BBC4HD and BBC News HD - Any Ideas

[gEd]

Hi,
I'm to the South West of London. My antenna currently targets Crystal Palace. Guildford might also be an option, but I'd have to turn the antenna through 180deg.
Thanks
Andrew

Ditto (SW12) and BBC4 HD is perfect here using updated ini files from March. Freq: 754000 and SID: 45120
[edit] I dont know what type of aerial I have , I had it fitted about 22 years ago but it does pretty much have clear line of sight to crystal palace.

[Graham]

Dear All,
Thanks for your help. Unfortunately although NPVR recognises the existence of the two stations, there's no usable signal.

The page at ... https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Crystal_Palace

shows that com7 and com8 are broadcasting at low power. What happens if you do a test using your television and removing all splitters and extension cables on the aerial coax?

Have you tried an aerial amplifier?

[andrewj]

Hi All,

I rang the Freeview number provided by Lao. I am getting a support visit on Friday, and if the antenna or amp requires replacing they should do it FOC then. However beware - they are counting the support period from March, not from when the worse problems seem to have started a few weeks ago, so it will soon not be possible to make a claim - I appear to have just got in in time.

I'll update after Friday.
Andrew

[jcjefferies]

Its a common problem in A Group areas which use frequencies around 470Mhz to 570MHZ. Wideband aerials have little gain below 500Mhz so in these areas people often kept their old A Group aerial. Com7 & Com8 have been moved up to around 750MHZ where a group A aerial has no gain at all. I have lost access to Com7 & Com8 but cannot claim as I have access to missing channels via Freesat for both TV and NextPVR.

[Lao Pan]

Its a common problem in A Group areas which use frequencies around 470Mhz to 570MHZ. Wideband aerials have little gain below 500Mhz so in these areas people often kept their old A Group aerial. Com7 & Com8 have been moved up to around 750MHZ where a group A aerial has no gain at all. I have lost access to Com7 & Com8 but cannot claim as I have access to missing channels via Freesat for both TV and NextPVR.

If you can see your aerial clearly and it is less than about 20 years old it will have a red end cap if it is Group A (Black for Wideband)

It would appear that the installers that are sent out if you complain, are replacing Group A with wideband, if they realize what the problem is or are asked nicely, although there is no legal requirement as COM7 & COM8 are not "protected multiplexes" - so it is worth the price of a "free" phonecall to check.

It would appear that some people on Crystal Palace who actually could still just about get these 2 Muxes after the March 21st frequency change have recently lost them probably due to the July 19th Bluebell Hill Transmitter moving to the same frequencies - and possibly the " Unseasonal Good Weather " causing interference.

[andrewj]

The FreeView technician turned up on Friday, and together we resolved the issue. He put a spectrum analyser on the signal and concluded that all signals were lower than they should be given the age of the antenna. Some joint investigation in the loft uncovered that in addition to a relatively new amplifier/splitter, there was also a very old one still in circuit upsteam, and passing almost no signal. When we removed that, the signal was so strong the chap actually insisted on installing an in-line attenuator to get rid of about 7dB to bring the signal strength for the main channels back under maximum level!

BBC4HD and BBC News HD now working.

Anyone else having a similar problem with a reasonably new antenna should probably do an equivalent check on the amplifier.
Andrew

[sub]

Great - well done!