Full Freeview on the Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham, England) transmitter
 | Google Streetview |  | Google map |  | Bing map |  | Google Earth |  | 52.600,-1.835 or 52°36'1"N 1°50'5"W |  | B75 5JJ |
The symbol shows the location of the Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham, England) transmitter which serves 1,870,000 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 Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham, England) mast?
Sutton Coldfield transmitter - Sutton Coldfield transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 25/11/2024 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels 
_______
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 Sutton Coldfield 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 Sutton Coldfield transmitter?
BBC Midlands Today 2.9m homes 10.9%
from Birmingham B1 1RF, 15km south-southwest (200°)
to BBC West Midlands region - 66 masts.
ITV Central News 2.9m homes 10.9%
from Birmingham B1 2JT, 15km south-southwest (201°)
to ITV Central (West) region - 65 masts.
All of lunch, weekend and 80% evening news is shared with Central (East)
Are there any self-help relays?
| Burton (shobnall) | Transposer | 1 km W Burton-on-Trent | 60 homes |
| Coalville | Transposer | 18 km NW Leicester | 600 homes |
| Solihull | Transposer | Land Rover building | 400 homes |
How will the Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham, England) transmission frequencies change over time?
| 1950s-80s | 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2011 | 2011-13 | 7 Mar 2018 | ||||
| VHF | B E T | B E T | B E T | B E K T | W T | ||||
| C4 | BBCtvwaves | ||||||||
| C33 | com7 | ||||||||
| C35 | com8 | ||||||||
| C36 | LOCAL2 | ||||||||
| C39 | +ArqB | ArqB | |||||||
| C40 | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | +BBCB | BBCB | ||||
| C42 | SDN | SDN | |||||||
| C43 | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | BBCA | BBCA | ||||
| C45 | ArqA | ArqA | |||||||
| C46 | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | D3+4 | D3+4 | ||||
| C48 | _local | ||||||||
| C50tv_off | C4waves | C4waves | C4waves | ||||||
| C51tv_off | LB | ||||||||
| 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 7 Sep 11 and 21 Sep 11.
How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?
| Analogue 1-4 | 1000kW | |
| SDN, ARQA, ARQB, BBCA, D3+4, BBCB | (-7dB) 200kW | |
| com7 | (-10.5dB) 89.2kW | |
| com8 | (-10.7dB) 86kW | |
| LB | (-20dB) 10kW | |
| Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D* | (-21dB) 8kW |
Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Sutton Coldfield transmitter area
|
|
Sunday, 7 August 2011
D
Dave5:22 PM
Swadlincote
HI.
Can you recommend an aerial for loft installation.I believe a wideband aerial is the type I need.is this correct.
Many thanks.
Dave.
| link to this comment |
Dave's: mapD's Freeview map terrainD's terrain plot wavesD's frequency data D's Freeview Detailed Coverage
M
Mike Dimmick6:31 PM
Dave: You don't actually *need* a wideband for Sutton Coldfield, and with the imminent release of C61-C68 for 4G mobile phones, I would try to avoid fitting an aerial that covers that range. A grouped aerial is generally smaller for the same gain.
I would actually leave it until after switchover, you may find that your current aerial is sufficient, because the final digital power is so much stronger than current levels. If analogue pictures are clear or only slightly snowy, and if the Ceefax/Teletext test described at
Digital UK - The condition of your aerial is OK, you're likely to be fine.
If you only have an 'indoor' aerial at the moment, consider a 40-element Log-Periodic such as Online TV FM DAB Aerial sales . See Loft and indoor aerial installations for TV, FM and DAB and http://wrightsaerials.tv/….pdf for some thoughts about loft installs.
Roof installations usually produce better results as the aerial is further away from electrical cables and reflections in the loft. I would advise a slightly smaller aerial, such as a 25-element Log Periodic Online TV FM DAB Aerial sales . Do remember that bigger is NOT better - you can have too much signal, overloading the tuner and causing distortion, which the box then can't decode.
| link to this comment |
Monday, 8 August 2011
Stuart O.
8:11 PM
Wrexham
8:11 PM
Wrexham
Re: My Post dated Tuesday 2 August 2011 10:59PM
I contacted BBC Midlands Today last week and have had a reply today regarding my question.
Here's the reply I had from BBC Birmingham today:
"Hi
I saw this email earlier in the week via Paul Hunt - so I'm not sure who is replying to him.
In a nutshell, we had intermittent equipment failure on Tuesday, which caused Midlands Today to be switched to East Midlands Today a couple of times. The faulty switch has since been replaced. This affected 'analogue' services only.
