Full Freeview on the Heathfield (East Sussex, England) transmitter
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The symbol shows the location of the Heathfield (East Sussex, England) transmitter which serves 170,000 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 Heathfield (East Sussex, England) mast?
Heathfield transmitter - Heathfield transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 22/04/2024 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)
The Heathfield (East Sussex, England) mast is a public service broadcasting (PSB) transmitter, it does not provide these commercial (COM) channels: .
If you want to watch these channels, your aerial must point to one of the 80 Full service Freeview transmitters. For more information see the will there ever be more services on the Freeview Light transmitters? page.
Which Freeview channels does the Heathfield 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)
The Heathfield (East Sussex, England) mast is a public service broadcasting (PSB) transmitter, it does not provide these commercial (COM) channels: .
If you want to watch these channels, your aerial must point to one of the 80 Full service Freeview transmitters. For more information see the will there ever be more services on the Freeview Light transmitters? page.
Which BBC and ITV regional news can I watch from the Heathfield transmitter?
BBC South East Today 0.8m homes 3.2%
from Tunbridge Wells TN1 1QQ, 17km north (6°)
to BBC South East region - 45 masts.
ITV Meridian News 0.7m homes 2.7%
from Maidstone ME14 5NZ, 41km north-northeast (31°)
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 Heathfield (East Sussex, England) transmission frequencies change over time?
| 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2012 | 2012-13 | 2013-18 | 2013-17 | 19 Jul 2018 | |||
| C/D E | C/D E | C/D E | W T | W T | W T | K T | |||
| C29 | _local | _local | _local | _local | |||||
| C40 | SDN | ||||||||
| C41 | ArqB | ArqB | ArqB | BBCA | |||||
| C42 | SDN | SDN | SDN | ||||||
| C43 | ArqA | ||||||||
| C44 | ArqA | ArqA | ArqA | D3+4 | |||||
| C46 | ArqB | ||||||||
| C47 | BBCB | BBCB | BBCB | BBCB | |||||
| C49tv_off | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | D3+4 | D3+4 | D3+4 | |||
| C52tv_off | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBCA | BBCA | BBCA | |||
| C64 | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ||||||
| C67 | 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 30 May 12 and 13 Jun 12.
How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?
| Analogue 1-4 | 100kW | |
| SDN, ARQA, ARQB, BBCA, D3+4, BBCB | (-7dB) 20kW | |
| Mux 1*, Mux 2* | (-18dB) 1.6kW | |
| Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D* | (-20dB) 1000W |
Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Heathfield transmitter area
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Is the transmitter output the same in all directions?
Radiation patterns withheldMonday, 6 November 2023
Transmitter engineering
5:10 AM
5:10 AM
Heathfield transmitter - Heathfield transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 06/11/2023 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels [DUK]
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Monday, 13 November 2023
Transmitter engineering
5:04 AM
5:04 AM
Heathfield transmitter - Heathfield transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 13/11/2023 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels [DUK]
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Monday, 27 November 2023
Transmitter engineering
10:47 AM
10:47 AM
Heathfield transmitter - Heathfield transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 27/11/2023 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels [DUK]
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Monday, 4 December 2023
Transmitter engineering
5:12 AM
5:12 AM
Heathfield transmitter - Heathfield transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 04/12/2023 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels [DUK]
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Transmitter engineering
5:12 AM
5:12 AM
Heathfield transmitter - Heathfield transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 04/12/2023 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels [DUK]
| link to this comment |
Monday, 11 December 2023
Transmitter engineering
10:35 AM
10:35 AM
Heathfield transmitter - Heathfield transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 11/12/2023 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels [DUK]
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Monday, 18 December 2023
M
Mrs C Liston10:51 AM
I would like to know why my tv ariel has no signal for a few days then it comes back again, ok for a while then it happens again, I have been advised to have a dish, which I find ugly things, at 354 pounds for a pensioner that is a lot of money, I even get French station pop up after retunning to see if I can get a signal, if it's hot no picture if its cold no signal windy also, why is this mask not a powerful as Crystal Palace, we did'nt have any problem when we lived there, just this area I live in Oxted Surrey, have you and answers to this, yesterday I could'nt watch a thing, this morning still no signal, it comes then retreats to nothing, I live alone so over Xmas looks like there will be no tv for me to watch, which does help if you live alone, surely the strengh of the signal should be good over all the area it covers not just Eastbourn area and weak avery where else. look forward to hearing from you asap. I don't have Sky or andy other cable tv just the normal station to watch.
