All posts by Chris.SE
Below are all of Chris.SE's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Steve Donaldson:
Whilst your analysis is always thorough, earlier when I checked, both the BBC transmitter checker and the Freeview one predicted good reception at that location.
Additionally Plympton would require a Group K aerial rather than a Group A currently needed for Caradon Hill and therefore likely require additional expenditure.
This is clearly a recent problem and therefore I don't believe the radiation patterns have any bearing on the current problem.
There are other issues at play!.
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Henry Porcher:
Whilst you've posted on the DAB transmitter page rather than the Freeview one where it says that it's horizontally polarised, as you haven't (again) given a full postcode we can't give specific comment about predicted reception in your location.
But going by your previous posts, did you ever read the responses you were given, especially the 9th November last year.
People can obviously receive more than one transmitter in your general area (none necessarily 100% reliably) which is why aerials may be pointing in different directions.
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John Terry:
Information about the location of commercial DAB transmitters whose multiplexes D1 and SDL carry most of these commercial stations is not easy to track down which can make it difficult to decide on a good location for a receiver in weaker signal areas, or in which direction to point an aerial when a receiver has a capability of an external aerial! It is a lot easier for BBC services!
What I can say is that not all sites with a commercial transmitter have the SDL multiplex which is the one that carries Boom! And AFAIK there are no plans to expand this network in the near future, and yet another site that helped locate commercial transmitters has disappeared in recent months!!
AFAIK and can check the only sites in SE England with the SDL multiplex are at Wrotham (nr London), Bluebell Hill (NE Kent), Ashford Wye and Dunkirk.
If I uncover any further information that maybe of use, I'll post back. One of the other regulars here may be able to add further comment.
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michael:
Hi michael, Happy New Year to you.
Can you not turn off the automatic updating on that obviously not very clever "smart" TV?
What brand and model is it? One to avoid in my book!
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Steve Donaldson:
Thanks, yes I know I have copies. That doesn't make it any easier to find transmitters near a specific area, transmitting a specific mux. it's still a tedious search.
This site no longer exists but was useful as you could look on a map or by list.
https:// www.ukdigitalradio.com /coverage/currenttransmitters/default.asp
(I've deliberately put spaces in the url so it's not clickable as it's a 404).
I prefer using wohnort as a starting point https:// www.wohnort.org/dab/uknat.html
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Steve Donaldson:
Well thank you for that, I had not come across those pages, very useful indeed. Thanks.
(I note they've got a link to the dead site I mentioned earlier!)
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Martin Fox:
BBC 3 Counties is on the Herts Beds Bucks Local multiplex - Block 10D: 215.072 MHz
This is the coverage map published by Arqiva -
https://www.arqiva.com/me….pdf
Coverage could be a bit patchy in the general MK18 area, the transmitter is roughly in a NE direction.
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Martin Fox;
To add to the above there's also a transmitter at Aylesbury (on the BT Telephone Exchange apparently!).
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Allan Robertson:
Boom Radio is carried on the SDL National multiplex Block 11A: 216.928 MHz, so if you are having problems with it's reception, you should have similar problems with other stations on the multiplex - eg. Absolute 80s & also 90s, Jazz FM, Magic Classical, Talk, Times Radio etc. just to name some of them.
A number of other commercial stations are carried on the D1 National multiplex Block 12A: 223.936MHz in Scotland..
BBC main stations are on the BBC National multiplex Block 12B: 225.648 MHz
Unfortunately only the BBC National multiplex is transmitted from Balgownie.
The SDL multiplex is not transmitted from as many transmitters in the UK as the the D1 multiplex and even fewer in Scotland.
That said, there is a main transmitter not too far away at Redmoss, south of Aberdeen which is probably where you are getting your D1 and SDL signals from. However you aren't predicted in your general area to get the SDL multiplex as well as the D1 multiplex.
So try and ensure that your receiver has as clear as possible line-of-sight to the south.
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Monday 6 January 2025 12:39AM
Jeremy Greenaway:
It would be more helpful if you could be more specific about exactly which channels you've had problems with, Sky and Blaze are carried on two different multiplexes although they are both commercial ones.
For which TV channels are carried on which multiplex see
Channel listings for Industry Professionals | Freeview
You aren't the only one who has had some reception difficulties recently but there are a variety of reasons, one being location dependant.
About a week ago, it was Weather conditions, the High Pressure was causing some Tropospheric Ducting which resulted in interference from distant transmitters in Europe and/or the UK. This affected various parts of the country at different times. Freeview and the BBC issued warnings.
2nd, earlier in December, the Caradon Hill transmitter was having Planned Engineering where power may have been reduced or transmissions may have been on the Reserve Antenna which may have resulted in lower signals at your location.
Another (3rd) reason is specific to your postcode, but I'll come to that in a minute.
But first, Retuning is a BAD idea when you have No Signal - you cannot tune to signals that aren't there or can't be decoded, the usual result is to clear the correct tuning, and maybe in some circumstances tune you to weak and unreliable signals from other transmitters that disappear or come and go. In your location you might get some signals from the Plymouth North Rd. Relay (PSB multiplexes only) or the Plympton transmitter. These may be received off rear sidelobes on your aerial.
So the first check is go into your TV Tuning section and check you are correctly tuned to Caradon Hill's UHF channels.
In the multiplex order BBCA/PSB1, D3&4/PSB2, BBCB HD/PSB3, SDN/COM4, ArqA/COM5, ArqB/COM6
As detailed at the very top of this page, the UHF channels are C28, C25, C22, C21, C24 and C27.
In your TV tuning section, do you also see Signal Strength and Quality figures for each multiplex's UHF channel? If so, please post each of them, this may help identify problems
Some further detail about your installation would be useful. How old is your aerial and coax (roughly)?
Do you have an amp/splitter that feed more than one TV or box? Where is it located?
Now you mention a new "cable junction box" what exactly is it and where is it?
For the price you've mentioned I've expected an new aerial and coax downlead!!
Did the installer measure the signal strengths with a professional meter and did he check for interference issues with a spectrum analyser?
The 3rd possible cause of your problem may be interference from a new/upgraded phone mast now using the 700MHz band. You should have received a postcard from Restore TV. You are surrounded by a number of masts very close to you.
If you can update with as much information as possible, we should be able to make some practical suggestions to resolve the problem.