Sandy heath - only just noticed that I do not get Sky news on Arq A. Hopefully after the re-tune next week when that MUX drops from channel 67 to 52 I may get it back. All other muxes coming in fine (inc HD)... I inherited the aerial when I moved so might not be wideband enough to cater from channel 21 up to 67?
Yay - welcome back Arq A after the re-tune at 6am this morning. means I won't have to get the arerial replaced after all.
There was a lift this morning. I was able to get all 3 PSB muxes earlier from Sandy Heath from a few miles east of Ipswich. Didn't help me with 63 from Sudbury though.
The spectrum is a bit crowded round my way now. Have a look at this pic from a spectrum analyser:
I've labelled the Sudbury signals. You can see the new Tac PSBs on 42 & 45 though 50 is a bit low. The stuff on 48,51,52,53 are the local relays at Woodbridge & Felixstowe, and the Tac COM muxes on 55, 59, 62 are obvious. I can't remember what 57 is. It's quite noticeable, especially on a smaller frequency span, that the off-beam signals have a very lumpy spectrum whereas the on-beam ones from Sudbury are pretty much flat-topped. Note that the signals in my distribution system are 20dB or so lower than shown - I've put an amp in front of the analyser so I can see the system noise floor rather than the analyser noise floor.
C21 no signal: HD is probably the reason. The HD mux has different modulation.
C21+. The plus denotes a small frequency offset (upwards) from the usual C21 frequency.
Cheers for the quick response...
I checked my TV and it is a grundig elegance gu19wdvdt - which is supposed to be "HD Ready" - just not in the tuner I guess.. !!!
If 63 is "working" this morning at Sudbury and wasn't before, presumably it's linked to the FEC change yesterday and whatever else they did last night...
I don't know if the guys at the Sudbury mast tweet - you might get some more info - one of senior engineers at Tacolneston was tweeting as things were being switched off/on last night...
I checked my TV and it is a grundig elegance gu19wdvdt - which is supposed to be "HD Ready" - just not in the tuner I guess.. !!!
HD ready just means the screen can do HD resolution (at least 1280x720). If it can receive Freeview HD it would have a "Freeview HD" logo on the set or in the user guide.
.... presumably it's linked to the FEC change yesterday...
The FEC change from 2/3 to 3/4 actually reduced the capability to correct errors so for those on the margin, pictures and sound will be more corrupted.
The FEC change from 2/3 to 3/4 actually reduced the capability to correct errors so for those on the margin, pictures and sound will be more corrupted.
Sure - I understand that. I was referring to the fact that there are two masts in use - I wonder if they've swapped antennas or whatever they do.
Likewise with Tacolneston and Sandy Heath changing last night I was wondering whether that might have made any difference...
With the lift on at the moment my aerial picked up enough from Belmont for the TV to store the different ITV1 at 800. The Humax 9200T found Sandy Heath on 24 & 27 instead and so necessitated a manual tune.
Fortunately the reception from the new Lowestoft relay (wrong polarity and about 110 off bearing) is too poor to be automatically stored by any of the other sets in the house.
I had to provide Father-in-Law (73) with the frequencies to do a manual tune as his TVs had opted for Sandy rather than Tacolneston and he'd "lost all the BBC channels"! {How many others around here will have had the same problem, I wonder}. He was popping next door to re-tune his even older neighbour later on!
Here is what I observed from Sandy Heath 23 Nov 2011. Everything happened so fast I could easily have missed some muxes going down and coming back up briefly. If it's not mentioned then I have no information about it.
23:00 Arq B UHF 48 is FEC 3/4 (to check before start)
00:05 Mux C gone from UHF 67
00:07 Arq B gone from UHF 48
00:10 Arq A up on UHF 52, Arq B back on UHF 48
D3+4 never went off, I was watching C4 on another TV
Arq A and Arq B Sandy Heath both now 8K, 64QAM, FEC 3/4, guard 1/32 (Nokia 221T diagnostics screen)
Sky Text is available on LCN 108 (though I was distinctly underwhelmed when I tried it)
Arq A and Arq B coming in at pretty much identical signal strengths, the same as Arq B previously.
Of course this does not complete Sandy's DSO, we still have Mux A on a pre DSO configuration at low power (20KW) on UHF 31. We have to wait until 9 May 2012 for this to become SDN on UHF 51.
Telephoned daughter, King's Lynn and Belmont coming in fine at her location so the aerial system is working fine, she tells me that all Belmont channels show 55% signal strength and 100% quality, and King's Lynn shows 80% signal strength and 100% quality.
That's not bad for a pair of log 40s in a loft with the Belmont one pointing through a brick end gable, the KL aerial points through the tiles and a good 3dB drop through the combiner.
Here is what I observed from Sandy Heath 23 Nov 2011. Everything happened so fast I could easily have missed some muxes going down and coming back up briefly. If it's not mentioned then I have no information about it.
23:00 Arq B UHF 48 is FEC 3/4 (to check before start)
00:05 Mux C gone from UHF 67
00:07 Arq B gone from UHF 48
00:10 Arq A up on UHF 52, Arq B back on UHF 48
D3+4 never went off, I was watching C4 on another TV
Arq A and Arq B Sandy Heath both now 8K, 64QAM, FEC 3/4, guard 1/32 (Nokia 221T diagnostics screen)
Sky Text is available on LCN 108 (though I was distinctly underwhelmed when I tried it)
Arq A and Arq B coming in at pretty much identical signal strengths, the same as Arq B previously.
Of course this does not complete Sandy's DSO, we still have Mux A on a pre DSO configuration at low power (20KW) on UHF 31. We have to wait until 9 May 2012 for this to become SDN on UHF 51.
