Full Freeview on the Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) transmitter
 | Google Streetview |  | Google map |  | Bing map |  | Google Earth |  | 52.130,-0.242 or 52°7'47"N 0°14'33"W |  | SG19 2NH |
The symbol shows the location of the Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) transmitter which serves 920,000 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.
This transmitter has no current reported problems
The BBC and Digital UK report there are no faults or engineering work on the Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) transmitter._______
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
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)
Which Freeview channels does the Sandy Heath 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
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)
Which BBC and ITV regional news can I watch from the Sandy Heath transmitter?
BBC Look East (West) 1.0m homes 3.7%
from Cambridge CB4 0WZ, 29km east-northeast (65°)
to BBC Cambridge region - 4 masts.
70% of BBC East (East) and BBC East (West) is shared output
ITV Anglia News 1.0m homes 3.7%
from Norwich NR1 3JG, 119km east-northeast (60°)
to ITV Anglia (West) region - 5 masts.
All of lunch, weekend and 80% evening news is shared with Anglia (East)
How will the Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) transmission frequencies change over time?
| 1965-80s | 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2011 | 2011-13 | 12 Feb 2020 | ||||
| VHF | A K T | K T | K T | W T | W T | ||||
| C6 | ITVwaves | ||||||||
| C21 | C4waves | C4waves | C4waves | +BBCB | BBCB | ||||
| C24 | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | D3+4 | D3+4 | ||||
| C27 | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBCA | BBCA | ||||
| C31 | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | ||||||
| C32 | com7 | ||||||||
| C33 | SDN | ||||||||
| C34 | com8 | ||||||||
| C35 | _local | ||||||||
| C36 | ArqA | ||||||||
| C39 | C5waves | C5waves | |||||||
| C43 | _local | ||||||||
| C48 | ArqB | ArqB | |||||||
| C51tv_off | SDN | ||||||||
| C52tv_off | ArqA | ||||||||
| C55tv_off | com7tv_off | ||||||||
| C56tv_off | COM8tv_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 30 Mar 11 and 13 Apr 11.
How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?
| Analogue 1-4 | 1000kW | |
| BBCA, D3+4, BBCB | (-7.4dB) 180kW | |
| SDN, ARQA, ARQB | (-7.7dB) 170kW | |
| com7 | (-13dB) 49.6kW | |
| com8 | (-13.1dB) 49.1kW | |
| Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D* | (-17dB) 20kW | |
| Analogue 5 | (-20dB) 10kW |
Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Sandy Heath transmitter area
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Wednesday, 22 March 2023
S
Steve Cook7:59 PM
Quick update.
Looked at aerial and it's up and pointing in the same direction as next door neighbours.
I also checked 2 other tvs in the house that have not been retuned and they are both showing errors on tv lots of channels that used present are now showing errors.
Rebooted booster but still making no difference.
Any other ideas?
Thanks
SC
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Thursday, 23 March 2023
C
Chris.SE2:55 AM
Steve Cook:
What sort of make/model booster is it and where is it located? Is it a splitter as well?
If it is an amp/splitter that is readily accessible does it have coax plugs in and out?
Can you couple the aerial input lead direct to one TV set feed using a straight coax coupler (similar to one of these - PHILEX Coax Coupler - Plastic 2 Pack - Philex Electronics Ltd )
Probably get one from a local ironmonger or hardware or tv shop if you haven't got one.
Power off the booster when you do so (in case it's giving out interference)
Does that improve the situation?
Did you get/should have got a postcard from www.restoretv.uk ?
It's possible that you may have a new/upgraded mobile phone mast nearby that's now causing you interference problems especially if you've seen an improvement when bypassing the booster/splitter.
If that's the case you should get a free filter from restoretv.uk
A filter should be fitted between the aerial and the input to the amp/splitter, NOT after it.
Visit that website for information. Click on Contact us and give them a call on 0808-1313-800
explain that you are now getting interference problems.
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Sunday, 14 May 2023
L
Lee purser10:08 AM
Hi,
not receiving ch24, returned and it's completely gone
itv ch4 etc. Any one else on limbury/ luton area ?
Are there problems with yhe sandy transmitter ?
Regards
Lee
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C
Chris.SE10:26 PM
Lee purser:
As noted at the top of the page, the transmitter is currently listed for Planned Engineering, other that that is could be current weather conditions.
There's some significant "Tropospheric Ducting" affecting differing parts of the UK very randomly.
Do NOT retune.
These conditions cause signals from distant transmitters in Europe or the UK to travel further and result in interference to your wanted signals. This doesn't always affect all multiplexes at the same time and may not affect all viewers. It can last seconds, minutes or for longer. There is little you can do except wait until conditions improve - or try watching online etc.
If you did retune when you had badly pixellated pictures or no signal (whatever the cause and never advised if you were correctly tuned) this usually just clears your correct tuning. You'll then have to retune again which you may have to try several times as you won't know when signals will be normal.
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Tuesday, 16 May 2023
K
Kathy10:03 AM
Hi, I have had little or no tv signal for 7 days now.. at best there's just constant pixilation but mostly every 30 seconds black no signal screen. Initially freeview page stated engineering works began on the Chrystal palace transmitter commenced May 8th.. now it has changed to commencing May 15th but there is no information regarding as to when it is expected to be rectified. Does anyone know?
Many Thanks
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C
Chris.SE2:40 PM
Kathy:
See reply at Crystal Palace (Greater London, England) Full Freeview transmitter | free and easy
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Tuesday, 1 August 2023
G
Glen7:15 PM
Dose anyone know if sandy heath is still transmitting the pop tv channel, according to Freeview they are but when it changed channel a week or so ago I can't seem to get it back, I have 3 different boxes and none pick it up however much I retune them.
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S
StevensOnln17:20 PM
Glen: Pop is carried on the local TV multiplex, which is not broadcast from Sandy Heath but is broadcast from the Madingley transmitter which is in the same direct as Sandy Heath for viewers in Cambridge. If you can receive a local TV station on Freeview channel 7 or 8 then you should also receive Pop on 206, Tiny Pop on 207 and Pop Max on 208.
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Wednesday, 2 August 2023
C
Chris.SE6:45 AM
Glen:
With the changes on July 19th, all 3 Pop channels are now carried on the Local multiplex as mentioned by StevensOnln1.
The Local multiplex is beamed in an easterly direction from the Madingley transmitter (towards Cambridge). Unless you fall within that area you won't receive them unless you are quite close to the transmitter. Try a manual tune on UHF channel C35 for the Madingley Local mux as autotunes can sometimes miss weaker signals.
There is a Pop Player which moved with the changes to LCN212 and is carried on the SDN multiplex but it's a streamed service, so you need a Smart TV. Before it moved you could choose a selection of Pop shows, but LCN212 now seems to be "Pop Kids" (unless it changes at different times of day.
However, the Pop Player accessible via LCN100 on Freeview Play (Smart) TVs gives you a whole variety of choices but your "smart" device needs HbbTV functionality to access LCN100 (if your set has it make sure it's turned on in the TV settings).
Now you may also be able to access this Pop Player via you set's App menu - via "Explore Freeview Play" and it doesn't need HbbTV! or even load the App separately from your set's App store.
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Sunday, 13 August 2023
P
paul 12:56 PM
sandy heath com5/c36 seems particular pixelated unwatchable 13/08/23.(12th too)
are there no details on what specific engineering work is happening on Sandy Heath (per previous post) or how long this will last.
Atmosphere problems can obviously impact reception too, so detailed information would help customers identify cause.
just seems unprofessional not to provide/link details
Paul
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