All posts by Mr K
Below are all of Mr K's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.I haven't noticed any issues at all tbh and I'm using a Sony 43" TV together with Panasonic and Sony HDD recorders. Sound is as good as ever.
I can't see any way a transmission fault could cause muffled sound with it being a digital based system. It sounds like something else unique to you and your set up is going on tbh
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One possibly practical bit of advice on logs (and based purely on what I see on rooftops) would be that while the log periodic can be an excellent technical solution they also seem problematic to mount really securely as they all seem to be tail mounted. I see so many drooping down, probably due to birds landing on them, and this I understand is bad news because of the way the log is constructed and the position of the internal terminations which are at the front of the boom. Water then collects in the boom and causes issues. I also believe the F connector that they all seem to use at the back of the boom for connection to the outside world is very difficult to get watertight over the long term. Again looking around I see a lot with a large 'loop' of coax going up and over the height of the installed aerial, presumable to stop water making it right down the cable.
It is certainly something to be aware of for an external installation. Get a good rigger you can talk to.
What I also see around here are a few of the really small logs and they look very sturdy indeed. They are tiny, just looking now.... Labgear LPCT at 340mm length. I'm assuming they are successful as I see a few around, and some on bungalows so at a height disadvantage.
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It was CPC and I've actually just been to the trade counter this morning... wanted some caps for something I'm working on.
It was CPC I got the dimensions from. It's hard gauging size from the ground but the ones I see look very very small indeed. Looking at Antiference now... yes they say 440mm and show a picture. It looks about right in relation to the mast so maybe CPC is in error. They do look small up on a roof.
Another strange sight around here that I'm not sure about. Mini Yagis? I can find nothing on these at all. Is there such a thing?
Now had I seen one of these looking tatty I would just dismiss it as a Yagi with the front part of the boom that had fallen off but I've seen around three now that are Yagi's and with just 3 elements in front of the dipole. These all look shiny new installs. In fact I'm sure on one of these I noticed the old aerial blown down, wondered what might appear, and it was one of these. I really don't know whether they are 'real' or defective damaged ordinary ones.
They all look pretty much like a standard Antiference style Yagi but a short boom of I think just 3 elements at the front, tail mounted. They look even smaller than those miniature logs.
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So these are real... another shiny new one has just gone up a few hundred metres from where I am.
I can not find (so far) a picture of these anywhere, let alone who makes them. They look like a Yagi with a proper reflector at the back, but hardly any boom in front.
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Yes, well done! Those look exactly like the ones I see. I wonder just how suitable those will prove over time. The description suggests more for mobile use rather than permanent installations and there isn't much in reserve gain wise.
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StevensOnln1:
The distance is 44km from here to Winter Hill. I did a lot of research when I did my loft install including compass bearings (amazing what you can do with free web sites such as finding the bearing between to two locations).
I am seeing more and more of those little Yagi's in this neighbourhood, relatively speaking of course. It would be interesting to know if it was one particular contractor fitting these as logs seem to have been the preferred fitment these days for pretty much every situation in the last few years.
I do wonder how they will last as it only needs a small reduction in signal level (damp in cable etc) to really have an impact. Also thinking of when transmitters are on low power for maintenance.
One to watch I think.
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For interest I did a test using the Sony recorder that is on its own individual feed from the low gain distribution amp in the loft (as opposed to the main set up that has a three way passive splitter feeding TV, Sony recorder (yes I have two) and the Panasonic recorder).
So picking a representative MUX on CH31 we get:
0db = 88%
3db = 87%
6db = 84%
10db = 72%
12db = 65%
15db = 56%
18db = 50%
24db = 31%
All 5 main MUXES are broadly similar give or take. The Sony can not receive the HD CH37 MUX but levels here are good on the TV and Panasonic.
The lower power CH21 (?) and CH40 are the odd ones out. These show CH21 and CH40 respectively. Signal quality was 100% for all except for the one entry detailed below.
0db 35% and 57%
3db 34% and 51%
6db 35% and 42% (35% was what it was)
10db 35% and 35%
12db 34% and 32%
15db 11% and 36% (signal Quality fell to 24% on CH21 but was error free to view)
18db 0% and 31%
24db 0% and 35%
All the attenuators used were single individual values and not stacked or combined. It looks like the tuner must be working overtime with its AGC (as expected) as the results are not very linear and it 'holds on' as long as it can with ever lower levels. Never the less the set up seems to have plenty in reserve and have to say I'm really pleased given its a loft install.
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A very (very) old issue seems to have reappeared as of yesterday the 21st June.
The problem relates to older Sony equipment (such as RDR-HXD870 recorders) and basically renders them unusable.
Key points are channels such as BBC1 do not display.
The EPG is 'wrong', its the wrong colour for one thing.
Signal checks show 'tuning' and then the screen goes blank.
This was a massive issue 10 yrs ago and did get resolved by Freeview. The symptoms seem the same as back then. Factory resets etc (if they work at all) have the issue reappear when the machine does its background channel scans.
There was a huge thread on this issue on 'avforums' at the time as back then there were lots of this sort of gear in use.
Any thoughts? perhaps as to what has actually changed.
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Thanks Chris, the issue has snowballed and is now affecting these products nationwide. Sony, the BBC and Freeview are all now involved. Apparently the coding for the EPG has changed and that has caused issues on some equipment.
Everyone is hoping they can/will fix this as there are lots of these older units still giving excellent service.
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Thursday 16 July 2020 10:21AM
Thornton-cleveleys
Chris.SE:
Thanks for the update Chris.