All posts by Dave Lindsay
Below are all of Dave Lindsay's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Barry Ashbolt: I don't quite follow your posting. You say that you use Winter Hill but then you say you have two aerials.
If these aerial feeds are combined so as to feed into a single Freeview receiver then you may have an issue. If so then for BBC standard definition services (on PSB1) you will have to use Darwen on C45 rather than Winter Hill on C50. COM5 (Pick TV etc) on C49 will now no longer be available from your Winter Hill aerial.
See here for a full list of services by PSB/COM multiplex:
DTG :: DTT Services by Multiplex
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mr f reant: The first thing is to ensure that ensure that the TV is tuned to the transmitter to which the aerial faces. In your area, reception may be possible from Winter Hill and Congleton transmitters. The latter carries fewer channels (the Public Service ones).
If your aerial faces Winter Hill, ensure that your TV hasn't tuned to Congleton (for the channels it broadcasts). To do this, check the signal strength screen on BBC One, ITV and BBC One HD (if it has a HD receiver). It should tell you the UHF channel that the signal is being received on and this is equivalent to the frequency.
For BBC One it should be tuned to C50 (706MHz) for Winter Hill rather than C44 (658MHz) for Congleton.
For ITV it should be tuned to C59 (778MHz) for Winter Hill rather than C41 (634MHz) for Congleton.
For BBC One HD it should be tuned to C54 (738MHz) for Winter Hill rather than C47 (682MHz) for Congleton.
You don't need to check others because they will be as one of the above. That is, BBC Two will always be the same as BBC One.
Further advice on your reply.
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mr f reant: I would like to add that knowledge of the make and model of your receiver (TV or box) "may" allow me to find the user manual online and so give you more exact instructions on what to do.
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Fraser Ballantyne: I guess that you mean "BT Vision" rather than "BBC Vision".
The answer to your question is because the number of channels is dependent on which transmitter you are receiving from; this has nothing to do with BT.
The digital terrestrial television network is a two-tier system. All transmitters carry Public Service channels because the Public Service Broadcasters (PSBs) have an obligation to provide a public service.
The Commercial (COM) licensees only have a requirement to satisfy their own interest, which is to turn a profit. Thus they aren't interested in using the transmitting stations which serve relatively few users.
See here for an explanation:
Londonderry (Northern Ireland) digital TV transmitter | ukfree.tv - 10 years of independent, free digital TV advice
The difficulty you have is that you are in a valley and the high ground prevents reception from one of the main transmitters (such as Angus) that carry all channels. You have to rely on the transmitter which relays the PSB signals from Angus (it being located on higher ground where it can get a signal).
I think that in order to get anything more than the Freeview Public Service channels you will have to look to the sky (not the bit that Murdoch owns!).
You can get Freesat, a Freesat recorder. Also, Freesat Freetime is the on-demand service:
Freesat :: free time from freesat
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joe: No. The recording function on a Sky+ box requires a subscription. Based on what others have said on here, if you don't subscribe to any Sky channels, you can pay Sky about £10 per month for the rather dubious privilege of using the record and playback function of your own box.
Freeview is the name of the terrestrial system which therefore requires a terrestrial aerial, which points to a transmitter on the ground, rather than a satellite.
Freesat is the name of the free-to-air satellite service, which could be what you are thinking of. You can use the dish for it as Sky and Freesat are entirely the same as far as the dish goes.
If your Freesat receiver has recording capabilities then it will require two feeds, just as your Sky+ box does.
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John Curtis: I suggest that the two most likely reason for getting no signal from the rooftop aerial is because either the lead is not connected all the way through and/or because there is an amplifier connected inline which is not powered on.
The amplifier could be on the mast, in which case it requires a separate power supply that connects inline, often behind the television. Or there could be a distribution amplifier perhaps situated in the loft which feeds signals to more than one room.
Judging by the size of the aerials on the rooves of the houses in your area I think it highly unlikely that the signal lower down and indoors is likely to be sufficient for an indoor aerial!
Whilst you are only 31 miles away, you do not have anywhere near line-of-sight. The difficulty is the higher ground on which Camberley sits, which is in the way.
If your aerial points to Crystal Palace, which is roughly east north east, then see if any of your receivers have manual tuning on. Try manually tuning its broadcast (UHF) channels which are 23, 26, 25, 22 and 28.
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Steve Cheshire: No. The Licence Fee does not guarantee availability of reception.
From what I can see, your postcode resolves to a block of flats. This makes me think that this aerial you refer to, which is on the roof, is a communal one. If so some then communal aerial systems require adjustment to take account of the new channels.
If, one month on, no resident has bothered to notify the landlord then it isn't likely to get fixed!
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Darren: There is a two-tier transmitter system in the UK. All transmitters broadcast the Public Service Broadcaster (PSB) channels, which includes the BBC. The Licence Fee goes exclusively to the BBC, although payment does not guarantee possibility of any reception, from the Ludlow transmitter you have all BBC services.
The Commercial (COM) broadcasters pick and choose which transmitters they use - their objective is to turn a profit with no requirement to provide a Public Service. The Licence Fee does not go to these broadcaster.
I cannot agree with anyone who suggests that the BBC should receive less reevenue from viewers for whom the Commercial channels are not available. The Commercial licensees took a decision which should not affect the BBC's income!
See here for a further explanation:
Londonderry (Northern Ireland) digital TV transmitter | ukfree.tv - 10 years of independent, free digital TV advice
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BRUCE RICHARDSON: If the "South" programming you are referring to is being picked via terrestrial television (Freeview) then you must surely be receiving it from Hannington.
From Croughton, both Hannington and Oxford transmitters are on bearings less than 10 degrees apart. As Hannington uses lower UHF channels (frequencies) it will be picked up first during the scan and receivers may default to it.
Try running the scan with the aerial unplugged for the first 50% in an effort to miss out Hannington and get Oxford.
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Wednesday 15 May 2013 1:07AM
Dennis: TBH I'm not entirely sure what to read into your results (I'm not a professional installer).
I was thinking that they may clearly indicate whether this is a quality issue or a strength one. Let us know how it goes.