Where Has BBC News 24 Gone?

[Oldie]

Up until Thursday 13th March I enjoyed BBC News 24 (I use the word 'enjoyed' simply to mean I watched it). I now cannot get it. Has it moved?

[Cat]

It has moved from 10773 H 22 5/6 to 11954 H 27.5 2/3.

[Tim]

You don't say what equipment you are using, but I suspect it's not a Sky box. I was reading that with the forthcoming start of the BBC Freesat service that News 24 was changing frequency and satellite - the last I read a couple of days ago was that it had, but the exisitng frequency was still in use, obviously now, it isn't.

Give me a few minutes and I'll check out the new frequency and come back on here with it for you.

Tim

 

Edit - thanks Cathy - can get on with me breakfast now.

[Oldie]

Thanks Cat/Tim

I'm using a Sedea receiver.

B

[le rouge]

I thought it was just me. I was incorrectly blaming my electrician who had disconnected my satellite cable from the back of the digibox and I thought he had mucked something up. Having said that he has done something to my aerial as French TV has become unwatchable. Of course he is on holiday this coming week!!! I can just about watch the Meteo on TF1 and TF2 but anything more than that is too much effort.

I will try the new settings for BBC 24.

Thanks again for the Forum!

 

 

[maconnaisemaconnaise]

I tried to read the PMB digital satellite receiver user's manual to see how to change to these new numbers and I can't find how to do it. Is it complicated? Do I need to get a technician in?

[Martin963]

You shouldn't need a technician but it can be fiddly.   It's easier if the menus on the box are set to English,   you need to access MENU -> channel search/transponder search or similar (recherche des chaines,   recherche transpondeur/frequence.

Normally there's a pre-entered list where you can scroll through the frequencies (expressed as XX.XXX GHz or XXXXX MHz) or better that allows you to key in direct

11954   (MHz in this case)

H  polarisation

27.5 Symbol rate (or 27500)

2/3 Forward Error Correction.

Some boxes don't need the last two values.   Then there should be a scan button,   or you might have to save the details first,  then call up the page again and scroll through the frequencies to find the one you've just saved,   then scan.   The scan makes the box look at the frequency and save any new programmes found into the main channel list.

But it does depend on how the menus are set up so it's difficult to give specific advice.

[Martin963]

Curiously enough one of our Sky dodgyboxes has taken agin BBC News 24 now it's moved.   Ditto the BBC radios on the same transponder,   they're all stuttering badly.   I've never had trouble on this particular dish before (45 cm in Devon,  self installed in 1999) and the identical dish beside it which runs the other sluggybox (replacing a Revox FM tuner because I will not listen to "audio processed" Radio) is absolutely fine.    So I'm going to be doing a bit of realigning soon.

[Fridgeman]

Hi Martin

sly dodgybox and sluggybox ..........now that's two to remember.[:D]

Have sent you a pm

Regards

[Juswundrin]

"Curiously enough one of our Sky dodgyboxes has taken agin BBC News 24 now it's moved.   Ditto the BBC radios on the same transponder,   they're all stuttering badly"

I thought it was just us; News 24 is unwatchable on the new frequency.

[Clair]

No problem here... watching BBC News 24 as I type.

[Debs]

We love BBC radio 2 but it has become impossible to listen to due to "stuttering".  Can we improve the reception by retuning.  Any help would be much appreciated

Many thanks

[Martin963]

Presumably this is on a Sky box   (which will have automatically retuned when the BBC radios moved from Astra 2D back to Astra 2A.

If so,  then retuning as such won't help.    It's almost undoubtedly a question of tweaking the dish (an absolute whisker,  no more) and possibly optimising the "skew" on the LNB (ie how far it's twisted from the nominal position).

I'm going (weather in Devon permitting!) tomorrow to see about tweaking the dish that's causing me trouble on News 24/radio and will report back.

As has been explained before,   although all the 28 deg E fleet of satellites are "colocated" (ie appear in the same place in the heavens) there are in reality certain anomalies on certain sats on certain freqs and with certain polarisations.    But it's interesting that the stuttering seems much more widespread than at first thought.

[Tim]

Un petit tweak is almost certainly in order - the trouble is if you are using a Sky box it's almost impossible to set up a dish to any degree of accuracy. I noticed when installing a dish some time ago that the skew was more critical on some transponders than others. I didn't particularly notice the BBC Parliament transponder being more fussy than others (it's this transponder that's now also being used for News 24 and radio) though - it always seemed to be True movies or something like it. That's where I would start though, as at least you can normally do that without moving the dish.

It'll probably be tipping down tomorrow Martin.

Tim

[Martin963]

As you said Tim,  yesterday by the time I'd shown my Fats Waller film collection to a friend it had started pouring here in Devon,  and poured 'til midnight.

However,  today is fine,  so I've been out to adjust the minidish (one of two) that doesn't "do" 11954 MHz.

Well I found that the screw that holds the LNB skew locked was in fact loose,  and the LNB had rotated round from the correct one o'clock/seven o'clock orientation to eleven/five.   Sorting that out brought the signal quality on the Technomate I was using as a meter up from three bars to five on 11954 MHz.

However,   a small improvement was also to be had by tweaking the dish a smidge further east.

Observing the result back on the dodgybox there is no real difference in sig quality on the default transponder,   so anyone trying this at home shouldn't rely on a Skybox reading,   but as a result of the adjustment News 24 and the BBC Radios are now stutter free.

I'll report back if I find I've screwed up other channels!

