Full Freeview on the Oxford (Oxfordshire, England) transmitter
 | Google Streetview |  | Google map |  | Bing map |  | Google Earth |  | 51.790,-1.179 or 51°47'25"N 1°10'46"W |  | OX3 9SS |
The symbol shows the location of the Oxford (Oxfordshire, England) transmitter which serves 410,000 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 Oxford (Oxfordshire, England) mast?
Oxford transmitter - Oxford 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.
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 Oxford 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 Oxford transmitter?
BBC South (Oxford) Today 0.4m homes 1.6%
from Oxford OX2 7DW, 6km west-southwest (258°)
to BBC South (Oxford) region - 6 masts.
BBC South (Oxford) Today shares 50% content with Southampton service
ITV Meridian News 0.9m homes 3.4%
from Whiteley PO15 7AD, 102km south (182°)
to ITV Meridian/Central (Thames Valley) region - 15 masts.
Thames Valley opt-out from Meridian (South). All of lunch, weekend and 50% evening news is shared with all of Meridian+Oxford
How will the Oxford (Oxfordshire, England) transmission frequencies change over time?
| 1950s-80s | 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2011 | 2011-13 | 2013-18 | 2013-17 | 23 May 2018 | ||
| VHF | C/D E | C/D E | C/D E | C/D E | C/D E T | W T | W T | ||
| C2 | BBCtvwaves | ||||||||
| C29 | SDN | ||||||||
| C31 | com7 | com7 | |||||||
| C37 | com8 | com8 | |||||||
| C41 | BBCA | ||||||||
| C44 | D3+4 | ||||||||
| C46 | _local | ||||||||
| C47 | BBCB | ||||||||
| C49tv_off | C5waves | C5waves | |||||||
| C50tv_off | SDN | SDN | |||||||
| C51tv_off | LOX | LOX | |||||||
| C53tv_off | C4waves | C4waves | C4waves | +BBCA | +BBCA | +BBCA | |||
| C55tv_off | ArqB | ArqB | ArqB | com7tv_off | |||||
| C56tv_off | COM8tv_off | ||||||||
| C57tv_off | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBCB | BBCB | BBCB | |||
| C59tv_off | -ArqA | -ArqA | -ArqA | ||||||
| C60tv_off | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | -D3+4 | -D3+4 | -D3+4 | |||
| C62 | SDN | ||||||||
| C63 | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBC2waves |
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 14 Sep 11 and 28 Sep 11.
How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?
| Analogue 1-4 | 500kW | |
| BBCA, D3+4, BBCB | (-7dB) 100kW | |
| SDN, ARQA, ARQB | (-10dB) 50kW | |
| Analogue 5 | (-11dB) 40kW | |
| com8 | (-14.7dB) 17.1kW | |
| com7 | (-14.8dB) 16.4kW | |
| Mux 1*, Mux 2*, LOX | (-17dB) 10kW | |
| Mux C*, Mux D* | (-18dB) 8kW | |
| Mux A*, Mux B* | (-19.2dB) 6kW |
Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Oxford transmitter area
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Tuesday, 4 October 2011
J
Jonathan6:38 PM
Thanks to everyone for the many answers!
To clarify a few things:
(1) I am not exactly sure what my aerial is; it was replaced by Oxford Aerials in January 2010 and at the time improved our signal on both analogue and digital. My description as wideband high sensitivity may be wrong. There is no amplifier involved, however.
(2) Our view of Beckley is blocked by a combination of a gently rising hill and a pair of enormous beech trees. Historically our reception has been highly seasonal as leaves come and go on the beech trees.
(3) The coax drop lead is split at the attenuator, and also has a female-female converter to let me use two male-male leads. The leads are perhaps best described as "cheap" and may not be well screened.
(4) Originally I found it hard to see any pattern in anything when adjusting the variable attenuator. Later it became clear that this was because both the signal strength and quality readings changed as I lifted up the attenuator to twiddle it and put it down again. I have now found a position where the attenuator sits on a wooden cabinet and I can turn the knob in a reasonably reproducible way.
(5) The attenuator is as shown at AERIAL CABLE VARIABLE ATTENUATOR COAXIAL RF-TV FREEVIEW | eBay and I have been unable to locate any instructions.
(6) With the attenuator in its "stable" position I find that signal strength goes down on the multiplexes on 53, 57 and 60 as I turn it anticlockwise, but it varies remarkably little for what is suppose to be 20dB (e.g. from 45% to 30% over the full range). The signal quality on 53 and 57 is at 100% over the whole range; the quality on 60 is low and highly variable at fully anticlockwise and high and highly variable at fully clockwise.
(7) No other multiplexes are visible at either end of the range of the attenuator. I am doing a clean install from factory settings in each case.
(8) Removing the attenuator entirely (keeping the female-female adaptor in) greatly reduces signal strength and quality on all three multiplexes.
I am struggling to find an interpretation of all this that makes much sense. My best interpretation so far is that I have WAY too much signal so that even after 20dB attenuation I still have too much signal. (OX44EY)
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K
KEVIN GARDINER6:52 PM
Spartan, no i'm not saying that a 20db plus or minus atteunator is not enough to solve Jonathans problem with his free-view reception.After his recent attempts to find the root of his problem, he stated that moving the co-axial cable to the television had more effect than his attuenator. Due to too much, or lack of signal , the co-axial cable will act like part of the aerial itself. you can get this effect if you have a low signal using a indoor type aerial.If you move the cable around, you can get a picture on the tv. Jonathan has too much signal and using a 20db variable attuenator is more than enough to turn the incoming signal down.
