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Full Freeview on the Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) transmitter

first published this on - UK Free TV
sa_streetviewGoogle Streetviewsa_gmapsGoogle mapsa_bingBing mapsa_gearthGoogle Earthsa_gps52.130,-0.242 or 52°7'47"N 0°14'33"Wsa_postcodeSG19 2NH

 

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 25/03/2024 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels Digital tick


Choose from three options: ■ List by multiplex ■ List by channel number ■ List by channel name
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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.

MuxH/VFrequencyHeightModeWatts
PSB1
BBCA
 H max
C27 (522.0MHz)291mDTG-180,000W
Channel icons
1 BBC One (SD) Cambridge, 2 BBC Two England, 9 BBC Four, 23 BBC Three, 201 CBBC, 202 CBeebies, 231 BBC News, 232 BBC Parliament, plus 16 others

PSB2
D3+4
 H max
C24 (498.0MHz)291mDTG-180,000W
Channel icons
3 ITV 1 (SD) (Anglia (West micro region)), 4 Channel 4 (SD) South ads, 5 Channel 5, 6 ITV 2, 10 ITV3, 13 E4, 14 Film4, 15 Channel 4 +1 South ads, 18 More4, 26 ITV4, 28 ITVBe, 30 E4 +1, 35 ITV1 +1 (Anglia east),

PSB3
BBCB
 H max
C21+ (474.2MHz)291mDTG-180,000W
Channel icons
46 5SELECT, 101 BBC One HD Cambridge, 102 BBC Two HD England, 103 ITV 1 HD (ITV Meridian Southampton), 104 Channel 4 HD South 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 -0.2dB
C33 (570.0MHz)291mDTG-8170,000W
Channel icons
20 Drama, 21 5USA, 29 ITV2 +1, 32 5STAR, 33 5Action, 38 Channel 5 +1, 41 Legend, 42 GREAT! action, 57 Dave ja vu, 58 ITVBe +1, 59 ITV3 +1, 64 Blaze, 67 TRUE CRIME, 68 TRUE CRIME XTRA, 78 TCC, 81 Blaze +1, 83 Together TV, 89 ITV4 +1, 91 WildEarth, 209 Ketchup TV, 210 Ketchup Too, 211 YAAAS!, 267 Al Jazeera English, plus 30 others

COM5
ArqA
 H -0.2dB
C36 (594.0MHz)289mDTG-8170,000W
Channel icons
11 Sky Mix, 17 Really, 19 Dave, 31 E4 Extra, 36 Sky Arts, 40 Quest Red, 43 Food Network, 47 Film4 +1, 48 Challenge, 49 4seven, 60 Drama +1, 65 That's TV 2, 70 Quest +1, 74 Yesterday +1, 75 That's 90s, 233 Sky News, plus 11 others

COM6
ArqB
 H -0.2dB
C48 (690.0MHz)289mDTG-8170,000W
Channel icons
12 Quest, 25 W, 27 Yesterday, 34 GREAT! movies, 39 DMAX, 44 HGTV, 52 GREAT! romance, 56 That's TV (UK), 61 GREAT! movies extra, 63 GREAT! romance mix, 71 That’s 60s, 73 HobbyMaker, 82 Talking Pictures TV, 84 PBS America, 235 Al Jazeera Eng, plus 18 others

DTG-8 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?

regional news image
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
regional news image
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?

1965-80s1984-971997-981998-20112011-1312 Feb 2020
VHFA K TK TK TW TW T
C6ITVwaves
C21C4wavesC4wavesC4waves+BBCBBBCB
C24ITVwavesITVwavesITVwavesD3+4D3+4
C27BBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBCABBCA
C31BBC1wavesBBC1wavesBBC1waves
C32com7
C33SDN
C34com8
C35_local
C36ArqA
C39C5wavesC5waves
C43_local
C48ArqBArqB
C51tv_offSDN
C52tv_offArqA
C55tv_offcom7tv_off
C56tv_offCOM8tv_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

Oct 1959-Feb 2004Anglia Television
Feb 2004-Dec 2014ITV plc
Feb 1983-Dec 1992TV-am•
Jan 1993-Sep 2010GMTV•
Sep 2010-Dec 2014ITV Daybreak•
• Breakfast ◊ Weekends ♦ Friday night and weekends † Weekdays only.

Comments
Thursday, 15 September 2011
M
Mike Dimmick
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

7:27 PM

chrism42: No, it probably doesn't apply in Cambridge, I think it just applies to the south face. The power might still be restricted too, though, not just the position.

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Mike Dimmick's 2,486 posts GB flag
Friday, 16 September 2011
A
ALAN PEACHEY
sentiment_satisfiedBronze

12:06 PM

Hi. Thanks Mike. That must be it then, because I can pick up London on the same aerial. Also as matter of intrest I can also pick up BBC and ITV1 from the Sudbury Transmitter (ch 41 and 44) but only them 2 for some strange reason. In case you are wondering I live in a flat with a shared aerial.

