Full Freeview on the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmitter
 | Google Streetview |  | Google map |  | Bing map |  | Google Earth |  | 53.625,-2.516 or 53°37'30"N 2°30'56"W |  | BL6 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 18/11/2024 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.
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 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.
| Mux | H/V | Frequency | Height | Mode | Watts |
| PSB1 BBCA | H max | C32 (562.0MHz) | 726m | DTG- | 100,000W |
 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) | 726m | DTG- | 100,000W |
 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), 71 That’s 60s, | |||||
| PSB3 BBCB | H max | C35- (585.8MHz) | 726m | DTG- | 100,000W |
 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) | 726m | DTG-8 | 100,000W |
 20 U&Drama, 21 5USA, 29 ITV2 +1, 32 5STAR, 33 5Action, 38 Channel 5 +1, 41 Legend, 42 GREAT! action, 57 U&Dave ja vu, 58 ITV3 +1, 59 ITV4 +1, 64 Blaze, 67 TRUE CRIME, 68 TRUE CRIME XTRA, 81 Blaze +1, 83 Together TV, 91 WildEarth, 93 ITVBe +1, 209 Ketchup TV, 210 Ketchup Too, 211 YAAAS!, 251 Al Jazeera English, 255 FRANCE 24 (in English), 265 Rok Sky +1, plus 29 others | |||||
| COM5 ArqA | H max | C31 (554.0MHz) | 726m | DTG-8 | 100,000W |
 11 Sky Mix, 17 Really, 19 U&Dave, 31 E4 Extra, 36 Sky Arts, 40 Quest Red, 43 Food Network, 47 Film4 +1, 48 Challenge, 49 4seven, 60 U&Drama +1, 65 That's TV 2, 70 Quest +1, 74 &UYesterday +1, 76 That's TV 2 MCR, 233 Sky News, plus 13 others | |||||
| COM6 ArqB | H max | C37 (602.0MHz) | 726m | DTG-8 | 100,000W |
 12 Quest, 25 U&W, 27 U&Yesterday, 34 GREAT! movies, 39 DMAX, 44 HGTV, 52 GREAT! christmas, 56 That's TV (UK), 63 GREAT! romance mix, 73 HobbyMaker, 75 That's 90s, 82 Talking Pictures TV, 84 PBS America, 235 Al Jazeera Eng, plus 18 others | |||||
| LM | H -20dB | C40 (626.0MHz) | 572m | DTG-12 | 1,000W |
 from 1st October 2014: 7 That's Manchester, | |||||
| LL | H -17dB | C24 (498.0MHz) | 572m | DTG-12 | 2,000W |
 from 30th June 2014: 7 Bay TV Liverpool, | |||||
| LPR | H -20dB | C56 (754.0MHz) | 572m | DTG-12 | 1,000W |
 from 1st October 2014: 7 That's Lancashire, | |||||
| GIM | H -20dB | C57 (762.0MHz) | 572m | DTG-2 | 1,000W |
 Now 90s, Spotlight TV, Clubland TV, Country Music Entertainment , Classic Hits MCR, 77 That's 60s MCR, 78 TCC, 80 That's 80s, 86 That's 90s MCR, 88 TV Warehouse+1, | |||||
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?
BBC North West Tonight 3.1m homes 11.8%
from Salford M50 2QH, 22km southeast (140°)
to BBC North West region - 92 masts.
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?
| 1956-80s | 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2009 | 2009-13 | 2013-18 | 2013-17 | 20 Feb 2020 | ||
| VHF | C/D E | C/D E | C/D E | C/D E | C/D E T | W T | W T | ||
| C9 | ITVwaves | ||||||||
| C12 | BBCtvwaves | ||||||||
| C24 | _local | ||||||||
| C29 | SDN | ||||||||
| C31 | com7 | com7 | |||||||
| C32 | BBCA | ||||||||
| C34 | D3+4 | ||||||||
| C35 | BBCB | ||||||||
| C37 | com8 | com8 | |||||||
| C40 | LOCAL2 | ||||||||
| C48 | C5waves | C5waves | |||||||
| C49tv_off | ArqA | ArqA | |||||||
| C50tv_off | BBCA | BBCA | |||||||
| C54tv_off | -BBCB | -BBCB | -BBCB | ||||||
| C55tv_off | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | ArqB | ArqB | ArqB | com7tv_off | ||
| C56tv_off | _local | _local | _local | LPR | |||||
| C57tv_off | GIM | GIM | GIM | GIM | |||||
| C58tv_off | SDN | SDN | SDN | ||||||
| C59tv_off | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | D3+4 | D3+4 | D3+4 | |||
| C61 | ArqA | ||||||||
| C62 | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBCA | |||||
| C65 | C4waves | C4waves | C4waves |
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 |
Local transmitter maps
Winter Hill Freeview Winter Hill DAB Winter Hill AM/FM Winter Hill TV region BBC North West GranadaWhich companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Winter Hill transmitter area
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Tuesday, 30 October 2012
J
jb3811:29 PM
John Ovenden: Just a small addition / correction to that already said, insomuch that after you press "menu" select "record" from the choice that comes on and then scroll down to "recording end time".
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Thursday, 1 November 2012
J
js10:22 PM
What's this about then?
