Like many I was lucky enough to live in an overlap area (Yorkshire/Tyne-Tees). The quality of Tyne Tees wasn't too bad even though it was on an indoor boosted aerial.
This got me thinking. How many of you could receive more than 1 region?
My younger self thought I was a wizard when I was able to pick up HTV in Granadaland. Of course this was in the latter half of the 90s when having two ITV channels wasn't much of a benefit.
Growing up in sunny Southend meant London, Meridian and Anglia at equally good signal quality. Used to flick between them on channels 3, 6 and 7 on my little analogue portable TV, because I was a very cool child.
Whilst never living in a disputed or overlap area, in my case Warrington (Cheshire), where I grew up we used to receive signals from Moel Y Parc quite clearly at one time. So we had the benefit of having access to notably HTV and S4C, more so the latter for several years. Certainly it was the case that we could get a watchable S4C until DSO. Certainly having access to S4C back in the 1990s was rather handy as a Channel 4 catch up/timeshift service.
Central, Granada and HTV Wales in this neck of the woods of North East Wales, which through to the late 90s and to an extent the early 00s did offer genuine additional choice outside of peak hours along with S4C. Had Central on the main TV until DSO made Granada a better option, with the others upstairs.
Stuck deep in Sutton Coldfield land, no possibility of a second region.
Occasionally got another ITV region when the atmospheric conditions were right, but very much exception to the rule.
Brekkie post_id=52167 time= user_id=976 Wrote:Central, Granada and HTV Wales in this neck of the woods of North East Wales, which through to the late 90s and to an extent the early 00s did offer genuine additional choice outside of peak hours along with S4C. Had Central on the main TV until DSO made Granada a better option, with the others upstairs.
There must have been a few "sweet spots" for triple regions.
I live in Norfolk, and could pick up Yorkshire and Anglia.
However, what got me interested in presentation was over the summer on clear days with high pressure (how many of you are old enough to remember the 'atmospheric conditions' that used to cause the picture to roll and be covered by wavy lines?) I could pick up Central, LWT / Carlton and Meridian.
I loved how the London stations (and we're talking 1993ish) used to seem so much slicker than Anglia. It also made we aware that some stations were shared as Anglia and Meridian had the same trailer and promo styles and voices.
now it's really easy, just a shame that all the regions are the same now.
I remember back to 5th November in about 1988 and being able to receive a strong signal from YTV, TTTV and Anglia, whilst based in the South of England. I once managed to also receive a weak signal from Central as well!
itsgiles post_id=52184 time= user_id=2380 Wrote:I remember back to 5th November in about 1988 and being able to receive a strong signal from YTV, TTTV and Anglia, whilst based in the South of England. I once managed to also receive a weak signal from Central as well!
How on earth did that happen?!
We could get Emley Moor, Belmont, Crosspool and Bilsdale here- though Emley was the most powerful and the one we used (in some other parts of the town though, it's Belmont that's strongest).
What we couldn't get even a sniff of, however, was Waltham- which is the transmitter which actually carried the regions which had the regional news for our area. So we were able to see what was happening in Sheffield, Hull, Leeds, Middlesborough and Newcastle- but not on our own doorstep. Was always frustrating when there was a news report filmed locally and barely anyone was able to see it- you'd think both the BBC and ITV would have picked up on the fact. When a East Midlands Today filmed a report in our school in 1999, we were practically the only ones who saw it, due to us having cable by then (similar when they came back in 2001 and 2002, though more of us had cable by then). Those relying on terrestrial had to see the news from Leeds instead.
I actually remember being at an event in the town centre in the mid-90s, and one of the presenters telling us it would be on East Midlands Today, and you could hear the audible groan as most of us knew we wouldn't have been able to see it (particularly as this was a few years before cable came here).
James2001 post_id=52187 time= user_id=956 Wrote:We could get Emley Moor, Belmont, Crosspool and Bilsdale here- though Emley was the most powerful and the one we used (in some other parts of the town though, it's Belmont that's strongest).
What we couldn't get even a sniff of, however, was Waltham- which is the transmitter which actually carried the regions which had the regional news for our area. So we were able to see what was happening in Sheffield, Hull, Leeds, Middlesborough and Newcastle- but not on our own doorstep. Was always frustrating when there was a news report filmed locally and barely anyone was able to see it- you'd think both the BBC and ITV would have picked up on the fact. When a East Midlands Today filmed a report in our school in 1999, we were practically the only ones who saw it, due to us having cable. Those relying on terrestrial had to see the news from Leeds instead.
That is odd.
Humphrey Hacker post_id=52185 time= user_id=1128 Wrote:itsgiles post_id=52184 time= user_id=2380 Wrote:I remember back to 5th November in about 1988 and being able to receive a strong signal from YTV, TTTV and Anglia, whilst based in the South of England. I once managed to also receive a weak signal from Central as well!
How on earth did that happen?!
DXing probably
Humphrey Hacker post_id=52185 time= user_id=1128 Wrote:itsgiles post_id=52184 time= user_id=2380 Wrote:I remember back to 5th November in about 1988 and being able to receive a strong signal from YTV, TTTV and Anglia, whilst based in the South of England. I once managed to also receive a weak signal from Central as well!
How on earth did that happen?!
Almost certain ideal atmospheric conditions:
https://bbc-rtis-int-bbcas.api.bbci.co.u...n-freeview
The article talks about Freeview but it was definitely a thing in the analogue TV days as well. Its the same principle on why you can pick up foreign radio stations after dark on the medium wave (and also why medium wave goes to pot after dark reception wise).
Went on holiday at once, picked up a relatively fascinating sounding foreign radio station. Couldn't understand a damn word they were saying but the music they were occasionally playing was interesting, was nothing I'd ever heard before.
In South London I could get Thames/Carlton/LWT & BBC South East (the old region)/BBC London from Crystal Palace and TVS/Meridian & BBC One South from Hannington. Hannington would vary from being broadcast quality to fuzzy depending on atmospheric conditions.
Ever the anorak, I'd check out Oracle on TVS to see if the signal was good enough.
It was useful especially on Saturday afternoons when the two regions on ITV would show different US imports after Saint & Greavsie.