Martin"
This e-mail (and any attachments) is confidential and may contain personal views which are not the views of the BBC unless specifically stated.
If you have received it in error, please delete it from your system.
Do not use, copy or disclose the information in any way nor act in reliance on it and notify the sender immediately.
Please note that the BBC monitors e-mails sent or received.
Further communication will signify your consent to this.
Here was my Original Post:
I posted this on Digital Spy tonight (2nd August) but looks like no-one could help me:
Did anyone watch the on-air mistake on BBC (West) Midlands Today tonight?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was watching in Analogue on Sutton Coldfield and was wondering if all analogue, freeview, freesat and Sky viewers were affected with the same as what I saw:
A couple of times, the broadcast switched to a recording of Antiques Roadshow!
As no other channel was showing that at the time, it couldn't have been an engineering switching break or anything.
I'm guessing the production team at The Mailbox, Birmingham pressed the wrong button to switch out Midlands Today and start playing a VT of Fiona Bruce presenting Antiques Roadshow!
I'm just wondering if this was a mistake, whether the mistake went out on all platforms or just certain ones?
Hope some others who saw this can let me know and what platform (analogue, freeview, freesat and Sky) they were watching it on.
Thanks.
| link to this comment |
Stuart's: mapS's Freeview map terrainS's terrain plot wavesS's frequency data S's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
I have No tv signal at all from 6.8.11
Is there anything I can do?
I have unplugged digital freeview box
Scart sockets etc!!!
| link to this comment |
Wednesday, 10 August 2011
O
oldpaul10012:13 AM
Where can I find the channel layout for Freeview on Sutton Coldfield after switchover is complete?
You don't seem to have it linked on this page.
| link to this comment |
M
Mike Dimmick1:29 AM
oldpaul100: At present there are no new services carried after DSO that did not already transmit before DSO.
Although the BBC A, Arqiva A and B multiplexes do have more capacity after switchover than their pre-DSO equivalents, the same amount of SD capacity is lost by converting BBC B to DVB-T2 for HD broadcasts. 24Mbps gained, 24Mbps lost. The additional capacity on the Arqiva multiplexes after DSO is being matched by the BBC *before* DSO from the spare capacity on Multiplex B, after they closed all the services that won't fit onto post-DSO BBC A.
So far that's only Sky Sports 1 and 2, which you won't see above as they're encrypted (this site only shows free-to-air channels). The matched capacity on Arqiva A isn't yet in use, because some transmitters have switched over and converted Mux B to HD, but haven't yet converted Mux C to the higher-capacity mode (e.g. Sandy Heath, where this won't happen until 14 September, and Mendip on 28 September).
In terms of what goes where:
BBC Four, CBeebies, BBC Parliament and the BBC radio stations move from Mux B to BBC A at DSO 1 - for the two weeks between step one and step two, they are carried on both multiplexes;
Sky Sports 1 and 2 move from Mux B to Arqiva B.
Brian will update this page at each stage of DSO. For example, the Sheffield and Chesterfield pages both already show PSB1/BBCA in place of Mux 1, with all the BBC channels.
| link to this comment |
P
Perfinian10:35 AM
M Lee: If your neighbours do not have a problem you just need to set up your freeview box and re-tune. Your existing aerial should be connected to the "RF IN" aerial input socket of your Freeview box (STB)and a SCART cable from it to your TV. If there are two SCART sockets on your STB choose the one marked TV. If your TV has more than one SCART socket use the main one marked "1" or "A". If this does not work get help from a friend/British neighbour. Not an American neighbor!
Switch TV ON. Wait 20 seconds then switch ON Freeview box. The TV may find your STB and a Logo or a message. If not, use the AV or TV/AV button of your TV's remote to find it. If you go past it, just keep pressing until it comes round again. Next you need to get into the 'SETUP' menu of the STB. Find a button marked "MENU" and use Up/Down or Left/Right buttons to find the INSTALL option then "OK" all the "YESes" until it starts tuning. Then watch and wait until it has finished.
| link to this comment |
P
Perfinian10:40 AM
PS The sentence: "If this does not work..... neighbor!" should have been at the end. Sorry, I must get rid of this tempramental keyboard"
| link to this comment |
oldpaul100: Top of the page, "Transmission frequencies"->After Wednesday 21st September 2011.
| link to this comment |
...and also "Comparison of analogue and digital signal levels" for the signal levels.
| link to this comment |
Select more comments
Your comment please