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Saorview frequencies reshuffle (700 MHz clearence)

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  • Registered Users Posts: 2,299 ✭✭✭Antenna


    The Saorview site doesn't appear to say anything that some viewers will need to change their aerials, even though clearly this is going to be the necessary for some.


  • Registered Users Posts: 15,452 ✭✭✭✭The Cush


    Antenna wrote: »
    The Saorview site doesn't appear to say anything that some viewers will need to change their aerials, even though clearly this is going to be the necessary for some.

    They do say this in the FAQ
    Will I need to replace my aerial?

    For the majority of viewers affected, there will be no need to change the aerial. Viewers at some locations may need to replace or move their aerial in the event of a change in the quality of Saorview reception.
    I have rescanned but now I am missing some channels. What do I do?

    Try a full rescan of your Saorview channels. If that does not restore lost channels, you may need to get your aerial changed to match the new frequencies. Please contact your local TV installer.
    I need to get a new aerial, what do I need to know?

    Your local TV retailer or installer can advise what type of aerial works best at your location.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,299 ✭✭✭Antenna


    thanks, I missed the FAQ button on that page.
    Its going to be especially awkward for viewers in border areas who have been receiving UK Freeview as well as Saorview where there is in many cases going to be much more hassle than replacing one aerial.


  • Registered Users Posts: 15,452 ✭✭✭✭The Cush


    Antenna wrote: »
    Its going to be especially awkward for viewers in border areas receiving UK Freeview as well as Saorview signals where there is in many cases much more to be done that replacing one aerial.

    The freeview frequency change in NI happens on 1 day, no simulcast/transition period, so the aerial(s) issues will be know on Sept 4th and maybe can be sorted relatively quickly. Could be a busy Sept for the trade. Guessing there may be difficult issues for some locations, CCI may be a problem.
    Saorview

    Many viewers in Northern Ireland have separate aerials installed to facilitate reception of Saorview television services from the Republic of Ireland. For those using Freeview TVs and set-top boxes, these services will be listed in the 800 channel section of the EPG. The Republic will also begin its processes for 700MHz clearance on 4 September, launching a simulcast of both of its multiplexes on new frequencies. The Saorview multiplexes will operate on their old and new frequencies until Spring 2020.

    During an automatic retune TV equipment will usually select one set of these multiplexes depending on manufacturer preference with regards to signal quality, power or the received order.

    Saorview will place a ‘full-stop’ next to the channel names of RTÉ One and RTÉ2 on transmissions across the Republic of Ireland on its existing frequencies. This measure is intended to aid installers or retailers around the border areas who may be asked to retune customer TV sets that receive both Freeview and Saorview. The full stop should not be visible following a successful retune to the new frequencies.

    Aerial installers should carefully consider how a dual aerial receiving system will operate when these changes take place in September. Special attention should be given where aerial group diplexers are currently used to combine signals from both Freeview and Saorview aerials. These may filter out the
    wanted new frequencies in the future, so consideration should be given to alternative arrangements such as use of wideband diplexers, combiners and/or careful alignment of aerials.

    For example, in parts of Derry/Londonderry it may be possible to receive transmissions from Saorview and Freeview transmitters using a single aerial.

    http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/95033/700MHz_Clearance_Q3_2019_UTV_v2.pdf
    http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/95105/700MHz_Industry_Briefing_-_additional_notes_for_clearance_events_in_Northern_Ireland_Q3-2019.pdf




  • COM6 from Divis is moving from 29 to 30. Will there any co-channel problems with Three Rock because of this? In Dundalk, so will probably lose reception. Divis 23 & 26 is unreliable due to Mt. Leinster.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 2,187 ✭✭✭MBSnr


    ^^^
    Just checked and Maghera in Clare has the same channels on new Freq 647K (Ch 46) as well as old Freq 746K (Ch 55). Wasn't sure if it'll be active on the new Ch yet.


  • Registered Users Posts: 15,452 ✭✭✭✭The Cush


    MBSnr wrote: »
    Just checked and Maghera in Clare has the same channels on new Freq 647K (Ch 46) as well as old Freq 746K (Ch 55). Wasn't sure if it'll be active on the new Ch yet.
    I guess so long as the new frequencies don't cause any interference to existing sites in NI prior to September 4th they can be switched on.


