mike ring wrote in
. 1.4:


Is there supposed to be much difference between STBs/tuners in this
area? I thought that sensitivity to imulse interference was a
characteristic of the DAB modulation scheme (COFDM).

I don't know - I've asked around on alt.tech.digital-tv and not get
much in the line of an answer; If I thought for sure it would not
droput sound and occasionally pixelate (interference is far worse on
sound), I'd buy a Sony tomorrow, but I just can't find out
I also have a GDB4 and the effect of the cooker igniter is very
obvious.

Coincidentally, this reference came up today:-

"Many thanks to http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jeremy.pick/gdb3/.

Using the files and instructions there I was able to regress my version 4.2
back to 3.12 (via 0.6). Now no more annoying sound dropouts and "no
information"s in the menu, as reported by others. True, I don't have
7-day EPG any more but I was quite happy without it when I bought the
unit."

A GDB4 needs a scart made up as per instructions on the site - I would
happily backflight my GDB4 if it improved the sound. I just might have a
go.

I've already butchered the box to improve ventilation, it was running
hotter than hells hinges, but it did no good, well I never thought it
would.Right said Fred...... clearly I need a can of lager.

mike

Doesn't statutory rights include that it is fit for use then?
Low signal strength at the OP location would infer that it is not fit for
use.
That could be a tricky one in the sense that the product purchased
would be the receiver only.
If the receiver is actually functional with a signal that the spec of
the receiver and/or broadcaster gives but this is not achievable
because of the location or antenna, it is not the manufacturer's or
the supplier's fault - the product was still fit for purpose.

However, when I bought a freeview box from Argos, they asked for my
postcide and did a postcode check by phone before selling me the box.

So, they're supplying the box for the purpose of using it at the stated
postcode.

The postcode list is based on the projected signal strength at that
location. It also assumes the use of a properly installed good quality
aerial of the correct group connected by reasonable quality coax.Without
that you cannot expect proper performance. Expecting an old aerial, probably
of the wrong group, connected to an aging, poor quality, downlead to provide
an adequate signal is a bit like rutting paraffin in a Porsche and
expecting it to work properly!

Peter Crosland

Owain wrote:
Andy Hall wrote:

Doesn't statutory rights include that it is fit for use then?
Low signal strength at the OP location would infer that it is not fit
for use.

That could be a tricky one in the sense that the product purchased
would be the receiver only.
If the receiver is actually functional with a signal that the spec of
the receiver and/or broadcaster gives but this is not achievable
because of the location or antenna, it is not the manufacturer's or
the supplier's fault - the product was still fit for purpose.


However, when I bought a freeview box from Argos, they asked for my
postcide and did a postcode check by phone before selling me the box.

So, they're supplying the box for the purpose of using it at the stated
postcode.

Owain


Some people in our postcode get good freeview reception, and others
don't, so it has to be down to the quality of the aerial

On Fri, 23 Dec 2005 10:35:42 UTC, Stuart Noble
wrote:

Some people in our postcode get good freeview reception, and others
don't, so it has to be down to the quality of the aerial

Or whereabouts in the postcode you are! A postcode can cover 80-odd
houses, and some might be in a better position than others (e.g. a hill
or a block of flats makes a difference).

Have just flashed our GDB3 back to earlier firmware to see if that helps
here...!
--
The information contained in this post is copyright the
poster, and specifically may not be published in, or used by
Avenue Supplies, http://avenuesupplies.co.uk

In message , Stuart Noble
wrote

Some people in our postcode get good freeview reception, and others
don't, so it has to be down to the quality of the aerial

or the tall building just in the line of sight to the transmitter, or
the tree overlooking property, or the.......
--
Alan
news2005 {at} amac {dot} f2s {dot} com

On Fri, 23 Dec 2005 13:16:35 +0000, Alan wrote:

In message , Stuart Noble
wrote

Some people in our postcode get good freeview reception, and others
don't, so it has to be down to the quality of the aerial

or the tall building just in the line of sight to the transmitter, or
the tree overlooking property, or the.......

Indeed. I moved the aeial round in my loft. attached to a portable TV,
trying all locations and heights till I found a place remote from MOST of
the pipework and tankage...then a bit of directional tweaking gor it
aligned with the transmitter and, using channel 4...found the best position
for THAT one...and a quck check to see if horizontal directors was best (it
was: detectable null at vertical) and robert was a relative.

Trouble is, even if you find the sweet spot for analogue, doesn't mean it
wil be the sweet spot for digitalon different frequencies, especially if
multipath is bad.

Like trees in front etc.

With multipath, a foot or two can take you into or out of a null zone. IME
aerial fitters have neither the time ,the expertise, teh equipment, nor the
incentive, to sort this.

Their stock recommendation will be to extract the most whilst doing the
least That gets to be a ****ing great monstrosity up a very long pole.

And kit that can identify when the signal is good comes expensive..the best
bet is to use analogue TV to set it up, then haul an STB up and see if all
is OK, and if not..shift the aerial around and try again.

Remember lack of reception is not ALWAYS low signal OVERALL strenght. It
can be a local null - especially if one frequency works well and another
does not.

Broken earth leads on cables have the same effect :-)

In article ,
john wrote:
Any recommendations on Set Top Boxes? What should I look out for? Is
there much to chose between them?

