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Bristol Kings Weston (City of Bristol, England) DAB transmitter

sa_gmapsGoogle mapsa_bingBing mapsa_gearthGoogle Earthsa_gps51.495,-2.654 or 51°29'41"N 2°39'14"W


Are there any planned engineering works or unexpected transmitter faults on the Bristol Kings Weston (City of Bristol, England) mast?

Bristol Kings Weston transmitter - Bristol Kings Weston transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 25/03/2024 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels Digital tick


UK Free TV shows the coverage area for a radio transmitter as a coloured overlay (orange for FM, other colours for DAB) on the grey map. We have computed the coverage by combining the terrain with the official radiation pattern. A single click will select the transmitter to view the coverage for a single site, and a double click goes to a page showing full details. Click on the buttons in the right-hand corner of the map to choose from different frequencies (or multiplexes for DAB).

 

Local transmitter maps

Bristol Kings Weston Freeview Bristol Kings Weston DAB Mendip TV region BBC West West

Comments
Monday, 21 October 2019
L
les mcquaid
11:38 PM

can you help for some unknown reason i am getting a signal from wales on my tv but when i checked online it said my nearest transmitter is mendips but as far as i know i thought it was kingsweston in bristol..i am in shirehampton now but use to live in lawrence weston before

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les mcquaid's 1 post GB flag
Tuesday, 22 October 2019
C
Chris.SE
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

12:45 AM

les mcquaid:

A full postcode will help to see what the DigitalUK checker says your predicted reception should be. Wenvoe (in Wales) gives a very strong signal in your area. If you normally tune to Kingsweston you may have to do a manual retune rather than an automatic one.

Are the rods on your aerial vertical or horizontal? Do you know which direction it's pointing in?
PS. You've posted on the DAB page raher than the Freeview transmitter page.

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Chris.SE's 4,103 posts GB flag
Saturday, 21 October 2023
P
Pete Howell
5:17 PM

What channels does Kingsweston transmit to pick up BBC and ITV West and not Wales

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Pete Howell's 5 posts GB flag
P
Pete Howell
5:44 PM

What channels does KingsWeston use for English versions of BBC, ITV & C4?

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Pete Howell's 5 posts GB flag
S
Steve Donaldson
sentiment_satisfiedSilver

6:50 PM

Pete Howell: The Kings Weston transmitter does not transmit BBC and ITV Wales, which means if you are receiving these then your TV is tuned to another transmitter, probably Wenvoe. It is worth checking that all the channels are tuned correctly, even those which do not vary by region, in order that you have reception from the designated transmitter, and not another which your aerial might not face and which (in the case of Wenvoe) it is at opposite polarity (your aerial is vertical for Kings Weston whereas for Wenvoe it should be horizontal).

The channels for Kings Weston are:

PSB1 - BBC A - BBC One: C43
PSB2 - D3&4 - ITV: C40
PSB3 - BBC B - BBC One HD: C46
COM4 - SDN - QVC: C22
COM5 - Arq A - Sky Mix: C25
COM6 - Arq B - Quest: C28

Check the UHF channel number on each of these six programme channels to see that they are tuned to Kings Weston.

The six channels for Wenvoe (in the order of multiplex, as above) are 41, 44, 47, 42, 45, 39.

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Steve Donaldson's 188 posts GB flag
Tuesday, 21 November 2023
P
Pete Howell
8:23 AM

Thanks Steve, most helpful. The problem I have is that Wenvoe and Kings Weston line up on a straight line when viewed from my house, ie Wenvoe is directly behind KW, so its quite common to get the Welsh overpowering the English!

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Pete Howell's 5 posts GB flag
S
Steve Donaldson
sentiment_satisfiedSilver

7:26 PM

Pete Howell: This is a problem with automatic tuning in situations such as yours, where more than one transmitter is being picked up by the aerial. It was equally an issue in the days of analogue, since when manufacturers began incorporating automatic tuning.

