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 25/11/2024 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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Wednesday, 3 July 2013
Stephen: Because the aerial you are using (the Moel-y-Parc one) is pointing at 90 degrees to where the signal is coming from. Maybe at times the signal is being reflected onto the front of the aerial by some other object, or some other effect caused by moving/changing objects such as trees. Maybe even, because you are low down, a motor vehicle on ground that is higher and perhaps nearer the height of your aerial is reflecting the Winter Hill signal.
There is no reason why you can't keep the other aerial with a separate downlead to your lounge. Or just turn it to face Winter Hill, retaining the diplexer as it is.
We have already seen channels 61 to 68 cleared for use by 4G mobile operators. In future, channels 60 and below may be cleared, such as for 5G.
This will obviously affect those viewers using Group C/D aerials (on Group C/D transmitters). C/D channels are officially 48 to 68.
If Winter Hill's channels are moved downwards further then they may go onto Group B channels (35 to 53). Moel-y-Parc uses Group B channels, so presumably your MyP aerial is Group B (if not wideband). For this reason it might be wise to keep it because it might be of use in the future, if your Winter Hill aerial is a C/D one.
See:
Aerials, TV Aerial and Digital Aerial
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S
Stephen7:55 PM
Chorley
Thanks again, Dave. It would seem that redirecting the MyP aerial towards Winter Hill would be the best solution: turns it away from interfering with my preferred transmitter and provides some degree of future-proofing should channel changes, as you suggest, occur. Could be a win-win :-)
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Stephen's: mapS's Freeview map terrainS's terrain plot wavesS's frequency data S's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Thursday, 4 July 2013
A
anthony4:03 PM
Altrincham
If you are going to have to pay someone to move your aerial it might be better value in the long run to have someone reputable replace it with a wide band one pointing at winter hill together with CT100 or similar coax.
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anthony's: mapA's Freeview map terrainA's terrain plot wavesA's frequency data A's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Friday, 5 July 2013
S
Susan omar6:01 PM
Free view intermittent for the last month I have only been able to watch bbc 1 uninterrupted . Any other channel keeps breaking up in blocks on the tv .. We have bt vision box which works fine prior to this .we phoned the at800.tv and they informed us our area unaffected as 4 g not here ?? Don't know what else can do
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Monday, 8 July 2013
M
Mike Harris11:53 AM
What MUX from Winter Hill is the new 'Drama' channel, supposed to be starting today? Then I can do a manual retune.
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M
Mike Dimmick2:42 PM
Mike Harris:
Digital UK Industry - Technical news archive 2013 says COM4/SDN on C58. The other two moves - G.O.L.D. to 26 and Home from 26 to 54 - are also on COM4/SDN.
The new BT Sport channels are on COM6/ArqB: C55.
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Wednesday, 10 July 2013
M
maryam2:20 PM
Manchester
Really confused by all this stuff.
Live in manchester and this is my closest transmitter, but I can only get the channels on C59 and nothing else. How do I get more? Can I be connected to a few C's?
Thanks for your help.
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maryam's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Sunday, 14 July 2013
J
JC3:24 AM
maryam
Yes, you are absolutely right in saying its confusing (so much for progress!). I am assuming that you have a digital aerial for your TV (?), or maybe its an analogue aerial with a digibox to compensate - in other words I don`t know what your setup is but to get other channels besides the Channel 59 which you say you have, try this;
If you just have a TV linked to the roof aerial (with no VCR or DVD recorder hooked up to the TV), then using its remote, bring up on screen and scroll through the relevant settings which brings you to the `Tuning` of channels.
At that point you will have the choice of either `Automatic` tuning or `Manual` tuning. Choose `Automatic` and click for the TV to start scanning. It will take a few minutes but it will search for all the channels that are out there. Once its done, with a bit of luck you should have, at the very least, the following channels (besides 59 of course), which are 49, 50, 58, and 55.
Check to see what you`ve got. As you live in Manchester, as I do, you might, I`m not saying you will, but you might find that you have now got the WELSH versions of BBC1, BBC2, ITV and Channel Four. If this is the case then you will have to retune again, this time with a MANUAL scan. To do that, do as follows;
REMOVE the aerial from the back of the TV, and then do an AUTOMATIC scan again - yes thats right, an Automatic scan, Why? Because by doing that you are deleting everything from the original search but do not panic - all you are doing is preparing a clean slate to try again. DON`T worry about any prompts that may come up on your screen during this phase saying things like ` No aerial connection, please check` etc, just let the automatic search do its thing. Once its done, come back out of the settings page and RECONNECT the aerial.
Now go back to the `Tuning` page where you had the choice of either `Automatic` or `Manual` and this time choose Manual. On this screen you should find the all important Channel Number, or `C` number, such as C59 in your case. This is the number which you will have to change by using the Up/Down or Left/Right keys on your remote. OK?
So referring to the channels I mentioned above, lets try 49 first, using the keys on your remote, once you`ve got it, click search and let it scan for channels on that number, once its done, it should tell you how many channels were found on that particular number, THEN change that main channel number again, this time to the number 50, and click search for that one, and so on, until you have separately scanned the following numbers - 49, 50, 55, 58 and 59.
If you have HD (high definition) equipment then also try 54 ( as that has all the HD channels on it).
And that is whats called manual tuning. Hopefully that will have done the trick for you.
Good luck.
NB If you do have a VCR or DVD recorder hooked up to your TV, then the same process of tuning applies to each machine, they have to be tuned separately using their own remotes.
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Monday, 15 July 2013
M
maryam6:03 PM
Manchester
Thanks very much for the above. I've done everything you've said above. Been able to get a few more channels on C58. C49 shows that there is signal but doesn't connect.
My Tv has built in freeview. So I kind of thing I need a stronger ariel.
Thanks for all you help.
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maryam's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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