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Full Freeview on the Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham, England) transmitter

first published this on - UK Free TV
sa_streetviewGoogle Streetviewsa_gmapsGoogle mapsa_bingBing mapsa_gearthGoogle Earthsa_gps52.600,-1.835 or 52°36'1"N 1°50'5"Wsa_postcodeB75 5JJ

 

The symbol shows the location of the Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham, England) transmitter which serves 1,870,000 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 Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham, England) mast?

Sutton Coldfield transmitter - Sutton Coldfield transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 25/03/2024 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels Digital tick


Choose from three options: ■ List by multiplex ■ List by channel number ■ List by channel name
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Which Freeview channels does the Sutton Coldfield 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.

MuxH/VFrequencyHeightModeWatts
PSB1
BBCA
 H max
C43 (650.0MHz)433mDTG-200,000W
Channel icons
1 BBC One (SD) West Midlands, 2 BBC Two England, 9 BBC Four, 23 BBC Three, 201 CBBC, 202 CBeebies, 231 BBC News, 232 BBC Parliament, plus 19 others

PSB2
D3+4
 H max
C46 (674.0MHz)433mDTG-200,000W
Channel icons
3 ITV 1 (SD) (Central (West micro region)), 4 Channel 4 (SD) Midlands ads, 5 Channel 5, 6 ITV 2, 10 ITV3, 13 E4, 14 Film4, 15 Channel 4 +1 Midlands ads, 18 More4, 26 ITV4, 28 ITVBe, 30 E4 +1, 35 ITV1 +1 (Central west),

PSB3
BBCB
 H max
C40+ (626.2MHz)433mDTG-200,000W
Channel icons
46 5SELECT, 101 BBC One HD West Midlands, 102 BBC Two HD England, 103 ITV 1 HD (ITV Central West), 104 Channel 4 HD Midlands ads, 105 Channel 5 HD, 106 BBC Four HD, 107 BBC Three HD, 204 CBBC HD, 205 CBeebies HD, plus 1 others

COM4
SDN
 H max
C42 (642.0MHz)433mDTG-8200,000W
Channel icons
20 Drama, 21 5USA, 29 ITV2 +1, 32 5STAR, 33 5Action, 38 Channel 5 +1, 41 Legend, 42 GREAT! action, 57 Dave ja vu, 58 ITVBe +1, 59 ITV3 +1, 64 Blaze, 67 TRUE CRIME, 68 TRUE CRIME XTRA, 78 TCC, 81 Blaze +1, 83 Together TV, 89 ITV4 +1, 91 WildEarth, 209 Ketchup TV, 210 Ketchup Too, 211 YAAAS!, 267 Al Jazeera English, plus 30 others

COM5
ArqA
 H max
C45 (666.0MHz)433mDTG-8200,000W
Channel icons
11 Sky Mix, 17 Really, 19 Dave, 31 E4 Extra, 36 Sky Arts, 40 Quest Red, 43 Food Network, 47 Film4 +1, 48 Challenge, 49 4seven, 60 Drama +1, 65 That's TV 2, 70 Quest +1, 74 Yesterday +1, 75 That's 90s, 233 Sky News, plus 11 others

COM6
ArqB
 H max
C39+ (618.2MHz)433mDTG-8200,000W
Channel icons
12 Quest, 25 W, 27 Yesterday, 34 GREAT! movies, 39 DMAX, 44 HGTV, 52 GREAT! romance, 56 That's TV (UK), 61 GREAT! movies extra, 63 GREAT! romance mix, 71 That’s 60s, 73 HobbyMaker, 82 Talking Pictures TV, 84 PBS America, 235 Al Jazeera Eng, plus 18 others

LB
 H -13dB
C48 (690.0MHz)433mDTG-1210,000W
Channel icons
from 31st October 2014: 7 Big Centre TV,

DTG-8 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 Sutton Coldfield transmitter?

regional news image
BBC Midlands Today 2.9m homes 10.9%
from Birmingham B1 1RF, 15km south-southwest (200°)
to BBC West Midlands region - 66 masts.
regional news image
ITV Central News 2.9m homes 10.9%
from Birmingham B1 2JT, 15km south-southwest (201°)
to ITV Central (West) region - 65 masts.
All of lunch, weekend and 80% evening news is shared with Central (East)

Are there any self-help relays?

Burton (shobnall)Transposer1 km W Burton-on-Trent60 homes
CoalvilleTransposer18 km NW Leicester600 homes
SolihullTransposerLand Rover building400 homes

How will the Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham, England) transmission frequencies change over time?

1950s-80s1984-971997-981998-20112011-137 Mar 2018
VHFB E TB E TB E TB E K TW T
C4BBCtvwaves
C33com7
C35com8
C36LOCAL2
C39+ArqBArqB
C40BBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBC2waves+BBCBBBCB
C42SDNSDN
C43ITVwavesITVwavesITVwavesBBCABBCA
C45ArqAArqA
C46BBC1wavesBBC1wavesBBC1wavesD3+4D3+4
C48_local
C50tv_offC4wavesC4wavesC4waves
C51tv_offLB
C55tv_offcom7tv_off
C56tv_offCOM8tv_off

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 7 Sep 11 and 21 Sep 11.

How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?

