All posts by Steve Donaldson
Below are all of Steve Donaldson's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Denise Joyce: Freeview publishes a list of transmitters with ongoing engineering works here:
Planned engineering works | Freeview
The transmitter in question is known as 'Hastings' and it does not appear on the list.
The two UHF channels you are having difficulty with are the two highest, with the worst affected being the highest, 30. The next one below 28 is 26, which is COM5 / Arq A multiplex.
Freeview has published a list of programme channels including which multiplex ('mux') they are on:
Channel listings for Industry Professionals | Freeview
Multiplex channels from the Hastings transmitter are:
PSB1 - BBC A - C25
PSB2 - D3&4 - C28
PSB3 - BBC B - C22
COM4 - SDN - C23
COM5 - Arq A - C26
COM6 - Arq B - C30
The 'C' numbers are UHF channel numbers, the broadcast channel shown by your TV.
One possible cause could be interference from a nearby mobile phone base station that has just started operating in the frequency band which was previously used for TV. Restore TV is the organisation responsible for alleviating such interference. They will send a filter out which will filter out the mobile signal, stopping it from getting to your TV. Enter your postcode into their site to see if they have sent you a postcard, meaning they think there is a possibility the base station could be an issue for reception:
https://restoretv.uk/post…ure/
Most people have a TV aerial that connects directly to the TV, without any amplifier or booster. If that is you, then a filter that goes behind the TV is suitable.
If you have an amplifier such as on the roof or in the loft then any filter will need to be fitted before the amplifier. In such circumstances, you should tell Restore TV you have an amplifier and if it is in an inaccessible place, such as on the roof, they should send an engineer out to fit a filter.
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Paul Maidens: Virgin Anthems is carried on the Sound Digital national commercial multiplex which does not have a transmitter in Cirencester, and this is why the signal will not be as good, particularly as you get lower down, including and in particular in the town centre.
Sound Digital (SDL or Sound Digital Limited) is the newer of the two national commercial multiplexes and it was launched in 2016. Its coverage isn't as great as the other, as it uses fewer transmitters. The other multiplex, Digital One (D1), broadcasts from the Cirencester transmitter, to the north of the town. Blunsdon is your closest SDL transmitter, and it transmits D1 as well.
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G Crawford : Do you have Sky Mix on 11 and Really on 17?
If not then it looks to be a reception issue. I say this because these channels are carried on the same multiplex (same signal) as Sky Arts on 36. They are all on COM5 / Arq A multiplex.
A full list of Freeview programme channels, including multiplex ('mux'), is here:
Channel listings for Industry Professionals | Freeview
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Jason: As per Chris.SE's comment, a potential possibility other than engineering works is a nearby phone mast. Noting that there are communal residences within your postcode and your reference to 'my residence' which makes me think you might be in a property served by a communal aerial system, then remediation for any mobile interference would rest with the party responsible for the system.
At your location the Belmont transmitter might be available. If it is a communal aerial system then it might be filtered so as to allow through from the aerial only the channels used by the designated transmitter. However, if it is not then it might provide useful reception of Belmont, as a workaround while Emley Moor is inadequate.
Try a manual scan on UHF channels 22 and 25, which are Belmont PSB1 / BBC A (BBC standard definition TV) and PSB2 / D3&4 (ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 5 and other sister channels) respectively. The HD multiplex from Belmont is on C28, so try a scan of that too if your TV has a HD tuner.
Also, look in the logical channel numbers 800 upwards to see if there is BBC One Yk&Li. If it is present, this will be BBC One from Belmont. See what reception is like from Belmont; it might offer a temporary fix.
