Full Freeview on the Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) transmitter
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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.
Are there any planned engineering works or unexpected transmitter faults on the Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) mast?
Sandy Heath transmitter - Sandy Heath transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 22/04/2024 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
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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Monday, 20 June 2011
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Mike Dimmick2:06 PM
Dunstable
Adam: UHF reception can vary greatly between locations only a small distance apart, so we really need a full postcode to see the situation for you.
Taking a postcode for the centre of Dunstable (Bing Maps gives a co-ordinate of 51.8858052045107,-0.52066370844841 which nearby.org.uk translates to LU6 3SH), I get a prediction of 100% on the PSB multiplexes, 73% on Mux A, 76% on Mux C and 92% on Arqiva B. This is the estimated probability of finding a location for a rooftop aerial that would give reliable reception, at that postcode. The simplified coverage checker for consumers will show that as 'good' on all six multiplexes (the threshold is 70%).
I would start by bypassing the booster and splitter and seeing what the situation is like on each TV connected individually to the aerial. If you can get all the channels, plug the splitter in without the booster and try again. If you find that you can't get all channels with the booster, but can without, leave it disconnected. Otherwise, check that the booster has just enough gain to offset the loss through the splitter. A 4-way splitter typically drops 8 dB.
It may all just fix itself as the switchover programme completes. The retune in August changes the prediction for Mux A to 97%, while that in mid-September puts Mux C to 93% and Arqiva B to 99%. The November retune and mode change turns Mux C into Arqiva A, for which the new prediction is 99%.
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Mike's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Wednesday, 22 June 2011
R
Russ Dring1:33 PM
Peterborough
Nigel.
I too have a 37"Panasonic TV with freeview and freesat tuners built-in. I get, from Sandy Heath, 100% signal on all multiplexes and 100% quality on five of them the HD multiplex shows about 20% quality. There has been no pixelating on any picture and there has not been since April 2011.
I also use a Humax HD recorder,the signal quality on all including the HD multiplex is 100%, signal strength between 90% on the PSB channels and about 78% on the comm. multiplexes.
That is using the same source signal, cable etc. so I wonder if the Panasonic TV is not displaying the quality properly on Ch 21? The same could be happening to yours?
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Russ's: mapR's Freeview map terrainR's terrain plot wavesR's frequency data R's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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Robert Dawson2:39 PM
Northampton
The aerial is outside on 16ft pole. My tv is HD ready and I have an LG full HD dv3 recorder but no HD transmission. What else do I need?
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Robert's: mapR's Freeview map terrainR's terrain plot wavesR's frequency data R's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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stoppingservice3:08 PM
You need a recorder or TV which has a "Freeview HD" tuner. See:
What does "Full HD Ready" actually mean? | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice
DTG :: Consumer :: DTV logos and High Definition
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Mike Dimmick3:42 PM
Robert Dawson: 'DV3' is probably the stylised DVB logo from DVB - Digital Video Broadcasting - Home . The model number is likely to be on a sticker on the back of the unit.
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Saturday, 2 July 2011
B
Bob Archer8:07 AM
at my location IP27 C67 MUX seems to come & go with the weather???? if it is sunny, the signal is 100%, rain - it's gone completly - all other MUXs are being recieved Fine.
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Steve10:11 AM
IP27 is too vague but according to this
UK digital TV reception predictor
you do not even GET C67!
But 27dBuV/m is a weak signal and 67 end of frequency range. Rain may affect reflected signals
Digital has a "cliff" from good to useless, not a fine gradation.
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Tuesday, 5 July 2011
B
Brian8:49 PM
I currently have an old 12 element wide band areal, whilst i noticed all around me have been having hi-gain [contract range] areals i don't feel this is necessary, as i can pick up many channels without connecting the areal, I am therefore considering replacing it with a Log-Periodic Aerial [short 28e]
do any of you technical wiz kids have a view on my decision
thanks
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Mike Dimmick11:40 PM
Brian: If the old aerial works, I wouldn't replace it. Going by Justin Smith's aerial tests at Gain (curves), Again , a small log periodic (shown there as 'DM Log') should have more gain in Group A, for the PSB multiplexes, but will have less above C48, where the commercial multiplexes live.
The log periodic is supposedly more resilient to impulse interference, though, so if you find your reception breaks up when cars go past, it may help.
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Mike Dimmick11:57 PM
Steve: DO NOT USE WOLFBANE. It is inaccurate, signal strengths shown are far lower than calculated by the ITU-R line-of-sight equation for known line-of-sight paths. I use Field Strength Calculator which shows a field strength of 81.3 dBuV/m at 66km from a 20kW transmitter on C67. Multiply the field strength shown in V/m by one million, take the base 10 logarithm ['log' on most calculators, not 'ln'] then multiply by 20.
We need a full postcode to see whether there is anything preventing line-of-sight. The Digital UK postcode checker considers how signals travel over the terrain and has factors for buildings and trees.
Bob Archer: If channels on higher frequencies break up when it rains, it often indicates that water is getting into the cables. Check that the seals on any outdoor boxes (such as a masthead amplifier or splitter) are intact and not letting water penetrate. Some aerials have a connection box on the aerial itself, where the cable connects to the aerial, again this needs to be watertight. If the cable has been up for a long time (over 10 years), the outer insulation may have perished due to ultraviolet light exposure and that again allows water to penetrate into the cable.
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