All posts by PETER HUGHES
Below are all of PETER HUGHES's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.The listing of BBC 1 VHF Television transmitters does not appear to have included MANNINGTREE, Essex, which gave a horizontal polarised service to part of East Anglia on VHF Channel 4. Manningtree is still in service BUT now as a Radio FM transmitter
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Late Friday afternoon (9 November, 2012) ITV ANGLIA (coming in on UHF Channel 41) started to violently break up with sound drop out as well. Until then, this has always been stable, with a constant quality level of 97% . Eventually it settled down---engineering work ?? Channel 58 has never been reliable, comes and goes, one minute 97% and then zero. Channel 60 is a dead loss altogether but apart from the Channel 41 point made, other channels ( 44, 47 HD and 56 )are all at 97% quality CLACTON AREA
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Another point to add--Do you remember that prior to DSO, viewers were encouraged to cary out a simple test to see whether their aerial would be suitable on switchover. This test was a case of selecting a test pattern page on CEEFAX / TELETEXT for BBC1, BBC2, ITV ANGLIA AND CHANNEL 4. All were perfectly formed, when I carried out the test several times, with no deformity or missing images. However this test was misleading, because it related, on Sudbury, to the analogue UHF channels, within the aerial B group. Now, of course, Sudbury has gone outside of the B group, so what was the point of the CEEFAX /TELETEXT test???
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Today, Monday 25 February, 2013, at approximately 3.15 pm, I was watching BBC ONE, from the Sudbury transmitter (UHF Channel 44) when suddenly sound and vision went blank, leaving the dark screen, with just the set's back screen illumination present. Within about 15 seconds music was playing but screen remain dark / blank.
My immediate thought that this might be a local Clacton pirate radio station, over powering the Sudbury signal. When the record finished, BBC presenter's voice (Stewart Mc Connie) started talking. The "replaced" sound was, in fact, BBC Radio 6 Music channel (which is also part of the BBC MUX on UHF Channel 44) I then pressed channel 1 on the Freeview remoote and on screen it showed BBC ONE AUDIO, CH. UHF 44.
Then about a minute later, the radio sound was replaced by BBC ONE sound plus return of vision. Did anybody else witness this? I assume that someone at Sudbury station "got their lines crossed" ???
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Has anybody experienced a sudden "break" in transmission on BBC radio and television, on Freeview, from the Sudbury transmitter?
This is definately NOT signal break up but, in the case of BBC television, the screen goes black and at the same time the sound abruptly stops, leaving just silence---no crackling or squawking, etc., associated with weak signal or break up Same with BBC radio---sound just suddenly stops--total silence.
These breaks last around 10 maybe 15 seconds at the most and will come back perfectly. It is if, somewhere, the has been a short disconnection or slow switching either at Sudbury or maybe even at the Beeb I forgot all about this and during recording a BBC tv prog this happened so has spoilt the recording i.e. a GAP This has happened on two different boxes.
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Steve P
The BBC's Long Wave transmitter was not the only BBC transmitter used in WW2 to assist. Their Band 1 television transmitter was also used to rebroadcast and confuse the Germans' Radar information, which successfully prevented bombing in built up areas.
Although it was always said, originally, that Ally Pally ceased transmission (and, therefore BBC television) during the war, for fear that the enemy would home in on the signal, to direct them to London. This never made sense to me, because only a few miles away, the BBC continued to broadcast from its Medium Wave transmitters, at Brookman's Park, which again, position wise, would have been just as helpful to the enemy as Ally Pally as a homing device for the London area.
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P
Would the BBC work better as a company, charity, instead of a nSunday 23 November 2014 8:57PM
Clacton-on-sea
The licence fee equates to about 40 (forty) pence per day---less than a daily newspaper. For that we all receive ADVERT FREE Television AND Radio channels around the clock Listen to some of the programmes on BBC Radio 4----no commercial station would even consider covering this diverse range---why not? Because they have to keep THE ADVERTISERS HAPPY by delivering as a big an audience as possible.
Currently I am absolutely fed up with the Christmas adverts (Tesco one says "It's Christma)) but I thought Christmas was on 25th December !!
A friend, who spent some time in USA, on his return said he missed the BBC's full output across tv and radio---so there you have it..
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If we all remember that Radio 4's roots are from the old BBC Home Service. The London and South East region was the main feed for the Home Service but the BBC regions would opt out, from time to time, and looking at a 1954 copy of Radio Times these opt outs were, sometimes, for local church services, Children's Hour items, various talks, local weather and so on .It also shared Music While You Work, in the mornings, with the Light Programme and programmes originating, say, on the Home Service, were, later in the week, repeated on the Light programme and vice versa
Interestingly, there were also Lunchtime Classical concerts
The forerunner of Radio 3, The Third Programme, didn't broadcast at all in the day and started around 7pm and closing down around 11 pm.
Out of interest, BBC Television Service as it was known then and prior to the launch of the ITV companies was also very restricted with short broadcasting periods, ending around 10.30pm WITH A SOUND RECORDING OF THE 9 O'CLOCK NEWS FROM THE HOME SERVICE (no pictures and maybe a BBC logo)
Perhaps the BBC has been too ambitious with all it's tv and radio channels and now faces public backlash, if it tries to reduce or cut services. Don't get me wrong-- I am very pro BBC but have been surprised at the way in which it has extended its services.
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P
What is in store for the next round of BBC Radio cuts?Sunday 14 December 2014 4:56PM
Clacton-on-sea
Totally agree that the Government should restore payment to the BBC for funding the BBC World Service radio.
Funding this service, from the licence fee, is like a stealth tax on all licence payers and deprives the BBC of much needed cash to run its domestic radio and television services.
The paying public had no say in this funding matter of the World Service and politics aside, the Government action is tantamount to a raid.
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Wednesday 11 July 2012 8:21AM
Clacton-on-sea
Like Nick in Aldeburgh I also cannot get Channel 60 signal at all and this is in Clacton. All other channels stable and good quality.
Perhaps channel 60 is not, yet, transmitting at full intended power?