full technical details of Freeview
Tuesday 18 June 2013 9:27PM

Yaz: Try unplugging just after C46 which is the highest channel from Bilsdale. Perhaps it may appear frozen but give it a while. Go away and make a cup of tea.

See which the TV is tuned to. View the signal strength screen whilst tuned to one service from each multiplex:

PSB1 - BBC One | B=C26 | PP=C58
PSB2 - ITV | B=C29 | PP=C54
PSB3 - BBC One HD | B=C23 | PP=C49
COM4 - ITV3 | B=C43 | PP=C50
COM5 - Pick TV | B=C46 | PP=C59
COM6 - Film4 | B=C40 | PP=C55

B=Bilsdale; PP=Pontop Pike

How do the strengths compare on the channels? When you do a manual tune on C43 but do not press the button to scan the channel, does it give an indication of strength and quality and if so, what is it? You will have to give it five or ten seconds to settle.

If you haven't had your aerial replaced from the days of four channel analogue then perhaps you could do with it doing. The analogue channels from Bilsdale were in the first third of the band of frequencies used for TV (Group A). PSB channels are in Group A but COM channels are in the middle third, Group B, so your aerial may be less sensitive to 'hearing' them (if it's a Group A one).

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Full technical details of Freeview
Tuesday 18 June 2013 9:34PM

Bill Morrison: Evidently they are not tuned in then, or at least the HD services are not on their proper logical channel numbers.

Try and manual scan on UHF channel 54. If there is an option for mode with respect to the manual scan make sure it is set to DVB-T2 (high-definition signal type) rather than DVB-T (standard definition signal type).

A TV which is labelled as "HD Ready" does not have a DVB-T2 tuner in-built and will therefore require a separate receiver to show HD pictures off the air.

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Full technical details of Freeview
Tuesday 18 June 2013 9:55PM

Bill Morrison: That's probably so as the DVB-T2 standard was not ratified at that time:

DVB-T2 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Movie Mix
Tuesday 18 June 2013 11:54PM

Bednortan: You may be lucky to receive the COM channels reliably from Wenvoe.

The Public Service (PSB) channels have the same coverage as the former four-channel analogue network. The Commercial (COM) ones fit in around where they can, using channels (frequencies) that are reused by transmitters in closer proximity than the PSBs, hence they are more likely to be limited by interference - which means unable to receive due to interference from a co-channel transmitter.

The Van Terrace relay transmitter is co-channel with Wenvoe's COMs, both horizontally polarised.

"-3dB" means 3dB less than the power of the PSBs, i.e. half power.

You might find that repositioning the aerial might work, the objective being to find a spot where the signal from Wenvoe is good but which the interference from Van Terrace isn't so. That said, because you are in an area that doesn't have great reception from Wenvoe you may find that all or some COM channels are hit and miss at times.

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Full technical details of Freeview
Tuesday 18 June 2013 11:57PM

yaz: The fact that you are receiving the COM channels from Bilsdale on the TV tends to suggest that the aerial is not an issue, so I would of course suggest that it's not necessary.

I'm not sure what else to suggest. Perhaps one of the professionals will be along in bit with some suggestions.

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BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra
Tuesday 18 June 2013 11:59PM

CricFan: Because there is no DAB signal available.

The "digital radio stations" that appear on your TV are carried via the "Freeview" signal rather than a DAB signal.

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David Shaw: There are few possibilities:

You may be able to wipe what's already stored, for example by running the scan through with the aerial unplugged. Then manually tune the five SD muxes (and one HD mux, if applicable).

Or you may be able to have the aerial lead unplugged during scanning of Sutton Coldfield's channels. The scan runs channels 21 to 69, so if yours only gives a percentage progresss you can estimate the channels.

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Roy: No, it's not a 4G problem because there are no 4G signals operating in the 800MHz band in your part of the world.

Which channels is it? The Millburn Muir transmitter only carries Public Service (PSB) channels, so if it's to do with the Commercial (COM) channels then you must be receiving it from elsewhere and so reception may be patchy or non-existant.

PSB services are shown above.

Further advice on reply.

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MikeB: The "next week" referred to was that starting 6th June!

Roy: If it is the COM channels you are picking up then perhaps you are getting them from Rosneath. In which case an aerial pointing to it "may" bring them in reliably.

As I say, further advice can be given with knowledge of the channels affected. Also your location would be useful, being more specific than the town, this being to check the likely reception possibilities as they are likely to vary across Dumbarton, due to the terrain. A postcode is best, or one of a nearby address such as a shop.

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MikeB: That should be week starting 6th May.

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