TV licencing bloke calls...

[grahamhobbs]

That sounds like a money-making scheme to me! How is that different from a family having TVs in different rooms? When we moved into our house there was an aerial in every single room except the bathroom - it made me wonder if the previous inhabitants every spoke to one another!

I can beat that, I've built houses where we've put tv's in every room except the toilet (now surely you need one there!), the kitchen even had a mirror so you could watch the telly when you had to face the other way !!

[Odsox]

I always thought their special vans could detect if you had a telly without the man having to go inside the house - am I just very gullable?

I'm not sure, but I have heard (second or third hand) that the principle means of "detection" involves counting TV aerials on the roof and peering in through the windows. Neither of which work very well if you live in a block of flats...

All televisions and computer monitors have an oscillator to scan the screen which can be picked up by a special receiver several metres away. (An oscillator is like a mini transmitter)
Televisions (and radios) also have what's called a "local oscillator" which varies depending on what channel you are tuned to (analogue TV anyway, not sure about digital), which can also be picked up from a distance. So, with an analogue TV they can tell if it's switched on and what channel it's tuned to, but with satellite TV just that it's switched on.

The trick is narrowing it down to a particular house, easy for detached houses close to the road but not so easy with blocks of flats and just about impossible if you live half a mile or more off a public highway.

[Shirleymouse]

That sounds like a money-making scheme to me! How is that different from a family having TVs in different rooms? When we moved into our house there was an aerial in every single room except the bathroom - it made me wonder if the previous inhabitants every spoke to one another!

I can beat that, I've built houses where we've put tv's in every room except the toilet (now surely you need one there!), the kitchen even had a mirror so you could watch the telly when you had to face the other way !!

That's ridiculous!! What on earth do people find to watch???

[Shirleymouse]

Quite interesting how those vans work. I don't feel so daft now!

[gregorach]

All televisions and computer monitors have an oscillator to scan the screen which can be picked up by a special receiver several metres away. (An oscillator is like a mini transmitter)
Televisions (and radios) also have what's called a "local oscillator" which varies depending on what channel you are tuned to (analogue TV anyway, not sure about digital), which can also be picked up from a distance. So, with an analogue TV they can tell if it's switched on and what channel it's tuned to, but with satellite TV just that it's switched on.

The trick is narrowing it down to a particular house, easy for detached houses close to the road but not so easy with blocks of flats and just about impossible if you live half a mile or more off a public highway.

Hey, I didn't say it couldn't be done technologically, just that that's (allegedly) not how they do it. Looking though people's windows is quicker, more reliable, and (most importantly) far cheaper.

Are you an engineer by any chance?

[Archanejil]

Odsox -- cheers for that. My dad assured me they could do all that stuff when I was a kid, but I never knew *how* exactly. I've always wondered.

I'd love to know if they can do it on digital sets, just out of curiosity /may-have-to-google-this-one

[crowsashes]

its absolute b****** about having to have separate tv licences if you live in shared student accommodation. according to our student union and council guy if you share a kitchen AND bathroom you cant be charged separately for a licence as a room without the means to cook/wash etc cant be classed as independent accommodation so a shared/communal rule applies ( even with council tax i believe)

so if you rent a room anywhere and share a bathroom and kitchen its one licence for everyone, but if its a bed sit and you have sole use of kitchen and a bathroom it needs its own licence.

thats what i was told and it saved me several hundrend pounds at uni. please correct me if im wrong.

[Shirleymouse]

When I was at uni, I lived in halls of residence for a year and we were told we had to have our own TV liscence but we did share bathrooms and kitchens. I didn't have a TV at the time so it didn't really matter! After that I shared a house with 3 friends, we only had one TV in the lounge so we just had one liscence then too. In Halls they went on at us quite a lot about TV liscences but I don't know of anyone ever getting caught!

[Zech]

Getting rid of the tv must be the first step in self-sufficientism. What do you think?

This struck a chord with me, as we are embarking on a self-sufficientish project, including leaving jobs and moving house. We sold our TV just before moving, mainly because it's big and heavy and there's not much space for it in the new house, but also because doing without it seems to fit in with the new lifestyle. Therefore getting rid of the TV was literally our first step in self-sufficientism.

On the other hand, like others here, we still watch a few programmes via iplayer, which may well include the completely frivolous The difference is that we have to make an effort to choose things we want to watch, so I no longer get cross with myself for slobbing out and watching just anything.

Now we just need to get rid of the satellite dishes and TV arials (two of each) that the previous owner of the house had before the licensing inspector comes visiting!

[Shirleymouse]

How bad for the environment are TVs? I was just thinking that people with bigger car engines have to pay more road tax so it would be logical for people with bigger or multiple TVs to pay more for their TV licence and yes I know that's not what the TV licence is for but it might put people off owning ridiculous sizes and numbers of TVs. Someone I know has a 50 inch screen - their front room is like a cinema!

[pelmetman]

I find this quite interesting, we have one small quite old television and possibly is not good for the environment but then again we have a computer is this any better/worse for the environment?
~Sue

[Ellendra]

I always thought their special vans could detect if you had a telly without the man having to go inside the house - am I just very gullable?

They could only detect signals being broadcast, not signals being received.

[Ellendra]

All televisions and computer monitors have an oscillator to scan the screen which can be picked up by a special receiver several metres away. (An oscillator is like a mini transmitter)
Televisions (and radios) also have what's called a "local oscillator" which varies depending on what channel you are tuned to (analogue TV anyway, not sure about digital), which can also be picked up from a distance. So, with an analogue TV they can tell if it's switched on and what channel it's tuned to, but with satellite TV just that it's switched on.

Really? I hadn't heard about that. Maybe I just haven't gotten to that part of my electronics classes.

I'll have to look that up now.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

All televisions and computer monitors have an oscillator to scan the screen which can be picked up by a special receiver several metres away. (An oscillator is like a mini transmitter)
Televisions (and radios) also have what's called a "local oscillator" which varies depending on what channel you are tuned to (analogue TV anyway, not sure about digital), which can also be picked up from a distance. So, with an analogue TV they can tell if it's switched on and what channel it's tuned to, but with satellite TV just that it's switched on.

Really? I hadn't heard about that. Maybe I just haven't gotten to that part of my electronics classes.

I'll have to look that up now.

Certainly the case with the (now) old-fashioned CRT tellys. They emit masses of detectable radiation. I don't know about the flat screens. Perhaps that is why one doesn't see the detector vans any more: all those computer monitors confused them and the modern TVs just don't show up.

[greenorelse]

I find this quite interesting, we have one small quite old television and possibly is not good for the environment but then again we have a computer is this any better/worse for the environment?
~Sue

Twice as bad as someone with only one or the other?