Strange Happenings on Retuning a Digi Box

Grateful for any advice on my situation with a Digi Box, when i've just done
a *factory-default* on a Humax HDR Fox T2, which I did because i was missing
some TV channels.

I'm located in Finchley North London near a Relay Station, but my main
transmitter is Crystal Palace.

When i did my factory default the BBC TV programs were rubbish (picture
breaking up). I remembered some advice to use a 'splitter' to reduce the
signal strength for some reason when doing the re-tune.

After re-tuning using the splitter the BBC stations as well as all the other
stations seem to work OK. But I now get some HD stations in the channels
numbered in the 800s' as well as the 100s. The HD channels in the 100s
work ok, but all the HD channels in the 800s are still breaking up.

Grateful for any advice on what I might usefully do further. Thanks

r brooks wrote:

After re-tuning using the splitter the BBC stations as well as all the other
stations seem to work OK. But I now get some HD stations in the channels
numbered in the 800s' as well as the 100s. The HD channels in the 100s
work ok, but all the HD channels in the 800s are still breaking up.

If the channels in the 800s are duplicates of the ones in the 100s,
ignore them. They won't eat anything.

Bill

Well Crystal Palace does seem to lose channels when I do a retune. I've
found that doing a factory retune with no aerial, even though the box was
reset first makes this better.
I think though that your main issue is that you are getting two transmitters
and the box is throwing them in as it finds them. If you are lucky they end
up with the weaker ones up on the high channels but this does not always
happen as I discovered here during a tropo lift last autumn.
I guess an attenuator is not really what you want unless you know for sure
that the signals from the relay are lower, which I'm guessing they are not
even though they may be cross polarised.
Does the box in question allow you to see the channels the multiplexes are
on that you have in your main channels and if they are not the ones you
want there, then you need some way to re order them. Trouble is after any
retune things tend to get scrambled again.
Brian

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
"r brooks" wrote in message
...
Grateful for any advice on my situation with a Digi Box, when i've just
done a *factory-default* on a Humax HDR Fox T2, which I did because i was
missing some TV channels.

I'm located in Finchley North London near a Relay Station, but my main
transmitter is Crystal Palace.

When i did my factory default the BBC TV programs were rubbish (picture
breaking up). I remembered some advice to use a 'splitter' to reduce the
signal strength for some reason when doing the re-tune.

After re-tuning using the splitter the BBC stations as well as all the
other stations seem to work OK. But I now get some HD stations in the
channels numbered in the 800s' as well as the 100s. The HD channels in
the 100s work ok, but all the HD channels in the 800s are still breaking
up.

Grateful for any advice on what I might usefully do further. Thanks

On Fri, 10 Jan 2014 22:04:15 -0000, r brooks wrote:

Grateful for any advice on my situation with a Digi Box, when i've just done
a *factory-default* on a Humax HDR Fox T2, which I did because i was missing
some TV channels.

I'm located in Finchley North London near a Relay Station, but my main
transmitter is Crystal Palace.

When i did my factory default the BBC TV programs were rubbish (picture
breaking up). I remembered some advice to use a 'splitter' to reduce the
signal strength for some reason when doing the re-tune.

After re-tuning using the splitter the BBC stations as well as all the other
stations seem to work OK. But I now get some HD stations in the channels
numbered in the 800s' as well as the 100s. The HD channels in the 100s
work ok, but all the HD channels in the 800s are still breaking up.

Grateful for any advice on what I might usefully do further. Thanks

Some or all of:
Upgrade to the latest firmware if you haven't already.
Delete all your existing channels and do a manual tune for CP.
Buy a variable attentuator and put it in the aerial feed while
auto-tuning to get rid of the unwanted weak transmissions.

Do not leave channels above 800 on a T2 as it can cause problems with
Accurate Record.

On 10/01/2014 22:04, r brooks wrote:
[...]
After re-tuning using the splitter the BBC stations as well as all the other
stations seem to work OK. But I now get some HD stations in the channels
numbered in the 800s' as well as the 100s. The HD channels in the 100s
work ok, but all the HD channels in the 800s are still breaking up.

Grateful for any advice on what I might usefully do further. Thanks

Try a manual retune - page 53 in the user guide and
http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/coveragec...anual_retuning

--
Andy

In message , Andy Wade
writes
On 10/01/2014 22:04, r brooks wrote:
[...]
After re-tuning using the splitter the BBC stations as well as all the other
stations seem to work OK. But I now get some HD stations in the channels
numbered in the 800s' as well as the 100s. The HD channels in the 100s
work ok, but all the HD channels in the 800s are still breaking up.

Grateful for any advice on what I might usefully do further. Thanks

Try a manual retune - page 53 in the user guide and
http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/coveragec...anual_retuning

Unfortunately, not all set-top boxes give you the option of doing a
manual tune (or maybe the facility is hidden somewhere in the menus).

If you have to do an automatic tune, rather than use a splitter, a 20db
variable attenuator will give you better control of the signal level. I
was in B&Q yesterday, and I saw they do one (£7?) - which, if you need
one quickly, might be more convenient than getting one elsewhere online.
--
Ian

"Ian Jackson" wrote in message
news
In message , Andy Wade
writes
On 10/01/2014 22:04, r brooks wrote:
[...]
After re-tuning using the splitter the BBC stations as well as all the
other
stations seem to work OK. But I now get some HD stations in the
channels
numbered in the 800s' as well as the 100s. The HD channels in the 100s
work ok, but all the HD channels in the 800s are still breaking up.

