Full Freeview on the Mendip (Somerset, England) transmitter
 | Google Streetview |  | Google map |  | Bing map |  | Google Earth |  | 51.237,-2.626 or 51°14'12"N 2°37'33"W |  | BA5 3LB |
The symbol shows the location of the Mendip (Somerset, England) transmitter which serves 720,000 homes. The bright green areas shown where the signal from this transmitter is strong, dark green areas are poorer signals. Those parts shown in yellow may have interference on the same frequency from other masts.
Are there any planned engineering works or unexpected transmitter faults on the Mendip (Somerset, England) mast?
Mendip transmitter - Mendip transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 18/11/2024 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels 
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Digital television services are broadcast on a multiplexes (or Mux) where many stations occupy a single broadcast frequency, as shown below.
64QAM 8K 3/4 27.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
DTG-12 QSPK 8K 3/4 8.0Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)
Which Freeview channels does the Mendip transmitter broadcast?
If you have any kind of Freeview fault, follow this Freeview reset procedure first.Digital television services are broadcast on a multiplexes (or Mux) where many stations occupy a single broadcast frequency, as shown below.
64QAM 8K 3/4 27.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
DTG-12 QSPK 8K 3/4 8.0Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)
Which BBC and ITV regional news can I watch from the Mendip transmitter?
ITV West Country News (East) 0.9m homes 3.4%
from Bristol BS4 3HG, 23km north (11°)
to ITV West region - 61 masts.
All of lunch, weekend and 50% evening news is shared with West Country (West)
Are there any self-help relays?
| Cheddar | Transposer | 15 km E Weston-super-Mare | 1674 homes |
| Luccombe | Active deflector | 6 km w Minehead | 38 homes |
How will the Mendip (Somerset, England) transmission frequencies change over time?
| 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2010 | 2010-13 | 2013-18 | 2013-17 | 27 Feb 2018 | |||
| C/D E | E | E | C/D E | C/D E T | W T | W T | |||
| C30 | _local | ||||||||
| C32 | BBCA | ||||||||
| C33 | com7 | com7 | |||||||
| C34 | D3+4 | ||||||||
| C35 | com8 | com8 | |||||||
| C36 | ArqB | ||||||||
| C37 | C5waves | C5waves | |||||||
| C48 | SDN | SDN | SDN | SDN | |||||
| C49tv_off | BBCA | BBCA | |||||||
| C51tv_off | LBS | LBS | |||||||
| C52tv_off | ArqB | ArqB | ArqB | ||||||
| C54tv_off | C4waves | C4waves | C4waves | D3+4 | D3+4 | D3+4 | |||
| C55tv_off | com7tv_off | ||||||||
| C56tv_off | ArqA | ArqA | ArqA | COM8tv_off | |||||
| C58tv_off | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBCB | BBCB | BBCB | |||
| C61 | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | BBCA | |||||
| C64 | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBC2waves |
tv_off Being removed from Freeview (for 5G use) after November 2020 / June 2022 - more
Table shows multiplexes names see this article;
green background for transmission frequencies
Notes: + and - denote 166kHz offset; aerial group are shown as A B C/D E K W T
waves denotes analogue; digital switchover was 24 Mar 10 and 7 Apr 10.
How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?
| Analogue 1-4 | 500kW | |
| Analogue 5 | (-6dB) 126kW | |
| SDN, ARQA, ARQB, BBCA, D3+4, BBCB | (-7dB) 100kW | |
| com7 | (-8.4dB) 72.4kW | |
| com8 | (-8.6dB) 69.1kW | |
| Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D*, LBS | (-17dB) 10kW |
Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Mendip transmitter area
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Sunday, 21 November 2021
A
Anthony Bryant3:50 PM
Does anyone know of any reported issues with the Mendip transmitter? I have been having poor reception problems for the past week or so. Not all channels are affected. Tried deleting all channels and retuning.
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Monday, 22 November 2021
C
Chris.SE2:45 AM
Anthony Bryant:
If you've been having reception problems why on earth would you want to delete your correct tuning and retune, whatever the cause of your poor reception you are likely to end up with less channels tuned in if signals on some multiplexes are too weak for the receiver to decode!
Having said that, as you haven't given a full postcode we can't check the predicted reception for your locale which might be marginal on some multiplexes.
On a few occasions recently there's been some weather related "temperature inversion/tropospheric ducting" which has caused interfering signals from distant transmitters in Europe or the UK. This type of interference does not usually affect all multiplexes, it can last for seconds, minutes, hours, sometimes longer. Some predictions are suggesting there could be some during Monday. FM/DAB radio can also be affected.
Whilst there doesn't appear to be any faults, none are listed by the BBC or Freeview and no recent outages, the Mendip transmitter is now currently listed for Planned Engineering. It was last listed 4 weeks ago.
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R
richard doughty9:41 PM
i too have been having terrible reception especially at night, on freeview,,,,post code BA35HP
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Tuesday, 23 November 2021
C
Chris.SE12:13 AM
richard doughty:
You are predicted to have excellent reception from Mendip in your locale. Considering your proximity to the transmitter, I'm suspecting an issue with your installation.
