menuMENU    UK Free TV logo Freeview

 

 

Click to see updates

Full Freeview on the Bilsdale (North Yorkshire, England) transmitter

first published this on - UK Free TV
sa_streetviewGoogle Streetviewsa_gmapsGoogle mapsa_bingBing mapsa_gearthGoogle Earthsa_gps54.358,-1.151 or 54°21'30"N 1°9'2"Wsa_postcodeTS9 7JS

 

The symbol shows the location of the Bilsdale (North Yorkshire, England) transmitter which serves 570,000 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 Bilsdale (North Yorkshire, England) mast?

Bilsdale transmitter - Bilsdale 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
_______

Which Freeview channels does the Bilsdale 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)676mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
1 BBC One (SD) North East and Cumbria, 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)676mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
3 ITV 1 (SD) (Tyne Tees), 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 (Tyne Tees),

PSB3
BBCB
 H max
C21 (474.0MHz)676mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
46 5SELECT, 101 BBC One HD North East and Cumbria, 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 -3dB
C43 (650.0MHz)676mDTG-850,000W
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 -3dB
C46 (674.0MHz)681mDTG-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
C40 (626.0MHz)681mDTG-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

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 Bilsdale transmitter?

regional news image
BBC Look North (Newcastle) 1.6m homes 6.0%
from Newcastle NE99 2NE, 74km north-northwest (336°)
to BBC North East and Cumbria region - 70 masts.
regional news image
ITV Tyne Tees News 1.4m homes 5.4%
from Gateshead NE11 9SZ, 75km north-northwest (333°)
to ITV Tyne Tees region - 47 masts.
All of lunch, weekend and 50% evening news is shared with Border

Are there any self-help relays?

Garsdale (pin Fold)Transposer63 homes (coverage together with SH34)
Hawsker BottomActive deflector 150 caravans
LangthwaiteActive deflector30 homes

How will the Bilsdale (North Yorkshire, England) transmission frequencies change over time?

1984-971997-981998-20122012-1313 Nov 2019
A K TA K TA K TK TW T
C21BBCB
C23C4wavesC4wavesC4wavesBBCB
C24_localD3+4
C26BBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBCA
C27BBCA
C29ITVwavesITVwavesITVwavesD3+4
C30_local
C31com7
C33BBC1wavesBBC1wavesBBC1waves
C35C5wavesC5waves
C37com8
C40ArqBArqB
C43SDNSDN
C46ArqAArqA
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 12 Sep 12 and 26 Sep 12.

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

Analogue 1-5 500kW
BBCA, D3+4, BBCB(-7dB) 100kW
SDN, ARQA, ARQB(-10dB) 50kW
com7(-14.3dB) 18.5kW
com8(-14.4dB) 18.1kW
Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*(-19.2dB) 6kW
Mux 1*(-20.2dB) 4.8kW
Mux D*(-24.9dB) 1.6kW

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

May 1956-Jul 1968Granada Television†
May 1956-Jul 1968Associated British Corporation◊
Jul 1968-Jul 1974Yorkshire Television
Jul 1974-Feb 2004Tyne Tees 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. Bilsdale 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.

Is the transmitter output the same in all directions?

Radiation patterns withheld

Comments
Thursday, 10 January 2013
J
Jon
11:35 AM
Bedale

Bizarrely I can acutally receive the ITV mux from the local relay as well on channel 39 (even though the aerial is the wrong polarisation and groupA) although the signal is less than from bilsdale. No signal on the other frequencies though.
Guess this is due to the groupA aerials gain curve again, but now I have 2 copies of the ITV channels and nothing else from an aerial setup that should not get anything.

link to this comment
Jon's 4 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

11:50 AM

Jon: Digital reception is pretty much an "all or nothing" system. So either the picture is "perfect" or "nothing".

I believe that the PSBs are radiated from a single antenna array.

The reason for the differences in reception is due to other variables. Different frequencies get reflected and refracted to differing degrees due to adjacent objects. Aerials, broadcasting and receiving, spread and are sensitive to frequencies to differing degrees.

The gain of an aerial is simply at the expense of greater "loss" in other directions. The less gain you have the less directional it is.

As you've seen, yagi aerials' gain curves slope downwards on lower channels. The size of the reflector on the rear is important as the lower the frequency the longer the wavelength and hence the longer the reflector needed to achieve the same level of "reflection" and hence directivity. Hence, because the reflector is the same length, the gain must be less. (Other factors may also play a part in causing this slope; I'm just considering the effects of the reflector.)

Bill Wright, a great authority on aerials, talks about "short reflector syndrome":

http://www.wrightsaerials….pdf

If you are looking at new aerial, then have a look at ATV's site for information: A.T.V (Aerials And Television) TV Aerial, DAB Aerial, FM Aerial.

