All posts by Steve Donaldson
Below are all of Steve Donaldson's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Chris.SE: I'd not heard of the message 'The requested URL was rejected'. Putting it into a search engine shows it's a common one and could result from different issues, including cookies, router and DNS cache. The websites definitely exist and it would seem to be something related to your connection, network or device.
Leaving these possibilities aside, assuming you don't normally visit .nl sites, I wonder if there is something blocking them, either on the device you are using or your router. Could something like a firewall, internet security software or parental filter be blocking it? Perhaps a parental filter is set to only permit commonly-used top-level domains such as .co.uk, .com, .org and .tv, but is restricted for other countries' top-level domains. It might be worth trying other .nl domains, a few examples being google.nl, amazon.nl and ebay.nl.
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David Evans: As the fifth national FM station, besides the four BBC ones, it doesn't have as many transmitters as BBC Radios 1 to 4. In quite a number of cases, Classic FM broadcasts from the same high-power transmitters as BBC Radios 1 to 4.
Classic FM doesn't have the remit to provide coverage as the BBC does. It is similar to the situation with the commercial (COM) TV multiplexes not transmitting from many of the small transmitters (where the cost per viewer is much higher), including Whitby. There has to be justification for a new transmitter in terms of potential listeners added who cannot receive from an existing site.
Even Oliver's Mount doesn't broadcast Classic FM, despite carrying BBC Radios 1 to 4 FM and the COM TV multiplexes. Bilsdale carries Classic FM, but only in the general direction of Teesside, whereas Bilsdale's Radios 1 to 4 are omnidirectional.
Pontop Pike is a powerful Classic FM transmitter and judging by the map linked below may not reach Whitby. The high ground from just south of Saltburn acts to shadow the Pontop Pike signal on 100.3 from being received in Whitby. See the coverage map here:
http://a-bc.co.uk/MCA/AN000001-NZ14785270.html
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Mary Judd : They have -- in their words -- 'upgraded' to DAB+:
https://www.classicfm.com/music-news/upgrading-dab-plus-broadcast-quality/
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Mary Judd : Which multiplexes are you missing? The full list of programme channels by multiplex ("mux") is here:
Channel listings for Industry Professionals | Freeview
There are six TV multiplexes and their designations are:
PSB1 = BBC A (carries BBC standard definition TV and radio)
PSB2 = D3&4 (carries ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and some of their sister channels)
PSB3 = BBC B (carries all HD programme channels, both BBC and non-BBC ones)
COM4 = SDN
COM5 = Arq A
COM6 = Arq B
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Chris.SE: Bristol_Rich did not say that Restore TV told him something in the 700MHz range was added six years ago. Based on what he says, it sounds like Restore TV has access to records of changes made to masts, and that the last change at this one was six years ago, meaning that it hasn't been changed recently and can be ruled out as a potential cause.
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Max: There are four DAB multiplexes that are available in the general Chelmsford area. This isn't to say there aren't places in the city where the signal is poor or non-existent.
Here are the four multiplexes with their channel number so you can scan the specific channels:
BBC National: 12B
Digital One: 11D
Sound Digital: 11A
Essex: 12D
The BBC National, Digital One and Sound Digital multiplexes are transmitted from Danbury (Bakers Lane) and the Essex multiplex is from Bakers Wood. If you find you can't tune to any of the multiplexes, try again on higher ground, perhaps nearer the transmitter. Once you have the radio tuned, then don't retune if you find you loose the signal.
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Chris.SE: After posting my comment it occurred that it doesn't have to be a nearby base station causing the interference, but a nearby mobile handset or other device communicating with the network base station.
The 700MHz base station could be distant while the device is close. 'Distant' here is to mean at such distance that it doesn't interfere with TV reception. 'Close' is to mean at such close proximity that it may or does interfere with TV reception.
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jimmy: Millburn Muir is a TV relay of Darvel. Darvel is current listed as having engineering works by Freeview, with the possible effect 'Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels':
Planned engineering works | Freeview
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Lynne: The power of the Kings Lynn transmitter was effectively boosted 4.5 times at digital switchover in 2011. In 2018 the power was doubled again.
At switchover there were changes to transmitters in Norfolk to improve coverage in the area. Tacolneston, King's Lynn other relay transmitters along the north Norfolk coast also got an increase in power. Tacolneston got a taller mast which also improved coverage.
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Tuesday 2 January 2024 5:14PM
Chris.SE: I've just been reading back the discussion we had at the end of September where I pointed out that Mont Lambert, near Boulogne, uses C37.
In terms of transmitters in the Netherlands, the Dutch regulator has a look-up and this shows just one C37 transmitter, and it is in Den Burg, North Holland. It is 7.9kW and VP. Den Berg also uses channels 29 (8.5kW), 31 (7.9kW), 34 (7.9kW) and 48 (5kW).
The look-up for TV and DAB broadcast transmitter channels is here:
https://appl.agentschaptelecom.nl/dav/index.html
This is on the website of the former Agentschap Telecom [Radiocommunications Agency of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate]. On 1 January 2023 the Agentschap Telecom was renamed 'Rijksinspectie Digitale Infrastructuur' (RDI) [Authority for Digital Infrastructure].
The aforementioned look-up is linked to from the RDI website on this page (at the bottom of the main content), implying it hasn't yet been incorporated directly into it and is still current information:
https://www.rdi.nl/onderwerpen/radio-en-televisie/digitale-omroep