Analogue 1-4 1000kW
SDN, ARQA, ARQB, BBCA, D3+4, BBCB(-7dB) 200kW
com7(-10.5dB) 89.2kW
com8(-10.7dB) 86kW
LB(-20dB) 10kW
Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D*(-21dB) 8kW

Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Sutton Coldfield transmitter area

Feb 1956-Jul 1968Associated TeleVision†
Feb 1956-Jul 1968Associated British Corporation◊
Jul 1968-Dec 1981Associated TeleVision
Jan 1982-Feb 2004Central Independent Television
Feb 2004-Dec 2014ITV plc
Feb 1983-Dec 1992TV-am•
Jan 1993-Sep 2010GMTV•
Sep 2010-Dec 2014ITV Daybreak•
• Breakfast ◊ Weekends ♦ Friday night and weekends † Weekdays only. Sutton Coldfield was not an original Channel 3 VHF 405-line mast: the historical information shown is the details of the company responsible for the transmitter when it began transmitting Channel 3.

Comments
Sunday, 12 March 2023
A
Andy
5:36 AM

Hi mate, I'm located in Burton on Trent approximately 22 miles from the SC transmitter. I order an ANTIFERENCE TCX18BK AERIAL 18 ELEMENT BK, from Amazon, but their seller sent me a group K (grey end) instead. My question is will now not get all the programs that I would have got if they had sent me a group B like asked for?

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Andy's 1 post GB flag
S
StevensOnln1
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

10:55 AM

Andy : Group K covers the entire UHF band that is in use for Freeview. Unless you have a very weak signal it should be fine.

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StevensOnln1's 3,605 posts GB flag
C
Chris.SE
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

5:17 PM

Andy :

According to Antiference's data sheet the Group K has 0.7dBi more gain which is practically insignificant, but it should also help with rejection of interference from any unwanted mobile signals unlike the Group B which goes above C48 to C53. Mobile operators can now use frequencies above C49.

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Chris.SE's 4,101 posts GB flag
Monday, 13 March 2023
Transmitter engineering
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

5:07 AM

Sutton Coldfield transmitter - Sutton Coldfield transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 13/03/2023 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels [DUK]

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Transmitter engineering's 149,799 posts GB flag
Monday, 3 April 2023
A
Anthony Bowkett
9:49 AM
Kidderminster

Hi I live in Kidderminster (DY10 1YD,) Can I receive signals from Sutton Coldfield? What aerial should I consider?

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Anthony Bowkett's 1 post GB flag
Anthony's: mapA's Freeview map terrainA's terrain plot wavesA's frequency data A's Freeview Detailed Coverage
A
Aerialman
sentiment_satisfiedSilver

2:18 PM

The answer is yes as long as you are on reasonably high ground and clear through to the north east .The strongest transmitter is Kidderminster, but is only free view lite!Other transmitters that may be usable is The Wrekin and Bromsgrove full free view in the north and north-east side of town.Ridge Hill is usable on high ground in central and Stourport Rd areas.
Best to put your postcode into www.freeview.co.uk checker,this is reasonably accurate!

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Aerialman's 140 posts GB flag
S
StevensOnln1
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

2:20 PM

Anthony Bowkett: You are predicted to receive a strong signal from the Sutton Coldfield transmitter. It's generally recommended to use a Group K or wideband type of aerial such as a log periodic which will receive the entire UHF channel 21 to 48 range used for Freeview. Any reputable aerial installer should be able to supply and fit something suitable.

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StevensOnln1's 3,605 posts GB flag
Tuesday, 18 April 2023
P
Phil Dalton
3:22 PM
Warwick

Aerial is on roof on the longest pole providing maximum height without planning permission. CV35 9LX

Every mid-April the HD channel (40) loses signal strength and quality. Occasionally it will disappear altogether for a few days. This will go on until winter arrives when signal strength and quality will improve sufficiently to make the HD channels watchable.

Is there anything that can be done to keep the signal strength and quality at a watchable level.
Other channels measure a 10 out of 10 for signal quality and strength

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Phil Dalton's 2 posts GB flag
Phil's: mapP's Freeview map terrainP's terrain plot wavesP's frequency data P's Freeview Detailed Coverage
C
Chris.SE
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

4:19 PM

Phil Dalton:

You didn't say what figures you were currently getting on C40.
The transmitter isn't currently listed for a Planned Engineering and I can't find any faults listed at this time.
In general I would have expected signal propagation to be slightly better now than in Winter and you are certainly predicted to get good signals from Sutton Coldfield for all 6 multiplexes.
Do you have any aerial amp/splitters to feed more than one TV?

The fact that you say you have signal strength 10 (& quality 10) for the other multiplexes leads me think there's a possibility you may have slightly too much signal and any overall improvement in signal with current weather conditions may lead to overloading of the tuner front end and hence a reduction in quality, in this case to the HD multiplex.

Does your aerial feed direct to this one TV or do you have an amp/splitter to feed more than one, if so, does it have a variable gain control?
If so, turn it down a touch, strength readings below 10 aren't really of any consequence (as long as they don't go too low!) it's Quality remaining at 10 (100%) that is important.

If you have an amp/splitter but no variable gain, the other thing you can try is unplug the aerial from it and connect it direct to the one TV feed (turn/power off the amp) and provide the readings for each UHF channel when connected like that.

if you don't have an amp/splitter, then maybe trying a variable attenuator might be worth a go. See for example eBay item number:310039226920

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Chris.SE's 4,101 posts GB flag
Tuesday, 2 May 2023
Transmitter engineering
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

10:08 AM

Sutton Coldfield transmitter - Sutton Coldfield transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 01/05/2023 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels [DUK]

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Transmitter engineering's 149,799 posts GB flag
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Your comment please
Please post a question, answer or commentIf you have Freeview reception problems before posting a question your must first do this Freeview reset procedure then see: Freeview reception has changed, Single frequency interference, and Freeview intermittent interference.

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