If you can manually tune in the desired channels, having wiped the tuning memory, and the TV doesn't change it at some point, then that's all well and good -- you have solved the problem. However, if the TV takes it upon itself to retune with such functionality unable to be disabled, then the problem still exists. It is not the presence of the unwanted Wenvoe signals per se, but the fact that the TV automatically retunes outwith user control that is the problem. This is a real-world scenario which the TV is not designed to deal with.

As has been mentioned elsewhere on this site, automatic tuning can be more trouble than it's worth. There is automatic tuning that the user invokes during set-up and then there is that which runs periodically without user intervention, usually when the set or box is turned off. While the user can avoid the former by using manual tuning, if the manufacturer hasn't included an option in the settings to turn off the latter then this may be a nuisance and in fact totally negates the benefit of having manually tuned in the first place. Essentially, the TV takes it upon itself to do what it likes anyway, regardless of the user having programmed it to their own preference.

Where there is no option to deactivate periodic automatic retuning, it may be worth badgering the manufacturer for a firmware update that includes one. In the real world, signals from more than one transmitter may be coming down the aerial lead. Designers who fail to allow automatic retuning to be switched off are evidently not living in the real world.

I have been thinking about your situation and will go on to discuss what I think may be a possible solution to filter out the unwanted Wenvoe channels. I'm a technical bod rather than an aerial installer, hence I said "I think" this may be a possible solution because I don't have first-hand experience. It's something I might have tried were it my problem. If you like technical challenges then this is something you might like to do. Apologies if it goes over your head.

I've included links to retailers and some eBay listings. These are for information only, and are in no way advocation of a particular seller. Do your own checks and satisfy yourself such as by looking at feedback if you are interested in the products. Other products and suppliers are available, as they say.

I should add that in the above posting giving the channel numbers I missed off UHF channel 31 from the Kings Weston transmitter. This is the Local TV multiplex. It isn't as powerful and doesn't have the same spread as the other, main multiplexes. Therefore, not everyone receiving the main channels can also get the local multiplex. If you can receive it, however, then this means there are seven channels you need to tune and receive, if indeed you want to have it available on your TV.

Over the last decade or so 20 of the top-end UHF channels have been cleared for use by mobile phone networks. The highest is now 48, having previously extended all the way up to 68. The remaining 21 to 48 range is divided into two groups: A and B. An explanation of groups is here:

Wideband / grouped TV aerials A.T.V. Poles, Brackets, Clamps & Aerials

As you can see, the groups have changed somewhat, owing to the clearance of the top channels. The former C/D group is now completely gone, for TV broadcasts.

To return to your problem, Kings Weston's COMs and Local TV (4 channels) are Group A, and the PSBs (3 channels) are Group B. All Wenvoe's channels are Group B, thus you can't simply filter out Group B channels and allow Group A ones through.

Filters are available at reasonable cost for ranges of channels. For example:

https://www.blake-uk.com/search/proob

As I say, unfortunately, KW's PSBs are within the same range as the Wenvoe channels, so it's not possible to use one of these -- on its own, at least.

As the wanted and unwanted channels are immediate neighbours then you will require filtering for individual channels. In Group B, you want to allow through 40, 43 and 46, while filtering out 39, 41, 42, 44, 45 and 47.

I would think that such filters will be quite expensive, not like the group ones above. Perhaps a second-hand one such as off eBay may be the way to go.

If you like a challenge, here are my thoughts on how you might affect a solution.

You will need:

- a two-way splitter
- a four-way splitter
- a Group A filter
- a programmable-channel/tunable filter
- adaptors, plugs and coax cable (or leads already made up) as required, depending on the desired configuration

I should say that there will be some degree of loss. Any filtering will bring with it loss, but this may be small.

If you have a distribution amplifier which sends signals to different rooms, then you may wish to put the filtering before it so that all rooms get the benefit of a Wenvoe-free feed.