  • Registered Users Posts: 13,981 ✭✭✭✭Johnboy1951


    MBSnr wrote: »
    ^^^
    Just checked and Maghera in Clare has the same channels on new Freq 647K (Ch 46) as well as old Freq 746K (Ch 55). Wasn't sure if it'll be active on the new Ch yet.

    I think it should be 674 and not 647? ....... or am I mistaken?

    Yes they are back again on Maghera ..... but they were there before also while testing. Hopefully they will stay now.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,187 ✭✭✭MBSnr


    I think it should be 674 and not 647? ....... or am I mistaken?

    Yes they are back again on Maghera ..... but they were there before also while testing. Hopefully they will stay now.

    Yeah 674... just a typo by me...:eek:


  • Registered Users Posts: 732 ✭✭✭Machinehead


    I think it should be 674 and not 647? ....... or am I mistaken?

    Yes they are back again on Maghera ..... but they were there before also while testing. Hopefully they will stay now.
    I'm there with you. For the last few weeks they've been switching the channels off and on for Ch 48. My TV steps in tells me 'Programme map has changed-do you want to retune now'. I do the retune, they turn the channels back on again & my TV does another blurb about retuning.
    One other thing, does this now mean we all need to change our aerials to avoid interference from 5G? I don't know/remember which type of aerial have but I do remember the installer saying at the time it was a wideband one.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 2,299 ✭✭✭Antenna


    One other thing, does this now mean we all need to change our aerials to avoid interference from 5G? I don't know/remember which type of aerial have but I do remember the installer saying at the time it was a wideband one.


    Wether or not someone might have difficulty or not depends on a number of factors.
    Does (in the future) any nearby 5G base station actually transmit in the 700MHz band, as it is only one of a number of bands that 5G can use.
    How far away is the nearest 5G (using UHF) base station(s) ? Is it in the same direction as the TV aerial is aimed at? Strength of TV signal ? Do you use an amplifier ?

    etc etc

    There is no need to be doing anything if you have no problems attributable to 5G


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,187 ✭✭✭MBSnr


    I'm there with you. For the last few weeks they've been switching the channels off and on for Ch 48. My TV steps in tells me 'Programme map has changed-do you want to retune now'. I do the retune, they turn the channels back on again & my TV does another blurb about retuning.
    One other thing, does this now mean we all need to change our aerials to avoid interference from 5G? I don't know/remember which type of aerial have but I do remember the installer saying at the time it was a wideband one.

    Ah - Is it a LG TV by any chance? My LG TV keeps doing that but my other boxes with Saorview don't.


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,009 ✭✭✭mikeecho


    Just arrived home from a few days away.

    One Sony TV was working fine, the other missing a load a channel's.
    (Spur hill)

    After running around checking cables, decided to do a rescan, saw that ch24 was gone to ch39.

    Then I checked here to see what was happening.

    Was this change of freq advertised?

    I can see a busy few days ahead retuning TVs for elderly family and neighbors.


  • Registered Users Posts: 732 ✭✭✭Machinehead


    MBSnr wrote: »
    Ah - Is it a LG TV by any chance? My LG TV keeps doing that but my other boxes with Saorview don't.

    Yup, she's an LG alright, constantly wanting to do rescans. Checked signal strength today on foot of recent comments on Maghera & Mux on Ch. 55 seems to be dead now. Hopefully no more rescan prompts anymore.


  • Registered Users Posts: 13,981 ✭✭✭✭Johnboy1951


    Yup, she's an LG alright, constantly wanting to do rescans. Checked signal strength today on foot of recent comments on Maghera & Mux on Ch. 55 seems to be dead now. Hopefully no more rescan prompts anymore.

    Both frequencies seemed to have the channels when I checked a few minutes ago
    746Mhz (Ch. 46) and 674Mhz (Ch. 55)


  • Registered Users Posts: 491 ✭✭Elvis Hammond


    The old frequencies aren't being switched off until March, so of course they'll still have services on them.


  • Registered Users Posts: 15,452 ✭✭✭✭The Cush


    mikeecho wrote: »
    Just arrived home from a few days away.

    One Sony TV was working fine, the other missing a load a channel's.
    (Spur hill)

    After running around checking cables, decided to do a rescan, saw that ch24 was gone to ch39.

    Then I checked here to see what was happening.

    Was this change of freq advertised?

    I can see a busy few days ahead retuning TVs for elderly family and neighbors.

    UHF 24 is Mullaghanish Mux2 and UHF 39 is the new Spur Hill Mux2. Looks like you're getting your current Saorview signal from Mullaghanish but close enough to Spur Hill for reception too.

