Does anyone know why I always lose radio signal when I'm driving along Berkhamsted High Street? One minute I'm listening to Three Counties Radio, the next it's just static. And when I search I can't get any radio stations at all. Has someone declared radio silence in the high street?

By nomie44 at 15:25 on 25/01/12

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Three Counties comes from over the hill towards Luton and I think they have another transmitter over Chesham/Amersham direction.
DAB comes locally from the Bedmond transmitter, so is also variable.
If you look at the roof of the house next to Nash the estate agents, you might see an effort to receive VHF signals. Over on the Northern side (Bridgewater side) TV etc comes from both London and Bedmond. The area between the High Street and just above Charles Street can get a signal from London, Bedmond or Sandy Heath. The eastern end of town generally uses Bedmond. The western end, London is better, the northern side is Sandy Heath.
The problem is that the valley is in the wrong place and orientated the wrong way. A lot of the town gets TV from a reflection of the Chaulden area in Hemel, but the VHF frequencies don't reflect as well. Mix96 from Aylesbury comes in quiet well and the St Albans one.
Hope this helps.

By N Cutting at 16:10 on 25/01/12
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Thanks - that might explain it. I always find the way transmitters work rather odd - my sister can see the Sandy Heath transmitter from the end of her garden but has always had the most rubbish reception - and I lived really close to the Crystal Palace transmitter and also had variable reception :)

By nomie44 at 17:25 on 25/01/12
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Ahh - Sandy Heath. Interesting site. It was supposed to cover all of East Anglia when it was erected, but then the real world kicked in. There is no logic in the performance of that mast. The predictions suggest it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, but as you found, it really does have a poor performance. It wouldn't be so bad if they didn't used to have the main engineering depot there, but even that didn't help. I think it's a mechanical mast problem rather than anything else. I know that Sutton Coldfield is much better and the IBA even moved all their stuff from the Lichfield mast to SC as that was rubbish as well for covering the West Midlands. Now Crystal Palace is surprisingly directional, but I think the new antennas have improved the omni-direction patten.

You have to remember that RF really is a black art and rarely behaves as it should. Glad to have thrown some light on your concerns.

By N Cutting at 19:14 on 25/01/12
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the loss of radio sigal in Berkhamsted town centre has been the case for many years now especialy by the traffic lights. I have always put it down to the fact that you are surrounded by banks which all have re-enforced walls which prevents the radio signal getting through

By treka23 at 16:24 on 26/01/12
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