If you try to achieve the full complement of channels from Bilsdale, then a Group K aerial is the best single aerial to use. Or, alternatively, a Group A aerial diplexed with a Group B one with a diplexer that "splits" at C38.

Unfortunately, "if" you find that you can receive COM channels from Bilsdale with a Gruop B aerial you will be unable to combine this with an aerial on the West Relay (for PSBs) because it also uses interleaved Group B channels. Therefore, in such circumstances you would have to receive Bilsdale's PSBs, although, as I've said, the COMs are inferior to the PSBs, so if the former are possible, then common sense suggests that the latter will be.

If you were to purchase only a Group B aerial for reception of Bilsdale's COMs and it didn't work, then you may be able to use it for reception of West Runton's PSBs. If you find that you can pull in the COMs, then you could add a Group A aerial.

link to this comment
Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

11:56 AM

Jon: If you are conversant with going up on the roof safely, then you may find that reorientating the aerial(s) (and switching them to vertical) will work on the relay. Perhaps this will be until you get a more suitable aerial, but will provide reception until then.

It might be worth replacing the cable with double-screened coax typically used for satellite installations where the higher frequencies necessitate it:

Satellite, Television, FM, DAB, Aerial, Coaxial Cable, Plugs, Sockets, Connectors & Leads

If you do sucessfully receive from Bilsdale, then a mast-head amp to boost the signals might be necessary.

link to this comment
Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

12:00 PM

Jon: Of course, a Group K aerial would also be suitable for the local relay. So if you tried it on Bilsdale and it won't pull in the COMs, then you could switch it to the relay instead.

link to this comment
Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

12:25 PM

Jon: I'm not a professional and don't have any formal qualifications in this subject.

See also my posting to M S Hahn on aerials' acceptance angles which are narrower the higher the gain:

Freeview retune day - how was it for you? | About UK Free TV | ukfree.tv - 10 years of independent, free digital TV advice

Therefore, there is a trade off and higher gain might not be what you want as you don;t have a "beam" to point your aerial at because the terrain does not allow. You are trying to receive what is being refracted over the brow.

A professional on here has commented that a lower gain log periodic aerial used in conjunction with an amplifier may yield better results.

As I say, I'm not a professional, so it might be worth seeing what others on here say before buying an aerial.

link to this comment
Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
Thursday, 28 February 2013
A
Andrew
9:44 PM

I have a cottage in Whitby near Baxtergate and at the moment we receive just a few freeview channels from the Whitby Transmitter. I wonder if I would be able to receive the full complement of channels from the Bilsdale transmitter If I were to fit an antenna with high gain (quoted for use in fringe areas) and also a mast head amplifier. Is it a case of try it and see or will it definitely not work?

link to this comment
Andrew's 2 posts GB flag
Friday, 1 March 2013
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

8:15 AM

Andrew: Based on having knowledge of the Whitby area I would say that there is almost no chance of you receiving a signal from the Bilsdale transmitter anywhere around the Baxtergate level, as indeed neither can many locations somewhat higher up as you climb out of the valley and with any signal that might be received being totally erratic.

The other aspect that makes the situation worse is that Bilsdales PSB channels transmit on twice the power of the commercials, and the erratic reception I refer to is when on the PSB channels.



link to this comment
jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
Wednesday, 20 March 2013
B
Beverley
10:29 AM
Guisborough

I have my aerial on the single storey roof. The tv is full hd and the quality is superb. However, I now realise that we will not get all the channels available. ie ITV3 and film 4 but can get gay rabbit!! style channels - seems crazy. Can I put up another aerial pointing to Bilsdale and so possibly get the other channels, although I read that reception will not be as good? I live in Guisborough

link to this comment
Beverley's 1 post GB flag
Beverley's: mapB's Freeview map terrainB's terrain plot wavesB's frequency data B's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

10:46 AM

Beverley: Maybe.

The difficulty may be that the high-ground at Newton Moor has trees. This would be the crown over which you would be receiving the signal. This may or may not prove an issue and its effect may or may not be seasonal.

I suggest that you consult a professional aerial installer for an opinion as to how successful it might be.

link to this comment
Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
Monday, 29 April 2013
S
steve
8:18 PM

i have a caravan on the cliff tops just to the south of whitby abbey [stoop cross]. at the moment i have a circular status caravan aerial which is giving me a lot of breakup. question can i use an ordinary tv aerial and tune in to either bilsdale or scarborough, which will give me more channels. and how many elements would the aerial need to be.please help.

link to this comment
steve's 2 posts GB flag
Select more comments

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.

UK Free TV is here to help people. If you are rude or disrespectful all of your posts will be deleted and you will be banned.








Privacy policy: UK Free Privacy policy.