700 MHz clearance

prpr

prpr

Well-Known Member
It looks like people living in the environs of Torbay and South Devon who receive from Beacon Hill and relays will be losing the COM7 and COM8 multiplexes at the end of March next year.
I'm fairly sure this wasn't part of the original plan - they were due to be moved on to the national SFN on channels 55 and 56 - so I wonder what's changed?
Controversial, possibly?
 
The original plan did not have any national SFNs for COM7 and COM8 at all, they would have been switched off by now under the very original plan. Their retention on national SFNs is already a bonus.

Remember that COM7 and COM8 are lashed together using pre DSO transmitting equipment plus the occasional new antenna at some transmitting sites. I believe that as various transmitters move them to channels 55 and 56 nothing is being done to the antennas, they are just getting 55 and 56 shoved into them and we hope for the best. Information on this aspect is sketchy to say the least.

Maybe the Beacon Hill COM7 and COM8 gear just can't cope with channels 55 and 56 and there isn't any money to do anything about it? Or maybe self interference problems on the SFNs are too much for it to be expected to work? Lots of things to go wrong with COM7 and COM8.
 
I have to say, in terms of the original goals of COM7 and COM8 multiplexes of encouraging uptake of DVB-T2 and MPEG4 compatible receiver equipment I believe COM7 and COM8 have been near complete failures.
 
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Owen Smith said:
I have to say, in terms of the original goals of COM7 and COM8 multiplexes of encouraging uptake of DVB-T2 and MPEG4 compatible receiver equipment I believe COM7 and COM8 have been near complete failures.
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It's not exactly surprising. Here is what's on them:
5USA+1
CBS Reality +1
Quest Red+1
Keep It Country
Pick+1
Travelxp
Yesterday+1
BBC NEWS HD
Al Jazeera Eng HD
Channel 4+1 HD
4seven HD
RT HD
Bollywood HD
Trans World Radio

STAR+1
FreeSports
More4+1
NOW XMAS
Together
PBS America
Forces TV
BBC FOUR HD
QVC HD
QVC Beauty HD
QUEST HD
CBeebies HD

If we exclude +1 (and similar), Shopping, News and Kids channels, and Radio we get:
Keep It Country
Travelxp
Bollywood HD

FreeSports
NOW XMAS
Together
PBS America
Forces TV
BBC FOUR HD
QUEST HD

Most of the point of DVB-T2 is for HD, so that reduces to:
Bollywood HD
BBC FOUR HD
QUEST HD

Bollywood is hardly of interest to the vast majority of people and Quest has only been around for a few weeks, so that leaves BBC Four - a part time channel of fairly low reach.
 
More than half of everything I watch is on BBC Four. I agree what COM7 and COM8 have been allowed to become is a near total waste, but I wouldn't be without BBC Four HD. What don't understand is why it didn't get BBC Three HD's slot on PSB3 when Three closed down. The BBC have not managed to use that bandwidth for much in the intervening years, and at one point even considered selling it!
 
Owen Smith said:
I wouldn't be without BBC Four HD.
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Me neither.
What don't understand is why it didn't get BBC Three HD's slot on PSB3 when Three closed down.
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Yes, but they seemed to want to extend CBBC instead, so there is now a clash between 7 and 9pm. Seems like a pretty bad decision to me, but who knows how the minds of the people who decide these things work?
 
Can not pick these up from Caradon Hill transmitter so I guess the switch
has been flicked unless the landlords aerial has some form of filter blocker
 
Crashed said:
Can not pick these up from Caradon Hill transmitter so I guess the switch
has been flicked unless the landlords aerial has some form of filter blocker
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Caradon Hill was not mentioned in the news reports of the Com7&COM8 switch off for 27th March 2019.
The 27th March 2019 is a date in the future, and has not happened yet.

Digitaluk.co.uk's clearance list for Q1-Q2 2019 does not include any changes for the main Caradon Hill transmitter. Sometimes the details from the extreme end of the list do get amended and this may change.
Digitaluk.co.uk's clearance list for Q1-Q2 2019 can currently be viewed at http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/operations/700mhz_clearance/clearance_events_in_2019

Differences between digital.co.uk clearance list and their predictor for someone in the appropriate area with an appropriately mounted aerial the predictor can be ahead of the game slightly.
Currently the predictor is suggesting 19 June 2019 as a date something is happening, but that date is also currently in the future, and has not happened yet.
http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/coveragechecker/main/trade/PL14+5LT/NA/0/NA
 
Bit weird that I can no longer pick them up but I did just use auto tune before but was having recording failures.
Noticed manual tuning I can pick up both Caradon & Plympton so im guessing landlord has two aerials but signals
fairly rubbish on both with Plympton being marginally better. Thinking of asking him to get it checked as the cable
and set up looks old.
 
Luke said:
WHere are you seeing that?
I've now realised that last week https://www.a516digital.com/2019/01/retune-dates-for-freeview-in-south-west.html stated that they are being switched off on the 19th June for Caradon, not moved.
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Can't tell you, but it's over a year old info. now.
They definitely were scheduled to be moved, so if they are being switched off then that's a change to the plan.
Looks like the people of Devon/Cornwall are really getting screwed over this loss of COM7/8.
 
Was the 19th of June now I see its the 10th of April for caradon hill

Ignore I read it wrong it's still 19th of June
 
Mendip starts a simulcast of PSB1 on 3rd April - channel 32 duplicates channel 49.
On 4th April, the old PSB1 on 49 has all its LCNs changed to be in the range 751-777 (and presumably the service IDs will also change).
 
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