All posts by Steve Donaldson
Below are all of Steve Donaldson's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Sharon: Google Street View photographed your street five times: June 2023, September 2021, September 2018, September 2016 and April 2009. The communal aerials on the block on the west side of the street have cables which are flapping in the wind and have been so for over six years, assuming they are still like it now.
It appears to be the same aerials in all five photos. Sometime between the 2016 and 2018 photos the cables were apparently changed, the installer not bothering to tape them to the mast.
At the top is a TV aerial, followed downwards by one for DAB and a halo FM antenna. At the bottom is a satellite dish, but the tape looks to be present on its cables throughout.
The cables for all three aerials are not fixed to the mast. The cable emanating from the back of the TV aerial is resting on and going through the FM aerial.
One possibility is that years of the cable blowing back and forth because of this has stressed it, and it has finally broken. From the ground it may not be visible should the cable have broken because the plastic sheath is still in one piece. But inside, the copper wire may have broken through years of being stressed one way and then the other.
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BN Butterworth, Chris.SE: Thanks Chris. I didn't notice Sharon's posting is 10 years old before replying to it as though it were new!
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The BBC Radios 1 to 4 FM transmitter you are likely to receive is Wrotham. Reigate broadcasts two FM stations: BBC Surrey/Sussex on 104.0 and Heart on 102.7.
Wrotham FM frequencies are:
BBC Radio 1 = 98.8
BBC Radio 2 = 89.1
BBC Radio 3 = 91.3
BBC Radio 4 = 93.5
Classic FM = 100.9
While line-of-sight isn't so important as with TV, at your location it is the case that you can't quite see the antennas on the Wrotham mast. The highest part of Toys Hill is in your way. This is just over 15 miles out, Wrotham being 25 miles away.
Moving southwards and/or eastwards, within the Crawley conurbation the line to the transmitter passes to the south side of Toys Hill where the ground isn't as high and which allows the antennas to be seen.
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nick: There is the question as to whether your roof has something in which is attenuating the signal.
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John Ath: Waltham is currently listed by Freeview as having engineering works:
Planned engineering works | Freeview
The West Midlands programming must be from Sutton Coldfield. If your aerial is pointing roughly south west then it is directed to Sutton Coldfield. Providing you are in a location where you can receive it then your aerial is also pointing to the Derby relay which is situated on the roof of the hospital. This provides East Midlands programming, as a relay of Waltham.
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Having checked a few transmitters, the automated posts from "Transmitter engineering" appear to have disappeared.
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Emma W: Stockland Hill is currently listed by Freeview has having engineering works:
Planned engineering works | Freeview
While details of exactly what is being carried out is never given, perhaps the engineering works are resulting in inability to receive channels at your location.
There are no changes occurring which would necessitate a retune. In regards retuning in such a situation, this is only likely to result in channels being lost from the TV's memory.
The first step of the automatic tuning procedure is to delete everything that is currently stored. It then scans the frequencies, the objective being to pick up what was deleted in the first place.
Having lost some channels following a retune, I suggest you use manual tuning to add back the missing multiplexes. You could find you have to do it repeatedly because the signal has not become available to you again.
UHF channel numbers for Stockland Hill are as follows (the "C" number is the UHF channel number to tune to):
PSB1 / BBC A = C26
PSB2 / D3&4 = C23
PSB3 / BBC B = C29
COM4 / SDN = C25
COM5 / Arq A = C22
COM6 / Arq B = C28
A full list of Freeview programme channels is here:
Channel listings for Industry Professionals | Freeview
This shows which multiplex ("mux") each service is on, there being six main multiplexes. For example, you said you have lost BBC TV channels and radio. BBC standard definition TV and radio are carried on multiplex PSB1 ("BBC A") which is on UHF channel 26 from Stockland Hill.
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m snell: Channel numbers for Emley Moor are:
PSB1 / BBC A = C47
PSB2 / D3&4 = C44
PSB3 / BBC B = C41
COM4 / SDN = C33
COM5 / Arq A = C36
COM6 / Arq B = C48
A full list of Freeview channels by multiplex is here:
https://www.freeview.co.uk/corporate/platform-management/channel-listings-industry-professionals
Additionally, there are three local TV channels within the area Emley Moor covers. These are on different channels and are as follows:
- Leeds local multiplex transmitted from Emley Moor in a northerly direction towards Leeds, so may be available to places in-between and the surrounding area: UHF channel 39.
- Sheffield: For those in the Sheffield area with aerials directed at Emley Moor, the local Sheffield multiplex broadcasts from Grenoside on UHF channel 31.
- York: For those in York with aerials directed at Emley Moor, the local York multiplex broadcasts from Bilbrough on UHF channel 42.
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Tunbridge Wells operated as an SFN with Heathfield for all six multiplexes from DSO. This changed at 700MHz Clearance when it became only the PSBs which are SFN. I will return to SFNs, there being a number of them in the Meridian region.
The Tunbridge Wells COMs are not SFN with any other transmitter. However, COM4 on C29 is co-channel with Midhurst's COM4, this latter being at 10kW which is half-power to the PSBs. Prior to 700MHz Clearance, Midhurst and Tunbridge Wells did not share any channels.
Where transmitters form an SFN, the Ofcom 700MHz Clearance Plan spreadsheet[1] mentions it. It does not say that Midhurst and Tunbridge Wells form an SFN for COM4. Thus, while they are opposite polarity, there could be the potential for CCI in some places (assuming that they are indeed not SFN).
Post 700MHz Clearance, the Meridian region has the following SFNs (according to the Ofcom spreadsheet[1]):
Heathfield [H] and Tunbridge Wells [V] - PSBs: 41, 44, 47
Bluebell Hill [H], Gillingham MOT* [H] and Sittingbourne Stockers Hill* [H] - PSBs: 32, 34, 45
Bluebell Hill [H], Sittingbourne Stockers Hill* [H] and Heathfield [H] - COMs: 40, 43, 46
Dover [H], Ashford* [H] and Margate** [V] - PSBs and COMs: 33, 35, 36, 39, 42, 48
Midhurst [H] and Haslemere** [V] - PSBs and COMs: 48, 35, 36, 29, 34, 33
* = New transmitter
** = COMs added at 700MHz Clearance
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[1] Digital television transmitter details, Ofcom: Digital television transmitter details - Ofcom
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Friday 31 January 2025 7:18PM
William Delacour : BBC Reception [ Welcome to BBC Reception Advice | Help receiving TV and radio ] says that Penaligon Downs DAB multiplexes carrying BBC radio stations were off air on Monday 27th January from 04:15 to 12:34. This applies to the BBC National and the local Commercial multiplex, the latter of which carries BBC Radio Cornwall.