I've got four, and the best by far is the Sony VTX-D800U. It's also the
most expensive. ;-(

--
*I started out with nothing, and I still have most of it.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Alan wrote:

Stuart Noble wrote

Some people in our postcode get good freeview reception, and others
don't, so it has to be down to the quality of the aerial

or the tall building just in the line of sight to the transmitter, or
the tree overlooking property, or the.......

The predictions behind the postcode database take what is referred to as
"clutter data" into account, so the effect of large buildings and
groups of trees is to a considerable extent allowed for. As Bob said,
the coarseness of the postcode areas is one of the main limitations.

--
Andy

Andy Wade wrote:
Alan wrote:

Stuart Noble wrote

Some people in our postcode get good freeview reception, and others
don't, so it has to be down to the quality of the aerial

or the tall building just in the line of sight to the transmitter, or
the tree overlooking property, or the.......

The predictions behind the postcode database take what is referred to as
"clutter data" into account, so the effect of large buildings and
groups of trees is to a considerable extent allowed for. As Bob said,
the coarseness of the postcode areas is one of the main limitations.


I'm just moving into a new flat, and after finding out my TV couldn't
get CH5, looked into the 'Freeview' thing (only had terrestrial before).
Looked like there were some cheapie ones out there, so checked my
postcode on the Freeview website. 'Nope' it said, 'you'll need to get a
new aerial to use Freeview'. Bugger.

Well, I went ahead & bought one anyway. It works perfectly! Maybe my
building already had a new aerial? It was from one of those Cash
Generator places. Factory refurb. Box said Matsui, unit says 'Techwood'.
Quick Start guide in box (easy setup), but no 'Main User Guide' (which
it mentions - maybe I can download it?) £29.99.

I am well chuffed with it! :-)

In article ,
mike ring wrote:
It's certainly easier to work; we're also near the end of analogue, when
you won't be able to flick over to your tuner to watch something
different.

Depends what you mean by 'near'. On the last switch off - VHF TV
transmissions - the switch off date was moved many times, to the point
where very few VHF sets were still in use.

--
*If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
Owain wrote:
That could be a tricky one in the sense that the product purchased
would be the receiver only.
If the receiver is actually functional with a signal that the spec of
the receiver and/or broadcaster gives but this is not achievable
because of the location or antenna, it is not the manufacturer's or
the supplier's fault - the product was still fit for purpose.

However, when I bought a freeview box from Argos, they asked for my
postcide and did a postcode check by phone before selling me the box.

So, they're supplying the box for the purpose of using it at the stated
postcode.

They might have done better by checking your aerial installation...

--
*Why do they put Braille on the drive-through bank machines?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In message , Cap'n
wrote


I'm just moving into a new flat, and after finding out my TV couldn't
get CH5, looked into the 'Freeview' thing (only had terrestrial
before). Looked like there were some cheapie ones out there, so checked
my postcode on the Freeview website. 'Nope' it said, 'you'll need to
get a new aerial to use Freeview'. Bugger.

The post code checker assumes that you have an aerial of a certain type
that may only be covering only a limited range of transmitter channels.
This grouping may be okay for analogue channels but digital may be
transmitted on channels outside of this band.

Every transmitter is different. On some transmitters no change in aerial
is required whereas on others a different group aerial is needed for
digital. However, some people may already have fitted suitable aerials
(to get analogue Channel 5 is some areas for instance) or they are
pointing at a different transmitter to that assumed by the post code
checker.

The post code checkers also are very pessimistic in their predictions. I
live in the shadow of some nearby tall buildings and according to one
post code checker I cannot get Freeview. I can, from Crystal Palace I
can get all channels but during certain weather conditions not reliably.
Turning my aerial to Bluebell Hill gets all channels reliably. Bluebell
Hill requires a wideband aerial whereas a Group A aerial will have been
okay for Crystal Palace..


Well, I went ahead & bought one anyway. It works perfectly! Maybe my
building already had a new aerial? It was from one of those Cash
Generator places. Factory refurb. Box said Matsui, unit says
'Techwood'. Quick Start guide in box (easy setup), but no 'Main User
Guide' (which it mentions - maybe I can download it?) £29.99.


You may have found that this is the price for a new box from the Dixons
chain.

OT: I pass two 'cash converters' type establishments on the way to my
local pub. Do people really pay the advertised price for the second hand
goods that they sell? Perhaps people are fooled into thinking that the
selling price will be cheap because these shops trade on people
desperately needing quick money and the buy in price may be a very small
fraction of the worth of the goods. In the real world the selling price
is often the same, or exceeds, the price of a new item from elsewhere!

Links:

Post code checker
http://www.wolfbane.com/cgi-bin/tvd.exe?

If you click on the link in the resulting table (table heading OS grid
ref) you will get a diagram of the terrain between you and the
transmitter. You need a Postscript viewer to see the picture. A small
utility can be downloaded from
http://www.rops.org/
Version 5.3 is 350kbytes and is free.

Another post code checker
http://www.dtg.org.uk/consumer/coverage.html

Transmitter information (giving channel numbers for digital)

http://www.dtg.org.uk/retailer/transmitters.html



--
Alan
news2005 {at} amac {dot} f2s {dot} com