Is there a lift on?

[Vir Campestris]

All the HD channels (101... ) seem to be horribly broken up this
evening. The SD ones (1... ) are OK.

Or is it just us?

Looking at Sandy Heath from the other side of Cambridge,

Andy

[tony sayer]

Post by Vir Campestris
All the HD channels (101... ) seem to be horribly broken up this
evening. The SD ones (1... ) are OK.
Or is it just us?
Looking at Sandy Heath from the other side of Cambridge,
Andy

Https://www.dxinfocentre.com/tropo_eur.html

Doesn't seem so?...

[[e-mail]]

I don't know but the Northern Lights are visible from here most nights at the moment.

Bill

[NY]

Post by ***@aol.com
I don't know but the Northern Lights are visible from here most nights at the moment.

You can actually *see* the Northern Lights, can you? Every time I get a
red alert from my aurora app on my phone, it's:

- during daylight
- during a full moon
- during a period of dense cloud and/or rain

I am determined to see the northern lights some time before I die - but
I'm not holding my breath. My wife saw very intense northern lights from
as far south as Oxfordshire back in the 1990s (before I knew her) and
has seen them several times since then when driving to and from work in
the winter when it gets dark early enough. But I've never yet seen
anything, even when the app says "should be visible with the naked eye
in Scotland and Northern England". And that's after waiting maybe 15
minutes so my eyes get accustomed to the dark. No doubt if I set up a
camera and gave a nice long exposure I could record decent pictures, but
it would be nice to see them with the naked eye, since so many other
people say they have seen them.

I'm a few miles inland of Bridlington, so slightly further north than
you. I wonder if being close to the coast means that weather systems
make it less likely that strong colours are visible than further inland.

[Davey]

On Mon, 27 Nov 2023 23:53:17 +0000

Post by NY

Post by ***@aol.com
I don't know but the Northern Lights are visible from here most nights at the moment.

You can actually *see* the Northern Lights, can you? Every time I get
- during daylight
- during a full moon
- during a period of dense cloud and/or rain
I am determined to see the northern lights some time before I die -
but I'm not holding my breath.

snip


My wife and I were on holiday in Alaska (we lived in the US for many
years), and from Fairbanks, we took a tourist flight to a pumping
station on the Alaska Pipeline, north of the Arctic Circle. There, we
boarded a minibus, and rode down the Dalton Highway (think: "Ice Road
Truckers") back to Fairbanks. This was in September, and the driver said
that they always got good Auroro Borealis sightings, and as this was
the year after the Mount Pinatubo eruption, they were even better than
normal. He was not kidding. They went on for hour after hour, to the
point where we all got bored watching them, hard to believe though it
is. We eventually got back to Fairbanks at about 1 am, and the
spectacle was still going on as we drove back to our hotel.
My brother saw them from above the Arctic Circle somewhere in
Scandinavia many years ago, but I doubt they were as good as what we
saw.
An extra item from that Alaska trip. We stopped at a roadhouse where the
road crossed the Yukon River, then got on a boat that took us upriver
to a native salmon-fishing camp. On the return trip, I asked the pilot
of the boat, which was about 20 feet long, and had room for us to sit
at a table, what engine he had, as the boat seemed to just cruise along
at a good rate without any effort at all. He replied that it had three
454 Mercruiser engines, which I later found to have about 365 hp each.
Apparently the boat was sponsored by the Alaska Tourism Board, or some
such body, which helped tourism in the State by assisting with equipment
purchase. The State has (had?) reverse income tax, it made so much money
from the oil that it paid its residents.
If only....

[alan_m]

Post by Davey
On Mon, 27 Nov 2023 23:53:17 +0000

Post by NY
I am determined to see the northern lights some time before I die -
but I'm not holding my breath.

snip
My wife and I were on holiday in Alaska
They went on for hour after hour, to the
point where we all got bored watching them,

snip

Friends of mine went on an expensive "Northern Lights" cruise - they
didn't see them, and it wasn't because they paid for the drinks package
and the bar was open :)

[Scott]

Post by NY

Post by ***@aol.com
I don't know but the Northern Lights are visible from here most nights at the moment.

