Map of all DAB transmitters
You can click on a transmitter group symbol to see all the masts in that county or area, or click on a single transmitter to see the coverage area. Due to the large number of radio transmitters, many have been grouped into counties or administrative areas for ease of viewing.map is loading, please wait...
What do the map symbols mean?
DAB radio transmitter, DAB transmitter coming, Transmitter group.Sunday, 4 September 2016
S
StevensOnln14:06 PM
Edwin: Does your DAB tuner have an option for either full scan or rest of world scan? If so, try running that. The Humberside local mux moved to VHF block 10D last week which is outside the original frequency allocation for DAB in this country, hence some older radios won't find all available multiplexes on a normal scan.
| link to this comment |
Monday, 5 September 2016
R
Richard Cooper8:53 AM
Edwin: Hi, again, Edwin. An outdoor DAB aerial should definitely enable you to pick up more DAB stations than an indoor DAB aerial, so you did the right thing to install one because the outdoor aerial can 'pull in' signals from DAB transmitters that an indoor aerial wouldn't. I've not seen any information on hiccups since the changes were made in the Humberside area at the end of August, so I can only assume that everything is supposed to be working as intended. I've had one more thought, though. Recently, there was a station I could not get on one of my DAB radios and it turned out that the station was transmitting using the new DAB+ mode instead of 'ordinary' DAB. This meant that I had to go out and buy a newer DAB radio equipped with DAB+, those quality manufacturers manufacturing radios with 'plus capability' since about 2011, and marking them with the 'digital tick'. I was just wondering whether the recent changes in Humberside include a few stations moving into DAB+ transmissions. I don't know, but this is just a possibility! The only further changes of which I'm aware is the completion of the rollout of 'filler' transmitters by the end of this month, but without knowing exactly where you are, I don't know if any fillers have been planned for your locality. Richard, Norwich.
+
=
| link to this comment |
R
Richard Cooper9:02 AM
StevensOnln1: Thanks for the info informing me of the fact that Ofcom has cleared 75 transmitters for SDL and I would definitely be interested in seeing the full list. I should've realised that Belmont and High Hunsley are transmitting SDL and I apologise for my ignorance on those. Unfortunately, where I live, in the Norwich area, I would think it unlikely that any transmitters have been cleared by Ofcom around here, apart, perhaps from Mendlesham, due to our proximity to Holland and Belgium, to which we used to cause TVI in the sixties and seventies! Anyway, I very much forward to you posting the link to the Ofcom list of 75 if you're successful in finding it. Thank you, Richard, Norwich.
| link to this comment |
R
Richard Cooper9:09 AM
StevensOnln1: Thank you for finding and posting the list of future approved SDL transmitters. I am aware that additional transmitters to the 45 current ones would need to be commercially viable for SDL broadcasters for them to adopt any of these additional transmitter sites, largely dependent upon the populations they serve. Thanks again for posting the link, which I've put into my 'favourites', thanks. Richard, Norwich.
| link to this comment |
R
Richard Cooper10:17 AM
Jan Davies: Hi, Jan. Interference with European DAB transmissions by ours is only likely to occur when there are high pressure conditions and there are temperature inversions, quite a few of which we've had this summer, and which have caused disruption to UK viewers' Freeview television reception. These interference effects tend to occur more at certain frequencies than others, so remember that there will be European DAB muxes using DAB channel 11A, used by our Sound Digital multiplex. I have to admit I have not seen any official report anywhere stating that the East coast of England can't have Sound Digital DAB transmitters, rather it is simply what I have read on the websites I visit such as www.a516digital.com. Also remember that future Sound Digital transmitter sites have to have been approved by the UK broadcast communications regulator, Ofcom. I found out today from a contributor to this website that Ofcom has actually approved at least 75 transmission sites for Sound Digital, but only 45 have been taken up by broadcasters as being commercially viable at the moment. It was a surprise to me, given what I'd read about interference to the Continent that Great Yarmouth & Lowestoft (Oulton) had been approved by Ofcom as future Sound Digital transmitter sites, but as the residents are not very affluent around there, the Sound Digital broadcasters would appear to have decided it's not worth their while putting Sound Digital on to these transmitters yet. Richard, Norwich.
| link to this comment |
S
StevensOnln11:29 PM
Richard Cooper: Stoke Holy Cross is on the list of cleared transmitters for 11A which would provide coverage to Norwich if used by Sound Digital in future. I doubt Sound Digital will ever expand to anything like the number of transmitters used for D1, being as SD was intended to operate at a lower cost to broadcasters, but hopefully some more will be added one day.
| link to this comment |
Richard Cooper: Thanks for that info, Richard. I wonder why they chose 11A for Sound Digital then, if it's already in use in the rest of Europe. I wish I understood it all!
My fingers are crossed for Mendlesham, but obviously that doesn't help everyone else.
What doesn't made sense to me is that someone I know drove from Yorkshire to Essex (Harwich) and said he got a clear signal till 4 miles from Harwich, and then was able to listen at the ferry port. He reckons it's because he's got a good external aerial (mine's on the windscreen, never had any problem on D1). When I look at the transmitter map, I don't understand how that was possible. I know most major majorways seem to be covered, etc. but it's quite a stretch to reach some of those transmitters!
I don't expect you to know the answers, I'm just thinking out loud really!
| link to this comment |
S
StevensOnln12:59 PM
Jan Davies: 11A was allocated more recently than the existing BBC and D1 national multiplexes so there was no frequency available that was wasn't already used by other neighbouring countries. Similarly, our neighbouring countries are unable to use 11D and 12B from their coastal transmitters in order to prevent their services causing interference to the D1 and BBC national multiplexes. All frequencies used for TV and radio have to be co-ordinated internationally to avoid services in neighbouring countries wiping out reception of each other with interference. There are however plenty of transmitter covering areas near the east and south coasts which are blocked by hills and therefore don't cause a problem with international interference.
I also use a stick on windscreen aerial in my car and have found BBC and D1 coverage have often continued to be available when driving through fringe areas beyond the official coverage maps (perhaps the maps are deliberately conservative to avoid complaints of coverage being less than show). I've not spent much time listening to any Sound Digital stations so don't know how well the real world coverage compares to the maps.
| link to this comment |
StevensOnln1: Thanks. I only listen to Planet Rock and have to drive about an hour before I can pick it up now, in any direction (from Suffolk). I don't know what the signal is like for other stations as I only listen to rock! I have found, on drives across the country (which I do quite often), the D2 signal strength is very rarely above 60%, even when I know I'm near a transmitter. I don't know how much of that is because I'm using a windscreen aerial, but never had a problem when it was on D1.
| link to this comment |
R
Richard Cooper3:11 PM
Jan Davies: Hi, Jan. From Yorkshire to Essex, the following transmitters would have contributed to the driver's reception of Sound Digital: High Hunsley near Hull, Belmont, Lincs, Waltham, Leicestershire, Peterborough & Sandy Heath, which would just about get him to Harwich, I'd reckon. At the end of his journey, the Danbury transmitter near Colchester could also have contributed. Don't forget that transmitters operating at the DAB 11A frequencies can have a range of up to 60 miles or so, which is pretty impressive and usually greater than that of Freeview tv transmitters. Obviously, it depends on transmitter powers as well as being 'line of sight' from the transmitter to the receiver. If anyone wants to improve their ability to pull in signals from further afield, the best recommendation is an external aerial, whether we are talking about 'in-car' or 'in-house' reception. Richard.
| link to this comment |
Select more comments
Your comment please