Full Freeview on the Caradon Hill (Cornwall, England) transmitter
 | Google Streetview |  | Google map |  | Bing map |  | Google Earth |  | 50.511,-4.437 or 50°30'38"N 4°26'14"W |  | PL14 5LT |
The symbol shows the location of the Caradon Hill (Cornwall, England) transmitter which serves 180,000 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 Caradon Hill (Cornwall, 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 Caradon Hill 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 Caradon Hill transmitter?
BBC Spotlight 0.8m homes 2.9%
from Plymouth PL3 5BD, 26km east-southeast (123°)
to BBC South West region - 107 masts.
ITV West Country News (West) 0.8m homes 2.9%
from Plymouth PL7 5BQ, 32km east-southeast (116°)
to ITV West Country region - 107 masts.
All of lunch, weekend and 50% evening news is shared with West Country (East)
Are there any self-help relays?
| Barleycombe | Active deflector | 25 km E Plymouth | 3 homes |
| Parracombe | Transposer | 17 km NE Barnstaple | 80 homes |
How will the Caradon Hill (Cornwall, England) transmission frequencies change over time?
| 1961-80s | 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2009 | 2009-13 | 27 Mar 2019 | ||||
| VHF | A K T | A K T | A K T | A K T | A K T | ||||
| C12 | ITVwaves | ||||||||
| C21 | +SDN | SDN | |||||||
| C22 | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | +BBCB | BBCB | ||||
| C24 | -ArqA | ArqA | |||||||
| C25 | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | +D3+4 | D3+4 | ||||
| C27 | -ArqB | ArqB | |||||||
| C28 | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | +BBCA | BBCA | ||||
| C30 | _local | _local | |||||||
| C31 | com7 | ||||||||
| C32 | C4waves | C4waves | C4waves | ||||||
| C37 | com8 |
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 Aug 09 and 9 Sep 09.
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 | |
| com7 | (-16.3dB) 11.6kW | |
| Mux 1* | (-20dB) 5kW | |
| Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D* | (-21dB) 4kW | |
| com8 | (-24.2dB) 1.9kW |
Local transmitter maps
Caradon Hill Freeview Caradon Hill DAB Caradon Hill TV region BBC South West West CountryWhich companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Caradon Hill transmitter area
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Monday, 18 November 2024
Transmitter engineering
5:09 AM
5:09 AM
Caradon Hill transmitter - Caradon Hill transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 18/11/2024 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels [DUK]
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Monday, 25 November 2024
Transmitter engineering
10:48 AM
10:48 AM
Caradon Hill transmitter - Caradon Hill transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 25/11/2024 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels [DUK]
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Monday, 2 December 2024
Transmitter engineering
5:10 AM
5:10 AM
Caradon Hill transmitter - Caradon Hill transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 02/12/2024 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels [DUK]
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Monday, 9 December 2024
Transmitter engineering
10:46 AM
10:46 AM
Caradon Hill transmitter - Caradon Hill transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 09/12/2024 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels [DUK]
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Monday, 16 December 2024
Transmitter engineering
5:09 AM
5:09 AM
Caradon Hill transmitter - Caradon Hill transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 16/12/2024 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels [DUK]
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Thursday, 26 December 2024
D
denyse shorrocks6:29 PM
no signal in crackington haven and marshgate for 2 days
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C
Chris.SE6:54 PM
denyse shorrocks:
This is most likely down to current weather conditions -
High pressure currently affecting TV & Radio services across parts of the UK - 24 December | Help receiving TV and radio
High pressure could affect reception across the UK this week | Freeview
BUT, as you haven't given a full postcode we can't advise on your normal predicted reception which may not be that good - based on a random location I've checked in the area - and so we can't advise if ther other things you may usefully check.
That said, I hope you haven't retuned as in these sort of conditions it will often clear your correct tuning and can tune you to the weak signals from a distant transmitter which will eventually disappear!
You cannot tune to signals that aren't there or can't be decoded.
If you are/were correctly tuned, do NOT retune.
IF you did retune and now have the incorrect tuning, clear the current tuning by unplugging the aerial and doing a full retune, then plug the aerial back in and do a MANUAL tune of the UHF channels as listed at the very top of this page (assuming that it is the Caradon Hill transmitter you normally get).
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Friday, 27 December 2024
P
Philip Johns10:26 AM
denyse shorrocks: On Christmas day and occasionally on 26 Dec, we had no tv signal fron Caradon. We often hav this problem when there is high pressure even in the summer time. It seems many people in St Austell have had the same problem. seeing how much we pay licence fee every year, I expect to be able to watch tv all the time. We are on the edge of your area and also on the edge of Redruth transmitter so no point trying to get service from there. Is there any way you can boost the signal for the St Austell area please. Post code PL25.
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S
Steve Donaldson2:14 PM
Philip Johns: The St Austell relay got a big power boost at digital switchover in 2009. There was also a change of antenna which sends out more signal particularly in the direction of St Austell and much of its suburbs:
mb21 - The Transmission Gallery
At digital switchover most transmitters stayed at what is effectively the same power, meaning the coverage is the same as with analogue. In a few cases, including here, poor reception areas were identified and coverage improved with a power boost, and in a few instances a new transmitter.
All transmitters broadcast the Public Service Broadcaster (PSB) multiplexes (which carry BBC, ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 5 and some sister channels, and all HD channels). The Commercial (COM) multiplexes are broadcast from main transmitters and generally larger relays.
At switchover, the full complement of channels (PSBs and COMs) became available from 80 or so transmitters covering 90% of the population. Of the 1,000 or so PSB-only relays covering around 9% of the population, it was said that the cost of broadcasting the COMs from them would be roughly the same as that for the network of about 80 transmitters, this leaving aside the fact that there weren't enough frequencies.
The COM multiplexes have no obligation to provide a public service, unlike the PSBs. The COM operators serve the greatest number of viewers for the least cost. The biggest transmitters which serve the most viewers cost less-per-viewer to run than the smaller relays, and this is why the 1000+ relays serving 9% of the population cost about the same as the 80-or-so transmitters that have been full-service since switchover (a few have been added since then).
In a situation where a full-service transmitter is available but can be variable, but where there is a good PSB-only relay then one has to consider:
1. Whether to use the full-service transmitter all the time. This may be sacrificing the reliable PSB reception from the relay in return for adding the COM channels.
2. Whether to use the PSB-only relay. This would mean sacrificing the COM channels (which may be poor at times) in return for stable PSB reception.
3. Whether to have an aerial the relay and the full-service transmitter, and feed one into a set-top box and one into the TV. While this is more costly and requires a set-top box, it may provide resilience of the PSBs while offering the COMs when they can be received.
One may wish to consider how often a channel on one of the COM multiplexes is watched, and how much PSB viewing there is. None of the above options are ideal. At the root is the fact that the COM operators are without obligation to provide a public service by installing small in-fill relays.
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S
Steve Donaldson3:56 PM
Philip Johns: In addition to the above, if the issue of poor reception relates to the COMs only from Caradon Hill, with the PSBs being good, then there would be no advantage and only disadvantage (loss of COMs) receiving from St Austell instead.
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