Full Freeview on the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmitter
 | Google Streetview |  | Google map |  | Bing map |  | Google Earth |  | 53.625,-2.516 or 53°37'30"N 2°30'56"W |  | BL6 6SL |
The symbol shows the location of the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmitter which serves 2,690,000 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 Winter Hill (Bolton, England) mast?
Winter Hill transmitter - Winter Hill 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.
DTG-8 64QAM 8K 3/4 27.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
DTG-12 QSPK 8K 3/4 8.0Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
DTG-2 16QAM 2K 3/4 18.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)
Which Freeview channels does the Winter 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.
| Mux | H/V | Frequency | Height | Mode | Watts |
| PSB1 BBCA | H max | C32 (562.0MHz) | 726m | DTG- | 100,000W |
 1 BBC One (SD) North West, 2 BBC Two England, 9 BBC Four, 23 BBC Three, 201 CBBC, 202 CBeebies, 231 BBC News, 232 BBC Parliament, plus 17 others | |||||
| PSB2 D3+4 | H max | C34 (578.0MHz) | 726m | DTG- | 100,000W |
 3 ITV 1 (SD) (Granada), 4 Channel 4 (SD) North ads, 5 Channel 5, 6 ITV 2, 10 ITV3, 13 E4, 14 Film4, 15 Channel 4 +1 North ads, 18 More4, 26 ITV4, 28 ITVBe, 30 E4 +1, 35 ITV1 +1 (Granada), 71 That’s 60s, | |||||
| PSB3 BBCB | H max | C35- (585.8MHz) | 726m | DTG- | 100,000W |
 46 5SELECT, 101 BBC One HD North West, 102 BBC Two HD England, 103 ITV 1 HD (ITV Granada), 104 Channel 4 HD North 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 | C29 (538.0MHz) | 726m | DTG-8 | 100,000W |
 20 U&Drama, 21 5USA, 29 ITV2 +1, 32 5STAR, 33 5Action, 38 Channel 5 +1, 41 Legend, 42 GREAT! action, 57 U&Dave ja vu, 58 ITV3 +1, 59 ITV4 +1, 64 Blaze, 67 TRUE CRIME, 68 TRUE CRIME XTRA, 81 Blaze +1, 83 Together TV, 91 WildEarth, 93 ITVBe +1, 209 Ketchup TV, 210 Ketchup Too, 211 YAAAS!, 251 Al Jazeera English, 255 FRANCE 24 (in English), 265 Rok Sky +1, plus 29 others | |||||
| COM5 ArqA | H max | C31 (554.0MHz) | 726m | DTG-8 | 100,000W |
 11 Sky Mix, 17 Really, 19 U&Dave, 31 E4 Extra, 36 Sky Arts, 40 Quest Red, 43 Food Network, 47 Film4 +1, 48 Challenge, 49 4seven, 60 U&Drama +1, 65 That's TV 2, 70 Quest +1, 74 &UYesterday +1, 76 That's TV 2 MCR, 233 Sky News, plus 13 others | |||||
| COM6 ArqB | H max | C37 (602.0MHz) | 726m | DTG-8 | 100,000W |
 12 Quest, 25 U&W, 27 U&Yesterday, 34 GREAT! movies, 39 DMAX, 44 HGTV, 52 GREAT! christmas, 56 That's TV (UK), 63 GREAT! romance mix, 73 HobbyMaker, 75 That's 90s, 82 Talking Pictures TV, 84 PBS America, 235 Al Jazeera Eng, plus 18 others | |||||
| LM | H -20dB | C40 (626.0MHz) | 572m | DTG-12 | 1,000W |
 from 1st October 2014: 7 That's Manchester, | |||||
| LL | H -17dB | C24 (498.0MHz) | 572m | DTG-12 | 2,000W |
 from 30th June 2014: 7 Bay TV Liverpool, | |||||
| LPR | H -20dB | C56 (754.0MHz) | 572m | DTG-12 | 1,000W |
 from 1st October 2014: 7 That's Lancashire, | |||||
| GIM | H -20dB | C57 (762.0MHz) | 572m | DTG-2 | 1,000W |
 Now 90s, Spotlight TV, Clubland TV, Country Music Entertainment , Classic Hits MCR, 77 That's 60s MCR, 78 TCC, 80 That's 80s, 86 That's 90s MCR, 88 TV Warehouse+1, | |||||
DTG-12 QSPK 8K 3/4 8.0Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
DTG-2 16QAM 2K 3/4 18.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)
Which BBC and ITV regional news can I watch from the Winter Hill transmitter?
