Full Freeview on the Caradon Hill (Cornwall, England) transmitter
 | Google Streetview |  | Google map |  | Bing map |  | Google Earth |  | 50.511,-4.437 or 50°30'38"N 4°26'14"W |  | PL14 5LT |
The symbol shows the location of the Caradon Hill (Cornwall, England) transmitter which serves 180,000 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.
This transmitter has no current reported problems
The BBC and Digital UK report there are no faults or engineering work on the Caradon Hill (Cornwall, England) transmitter._______
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 Caradon 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 Caradon Hill transmitter?
BBC Spotlight 0.8m homes 2.9%
from Plymouth PL3 5BD, 26km east-southeast (123°)
to BBC South West region - 107 masts.
ITV West Country News (West) 0.8m homes 2.9%
from Plymouth PL7 5BQ, 32km east-southeast (116°)
to ITV West Country region - 107 masts.
All of lunch, weekend and 50% evening news is shared with West Country (East)
Are there any self-help relays?
| Barleycombe | Active deflector | 25 km E Plymouth | 3 homes |
| Parracombe | Transposer | 17 km NE Barnstaple | 80 homes |
How will the Caradon Hill (Cornwall, England) transmission frequencies change over time?
| 1961-80s | 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2009 | 2009-13 | 27 Mar 2019 | ||||
| VHF | A K T | A K T | A K T | A K T | A K T | ||||
| C12 | ITVwaves | ||||||||
| C21 | +SDN | SDN | |||||||
| C22 | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | +BBCB | BBCB | ||||
| C24 | -ArqA | ArqA | |||||||
| C25 | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | +D3+4 | D3+4 | ||||
| C27 | -ArqB | ArqB | |||||||
| C28 | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | +BBCA | BBCA | ||||
| C30 | _local | _local | |||||||
| C31 | com7 | ||||||||
| C32 | C4waves | C4waves | C4waves | ||||||
| C37 | com8 |
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 Aug 09 and 9 Sep 09.
How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?
| Analogue 1-4 | 500kW | |
| BBCA, D3+4, BBCB | (-7dB) 100kW | |
| SDN, ARQA, ARQB | (-10dB) 50kW | |
| com7 | (-16.3dB) 11.6kW | |
| Mux 1* | (-20dB) 5kW | |
| Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D* | (-21dB) 4kW | |
| com8 | (-24.2dB) 1.9kW |
Local transmitter maps
Caradon Hill Freeview Caradon Hill DAB Caradon Hill AM/FM Caradon Hill TV region BBC South West West CountryWhich companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Caradon Hill transmitter area
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Friday, 14 June 2024
S
StevensOnln111:47 AM
Jacky: Unfortunately Arqiva (who operate the transmitter) don't give any details of what the engineering work involves or how long it is expected to last.
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Thursday, 26 December 2024
D
denyse shorrocks6:29 PM
no signal in crackington haven and marshgate for 2 days
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C
Chris.SE6:54 PM
denyse shorrocks:
This is most likely down to current weather conditions -
High pressure currently affecting TV & Radio services across parts of the UK - 24 December | Help receiving TV and radio
High pressure could affect reception across the UK this week | Freeview
BUT, as you haven't given a full postcode we can't advise on your normal predicted reception which may not be that good - based on a random location I've checked in the area - and so we can't advise if ther other things you may usefully check.
That said, I hope you haven't retuned as in these sort of conditions it will often clear your correct tuning and can tune you to the weak signals from a distant transmitter which will eventually disappear!
You cannot tune to signals that aren't there or can't be decoded.
If you are/were correctly tuned, do NOT retune.
IF you did retune and now have the incorrect tuning, clear the current tuning by unplugging the aerial and doing a full retune, then plug the aerial back in and do a MANUAL tune of the UHF channels as listed at the very top of this page (assuming that it is the Caradon Hill transmitter you normally get).
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Friday, 27 December 2024
P
Philip Johns10:26 AM
denyse shorrocks: On Christmas day and occasionally on 26 Dec, we had no tv signal fron Caradon. We often hav this problem when there is high pressure even in the summer time. It seems many people in St Austell have had the same problem. seeing how much we pay licence fee every year, I expect to be able to watch tv all the time. We are on the edge of your area and also on the edge of Redruth transmitter so no point trying to get service from there. Is there any way you can boost the signal for the St Austell area please. Post code PL25.
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S
Steve Donaldson2:14 PM
Philip Johns: The St Austell relay got a big power boost at digital switchover in 2009. There was also a change of antenna which sends out more signal particularly in the direction of St Austell and much of its suburbs:
mb21 - The Transmission Gallery
At digital switchover most transmitters stayed at what is effectively the same power, meaning the coverage is the same as with analogue. In a few cases, including here, poor reception areas were identified and coverage improved with a power boost, and in a few instances a new transmitter.
All transmitters broadcast the Public Service Broadcaster (PSB) multiplexes (which carry BBC, ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 5 and some sister channels, and all HD channels). The Commercial (COM) multiplexes are broadcast from main transmitters and generally larger relays.
At switchover, the full complement of channels (PSBs and COMs) became available from 80 or so transmitters covering 90% of the population. Of the 1,000 or so PSB-only relays covering around 9% of the population, it was said that the cost of broadcasting the COMs from them would be roughly the same as that for the network of about 80 transmitters, this leaving aside the fact that there weren't enough frequencies.
