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Full Freeview on the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmitter

first published this on - UK Free TV
sa_streetviewGoogle Streetviewsa_gmapsGoogle mapsa_bingBing mapsa_gearthGoogle Earthsa_gps53.625,-2.516 or 53°37'30"N 2°30'56"Wsa_postcodeBL6 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 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
_______

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.

MuxH/VFrequencyHeightModeWatts
PSB1
BBCA
 H max
C32 (562.0MHz)726mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
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)726mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
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),

PSB3
BBCB
 H max
C35- (585.8MHz)726mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
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)726mDTG-8100,000W
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 max
C31 (554.0MHz)726mDTG-8100,000W
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 max
C37 (602.0MHz)726mDTG-8100,000W
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

LM
 H -20dB
C40 (626.0MHz)572mDTG-121,000W
Channel icons
from 1st October 2014: 7 That's Manchester,

LL
 H -17dB
C24 (498.0MHz)572mDTG-122,000W
Channel icons
from 30th June 2014: 7 Bay TV Liverpool,

LPR
 H -20dB
C56 (754.0MHz)572mDTG-121,000W
Channel icons
from 1st October 2014: 7 That's Lancashire,

GIM
 H -20dB
C57 (762.0MHz)572mDTG-21,000W
Channel icons
 Now 90s,  Spotlight TV,  Clubland TV,  Country Music Entertainment ,  Classic Hits MCR, 76 That's TV 2 MCR, 77 That's 60s MCR, 80 That's 80s, 86 That's 90s MCR, 88 TV Warehouse+1,

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 BBC and ITV regional news can I watch from the Winter Hill transmitter?

regional news image
BBC North West Tonight 3.1m homes 11.8%
from Salford M50 2QH, 22km southeast (140°)
to BBC North West region - 92 masts.
regional news image
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?

1956-80s1984-971997-981998-20092009-132013-182013-1720 Feb 2020
VHFC/D EC/D EC/D EC/D EC/D E TW TW T
C9ITVwaves
C12BBCtvwaves
C24_local
C29SDN
C31com7com7
C32BBCA
C34D3+4
C35BBCB
C37com8com8
C40LOCAL2
C48C5wavesC5waves
C49tv_off ArqAArqA
C50tv_off BBCABBCA
C54tv_off-BBCB-BBCB-BBCB
C55tv_offBBC1wavesBBC1wavesBBC1wavesArqBArqBArqBcom7tv_off
C56tv_off_local_local_localLPR
C57tv_offGIMGIMGIMGIM
C58tv_offSDNSDNSDN
C59tv_offITVwavesITVwavesITVwavesD3+4D3+4D3+4
C61ArqA
C62BBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBCA
C65C4wavesC4wavesC4waves

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

Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Winter Hill transmitter area

May 1956-Jul 1968Granada Television†
May 1956-Jul 1968Associated British Corporation◊
Jul 1968-Feb 2004Granada 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
Monday, 30 July 2012
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

8:28 AM

Joe: You can get this by clicking on "terrain" seen at the top of the list seen to the right hand side of your posting, but!! this will not show properly with certain types of browsers like IE8 etc albeit it will do perfectly OK on Firefox to name but one.

The link below is to the Megalithia terrain indicator, although its far more trouble entering the info required in this compared to the comparative ease when using the link next to your posting, but though always remember with these terrain indicators that they only take account of natural landscapes and totally exclude forests or anything man made no matter how large.

As far as the aerial is concerned you have nothing really to worry about as far as the colour is concerned, as "if" an aerial is one group out its always better if its lower rather than the higher one required as it has less of an effect in that direction than if the other way, although you might not have a dedicated group anyway.

Just in case you cannot manage to view it, the predictor on this page only indicates a clear path between Darwen and your location, although the reception predictor does indicate that Winter Hill is possible but not quite at the level of Darwen.

Click on "Digital UK tradeview" on the same list as terrain and you can see what DUK predicts as being possible, of course taking the indications with the usual pinch of salt!


Terrain - shows radio profile between two UK sites to optimise you DTT, Freeview, DAB or analogue TV reception

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jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
Tuesday, 31 July 2012
K
Ken Clay
9:44 AM
Warrington

I've just installed a Humax Fox t2 box for HD Freeview reception. The signal is usually at 70% strength and 100% quality but frequently drops (about every 10 mins) giving pixelated picture and sound muting. My arial is a high gain in the loft (under a slate roof). I can see Winter Hill from the roof. My postcode is wa42pg. What is the reason for these fluctuations? Also my box can show strengths for channels 54-60 but doesn't tune in channels 55-60. Should I attempt to tune in 55-60 manually and would that fix the problem?
I had no trouble on non-HD digital on my system

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Ken Clay's 1 post GB flag
Ken's: mapK's Freeview map terrainK's terrain plot wavesK's frequency data K's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Tuesday, 14 August 2012
M
Mark Fletcher
sentiment_satisfiedGold

6:48 PM
Halifax

Ken Clay,Warrington.One possible reason for your fluctuating signals on the BBCB (HD) multiplex from Winter Hill on frequency 54 is the siting of your aerial,in the loft under a slate roof.And it is common for BBCB (HD) multiplexes anywhere in the UK to suffer picture pixellations more so than the normal SD multiplexes which are often unaffected as such in normal conditions.
You may have to consider either moving your aerial within the loft to alleviate the difficulties you stated or to relocate the aerial externally onto the roof.
As for manual tuning or scanning this is highly recommended as auto tuning or scanning often picks up weaker transmissions on the lower frequencies while more often occasionally failing to pick up stronger transmissions on the higher frequencies,and believe me Winter Hill currently uses the higher frequencies and these transmissions can be omitted when the weaker Moel-Y-Parc transmisions lower down the frequency bands (middle bands) are often picked up first during automatic tuning/scanning around Warrington,Liverpool and South Manchester conurbations,etc.