You can actually *see* the Northern Lights, can you? Every time I get a
- during daylight
- during a full moon
- during a period of dense cloud and/or rain
I am determined to see the northern lights some time before I die - but
I'm not holding my breath. My wife saw very intense northern lights from
as far south as Oxfordshire back in the 1990s (before I knew her) and
has seen them several times since then when driving to and from work in
the winter when it gets dark early enough. But I've never yet seen
anything, even when the app says "should be visible with the naked eye
in Scotland and Northern England". And that's after waiting maybe 15
minutes so my eyes get accustomed to the dark. No doubt if I set up a
camera and gave a nice long exposure I could record decent pictures, but
it would be nice to see them with the naked eye, since so many other
people say they have seen them.
I'm a few miles inland of Bridlington, so slightly further north than
you. I wonder if being close to the coast means that weather systems
make it less likely that strong colours are visible than further inland.

If you are determined, I would suggest a trip to Nordkapp (North Cape
in Norway). I went there in the summer which was enthralling and I
have always wanted to return to experience the other side of the coin.
Realistically, I think you would need to do some serious research
first.

[Vir Campestris]

Post by Scott
If you are determined, I would suggest a trip to Nordkapp (North Cape
in Norway). I went there in the summer which was enthralling and I
have always wanted to return to experience the other side of the coin.
Realistically, I think you would need to do some serious research
first.

I have seen them - but never from the surface. My job has taken me to
West Coast USA many times, and the Great Circle route to San Francisco
goes over souther Greenland (other airports are available. DAMHIK...)

In other news whatever was ****ing up the signal has gone away again.

Andy

[Scott]

On Sun, 26 Nov 2023 21:05:26 +0000, Vir Campestris

Post by Vir Campestris
All the HD channels (101... ) seem to be horribly broken up this
evening. The SD ones (1... ) are OK.
Or is it just us?
Looking at Sandy Heath from the other side of Cambridge,

I was with my friend south of Glasgow at the weekend (Blackhill
transmitter). Several times the picture disappeared for a second or
two then returned - no pixellation - just straight to a blank screen.
We wondered if something odd was going on.

[Woody]

Post by Scott
On Sun, 26 Nov 2023 21:05:26 +0000, Vir Campestris

Post by Vir Campestris
All the HD channels (101... ) seem to be horribly broken up this
evening. The SD ones (1... ) are OK.
Or is it just us?
Looking at Sandy Heath from the other side of Cambridge,

I was with my friend south of Glasgow at the weekend (Blackhill
transmitter). Several times the picture disappeared for a second or
two then returned - no pixellation - just straight to a blank screen.
We wondered if something odd was going on.

You were not the only one - we lost Emley as well 0 for about 2 minutes.
It was Com4 - we were watching GBNews at the time. TalkTV on Com5 was
still going so we can only assume it was a source/distribution issue?

[Scott]

Post by Woody

Post by Scott
On Sun, 26 Nov 2023 21:05:26 +0000, Vir Campestris

Post by Vir Campestris
All the HD channels (101... ) seem to be horribly broken up this
evening. The SD ones (1... ) are OK.
Or is it just us?
Looking at Sandy Heath from the other side of Cambridge,

I was with my friend south of Glasgow at the weekend (Blackhill
transmitter). Several times the picture disappeared for a second or
two then returned - no pixellation - just straight to a blank screen.
We wondered if something odd was going on.

You were not the only one - we lost Emley as well 0 for about 2 minutes.
It was Com4 - we were watching GBNews at the time. TalkTV on Com5 was
still going so we can only assume it was a source/distribution issue?

My friend had a brief blackout last night (Tuesday). It was either
More4 or Channel 5. Is this a wider distribution issue?

[Brian Gaff]

There have been some energetic Auroras recently. a lot of scatter has been
noted on vhf and uhf, so I guess that a co channel from almost anywhere
could disrupt reception if you are looking almost north from your location.
Brian
--
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This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...
***@blueyonder.co.uk
Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!

Post by Scott
On Sun, 26 Nov 2023 21:05:26 +0000, Vir Campestris

Post by Vir Campestris
All the HD channels (101... ) seem to be horribly broken up this
evening. The SD ones (1... ) are OK.
Or is it just us?
Looking at Sandy Heath from the other side of Cambridge,

I was with my friend south of Glasgow at the weekend (Blackhill
transmitter). Several times the picture disappeared for a second or
two then returned - no pixellation - just straight to a blank screen.
We wondered if something odd was going on.

[Scott]

On Thu, 30 Nov 2023 12:15:20 -0000, "Brian Gaff"

Post by Brian Gaff
There have been some energetic Auroras recently. a lot of scatter has been
noted on vhf and uhf, so I guess that a co channel from almost anywhere
could disrupt reception if you are looking almost north from your location.
Brian

But why does the screen go blank rather than pixellating, which is the
usual manifestation of trouble?