Where is your aerial?
For you, it should be pointing almost due W, bearing 274 degrees with the rods (or squashed Xs) horizontal. Have you checked the aerial looks intact and is pointing correctly?
If external, check your downlead is secure, looks undamaged, and isn't flapping in the wind.
Have you changed anything in your installation since the problem started?
Check you don't have any HDMI leads close to you aerial leads or flyleads. Aerial leads and flyleads that aren't quality double screened can suffer interference from HDMI, make sure they are as far apart as possible.
How old is your aerial and downlead?
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Saturday, 1 January 2022
J
John B5:23 PM
Recent problems with Mendip too. BA2 5DF. Recently lost HD completely (Ch.35) for which my set was showing very low signal strength and high error rates (has subsequently come good but still sometimes glitchy). Ch. 48 also showing low strength and some errors.
I have an roof mounted aerial and am on high ground. It's connected to a suitable RF DA which all looks OK.
Am very close (<.5km) to multiple mobile masts which have recently been upgraded. Could that be relevant?
Would be most grateful for any advice!
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John's: mapJ's Freeview map terrainJ's terrain plot wavesJ's frequency data J's Freeview Detailed Coverage
C
Chris.SE10:32 PM
John B:
You are predicted to get excellent reception from Mendip in your locale. Your problems are highly unlikely to be related to any of the mobile masts that you've mentioned. If there was interference from these masts it would be a consistent problem, not one that comes and goes.
If the problems were related to yesterday (evening primarily) and possibly some this morning, then it's most likely to have been the current weather conditions. There has been some Temperature Inversion/Tropospheric Ducting which has been disrupting signals in various parts of the UK for some.
Essentially it results in interfering signals from other transmitters in the UK or Europe reaching you and so your wanted signals are disrupted. It won't necessarily affect all multiplexes or necessarily at the same time if more than one. It can last for seconds, minutes, sometimes hours or longer.
Despite the incorrect spelling, this link does work - simple technical explanation
https://www.bbc.co.uk/rec….jpg
It's always possible these conditions may affect you again during the next 24hrs according to some current predictions but if they continue after tomorrow evening when they should have cleared, then it might be wise to make some basic checks.
I would check that your aerial seems intact and pointing in the correct direction (compass bearing 234 degrees for you, that's 9 degrees W of SW), and that your downlead looks undamaged (especially if it is old) and is secure and not flapping in the wind..
Also check all your coax plugs, connections, flyleads etc, unplug connectors check for corrosion or other problems and reconnect them. Flyleads are a common problem, try swapping/changing them.
Make sure you don't have any HDMI leads near unscreened/poorly screened flyleads/aerial leads especially if those aren't double screened coax as HDMI has been known to cause interference.
One other check you could do is to connect your aerial output direct to your main TV feed eliminating the DA in case that's playing up.
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C
Chris.SE10:34 PM
John B:
Of course, I should have added that there's no current or recent reported faults at Mendip and it's not currently listed for Planned Engineering.
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Wednesday, 5 January 2022
J
John B4:46 PM
Thank you Chris.SE. Very helpful!
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John's: mapJ's Freeview map terrainJ's terrain plot wavesJ's frequency data J's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Monday, 10 January 2022
T
Tracey Williams1:56 PM
I have lost my local news program which I received from the Mendip transmitter. When checked in manual settings it provides a poor signal now and i have been switched to the Stockland hill transmitter. How do I return to the channels provided by the Mendip transmitter as other channels seem to have gone as well?
Thank you
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C
Chris.SE11:01 PM
Tracey Williams:
Without a postcode, I can only assume you are in the Southern/SouthWestern part of Somerset if you can also receive Stockland Hill. How did you get tuned to Stockland Hill? Did you do a retune and why?
If you happened to retune when you had no signal (from Mendip) then that's why. If you were correctly tuned to start with, It is never advised to retune when you have no signal.
The best solution in these situations is usually as follows -
Unplug your aerial from the TV and then do an automatic full retune. As you should have no signal at all, this should clear all previous tuning.
If you are using something like a Youview box instead, this might not clear the channels, you may have to end up doing a reset and so watch what it may do to any recordings, you'll probably have redo any scheduled recordings you've set.
Then, plug the aerial back in and on your set select manual tuning do you can tune to Mendip's UHF channels.
Mendip's correct UHF channels are C32, C34, C35, C48, C33, C36, C55, C30. That's is the order BBCA/PSB1, D3&4/PSB2, BBCB HD/PSB3, SDN/COM4, ArqA/COM5, ArqB/COM6, COM7; Local mux. You most likely won't get the Local Mux to the south of Mendip as the Local mux is beamed northerly towards Bristol and South Gloucestershire. You may not get COM7, that's very location dependent.
See Channel listings for Industry Professionals | Freeview for which channels are carried on which multiplex.
If for some reason your set doesn't give a manual tuning option, then automatic retune should allow you to select the region which should be West not Southwest.
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