    As posted a few posts back by Antenna Spur Hill is still only testing but is causing issues for receivers which automatically tune to a stronger found signal for a Mux which is then switched off. This happened in your case

    The new frequencies don't go officially live until Sept 4th but the old frequencies will simulcast for a further 6 months to allow households and the trade to sort out any aerial issues, so no panic and no need to advertise the frequency change until it happens as it could cause more confusion. In the UK where this is happening too it all takes place in a single day, old frequencies switched off - new frequencies switched on.

    Have a read through the frequency change FAQ here - https://www.saorview.ie/en/changes/faqs


  • Registered Users Posts: 15,452 ✭✭✭✭The Cush


    Both frequencies seemed to have the channels when I checked a few minutes ago
    746Mhz (Ch. 46) and 674Mhz (Ch. 55)

    As Elvis posted, both frequencies will simulcast for 6 months to allow for householders and the trade to sort out any aerial issues.


  • Registered Users Posts: 15,452 ✭✭✭✭The Cush


    One other thing, does this now mean we all need to change our aerials to avoid interference from 5G? I don't know/remember which type of aerial have but I do remember the installer saying at the time it was a wideband one.

    The advice posted by Antenna is spot on, no need to do anything unless there are reception issues related to a local 5G 700MHz-basestation in you area. This band hasn't been auctioned off yet so we are unlikely to see any possible interference issues for at least 12 months or later.

    The old wideband aerial Group W was up to UHF 69, the current wideband aerial Group T is up to UHF 60, both of which overlap the 4G & 5G bands and are susceptible to interference. Post clearance a Group K wideband aerial is recommended but those with a Group B may still be OK as they are still below the future basestation DL range which starts at UHF 57.
    Antenna wrote: »
    Wether or not someone might have difficulty or not depends on a number of factors.
    Does (in the future) any nearby 5G base station actually transmit in the 700MHz band, as it is only one of a number of bands that 5G can use.
    How far away is the nearest 5G (using UHF) base station(s) ? Is it in the same direction as the TV aerial is aimed at? Strength of TV signal ? Do you use an amplifier ?

    etc etc

    There is no need to be doing anything if you have no problems attributable to 5G


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,226 ✭✭✭joeysoap


    Just came across this thread. Too technical for me but see a lot of references to Clermount Carn

    I live in Dundalk and bought a new tv recently. My ‘older’ tv picked up Saorview and sorted the chennels accordingly. Rte1 as 1, Rte 2 as 2 etc and BBC/UTV/CH4 HD etc in numbered as 92 -97 (or thereabouts) Samsung TV

    new tv is LG and it’s not picking up Saorview with the result the main UK HD channels are 101 - 105 and the Irish channels are all over the shop in the 800’s

    Has this anything got to do with the changes you are all posting about and will I lose any of the channels I currently have?. ( all the free view ones)

    * my hdd recorder always picked up freeview channels and has Irish channels in the 800’s too. But I don’t mind this as I only use it for recording. FWIW RTE1 is 821 on recorder and 831 on LG TV, which I find weird.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 15,452 ✭✭✭✭The Cush


    joeysoap wrote: »
    new tv is LG and it’s not picking up Saorview with the result the main UK HD channels are 101 - 105 and the Irish channels are all over the shop in the 800’s

    Has this anything got to do with the changes you are all posting about and will I lose any of the channels I currently have?. ( all the free view ones)

    * my hdd recorder always picked up freeview channels and has Irish channels in the 800’s too. But I don’t mind this as I only use it for recording. FWIW RTE1 is 821 on recorder and 831 on LG TV, which I find weird.

    This is how a TV stores the channels when setup with UK as the country/region, Freeview channels first in correct order and then the Saorview channels which are regarded as out-of-region and stored as found in the 800s as per the UK's Freeview receiver specification. I assume the Saorview channels can be manually moved closer to the top of the list as required. Easier in an overspill area like yours to setup a TV this way as there are less Saorview-channels to move.

    Resetting the TV to Ireland restores the previous channel lineup with Saorview channels first and then Freeview channels at random.

    Regarding your HDD recorder, some like Panasonic and Humax have no Ireland option so Saorview channels are stored automatically in the 800s regardless of being in an overspill area or not. Panasonics allow reordering of the channels lower down the list but Humax boxes I believe won't allow you to move them outside the 800s.

    This has nothing to do with the upcoming frequency changes discussed above.

