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All posts by Geoff Gaunt

Below are all of Geoff Gaunt's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.


StevensOnln1: Hi - I am experiencing serious dropout on the PSB1/BBCA Mux from the Bristol KingsWeston transmitter.

Wierd thing is that this is in the middle of the Mux frequencies and I don't have problems with the lower & higher frequencies. In fact the lowest frequency is apparently output at 20W but I have a signal strength of 69% but the BBC Mux outputs at 200W but I only have a signal strength of
48%

These are the signal strength readings I am currently seeing

Mux , Channel, MHz, Power, Strength, Quality
LBS, 30, 546.0, 20W, 69%, 100%
PSB2/D3+4, 40, 626.0, 200W, 70%, 100%
PSB1/BBCA, 43, 650.0, 200W, 48%, 100%
PSB3/BBCB, 46, 674.0, 200W, 66%, 100%
C0M4/SDN, 53, 730.0, 200W, 70%, 100%
COM5/ArqA, 57, 762.0, 200W, 50%, 100%
C0M6/ArqB, 60, 785.8, 200W, 55%, 100%


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StevensOnln1: Hi - I am experiencing serious dropout on the PSB1/BBCA Mux from the Bristol KingsWeston transmitter.

Wierd thing is that this is in the middle of the Mux frequencies and I don't have problems with the lower & higher frequencies. In fact the lowest frequency is apparently output at 20W but I have a signal strength of 69% but the BBC Mux outputs at 200W but I only have a signal strength of
48%

These are the signal strength readings I am currently seeing

Mux , Channel, MHz, Power, Strength, Quality
LBS, 30, 546.0, 20W, 69%, 100%
PSB2/D3+4, 40, 626.0, 200W, 70%, 100%
PSB1/BBCA, 43, 650.0, 200W, 48%, 100%
PSB3/BBCB, 46, 674.0, 200W, 66%, 100%
C0M4/SDN, 53, 730.0, 200W, 70%, 100%
COM5/ArqA, 57, 762.0, 200W, 50%, 100%
C0M6/ArqB, 60, 785.8, 200W, 55%, 100%

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Sorry - this got posted in the wrong place, so I have now reposted in the KingsWeston comments section

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Seems to be weather related, with the big rain-storms we had over the past few days ???

PSB1 is now registering strength of 53% which my receiver seems able to cope with. Not brilliant (Aerial is in the loft, so possibly this degrades the signal) but no breakup of signal so happy again

PSB1/BBCA, 43, 650.0, 200W, 53%, 100%

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Thanks Mike - cable is fairly new and double-screened (ie copper braid + foil) satellite cable - all internal so has never been exposed to the weather.

This has happened once before - same issue for a couple of days with the SD-BBC channels on PSB1, and that was during a period of extreme weather.

I appreciate that there could be signal attenuation due to the roof, but according to Loft and indoor aerial installations for TV, FM and DAB the attenuation is higher the higher the frequency, so it's strange that the lower freq. PSB1 @ 650MHz is worse than COM4 @ 730MHz

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Hmmm - I wonder if this could be the issue!!! <quote>Some types of roofing material are semi porous and the attenuation level can rise if they get wet,</quote>

The signal took a couple of days after the rain to come back to normal: the roof tiles are 70yr old terracotta (hopefully soon to be be replaced) so could well be absorbing moisture and causing the probs.

Seems feasible.....

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Geoff Gaunt: Mike - definitely no leak/damp in the loft space. No way any moisture can get into the aerial/connectors/cabling which all run internally.

It's the fact that the degraded signal lasted for a couple of days after the heavy rain event before coming good again which may indicate the (old) tiles are absorbing moisture.

PSB1 signal strength is now showing 54% (sunshine on the roof :-), it was 53% yesterday and 48% when signal was lost)

I guess the ultimate solution is to get the aerial outside if it becomes a regular occurrence.

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