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Full Freeview on the Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) transmitter

first published this on - UK Free TV
sa_streetviewGoogle Streetviewsa_gmapsGoogle mapsa_bingBing mapsa_gearthGoogle Earthsa_gps52.130,-0.242 or 52°7'47"N 0°14'33"Wsa_postcodeSG19 2NH

 

The symbol shows the location of the Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) transmitter which serves 920,000 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 Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) mast?

Sandy Heath transmitter - Sandy Heath 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 Sandy Heath 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)291mDTG-180,000W
Channel icons
1 BBC One (SD) Cambridge, 2 BBC Two England, 9 BBC Four, 23 BBC Three, 201 CBBC, 202 CBeebies, 231 BBC News, 232 BBC Parliament, plus 16 others

PSB2
D3+4
 H max
C24 (498.0MHz)291mDTG-180,000W
Channel icons
3 ITV 1 (SD) (Anglia (West micro region)), 4 Channel 4 (SD) South ads, 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 (Anglia east),

PSB3
BBCB
 H max
C21+ (474.2MHz)291mDTG-180,000W
Channel icons
46 5SELECT, 101 BBC One HD Cambridge, 102 BBC Two HD England, 103 ITV 1 HD (ITV Meridian Southampton), 104 Channel 4 HD South 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 -0.2dB
C33 (570.0MHz)291mDTG-8170,000W
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 -0.2dB
C36 (594.0MHz)289mDTG-8170,000W
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 -0.2dB
C48 (690.0MHz)289mDTG-8170,000W
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

DTG-8 64QAM 8K 3/4 27.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)

Which BBC and ITV regional news can I watch from the Sandy Heath transmitter?

regional news image
BBC Look East (West) 1.0m homes 3.7%
from Cambridge CB4 0WZ, 29km east-northeast (65°)
to BBC Cambridge region - 4 masts.
70% of BBC East (East) and BBC East (West) is shared output
regional news image
ITV Anglia News 1.0m homes 3.7%
from Norwich NR1 3JG, 119km east-northeast (60°)
to ITV Anglia (West) region - 5 masts.
All of lunch, weekend and 80% evening news is shared with Anglia (East)

How will the Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) transmission frequencies change over time?

1965-80s1984-971997-981998-20112011-1312 Feb 2020
VHFA K TK TK TW TW T
C6ITVwaves
C21C4wavesC4wavesC4waves+BBCBBBCB
C24ITVwavesITVwavesITVwavesD3+4D3+4
C27BBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBCABBCA
C31BBC1wavesBBC1wavesBBC1waves
C32com7
C33SDN
C34com8
C35_local
C36ArqA
C39C5wavesC5waves
C43_local
C48ArqBArqB
C51tv_offSDN
C52tv_offArqA
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 30 Mar 11 and 13 Apr 11.

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

Analogue 1-4 1000kW
BBCA, D3+4, BBCB(-7.4dB) 180kW
SDN, ARQA, ARQB(-7.7dB) 170kW
com7(-13dB) 49.6kW
com8(-13.1dB) 49.1kW
Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D*(-17dB) 20kW
Analogue 5(-20dB) 10kW

Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Sandy Heath transmitter area

Oct 1959-Feb 2004Anglia 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.

Comments
Sunday, 13 April 2014
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

9:09 PM

hector: 60% is at the lower end of what is considered acceptable as far as the reception level of "quality" is concerned, however when you say that all channels are 60% apart from the HD channels are you meaning that nothing is being received on HD?, because should this be the case then are you sure that your TV is not just a Freeview HD ready model? as these types can only display and HD image from some externally connected source as their tuners are not capable of receiving it, HD reception requiring a TV or box to be fitted with a DVB-T2 tuner and "not" simply DVB-T as used for normal SD reception.

If you have the instruction manual for your TV have a look in the specifications section / tuner and check what's mentioned under that heading.

Should you experience any problem in finding this info, if you come back with the model number of the TV in question this can be checked out for you.

link to this comment
jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
H
hector
9:33 PM

Yes my TV is freeview hd and my I can't get HD channels at all . Because the quality is so low . So 60% quality is OK then . It breaks up sometimes

link to this comment
hector's 5 posts GB flag
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

11:28 PM

hector : Well, although 60% quality cannot really be said as being ideal, it can however be perfectly OK on many devices provided that its observed to be completely stable if monitored over a minute or so, 80% + quality being a far more desirable level and with the signal strength usually lagging slightly under this.

If you have positively verified that your TV is indeed fitted with a DVB-T2 tuner? then its unusual "not" to be receiving anything at all on HD, therefore in order to get a better idea as to the cause of the problem maybe you could provide your location, this preferably being in the form of a post code or one from somewhere nearby, e.g: a shop / Post Office, plus also a run down on the aerial system you are using.

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jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
Monday, 14 April 2014
H
hector
5:31 PM

Thanks . And houses block my tv aerial that's why my HD channels are weak and can't show a video . Can you get someone to boast sandy heath up it would make me happy . I'm very unwell right now plus I have autism . I really could do with my channels not breaking up .

link to this comment
hector's 5 posts GB flag
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

11:49 PM

hector: The HD transmitter you are referring to is already one of the second most powerful in the country, and so your problem is really being caused by the aerial system you are using and not in any way connected with the transmitter.

However, unfortunately its not really possible to be able to offer advice as far as remedial actions are concerned without having knowledge of your location, PLUS of course knowing where your present aerial is located? although "if" by any chance its a "same room as the TV" type then there isn't much that you can really do about it except to try moving it around whilst you are observing the quality being indicated on the screen.

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jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
Tuesday, 15 April 2014
H
hector
7:50 AM

Could you tell me the best indoor aerial to use . At the moment I use one with an ampierfiter . I can't spend anymore than £25 . Right now I'm getting TV from Yorkshire I think high pressure is here but I know as soon as high pressure has gone I will be with poor signal again . My aerial at the moment is a one for all aerial from Argos it cost £20 . Its very sensitive to moving the wire . So I want one that is the best you can get .

link to this comment
hector's 5 posts GB flag
Briantist
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

7:56 AM

hector: Good morning.

Generally speaking indoor aerials are not suitable for Freeview reception. The system was designed for everyone to use a rooftop aerial. There is a small, old article on them here Indoor aerials | Installing | ukfree.tv - 11 years of independent, free digital TV advice

However, if you ARE going to spend a butget of £25 - you might find it better spent on putting the aerial you do have in a better position.

You can get 10 meters of decent aerial cable for a tenner. If you can move the aerial you do have to somewhere in the room (perhaps high up near a window) you *MAY* be able to get a more stable signal.



link to this comment
Briantist's 38,915 posts GB flag
Sunday, 18 May 2014
M
Myrvin
9:03 AM
Northampton

I cannot get any channels from Com7 HD from Sandy Heath. There is intermittent high signal level, but no signal quality from channel 32.

link to this comment
Myrvin's 7 posts GB flag
Myrvin's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
J
josh
4:30 PM

Hi . I get most freeview channels apart from HD one due to being blocked by houses . At the moment I get ch24 on 80% quality. Ch27 on 80% quality. Ch48 on 70% quality . Ch51 on 85% quality . And ch52 on 90% quality . Are these good signals . I can't get ch21 or ch32 my TV is freeview HD I'm sure of that . So are these good signals

link to this comment
josh's 2 posts GB flag
M
Michael
sentiment_satisfiedGold

5:34 PM

josh: If you're sure of your TV of being Freeview HD, then post your make and model.

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Michael's 358 posts GB flag
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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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