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Martin: Restore UK is the organisation charged with alleviating interference to TV reception from mobile phone masts that have begun operating on frequencies previously used for TV (on what was previously the top end of the TV band of frequencies). They notify properties they think could have an issue by sending a postcard. I checked by entering your postcode and it says they haven't sent you a postcard, so it would seem that we can rule that out: https://restoretv.uk/post…ure/
At 28 miles out from the transmitter, you have line-of-sight providing there are no local obstructions such as trees or buildings. There are quite a few trees, particularly some bigger ones to the north of Haywards Lane. Many properties on your road could have one or more trees in the way. Some of these are bungalows which are not able to get their aerial up as high as houses. I wonder whether the issue might be a tree. The leaves begin in spring and, being summer now, their foliage is at its densest. Might this account for your degradation in reception?
Another question is whether you have a signal amplifier (booster) connected in your aerial system. If you do and it is to feed multiple rooms, then if it is accessible I would be inclined to try disconnecting it, connecting the incoming aerial feed directly to one of the rooms and see if it resolves the issue.
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Martin: Other types of cable running near to an aerial lead can sometimes impact the signal. This could include HDMI, Ethernet and USB cables, among others. Try removing such cables or at least moving them away from the aerial lead and see if it makes a difference. It may be useful to have the signal information/signal strength screen showing on C35 (by selecting one of the HD channels) when you do it as this might give a better indicator than just having one of the HD programme channels on.
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Peter Nugent: As it's a new development, I struggled a little to find the location. Google Maps and Bing Maps don't recognise the individual postcode. However, having checked Royal Mail Postcode Finder recognises it and says it is Jenny Lane, Tarbolton, Mauchline. A further search brought up a council planning page which gave me the location on the north west edge of Tarbolton, west of B730 Croft Street and north of Westport.
If this is where you are then the transmitter you are looking to tune to is Darvel on a bearing of 62 degrees. This is roughly perpendicular to Croft Street. It is 9 miles out and, with exception of any local obstructions, you appear to have line of sight.
Your TV is not tuned and you cannot tune it without a signal. But in order to get a signal you need your TV tuned so you can attempt to locate your aerial is the best position. You therefore need to take a strategic approach. Use manual tuning to tune to Darvel's channels. If you have no joy where it is at present, then move the aerial, and the TV if needs be, to somewhere facing in the direction of the transmitter. This is in order to give yourself what may appear the biggest chance of actually picking up the signal. Once you have the TV tuned in, then move the aerial if needs be to somewhere more convenient and where it can get a signal. Don't retune because once it's tuned to the transmitter frequencies if it isn't showing a picture then that is because the aerial is not sited where it can get a satisfactory signal.
The multiplexes for Darvel are:
PSB1 - BBC A - C22
PSB2 - D3&4 - C25
PSB3 - BBC B - C28
COM4 - SDN - C32
COM5 - Arq B - C34
COM6 - Arq B - C35
Local TV - C31
Freeview has published a list of programme channels including which multiplex ('mux') they are on, as per the above, i.e. BBC A, D3&4 etc:
Channel listings for Industry Professionals | Freeview
You might get the Local TV multiplex on C31 and you might not. Indeed, there's no guarantees about any of them!
I suggest you make an assessment of where is the clearest view in the direction of the transmitter and work from there.
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ken partridge: You will need to connect it to an aerial and tune it in.
Perhaps you are referring to 'Freeview'. This website is called 'UK Free TV' and is totally independent of broadcasters. It has nothing to do with Freeview, Sky or any other broadcasting company.
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Nicholas John Anderson: Ofcom's page "Technical parameters for broadcast radio transmitters" includes the services carried by each DAB multiplex:
Technical parameters for broadcast radio transmitters - Ofcom
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Sunday 23 June 2024 6:15PM
Bert: While not related to your query, noting that in a 2018 posting you gave your postcode as in Sittingbourne, if you are not already aware, a new TV transmitter at the Stockers Hill reservoir came on the air in November 2019.
It is horizontally polarised and carries all six multiplexes. It is a single frequency network with Bluebell Hill, meaning it transmits in time with and on the same UHF channels as Bluebell Hill. If you have reception issues with Bluebell Hill it might be worth realigning your aerial to Stockers Hill at 1.7 miles out.