Here's what to do with the parts:

Connect the two-way splitter onto the end of the incoming aerial cable. Connect the Group A filter onto one of the outputs of the splitter. The output of the Group A filter therefore gives you the COMs (22, 25 and 28), along with Local TV (31) if applicable.

Onto the other output of the splitter, connect the programmable/tunable channel filter. I found this, which ironically comes pretuned to Wenvoe's four former analogue channels and is from a seller in Wenvoe's coverage area: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275505497020

As you can see, it has one input and four outputs which can be tuned to any channel. You need only three. Tune them to 40, 43 and 46. Connect the input of this filter to the other output of the two-way splitter.

You then have the incoming splitter which goes two ways. One way goes through the Group A filter, giving you 22, 25, 28 and 31 (and all other Group A channels within range of the filter). The other goes through the programmable filter, which gives you 40, 43 and 46, each on a separate output.

Take the four way splitter and use it in reverse, as a combiner rather than a splitter. The four inputs for the combiner will be: one from the single output of the Group A filter and each output of 40, 43 and 46 on the programmable filter.

You will need adaptors (IEC to f-connector) and connectors (IEC and/or f-connectors) as required. If the splitters and filters have threaded f-connectors instead of push-in IEC plugs/sockets (found on TVs and set-top boxes) then you will need some form of adaptor. To connect the output of the Group A filter and the three filtered channels you will need short lengths of coax, probably low-loss and double shielded as it can be terminated with f-connectors.

Here are a few closing comments:

If you put 'teldis filter' or 'polytron filter' into eBay (without quotes) you will find more filters. Equivalent products may be available from other manufacturers and more work may be required to uncover them. There is a five-channel Polytron one currently listed. I doubt you will find one that will do seven channels. You would need a seven-way filter (to use as a combiner) and I'm not sure that they're available. With such a configuration you wouldn't need the separate Group A filter.

The filter I linked to on eBay (Teldis SCL 114) is very old. The telephone dialling code printed on the label does not include the '1' after the leading zero, hence tells us it pre-dates April 1995.

This from Teldis says that the SCL (Single Channel Levellers) "are for analogue television services only":

https://teldis.co.uk/images/pdf/Digital%20and%20Analogue%20Channel%20Levellers.pdf

I don't know why it says this. It looks like the document was written before switchover, when there was the low-power digital fitted in around the analogue. Iwould have thought it wouldn't matter. If someone can shed more light on why it says this then it may be useful. Obviously with four filters and outputs, it doesn't cater for more than four channels and it did cater for the four-channel analogue. But a cluster of channels is no good here because wanted and unwanted are on adjacent channels.

I don't know whether the other output on the programmable filter needs a dummy load on it or whether it can be left without anything connected to it. When you have a splitter with multiple ways and one or more is not connected to anything it is unbalanced, and really should have a load, known as a terminator: https://www.aerialsandtv.com/knowledge/splitters-amps-and-diplexers#amplifier-terminators

If you have a masthead amplifier, then the power supply for it may need to go before the filtering solution.

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Steve Donaldson's 188 posts GB flag
Thursday, 21 December 2023
P
Pete Howell
5:33 PM

I used the channel numbers in your first response which seemed to cover all the tv channels I needed. I'm afraid your second response went way over my aging head and left me totally bamboozled
However, you have solved my problem and if channels wander again, I'll know exactly what to do for a retune. Sorry for the tardy response to your second post, but have only just seen it.

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Pete Howell's 5 posts GB flag
S
Steve Donaldson
sentiment_satisfiedSilver

7:56 PM

Pete Howell: That's good to hear. It was quite in-depth, I know. So long as you have done the tuning and know what to do should it need doing again, that's the main thing.

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Steve Donaldson's 188 posts GB flag
Friday, 22 December 2023
C
Chris.SE
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

12:39 AM

Pete Howell:

Did you add UHF Channel C31 to tune for the Local TV multiplex - mentioned in his second response which he forgot in his first!

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Chris.SE's 4,103 posts GB flag
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