Lost all BBC TV and radio channels on Freeview 19 June 2020 at 7:49AM in TV MoneySaving 13 replies 3.3K views

Manxman_in_exile

Hi everyone

My Freeview reception has been playing up a bit for the last few weeks.  Assumed it might be a problem with the equipment - both TV and tuner are several years old.  Picture breaking up, freezing etc etc.  (Also getting a quite frequent "UBO" or "U80" error on the Panasonic DVD/VHS/Tuner which auto switches off and on again).  It's Freeview not Freesat.  Had found that re-tuning tended to solve it, but seeming to have to re-tune more and more.

Anyway, retuned yesterday and the tuner told me it had found 119 channels instead of the usual 144.  Discovered we'd lost at least all the BBC TV and radio channels.  I presume we've lost more but I'm not sure.  Just retuned again now and same problem - no BBC.

When retuning it's basically "DVB Auto Setup by Region > GBR > East Anglia".

Any ideas?

Thanks

Norman_Castle

Can you check the signal strength and quality? Also do a visible check of the aerial and leads. Freeview channels are in groups, not sure if BBC radio and tv share the same group.

Multiplex groups https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/multiplexes.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/check-for-transmitter-faults/#/undefined

Farway

Sometimes weather can play havoc, thundery affects mine at times.

https://www.freeview.co.uk/help/bad-weather-affecting-tv-signal

Manxman_in_exile

I have noticed while tuning more frequently over the last couple of weeks that the stated quality and strength is not as good as usual.

That used to be a frequent problem years ago but hasn't been for as long as I can remember.  This is all recent.

And yes - I have wondered about the weather.  It's been a bit muggy and thundery

EDIT:  We're having a heavy and thundery shower right now and even the channels I have are breaking up.  I've also noticed that some of the +1 channels are variable.  eg Quest+1 is not at all reliable while Quest is fine.  Likewise Film4+1 and Film4

Manxman_in_exile

Hmmm.  It's stopped raining, has freshened up.  I've retuned again and BBC is is back - TV and radio.

But... I did notice while retuning that the number of channels was still fewer than I'd expect.  Now Quest+1 which I was watching (or rather trying to watch through picture breakup) has disappeared altogether...  And so has Film4+1 although Film4 is present and correct.

The BBC reception check link didn't reveal any problems.  I'm thinking it's the weather.

cajef

Manxman_in_exile said:

The BBC reception check link didn't reveal any problems.  I'm thinking it's the weather.

I'm thinking you need to get your aerial checked it sounds like damp or water in the coaxial feeder or the aerial junction box or maybe it has been storm damaged.

Rodders53

Location?  Transmitter? 
Likely to be a cable or connection problem.  Much more likely than the weather at the moment!!  
Steady high pressure is when we get enhanced propagation of TV signals = interference.  The BBC weather forecasters often mention if that interference is likely.

U80 error on the Panny recorder https://support-uk.panasonic.eu/app/answers/detail/a_id/3881/~/what-are-u80-and-u81-error-messages-on-my-panasonic-dvd-player%3F could well be indicative of an aerial problem.  Close to the digital cliff edge things can come and go...

Fettle your cables and connections.  Check for damage to the aerial (zoom lens on a camera, binoculars).  Check amplifiers (if used) are working properly.  Receiver metering can sometimes help with diagnosis.

Manxman_in_exile

OK.  Thanks for the further comments.  I'll check aeriel for signs of damages and check connections.

And thanks for the U80 link.  I always thought I should check what the code meant!

[Deleted User]

Imagine being stuck watching repeats of Tipping point and who wants to be a millionaire...

Manxman_in_exile

Hi again

The situation with the channels started to resolve itself yesterday and by yesterday evening all the channels were back (so far as I could tell) and they all work satisfactorily.  Just for info, I usually get a total of 144 - 145 channels when retuning ( there's always a discrepancy of one between the display on the tuner itself and what is shown on the TV screen - dunno why) and on Friday I was only finding 118 according to the tuner display.  Now back to normal.

Checked connections and used binoculars to check aerial.  Aerial orientation etc appears identical to neighbours and nothing loose or broken.  So, fingers crossed...

Just a couple of points.  (1)  We have a tendancy to just leave DVDs in the player once we've watched them.  When we turn the TV on each day it automatically reads the DVD and starts to play.  Could that be a problem?  I noticed things started to improve once I removed the DVD.  (2)  Also get a lot of messages: "New DVB channel found.  Do you want to re-tune?".  I tend to ignore this message unless I've lost a channel or want to watch a new channel.  Could this be a problem?  I sometimes think I can see a connection between ignoring this message and the U80 error code.

Thanks for your help and suggestions everybody.

Manxman_in_exile

Deleted_User said:

Imagine being stuck watching repeats of Tipping point and who wants to be a millionaire...

Yeah - but BBC is a pale and insignificant shadow of its former self.  The only BBC I watch on TV is BBC4.  I really only watch BBC2 and BBC1 on iPlayer (and there's hardly anything on BBC1 I'd watch on iPlayer.)