From the Winter Hill NIT:
Network Change Notifications
cell_id = 0946
network_change_id = 02
NetworkChangeType = Major - multiplex frequency changed
network_change_version = 01
ReceiverCategory = all receivers
start_time_of_change = 14/11/2012 00:00:00
change_duration = 06:00:00
invariant_ts_onid = 233A
invariant_ts_tsid = 1048
ISO_639_language_code = eng
message text = "On 14 November TV services may be subject to disruption until late afternoon. You may need to re-tune to get your channels back."
network_change_id = 03
NetworkChangeType = Major - multiplex frequency changed
network_change_version = 01
ReceiverCategory = all receivers
start_time_of_change = 14/11/2012 09:30:00
change_duration = 05:30:00
invariant_ts_onid = 233A
invariant_ts_tsid = 1048
ISO_639_language_code = eng
message text = "On 14 November TV services may be subject to disruption until late afternoon. You may need to re-tune to get your channels back."
end Network Change Notifications
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Friday, 9 November 2012
C
Charlie5:00 PM
Wigan
Basically I have absolutely no reason to give adverse comment or to complain since I enjoy Freeview transmission on my pc with the aid of a very simple indoor aerial. After Yesterday channel and a few others were increased in power about two years ago everything became just perfect . . . until the recent changes in channel numbers came about. Now I find that with the same humble equipment that all of those channels associated with ARQB have become unwatchable. Sorry if I seem ungrateful but this is how it appears to be. Is there a fundamental reason for those under ARQB have becoming icky? Yours faithfully WN4 8LG
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Charlie's: mapC's Freeview map terrainC's terrain plot wavesC's frequency data C's Freeview Detailed Coverage
J
jb385:40 PM
Charlie: As Winter Hill is indicated as being your main station you should carry out a signal check on ArqB (e.g: Yesterday-19) to make sure that the mux channel associated with the signal strength reading is Ch55 and not Ch48, the latter being ArqB from Emley Moor.
My reason for suggesting that this check be carried out is because Emley Moor is also indicated as being receivable at your location, albeit with the commercial channels with the status of poor, but "if" any automatic retunes have been carried out by your equipment Emleys ArqB which operates on a lower channel number could have been picked during a scan, as scanning starts from Ch21 running upwards towards Ch69 locking onto any channel with a high enough signal level.
This of course might not be the cause, but its a possibility that has to be eliminated.
(Ch48 th)
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Sunday, 11 November 2012
C
Charlie10:01 PM
jb38: Thanks for your information. On my little receiver, a WinTV Nova stick (am I being too ambitious?) there does not appear to be a facility for a signal check. The peculiar thing about this is that all of the channels which have now become unwatchable show a frequency 746,000 MHz. Is there any significance in this? It seems quite a coincidence in my lay thinking. Any further suggestions? Would be much appreciated. Kind regards
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Monday, 12 November 2012
J
jb3812:06 AM
Charlie: I think that your reference to "ambitious" is most certainly the case, although not so much concerning the Nova stick but more your use of a simple indoor aerial, as judging by a serious impediment to reception that I can see (even to a roof mounted aerial) namely the dense range of trees smack in line with Winter Hills signal path, it being 30 degrees from you @ 11 miles its a wonder that you can get anything with what you are using, therefore in the interests of reliability of reception I would really advise you to use a standard loft mounted aerial, a DM log periodic type being ideal for this purpose. (link provided)
Online TV FM DAB Aerial sales
By the way 746.000MHz is Ch55 (ArqB) from Winter Hill.
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Wednesday, 14 November 2012
M
mike6:00 PM
I note that posts which are ryde or disrespectful will be removed and you could be basnned, yet I notice BRIANTIST'S comment, Tues 19/4/11 being both rude and disrespectful is still there. The person asked a perfectly reasonable question. The BBC make millions and lately the head has left after a matter of months with around £1,000,000 pay off in total due to possible crimes and certainly unethical behaviour. I appreciate this doesn't necessarily relate to whether people should or shouldn't pay but it does make you think. There can be many reasons for a bad signal and it is often difficult for the novice to get help without being ripped off. As for the statement "If you have a TV you must have a licence" that is not strictly true. I probably have around half a dozen TV's in my property but no licence. The 'laws' are you need a licence to 'install and operate a TV'...not 'to have a TV in the house'.
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mike: To put Briantist's statement into context, he was replying to Paul Weaire who said that he was using the TV, which is requires a licence. Most people who have one or more TVs use them and Mr Weaire said that he does. He also said that he was "reluctant to punish the BBC" by withholding his licence fee, but had "no other course of action". Use of TV equipment without a valid licence is against the law. Thus, only the illegally-acting viewer will be likely to be punished accordingly.
Mr Weaire has not made any subsequent posting to this site and was not asking for help; just reporting the issues he was having.
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Tuesday, 20 November 2012
A
Anthony5:01 PM
One of my tvs is on a low level feed and I have noticed occasional power reductions on Arq A&B from winter hill recently, no other multiplexes are affected. I assume it is due to maintenance even though no notification of work has been posted.
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G
g allonby5:04 PM
Accrington
please reply to this e mail bad interference on hd channels on freeview tried hd box at mye workshop in manchester ok. location bb53tf granada boxclever technician.is it new windfarm? geoffrey allonby.
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g's: mapG's Freeview map terrainG's terrain plot wavesG's frequency data G's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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