BBC North West Tonight 3.1m homes 11.8%
from Salford M50 2QH, 22km southeast (140°)
to BBC North West region - 92 masts.
ITV Granada Reports 3.1m homes 11.6%
from Salford M50 2EQ, 22km southeast (139°)
to ITV Granada region - 80 masts.
How will the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmission frequencies change over time?
| 1956-80s | 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2009 | 2009-13 | 2013-18 | 2013-17 | 20 Feb 2020 | ||
| VHF | C/D E | C/D E | C/D E | C/D E | C/D E T | W T | W T | ||
| C9 | ITVwaves | ||||||||
| C12 | BBCtvwaves | ||||||||
| C24 | _local | ||||||||
| C29 | SDN | ||||||||
| C31 | com7 | com7 | |||||||
| C32 | BBCA | ||||||||
| C34 | D3+4 | ||||||||
| C35 | BBCB | ||||||||
| C37 | com8 | com8 | |||||||
| C40 | LOCAL2 | ||||||||
| C48 | C5waves | C5waves | |||||||
| C49tv_off | ArqA | ArqA | |||||||
| C50tv_off | BBCA | BBCA | |||||||
| C54tv_off | -BBCB | -BBCB | -BBCB | ||||||
| C55tv_off | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | ArqB | ArqB | ArqB | com7tv_off | ||
| C56tv_off | _local | _local | _local | LPR | |||||
| C57tv_off | GIM | GIM | GIM | GIM | |||||
| C58tv_off | SDN | SDN | SDN | ||||||
| C59tv_off | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | D3+4 | D3+4 | D3+4 | |||
| C61 | ArqA | ||||||||
| C62 | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBCA | |||||
| C65 | C4waves | C4waves | C4waves |
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 4 Nov 09 and 2 Dec 09.
How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?
| Analogue 1-4 | 500kW | |
| SDN, ARQA, ARQB, BBCA, D3+4, BBCB | (-7dB) 100kW | |
| com7 | (-12.9dB) 25.7kW | |
| com8 | (-13.4dB) 22.6kW | |
| Analogue 5 | (-16dB) 12.5kW | |
| Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D* | (-17dB) 10kW | |
| LL | (-24dB) 2kW | |
| GIM, LM, LPR | (-27dB) 1000W |
Local transmitter maps
Winter Hill Freeview Winter Hill DAB Winter Hill AM/FM Winter Hill TV region BBC North West GranadaWhich companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Winter Hill transmitter area
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Saturday, 4 June 2011
Hi, Folks,
I live in Leyland and am in direct line of sight of Winter Hill, I have a Panasonic G20 flatscreen TV with buit in Freeview & Freesat.
I don't use the latter, I receive every freeview channel apart from this Movies For Men, channel 201.
I recieve all channels through a Technika TT-02 powered indoor aerial, I have no complaints with any of the channels I recieve, all HD & SD content is good, no break up or anything like, excellent signal strength etc.
But whenever I enter 201 in to the panasonic is says "Invalid Channel", doesn't even find it when I do a scan, usually the TV will display a signal saying new channels found.
So I tried tuning in channel 201 on the downstairs freeview box which is lined up to the outside ariel, that does find it and says will take 3mins to tune in, but it never does, just goes around in circles.
Any ideas?
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Sunday, 5 June 2011
M
MickDawn4:44 AM
Chris Rimmer:
Hi. My 40 month old Grundig GULENAR26HDIP tv has the problems you describe. I've been in touch with Grundig (actually now owned by Harvard International, tel 0871 2301777). The service bloke there told be the problem is due to different transmission modes being used (2k, 5k & 8k?) & that the tv cannot cope with it. This problem only started sometime in April & that Grundig (Harvard are working with Beko (who actually made the tv) to engineer a fix (possibly by OAD, possibly hardware). He did say to write to Harvard Internationals engineering department describing the problem & said they would get back to me. Ive read a few posts on other forums (http://www.avforums.com/forums/lcd-led-lcd-tvs/1456113-grundig-lenaro-26-lcd-tv-freezes.html &
I was watching ch5 yesterday about 3pm when I pressed another...
