menuMENU    UK Free TV logo Freeview

 

 

Click to see updates

Full Freeview on the Divis (Northern Ireland) transmitter

first published this on - UK Free TV
sa_streetviewGoogle Streetviewsa_gmapsGoogle mapsa_bingBing mapsa_gearthGoogle Earthsa_gps54.607,-6.009 or 54°36'24"N 6°0'34"Wsa_postcodeBT17 0NG

 

The symbol shows the location of the Divis (Northern Ireland) transmitter which serves 440,000 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 Divis (Northern Ireland) mast?

Divis transmitter - Divis 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 Divis 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)551mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
1 BBC One (SD) Northern Ireland, 2 BBC Two Northern Ireland, 9 BBC Four, 23 BBC Three, 201 CBBC, 202 CBeebies, 231 BBC News, 232 BBC Parliament, plus 14 others

PSB2
D3+4
 H max
C21+ (474.2MHz)551mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
3 UTV (SD) (UTV), 4 Channel 4 (SD) NI ads, 5 Channel 5, 6 ITV 2, 10 ITV3, 13 E4, 14 Film4, 15 Channel 4 +1 NI ads, 18 More4, 26 ITV4, 28 ITVBe, 30 E4 +1, 35 UTV +1 (UTV),

PSB3
BBCB
 H max
C24 (498.0MHz)551mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
46 5SELECT, 101 BBC One HD Northern Ireland, 102 BBC Two HD Northern Ireland, 103 UTV HD (UTV), 104 Channel 4 HD NI 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 -3dB
C23 (490.0MHz)551mDTG-850,000W
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 -3dB
C26 (514.0MHz)528mDTG-850,000W
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 -3dB
C30 (546.0MHz)528mDTG-850,000W
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

LBT
 H -13dB
C36 (594.0MHz)528mDTG-125,000W
Channel icons
from 29th September 2014: 7 NvTv,

NIMM
 H -40dB
C48 (690.0MHz)551mDTG-10W
Channel icons
from 4th September 2019: 53 TG4, 54 RTÉ One, 55 RTÉ Two,

DTG-8 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 Divis transmitter?

regional news image
BBC Newsline 0.6m homes 2.5%
from Belfast BT2 8HQ, 1,044km northeast (51°)
to BBC Northern Ireland region - 46 masts.
regional news image
UTV Live 0.6m homes 2.5%
from Belfast BT7 1EB, 1,044km northeast (51°)
to UTV region - 46 masts.

Are there any self-help relays?

Chapel FieldsTransposerCentral Belfast61 homes

How will the Divis (Northern Ireland) transmission frequencies change over time?

1950s-80s1984-971997-981998-20122012-134 Mar 2020
VHFA K TA K TA K TK TW T
C1BBCtvwaves
C21C4wavesC4wavesC4waves+D3+4D3+4
C23SDNSDN
C24ITVwavesITVwavesITVwavesBBCBBBCB
C26ArqAArqA
C27BBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBCABBCA
C29ArqB
C30LBT
C31BBC1wavesBBC1wavesBBC1waves
C33com7
C34com8
C36_local
C48NIMMNIMM
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 10 Oct 12 and 24 Oct 12.

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
com8(-16dB) 12.7kW
com7(-16.1dB) 12.4kW
LBT(-20dB) 5kW
Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*(-23.4dB) 2.3kW
Mux C*(-24dB) 2kW
Mux D*(-24.9dB) 1.6kW
NIMM(-47dB) 10W

Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Divis transmitter area

Oct 1959-May 2006Ulster Television
May 2006-Dec 2014UTV plc
Feb 1983-Dec 1992TV-am•
Jan 1993-Sep 2010GMTV•
Sep 2010-Dec 2014ITV Daybreak•
• Breakfast ◊ Weekends ♦ Friday night and weekends † Weekdays only. Divis was not an original Channel 3 VHF 405-line mast: the historical information shown is the details of the company responsible for the transmitter when it began transmitting Channel 3.

Comments
Monday, 19 November 2012
F
Frank
5:38 PM
Bangor

Hi, just bought i-can easy Freeview HD set top box and receiving 80 channels includng HD channels here in Bangor. However unable to receive RTE channels. Freeview UK website states that reception is varaiable for my postcode and house number. My neigbours across the cul-de sac tho are given a green for reception. Do I need to upgrade my aerial?

Regards

Frank

link to this comment
Frank's 3 posts GB flag
Frank's: mapF's Freeview map terrainF's terrain plot wavesF's frequency data F's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

7:52 PM

Frank: I'm not familiar with the i-Can, but if it allows manual tuning, then tune to UHF channel 39. If there is a setting on the manual tune screen for DVB-T or DVB-T2, then ensure that the latter is selected.

It is a good idea to confirm that the receiver you have will receive RT channels so as not to have work done on your aerial if it isn't that that's at fault.


On the subject of aerials and the NI Mux (RT/TG4), there are two things to be aware of:

1. Like the former Channel 5 analogue signal, the NI Mux is broadcast from Black Mountain rather than Divis. For many people the two are on close enough bearings such that a single aerial will work for both. At your location Black Mountain is 5 degrees anti-clockwise of Divis.

2. The NI Mux is on C39 which is officially just outside of Group A. It is close enough that some aerial will work.

See this page which illustrates the point:

Gain (curves), Again

Along the bottom are UHF channel numbers (frequencies) and the Divis ones are from 21 to 29. The traces are just examples and may not be the same as that of your aerial.

