Full Freeview on the Darvel (East Ayrshire, Scotland) transmitter
 | Google Streetview |  | Google map |  | Bing map |  | Google Earth |  | 55.579,-4.291 or 55°34'45"N 4°17'26"W |  | KA16 9LS |
The symbol shows the location of the Darvel (East Ayrshire, Scotland) transmitter which serves 150,000 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 Darvel (East Ayrshire, Scotland) mast?
Darvel transmitter - Darvel transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 27/01/2025 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
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)
Which Freeview channels does the Darvel 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 Darvel transmitter?
BBC Reporting Scotland 2.4m homes 9.2%
from Glasgow G51 1DA, 31km north (1°)
to BBC Scotland region - 230 masts.
STV News 1.3m homes 4.8%
from Glasgow G51 1PQ, 31km north (2°)
to STV Central (Glasgow) region - 94 masts.
Are there any self-help relays?
| Craigie Gardens | Transposer | 1 homes 90 caravans | |
| Inversnaid | Active deflector | 35 km N Dumbarton | 8 homes Hotel caravan park |
How will the Darvel (East Ayrshire, Scotland) transmission frequencies change over time?
| 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2011 | 2011-13 | 5 Sep 2018 | |||||
| A K T | A K T | A K T | A K T | W T | |||||
| C22 | -BBCA | BBCA | |||||||
| C23 | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | SDN | |||||
| C25 | D3+4 | D3+4 | |||||||
| C26 | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | ArqA | |||||
| C28 | BBCB | BBCB | |||||||
| C29 | C4waves | C4waves | C4waves | ArqB | |||||
| C30 | _local | ||||||||
| C31 | com7 | ||||||||
| C32 | SDN | ||||||||
| C33 | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | ||||||
| C34 | ArqA | ||||||||
| C35 | C5waves | C5waves | ArqB | ||||||
| C37 | com8 | ||||||||
| 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 11 May 11 and 25 May 11.
How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?
| Analogue 1-5 | 100kW | |
| BBCA, D3+4, BBCB | (-7dB) 20kW | |
| SDN, ARQA, ARQB | (-10dB) 10kW | |
| com8 | (-10.9dB) 8.19kW | |
| com7 | (-11.2dB) 7.5kW | |
| Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B* | (-14dB) 4kW | |
| Mux C*, Mux D* | (-17dB) 2kW |
Local transmitter maps
Darvel Freeview Darvel DAB Darvel AM/FM Darvel TV region BBC Scotland STV Central (Glasgow micro region)Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Darvel transmitter area
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Is the transmitter output the same in all directions?
Radiation patterns withheldThursday, 30 January 2025
S
Steve Donaldson4:05 PM
Dunja Bjrke: Darvel is currently listed by Freeview as having engineering works, and this could explain why some of the channels have become unavailable to you:
https://www.freeview.co.uk/corporate/platform-management/planned-engineering-works
By resetting and retuning you have likely cleared the correct tuning. In such a situation, the objective of retuning is simply to restore what was deleted in the first place.
Had the TV been left tuned then when the signal(s) become available again, the channels will return to the TV without the need for any intervention (i.e. without the need to tune them in).
The only other HD channels that might potentially be picked up in places on and near the west coast of Scotland are those from Ireland, of which there are three: RTE One, RTE2 and TG4.
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S
Steve Donaldson5:31 PM
Dunja Bjrke: Restore missing channels with manual tuning. Channel numbers for Darvel are:
PSB1 / BBC A = C22
PSB2 / D3&4 = C25
PSB3 / BBC B = C28
COM4 / SDN = C32
COM5 / Arq A = C34
COM6 / Arq B = C35
Local = C31
Freeview has published a full list of channels:
https://www.freeview.co.uk/corporate/platform-management/channel-listings-industry-professionals
Multiple programme channels are carried on a single signal, known as a multiplex or "mux". The list of channels shows which "Mux" each channel is carried on, meaning you can identify which are missing.
For example, U&Yesterday is on Arq B (COM6) which is on UHF channel 35 from Darvel.
There are six multiplexes for the main Freeview channels. The local TV channel is also included. Not all Darvel viewers can pick it up, so it may or may not be applicable.
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C
Chris.SE10:19 PM
Dunja Bjrke:
When you are initially correctly tuned, if you have no signal for whatever reason, the last thing to do is retune, you cannot tune to signals that aren't there!
Often, retuning in this situation will either clear the correct tuning altogether, or tune you to incorrect weak signals from another transmitter, as appears to have happened.
If you have no signal on two sets, this would be indicative of either a transmitter issue, or you aerial installation having a problem.
The sort of initial checks to do would be to make sure your aerial is still looking intact and pointing correctly, that the coax downlead is not flapping in the wind and become detached, and any aerial amp/splitter still has power, and of course make sure all your coax plugs and leads are plugged in correctly and undamaged.
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