All posts by Michael Perry
Below are all of Michael Perry's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
David Lewis:
By retuning you have ensured that you do not receive the expected channels, retuning when a service is lost never resolves the cause.
To help you we need you to provide a full post code into this website so we can see which transmitter you are using (more than one is possible around Reading) and whether there are any known reception problems. I would have asked yopu to check what frequencies the services are on, but as you've retuned that would be misleading at best.
All I can suggest at present is that you unplug each aerial lead and re-insert the plugs in case local corrosion is the cause of your problem. Also check the condition of the cables and if in doubt replace any flyleads.
| link to this comment |
Jonathon Gordon:
The problem must be with your equipment, especially if no one else is having the problem. You should be getting good reception from the Durris transmitter, so check what channels your equipment is tuned to, the channels used are listed at Coverage Checker - Detailed View While doing that you should also check what the reported signal strengths are for each channel, that needs to be between 60% and 85% for HD channels and between 50% and 85% for SD channels. Anything more will cause the break up you report, likewise anything less will cause the same problem.
| link to this comment |
Woz:
Look at the predicted signal reception at Coverage Checker - Detailed View This shows you should get signals on the L-Man multiplex (channel 56) reasonably well but unlikely to get reliable reception on the G-Man multiplex (channel 57).
If your signal strengths are above 85% for any channel, especially HD ones, then you have too much signal and that can cause serious break up of sound and/or picture. So fitting an amplifier would be counterproductive as it would destroy what is currently reasonable reception! In fact, you should reduce the received strngths slightly with a 3 dB attenuator, that should give better results, especially on the HD channels. You do not want the strength to be less than 60% for HD or 50% for SD.
I suspect that you will not be able to enjoy the G-Man services and may not have reliable L-Man services.
Transmission of the L-Man and G-Man multiplexes is directional and now all round the transmitter, so it seems you are outside the predicted reception area for G-Man and perhaps on the edge for L-Man.
| link to this comment |
Andrew Healy:
Glad to be of help. Thanks for the feedback, always good to know that we have helped resolve an issue.
| link to this comment |
woz:
Signal radiation patterns are determined both by local measurements and computerised predictions based on those measurements and knowledge of the terrain. The operators do recheck from time to time by doing field measurements, especially if a new aerial is fitted to the mast. For example, a local multiplex is usually intended to have a limited coverage area and to avoid interference with other signals they check that the aerial it uses is aimed correctly to give the desired coverage.
| link to this comment |
Keith:
This website is intended only to give reception advice of a technical nature. It is not the website for UK TV. As others have stated, you need to look up their own website, I've done it for you and it is at https://network.uktv.co.uk/. That is very different from this website which is called ukfree.tv.
| link to this comment |
Peter Ball:
The symptoms you describe are a classic indication that the PVR has a fault and needs internal attention. Alternatively, it may need to be replaced.
But try disconnecting it from the mains supply for at least five minutes. Then plkug in again and wait a further five minutes to let the box reset completely. Then try turning it on and checking its response.
| link to this comment |
Bob White:
The first thing to do is determine which of the transmitters is likely to give the best reception at your specific location. Do that by putting your full post code into this website. You will then see a blue link named 'digitaluk trade'. Click on that and you will see listed the available transmitters in your area, the likely quality of reception and the channel numbers used. Select the most appropriate one that is likely to give the best reception and note the bearing and polarisation (either V or H) and then check whether your aerial is pointing at that transmitter and that the rods are correctly positioned. You should also note what group aerial is needed, unless you have a log-periodic type already.
Once that is all OK, access the manual tuning menu on your equipment, the User Manual will tell you how. Then manually set the tuning for each multiplex to the channel numbers shown for your chosen transmitter. They must all be for the same transmitter, you must not choose ones from different transmitters.
| link to this comment |
George:
A full post code is essential for problems such as you describe. Only then can we contributors examine what the local reception conditions are in your specific area - South London is far too vague to tell us anything.
What you describe is typical of an aerial problem, commonly due to poor contacts in the plugs/sockets or a poorly fitted coaxial plug. So you need to disconnect all the aerial plugs and then refit them. Sadly as you have retuned you have lost all the tuning information your TV set already had, so you will need to do another retune. It is always wrong to retune when the signal is lost.
Just because a TV is 'brand new' does not mean it cannot have a fault and aerial systems can have faults that are not visible, especially if it is mounted outside above the roof.
If the problem was not within your property but at the transmitter, there would be millions of complaints from axcross the whole of London and beyond, Crystal Palace serves over 6 million people!
| link to this comment |
Sunday 27 August 2017 10:41AM
Anita Jones:
If you look at the information about digital reception using the blue digitaluk trade box below you initial posting, you will see that at yiour location COM8 is expected to be poorly received, as are the SDN, ArqA and ArqB multiplexes. These all use horizontal polarisation ( aerial rods horizontal). However, better rception is expected for the latter if you use Vertical polarisation by rotating the aerial rods to be up&down. COM7 and COM8 are not available on the vertical transmissions.
If you want to keep COM7 HD services by keeping your aerial set for horizontal, then you will have to accept that COM8 will be variable.
It has been suggested that COM7 and COM8 may well cease in the next couple of years or so when the services are likely to be transferred to other multiplexes as the frequencies used are changed.