I just did the retune for Sandy Heath on my Humax. All went well, but right at the end it wanted me to select either:
East Anglia
or
Cambridgeshire&Bedfordshire
whats the difference? East Anglia was highlighted as default but I actually chose Cambs&Beds seeing as I am in Cambridge. Is this correct?
OK, Cambs & Beds = signals from Sandy heath
East anglia = Tacolneston, though I would be surprised even with last nights power increase that you were getting Tac, are you on the East side of Cambridge or on high ground?
Both are here about 85-90% signal strength and 100% signal quality, up from about 60% signal strength and 100% signal quality.
Yes, they are both pretty strong here in Thetford forest - it's gone from no SKY news (& the rest of that MUX) from either Sandy or Tac, to good signals from both of them overnight!
In fact on the Eastwards direction Tac aerial, I'm getting Sandy from the back too!
Comments
Yay - welcome back Arq A after the re-tune at 6am this morning. means I won't have to get the arerial replaced after all.
Mine is perfect this morning too, whereas last week, it was breaking up every few seconds.
Could be that now 64 is cleared of channel 4 analogue from tac
C4 was on 65 - Mux D at 5KW was on 64.
There was a lift this morning. I was able to get all 3 PSB muxes earlier from Sandy Heath from a few miles east of Ipswich. Didn't help me with 63 from Sudbury though.
The spectrum is a bit crowded round my way now. Have a look at this pic from a spectrum analyser:
http://i41.tinypic.com/33uwqol.jpg
I've labelled the Sudbury signals. You can see the new Tac PSBs on 42 & 45 though 50 is a bit low. The stuff on 48,51,52,53 are the local relays at Woodbridge & Felixstowe, and the Tac COM muxes on 55, 59, 62 are obvious. I can't remember what 57 is. It's quite noticeable, especially on a smaller frequency span, that the off-beam signals have a very lumpy spectrum whereas the on-beam ones from Sudbury are pretty much flat-topped. Note that the signals in my distribution system are 20dB or so lower than shown - I've put an amp in front of the analyser so I can see the system noise floor rather than the analyser noise floor.
Cheers for the quick response...
I checked my TV and it is a grundig elegance gu19wdvdt - which is supposed to be "HD Ready" - just not in the tuner I guess.. !!!
I don't know if the guys at the Sudbury mast tweet - you might get some more info - one of senior engineers at Tacolneston was tweeting as things were being switched off/on last night...
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2lsg0f4&s=5
*edit*
jcsager seems to think there's some lift... that's explain drgeoffs comments of working one minute then nothing the next
HD ready just means the screen can do HD resolution (at least 1280x720). If it can receive Freeview HD it would have a "Freeview HD" logo on the set or in the user guide.
Likewise with Tacolneston and Sandy Heath changing last night I was wondering whether that might have made any difference...
Yes, goodbye & riddence to C67 - it was useless in all it's work here in Thetford Forest!
D'oh!
Fortunately the reception from the new Lowestoft relay (wrong polarity and about 110 off bearing) is too poor to be automatically stored by any of the other sets in the house.
I had to provide Father-in-Law (73) with the frequencies to do a manual tune as his TVs had opted for Sandy rather than Tacolneston and he'd "lost all the BBC channels"! {How many others around here will have had the same problem, I wonder}. He was popping next door to re-tune his even older neighbour later on!
SDN was also off last night for some reason (not sure how long for, but I couldn't get a signal after I'd done a retune at about 3AM)
23:00 Arq B UHF 48 is FEC 3/4 (to check before start)
00:05 Mux C gone from UHF 67
00:07 Arq B gone from UHF 48
00:10 Arq A up on UHF 52, Arq B back on UHF 48
D3+4 never went off, I was watching C4 on another TV
Arq A and Arq B Sandy Heath both now 8K, 64QAM, FEC 3/4, guard 1/32 (Nokia 221T diagnostics screen)
Sky Text is available on LCN 108 (though I was distinctly underwhelmed when I tried it)
Arq A and Arq B coming in at pretty much identical signal strengths, the same as Arq B previously.
Of course this does not complete Sandy's DSO, we still have Mux A on a pre DSO configuration at low power (20KW) on UHF 31. We have to wait until 9 May 2012 for this to become SDN on UHF 51.
That's not bad for a pair of log 40s in a loft with the Belmont one pointing through a brick end gable, the KL aerial points through the tiles and a good 3dB drop through the combiner.
Box is a Technika STBHDIS2010
DigitalUK does list 3/4 for ArqA on Sandy Heath
The only much to switch now is SDN which switches on 9 May 2012
Are C48 & C52 now on full power of 170KW?
Yes.
Both are here about 85-90% signal strength and 100% signal quality, up from about 60% signal strength and 100% signal quality.
East Anglia
or
Cambridgeshire&Bedfordshire
whats the difference? East Anglia was highlighted as default but I actually chose Cambs&Beds seeing as I am in Cambridge. Is this correct?
C48 comes in ok but c52 is the same signal strength but poor quality.
Receiving from sandy heath in south stevenage.
OK, Cambs & Beds = signals from Sandy heath
East anglia = Tacolneston, though I would be surprised even with last nights power increase that you were getting Tac, are you on the East side of Cambridge or on high ground?
Yes, they are both pretty strong here in Thetford forest - it's gone from no SKY news (& the rest of that MUX) from either Sandy or Tac, to good signals from both of them overnight!
In fact on the Eastwards direction Tac aerial, I'm getting Sandy from the back too!