All posts by Dave Lindsay
Below are all of Dave Lindsay's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Alan Bramwell: It's very difficult to say with absolute certainty, my trepidation being brought about due to the fact that you are probably low down, what with being near sea level and your aerial possibly being just above the height of a caravan. You may also have other buildings and trees around you that might reduce your chances.
However, you should be aware that the transmitter at Perranporth is a Public Service one only. The Public Service Broadcaster ("PSB") multiplexes carry BBC, ITV1, ITV2, Channel 4, E4, More 4, Channel 5, HD services and a few others. Therefore, if your receiver has tuned in the Commercial ("COM") multiplexes you will have ITV3, Pick TV and Yesterday. Don't be surprised if they're poor because they are being picked up from a different transmitter.
For Perranporth your aerial should be vertical. If it is horizontal then that could be your problem.
It is also worth confirming that the receiver is tuned correctly. For Perranporth BBC One is on C46, ITV1 on C43 and HD services on C50. This information is usually given on the signal strength screen.
As for which other transmitter might be worthy of a shot, Redruth is perhaps the best at 11 miles, although the fact that you are low down will reduce your chances. Redruth is a full Freeview transmitter, albeit that the COMs are at lower power than the PSBs.
The existance of the Perranporth transmitter suggests that the area may have difficulties in picking up from Redruth. It is a relay of Redruth rather than Caradon Hill.
Caradon Hill at 33 miles is predicted as being almost as good as Redruth. It is in a different direction and if you have a clearer view in that direction then that may be better than Redruth. Again, Caradon's COMs are lower power than its PSBs. The power of all its transmitters are greater than that of the closer Redruth's.
For Redruth or Caradon you need your aerial horizontal. If your aerial is a wideband one, then you will be OK (albeit that widebands are less sensitive to lower frequencies as used by Caradon). If your aerial is a Group B one then you will only be able to use it on Redruth and not Caradon. This is because Redruth uses Group B channels, just as Perranporth does.
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Simon: I wondered whether there could be two amplifiers. I'm not an installer so aren't familiar with these things.
Or perhaps some neighbours are watching satellite services only or maybe they have receivers that are more tollerable to the (seemingly) poor/distorted signal. That said, usually people have a TV and a recorder and for both to be OK would seem possible but less likely than just one being OK.
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M. Blake: Where is your aerial pointing? To which transmitter? In which direction?
The transmitters that serve your area haven't switched over to full power digital yet, so the digital signals aren't as strong as the analogue ones.
Looking at the Digital UK Tradeview predictor, no transmitter is predicted as being great until switchover.
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steve: My initial reaction here is surprise that the current pre-switchover digital signals from Blue Bell can be picked up in Clacton!
It then occured to me that the new Public Service relay of Sudbury, Rouncefall, is in roughly the same direction from Clacton as Blue Bell is.
Blue Bell's pre-DSO services are also co-channel with other transmitters; I have noticed that the Clacton relay uses channel 42 which is also used by Blue Bell Mux C (albeit with a negative offset).
As Rouncefall does not carry the Commercial multiplexes, I wonder if your receivers keep tuning to it. It will probably be stronger, particularly as it's on full post switchover power.
It's best to check which UHF channels the services are coming in on; see if they match those of Rouncefall or Blue Bell or a mismatch of both.
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Brian Springthorpe: You have previously posted on this site about the fact that your mum can receive from Llanddona and Winter Hill, the aerial pointing in the direction of the former.
If this is the case and it is Winter Hill reception that failed, then this is probably a result of the aerial facing the wrong way.
There has been high pressure which is causing signals to travel much further than normal, so this could be the cause, not helped by the fact that the signal being received isn't from the direction to which the aerial faces (and which it is most sensitive).
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Jay: If you receive analogue television now, then you will receive Freeview afterwards.
However, if your aerial is directed at the Bishop's Stortford transmitter, which is on Raynham Road Industrial Estate, then you will only receive Public Service multiplexes. These carry BBC, ITV1, ITV2, Channel 4, E4, More 4, Channel 5, HD services and a few others.
In order to get the full Freeview service you will have to direct your aerial to a main station, most probably Crystal Palace. Signals in the loft will be lower than outside both due to the fact that it's lower down than roof top level and the roof itself weaking the signal as it passes through it before hitting your aerial. Whilst you are receiving an adequate signal in the loft from Bishop's Stortford (if that is where you are receiving from), you may (or may not) be pushing your luck to pick up Crystal Palace in the loft.
Don't regard what any post based system says as gospel; it is simply a guide. It is more apt to consider such systems as being a guide to likelihood of success.
The Digital UK Tradeview predictor suggests that you may have a good chance of picking up Crystal Palace.
Examination of the rooftops in your road using Google Streetview shows quite a few Crystal Palace aerials. I couldn't spot a single aerial on Bishop's Stortford transmitter, so you mustn't be in that bad a area as far as reception from main stations goes.
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mike: What is the model of the set?
What happens if you don't retune?
What transmitter is your aerial facing? Or what direction is it pointing?
Sometimes this happens when a set stores more channels than it can handle. This usually happens as a result of it storing the signals from more than one transmitter (where they are available). The trick is to prevent it from storing other transmitters' signals which is why I asked you which transmitter you are using.
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Alma and Brian: It's likely to be the weather. The high pressure has meant signals travel much further than they normally do.
Someone else from Thanet posted on this website earlier today complaining of the same issue:
High pressure causing channel loss through "Inversion" | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice
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Nigel Smith: The situation with Hannington is that the Commercial (COM) multiplexes remain on low power as Guildford is presently using the same channels until its switchover.
On 4th April, ArqA multiplex which carries Pick TV and others and is on C44 will go on to its full final power.
Two weeks later on 18th April, SDN (ITV3 etc) and ArqB (Yesterday etc) will go on to their full final power.
Which channels is it that you're having issues with?
I should point out that a similar situation is in play at Oxford; its COMs are on low power until 18th April.
Note that the full final transmission power of the COMs from Oxford and Hannington will be half that of their respective Public Service Broadcaster (PSB) muxes.
The PSBs being BBC, ITV1, ITV2, Channel 4, E4, More 4, Channel 5, HD and a few others.
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Wednesday 28 March 2012 12:58PM
Fred Flange: No, last night ArqA multiplex which carries Pick TV, Dave, Sky News and others changed channel. You will need to perform a retune to get it back.
At the same time, it, and the other Commercial channels, went on to full power from Mendip, so your reception of them should hopefully be much better.