All posts by Dave Lindsay
Below are all of Dave Lindsay's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Angie Powell: Based on the information that is available on the internet, you are not in a good signal area and really (probably) need an external aerial. Even then, you "may" be limited to the number of channels.
The size of aerials on rooftops (which can be seen on Streetview) suggests this might be the case.
The terrain plotter shows that the reason for poor reception is because the terrain goes upwards in that direction:
Terrain between ( m a.g.l.) and (antenna m a.g.l.) - Optimising UK DTT Freeview and Radio aerial location
If it weren't for this, then you would be able to see Stockland Hill transmitter and would therefore have a very good chance of reception in the loft (subject to tiles/insulation not reducing the signal too much).
Never say never and be mindful that this is just an initial assessment; it could be better in reality.
If you live in a bungalow then commonsense* suggests that your chances will be lower. * TV reception is described as a black-art, even by the experts!
If you do successfully receive from Stockland Hill, you may end up only being able to receive the Public Service Broadcaster (PSB) channels. The Commercial (COM) ones aren't as strong and in a poor area they may therefore be unavailable.
See this page for PSBs and COMs:
DTG :: DTT Services by Multiplex
If you intend to buy an aerial, then avoid the DIY sheds as they sell wideband aerials and a wideband aerial isn't required for Stockland and will also not work as good on the channels/frequencies it uses.
A Group A aerial should be used:
Digital TV Transmitters Nationwide Page 2
The ATV Sheffield also has a wealth of information on TV reception (see link above).
The XB10A is shorter than the Yagi 18A and is therefore more suited to loft installs. For Stockland aerials should be mounted horizontally (elements flat).
If you were to get an aerial and Stockland Hill was unavailable or did not provide all channels, then you might be able to receive from Rowridge on the Isle of Wight. Again, it will be touch and go as you don't have line-of-sight, even though it is mainly across water. This is because the terrain on the Isle of Purbeck is in the way. Rowridge is all Group A, so the aerial would be suitable. Switch it to vertical polarisation (elements up/down) for Rowridge. Rowridge broadcasts BBC South and ITV Meridian, so will give you different regional programming. There is the possibility that you will also only receive PSBs from Rowridge.
There's no guarantees here so I'm certainly not saying that it will definately work. If you were in a good signal area, then there might have been a reasonable chance of success.
Freesat may be a better bet as it will work with your dish. If you have two feeds/cables from the dish you will be able to record. If not, then parts can be obtained to install a second feed, although if you aren't allowed to put up a terrestrial aerial, then maybe you won't be allowed to put up another cable from the dish.
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Derek: You won't find any analogue channels because there aren't any!
You haven't said where you are, but the last analogue signals were turned off in the UK on Wednesday in Northern Ireland.
You need to do a tune on the digital/Freeview part.
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John Nottage: Chances of interference will be lower as you aerial is horizontally polarised whereas 4G mobile signals will be vertically polarised.
Even if the mobile operators are going to be allowed to get away with supplying only one filter to each affected household, would it not be cheaper for you to buy additional filters? Or fit your filter at the aerial, before the feed is split to different rooms?
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matt: I don't think you've been pointed to this page which goes into it in more detail which you might be interested in:
Will there ever be more services on the Freeview Light transmitters? | ukfree.tv - 10 years of independent, free digital TV advice
The COM licensees were required to broadcast from all main transmitters and the relays that carried low-power Freeview before switchover. They were invited to increase their coverage by transmitting from more sites and declined (follow link above for explanation).
I don't know what the cost might be, I'm not a professional. There would obviously be a ongoing maintenance and running costs too.
Also, there would need to be three broadcast channels made available that would not interfere with reception from other transmitters. Those used by each transmitter are planned so as not to have a detrimental effect on viewers of other transmitters, within each transmitter's intended service area.
Freesat is probably the best way to get extra channels in areas that are Freeview Lite. See here for a comparison:
Compare TV Freeview/Freesat | ukfree.tv - 10 years of independent, free digital TV advice
ITV3 is on Freesat, contrary to its logo appearing alongside those that aren't.
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seamus o'doherty: Where the transmitters are depends on the terrain. It is unusual to have such a tall transmitter being so low powered.
Another reason that might have come into play was (I assume) the fact that the objective when the (former analogue) network was built was to serve only the North. Strabane and Derry are close to the border and therefore the higher the power they use the more overspill there would be. The difficulty as far as reception goes is because the area near/on the border is in a valley.
The Licence Fee does not give any guarantee as to the availability of any signals. It goes to the BBC only and as a Public Service Broadcaster, the BBC broadcasts from Strabane.
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belinda: The reason for the (latest!) retune was to move the HD services from the 50s to the 100s.
There aren't as many ITV1 HD regions as those of ITV1 so some areas get the HD of another region. Is it just ITV1 HD that is Granada or is ITV1 Granada as well?
If ITV1 is Granada, then I will make a suggestion as to how to correct it but I will need to know which transmitter you are supposed to be receiving from.
Which transmitter does your aerial face? If it is south/south east then it faces Belmont and you will get BBC Look North from Hull with Peter Levy. If it faces west then it is pointing to Emley Moor and you will get BBC Look North from Leeds with Harry and Christa.
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brianM: What aerials have you got pointing where?
Are these (if you have more than one) connected together so as to allow you to view channels from each on the same TV?
At your location the following may be possibilities:
- Divis (Freeview): aerial horizontal @ 240 degrees
- Carnmoney Hill (Freeview): aerial vertical @ 8degrees
- Clermont Carn (Saorview): aerial vertical @ 202degrees
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brianM: Also, select one of the RT channels and bring up the signal strength screen. What UHF/RF channel does it say that it is tuned to?
The possibilities are probably 39, 48 or 52.
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M Collins: What aerials have you got pointing where?
Are these (if you have more than one) connected together so as to allow you to view channels from each on the same TV?
At your location the following may be possibilities:
- Divis (Freeview): aerial horizontal @ 352 degrees
- Black Mountain (Freeview): aerial vertical @ 339degrees
- Clermont Carn (Saorview): aerial vertical @ 201degrees
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Saturday 27 October 2012 11:17AM
A common reason for transmitters going off the air is a power outage.
I put Tideswell's postcode into the Electricity Northwest's website and it reports that there are no problems with supply in the area.