All posts by Dave Lindsay
Below are all of Dave Lindsay's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
LML PALLING: The local electricity network distributor does not report a power outage at the transmitter's location, so that appears to dismiss that as a reason for it going off-air.
I would assume that any engineering work is likely to be carried out during normal working ours, so I would be surprised if it remains off after 5 or 6 o'clock.
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garry: The exact answer to the question depends on which transmitter you are using - that is, to which transmitter your aerial faces. This is because not all transmitters broadcast the Commercial channels, which carry 4music, Dave, Film4, ITV3, ITV4 and others.
If your aerial is horizontal and directed to the Angus transmitter, north of Dundee, then this does broadcast all channels. The change from that transmitter was the change of frequency of COM6 which carries Film4, 4music, Yesterday, Viva, 4seven and others. If you are using a communal aerial system then it might require adjustment to accommodate the new frequency.
If your aerial is vertical and directed to the Perth relay transmitter by the M90 on Kirkton Hill then it only carries Public Service (PSB) channels. If you picked up the Commercial (COM) channels, which is what you are missing (or are missing at least one of them) then you were lucky with the aerial facing the wrong way and vertical rather than horizontal. In such circumstances, it may be worth investigating whether you might be able to receive from Angus to give you the full service.
Some viewers can only receive the PSB channels and may have intermittent COMs. This may even be so when they are using a transmitter that carries all channels because the COM channels are often not as strong.
In either case, COM6 from Angus is now on UHF channel 49, so if your receiver has manual tuning, you might like to give it a try.
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garry: For services by multiplex (PSB or COM), see:
DTG :: DTT Services by Multiplex
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Neil Bingham: Unfortunately the Whitehaven transmitter isn't ever likely to carry all the channels. The reason being that there are Public Service Broadcaster (PSB) channels whose coverage is the same as the former four-channel analogue.
The Commercial (COM) channels are available from 81 of the largest transmitters. They have no "Public Service" obligation and only exist to make a profit.
The Licence Fee does not give any guarantee of availability of any reception. However, it goes to the BBC, and as a Public Service broadcaster, it broadcasts from Whitehaven.
For a more in-depth explanation as to the reasons behind the two-tier transmitter network, see:
Londonderry (Northern Ireland) digital TV transmitter | ukfree.tv - 10 years of independent, free digital TV advice
Ultimately though, it comes down to politicians not requiring the Commercial licensees to provide "universal" coverage, although there is some debate as to whether there would be enough frequencies to allow every last transmitter to carry those channels.
Freeview has four HD services which are BBC One HD, BBC Two HD, ITV HD and Channel 4 HD. These are carried on one of the PSB multiplexes and are therefore available from all transmitters.
The only thing to do is investigate the possibility of reception from a full-service transmitter.
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P M Haworth: The BBC standard definition TV services and radio services changed frequency from Winter Hill last week. Can you view BBC One?
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dave: The result you have seems to suggest that it is running out of memory and that the last-stored channel is forgotten.
This page lists services by multiplex (those with a bullet in the "E" for England column apply):
DTG :: DTT Services by Multiplex
If there is one that you don't use then one possible workaround may be not to have it tuned.
It does seem strange though as the change was only a change of channel (frequency). No new services have been added.
In the first instance I suspected that the issue was that as it was scanning it had added channels from other transmitters (before those of Winter Hill). I thought that perhaps when you tuned it the other day that another signal (from another transmitter) happened to be available at your location that wasn't previously and that was why there was no room to store ITV/C4/C5 (when there was before). But you've ensured that there are no other channels and it still won't store all five channels!
jb38 may be able to offer some other suggestion. He deals with these things professionally and I don't - I'm a technical bod only.
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m evans: Check that your TV is tuned to Carmel and not Preseli, which is in the opposite direction.
The tuned channel number is usually given on the signal strength screen. Carmel's channel numbers are given at the top of this page. Let us know if you would like more guidance.
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DebbieK: The difficulty with reception on your road would appear to be due to the terraces on Elliott Street and Alexander Street which are on higher ground.
On standing on Elliott Street and looking down Norris Street the apex of the houses on Maesbrook Drive appear to be about level with the bottom of the first floor of the terraces:
M29 8DT - Google Maps
You can also see quite a way to the horizon.
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DebbieK: Think of yourself as being in a shadow.
If the sun is low in the sky, you get long shadows from objects on the ground like trees and buildings. The transmitter is, of course, low to the ground which is why I draw the similarity.
The fact that there is a 'shadow' doesn't necessarily mean that you will definately have an issue, it just follows that there may be more issues in such an area because there are objects in the way.
The good signal is probably quite a bit above you. Theoretically, if you had a long enough pole to get your aerial to the height of (and therefore in line with) the aerials on the rooves of the terraces on Elliott Street then reception may be as easy (good) as at those properties.
So it is the ground dropping, as it were, that means that the signal closer to that ground level isn't as good.
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Thursday 18 April 2013 3:49PM
LML PALLING: I don't think that you're likely to be able to receive more channels. You can only do this if it is possible at your location to pick up the signals from a full-service transmitter. This may be prevented due to the terrain between you and those transmitters (e.g. Caldbeck).
The reason that we now have a two-tier transmitter network is set out here:
Londonderry (Northern Ireland) digital TV transmitter | ukfree.tv - 10 years of independent, free digital TV advice