Channels being forgotten

[mr-b]

Hi

My mother's Hummy seems to be forgetting channels every few days i.e. she gets "no signal" on turning it on and several channels are completely missing from the EPG. Usually it's the HD ones but sometimes SD ones go too.. Unfortunately I don't have a definitive list as she just runs a Automatic search each time to get them back.

An unfortunate side-effect of the rescan is that the recording schedule seems to be deleted. I thought the firmware backed up the schedule but on viewing the daily backups they all seem to be blank, or more accurately:
Backup version 2 Favourites 1 '0' Favourites 2 '0' Favourites 3 '0' Favourites 4 '0' Favourites 5 '0'

But in any case why would channels disappear spontaneously?

I do know that her aerial signal strength isn't great - ranging from 24% on Com7 up to 45% on other Muxes, even though the quality is always 100% and I've not noticed any picture break-ups.
So today whilst visiting, I installed a masthead amp in the loft and now the signal strength ranges from 66 - 80%.
However I did notice while testing the amp that the EPG had lost most of the channels! So is this normal for it to delete channels on temporary signal loss?

 

[Luke]

You've posted this in the Customised Firmware area of the site. If tunefix is installed have you checked that it is up to date and that the preferred region setting is either correct or blank.

 

[Black Hole]

But in any case why would channels disappear spontaneously

Faulty NVRAM; or tunefix; or perhaps you just need to run the system flush utility.

on viewing the daily backups they all seem to be blank

You need to ensure a backup occurs while there is something to back up.

 

[mr-b]

Tunefix is installed and updating ok.

Automatically upgraded package tunefix-update from 1.0.89 to 1.0.90

I've entered some scheduled recordings so will see if they're backed up tonight.
How do i determine if nvram is faulty?

 

[Luke]

Tunefix is installed and updating ok.

On tunefix is the Preferred Region either correct or blank?

 

[Black Hole]

Tunefix is installed and updating ok.

tunefix is not the same as tunefix-update. You need to ensure your settings for tunefix are not wiping out the tuning - if in doubt, uninstall it.

How do i determine if nvram is faulty?

I don't know of a way, but as a former electronics design engineer I have speculated that as our machines approach and exceed 10 years of age it is the likes of the NVRAM which will die first.

 

[mr-b]

Ah ok, tunefix is configured to Meridian which I assume is still correct for Rowridge.

 

[prpr]

tunefix is configured to Meridian which I assume is still correct for Rowridge

Meridian is not, and never has been, a region. It is a former ITV company.
The correct region name for Rowridge is "South" (without the quotes). But you only need to select a preferred region if you are in an area where you receive from more than one. I would suggest it is unlikely in the Rowridge area, but obviously we have no knowledge of your exact location, aerial arrangements and reception capabilities.
I recommend you leave it blank.

 

[mr-b]

The Mux diags say both South and Com78 National, so I'm not sure how those translate to a single tunefix Preferred Region value.

My old Topfeld box had a TAP which listed all the transmitters (pre & post switchover) so it was rather easier as that was a more concrete parameter to select.
FWIW the location is BH25 with a Labgear wideband aerial in the loft (yes I know) and masthead 13-25dB amp plus passive 3-way splitter.



I'll leave tunefix configured as Meridian for now since I want to see if upping the signal strength alone has made a difference. Also I can't recall setting the region value to anything when I installed CFW so it'd be interesting to see if it needs to be changed.

 

[mr-b]

While I was out my mother turned off the Hummy by mistake (she sometimes forgets to press the TV mode remote button first) and, after she'd turned it back on, it had lost many channels again. Luckily I returned so could find out what was going on. It came back on at ch 56 and List showed only channels from Com7 & Com8 muxes. This was confirmed by the Mux Info diags.

So, as suggested by prpr, I deleted 'Meridian' from the tunefix Preferred Region, restarted, rescanned and now after a restart all the channels are still present! Thanks, hopefully that was it!

Also FWIW Wolfbane says the next nearest transmitter would need an amplified extra high gain antenna so I think my mother is unlikely to receive duplicate channels! So I presume I'm safe leaving the tunefix Preferred Region blank (I couldn't find a list of suitable values in any case and I certainly can't recall how 'Meridian' came to be configured).

 

[MikeSh]

FWIW the location is BH25 with a Labgear wideband aerial in the loft (yes I know) and masthead 13-25dB amp plus passive 3-way splitter.

We are on Rowridge and that list of channels (left-most column) is exactly what I use. I always manual tune the terrestrial boxes.

