Full Freeview on the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmitter
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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 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.
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, 23 April 2013
M
Mazbar3:19 PM
vincent: you could be picking up either storton, welsh,or sklmersdale as well as winter hill I know you are not on a communal aerial as I know the estate are you in the flats or the houses. Either way if you have any problems you are more than welcome to call us to tune in for you our number is 558169
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P
Phil C Chester9:55 PM
jb38
Sorry about delay only don't quite understand what goes where in this system. Only found your post today.
Result of test is below.
50 quality 10% strength 40/60%
59 100% 100%
58 100% 100%
49 60% 60%
55 100% 90%
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Wednesday, 24 April 2013
J
jb3810:42 AM
Phil C Chester: Sorry about the confusion caused, the fault being entirely mine as I had mistakenly replied to you under Winter Hills heading whereas your queries were made under Feedback, this basically having been caused by me having two headings open at the same time.
However, as far as your signal level checks are concerned, although factors such as level changes connected with signal
propagation at different frequencies can always come into the equation, but though judging by what you have now reported makes me suspect that your aerial is indeed a C/D type, and with its lower end tapering off effect (always worse at the lower end) being responsible for the reduced strength being seen on Ch49 albeit that its radiated from a lower section of the mast.
But though, although changing the aerial to either a group E or even a Log 40 (wideband) type would no doubt improve the situation as far as Ch49 is concerned, or alternatively even just using a simple booster such as an Argos 534/6130 (Philex brand) in line with the aerial lead, unfortunately though as far as Ch50 is concerned that action alone is not likely to result in any significant improvement to the reliability of reception in cases where quality is seen lagging so far behind the strength, as about the only action that is likely to have an effect is with the aerial being tried in a "slightly" different mounting position, this meaning either higher or lower, or to the right or left of its present position so as to "catch" a better signal, e.g: this being for exactly the same reason as some have to do when using a mobile phone in a dead spot, taking a step to the right or left! as that type of situation can also apply with TV reception in certain areas.
A point to note though! although the action referred to regarding the aerial positioning can in many instances help resolve the issue, there are other situations where an "area" can be affected by signal path changes from the TX mast and why its always most advisable to make a local enquiry (neighbour, if on friendly terms!) as to whether or not anyone else is experiencing the same type of problem as yourself, because if they are then obviously moving the aerial will not help the situation, and to be quite honest about it nothing is likely to unless by the naturally occurring seasonal changes having an affect on the propagation of the signal.
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G
Gary Smyth1:11 PM
Liverpool
A query on behalf of my father-in-law - since the retune on 11/4 the order of his channels has gone awry and the EPG only offers information for some channels. I retuned his box yesterday to no avail and then rang a helpline number as detailed in his freesat+ user manaul (argos helpdesk). They advised me to retune it without the aerial connected but to reconnect it at 56% and then remove it at 76%. This worked in part (channels in correct order and EPG info for all available channels) except there were some channels missing, ITV in particular. His post code is L12 4XL, thank you.
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Gary's: mapG's Freeview map terrainG's terrain plot wavesG's frequency data G's Freeview Detailed Coverage
G
Gary Smyth1:17 PM
Should also add his box doesn't have a manual tune option. Will it just be a case of retuning with the aerial removed as previously mentioned but reconnect the aerial at say 50% instead??
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Gary Smyth: I would suggest that the likely answer here is that the receiver is picking up and 'deciding' to use the signals broadcast from the Moel-y-Parc transmitter which is in the opposite direction to that of Winter Hill.
Unplugging the aerial can be used to avoid unwanted signals where those signals are in a different part of the band as the wanted ones. Due to the speed of the scan it is rough and ready, so it can be trial and error getting it plugged in or unplugged at the right point.
In answer to the question of missing ITV/C4/C5 etc then it is worth noting that it uses the highest channel (frequency) from Winter Hill and that there aren't any further channels above that. For that reason, do it again but don't unplug the aerial at 76%, leaving it in until the end.
Or, if there is manual tuning then you can add any missing channels. In this case manually tune UHF channel 59.
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Gary Smyth: Following your follow-up posting, that there is no manual tuning, then in answer to your question: it depends on which channels are missing. Knowledge of which channels are missing will allow an assessment to be made of whether they may be missing because the aerial wasn't plugged in soon enough.
As I say, ITV/C4/C5 etc is on the highest frequency from Winter Hill, so just leave the aerial in until the end of the scan.
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P
Phil C Chester3:27 PM
jb38
Thank you for your continuing interest. There is already a 4 way booster fitted in the arial lead.Talking to my radio ham neighbour he suggests as do you that my arial may need to be higher as it is about 3ft or so lower than most others round here. Could the change in channel cause such a dramatic loss of signal?
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MikeP
5:44 PM
5:44 PM
Aerial height discussion.
The actual height an aerial needs to be depends entirely on local signal reception conditions. Higher is not always better and lower is not always worse. Example, in 1969 a road in South Croydon was found to have very poor reception of UHF ITV and several houses had aerials fitted on very long, guyed, poles but still had problems. Investigations showed that in many cases a lower aerial height cured the problem. It was caused by the curved copper roof of the Fairfield Halls about half a mile away, the curve acting as a director for some UHF signals and 'bending' the ITV signal to leave a blank spot. So higher is not always the cure and such instances should always be carefully investigated and analysed.
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Thursday, 25 April 2013
J
jb389:28 AM
Phil C Chester: As far as aerial heights are concerned, I feel that the situation has been admirably explained by MikeP, and so its really a case of experimenting with the aerial in various positions, whether it be higher or lower / left or right of its present position, and with anyone who might be called in to have a look at the situation not automatically "going with the flow" of what might be seen around, likewise casting aside any preconceived idea of "the higher the better", as this rule exclusively applies only to aerials mounted on masts for transmission purposes.
On the subject of the channel change, and in particular about whether this could cause such a dramatic signal loss, its not just so much the channel change as such that can cause problems (excluding your aerials contribution) but the other factors that come into play at the transmitter, e.g: aerial matching changes etc to keep the loading on the transmitter within limits, but though with this resulting in slight changes to the actual output which can have a knock on effect on the way that the signal being radiated from the mast by the series of phased panels that makes up the 360 degree coverage, and with any effects that might cause only ever being found out by field checks being made around the mast at evenly spaced compass points, not of course that this is ever done nowadays as its something which is only carried out via a helicopter sweep after completion of a major mast refit.
If your neighbour is a radio ham of the more "in-depth" technical variety (as many are not!) then you could maybe mention what I have said to him and he might be able to somewhat elaborate, as its one of those fields that can only be abbreviated to a certain extent without the plot being lost, because if explained in more detail could fill a complete page.
But though my comment (or suspicion) about your aerial making the situation worse is based purely on the signal strength findings on mux Ch49 when compared to Ch55 and upwards, but though I feel that a change of aerial on its own would not really improve Ch50 as far as its lagging quality is concerned, albeit that both strength and quality would most likely be higher but with the likelihood of the ratio between them remaining the same unless the aerial is moved.
By the way, now its known that you have a booster in line I would be interested to know what indications you would get on Ch50 if you tried a quick check by temporarily connecting the aerial directly onto the feed used by your main TV, i.e: bypassing the booster.
Finally! if you can get hold of a pair of binoculars have a look up at the front of the horizontal beam that holds all of the elements to see if its fitted with a green end blanking plug, if it is then its a C/D aerial.
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