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Mark Fletcher's 673 posts GB flag
Mark's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Saturday, 18 August 2012
Joe
sentiment_satisfiedBronze

9:33 PM

JB38 I've not got round to doing anything with my aerial yet. I'm tempted to swing it round and point it to Pendle Forest rather than try for Winter Hill.

Thanks for your suggestions.

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Joe's 25 posts GB flag
Sunday, 19 August 2012
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

12:20 AM

Joe: Well if you can carry out this task yourself then you have nothing to lose by trying a few experiments, although unfortunately Digital UK's reception predictor is down and so its impossible at this present time to be able to assess the results you are liable to get by swinging your aerial around to Pendle Forrest, albeit that its not shown as being possible to receive on this sites terrain indicator, of course neither is Winter Hill!

However the differences between each of the stations are /

Pendle Forrest (100W full Freeview) located @ 12 miles 53 degrees (V) polarisation, (A) group aerial. BBC1 Ch28 / ITV1 Ch25.

Winter Hill (100Kw full Freeview) located at 7 miles 183 degrees (H) polarisation, (C/D) group aerial. BBC1 Ch62 / ITV1 Ch59.

Darwin (100W Freeview Light PSB only) located @ 4 miles 133 degrees (V) polarisation, (B) group aerial. BBC1 Ch45 / ITV1 Ch49.

BBC & ITV only mentioned to enable you to carry out a manual tuning test on each station, also if you have a wide band aerial (black blanking plug on end of elements support) then disregard the aerial groups given.

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jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
Friday, 24 August 2012
Joe
sentiment_satisfiedBronze

9:14 PM
Blackburn

JB38: One site I looked at suggests that Pendle Forest is a possibility but this site shows insufficient coverage. I personally doubt that I will be able to 'see' Winter Hill from my location. Darwen Light is not sufficient for my needs.

Unable as yet to check the plug colour, but I suspect it's black. I've never seen any other colour bar black. :-)

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Joe's 25 posts GB flag
Joe's: mapJ's Freeview map terrainJ's terrain plot wavesJ's frequency data J's Freeview Detailed Coverage
M
Mark Fletcher
sentiment_satisfiedGold

11:29 PM
Barnsley

Joe.Blackburn,BB2 4TS.If as you state your aerial has a black bung,it denotes a group W wideband aerial and although perfectly okay for Winter Hill main transmitter itself which uses high frequencies,and group W wideband aerials perform well on the higher frequencies,it is however not a type of aerial to be used on an all group A mast,main transmitter or relay mast in a poor/marginal area due to their poor perfromance as such.My best advice either retain your group W wideband aerial and use this polarised horizontally for Winter Hill main transmitter,or change your group W wideband for preferably a group A aerial (red coloured tip/bung),or a semi-wideband group K aerial (grey coloured tip/bung) polarised vertically for all group A Pendle Forest major relay which carries all six multiplexes between frequencies 21-28.Bear in mind Pendle Forset major relay is only 100w and at your location from abode to that mast is effectively a poor/marginal signal area,and your current group W wideband aerial switched vertically to all group A Pendle Forest will most likely give a poor result possibly only picking up two or three multiplexes and with considerable pixellating pictures in the process.The decision is entirely up to you Joe.

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Mark Fletcher's 673 posts GB flag
Mark's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Saturday, 25 August 2012
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

12:28 AM

Joe: Yes, Pendle Forest (@ 12miles / 52 degrees / V Polarisation) would "appear" as your best bet for "full service" reception when viewed by clicking "Digital UK tradeview" at the R/H/S of your posting.

Just out of interest, on a quick look at the rooftops in your Lane I see aerials facing a variety of directions, this always a indication of an area being a touch iffy for reception.

As far as your aerials cross beam end blanking plug colour is concerned, black (wideband) is perfectly OK albeit that "red" (group A) favours Pendle Forests channel group, but I wouldn't let that worry you as in practical terms the difference in strength isn't that great.

Just out of interest you should try a test manually tuning in Ch28 then Ch25 (BBC & ITV1 from Pendle Forest) although the impediment to good reception from Pendle that I see is that signal path between there and you passes over quite a number of trees and industrial units at various points along the way, this not exactly being an ideal situation when the transmission source is only 100 watts.

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jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
Saturday, 8 September 2012
Joe
sentiment_satisfiedBronze

3:20 PM
Blackburn

Thanks guys. I've done some preliminary via a loft aerial. I received nothing at all from Winter Hill and can receive almost a full compliment of channels from Pendle Forest.

Rotating the existing external aerial to Pendle Forest is looking like my best option.

I'll give Winter Hill another go from the loft before I commit myself though.

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Joe's 25 posts GB flag
Joe's: mapJ's Freeview map terrainJ's terrain plot wavesJ's frequency data J's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Joe
sentiment_satisfiedBronze

4:05 PM
Blackburn

Just had another at getting a signal from Winter Hill. To my surprise it worked. Now I know that I can either get my existing aerial re-aligned or a new one installed.

link to this comment
Joe's 25 posts GB flag
Joe's: mapJ's Freeview map terrainJ's terrain plot wavesJ's frequency data J's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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