The COM multiplexes have no obligation to provide a public service, unlike the PSBs. The COM operators serve the greatest number of viewers for the least cost. The biggest transmitters which serve the most viewers cost less-per-viewer to run than the smaller relays, and this is why the 1000+ relays serving 9% of the population cost about the same as the 80-or-so transmitters that have been full-service since switchover (a few have been added since then).
In a situation where a full-service transmitter is available but can be variable, but where there is a good PSB-only relay then one has to consider:
1. Whether to use the full-service transmitter all the time. This may be sacrificing the reliable PSB reception from the relay in return for adding the COM channels.
2. Whether to use the PSB-only relay. This would mean sacrificing the COM channels (which may be poor at times) in return for stable PSB reception.
3. Whether to have an aerial the relay and the full-service transmitter, and feed one into a set-top box and one into the TV. While this is more costly and requires a set-top box, it may provide resilience of the PSBs while offering the COMs when they can be received.
One may wish to consider how often a channel on one of the COM multiplexes is watched, and how much PSB viewing there is. None of the above options are ideal. At the root is the fact that the COM operators are without obligation to provide a public service by installing small in-fill relays.
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S
Steve Donaldson3:56 PM
Philip Johns: In addition to the above, if the issue of poor reception relates to the COMs only from Caradon Hill, with the PSBs being good, then there would be no advantage and only disadvantage (loss of COMs) receiving from St Austell instead.
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Saturday, 28 December 2024
C
Chris.SE12:17 AM
Philip Johns:
I'm afraid how much we pay for the licence fee has no effect on the weather!
Yes we could have more power (and breach international agreements) and cause interference to foreign stations, they'd want more power which in turn would give us the same problem.
Another option to consider is Freesat.
Streaming the channels is also possible if you have a half reasonable internet connection. All the main services are available via iPlayer, ITVX, Four and My5 etc.
This problem has always been with us, in the old days of analogue we called it "Continental Interference" !!
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C
Chris.SE12:20 AM
Philip Johns:
PS. Without a FULL postcode we can't look at your predicted reception to advise if there's potential improvements you could make to your installation, or other possible interference issues.
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Sunday, 5 January 2025
J
Jeremy Greenaway11:24 PM
Plymouth
For the past three weeks, we have had mediocre, poor or no signal on various Freeview channels which continue today. Our location is Plymouth PL2 1BR - north west facing and in line of Sight of Caradon Hill at Blockhouse, Stoke.
We have returned numerous times but this has not resolved the issues, which continously vary from one channel to another. Often Sky News channel (233) is completely absent with a no signal report but Blaze and others are similarly affected. We have had our aerial and cabloing inspected and a new cable junction box installed at a cost of nearly 200, and while this has had some improvement, it has not resolved the persistent low poer problems.
WHAT IS GOIN ON!?
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Jeremy's: mapJ's Freeview map terrainJ's terrain plot wavesJ's frequency data J's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Monday, 6 January 2025
C
Chris.SE12:39 AM
Jeremy Greenaway:
It would be more helpful if you could be more specific about exactly which channels you've had problems with, Sky and Blaze are carried on two different multiplexes although they are both commercial ones.
For which TV channels are carried on which multiplex see
Channel listings for Industry Professionals | Freeview
You aren't the only one who has had some reception difficulties recently but there are a variety of reasons, one being location dependant.
About a week ago, it was Weather conditions, the High Pressure was causing some Tropospheric Ducting which resulted in interference from distant transmitters in Europe and/or the UK. This affected various parts of the country at different times. Freeview and the BBC issued warnings.
2nd, earlier in December, the Caradon Hill transmitter was having Planned Engineering where power may have been reduced or transmissions may have been on the Reserve Antenna which may have resulted in lower signals at your location.
Another (3rd) reason is specific to your postcode, but I'll come to that in a minute.
But first, Retuning is a BAD idea when you have No Signal - you cannot tune to signals that aren't there or can't be decoded, the usual result is to clear the correct tuning, and maybe in some circumstances tune you to weak and unreliable signals from other transmitters that disappear or come and go. In your location you might get some signals from the Plymouth North Rd. Relay (PSB multiplexes only) or the Plympton transmitter. These may be received off rear sidelobes on your aerial.
So the first check is go into your TV Tuning section and check you are correctly tuned to Caradon Hill's UHF channels.
In the multiplex order BBCA/PSB1, D3&4/PSB2, BBCB HD/PSB3, SDN/COM4, ArqA/COM5, ArqB/COM6
As detailed at the very top of this page, the UHF channels are C28, C25, C22, C21, C24 and C27.
In your TV tuning section, do you also see Signal Strength and Quality figures for each multiplex's UHF channel? If so, please post each of them, this may help identify problems
Some further detail about your installation would be useful. How old is your aerial and coax (roughly)?
Do you have an amp/splitter that feed more than one TV or box? Where is it located?
Now you mention a new "cable junction box" what exactly is it and where is it?
For the price you've mentioned I've expected an new aerial and coax downlead!!
Did the installer measure the signal strengths with a professional meter and did he check for interference issues with a spectrum analyser?
The 3rd possible cause of your problem may be interference from a new/upgraded phone mast now using the 700MHz band. You should have received a postcard from Restore TV. You are surrounded by a number of masts very close to you.
If you can update with as much information as possible, we should be able to make some practical suggestions to resolve the problem.
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