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Full Freeview on the Black Hill (North Lanarkshire, Scotland) transmitter

first published this on - UK Free TV
sa_streetviewGoogle Streetviewsa_gmapsGoogle mapsa_bingBing mapsa_gearthGoogle Earthsa_gps55.861,-3.874 or 55°51'40"N 3°52'27"Wsa_postcodeML7 4NZ

 

The symbol shows the location of the Black Hill (North Lanarkshire, Scotland) transmitter which serves 940,000 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 Black Hill (North Lanarkshire, Scotland) mast?

Black Hill transmitter - Black Hill 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 Black 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.

MuxH/VFrequencyHeightModeWatts
PSB1
BBCA
 H max
C46 (674.0MHz)576mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
1 BBC One (SD) Scotland, 2 BBC Two Scotland, 7 BBC Alba HD, 23 BBC Three, 24 BBC Four (Scotland SD), 201 CBBC, 202 CBeebies, 231 BBC News, 232 BBC Parliament, plus 13 others

PSB2
D3+4
 H max
C43 (650.0MHz)576mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
3 STV (SD) (STV Central (Glasgow micro region)), 4 Channel 4 (SD) Scotland ads, 5 Channel 5, 6 ITV 2, 10 ITV3, 13 E4, 14 Film4, 15 Channel 4 +1 Scotland ads, 18 More4, 26 ITV4, 28 ITVBe, 30 E4 +1, 35 ITV1 +1 (STV Edinburgh), 35 STV+1 (STV Edinburgh),

PSB3
BBCB
 H max
C40 (626.0MHz)576mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
46 5SELECT, 101 BBC One HD Scotland, 102 BBC Two HD Scotland, 103 ITV 1 HD (STV West), 103 STV HD (STV West), 104 Channel 4 HD Scotland ads, 105 Channel 5 HD, 106 BBC Four HD, 108 BBC Scotland HD, 204 CBBC HD, 205 CBeebies HD, plus 1 others

COM4
SDN
 H max
C41+ (634.2MHz)576mDTG-8100,000W
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 max
C44 (658.0MHz)576mDTG-8100,000W
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 max
C47 (682.0MHz)576mDTG-8100,000W
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

LG
 H -13dB
C30 (546.0MHz)576mDTG-125,000W
Channel icons
from 2nd June 2014: 8 STV Glasgow,

DTG-8 64QAM 8K 3/4 27.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
DTG-12 QSPK 8K 3/4 8.0Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)

Which BBC and ITV regional news can I watch from the Black Hill transmitter?

regional news image
BBC Reporting Scotland 2.4m homes 9.2%
from Glasgow G51 1DA, 26km west (271°)
to BBC Scotland region - 230 masts.
regional news image
STV News 1.3m homes 4.8%
from Glasgow G51 1PQ, 26km west (271°)
to STV Central (Glasgow) region - 94 masts.

Are there any self-help relays?

Ardtornish ATransposer22 km NW Oban15 homes
BalquhidderTransposer12 km NW Callander42 homes
Benmore BActive deflector50 m WNW Glasgow7 homes
Blair DrummondTransposer5 homes caravan park
Blyth BridgeActive deflector30 km SW Edinburgh50 homes
GlendaruelActive deflector40 hotel40 homes hotel
Glendaruel BActive deflector12 homes (second level)

How will the Black Hill (North Lanarkshire, Scotland) transmission frequencies change over time?

1957-80s1984-971997-981998-20112011-133 Oct 2018
VHFB E TB E TB E TE TW T
C10ITVwaves
C30_local
C32com7
C35com8
C37C5wavesC5waves
C40BBC1wavesBBC1wavesBBC1wavesBBCBBBCB
C41+SDNSDN
C43ITVwavesITVwavesITVwavesD3+4D3+4
C44ArqAArqA
C46BBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBCABBCA
C47ArqBArqB
C50tv_offC4wavesC4wavesC4waves
C51tv_offLG
C55tv_offcom7tv_off
C56tv_off_localCOM8tv_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 8 Jun 11 and 22 Jun 11.

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

Analogue 1-5 500kW
SDN, ARQA, ARQB, BBCA, D3+4, BBCB(-7dB) 100kW
com7(-10.7dB) 42.9kW
com8(-11.1dB) 39.2kW
Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D*(-14dB) 20kW
LG(-20dB) 5kW

Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Black Hill transmitter area

Aug 1957-Jun 1997Scottish Television
Jun 1997-Dec 2014STV plc
Feb 1983-Dec 1992TV-am•
Jan 1993-Sep 2010GMTV•
Sep 2010-Dec 2014ITV Daybreak•
• Breakfast ◊ Weekends ♦ Friday night and weekends † Weekdays only.

Comments
Friday, 11 March 2016
G
GMAN73
11:34 AM

Hello, I set the channel to C32/562.0Mhz and nothing is showing, no signal/quality.

So the issue must be with the communal aerial. Think I'll buy an outside aerial and fit that. Been looking at the SLx 27895K4 4G Digidome Outdoor Aerial.

Thanks to MikeP/jb38 for all the advice.

link to this comment
GMAN73's 8 posts GB flag
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

5:41 PM

GMAN73 : Thanks for the update. However, further checking around the rooftops in your area (via Google Earth) has revealed another possible reason for you not being able to receive COM7, being that numerous aerials in your location are seen to be facing towards the Rosneath transmitter and not Blackhill, COM7 not being transmitted by the former.

Rosneath is actually indicated on the reception predictor as providing a superior level of signal to that from Blackhill, likewise the communal aerial is likely to be facing towards that station, albeit that aerials on "some" properties are seen to be facing towards Blackhill.