    The frequency changes north and south of the border might be an issue on Sept 4th in overspill areas due to a tighter reuse of frequencies. Someone already asked about Dundalk a few posts back in relation to this but I don't know the area, someone locally might be able to advise better.
    Irish planners have completed replanning to clear TV from the channels 49-60. They worked in conjunction with their UK colleagues on this task. On the whole the plan has 9 UHF channel groups, each with 3 channels. The Department expects that TV services will clear the channels 49-60 by April 2020, creating a second digital dividend. Associated with that will be much tighter reuse of frequency channels. The Department does not guarantee reception of TV services outside their core service area. Some households currently receiving UK TV signals from Northern Ireland or Wales will no longer be able to do so. This is because of transmissions from Irish TV transmitters in neighbouring areas.

    https://www.dccae.gov.ie/en-ie/communications/topics/spectrum/digital-dividend/Pages/DTT-Spectrum.aspx


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,226 ✭✭✭joeysoap


    Thank you. Yes, the recorder is Panasonic, bought mainly because I could find very few that record both Irish and UK channels.

    I haven’t reordered the tv channels as the Tv keeps looking for new scans and it’s just not worth changing every time I rescan (the recorder and Samsung Tv both ‘look’ for a rescan pretty frequently too (new channels found is the message and it won’t go away until your rescan). Both TV’s were bought locally, the recorder in NI.

    3 miles from county Armagh as closest point, about 6 from Clermount. I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see.

    Thanks again.


  • Registered Users Posts: 15,452 ✭✭✭✭The Cush


    joeysoap wrote: »
    I haven’t reordered the tv channels as the Tv keeps looking for new scans and it’s just not worth changing every time I rescan (the recorder and Samsung Tv both ‘look’ for a rescan pretty frequently too (new channels found is the message and it won’t go away until your rescan). Both TV’s were bought locally, the recorder in NI.
    Is there any options within the menu to switch off auto scanning?

    I also have a Panasonic HDD recorder, easy enough to reorder the Saorview channels, but in your case best wait until the frequency changes happen on Sept 4th.


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,226 ✭✭✭joeysoap


    Don’t really know if you can switch off rescan. Only takes a minute on the recorder anyway.

    Came across this from post 65


    For example, in parts of Derry/Londonderry it may be possible to receive transmissions from Saorview and Freeview transmitters using a single aerial.



    I have a single aerial, more than 30 years old, receiving both FV and Saorview. I’ll wait till 4th Sept and see what happens.

    The only real problem with the recorder (not related to any changes in transmission) is the inability to series record Irish programmers.


  • Registered Users Posts: 501 ✭✭✭kazoo106


    CH30 going to be a challenge - but Sept 4th will tell - currently DUB is much weaker but receivable through the back of the antenna


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,881 ✭✭✭kooga


    mikeecho wrote: »
    Just arrived home from a few days away.

    One Sony TV was working fine, the other missing a load a channel's.
    (Spur hill)

    After running around checking cables, decided to do a rescan, saw that ch24 was gone to ch39.

    Then I checked here to see what was happening.

    Was this change of freq advertised?

    I can see a busy few days ahead retuning TVs for elderly family and neighbors.

    Had the same myself - both Sony TVs had lost RTÉ 1 from spur hill - I went up to the attic checking cables etc - didn’t know this thread existed but a rescan sorted me


  • Registered Users Posts: 392 ✭✭Hibrasil


    Am I correct in saying Channels 34 & 35 are operational (transmissions) for Kippure. ???


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,383 ✭✭✭StreetLight


    Hibrasil wrote: »
    Am I correct in saying Channels 34 & 35 are operational (transmissions) for Kippure. ???

    Yes, they are.


  • Registered Users Posts: 765 ✭✭✭Mickey Mike


    Hibrasil wrote: »
    Am I correct in saying Channels 34 & 35 are operational (transmissions) for Kippure. ???

    Why are they so close together?


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  • Registered Users Posts: 15,452 ✭✭✭✭The Cush


    Why are they so close together?

    This is normal across the 6 mux plan for all sites but at Kippure the only site that I can see that is using them for the 2 mux plan. The other muxes at Kippure have much more restrictions applied to them under the plan in relation to UK sites with 34 & 35 the least restrictions. Much tighter reuse of frequencies as they had to plan for the same number of muxes in a reduced block of spectrum.

    This is the Mullaghanish plan - 21,22,24,25,27,28


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