The signal strength from the Beckley transmitter is 75db on the 100kw muxes, and 78db on the 50kw muxes. He needs to put up a log periodic aerial on the roof at minimum height of 10 metres.The periodic aerial has no signal gain to the television, meaning the aerial will not amplify the signal.Jonathan he is only 5 miles from the Beckley transmitter, and within the strong signal area. The periodic aerial is the best aerial to install in the strongest signal areas. And it's the aerial that the BBC recommend in all cases, if the signal strength in your area is 65db or above.Amplifiers should only be used as a last resort to ensure reception, such as a place where your on the fringe reception area, or obstacles such as buildings or hills are obstructing the signal etc.
Amplifiers not only amplify the incoming signal, but they also amplify un-wanted atmospheric noise, which demonstrates itself as snow on the television picture, plus during high pressure periods, your television reception will be prone to interference from adjacent transmitters . (52.4471,-2.1045)
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J
Jonathan7:48 PM
Oxford
OK, I'm making more progress. Key thing was to insert the attenuator directly into the wall socket rather than the middle of the drop lead. I have it turned fully anticlockwise which I am interpreting as maximum attenuation (this gives the largest signal strength, which is counter intuitive, but I am assuming that the signal strength is so high that even at 20dB it is overloading the system, and so the strength reading can be counter-intuitive).
I have now gained channel 55, one of the four slightly lower power multiplexes. I am now getting signal quality of 100% on 53, 55, 57 and 60. Still missing 51, 59 and 62, but very little there I care about. I may try attenuating still further to see if that brings the final channels in.
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Jonathan's: mapJ's Freeview map terrainJ's terrain plot wavesJ's frequency data J's Freeview Detailed Coverage
R
Ralph7:59 PM
It is a sad state of affairs when analogue reception (at my property in West Swindon) was reasonable with a good mix of channels but gradually during the digital switchover (and clearing / retuning on multiple occasions on one of the latest receivers) virtually all channels are now gone with the exception of the BBC ones. I appreciate we are on the fringes of reception but had hoped the transmission of a few simple channels at reasonable power levels could be achieved in this day and age.
Aerial installers have confirmed there is virtually no signal from any transmitter in our region despite the fact we are not living below sea level nor behind mountains.
I am a TV license payer and do expect to be provided with a service, I do not see why I should be forced to pay for Sky or watch TV via the Internet.
Perhaps someone can tell me whether there are issues at Oxford and that someone is aware of them and is working to resolve them or whether the current state is the best we can hope for.
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R
Richard8:18 PM
In the 2 years+ leading to switch over we as good as lost MUX2 3 miles from Beckley. I followed advice and bought a new TV, aerial, amplifier (did check signal strength in case attenuator needed) etc all to no avail. 28th September I conscientiously retuned both TV and DVD recorder. Now there is almost perfect reception: even a picture on ITV with just a fly lead out the back of the set without connecting to an aerial. Conclusion: signal had been deliberately underpowered so I wasted a lot of time and money following what appears to have been a misinformation programme to keep every one hanging on and aerial men in business. Why no one could tel the truth: I could have saved money and cancelled my licence for 2 years.
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D
David Pinfold8:28 PM
Swindon
Ralph - The Public Service muxes at Oxford are now at full power (100 KW) which broadcast the BBC channels & ITV1, Channel 4 & 5. If you can't get satisfactory reception of these then you are unlikely to get satisfactory reception from Oxford at all. You may wish to consider installing freesat (for a 1 off cost).It uses the same satellites as Sky but there is no subscription involved & there are more channels available (although not all the same ones) than with freeview.
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David's: mapD's Freeview map terrainD's terrain plot wavesD's frequency data D's Freeview Detailed Coverage
J
jb389:32 PM
Richard: Not really knowing what method you used to test if an attenuator was required, but if you can get a reasonably viewable signal with only one end of a fly lead connected into the set, then the chances are that an attenuator could well be required if you are using a roof mounted aerial.
Maybe this even applying with a loft one as well, this dependant on location.
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J
Jonathan10:00 PM
Oxford
Given the success so far I have just ordered a 24dB fixed attenuator, which can be combined with my existing 0-20dB variable attenuator to give me a huge range. Will report back once this arrives.
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Jonathan's: mapJ's Freeview map terrainJ's terrain plot wavesJ's frequency data J's Freeview Detailed Coverage
C
Chris.SE10:13 PM
Jonathan: Well done, the conclusion I was coming to.
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C
Chris.SE10:36 PM
OK, we need to correct some misunderstood information here -
1) The 3 PSB muxes at Oxford are on full power of 100Kw. The 3 COM muxes are on restricted power of 12.5Kw until April 2012.
2) Log periodic aerials DO have gain, usually not as high as some of the "high gain" aerials being used, unless they have built in amplifiers.
3) I would not recommend Jonathan change his aerial at this time due to his situation and variabilty of received signal.
4) You do NOT get "snow" on digital signals.
You either have an adequate quality signal - perfect picture, or not - no picture or pixelation if right on the "cliff edge". This can occur if the signal is weak or suffering interference.
You can also get picture/sound breakup or no apparent signal at a set/box with too strong a signal.
5) The only reliable way to be sure is with a proper signal strength meter.
Jonathan: does it not say what the aerial is on your receipt? You could always ring Oxford aerials and ask what they put in if the information is not there.
If we know, then it'll give an idea of what attenuation is needed and you can then see how stable the situation is over time and with the changing season. In the longer term changing the aerial may be an option.
You are correct to put the attenuator direct into the wall socket, in the middle of flying leads is not a good idea. The other place would be direct into the back of the set/box, perhaps the place for the fixed one you have ordered.
It wouldn't be a bad idea to check the connections at the back of the wall socket and anywhere else there may be connections between the socket and the aerial - did they put new coax in for you as well?
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