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- I've removed all the out of date URLs on the site - especially those on https://ukfree.tv/channels/compare_tv/Defunct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?
Monday, 31 July 2023
C
Chris.SE6:00 PM
Brian Butterworth:
Hi Brian. I'm obviously not explaining myself very well.
Apart from the fact that the examples I mentioned were AM stations, my comments also apply to VHF.
Technical parameters for broadcast radio transmitters - Ofcom has all the csv files as I'm sure you know as well as an .xlsx file with everything in.
It doesn't matter which document you refer to, they appear to have the same data (as far as location) at least for the examples I mentioned. I'll mention each in turn as well as some extra examples.
For these, I do not have an issue with the data in the OFCOM documents.
The only thing I have noted is that most NGRs they give with 8 digits but some are 6 digits.
OFCOM - Clevedon - NGR ST40036976 & 51.423662, -2.863893
Clevedon (Somerset, England) analogue radio transmitter | free and easy for 21 years - Clevedon (Somerset, England) analogue radio transmitter 51.128,-2.859 or 517'42"N 251'32"W - eh, a bit of difference there!
My suspicion a while back was that the problem came from you taking the NGR and converting it to Lat/Long. It appears you may well have converted an 8 digit NGR treating it as a six digit.
So NGR ST400369 converts to 51.128221 , -2.8587970 or 510742N , 0025132W
This demonstrates where the error has occurred!
Similarly -
OFCOM - Start Point - NGR SX81413781 & 50.228369, -3.663965
Start Point (Devon, England) analogue radio transmitter | free and easy for 21 years 50.012,-3.657 or 500'42"N 339'24"W
NGR SX814137 converts to 50.011622 , -3.6566055 or 500042N , 0033924W
This again shows how the error has arisen (and that location puts it in the English Channel)!
Similarly -
OFCOM - Droitwich - NGR SO92916672 & 52.298558, -2.105388
Droitwich (Gloucestershire, England) analogue radio transmitter | free and easy for 21 years 51.848,-2.104 or 5150'52"N 26'16"W
NGR SO929166 converts to 51.847950 , -2.1044753 or 515053N , 0020616W
Highlighting the same error but this example also puts the location sufficiently out that it's in the wrong county! This isn't the only one like that, there was a post somewhere not too long ago where a poster complained though I don't recall which one at present.
Another example of that being so far south if you look at All UK analogue radio transmitters | free and easy for 21 years for Somerset you'll find Mynydd Baedan 1 the wrong side of the Bristol Channel - oops.
I'm going to give this FM example for two reasons - location but only just spotted radio info incomplete as there is more than one mast on Dundry Hill (see mb21)
OFCOM - Dundry
(96.3 Heart) NGR ST55116693, & 51.399606, -2.646667
Dundry (Somerset, England) analogue radio transmitter | free and easy for 21 years 50.947,-2.641 or 5056'50"N 238'26"W
NGR ST551166 converts to 50.947077 , -2.6405078 or 505649N , 0023826W
Shows the same error.
However there's also (not listed on ukfree.tv)
OFCOM - East Dundry
(BBC Radio Bristol 94.9) NGR ST57396651 & 51.396015, -2.613844
(Hits radio 106.5) NGR ST57396651 & 51.396015, -2.613844
An older version of the OFCOM documents gives a slightly different NGR for BBC Radio Bristol!
(Also There's a Dundry East for DAB). At this point I give up for now!
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Brian Butterworth
6:36 PM
Shoreham-by-sea
6:36 PM
Shoreham-by-sea
Chris.SE: OK. I thought that the code that translated the NGR into lat/long could coped with the different lengths of NGR, but this looks like it needs some extra help.
Hopefully that makes it easy to fix...
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Brian's: mapB's Freeview map terrainB's terrain plot wavesB's frequency data B's Freeview Detailed Coverage
C
Chris.SE6:57 PM
Brian Butterworth:
Cheers Brian. Also worth mentioning those latest OFCOM docs will have updated station changes etc.
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Brian Butterworth
7:15 PM
Shoreham-by-sea
7:15 PM
Shoreham-by-sea
Chris.SE: It seems that the PHP code was quite capable of using any length of NGR, but the database table was assuming 8 characters!
I've changed the code to use only 8 character by converting them to the 8 character form (but using the whole thing for the lat/long).
It seems to have fixed the transmitter in the sea problem, for example Brighton Race Course (Brighton and Hove, England) analogue radio transmitter | free and easy for 21 years
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Brian's: mapB's Freeview map terrainB's terrain plot wavesB's frequency data B's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Tuesday, 1 August 2023
C
Chris.SE12:32 AM
Brian Butterworth:
Yeah, Start Point is no longer in the Channel, Mynydd Baedan is back in Bridgend! etc.
Well done Brian.
Even Droitwich now in Worcestershire rather than Gloucestershire. I note that all the old comments there have gone (no real loss) eg. see last post on p342 of my posts to proberts:
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C
Chris.SE12:57 AM
Brian Butterworth:
I noted that even before this, some of the maps didn't show the coverage whilst others do.
Just as a specific example -
I see the corrected Dundry page is showing coverage but the East Dundry page that you've added doesn't. Is this easy to fix for all the maps that don't show coverage? (especially the FM).
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Brian Butterworth
7:33 AM
Shoreham-by-sea
7:33 AM
Shoreham-by-sea
Chris.SE: The index for the comments is derived from the index which is the NGR. I will have to have a look at which values have changed and see if I can get the comments back.
I'm wondering about the coverage not showing for some TX. I'm guessing that the system uses the NGR index to reference the separate coverage-map-generating server, via the Cloudfront cache.
I will see what I can do.
I think some TV transmitters also show the coverage in "advanced mode" but not in "cheap" mode.
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Brian's: mapB's Freeview map terrainB's terrain plot wavesB's frequency data B's Freeview Detailed Coverage
S
StevensOnln110:44 AM
Brian Butterworth: The radio transmitter maps don't seem to list which services they transmit any more (I'm sure they used to a few years ago).
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S
StevensOnln17:22 PM
Brian Butterworth: I've just noticed whilst replying to another post that the coverage map and local TV mux details are missing on the Madingley page. PSB1/2/3 are confusingly listed with no output power, despite never having been broadcast from there.
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Wednesday, 2 August 2023
C
Chris.SE7:12 AM
Brian Butterworth:
Thanks Brian.
With regard to StevensOnln1's comment, I clicked on Madingley link and it took me to the DAB page. Whilst the page has a link to the Freeview page, the average poster here may not spot that (and often don't spot they're on a DAB page for other transmitters) and then raise a FReeview query.
As most queries are TV could you make these automated Transmitter name links go to the TV pages. (PS. Preseli still going to the Full service Freeview transmitters page).
Some TV pages have links to the DAB page, some don't - is that fixable?
Also DAB pages don't always have links to the Freeview pages.
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