Grateful for any advice on what I might usefully do further. Thanks

Try a manual retune - page 53 in the user guide and
http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/coveragec...anual_retuning

Unfortunately, not all set-top boxes give you the option of doing a manual
tune (or maybe the facility is hidden somewhere in the menus).

If you have to do an automatic tune, rather than use a splitter, a 20db
variable attenuator will give you better control of the signal level. I
was in B&Q yesterday, and I saw they do one (£7?) - which, if you need one
quickly, might be more convenient than getting one elsewhere online.
--
Ian

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ian thanks. Two questions: What function does the use of a splitter serve,
I understand it weakens the incoming signal but what is the purpose of that
please?

If I get a variable attenuator from b and q, what kind of adjustment would I
want to be making with it? Thanks.

On 10/01/2014 22:04, r brooks wrote:
Grateful for any advice on my situation with a Digi Box, when i've just done
a *factory-default* on a Humax HDR Fox T2, which I did because i was missing
some TV channels.

I'm located in Finchley North London near a Relay Station, but my main
transmitter is Crystal Palace.

When i did my factory default the BBC TV programs were rubbish (picture
breaking up). I remembered some advice to use a 'splitter' to reduce the
signal strength for some reason when doing the re-tune.

After re-tuning using the splitter the BBC stations as well as all the other
stations seem to work OK. But I now get some HD stations in the channels
numbered in the 800s' as well as the 100s. The HD channels in the 100s
work ok, but all the HD channels in the 800s are still breaking up.

Grateful for any advice on what I might usefully do further. Thanks

Your aerial is picking up signals from two different transmitters.

When this happens Humax non YouView boxes replicate channels by placing
them in the location you have cited.

There is a solution but one way is to have your aerial realigned.

In message , r brooks
writes

"Ian Jackson" wrote in message
news
In message , Andy Wade
writes
On 10/01/2014 22:04, r brooks wrote:
[...]
After re-tuning using the splitter the BBC stations as well as all the
other
stations seem to work OK. But I now get some HD stations in the
channels
numbered in the 800s' as well as the 100s. The HD channels in the 100s
work ok, but all the HD channels in the 800s are still breaking up.

Grateful for any advice on what I might usefully do further. Thanks

Try a manual retune - page 53 in the user guide and
http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/coveragec...anual_retuning

Unfortunately, not all set-top boxes give you the option of doing a manual
tune (or maybe the facility is hidden somewhere in the menus).

If you have to do an automatic tune, rather than use a splitter, a 20db
variable attenuator will give you better control of the signal level. I
was in B&Q yesterday, and I saw they do one (£7?) - which, if you need one
quickly, might be more convenient than getting one elsewhere online.
--
Ian

------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------
Ian thanks. Two questions: What function does the use of a splitter serve,
I understand it weakens the incoming signal but what is the purpose of that
please?

If I get a variable attenuator from b and q, what kind of adjustment would I
want to be making with it? Thanks.

I mistakenly thought I saw someone advised inserting a splitter in the
aerial feed (to lower the signal level) - but looking back, it must have
been in another thread!

However, sometimes inserting a splitter in the aerial feed is suggested
(as these are readily available). This will lower the TV signal level by
4 dB (6 for the cheap resistive ones) - and this might just may be
sufficient to make the set-top box, when it's doing the automatic
channel scan, ignore the unwanted, weaker signals and detect only the
stronger wanted channels. Obviously, with a splitter (or any other fixed
attenuator), you don't have much control over how much signal loss you
put in (other than use more than one of them).

The variable attenuator (as suggested by Paul), enables you to control
how far you reduce the signal. A variable 20dB attenuator will enable
you to reduce the signal by a maximum of 20dB (1/10th of the original),
so with a bit of trial and error, you should be able to persuade the
set-top box to 'see' only the strongest channels, and ignore the rest.
Once you've done the scan, you should remove the attenuator, and only
use it again if you need to do another scan.

An obvious problem with the above is if the unwanted signals are
stronger than the wanted ones. This might be the case if you want to
receive the full complement of TV channels from the main transmitter,
but a stronger local relay transmitter is offering a reduced number of
channels (as many do).

As you see, it's all a bit of a fiddle. It's a lot easier if your
set-top box or TV set does allow you to do a manual tune. To do this,
you'll need to enter (in turn) the individual transmission channel
numbers. For Crystal Palace (standard definition) they are 22, 23, 25,
26, 28 and 29, with 33 and 37 for high definition (see link):
http://www.ukfree.tv/txdetail.php?a=TQ339712&PGSTART=0

--
Ian

Ian Jackson wrote:

If you have to do an automatic tune, rather than use a splitter, a 20db
variable attenuator will give you better control of the signal level. I
was in B&Q yesterday, and I saw they do one (£7?) - which, if you need
one quickly, might be more convenient than getting one elsewhere online.

Or the free option, a loosely coupled pair of faraday loops (if that's
the proper name for them).

Bill