UK Free TV fix 3: fix everything else...
A few more fixes Photograph: Shutterstock
Yes, UK Free TV did just pass 21 years online! We started here back on 5th July 2002!
I've fixed several things:
- I've removed all the out of date URLs on the site - especially those on https://ukfree.tv/channels/compare_tv/Defunct
- I have activated all the URLs in comments that were pending my approval
- I've fixed the code to allow it to run as PHP8.2 which has some annoying a new "features" in that it stops working with a "500 error" when the code fails to pre-define object variables.
- The site has HTTP2 enabled now
- I've changed the way the page cache works so people comments appear quickly.
- I have disabled about 1,000 "Bounce and complaints" email addresses
- I've removed a few spam messages that got thought the filters
- I've set all the Archived pages to show up in their menus again: I was using Google Analytics 3 to do this and it's been discontinued.
As far as I can tell pages like https://ukfree.tv/extras/BBC_Engineeering are still working and the TV prediction an DAB radio prediction still show their maps and station lists.
I will, shortly be writing some "content" about the future of Freeview and DTT, but I needed to get everything else working first.
B
Help with Freeview, aerials?
Sunday, 30 July 2023
Brian Butterworth
4:54 PM
London
4:54 PM
London
Chris.SE: I thought that was already fixed?
| link to this comment |
Brian's: mapB's Freeview map terrainB's terrain plot wavesB's frequency data B's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Brian Butterworth
4:57 PM
London
4:57 PM
London
Brian Butterworth: My post above the last " B's Freeview Detailed Coverage" is a link to Freeview Detailed Coverage Checker | Freeview ?
| link to this comment |
Brian's: mapB's Freeview map terrainB's terrain plot wavesB's frequency data B's Freeview Detailed Coverage
J
js8:32 PM
Brian Butterworth: Chris.SE is referring to the link to the transmitter next to the envelope icon, like this for The Wrekin:
Everyone TV | Championing Free TV for All
| link to this comment |
C
Chris.SE9:24 PM
js:
Exactly that js, thanks for the clarification. I did wonder if Brian has not realised what I meant but at time of posting this he seems to have got it sorted :)
| link to this comment |
Brian Butterworth
10:02 PM
Shoreham-by-sea
10:02 PM
Shoreham-by-sea
Chris.SE: Ah yes, I did spot that one earlier.
I think I need to do a little something about the whole SD/HD duplicates. It was fine when it was a few channels, but now quite a few of them.
Anyway. I've just sorted out the All of the free TV channels in the UK | free and easy for 21 years page.
Perhaps even the odd UD one?
| link to this comment |
Brian's: mapB's Freeview map terrainB's terrain plot wavesB's frequency data B's Freeview Detailed Coverage
C
Chris.SE11:11 PM
Honiton
Brian Butterworth:
You are doing really well Brian.
You might want to check that list out against
Channel listings for Industry Professionals | Freeview
as there've been some recent Freeview changes such as E4 in Wales is now on 13, BBC Three HD is on 106. There may be one or two others, haven't had time to check yet.
| link to this comment |
Chris.SE's: mapC's Freeview map terrainC's terrain plot wavesC's frequency data C's Freeview Detailed Coverage
S
StevensOnln111:12 PM
Brian Butterworth: Looks like you've amalgamated some sites with others nearby in your list at UK Free TV fix 3: fix everything else...
| free and easy for 21 years
Bourton On The Water is the former BBC Radio Gloucestershire AM transmitter site near Icomb Hill (but a separate location) - see mb21 - The Transmission Gallery
Wroughton is the former Swindon VHF transmitter site south of the town (not the original structure) which is now a 6 mux UHF transmitter operating in a SFN with Seagry Court. It is several miles from Blunsdon - see mb21 - The Transmission Gallery
It may be worth checking the others against MB21 or other sites, those are just two which I'm aware of.
| link to this comment |
C
Chris.SE11:53 PM
Brian Butterworth::
I think some of the problem StevensOnln1 has raised my well be related to this -
It's one problem that might be a lot more difficult to solve - I don't know.
The map locations for all (afaik from last check) radio Analogue (not DAB) transmitters is wrong, with some appearing in the sea!
When I last investigated, this appeared to be as a result of your automated software mis-reading map references and the Latitude/Northings info getting screwed with locations appearing somewhat further south than they should be. (There were some very very small errors in longitude).
Eg. Clevedon, Start Point, Droitwich are some I've looked at recently.
This may explain the confusion between eg. Wroughton & Blunsdon.
| link to this comment |
Monday, 31 July 2023
Brian Butterworth
7:25 AM
Shoreham-by-sea
7:25 AM
Shoreham-by-sea
StevensOnln1: Thanks. I will look at Bourton On The Water and Wroughton.
| link to this comment |
Brian's: mapB's Freeview map terrainB's terrain plot wavesB's frequency data B's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Brian Butterworth
7:33 AM
Shoreham-by-sea
7:33 AM
Shoreham-by-sea
Chris.SE: The analogue radio data comes directly from Ofcom - www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/file/0020/91307/TxParamsVHF.csv - so the answer to the question is do I create an override data file or do I ask them to fix it?
As I used to work for/with BT Broadcast Services we installed the data network that supplied the output for the analogue and digital TV transmissions for the broadcasters and mux owners. This meant that I had either been myself to the TV transmitter site or knew people who had, whereas with radio the low bandwidth/data rate meant they could use off-the-shelf solutions such as ISDN 2B+D so they didn't need anything ... expensive.
This means that the list of digital TV transmitters is hand-curated from the public data but has been cross-checked with real world checking.
| link to this comment |
Brian's: mapB's Freeview map terrainB's terrain plot wavesB's frequency data B's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Select more comments
Your comment please