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Missing channels on Freeview Box

If you have internet then use that with Freely for freeview and give up on aerial is another option.
I wouldn't spend any money on fixing cables ect if the the signal will be switched off in the next 10 years.
Except
1.) that means swapping out what could be a perfectly good TV for a Freely model since there isn't yet a Freely box
2.) not all the terrestrial channels are available via streaming yet
3.) the writing is on the wall that streaming will include mandatory adverts unless you pay a premium. Sky streaming (Glass and Stream) and Amazon Prime do this right now. It's only a matter of time before the rest follow suit

Ten years is a long time, and things will change. The channel selection will improve on streaming and Freely. Fast broadband access continues to roll out across the country. Broadband pricing is increasing in general, but that leaves out some detail. The cost of packages at bleeding edge speeds remains high, and that drags up the averages, the ISPs are also looking to pull more profit out of the 'fast enough' crowd. Despite the increased access to fibre and the speeds it offers, the broadband price trend is still upwards.

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For someone who isn't already a broadband subscriber, the cost of entry versus the value it provides is a poor deal. The cost of replacing an aerial and cable might come to £150. Compare that to buying a new TV and ten year's worth of BB subs.

Last time I looked, the TVs were all low rent sets. Would I really want to junk a perfectly good £1,000 55" OLED and replace it with a £330 55" Bush, then shell out £3,000 in BB subs over the next 10 years?
 
That could be as simple as the 'dodgy connection' that works some times and not others. I had a call out a few months ago like that. Reception would come and go. After checking all the stuff at ground level I got on the roof. When I came to the aerial cable connection, the whole thing was loose. A couple of wiggles and it came away, the whole thing. The steel bolt fixing had rusted through.

I guess depending how the wind blew the aerial, sometimes it would make a connection and other times it wouldn't. A new aerial and downlead sorted the issue.

View attachment 380771
Lucid, I take note of your comments, but the aerial in use at this time was fitted only six years ago. Going off your experience, would you think that it may have loosened, given its relative newness?
L.L.
 
Lucid, I take note of your comments, but the aerial in use at this time was fitted only six years ago. Going off your experience, would you think that it may have loosened, given its relative newness?
L.L.
The age of the aerial installation is new info, but useful. Thanks.

I think if the aerial had moved then more than just one mux would be affected. All the main WH muxes are running at 100kW. If the aerial had have moved, I think your reception would be affected across the board rather just on a single mux.

Does the reception issue affect just the Panasonic Freeview recorder or the TV as well? Is this a loft aerial or mounted out on the roof?
 
One thing I must remark on, and it is the fact that none the contributors to this thread have made any response to what I said about the ONE-OFF restoration of the TalkingPictures + multiplex that occurred spontaneously several weeks ago (and its subsequent disappearance, the next time I re-tuned the channels).
L.L.
Digital cliff edge response. Signal levels vary a little all the time due to a variety of things... reflections off the ground and hills/buildings, attenuation due to leaves on trees, all frequency dependent...
In fact foliage growth affecting one frequency more than others is a fairly common issue... the leaf size can match certain frequencies.

So sometime(s) the signal on that frequency is just above the cliff edge, but mostly below (unless it's a too much signal/overload issue). Your TV signal meter numbers would help.

Aerials and cabling (and if needed amplifiers) should be selected to give a good signal margin from being too little OR too much... either too little or too much can give "poor/no reception" symptoms.
Lucid, I take note of your comments, but the aerial in use at this time was fitted only six years ago. Going off your experience, would you think that it may have loosened, given its relative newness?
L.L.
6 years ago? in May 2019?

That was just a short while before the 600 MHz clearance frequency change information for Winter Hill was published in November 2019 (a slightly later update document is here https://www.freeview.co.uk/sites/de...arance-events-granada-region-16-july-2020.pdf ).

Do you have a receipt which details what was provided/fitted by make and model? Or a picture of the aerial installation would allow comment. Some aerials are better than others. Contract aerials and those like Lucid pictured without a 'balun' in the terminal box are among the cheapest and worst performing.

Hopefully the fitter provided a quality wideband rather than a C/D variant.
 
Digital cliff edge response. Signal levels vary a little all the time due to a variety of things... reflections off the ground and hills/buildings, attenuation due to leaves on trees, all frequency dependent...
In fact foliage growth affecting one frequency more than others is a fairly common issue... the leaf size can match certain frequencies.

So sometime(s) the signal on that frequency is just above the cliff edge, but mostly below (unless it's a too much signal/overload issue). Your TV signal meter numbers would help.

Aerials and cabling (and if needed amplifiers) should be selected to give a good signal margin from being too little OR too much... either too little or too much can give "poor/no reception" symptoms.

6 years ago? in May 2019?

That was just a short while before the 600 MHz clearance frequency change information for Winter Hill was published in November 2019 (a slightly later update document is here https://www.freeview.co.uk/sites/de...arance-events-granada-region-16-july-2020.pdf ).

Do you have a receipt which details what was provided/fitted by make and model? Or a picture of the aerial installation would allow comment. Some aerials are better than others. Contract aerials and those like Lucid pictured without a 'balun' in the terminal box are among the cheapest and worst performing.

Hopefully the fitter provided a quality wideband rather than a C/D variant.
Rodders53, I have no receipt or details of what was fitted, sorry.
L.L.
 
The age of the aerial installation is new info, but useful. Thanks.

I think if the aerial had moved then more than just one mux would be affected. All the main WH muxes are running at 100kW. If the aerial had have moved, I think your reception would be affected across the board rather just on a single mux.

Does the reception issue affect just the Panasonic Freeview recorder or the TV as well? Is this a loft aerial or mounted out on the roof?
We never have any trouble with the television set (an LG), and I observe that TalkingPicturesTV is available on the TV. However, nothing can be recorded of it on the TV set. The aerial is mounted on the roof.
L.L.
 
Picture(s) of the aerial? Any amplifiers (aka boosters) involved?

Measurements of S and Q off the Panny PVR and the TV for comparison would be helpful.
Panny recorder:
Likely access via
<FUNCTION MENU>
<Setup>
<Basic Settings>
<Tuning>
<Signal Condition>
for the currently viewed TV channel... check the following 6 for all muxes:
1 BBC ONE sd (BBC A mux)
3 ITV sd (D3&4 mux)
11 Sky Mix sd (Arq A mux)
20 U&Drama (SDN mux)
25 U&W (Arq B mux) **probably missing ?**
102 BBC Two HD (BBC B mux)

Repeat for the same channels on the LG TV:
 

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