All posts by RK Shead
Below are all of RK Shead's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Matt.
Given your location , is there any particular reason why you want/need to receive from Hannington rather than Oxford? In theory Oxford should be a better bet - but maybe you may have some local obstruction to the north (building, tall trees etc) (for Oxford) whereas it may be clear to the south (for Hannington).
What sort of aerial are using (group B, C/D or wideband) and what direction is it pointing?
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Matt,
Given that you can receive BBCA, BBCB, and D3+4 satisfactorily from Hannington and that your reception of ArqA, ArqB and SDN suffers from break-up (sometimes non-existent), this suggests to me that you require a bit more signal gain, probably about 3 - 6 dB.
There are two (simple?) ways to achieve this. Either or both may be applicable:
1. A higher gain aerial. A Group B aerial will typically give 4dB more gain (across the required frequencies) than a Wideband aerial with a similar number of elements. A Group B aerial with more elements will obviously give you even more gain and improve directivity. (i.e better rejection of interfering signals from Hatfield although given your location, the direction of your aerial and the location of Hatfield, Im dubious that this is a problem.)
The disadvantage is that a Group B aerial will not be suitable for the proposed Com 7, Com 8, Com 9 (all Group A) and Local Service (Group C/D). However, I would be doubtful that a Wideband aerial would be suitable for Group A reception from Hannington at your location.
2. Improve the downlead cabling. The losses in a typical domestic pre-DSO installation with (what was then) standard coax, wallplates and possibly in-line co-ax connectors can often be reduced by 2 - 5 dB by using better quality cabling and a minimal shortest distance direct run.
The amount of improvement depends on the type and condition of the existing cable and the number of intermediate connections. These are particularly likely where the cable route has been changed since its original installation for decorative reasons, or re-siting the TV.
You can buy better than standard quality cable from many suppliers often under the name digital satellite cable, but I only know of one source for a Group B aerial - www.aerialsandtv.com this site also contains a lot of useful information about aerial selection, cabling, installation and performance.
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Jon,
According to the Samsung manual for the UE22D5003, signal strength display should be available under the Support menu:
Support -> Self diagnosis -> Signal information
I don't know that this actually true!
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Jon
The implication is that your aerial and cabling to the upstairs TV is fine.
Try JB's initial suggestion, 21 May 2012 9:44PM: swap the TVs round. It's a bit of hassle, but it is the simplest method of determining if the problem is with the cabling to the downstairs TV OR whether it's the LE32R41BD itself.
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jb38,
Re your suggestion to Jon wrt 10db+ booster.
Jon's post of 22 May 2012 4:26PM suggests that he has effectively tried this by adjusting the gain on his masthead amp. (Which may overload his UE22D5003, but apparently made no difference to his LE32R41BD.)
I'd guess that Jon's LE32R41BD needs a better signal, rather than just amplifying the signal he already receives - i.e his own suggestion (from the same post)
"... so I might try a grouped aerial, with a 2 way masthead ..."
is more likely to produce reliable reception?
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Bob Sullivan,
London (presume Crystal Palace) transmits Freeview on channels 22, 23, 25, 26, 28 & 30. So on auto-tune, most (all?) receivers will allocate the standard programme numbers to these first - in preference to Hannington (channels 39, 41, 42, 44, 45, & 47) unless you do something clever during the tuning process. Many receivers will then allocate higher programme numbers (typically 800+) for the higher RF duplicates, even though the signal strength/quality may be better. It's worthwhile checking to see if this is what is happening in your case.
Are connecting your two aerials together to provide a single feed for your receiver? If so how?
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Andrew Armstrong
Is this a recent problem (ie you used to get good reception, but now you don't) or an ongoing problem (ie you've always had bad reception)?
If the former, then it's likely to be caused by recent damage to your aerial or cabling (unlikely to be the TV). From Google StreetView on your postcode, I cannot see any external aerials in your location, which suggests you and neighbours have loft mounted aerials? Check for damage caused by rodents - some years ago I had squirrels gnaw through cables in my loft in the past!
What sort of signal strength/signal quality are you getting on the channel 45 stations, and (when you get them at all) on the channel 42 stations?
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D Ferguson.
As Mark Fletcher suggests, the problem you are experiencing could be due atmospherics.
If so then:
A) You'd expect see some difference in quality between daytime and nighttime reception - not necessarily just on Channel 45 (BBCA) but also on adjacent channels (Channel 44 - ArqA - shows Dave, Sky News plus other things that I don't watch!)
B) Your neighbours (within a few hundred yards) will be experiencing similar problems. Try asking them?
C) There is nothing you do about it, except point a Group A aerial in the opposite direction (towards London, rather than towards the end of your Close) and receive from Crystal Palace instead. (Actually I'm surprised you're using Hannington rather Crystal Palace - superficially, at your location, the figures for the latter look better than those for the former.)
If it's not atmospherics, then its probably a TV tuning problem - anything with computer chip in it (such as digital TV) can throw random glitches (such as deleting channel information) for unexplainable reasons. (It's what keeps the IT industry going!) Similar problems can be caused by small children or elderly relatives with a remote control, so try its worth trying a re-tune.
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Beryl Foote
My reply above (4:17pm)was addressed to D Ferguson (24th July 08:50), not to you. In your case it's certainly NOT the TV. To have two TV sets fail in the same way at the same time is very, very improbable. Also, at your location, I wouldn't suggest any transmitter other than Hannington.
I thought from your second post (25th July 09:19)that the problem had resolved itself? Are you still losing reception on all channels?
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Page 1
Saturday 21 April 2012 4:02PM
Malcolm H: Confirming Dave Lindsay's comments.
I live on the eastern side of Crowthorne, right on the edge of the Hannington reception area. Using an XB16B aerial and all new cabling (both from the supplier mentioned by Dave Lindsay), I now receive all Freeview channels perfectly.
Reception of ArqA & ArqB muxes was pretty dire prior to 18th April (as was SDN prior to 4th April).
So a new/repositioned arial MAY help.