 

[EEPhil]

Also FWIW Wolfbane says the next nearest transmitter would need an amplified extra high gain antenna so I think my mother is unlikely to receive duplicate channels

Don't be so sure. Wolfbane says the same for me in the East Midlands (Waltham transmitter). I don't need the amplified extra high gain antenna to get a decent signal on BBCA and D3&4 from Lincs/Yorks (Belmont). The aerial is even at 90 degrees away from the correct direction. Under certain conditions I can even get a signal from the West Midlands (Sutton Coldfield). What I'm trying to point out is that just because a prediction website gives the impression you might not receive a signal - you might get enough to mess up a Humax automatic tune.

I always manual tune the terrestrial boxes.

So do I.

 

[mr-b]

Manual tuning is going to be a pain for my mum, so any suggestions on what to do instead for simple reliable operation? I still cant find what preferred region values could/should be for tunefix.

 

[MikeSh]

I still cant find what preferred region values could/should be for tunefix.

My boxes have tunefix set with "South", so presumably it is applying the correct 'fixes' for Rowridge.
TBH I don't remember when or why I set that, so it must be several years, and it's been fit-and-forget which speaks to how good (or at least not bad) the package has been.

 

[Black Hole]

Manual tuning is going to be a pain for my mum, so any suggestions on what to do instead for simple reliable operation? I still cant find what preferred region values could/should be for tunefix.

You need to educate yourself on the correct use of tunefix and tunefix-update. There are links to the relevant forum topics in the topic Index of Package Primary Topics pinned near the top of the listing for this forum section.

In summary:

tunefix is for scripting changes to the tuning database post-retune that you would normally do manually, such as renumbering services (eg move BBC ONE HD normally on LCN101 to LCN1), deleting unwanted services (eg QVC), and deleting entire multiplexes from a different transmitter. By having these changes scripted, you don't have to repeat the process manually after each retune. There is no need for tunefix to be set up with a preferred region unless you want it to automatically remove multiplexes which are inappropriate for that region.

On the other hand, tunefix-update is for automatically applying broadcast changes that would normally require a retune - such as when a particular service moves to a different multiplex, or new services are introduced. Mostly the need to retune is avoided (but the box has to be rebooted periodically for tunefix-update to do its work, which I gather yours is).

 

[Luke]

I still cant find what preferred region values could/should be for tunefix.

When a freeview box is retuned and it finds more than 1 region, those regions will be listed. It will ask you which region you prefer.

Manual tuning is going to be a pain for my mum, so any suggestions on what to do instead for simple reliable operation?

You've already done it by installing tunefix and tunefix-update, and also making sure that the preferred region option is blank or correct for the region options in your mother's area.

 

[mr-b]

I did read the tunefix thread before, but it said that if the region was incorrect that it would be ignored, which seems not to be the case here with 'Meridian'. Plus can someone point to where it refers to what the valid region values are? Does 'South' exclude the Com7/8 national muxes?

Also from the advice given above it appears that other muxes could appear and create duplicates if the region is left blank.
I guess what im looking for is a way to just use the muxes from the single strongest transmitter, if that's possible.

 

[Black Hole]

Does 'South' exclude the Com7/8 national muxes?

No. It would be pretty stupid if it did.

what im looking for is a way to just use the muxes from the single strongest transmitter, if that's possible.

Do you actually have a problem with multiple transmitters, or are you stressing about something that isn't real? What I'm saying is you might not need tunefix at all.

 

[prpr]

I did read the tunefix thread before, but it said that if the region was incorrect that it would be ignored

Who wrote that and where does it say it? Give a link to the post.

Does 'South' exclude the Com7/8 national muxes?

Something that has "national" in its title is not going to be regionalised in the first place, is it? "Com78 National" is special-cased in tunefix.

what the valid region values are?

Ask the broadcasters (or the regulators). The names are at their whim. Your post #9 is a good source if you receive from multiple regions.

I guess what im looking for is a way to just use the muxes from the single strongest transmitter, if that's possible.

tunefix does this by default when you install it. It works fine until someone decides to overwrite it with some invalid name, invented out of almost nowhere, for whatever reason. Then it's a case of garbage in, garbage out.

 

[Trev]

I guess what im looking for is a way to just use the muxes from the single strongest transmitter, if that's possible.

That is exactly what tunefix was written to do and very conveniently it does a load of other stuff as well.
But, do you actually have a problem with the box tuning from the 'wrong' transmitter when you do an auto tune?
Your mum should not have to do any sort of tune, tunefix will look after it all (with a possibly occasional tweak).
Seems like all your problems have been caused by tunefix not being set up correctly in the first place as others have said