All posts by Dave Lindsay
Below are all of Dave Lindsay's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Craig: At 3.3 miles away you would be expected to have an excellent signal. As for what sort of aerial to use, if you already have an aerial from the days of analogue then try it. Within such close proximity it will probably bring in all channels, including the COMs which may be "out of group" for the aerial.
A log periodic aerial is what you need, such as shown here (other models and suppliers are available):
Aerials, TV Aerial and Digital Aerial
Try manually tuning for the missing channels. If you go to the manual tune screen and enter the UHF channel number but do not press the button to scan, the receiver will act as a signal meter allowing you to move your aerial whilst observing the signal level. Remember that it may take several seconds to catch up.
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walter bell: I suggest that there may be nothing you can do as it is interference from Divis, the main transmitter which serves Belfast and other eastern parts of Northern Ireland. This may explain why you got a higher strength but lower quality (i.e. the strength shown was that of Darvel and Divis combined).
How it affect you depends on how well the unwanted signal carries over the water, which depends on the conditions.
Refer to postings on the page for Darvel. There have been complaints from along the coast on the mainland and Isle of Arran of the same issue.
The point is that the PSB networks cover the same places as the former four-channel analogue. The COM networks fit in where they can and where they wish to broadcast from, reusing frequencies in closer proximity to the PSBs which means some viewers will fall victim to co-channel interference.
The COM channels of Darvel and Caldbeck are all co-channel with those of Divis, which means some users of those transmitters can find themselves with degraded reception. As the COM networks are motivated by acquiring viewers at least possible cost they there effectively sacrifice a few who are in the area where interference is likely in order to serve the greater majority.
See here for a list of Freeview services and indication of whether they are carried on a PSB multiplex or a COM one:
Digital UK Industry - Channel listings
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walter bell: The switchover in Northern Ireland took place on 24th October 2012 so it is likely that that is when your issue started.
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diane: You've been given the answer by Sky: it's a subscription channel on Sky!
Freeview has nothing to do with Sky so I don't understand why you mention it. If you wish to view Yesterday and are in an area where all Freeview channels are available then you can watch it for free (no subscription) on that platform.
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David phelan: By tuning to Emley Moor rather than Bilsdale.
Try having your aerial unplugged for the first 30% of the automatic tuning scan or until it gets past UHF channel 30.
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GrahamS: Is the grainyness caused by a new signal being picked up by the aerial? To test whether this might be the case, unplug the incoming aerial lead and see if the interference has reduced, or at least changed.
Perhaps there is a 4G base station operating in the 800MHz band. If the RF out channel is set from 61 upwards then it is in the region of any potential 800MHz 4G base stations.
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Betamax_man: By filtering out Belmont and Bilsdale (so as to receive Emley Moor) you will filter out the new HD multiplex from Emley Moor, if you can receive it and if you have a suitable receiver.
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David Parker: A filter blocks some frequencies (channels) whilst allowing others; an attenuator reduces the level of all frequencies, which is the opposite of what an amplifier does.
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Matthew: I can't answer your question about whether the ferrite cores are doing any good or not (I'm not an installer), but I couldn't help notice that a lot (possibly most) aerials at your postcode point towards Waltham. This suggests that there is something which makes reception from Sutton Coldfield difficult.
It appears that the terrain blocks line-of-sight:
Terrain between ( m a.g.l.) and (antenna m a.g.l.) - Optimising UK DTT Freeview and Radio aerial location
I also wonder if the industrial units adjacent to Clarendon Park may be an issue. Streetview photos, which were taken in May 2009, show an empty piece of land with a "to let" sign whereas satellite images show a large building on the site.
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Sunday 19 January 2014 7:43PM
Jude Sharkey: Yes.
It will require capability to receive analogue signals in order to view the output from the Sky box. Knowledge of the make and model number should allow us to ascertain whether this is so.