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Full Freeview on the Wenvoe (Cardiff, Wales) transmitter

first published this on - UK Free TV
sa_streetviewGoogle Streetviewsa_gmapsGoogle mapsa_bingBing mapsa_gearthGoogle Earthsa_gps51.460,-3.282 or 51°27'35"N 3°16'57"Wsa_postcodeCF5 6SA

 

The symbol shows the location of the Wenvoe (Cardiff, Wales) transmitter which serves 360,000 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 Wenvoe (Cardiff, Wales) mast?

Wenvoe transmitter - Wenvoe 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
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Which Freeview channels does the Wenvoe 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
C41+ (634.2MHz)384mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
1 BBC One (SD) Wales, 2 BBC Two Wales, 9 BBC Four, 23 BBC Three, 201 CBBC, 202 CBeebies, 231 BBC News, 232 BBC Parliament, plus 14 others

PSB2
D3+4
 H max
C44 (658.0MHz)384mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
5 Channel 5, 6 ITV 2, 10 ITV3, 13 E4, 14 Film4, 15 Channel 4 +1 South ads, 18 More4, 26 ITV4, 28 ITVBe, 30 E4 +1, 35 ITV1 +1 (Wales),

PSB3
BBCB
 H max
C47 (682.0MHz)384mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
46 5SELECT, 101 BBC One HD Wales, 102 BBC Two HD Wales, 104 Channel 4 HD South ads, 105 Channel 5 HD, 106 BBC Four HD, 110 Channel 4 HD (Wales), 204 CBBC HD, 205 CBeebies HD, plus 1 others

COM4
SDN
 H -3dB
C42+ (642.2MHz)384mDTG-850,000W
Channel icons
 E4 (Wales), 20 Drama, 21 5USA, 29 ITV2 +1, 32 5STAR, 33 5Action, 38 Channel 5 +1, 41 Legend, 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
C45+ (666.2MHz)384mDTG-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
C39+ (618.2MHz)384mDTG-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

LCF
 H -10dB
C37 (602.0MHz)384mDTG-1210,000W
Channel icons
from 22nd September 2014: 8 Made in Cardiff,

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 Wenvoe transmitter?

regional news image
BBC Wales Today 1.2m homes 4.7%
from Cardiff CF5 2YQ, 6km northeast (42°)
to BBC Wales region - 206 masts.
regional news image
ITV Cymru Wales 1.2m homes 4.7%
from Cardiff CF5 6XJ, 1km east-northeast (74°)
to ITV Wales region - 206 masts.

Are there any self-help relays?

AbergwesynActive deflector7 km N Llanwrtyd Wells20 homes
BarryTransposer10 km SW city centre300 homes
Celtic ManorTransposer5 km E Newport80 homes
PentrebachTransposer3 km S Merthyr Tydfil100 homes
YstradfellteActive deflector30 km NE Port Talbot20 homes

How will the Wenvoe (Cardiff, Wales) transmission frequencies change over time?

1950s-80s1984-971997-981998-20102010-132013-182013-1715 May 2019
VHFB E TB E TB E TB E TB E K TW TW T
C5BBCtvwaves
C30LOCAL2
C31com7com7
C37com8com8
C39 +ArqB+ArqBArqB
C41ITVwavesITVwavesITVwaves+BBCA+BBCA+BBCABBCA
C42+SDN+SDN+SDNSDN
C44BBC1wavesBBC1wavesBBC1wavesD3+4D3+4D3+4D3+4
C45+ArqA+ArqA+ArqAArqA
C47C4wavesC4wavesC4wavesBBCBBBCBBBCBBBCB
C49tv_off+ArqB
C51tv_offBBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBC2wavesLCFLCF
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 3 Mar 10 and 31 Mar 10.

How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?

Analogue 1-4 500kW
BBCA, D3+4, BBCB(-7dB) 100kW
com8(-9.7dB) 53.2kW
SDN, ARQA, ARQB(-10dB) 50kW
com7(-10.3dB) 47kW
Mux 1*, LCF(-17dB) 10kW
Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D*(-20dB) 5kW

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

Jan 1958-Jul 1968Television Wales and the West
Jul 1968-Feb 2004Harlech 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. Wenvoe 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
Tuesday, 30 April 2013
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

9:30 PM

CCob: Although aerials being seen facing different directions can simply be down to the fact that some have been installed prior to a station having switched over to high powered operation and are likewise facing another transmitter, whereas the others have been installed since this event and are taking advantage of a better signal, but though it can also be an indication of residing in an area where signal strength levels can vary over relatively short distances, because as you will no doubt have seen on your link to the terrain indicator the signal from Wenvoe is being obstructed from within 1 mile from your location, something with can sometimes cause the type of problem referred to.