[Vir Campestris]

OP here.

I'm beginning to get a nasty suspicion it's my Hummy. And a lot of the
stuff on there is our only copy which I haven't backed up :(

Andy

[Robin]

Post by Vir Campestris
OP here.
I'm beginning to get a nasty suspicion it's my Hummy. And a lot of the
stuff on there is our only copy which I haven't backed up :(

I may be misunderstanding what's afoot but do you get the problem when
watching live broadcasts via the Hummy? If so, have you been able to
check if you get the same problem with an aerial feed direct to the TV's
tuner (assuming that has a tuner)?

I ask as I did just wonder if the issue might be with the Hummy's
pass-through (which might mean your recordings will still play OK).

[Max Demian]

Post by Robin

Post by Vir Campestris
OP here.
I'm beginning to get a nasty suspicion it's my Hummy. And a lot of the
stuff on there is our only copy which I haven't backed up :(

I may be misunderstanding what's afoot but do you get the problem when
watching live broadcasts via the Hummy? If so, have you been able to
check if you get the same problem with an aerial feed direct to the TV's
tuner (assuming that has a tuner)?
I ask as I did just wonder if the issue might be with the Hummy's
pass-through (which might mean your recordings will still play OK).

There's a tendency to assume a poster has done such elementary checks.

[Robin]

Post by Max Demian

Post by Robin

Post by Vir Campestris
OP here.
I'm beginning to get a nasty suspicion it's my Hummy. And a lot of
the stuff on there is our only copy which I haven't backed up :(

I may be misunderstanding what's afoot but do you get the problem when
watching live broadcasts via the Hummy? If so, have you been able to
check if you get the same problem with an aerial feed direct to the
TV's tuner (assuming that has a tuner)?
I ask as I did just wonder if the issue might be with the Hummy's
pass-through (which might mean your recordings will still play OK).

There's a tendency to assume a poster has done such elementary checks.

I beg Andy's pardon for the implication that he might be as elementary
as me.

[Vir Campestris]

Post by Robin

Post by Max Demian

Post by Robin

Post by Vir Campestris
OP here.
I'm beginning to get a nasty suspicion it's my Hummy. And a lot of
the stuff on there is our only copy which I haven't backed up :(

I may be misunderstanding what's afoot but do you get the problem
when watching live broadcasts via the Hummy? If so, have you been
able to check if you get the same problem with an aerial feed direct
to the TV's tuner (assuming that has a tuner)?
I ask as I did just wonder if the issue might be with the Hummy's
pass-through (which might mean your recordings will still play OK).

There's a tendency to assume a poster has done such elementary checks.

I beg Andy's pardon for the implication that he might be as elementary
as me.

Apology not needed. There are a lot of idiots out there.

We almost never watch live TV, however a lot of the things we watch are
parts of series being broadcast at the moment. The most obvious one
being the 6 o'clock news which we watch after eating - perhaps an hour
later.

The Hummy plays back to the TV over HDMI.

We've had a few cases where the programme fails to play back, or drops
out part way through. I had thought that it was failing to record
correctly, but have now realised that it is not consistent - a few
programs won't play one day, but will the next. Or vice versa.

Andy

[NY]

Post by Vir Campestris
All the HD channels (101... ) seem to be horribly broken up this
evening. The SD ones (1... ) are OK.
Or is it just us?
Looking at Sandy Heath from the other side of Cambridge,

I am about 60 miles from Belmont and there is a ridge of land about 1/2
mile from our house which blocks about half the beam (according to the
graphs on JavaJive's reception-prediction site when it used to work) -
that's the only obstruction.

At times of severe lift, we can occasionally find that Crystal Palace
stomps on Belmont's signal (they use the same frequencies, though not
necessarily for the same muxes) enough to cause reception problems.

But I've not noticed any problems over the past few days. Mux PSB3 (the
HD mux) is still about the same signal strength and SNR as normal, and
reception of (for example) BBC One HD is still glitch-free when I just
checked now.

[Brian Gaff]

There have been quite a few in the last month or so. Often they are
localised and due to mist and fog causing a temperature inversion for over
the horizon propagation.
Brian
--
--:
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...
***@blueyonder.co.uk
Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!

All the HD channels (101... ) seem to be horribly broken up this evening.
The SD ones (1... ) are OK.
Or is it just us?
Looking at Sandy Heath from the other side of Cambridge,
Andy