However, the gain outside-of-group (C39 is outside of Group A) for contract aerials can be very inconsistent.

Group K goes further up than Group A, so if you have your aerial replaced, that might be the thing to go for. A wideband yagi aerial isn't really suited to Group A transmitters because the gain is lower on Group A channels.


If possible, I suggest that you see if you can get your receiver tuned to the NI Mux, perhaps by connecting it to your neighbour's aerial.

If it doesn't receive RT when you connect it to your aerial, then try turning it slightly anti-clockwise, observing the signal strength screen whilst on the tuned RT channel or whilst on manual tuning screen with C39 selected (and DVB-T2 mode selected if applicable). When you do this, if you don't press the button to scan/search the channel it will hopefully (as many do) give an indication of signal strength, which means that you can use it as a signal meter.

For information on aerials, see ATV's site:

ATV`s Choice Of Aerials for digital TV

link to this comment
Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
P
Peter Henderson
sentiment_satisfiedSilver

12:27 AM

Frank:Some reports of excellent reception of Saorview from Clermont Cairn in the Bangor area on the Boards.ie forum, so I would maybe investigate this especially if you're interested in the full Saorview service without the blocking due to rights restrictions.

Another possibilty is Carnmoney Hill (just across the lough) if you have no joy with Black Mountain.

Strangely, the NI mux from Black Mountain isn't that strong at this location (Jordanstown) despite predictions of good reception on Digital UK's postcode checker, although there's no break up on the signal. Much weaker than the old low power multiplexes from Divis for example, so those couple of miles and a slighly different direction does seem to make quite a difference. My aerial for Divis is a wideband one.

Like Dave, I'm unfamiliar with the box you're using, but if it gets the HD mux then it shouldn't have any problems with either the NI mux or Saorview.

link to this comment
Peter Henderson's 240 posts GB flag
P
Peter Henderson
sentiment_satisfiedSilver

12:31 AM

P.S. I wouldn't pay too much attention to those Digital UK postcode predictions Frank as they do seem to be somewhat arbitrary.

link to this comment
Peter Henderson's 240 posts GB flag
Thursday, 22 November 2012
F
Frank
12:40 PM
Bangor

My thanks to Dave Lindsay and Peter Henderson for replying in such great detail. This has provdied me with some more understanding of the possible issues at play. In the meantime I have tested my Freeview HD i-can easy box ata freind's house a half a mile away as I have discovered that my neighbour doesn't receive the BM channel 39 from his FULL HD TV although post checker says he can. On testing at home my box produces no signal on CH39 or any other channel over 29. My aerai is a yagi (looked at your links) which would seem to limit me to these channels unless I try and realign aerial before buying new one. To try Clermont what direction should I aim at? Would this lose me the UK channels or could I still get those? Regards Frank

link to this comment
Frank's 3 posts GB flag
Frank's: mapF's Freeview map terrainF's terrain plot wavesF's frequency data F's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Friday, 23 November 2012
P
Peter Henderson
sentiment_satisfiedSilver

2:02 AM

Frank: Have a look on this thread on boards.ie.:

http://www.boards.ie/vbul…e=13

There's a mini discussion about Saorview reception from Clermont Cairn in and around Bangor, and a number of locations are mentioned.

Try the Digital UK postcode checker at your location and tick the box marked "detailed view". This should give an indication if reception from the NI mux is possible at your location.

link to this comment
Peter Henderson's 240 posts GB flag
Wednesday, 28 November 2012
N
Niall Burns
6:36 PM

Is it possible to pick up the signal from Divis in Castlewellan? If so how?

link to this comment
Niall Burns's 4 posts GB flag
P
Peter Henderson
sentiment_satisfiedSilver

8:19 PM
Newtownabbey

Niall:According to Digital UK's postcode checker, the answer is no.

However, I wouldn't treat that as gospel. Have a look and see if there are any Divis aerials in the village. These will probably be quite large and horizontally polarised. I assume you're currently receiving signals from the Newcastle transmitter Niall?



link to this comment
Peter Henderson's 240 posts GB flag
Peter's: mapP's Freeview map terrainP's terrain plot wavesP's frequency data P's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

8:24 PM

Niall Burns: Divis uses only Group A channels, so use a Group A aerial rather than a wideband one which isn't as efficient for Group A channels:

Digital TV Transmitters

link to this comment
Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
Thursday, 29 November 2012
P
Peter Henderson
sentiment_satisfiedSilver

12:23 AM
Newtownabbey

Judging by what I can view on streetview Dave, there aren't any Divis aerials at all in the village. I notice Quite a few aerials for Clermont Cairn though, so Saorview shouldn't be a problem.

Niall might be better off going down the Freesat route.

link to this comment
Peter Henderson's 240 posts GB flag
Peter's: mapP's Freeview map terrainP's terrain plot wavesP's frequency data P's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Select more comments

Your comment please
Please post a question, answer or commentIf you have Freeview reception problems before posting a question your must first do this Freeview reset procedure then see: Freeview reception has changed, Single frequency interference, and Freeview intermittent interference.

If you have no satellite signal, see Sky Digibox says 'No Signal' or 'Technical fault'

If you have other problems, please provide a full (not partial) postcode (or preferably enter it in box at the top right) and indicate where if aerial is on the roof, in the loft or elsewhere.

UK Free TV is here to help people. If you are rude or disrespectful all of your posts will be deleted and you will be banned.








Privacy policy: UK Free Privacy policy.