I did try a check to see what like the signal would be from the Mendip transmitter to your location as all of its six muxes radiate on 100Kw, unlike in the case of Wenvoe where only its PSB channels are on this power the commercials being on 50Kw, however the signal from Mendip also suffers from a couple of obstructions from about 4 miles out, although purely for test purposes you could always try a "manual tune check" using the previously mentioned procedure (NOT pressing search or scan) and entering mux Ch49 (Mendips BBC), maybe also trying mux Ch56 Mendips ArqA (Pick TV / Sky news etc).





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jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
Sunday, 12 May 2013
J
Jon Rhys
1:52 AM
Bridgend

Hello there. Reading through your interesting and very helpful site, thought I would also like to ask a question if I may.

My elderly Parents live Brackla, Bridgend and have an extended pole roof top mounted arial facing Wenvoe. Their picture was always perfect on all channels UP TO (they believe) around January/February this year but since this time various channels have become unwatchable, mainly channel 3, ITV3, Quest due to pixelation with a poor or even complete loss of signal.. other channels also affected but not so bad. ~ Therefore 2 weeks ago, parents decided to upgrade arial and had a brand new Arial installed (horizontal) with new booster, yet no difference in quality of channels. Installer was duly called out again but was unable to resolve only suggesting they maybe purchase another even bigger arial. I visited parents 3 days ago and re-tuned set but no difference in quality, I checked connections etc as best I could and all appeared ok. Was wondering if 4G testing etc could be implicated in any way from the start of this year?. Any thoughts gratefully received. Regards, Jonathan

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Jon Rhys's 2 posts GB flag
Jon's: mapJ's Freeview map terrainJ's terrain plot wavesJ's frequency data J's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

11:54 AM

Jon Rhys: Did the deterioration coincide with the erection of a new building?

The Megalithia terrain plot also provides a map with a line linking the transmitter and receiver (click the link "view a map of area..." below the plot. The terrain plot shows that about a mile away the ground drops a bit:


Terrain between ( m a.g.l.) and (antenna m a.g.l.) - Optimising UK DTT Freeview and Radio aerial location


The line goes through the east end of Bridgend Industrial Estate. This is what made me wonder if this is a new industrial building.

Looking at Streetview photos, it's quite clear that there are trees that may be difficulty for at least some residents. Add to that the fact that it is on a slope which means that the tops of buildings going upwards are higher.

It might be worth checking that they are tuned to UHF channel 42 for COM4 (ITV3) and not UHF channel 48 which is Mendip. Mendip is only nine degrees clockwise of Wenvoe.

If it is tuned to Wenvoe, they may be lucky and be able to receive COM4 from Mendip and the rest from Wenvoe. This may be a long shot but its free so it's got to be worth a try.

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Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

12:27 PM

Jon Rhys: It is not necessarily a building along the line, but one off at an angle to the receiving aerial.

The 800MHz 4G tests are certainly not an issue as they are a long way away.

Unless the receiver is tuned to the wrong transmitter or the desired transmitter has changed then nothing will be achieved by retuning. A receiver will lock on to the signal if it is there. Retuning cannot make a signal that is not there or is poor, appear or improve.

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Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
Monday, 20 May 2013
J
Jon Rhys
12:33 AM
Bridgend

Hello all. Very many thanks to all for taking time out to come back with your support. I will most certainly pass your helpful suggestions onto parents so they can put them to the installer when he's recalled back out. Obviously my hunch of 4G interference was incorrect, yet I hadn't considered a building or one at an angle affecting the signal, this could well be the source of the problem as a building further up the slope has had a large roof extension built.. so if vision can't be improved then maybe freesat may be the easiest way forward.
Thanks for running a super site, shall certainly recommend, Regards Jon

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Jon Rhys's 2 posts GB flag
Jon's: mapJ's Freeview map terrainJ's terrain plot wavesJ's frequency data J's Freeview Detailed Coverage
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

5:19 PM
Bridgend

Dave Lindsay: Although its neither here nor there now but the situation is even worse as far as reception is concerned, because using an actual Brackla post code for the terrain checker indicates the signal path is obstructed from roughly 0.75 miles from the destination, although it could even suffer problems from 2.6 miles out should trees exist in that area.


Terrain between ( m a.g.l.) and (antenna m a.g.l.) - Optimising UK DTT Freeview and Radio aerial location





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jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
jb38's: mapJ's Freeview map terrainJ's terrain plot wavesJ's frequency data J's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

5:38 PM
Bridgend

Jon Rhys: I assumed the location in question to be CF31 1TL as that is the postcode associated with your posting. jb38 has taken another, sample, location.

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Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
Dave's: mapD's Freeview map terrainD's terrain plot wavesD's frequency data D's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Saturday, 25 May 2013
S
Stu P
4:31 PM

Wenvoe Problems
I have similar Wenvoe problems - I can pick all the mux's @ 100% strength EXCEPT COM4/SDN, which shows 0% on the tuning meter. This only happened after the re-tune some while ago - before that it was OK

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Stu P's 1 post GB flag
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

4:48 PM

Stu P: Are you using a communal aerial system? They are sometimes filtered to allow through the channels used by the transmitter.

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Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
Tuesday, 28 May 2013
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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.

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