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ALAN PEACHEY's 34 posts GB flag
D
Derek
6:28 PM

Can anyone help. Since 14 Sept I have lost sky news and other channels which all seem to be on mux C. Prior to this at last re-tune date, I lost film 4 plus other channels, these have now returned. My postcode is cb24, sandy heath transmitter. I have checked cables, have a new wide band ariel and have disconnected any boosters etc.. but still only get 84 out of 103 channels. Changed the rf output on sky as suggested but still nothing. Disconnected sky box completely and sky news returned briefly but picture quality was vey poor. Any help would be appreciated.

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Derek's 1 post GB flag
B
Bob
7:26 PM
Leighton Buzzard

Derek: I have lost Mux C and Com 6. I did a reinstall as instructed. The channels were there but no signal. Today I did another install and now the channels aren't there at all. Preserve us from another power increase! I think that someone has done something at the transmitter that we aren't being told about.....

link to this comment
Bob's 2 posts GB flag
Bob's: mapB's Freeview map terrainB's terrain plot wavesB's frequency data B's Freeview Detailed Coverage
L
Louise
10:13 PM
Ely

Since the 14th September retune we've gained some channels but lost quite a few as well!!! No more Sky News, Pick TV or Dave, etc?? We're on the Sandy Heath transmitter and it seems we're not the only ones though, wonder what's going on? Tried rescanning, unplugging and everything else you're supposed to do but to no avail. Oh well!!

link to this comment
Louise's 4 posts GB flag
Louise's: mapL's Freeview map terrainL's terrain plot wavesL's frequency data L's Freeview Detailed Coverage
K
KMJ,Derby
sentiment_satisfiedGold

11:27 PM

Derek and Louise: Mux ArqB (Film4 etc) was using C67 when you were unable to receive it. Mux ArqB has now changed frequency to C48, and MuxC (Sky News, Dave etc) is now using C67, which explains why you have gained Film4 but lost Sky News. The Digital UK postcode checker predicts good reception of C67 at both locations, so the current non-reception of MuxC is likely to be due to single frequency interference affecting C67, or the aerial does not perform very well at this frequency.It could also be that the aerial is positioned in a null for that frequency and moving it slightly to either side or raising/lowering it would give reception of the missing mux. The situation is due to change again on 23rd November 2011 when MuxC/ArqA changes frequency to C52, adopts 64QAM and 8k mode working and increases power.

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KMJ,Derby's 1,811 posts GB flag
J
John
11:29 PM

FAO Briantist

I am in Cambridge, with loft aerial
Every time I re-tune I lose all on MIX 67
e.g. now its "Dave " etc
will this be permanent even after 23/11?
Is it due to the 842mhz or the aerial being indoor ?

Thanks

John

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John's 1 post GB flag
K
KMJ,Derby
sentiment_satisfiedGold

11:43 PM

Bob: After clearing the channel list try doing a manual tune on C67 and C48 and see if the channels are then found. It is possible that when doing an auto scan weak signals from Crystal Palace are found first and (unwatchable) channels stored. MuxC from Sandy Heath might then be overlooked as a duplicate, and Mux ArqB being in 8k mode would be seen as a new set of channels and placed in the 800s of the channel list due to the "normal" positions being already occupied.





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KMJ,Derby's 1,811 posts GB flag
Saturday, 17 September 2011
C
chris
10:05 AM

yet again you have changed the set up of sandy heath, and noe transmittin mux a c and arqB on very low power.
it doesnt matter what my post code is, until you increase the output most of the channels will be mucked up.
so either you have the choice now increase power to bring things back to a reasonable service or change back to analogue. people will be mighty cheesed off paying a tv subscription for services they cant get.

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chris's 13 posts GB flag
P
Philip
10:16 AM

chris said
"yet again you have changed the set up of sandy heath, and noe transmittin mux a c and arqB on very low power.
it doesnt matter what my post code is, until you increase the output most of the channels will be mucked up.
so either you have the choice now increase power to bring things back to a reasonable service or change back to analogue. people will be mighty cheesed off paying a tv subscription for services they cant get."

Absolutely agree with this. Up unto a few weeks ago the channel set up would change every month or two. It was easy to "rescan" the TV to get the channels back. Now it's been every week and the latest "change" has obliterated a large proportion of the channels we can receive from Sandy Heath, when they have been fine until now. With experiences of the switch-over in another region as well, its surely tempting to give up with it completely and get a 'dish installed and swap over to Free sat.
Unimpressed from West Hertfordshire,
Philip

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Philip's 1 post GB flag
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