Full Freeview on the Pontop Pike (County Durham, England) transmitter
 | Google Streetview |  | Google map |  | Bing map |  | Google Earth |  | 54.868,-1.771 or 54°52'5"N 1°46'15"W |  | DH9 9AT |
The symbol shows the location of the Pontop Pike (County Durham, England) transmitter which serves 700,000 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 Pontop Pike (County Durham, England) mast?
Pontop Pike transmitter - Pontop Pike transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 04/11/2024 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 Pontop Pike 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 Pontop Pike transmitter?
BBC Look North (Newcastle) 1.6m homes 6.0%
from Newcastle NE99 2NE, 15km northeast (42°)
to BBC North East and Cumbria region - 70 masts.
ITV Tyne Tees News 1.4m homes 5.4%
from Gateshead NE11 9SZ, 12km north-northeast (29°)
to ITV Tyne Tees region - 47 masts.
All of lunch, weekend and 50% evening news is shared with Border
Are there any self-help relays?
| Kieldor Dam | Active deflector | 6 homes Holiday complex | |
| Low Haber | Active deflector | West Allen Dale, 18 kn SW Hexham | caravan site |
| North Hartlepool | Transposer | 84 homes |
How will the Pontop Pike (County Durham, England) transmission frequencies change over time?
| 1950s-80s | 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2012 | 2012-13 | 13 Nov 2019 | ||||
| VHF | C/D E | C/D E | C/D E | C/D E T | W T | ||||
| C5 | BBCtvwaves | ||||||||
| C32 | SDN | ||||||||
| C33 | com7 | ||||||||
| C34 | com8 | ||||||||
| C35 | ArqB | ||||||||
| C39 | BBCA | ||||||||
| C42 | D3+4 | ||||||||
| C45 | BBCB | ||||||||
| C49tv_off | BBCB | ||||||||
| C50tv_off | SDN | ||||||||
| C54tv_off | C4waves | C4waves | C4waves | D3+4 | |||||
| C55tv_off | ArqB | com7tv_off | |||||||
| C56tv_off | LNE | ||||||||
| C58tv_off | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBCA | |||||
| C59tv_off | ArqA | ||||||||
| C61 | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ||||||
| 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 12 Sep 12 and 26 Sep 12.
How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?
| Analogue 1-4 | 500kW | |
| BBCA, D3+4, BBCB | (-7dB) 100kW | |
| SDN, ARQA, ARQB | (-10dB) 50kW | |
| com8 | (-11.6dB) 34.6kW | |
| com7 | (-11.7dB) 33.8kW | |
| Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D* | (-17dB) 10kW | |
| LNE | (-20dB) 5kW |
Local transmitter maps
Pontop Pike Freeview Pontop Pike TV region BBC North East and Cumbria Tyne TeesWhich companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Pontop Pike transmitter area
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Friday, 3 March 2023
J
Jackie Finlay4:30 PM
Newcastle Upon Tyne
Hi we dont seem to have a picture through our aerial. Is there a problem in this area. It just says no signal. We live in Blakelaw ne5 3qj. Thanks
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Jackie's: ...
J
Jackie Finlay5:01 PM
Debbie : Hi I messaged before. My husband had knocked the aerial out. Thanks
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Monday, 11 September 2023
M
Mark10:13 AM
I repaired a flooded mast amplifier about a month ago, then started to get picture break-up and signal quality drops from Pontop Pike. I assumed my repair hadn't been a complete success, and fitted a new K-band aerial and coax cable, foolishly without checking for engineering works.
What are all the "Engineering Works" doing, and why are they going on so long?
They have been continuing for at least the last 4 weeks on pretty much every transmitter, according to https://www.freeview.co.u…rks.
At least I now have the same quality signal as I had with the original wideband aerial, but without the need for the mast amplifier.
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C
Chris.SE2:36 PM
Mark:
It sounds as though your aerial system may well have been degrading for some time, especially if it was at least ten years old and you had water in a pre-amp, the chances are the coax cable was compromised as well. You mentioned it was a wideband aerial, if it was (and not an old Group C/D - the original group for Pontop Pike) *I assume it was replace at DSO some 10+ years ago.
You've certainly done the right think by installing a Group K aerial to cover the UHF channels used by Pontop Pike and it will likely have a better response at the lower channels than a wideband. Additionally Group K is designed to minimise response above UHF C48 where those frequencies may now be used for new/updated mobile signals which could present an interference problem.
If you have any such masts near you, you may still suffer a problem but can get a Free Filter from https://restoretv.uk/ but as you haven't given a full postcode I can't advise whether you should have received a postcard from them, but you can check on their website. (There have been a few cases where thpostcards should have been sent but weren't/were not received!).
I hope you used double screened coax such as CT100 or similar to minimise the risk of future interference.
I'm afraid Arqiva never giver details of what the work entails or how long it will last as some of it may be weather dependant. Clearly such work is better done at this time of year when weather is not so inclement. It's a good ten years since DSO and one would image that most transmitters will need a lot of maintenance checks etc. This isn't the only transmitter where works have been running on and off for several weeks. In addition to which they may well be carrying out additional checks since the fire at Bilsdale to try and ensure such things don't happen elsewhere!
Pontop Pike has been listed for Planned Engineering since the 28th August so hopefully any work/maintenance may be nearing completion, however you shouldn't find a continuous reduction in your signal strength and signal quality on all multiplexes unless they are having to continuously use the reserve antenna for some reason.
Check your signal strength and quality figures in your tuning section, you should have 100% quality on all multiplexes if there is no problem (except in adverse conditions) and a high signal strength.
The lists of Planned Engineering do change each week and you'll find a "rotation" of transmitters affected.
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Tuesday, 12 September 2023
M
Mark11:22 AM
Chris.SE: I am in SR4 area. Wideband aerial was fitted in 2006 and I did get a free at800 filter (which made no difference when I removed it). Had no problems till amplifier cable-tie snapped and it filled with water. Used 15 metres of RG6 cable, not CT100. SNR on C45 is 82% according to Freeview/Satellite box. This was dropping to 50% momentarily when the picture was breaking up. Signal quality on TV always shows 100%. Not noticed any dropouts since last week.
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C
Chris.SE2:16 PM
Mark:
Just to be clear, the at800 filter is the 800MHz band which was cleared for mobile use many years ago now, clearly you didn't have any problems at the time.
The filters for the 700MHz band are different (but would also block 800MHz). As I mentioned, go to https://restoretv.uk and check your full postcode there.
(A partial SR4 code isn't of any help, it's a wide area).
Normal signal strengths around 80% should be fine especially if you consistently have 100% Quality.
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Sunday, 21 January 2024
C
Chris.SE4:10 PM
Clark:
Well as you haven't given a full postcode we don't know where you are so can't check your predicted reception. There are no faults currently listed for Pontop Pike but as above it;s listed for Planned Engineering so there could be brief interruptions. Do NOT retune if you have No signal, it'll most likely clear your correct tuning, you cannot tune to a signal that's not there or can't be decoded (badly pixellated/sound breakup).
Do check that your aerial is still on the roof and pointing correctly!
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Friday, 9 February 2024
D
Dale7:26 AM
Redcar
No com4 channels this morning 9/2/24
TS11 6DF
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Dale's: mapD's Freeview map terrainD's terrain plot wavesD's frequency data D's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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