All posts by Dave Lindsay
Below are all of Dave Lindsay's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Gerry Flanagan: I agree with Charles here. As I said in my posting to you about Virginia: you have to go with what you can get.
I have read that the Kilkeel relay can be received along the east coast.
The coverage maps on this site (I assume) assume an omnidirectional radiation pattern due to the fact that the powers that be won't release the actual ones.
The BBC Wales map shows all transmitters in Wales:
BBC Wales | ukfree.tv - 10 years of independent, free digital TV advice
A map of the full service transmitters (which broadcast PSBs and COMs) is here:
Full service Freeview transmitters | ukfree.tv - 10 years of independent, free digital TV advice
I draw your attention to this because the full service transmitters are the higher-power ones:
Full service Freeview transmitters | ukfree.tv - 10 years of independent, free digital TV advice
Looking at the map, the main ones are:
Llandona
Blaenplwyf
Preseli
Arfon (2kW PSB-only relay)
UK transmitters, including channels and powers:
Ofcom | Digital Switchover Transmitter Details
(Not sure how up-to-date this is.).
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anne: Engineering work at Tacolneston which may mean weak signal and therefore interrupted viewing for some.
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frank ward: Predictors can never be entirely accurate. They certainly don't say what you "should" be able to receive.
The fact that you live on a slope could be an issue as it could mean that what can and cannot be received varies by property. And of course, being in a bungalow you are lower to the ground (I assume this to be the case having looked at Streetview). Looking at where others are receiving from may be a useful start.
By my reckoning, there are a number of aerials on Preseli which is in the direction that the land goes upwards.
Some aerials appear to be pointing at Huntshaw Cross (154 degrees, horizontally polarised). However this is across the Severn and therefore doesn't broadcast Welsh regional programming.
Then there are a few vertically polarised aerials pointing east which could be on Ferryside (83 degrees) or perhaps Kilvey Hill (104 degrees). The thing with Ferryside is that it is 15 miles away and is only a few watts, so anything less than line-of-sight won't work. Plus Greenhill is co-channel on 21 (BBC) and 24 (HD) which probably explains why Ferryside is at 25W for these whereas 30 (ITV1, C4 etc) is 5W.
Where does your aerial or aerials point?
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Margaret Quayle: Some of the transmitters in Wales had changes to some of their frequencies (UHF channels) in the early hours of Wednesday morning. This included PSB2 mux (ITV1, S4C, C4 etc) at Moel y Parc which is probably the Welsh transmitter you are using.
You may have to carry out a full retune, or you may be able to manually tune to the new channel number. Which it is depends on whether the design of your set allows.
First off, if there is manual tuning, try a tune to UHF channel 39 which is the new channel number. If this restores the missing channels, then you don't need to do anything else.
Or failing that, running the automatic tuning shouldn't affect settings such as brightness and contrast - it is generally a factory reset that does that.
What settings is it that you are concerned about being deleted?
If you are concerned that BBC One and Two Wales and ITV1 Wales will not end up in positions 1, 2 and 3, then there may be a workaround if the set chooses to put North West/Granada in those positions.
If you run the automatic tuning scan and unplug the aerial when it gets to 55% (or past C45 if it gives channel numbers whilst scanning) you will ensure that it doesn't pick up any signals from Winter Hill (North West/Granada) as these are picked up after that point. You will, however, have had the aerial in for scanning of Moel y Parc and this should have put its BBC and ITV in positions 1, 2 and 3.
Once you have done this, if your set has manual tuning, then the next bit is much easier. Add (via manual tune) the following:
- BBC North West from Winter Hill by tuning to channel 62
- ITV Granada from Winter Hill by tuning to channel 59
Now for the Commercial (COM) channels. See here for which services these are and for which multiplex (signal, e.g. COM5) they are carried on:
DTG :: DTT Services by Multiplex
I suggest that you focus in on the first service from each multiplex, i.e. ITV3 (COM4), Pick TV (COM5) and Film4 (COM6).
For COM4/SDN (ITV3 etc), manually tune to channel 58 for Winter Hill.
For COM5/ArqA (Pick TV etc), manually tune to channel 52 from Moel y Parc.
For COM6/ArqB (Film4 etc), manually tune to channel 55 from Winter Hill or channel 48 from Moel y Parc.
(The next two paragraphs are for information and so if you don't follow them, then don't worry.)
When providing the channel number for tuning in the COMs, I assume that your aerials are combined using a device called a diplexer which means that from your Moel y Parc aerial you receive channel 50 and below and that from your Winter Hill aerial you receive channel 52 and above. This means that anything from Winter Hill on C51 or below is unavailable and anything from Moel y Parc from C51 and above is unavailable.
Fortunately, what is unavailable from one transmitter is available from the other and for that reason, COM4 from Moel y Parc which is on C51 will probably be unavailable. Likewise, COM5 from Winter Hill although on C61 now (which is likely to be available to you), it will move to C49 in April which is why I didn't mention it.
If there is no manual tuning, then having run the scan through and unplugged at 55%, then select the tuning function along the lines of add new channels/services and have the aerial plugged in for all of that. It is important that you select the option to add new channels rather than the first time install as the objective is to pick up what wasn't picked up before.
You may have to dig through the 800s to find BBC One and Two from Winter Hill and ITV1 Granada, possibly swapping them for positions 800, 801 and 802 if the set allows.
You should be able to check which transmitter you are tuned to by viewing the signal strength screen:
For BBC One and Two it will say C45 for Moel y Parc and C62 for Winter Hill. For ITV1 Wales, S4C it will say C39 (from Moel y Parc) and for ITV1 Granada from Winter Hill it will say C59.
The others are:
COM4 Moel y Parc=C51 | Winter Hill=C58
COM5 Moel y Parc=C52 | Winter Hill=C61 (changes to C49 in April)
COM6 Moel y Parc=C48 | Winter Hill=C55
One final warning, and this is only if you have a diplexer as suggested above, then come April BBC One/Two from Winter Hill will move to C50 and this will therefore make it unavailable, or at least unreliable because it will be your Moel y Parc aerial that will be being used on this channel.
The only way around this, and it isn't forced to be a possibility, is if you can receive North West from Storeton transmitter instead of Winter Hill. This will require another aerial and another diplexer unfortunately.
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Patrick: Yes, there have been some channel changes. See:
You may have retune your Freeview equipment today in West and Southwest Wales | ukfree.tv - 10 years of independent, free digital TV advice
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Declan McGrath: These are carried on COM6 multiplex which is on channel 40 from Llandona.
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Alex: There are two possibilities I can think of (not an expert):
1. The base station you point your aerial at was turned off for a period.
2. The network decided to switch your connection to another base station.
As I say, I'm not an expert, so don't know how likely 2 is, but it would seem the only other explanation.
I take it that there was no obstruction such as a vehicle being parked in the way.
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kevin rose: Perhaps have Crystal Palace tuned in (probably in the 800s) as a back-up.
It is only 11 degrees off the bearing for Bluebell Hill.
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Thursday 15 November 2012 11:15AM
Paul Ketteridge: If you are receiving from Tacolneston or Waltham, then they are undergoing engineering work which may mean reduced signal strength.
Retuning is a waste of time as TVs store which frequency each signal is on and providing this is correct, retuning can't make the signal stronger!