)about other people who are having the same problem. Interesting that as more regions change to only digital the problem will affect more people (unless a fix is found).
Mick
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MickDawn: Yes, this is well known, see TVs and boxes that do not support the 8k-mode | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice - you now need to use a Freeview set-top box.
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Stuart O.
10:16 PM
Wrexham
10:16 PM
Wrexham
May: You don't say if you have a problem with your TV reception, despite Mike Dimmick's reply presuming you do have.
Are you just wanting to tell the world your Post Code and the location of you aerial?
Considering that's your first post to UK Free TV, I don't understand what you are getting at or what help you require by giving out that information.
Please explain. Thanks.
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Stuart's: mapS's Freeview map terrainS's terrain plot wavesS's frequency data S's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Stuart O.
9:41 PM
Wrexham
9:41 PM
Wrexham
I've mentioned before that I live in a flat and the communal roof aerial is pointing to Winter Hill. In my loft, I have a tv set top aerial connected to an amplifier that receives excellent signals from The Wrekin, Sutton Coldfield and Lichfield.
For some strange reason, I have never been able to get a decent picture from having an outdoor aerial fitted in the loft yet I can get great pictures from a set-top aerial!
Why is this?
I have tried in turn 10, 32 and 48 element aerials. Using an amplifier makes the picture worse. I am using good quality satellite grade coax cable so why is such a little indoor aerial capable of giving better results than an outdoor aerial?
It's got me baffled!
I wanted to use an outdoor aerial in the loft instead of the set-top type because that aerial is mounted on top of some boxes to give it more height and improved reception which doesn't look and feel all that great or safe and an outdoor type would look better and thought it would further improve reception but this has not been the case.
Would anyone be able to tell me why I am experiencing such unexpected results?
Hope to have an answer soon.
Thanks,
Stuart.
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Stuart's: mapS's Freeview map terrainS's terrain plot wavesS's frequency data S's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Wednesday, 15 June 2011
S
steven wallace9:04 AM
hi , im having a problem with my fathers hd freeview box , he has a new digital aeriel with a clear view of winter hill transmitter. he keeps getting picture break up and losing the bbc channels , when i retune the channels its ok for 2-3 days and then the breakup starts . we are retuning the box every 3 days on average.
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M
Mike Dimmick6:17 PM
Stuart O.: If a set-top aerial works but an outdoor aerial doesn't, it's most likely to be down to getting too much signal from the outdoor type.
Go for a fairly small aerial, I'd try a 25 or even 18-element log periodic, and fit an attenuator to reduce the signal levels. Obviously don't use the amplifier!
Amplifiers - including the automatic gain control and the mixer in the receiver - can only handle so much signal before distorting. This distortion essentially creates frequency-shifted copies of the signal (intermodulation products) which interfere with the original signals. It's the overall signal level, the level from each multiplex added together, from all transmitters received, that is important. (Filtering is usually done after mixing, to put the selected channel on a specific intermediate frequency, as it's easy to tune the mixer but hard to tune the filter.)
The individual carriers making up one multiplex are 'orthogonal', deliberately spaced so this problem doesn't happen within one multiplex. Unfortunately the multiplexes are not orthogonal to one another!
The 'outdoor' aerial should still have better directional properties than the set-top, so you're still likely to get better results overall.
Theoretical signal levels can be calculated with Field Strength Calculator . For an aerial with 7 dB of gain, I get 70.4 dBuV of output from Winter Hill (100kW on C61 at a distance of 71.6km), which is more than the CAI's recommended level of 65 dBuV. The Wrekin (20kW on C23, 55.8km away) gives 69.7 dBuV. You lose some signal through tiles and rafters, of course.
Sutton Coldfield is 97.3km away but you do have line of sight, power levels are currently low at 8kW on C41 giving a theoretical 58.6 dBuV - that's still plenty for the box to decode. Post-switchover level will be 200kW on C43, giving 72.4 dBuV.
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M
Mike Dimmick6:18 PM
steven wallace: Postcode?
A 'new digital aerial' is often over-specified for the job, leading to excessive signal levels.
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Thursday, 16 June 2011
S
steven wallace8:21 AM
Preston
mike dimmick.
postcode is PR2 6JR
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steven's: mapS's Freeview map terrainS's terrain plot wavesS's frequency data S's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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