Laters - Debs - I don't know if you can get up close to your dish,  but I'd certainly try to do so if it can be done safely.   The LNB skew is the "twist" that is given to the bit on the end of the arm of the dish;   generally (assuming the wire comes out of the bottom) you need to give a twist to the LNB of about 15 - 25 deg CLOCKWISE as viewed with you standing IN FRONT of this dish (ie with you SOUTH of the dish).   So if the LNB is correctly twisted the wire should be coming out not vertically downwards but sort of pointing at half past six as it were.   I'd see whether that's already been done on your set up before actually moving the dish itself;  it's a lot easier to put back how it was if you mess it up.   If your LNB isn't already slightly skewed that's probably the first thing to try.     (This degree of twist varies depending on what satellite you want,  so the half past six doesn't apply say to Atlantic Bird 3)

Let us know if that doesn't do it.

[Tim]

Glad you found the problem Martin. We've talked about Sky boxes and their useless signal indications before. Out of interest, whilst shifting a couple of pieces of kit around I took a quick look at the menu on one of my Sky boxes here and this one insists that I have no signal at all!! Bit odd really as I'm using it to listen to Radio Caroline at the moment.[8-)]

 

Tim

[Martin963]

Did you listen to the Caroline 44th anniversary weekend Tim?

I have to say that I don't much listen to Caroline in its present guise,  but I did enjoy some of last weekend.   Apart from the truly lamentable audio quality,  quite unforgiveable in this day and age!

It was sad that Tom Anderson wasn't taking part,   and some of the DJ's did drivel a bit too much,  but all in all I was glad I heard at least some of it.

[Tim]

Yes, I did have a listen from time to time, but we had UK visitors over the weekend which meant lots of 'out and about' and catering.

I haven't heard anything from Tom for quite some time now - not sure what he's up to.

I have to admit my listening has spread a little more these days - but I do like to listen to something that surprises me - FIP here in France never fails to do that almost on a daily basis. Brian Matthew on a Saturday morning can usually do it as well and certain guys on Caroline manage to dig something out I've not heard for years. All other UK based music radio, for me, is now a waste of time - far too predictable and safe. What a waste - as someone once said.

Tim

[Cat]

Radio Caroline, I had no idea that they were still going?  How well I remember listening to Caroline in the 70's.  The Mi Amigo, Ross Revenge, loving awareness (never did understand quite what that was all about), Stimorol (sp???) gum, P0 box something or other ... Playa d'Aro, Province of Gerona, Spain.

Ah, what it was to be young [:)]

[Tim]

[quote user="Cat"]

Radio Caroline, I had no idea that they were still going?  How well I remember listening to Caroline in the 70's.  The Mi Amigo, Ross Revenge, loving awareness (never did understand quite what that was all about), Stimorol (sp???) gum, P0 box something or other ... Playa d'Aro, Province of Gerona, Spain.

Ah, what it was to be young [:)]

[/quote]

Yes Cat, they're still going - in a way, anyway - there are some around who say that because they are not still broadcasting from ' The International Waters of the North Sea' then it's not really Caroline. I have some sympathy with this view, having visited the Mi Amigo - before it sank, of course, and the Ross Revenge. But the possibilities of a radio ship returning to broadcast from outside the territorial limit were pretty much stopped by government legislation in the late eighties - but they continue on the internet at RadioCaroline.co.uk and satellite - they are on 'Sky channel' 0199 if you have a Sky digi box or tune any digi box connected to a dish pointing at 28.2 east to 11390 V 27500 2/3 and you will hear Caroline again. I think it's good that they're still around.

Tim

[AnOther]

Horace Batchelor not Caroline I know but...........[:D]

Got Loving Awareness on MP3.

And no probs with my BBC News 24 BTW

PS: http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/935005/ShowPost.aspx

[Cat]

Doh, would you believe that the penny dropped as I was reading Timco's reply?  I thought to myself, gosh, doesn't his avatar look like one of the Caroline ships.

 

[Martin963]

re Tom Anderson - I believe he lives in the south of France,  confirmed by a quick Pages Blanches search using his real name (which I will not of course reveal here!).

He used to work for an English speaking station in 06,  and sent taped contributions back to R Caroline (this was 1999 ish).

I did hear he'd been fairly ill but that he's OK,  but that's hearsay....

Whilst I sometimes found some of the music he played "difficult" it would be hard to find someone with better "taste" - at least for my preferences.   And all calmly and self-effacingly presented.   He never let commercialism get in the way of a good band.

[Gyn_Paul]

[quote user="ErnieY"]

Horace Batchelor not Caroline I know but...........[:D]

Got Loving Awareness on MP3.

And no probs with my BBC News 24 BTW

PS: http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/935005/ShowPost.aspx

[/quote]

"...that's Keynsham, spelt  K-E-Y-N-S-H-A-M, kaynsham. Bristol."  That's 208 of course. But for me Caroline will always be inextricably entwined with, "The Worrrld Tomorrrrrowwww, with Garner Ted Armstrong"

(0) 199 Caroline ! Was that just luck do you suppose ?

p

[Tim]

Perhaps you mean 'Riviera Radio' - now you mention it that does seem to ring a bell ( not sure whether pun intended or not).

I agree with you entirely Martin - Tom's shows were hard work for me - interspersed with absolute gems, but always interesting.

Loving Awareness?? Got the album on vinyl - bought at a Radio Caroline roadshow when it was first released - Ronan was there - never got him to sign it though - my feeling at the time was that it was probably 'not cool' to ask him. I stand by my decision.

Horace Bachelor Ernie?? Was that Caroline or Fab 208??

Tim

Edit - overlapping posts - I think the 0199 was deliberate - they waited along time to get their EPG listing - mainly, as I understand it that just as they had raised the money to get on the EPG, Sky tripled the amount required, but again, this is mostly hearsay.