All posts by Dave Lindsay
Below are all of Dave Lindsay's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Andrew Grant: For advice on this stuff and products too, have a look at ATV Sheffield: www.aerialsandtv.com
Specifically, look at aerial groups:
Aerials, TV Aerial and Digital Aerial
How does your current aerial fair?
Check out the Digital UK Tradeview predictor for some guidance. If you supply your location (preferably in the form of a post code), we might be able to offer suggestions.
Basically, in the days of four-channel analogue, Beacon Hill was a Group C/D (roughly top third of the band of frequencies used for TV). Whilst the Public Service Broadcaster (PSB) multiplexes still are, the lower two of the commercial (COM) ones are in Group B (middle third of the band).
Due to the fact that many aerials fitted to homes will have been Group C/D, the lower COMs may now necessitate replacement aerials.
If your aerial is a DIY one, I think it's fairly certain to be a wideband one. If you can work out which it is might be useful.
ATV has listed its suggestions for Beacon Hill:
Digital TV Transmitters
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ronan o dwyer: Ofcom published a list of post-switchover transmitters by region here:
Ofcom | Digital Switchover Transmitter Details
It has been found to be the case that these appear not to bt being updated, so ERP could be wrong.
The latest list of multiplex licences are here:
Ofcom | Supplementary licence documents in relation to DSO
They don't give polarisation, so you might have to switch between the two.
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David: I will be surprised if you will ever get any more (commercial) Freeview services from Icomb Hill. For an explanation of the reason why, see here:
Will there ever be more services on the Freeview Light transmitters? | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice
I am intrigued as to what the newspaper report you read was about. Can you provide a link to it?
The only thing I have come across that might be relevant is this:
MuxCo.com » Gloucestershire
It is about the regional commercial DAB multiplex and it says that a transmitter at Icomb Hill will be introduced "to expand coverage during the licence period".
The current Ofcom "Tech Parameters" Ofcom | Tech Parameters for all radio services (FM/AM/DAB) do not list any from Icomb Hill, so I can only wonder if the DAB multiplex will broadcast from Icomb at some point.
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Emma: My guess is "no" because it is owned by BSkyB and it is available on "Freesat from Sky". It is in BSkyB's interest not to have different channels on Freesat from Sky to that of Freesat; that is competition for you. What better way than not allowing BSkyB's own channels from going onto Freesat?
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John H: The commercial multiplexes from Hannington are on low power until April. On 4th April C44 (used by Hannington for Arq A) will be relinquished by Guildford and its power will go up. Two weeks later on 18th April C41 (SDN) and C47 (Arq B) will also go onto full power for the same reason.
Perhaps the signals are there on the wideband aerial, but the higher power signals are desensitising the receiver making them less likely to be "heard". There may no longer be any need for the booster or it may be needed but at a lower level.
I would try removing the amp and see what you get. If it is used for distribution purposes, then connect the aerial directly to one of the feeds to a set.
Prior to switchover, the digital signals from Hannington weren't omni-directional. It put out less signal in the direction of Guildford (the "Guildford notch") because its transmitter used the same channels.
Post switchover, the Public Service Broadcaster (PSB) multiplexes that are now on full power use the omni-directional antenna, just as the four analogue channels did. However, until April, the commercial channels are using the pre-switchover antenna complete with Guildford notch. Thus, the contrast between the high power PSBs and the low power COMs will be much greater in your area, than at other places at the same distance from the transmitter.
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Julie: I'm not sure whether this will cure your problem, but it is certainly the case that your TV tunes to Moel y Parc transmitter as that is where the Welsh variants are coming from. Where this is the case, then the signal being received is not from the direction to which the aerial is facing, so poor reception is to be expected.
Moel y Parc's highest channel is 52 and Winter Hill's are currently all above it.
From Winter Hill (in ascending order of channel number):
BBC B (HD services) = C54
Arq B (Yesterday etc) = C55
SDN (ITV3 etc) = C58
D3&4 (ITV1, C4, C5 etc) = C59
Arq A (Pick TV etc) = C61
BBC A (BBC TV & Radio) = C62
If, whilst scanning, your TV shows channel numbers, then have the aerial unplugged until it has gone past C52. If it's percentage, then plug it in at 66%.
If, once you've completed the tuning, you are missing any because you didn't get the aerial in in time, then add them manually.
Some time next year there will be a retune for Winter Hill due to the clearance of TV frequencies for use by 4G mobile services. BBC A will move to C50 and Arq A to C49, so when you complete this procedure, you will have to manually add these two.
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Jeanette Kirk: Run the automatic tuning scan with the aerial unplugged up until 25% (or until it gets past UHF channel 34 if it gives channel numbers whilst scanning). That way it will be unplugged whilst scanning Crystal Palace transmitter and plugged in for Hannington.
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Jeanette Kirk: Further to my previous posting, if you are receiving your TV from the transmitter in Alton (your aerial will be vertical - elements up and down), then you can keep the aerial unplugged until 60% and then plug it in.
If you're on Hannington (aerial horizontal, elements flat), then do as I said above; plug in at 25%.
Let us know how it goes.
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Sunday 26 February 2012 8:04PM
Briantist: So is there a reason they didn't use DVB-T as then it still would have been SD, but would have been viewable on many more receivers?
If they had have made it DVB-T, they could have changed it to HD by switching it to DVB-T2 at a later date.