An easy way to check which station you are receiving from is by carrying out a signal test on BBC HD101, as the transmitter Mux channel number its broadcast on is usually displayed on the same screen as the level bars, this being C40 if Blackhill, whereas C54 if Rosneath.

You could also carry out a visual check of the communal aerials mounting position, the aerial being mounted horizontally (elements flat) for Blackhill, whereas for Rosneath its vertical (elements pointing up / down).

By the way, Blackhill is located @ 18mls / 96%, with Rosneath @ 19mls / 296%.













link to this comment
jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
G
GMAN73
10:04 PM

Hi jb38, I checked BBC One HD (101) and the channel number is 40 (see picture link below), so the Communal Aerial must be pointing to Blackhill.

http://i63.tinypic.com/28….jpg

Im going to to pickup an Outside Aerial and fit that instead.

Thanks for all the advice.


link to this comment
GMAN73's 8 posts GB flag
MikeP
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

10:33 PM
Trowbridge

GMAN73:

Under no circumstances should you touch anything in the trunking outside - it is almost certainly *not* the aerial cable for the communal aerial system but could be a Virgin Media coaxial internet feed. In either case, it is not your property and anything you do could cause serious problems for others.

Please also check whether you are allowed to fit an aerial yourself. Many property owners will not allow tenants to add such plus there are planning issues you should check, the rules in Scotalnd vary slightly from those pertaining in England and Wales. That information should be available either on the internet on a website operated by your local council planning department, or else try talking to them directly and ask about fitting aerials having given them full details of where you live and the the property.


link to this comment
MikeP's 3,056 posts GB flag
MikeP's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Saturday, 12 March 2016
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

10:13 AM

GMAN73: Rather than racing ahead and purchasing the aerial referred to in the link, which to be perfectly honest about it I feel would be a retrograde step, as these small amplified dome aerials are seldom ever satisfactory when used in a relatively distant location "unless" still line-of-sight with the station, which yours isn't.

Communal aerial distribution amplifier systems can sometimes be fitted with filters to restrict the reception of channels outside of a predetermined range, and this "might" be the reason for zero signal being indicated on your manual scan test, but though, I feel that your best policy would be to make one or two local enquiries (in and outwith communal block) to ascertain if anyone else is able to receive programme channels associated with COM7, e.g: 106 - 110.

However, going back to you having referred to a Virgin media hub, if this is part of your system? try carrying out another manual tune test on C32/562.0Mhz whilst the device temporarily disabled, as it's not exactly unheard of for these devices to cause problems with reception. Another thing to check being, that any HDMI cables are not running close to the aerials coax cable, this being another possible source of selective signal blocking.


Re; aerials. I would rate the aerial seen in the undermentioned link used in conjunction with a variable booster, such as Argos 107/1533 (page 549 / item 22) as being capable far superior performance over the aerial referred to.


Labgear Mini-Compact Log Periodic Aerial | TV Aerials & Freeview | Screwfix.com







link to this comment
jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
Sunday, 13 March 2016
A
alexei romanov
sentiment_satisfiedBronze

8:12 PM
Bishopton

I am still experiecing reception problems from Blackhill.Sometimes the Hd channels go completely and sudden breakup on standard digital.There have been faualts on and off with this transmitter for over a year.

link to this comment
alexei romanov's 48 posts GB flag
alexei's: mapA's Freeview map terrainA's terrain plot wavesA's frequency data A's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Thursday, 24 March 2016
G
GMAN73
8:30 AM

Update folks.

Purchased the Aerial recommended by jb38, installed the aerial pole on the wood fascia of my house, mounted the aerial on top. Had 25m cable ran that through the window just to see if it picks up all the channels, it did, noticed that Sky News 132 Quality/Strength was only 25/28. Once I know it was picking up all channels I cut the cable and fed it through the hole in the wall I made. Noticed that the Sky News 132 Qualtiy/Strength was now 59/68, so having longer cable does not help quality. Ive also added a booster.

So thats me got all my channels that Blackhill transmit.

BIG THANKS to MikeP and jb38 for all their advice.

link to this comment
GMAN73's 8 posts GB flag
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

7:56 PM

GMAN73: Many thanks for your update on the situation, pleased to know that the compact log / booster installation turned out a success, something which I am sure would "not" have been the case with the dome aerial, as these devices basically comprise of a loop of wire coupled into a high gain amplifier.

I will say though, that if there hadn't have been any possible issues connected with outdoor installations in your locality I would have suggested fitting the slightly larger (2'6"/76cm) DM18 log, this type giving a "slightly" higher output, however, this type would obviously have attracted more attention over that of the compact log, something its best to avoid!.

Cheers / jb.

link to this comment
jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
MikeP
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

10:33 PM

GMAN73:

One of the 'quirks' of RF transmission and cable feeds is that the exact cable length can affect the signal appearing at the 'output' end plugged into the TV set. If the cable happens to be an exact multiple of the signal wavelength in question then you can get complete attenuation of that signal whilst others are unaffected! It is a principle that was used at RF transmitters to support the feed cables from the transmitter output to the aerial. The standing waves inherent in a half-wave stub (that's the technical terms for the metal supports whose length is critical) mean that where the wires are connected there appears to be an open circuit despite the supports being conductive metal. If your aerial cable just happens to be that length, or a multiple of it, you can end up with no signal at that frequency, the others all being OK as they are different wavelengths.


link to this comment
MikeP's 3,056 posts GB flag
Tuesday, 29 March 2016
N
Neville Wake
11:40 AM

My signal is from the Black Hill Central Scotland transmitter and is great on all channels except channel 42 which cuts out every thirty seconds or so. Are there problems that are not being shown on the website?

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Neville Wake's 2 posts GB flag
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