All posts by Stuart Owens
Below are all of Stuart Owens's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.I've mentioned before that I live in a flat and the communal roof aerial is pointing to Winter Hill. In my loft, I have a tv set top aerial connected to an amplifier that receives excellent signals from The Wrekin, Sutton Coldfield and Lichfield.
For some strange reason, I have never been able to get a decent picture from having an outdoor aerial fitted in the loft yet I can get great pictures from a set-top aerial!
Why is this?
I have tried in turn 10, 32 and 48 element aerials. Using an amplifier makes the picture worse. I am using good quality satellite grade coax cable so why is such a little indoor aerial capable of giving better results than an outdoor aerial?
It's got me baffled!
I wanted to use an outdoor aerial in the loft instead of the set-top type because that aerial is mounted on top of some boxes to give it more height and improved reception which doesn't look and feel all that great or safe and an outdoor type would look better and thought it would further improve reception but this has not been the case.
Would anyone be able to tell me why I am experiencing such unexpected results?
Hope to have an answer soon.
Thanks,
Stuart.
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I've mentioned before that I live in a flat and the communal roof aerial is pointing to Winter Hill. In my loft, I have a tv set top aerial connected to an amplifier that receives excellent signals from The Wrekin, Sutton Coldfield and Lichfield.
For some strange reason, I have never been able to get a decent picture from having an outdoor aerial fitted in the loft yet I can get great pictures from a set-top aerial!
Why is this?
I have tried in turn 10, 32 and 48 element aerials. Using an amplifier makes the picture worse. I am using good quality satellite grade coax cable so why is such a little indoor aerial capable of giving better results than an outdoor aerial?
It's got me baffled!
I wanted to use an outdoor aerial in the loft instead of the set-top type because that aerial is mounted on top of some boxes to give it more height and improved reception which doesn't look and feel all that great or safe and an outdoor type would look better and thought it would further improve reception but this has not been the case.
Would anyone be able to tell me why I am experiencing such unexpected results?
Hope to have an answer soon.
Thanks,
Stuart.
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Mike Dimmick: Thanks for that info.
I was able to try a 2nd set-top aerial like the one I've got that my parents no longer require and combine both aerials into the amplifier and it's giving better results again than just the one aerial!
With one aerial I was getting lines on the pic of Channel 5 from Lichfield. With the two combined, this has removed that problem.
I did try connecting each aerial into it's own amplifier and then combining but picture was slighly poorer.
I've also got each aerial mounted onto metal poles that were used for shower curtains and am using terry clips to clamp the poles onto the wooden beams of the roof trusses so at least they're no longer balancing on top of boxes and look much neater and safer now.
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Another question I have:
How do you count the elements of a TV aerial?
When you look at a 14 element aerial and compare it to something like a 32, 44 or 52 element aerial, there only visually looks to be roughly the same amount of elements.
These high gain aerials that are listed as 32 elements or more usually have elements in a 'X' shape fitted onto the aerial boom.
In this case, would each of these 'X's be counted as 2 elements or even 4 elements?
Would you be able to put up a labelled picture diagram and explain this please Briantist?
Cheers,
Stuart.
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Sadly, I've been recording the regional news programmes recently the end of last year and beginning of this year mainly on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for news about DSO.
East Midlands Today/Central Tonight has had news about Nottingham.
Look East/Anglia Tonight has had news about Sudbury.
Midlands Today/Central Tonight has had news about The Wrekin/Bromsgrove/Lark Stoke/Ridge Hill.
Points West/The West Tonight has had news about Ridge Hill (HTV West).
But I have heard absolutely NOTHING about DSO on any dates for DSO at transmitters in Scotland on Reporting Scotland and STV News At Six.
Have I missed it?
If so,
Why is neither Scottish regional news programme reporting about Digital Switch-Over?
Don't they have a duty to remind their viewers about it in case they put their TV's on Wednesday morning and find they have lost all their channels and they don't know why and possibly end up calling an engineer out or buying a new TV?
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Tony Currie: The other news programmes I have watched, they had a full report lasting a few minutes about switchover and then the news presenters would talk to an expert from Digital UK about it both the night before and the night after switchover.
Reporting Scotland said nothing about it tonight.
STV News had all of 45 seconds about it.
Very poor really. I expected a lot more about it to be honest as it's a big day for Scotland. I remember Wales said a lot more about it than Scotland seems to have done.
Maybe I just wasn't watching on the correct nights, but just thought because the switchovers generally have happened Tuesday night-Wednesday morning, then that's when the regional news programmes is more likely to mention about DSO.
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According to the 'Full list of analogue transmitter shutdown dates': UK digital switchover dates | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice -
The page still shows that some transmitters are still to be confirmed by Digital UK. In green text: 'On or before (projected date) Wednesday 20th July 2011'.
I know obviously I am not affected and that these dates are all confirmed.
Just wondering as to when the heading will change to black text and say: 'On Wednesday 20th July 2011'?
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Like I posted on Monday 4th July:
According to the 'Full list of analogue transmitter shutdown dates': UK digital switchover dates | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice -
The page still shows that some transmitters are still to be confirmed by Digital UK. In green text: 'On or before (projected date) Wednesday 20th July 2011'.
I know obviously I am not affected and that these dates are all confirmed.
Just wondering as to when the heading will change to black text and say: 'On Wednesday 20th July 2011'?
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Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham, England) Full Freeview transmitte
Tuesday 2 August 2011 10:59PM
Wrexham
Tuesday 2 August 2011 10:59PM
Wrexham
I posted this on Digital Spy tonight (2nd August) but looks like no-one could help me:
Did anyone watch the on-air mistake on BBC (West) Midlands Today tonight?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was watching in Analogue on Sutton Coldfield and was wondering if all analogue, freeview, freesat and Sky viewers were affected with the same as what I saw:
A couple of times, the broadcast switched to a recording of Antiques Roadshow!
As no other channel was showing that at the time, it couldn't have been an engineering switching break or anything.
I'm guessing the production team at The Mailbox, Birmingham pressed the wrong button to switch out Midlands Today and start playing a VT of Fiona Bruce presenting Antiques Roadshow!
I'm just wondering if this was a mistake, whether the mistake went out on all platforms or just certain ones?
Hope some others who saw this can let me know and what platform (analogue, freeview, freesat and Sky) they were watching it on.
Thanks.
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Thursday 9 June 2011 8:19PM
Wrexham
I've mentioned before that I live in a flat and the communal roof aerial is pointing to Winter Hill. In my loft, I have a tv set top aerial connected to an amplifier that receives excellent signals from The Wrekin, Sutton Coldfield and Lichfield.
For some strange reason, I have never been able to get a decent picture from having an outdoor aerial fitted in the loft yet I can get great pictures from a set-top aerial!
Why is this?
I have tried in turn 10, 32 and 48 element aerials. Using an amplifier makes the picture worse. I am using good quality satellite grade coax cable so why is such a little indoor aerial capable of giving better results than an outdoor aerial?
It's got me baffled!
I wanted to use an outdoor aerial in the loft instead of the set-top type because that aerial is mounted on top of some boxes to give it more height and improved reception which doesn't look and feel all that great or safe and an outdoor type would look better and thought it would further improve reception but this has not been the case.
Would anyone be able to tell me why I am experiencing such unexpected results?
Hope to have an answer soon.
Thanks,
Stuart.