My Humax Forum » Freeview HD » HDR 1800T, 2000T

Loss of Sutton Coldfield channels after retune.

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    Roy22

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    Ok, so last year after moving from West Midlands to East Midlands (still on the Sutton Coldfield Transmitter), I posted a question about having lost the weaker multiplexes (Channel 4+1; BBC4 HD; 4seven HD etc). Graham Thompson helpfully pointed me at a Masthead Amplifier which brought them all back:

    [url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vision-V20-4260L-Masthead-Amplifier-Booster/dp/B00MEPIUUG][/url]

    Now, the recent Freeview retune (did I miss an announcement somewhere?) has shifted these to Com7 & Com8 on less power (89kW unlike the 200kW the others are on). After retuning, they have come back but are only ‘hit & miss’, there one moment and giving a ‘no signal’ error the next.

    Are there any other options (e.g. higher power Masthead amp?) that would work, if not would a better/modern aerial work (mine’s 20 years old/basic) do better or is even that uncertain?

    | Wed 14 Mar 2018 7:58:19 #1 |
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    SRF

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    I think you'll need to update your aerial to a Wideband or Group T one. It's also possible that Masthead amp may not be a wideband one, though that's now quite rare.

    | Wed 14 Mar 2018 9:31:19 #2 |
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    Faust

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    SRF - 15 minutes ago  » 
    I think you'll need to update your aerial to a Wideband or Group T one. It's also possible that Masthead amp may not be a wideband one, though that's now quite rare.

    I had an aerial change yesterday due to the COM7 & 8 debacle. The installers fitted a Log Periodic which should have sorted out the issue but I'm afraid it hasn't worked.

    I'm in Staffs Moorlands area so can either use Fenton or Sutton Coldfield. Installer tried both transmitters but it made no difference. All the other muxes are on good reception.

    | Wed 14 Mar 2018 9:50:26 #3 |
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    Roy22

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    SRF - I believe it is wideband, but will check.

    Faust - may I ask what the engineer charged for all this? And I take it the exercise was at your own risk, cost-wise?

    And would anyone know if the Sutton Coldfield transmitter is at all likely to be power upgraded for these weaker Com7 & 8? I appreciate it's a lot more power than many have, but this transmitter serves a massive area I believe.

    | Wed 14 Mar 2018 10:00:46 #4 |
  5. grahamlthompson

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    No chance of a power increase on COM 7 and COM 8 the power is low to avoid adjacent transmitters causing co-channel interference. The plan is to move all COM 7 and COM 8 to the same UHF carriers in a Single Frequency Network (SFN).

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-frequency_network

    In order to achieve this the channel guard interval has to be raised which reduces the capacity. This is the reason for BBC 4 HD moving from COM 7 to COM 8.

    COM 7 and COM 8 are due to close down in the next year or so as part of the 700MHz clearance.

    Your best chance is a B or E group aerial (with a variable gain masthead amplifier if needed)

    http://aerialsandtv.com/atvstockaerialtests.html#Bgroup

    http://aerialsandtv.com/atvstockaerialtests.html#Egroup

    The highest gain for the COM 7 and 8 frequencies is the XB16E but might be a bit large so the smaller DY14B may be the best compromise.

    | Wed 14 Mar 2018 10:35:48 #5 |
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    Roy22

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    grahamthompson - thanks for the info. If COM7 & 8 are due to close down in the next year, what's the plan for the channels like BBC4 HD etc they host? Are they likely to end up on a stronger Mux, which might solve the problem if I waited until then?

    | Wed 14 Mar 2018 10:49:52 #6 |
  7. grahamlthompson

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    Roy22 - 4 minutes ago  » 
    grahamthompson - thanks for the info. If COM7 & 8 are due to close down in the next year, what's the plan for the channels like BBC4 HD etc they host? Are they likely to end up on a stronger Mux, which might solve the problem if I waited until then?

    Freeview is pretty maxed out, so it would depend on changing the transmission mode from DVB-T to DVB-T2 and possibly encoding SD channels with H264/AVC rather than mpeg2. This would mean everyone will need Freeview-HD capable kit.

    Do as I do have both Freesat+ and Freeview+ kit alongside each other, that covers pretty well all the bases

    | Wed 14 Mar 2018 10:58:36 #7 |
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    Roy22

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    That's something I'd consider, but it's a bit complicated for now. Surely BBC4 HD etc will have to end up somewhere when Com7&8 go, presumably stronger?

    There are plenty of dire minor Freeview channels that could be culled to make way for more major ones if so crowded.

    | Wed 14 Mar 2018 13:15:54 #8 |
  9. grahamlthompson

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    Roy22 - 28 minutes ago  » 
    That's something I'd consider, but it's a bit complicated for now. Surely BBC4 HD etc will have to end up somewhere when Com7&8 go, presumably stronger?
    There are plenty of dire minor Freeview channels that could be culled to make way for more major ones if so crowded.

    Channel 4 HD can be viewed using non freesat mode on a Freesat+ box and also recorded using a Foxsat-HDR.

    | Wed 14 Mar 2018 13:45:38 #9 |
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    Faust

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    Roy22 - 4 hours ago  » 

    Faust - may I ask what the engineer charged for all this? And I take it the exercise was at your own risk, cost-wise?

    £147.00 which included a new 4 way mast head splitter (which runs to 3 separate TVs). The old aerial was around 17 years old although the co-ax is much newer. Given it's age and the fact it was a group A I thought it was time to replace it in any event. Log Periodic is a good aerial to have and will cover most bases - except it appears COM 7 and COM 8 on low power.

    At least I have Freesat to fall back on. The only channels I will really miss on Freeview is BBC4 HD and BBC News 24 HD.

    | Wed 14 Mar 2018 14:37:49 #10 |

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