Full Freeview on the Bluebell Hill (Medway, England) transmitter
 | Google Streetview |  | Google map |  | Bing map |  | Google Earth |  | 51.324,0.520 or 51°19'25"N 0°31'13"E |  | ME5 9RD |
The symbol shows the location of the Bluebell Hill (Medway, England) transmitter which serves 200,000 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 Bluebell Hill (Medway, England) mast?
Bluebell Hill transmitter - Bluebell Hill transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 30/09/2024 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels 
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Digital television services are broadcast on a multiplexes (or Mux) where many stations occupy a single broadcast frequency, as shown below.
64QAM 8K 3/4 27.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)
Which Freeview channels does the Bluebell 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.
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 Bluebell Hill transmitter?
BBC South East Today 0.8m homes 3.2%
from Tunbridge Wells TN1 1QQ, 28km southwest (218°)
to BBC South East region - 45 masts.
ITV Meridian News 0.7m homes 2.7%
from Maidstone ME14 5NZ, 5km south-southeast (155°)
to ITV Meridian (East) region - 36 masts.
All of lunch, weekend and 50% evening news is shared with all of Meridian plus Oxford
How will the Bluebell Hill (Medway, England) transmission frequencies change over time?
| 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2012 | 2012-13 | 19 Jul 2018 | |||||
| E | E | E | W T | W T | |||||
| C21 | _local | ||||||||
| C28 | _local | ||||||||
| C32 | com7 | ||||||||
| C34 | com8 | ||||||||
| C39 | +ArqA | ||||||||
| C40 | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | +BBCB | SDN | ||||
| C43 | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | D3+4 | ArqA | ||||
| C45 | SDN | BBCB | |||||||
| C46 | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBCA | ArqB | ||||
| C54tv_off | ArqB | ||||||||
| C55tv_off | com7tv_off | ||||||||
| C56tv_off | COM8tv_off | ||||||||
| C65 | C4waves | C4waves | C4waves |
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 13 Jun 12 and 27 Jun 12.
How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?
| Analogue 1-4 | 30kW | |
| SDN, ARQA, ARQB, BBCA, D3+4, BBCB | (-1.8dB) 20kW | |
| com8 | (-7.8dB) 5kW | |
| com7 | (-8.1dB) 4.7kW | |
| Mux 1*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D* | (-10dB) 3kW | |
| Mux 2*, Mux A* | (-11.8dB) 2kW |
Local transmitter maps
Bluebell Hill Freeview Bluebell Hill DAB Bluebell Hill TV region BBC South East Meridian (East micro region)Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Bluebell Hill transmitter area
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Tuesday, 26 April 2011
S
Steve4:22 PM
Maidstone
Just got a reply from Digital UK
"Thank you for your email dated 26 April regarding digital reception.
We would expect you to receive your digital service from the Bluebell Hill transmitter. The reception from this transmitter would be variable on some of the digital services. Both of the UHF channel numbers you mention are the ones affected. This would mean that broadcasts on these frequencies are prone to break up and loss of service.
The Sandy Heath transmitter is out with the range of your area and would be unlikely to be able to interfere with reception to your address. As the prediction is for a variable reception on these channels this would be reason you are having difficulty in getting some channels."
Their reason doesn't explain 4 years of excellent reception and now rubbish, (which I let them know is what has happened), but Briantist's does.
I just think they do not want to admit that the upgrading is not being handled properly so they do not have to do anything.
Steve
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Steve's: mapS's Freeview map terrainS's terrain plot wavesS's frequency data S's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Steve: "I just think they do not want to admit that the upgrading is not being handled properly so they do not have to do anything. "
Technically this is correct, the provision of the broadcast services only have to be at the contracted levels, the responsibility for reception is down to the householder.
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M
Mike Dimmick5:51 PM
Steve: The problem is simply the very slow roll-out across the country. By deciding to increase power at some locations before others, it causes problems for digital reception at the transmitters that are yet to switch over. (They're trying harder to avoid interference to analogue transmissions, which generally isn't hard because they're reusing the analogue frequencies where possible, which were *designed* not to overlap.)
They have also decided to increase power at all sites by more than is really required, which is causing more interference from digital signals than from the analogue signals that previously occupied those channels.
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Wednesday, 27 April 2011
S
Steve9:41 AM
Maidstone
So since Bluebell Hill is almost the last transmitter to be switched we can expect the situation to get far worse before it gets finally sorted?
One wonders why they chose the most densely populated areas to be left till last.
Steve
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Steve's: mapS's Freeview map terrainS's terrain plot wavesS's frequency data S's Freeview Detailed Coverage
A
Alan Hicks5:20 PM
I have a freeview box upstairs and one fitted in the receiver downstairs, we have a high gain wideband aerial fitted on the chimminy stack. At the moment some of the stations are appearing at different numbers on each set we are due to be switched over in 2012 and some we cannot receive at all namely channel 5. The set top box has scanned the london transmitter at crystal palace. I hope you can help
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Steve: "can expect the situation to get far worse before it gets finally sorted?"
Yes, certainly no better.
"One wonders why they chose the most densely populated areas to be left till last. "
The areas done first were those with the least cross-over into other regions.
Those planned last are the areas close to international borders (SE England, Northern Ireland).
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Thursday, 28 April 2011
Sunday, 1 May 2011
B
brian5:50 PM
I have just read through two weeks worth of misery about loss of D24+D27 channels during high pressure weather systems.
Brian(tist) , Mike and all, you all do a great job trying to explain things. Fancy giving you (late night) abuse when all you are trying to do is help people..
Just a thought here digital ITV/CH4 fans but you could always try switching to analogue for a few hours when the signal drops out. I am on Bluebell Hill and that is what I do..
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Saturday, 7 May 2011
L
Levett10:54 AM
St. Leonards-on-sea
TN37 7PP like others in this area I am only now able to get BBC1&2,Dave and a few others on freeview,no ITV,C4 or C5 etc for 6 weeks now.We live in a wooden chalet single storey, the new digital aerial is on the roof pointing towards bluebell.Can I do anything to improve matters?I have tried returning to factory setting with no improvement,I have also had Sky out who tell me they cannot pick up a satelite signal here.
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Levett's: mapL's Freeview map terrainL's terrain plot wavesL's frequency data L's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Levett: You are predicted to get a much better service from the Dover transmitter. Please move your aerial to point there.
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