Owen Smith
Well-Known Member
I was just thinking the same thing. Can we get back on topic please?
Can't Get BBC4 HD
- Thread starter Nontech
- Start date
I was just thinking the same thing. Can we get back on topic please?
Oh dear, & all I wanted was simple advise!
Re post 33 I can't get at the wiring it's through the walls of the house.
Yes it was new cable when aerial was installed & yes it's pointing the same way as others.
I'm going to mail another neighbour who I think has a Humax to see what his situation is like.
Re post 33 I can't get at the wiring it's through the walls of the house.
Yes it was new cable when aerial was installed & yes it's pointing the same way as others.
I'm going to mail another neighbour who I think has a Humax to see what his situation is like.
Owen Smith
Well-Known Member
OFF TOPIC. FOR THE nTH TIME!
Owen Smith
Well-Known Member
I sympathise. My post 32 trying to be helpful is almost lost in the noise.
What's your ArqB signal strength, ie. the strength on UHF 39? That's closest to COM7's frequency so if your aerial is unsuitable it might show the beginning of problems.
MontysEvilTwin
Well-Known Member
Post #9:
Post 9 refers to Com 7 reception: relevant to the thread. How is WiFi relevant? Another futile attempt at obfuscation.
MontysEvilTwin
Well-Known Member
I apologise. My message (#18) was mentioned as a brief aside to provide information I had in response to a query: I noted it was off topic. I would have left it at that but when my posts were misrepresented and attempts were made to belittle me and dismiss my input I felt compelled to reply. I have had enough too and wish to leave it there. Apologies again.
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Owen Smith
Well-Known Member
Oh dear, what must people just wanting help think?
Yes you are trying to help.
If you mean the strength of channel 39, just checked it & it's 58% with Channel 50 still at 51%
MontysEvilTwin
Well-Known Member
Is the aerial downlead connected directly to the Humax or is there a faceplate on the wall and is it connected by fly lead? The connectors can come a bit loose over time. Is your aerial definitely a wideband? If it is the reflector is most likely curved or angled: if not it will probably be flat. If it is not wideband it may have a filter to block certain frequencies, depending on which group the aerial is in.
Edit. From the age of the installation it could be an E group aerial. This would block (or significantly attenuate a MUX on C31) and com7 is low power anyway. Apologies if this has been suggested before.
Does your Humax output 1080p by HDMI? I fell foul of this: unless your aerial leads are well shielded, the HDMI transmission can interfere with the UHF TV signal. This could wipe out a weak MUX such as com7. If you are outputting 1080p, try switching to 576i using the remote and retune CH31. If you get a signal this could be the problem.
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Owen Smith
Well-Known Member
I try to avoid the word "channel" since it can mean both the Logical Channel Number eg. BBC1 HD on 101, and the UHF channel number of the multiplex on the HDR's signal strength screen from 21 to 60.
OK so if channel 39 is on 58% strength the problem probably isn't your aerial per se, ie. it likely is a combination of factors like cabling, positioning, presence/absence of a mast head amp etc.
Gain of an aerial falls off rapidly a few channels above the aerial's group (hence high channels on a Group A are rubbish), but below the group the fall off is much more gradual. Hence manufacturers haven't sold C/D aerials for years, they sell C/D/W instead. The compromise to do this is minor. So if you do have a C/D aerial as was traditional for Tacolneston (pronounced tackle-stun I believe), the mere fact of it being Group C/D does not explain the problem on its own.
There is a faceplate on the wall, but I have checked the aerial connection at the faceplate end & at the Humax & both are firmly connected.
Yes it is a wideband aerial, just like our neighbours who can get BBC4 HD, it has two angled connectors.
I have adjusted the setting on the remote to 576i, retuned & still no channel 31!
Owen Smith
Well-Known Member
There were grouped aerials with angled reflectors, but they cost real money so aren't that common. They were made to the same standards as good modern widebands, I had a high quality Antiference group A built with angled reflectors for Sandy Heath analogue. The flat reflector aerials are cheap "contractor" aerials, generally installed free in the 1970s and 1980s as part of a TV rental agreement. Horrid things they were.
A group E aerial will be pretty good at channel 31 since it's not far below the group, and very few aerials have channel filters built into them. It costs money and is very rarely necessary.
Your HDMI interference suggestion is an excellent one. And the test of switching output to 576i costs nothing and takes moments, so well worth a shot. If that gives COM7 reception then there are things that can be done to get it with 1080p (or 1080i).
Owen Smith
Well-Known Member
Who did your neighbours get to install their aerial? A good installer (and I stress good, not a cowboy) stands a much better chance of sorting this out.
Do you have an aerial distribution system ie. is it split to lots of different outlets before it gets to your TV? If you do, see if you can plug the HDR direct into the aerial lead before the first split. The signal will be higher quality there.
Do you have an aerial distribution system ie. is it split to lots of different outlets before it gets to your TV? If you do, see if you can plug the HDR direct into the aerial lead before the first split. The signal will be higher quality there.
Owen Smith
Well-Known Member
Well, you can see the wiring where it goes into the back of the faceplate and into the aerial. Is there any sign of a foil overall screen as well as a braid inside the connections? You may need to look carefully where the outer cable sheath has been cut.
If the wiring is in the wall then it will most likely have been installed when the house was built, in which case it is likely to be the cheapest crappest cable the builders could find (and may or may not be the correct impedance if the builders were cowboys). Do you know if the cable is from when the house was built, or was it put in the walls later?
Can't you ask your neighbour who installed their aerial?
You haven't answered if you have an aerial distribution system. That will not be in the walls, it needs boxes and connections and maybe power to do that. This might be in the loft. Are there any TV wall outlets anywhere else in the house? If there are it's odds on you have a distribution system.
1 I prefer not to mess with the faceplate, knowing my luck it will explode!
2 The wiring was put into the walls by the builders when house was built 10 years ago
3 My neighbour, who I think has a Humax, is down the pub, will see perhaps tomorrow.
4 In the Loft there is a "Labgear MSA262 Amp, assume this is part of distribution system
Owen Smith
Well-Known Member
Ah, you have at least a loft amp. It may just be an amp, or it might be a distribution system. How many coaxes in an out does it have?
Does it look like this one:
http://www.screwfix.com/p/labgear-msa262-s-distribution-amplifier-2-input-6-output/86222
also this (both the same in case URLs stop working):
http://www.av4all.co.uk/labgear-msa262-input-amplifier-p-2627.html
Specs don't look good, 5db noise figure is high. This amp is potentially causing as many problems as it is solving, and with it in place we can't really tell what signal strength you are getting from the aerial. That's what I meant when I asked about a direct connection earlier. Ideally I'd like you to bypass this amp ie. connect the input coming from the aerial directly to the output cable going to your TV. Whether this is possible depends on what the connectors are on the two cables, I can't tell if one is male and one female from either the pictures or the link to the instructions on the screwfix site.
Owen Smith
Well-Known Member
Also this amp has a built in Tetra filter, which means it attenuates low frequencies. My experience of these is that they also attenuate abbout the first 10 UHF channels since they're usually cheaply made with a gradual roll off. Unless you need a filter you're best off without them as they can cause all sorts of funny effects at unexpected channel numbers, I need a filter but had terrible trouble finding one that didn't mess up my already marginal signal.