ANYONE GETTING RTE DTT IN NORTHERN IRELAND

dbcool

hi guys,


is anyone getting irish DTT in Northern Ireland ?

Tom Slick

What part of the North?

dbcool

i'm in belfast - but my mate in derry can get it - one in enniskillen can get it - but in newry one can't .

Tom Slick

Not my area, but afaik the transmitter used in Belfast for RTE analogue (Clermont Carn) is on reduced power in the northerly direction, for DTT transmissions. Other posters here will have better/more detailed info.

Rick_

I'm in Armagh and can get it. It's not really coming through in low lying areas, I think the only reason I can pick it up is because I'm at the very top of a hill and can get it and excellent UK Freeview from Belfast as well in one downlead.

Whilst Newry is closer to the transmitter than Armagh, Newry is also in a dip between hills and mountains so unless you are moderately high up you mightn't be able to pick anything up until after switch-off when the power is increased and the Northern restrictions are removed too.

Tom Slick

Armagh is a funny place for reception of anything.
Even on the car radio, there are some dead spots, with no obvious cause like buildings or high walls etc.
Suppose it's just the terrain but you don't think about that so much in town.

Mike 1972

IIRC A couple of people have claimed to be able to pick up RTE DTT in Belfast during good weather. Ive never been able to manage it in Antrim though.

Remember most UK "freeview" equipment will only pick up RTE's sound

Digifriendly

Am picking up sound clearly with no picture from Clermont Carn - I live about 15 miles SW of Belfast. My aerial system is very good - 52 element Triax with masthead amp. My analogue ROI channels are crystal clear.

MACHEAD

At the moment the transponders for the digital service from Clermont Carn are on quite low power, and are pointing south & west from the site. Hence very little gets 'up north', save a few sites on a high elevation that have a clear path through to the Tx. site. There's pretty much nothing we can do till the DSO begins and we see if ramping up the power will improve things, and secondly if there'll be transponders facing north. I wouldn't be at all confident of the latter though, as there's a risk of interference. I haven't got the details to hand just now but it's possible that some of the 'Northern' relays might be using group C/D or adjacent to it, and thats the same band that Clermont Carn will be using.
In the event of this or in the event of the Inter Governmental arrangement on 'cross border' services failing to materialise, then the next option to look at will be Saorsat.

lawhec

The four main RTÉNL sites broadcasting the DTT test multiplex (Clermont Carn, Truskmore, Carin Hill & Holywell Hill) all have power and/or directional restrictions in place until 2013 or earlier. DTT transmissions at Clermont Carn are currently transmitted from a separate aerial stack from those for analogue, which is lower down on the mast and shielded northwards.

The only TX site in Northern Ireland where viewers will probably require a change of receiving aerial come DSO here is at the Plumbridge relay which is moving from Group C/D to B. All other main sites and relays, at least under the provisional list, will remain in the same aerial group (Derrygonnelly will go from Group E to Group B though this doesn't require a change of receiving aerial) though some will use different frequencies from current analogue transmissions.

Mike 1972

MACHEAD wrote: »

I wouldn't be at all confident of the latter though, as there's a risk of interference. .

Currently the only transmissions on Ch 53 in NI are from a relay in someplace called Letrim (Co Down)

Dunno why they cant come up with an aerial system at Claremont which replicates the analouge coverage but with a null towards Letrim

There may be transmissions in NW England or S Scotland which need protection as well though ?

lawhec

Mike 1972 wrote: »

Currently the only transmissions on Ch 53 in NI are from a relay in someplace called Letrim (Co Down)

Dunno why they cant come up with an aerial system at Claremont which replicates the analouge coverage but with a null towards Letrim

The Leitrim relay will be shifting to new frequencies at DSO, however they'll be remaining in the C/D UHF aerial group.
The Claudy relay in Co. Derry also currently uses E53 for analogue and will also be using it post-DSO, however it's far enough away that interference from Clermont Carn shouldn't be a problem (Truskmore might, but it uses opposite polarity).
Finally, Limavady also currently uses E53 for a DTT multiplex, but won't be used post-DSO.

Mike 1972

Doh ! I stand corrected (yet again)

lawhec wrote: »

Finally, Limavady also currently uses E53 for a DTT multiplex,

Possibly another reason why I cant get Claremont in Antrim

Has anyone in Cavan/S Tyrone had any co-channel issues with Truskmore and Claremont (despite the opposite polarisations) or are the TX's synchronised ?

lawhec

Mike 1972 wrote: »

Doh ! I stand corrected (yet again)



Possibly another reason why I cant get Claremont in Antrim

Has anyone in Cavan/S Tyrone had any co-channel issues with Truskmore and Claremont (despite the opposite polarisations) or are the TX's synchronised ?

Not seen any myself, I've not heard of any DTT reception on Co. Tyrone from Clermont Carn.

If you can't get the Clermont DTT multiplex on E53 in Antrim, it's more likely due to the DTT aerial stack pointing away from the north than anything else.

SRB

Have had coverage from Kippure since it first came on, the power levels varied quite a bit last year, but since mid-November it's been perfectly watchable.
That's on CH54 (though it was on 61 for a good part of last year) and I'm in Portaferry, Co Down. Before they started running the two TX's as a SFN Three Rock used to come and go here as well.

Digifriendly

MACHEAD wrote: »

At the moment the transponders for the digital service from Clermont Carn are on quite low power, and are pointing south & west from the site. Hence very little gets 'up north', save a few sites on a high elevation that have a clear path through to the Tx. site. There's pretty much nothing we can do till the DSO begins and we see if ramping up the power will improve things, and secondly if there'll be transponders facing north. I wouldn't be at all confident of the latter though, as there's a risk of interference. I haven't got the details to hand just now but it's possible that some of the 'Northern' relays might be using group C/D or adjacent to it, and thats the same band that Clermont Carn will be using.
In the event of this or in the event of the Inter Governmental arrangement on 'cross border' services failing to materialise, then the next option to look at will be Saorsat.

This is not good news for viewers in NI - I thought that once power is ramped up at DSO (isn't CC going to go up considerably to c160 kw?) this would make it easily receivable to much of the eastern part of NI.

buggane

The RTENL transmitter chart shows restrictions on the NI transmissions right up to UK DSO however the chart also shows a transmitter upgrade at Clermont Carn in the last quarter of 2010.

Charts at the BCI show increased reach for the ROI signal in first quarter 2011 (see below):

Third Quarter 2010 reach:

http://www.bci.ie/DTT/easy_tv/map_standard_stageincrease_q3_2010.jpg

First Quarter 2011

http://www.bci.ie/DTT/easy_tv/map_standard_coverage_q1_2011.jpg


If this is still accurate there may be some improvement at CC before DSO