All posts by Dave Lindsay
Below are all of Dave Lindsay's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
michael: Is the answer as to what engineering works are intended to achieve obvious? The answer is the provision of television services.
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Pat: If the "box" you are asking about is a Freeview one then no you don't need it to watch Freeview.
For Sky you need the Sky box and you cannot connect the dish to the TV unless it has a satellite receiver in-built, this usually being for Freesat. Most TVs don't have Freesat capability and those that do are more expensive because they contain Freeview and Freesat tuners.
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John: If you are looking to install an amplifier somewhere where there is no power supply then you need an amplifier with separate power supply. The power supply will sit behind your TV.
Television Aerial Boosters / Amplifiers, Splitters, Diplexers & Triplexers
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John: Another site with information:
TV Amplifiers Boosters
(Other models and retailers are available).
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Shirley: Have you had your Group A aerial, installed in the days of four-channel analogue, replaced with a wideband or Group K (semi-wideband)? If not then your aerial is likely to be less sensitive on the Commercial (COM) channels such as ITV3, Dave, and the ones you mention.
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Colin Swan: Yes.
The three PSB channels are effectively duplicated. The Scotland variants, I believe, broadcast directionally towards Scotland.
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Philip Hind Woodward: You aren't in an excellent reception area for any transmitter. Digital UK Coverage Checker proposes three possibles, neither of which are sparkling:
Coverage Checker - Detailed View
(Coverage checkers should always be used as a guide and results taken with a pinch of salt owing to the fact that they can never be in any way totally accurate.)
First up, Oxford at 24 miles and on a bearing of 249 degrees. The terrain plot shows obstructions at approximately 2, 3, 4 and 6 miles out:
Terrain between ( m a.g.l.) and (antenna m a.g.l.) - Optimising UK DTT Freeview and Radio aerial location
Sandy Heath at 23 miles and on a bearing of 47 degrees is obstructed due to the high ground at Herne Grange:
Terrain between ( m a.g.l.) and (antenna m a.g.l.) - Optimising UK DTT Freeview and Radio aerial location
And Crystal Palace at 41 miles and on a bearing of 142 degrees is obstructed quite a bit. The ground somewhere between Hemel Hempstead and Dagnall would appear to be in the way:
Terrain between ( m a.g.l.) and (antenna m a.g.l.) - Optimising UK DTT Freeview and Radio aerial location
Google Streetview photos were last taken in April 2009 and therefore do not show your road, as do the satellite images. Along Johnson Drive, however, there are large aerials mounted high up pointing in various directions (to the three transmitters identified). This merely adds weight to what I said about being in a poor area there is no overal winning transmitter.
So, your postcode is of little use in identifying which transmitter you are using. I doubt Royal Mail will know which way your aerial is pointing.
The only thing I will say is that your area appears to be one of development, so could it be that a building has gone up in the signal path (the line between you and the transmitter)? There are quite a few industrial units which could increase difficulty from one or more transmitters for some.
Ensure that you are tuned to the correct transmitter, although it would seem somewhat unlikely that at least four receivers are all tuned incorrectly.
If all channels are lost then this may suggest local interference of some kind, this often being pinned down by an AM radio. But if you are using a single aerial with powered amplifier then it is worth removing the amp and connecting a TV directly onto the incoming feed, if the amp is accessible.
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Philip Hind Woodward: "If" you do decide to go down the satellite route you do not have to have or subscribe to Sky in order to get it. Freesat is the free-to-air platform you might want to look at.
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Friday 21 February 2014 5:34PM
AJ RIch: "HD Ready" means "ready" to show HD pictures but does not have the means to receive them off-air, this requiring a DVB-T2 tuner.