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B
Barry Frewin11:43 AM
East Grinstead
RH19 4AW Aerial on roof
I live in East Grinstead and have a problem with the reception.to both our TVs. We have lost all signal
From the Heathfield transmitter . Is there a problem with the signal from Heathfield? Thank you Regards Barry
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Barry's: mapB's Freeview map terrainB's terrain plot wavesB's frequency data B's Freeview Detailed Coverage
S
Steve Donaldson3:03 PM
Mrs C Liston: Heathfield was listed for engineering works last week, although it is not now. This is not to say that it hasn't over-run and not shown on the Freeview webpage listing engineering works here:
Planned engineering works | Freeview
You've asked a few questions and therefore I will address them in turn.
In regards retuning, the answer is "don't do it!". By resetting you have cleared the tuning for the designated transmitter. Having done that, retuning will only ever pick up what was tuned before, if at all. Crucially, it can't make a signal reappear that has disappeared!
The point is that the issue isn't with the tuning, but that the signal from the transmitter isn't coming down the aerial lead into your TV. If the TV is tuned correctly, meaning tuned to the channels of Heathfield, then it will show a picture when fed with the signal from Heathfield.
That you are in Oxted with your aerial pointing to Heathfield means your aerial is pointed towards France. In regards the TV tuning in French channels, it may or may not be that these are on the same UHF channel (frequency) as Heathfield. It is possible that they are not and that by deleting the Heathfield tuning, your TV has chosen the French channels because they are the best signal it can find across the whole TV frequency band (because Heathfield is absent at the time you retuned).
In effort to restore your channels (and so you have TV for Christmas), use manual tuning to select the broadcast channels of Heathfield:
PSB1 - BBC One - C41
PSB2 - ITV - C44
PSB3 - BBC One HD - C47
COM4 - QVC - C40
COM5 - Sky Mix - C43
COM6 - Quest - C46
To explain the above, one digital transmission signal carries multiple programme channels, and this is known as a multiplex or "mux". So all the BBC standard definition TV and radio channels are carried on PSB1 multiplex, which is broadcast on UHF channel 41 (C41) from Heathfield. In the above list, I have given one service on each multiplex. Check you are tuned to the appropriate UHF channel for that multiplex from Heathfield. Crystal Palace channels to look out for, in the same order, are 23, 26, 30, 25, 22 and 28.
With regards satellite TV, then there is Freesat and this is the satellite equivalent of Freeview. Some of the channels available are different. The point is that in order to have satellite TV you don't have to subscribe to Sky. The dish for Freesat is exactly the same as for Sky. I appreciate you said you don't want a satellite dish, but I thought I'd let you know this, should you be faced with no other option.
In terms of distance, then the bigger factor with TV reception is being able to see the transmitter. Some people are close to a high power transmitter but can't receive because there is a hill in the way. That said, Oxted is quite a distance from Heathfield and there is high ground in the way around 16 miles out around Crowborough.
Reception across a town will vary, therefore it's not possible to assess or give any idea of whether it may be possible to receive Crystal Palace at your location. A full postcode is required.
Not being familiar with the area, I can see that Oxted has high ground to the north, thereby making Crystal Palace difficult or impossible. With Heathfield, you have High Weald blocking your line of sight, in the Crowborough area around 16 miles out. Depending on whereabouts you are, there may be ground in the immediate vicinity in the way too.
If your aerial is pointed to Heathfield, then the decision may have been made that this was the better (least worst) of the two. But, as I say, neither is ideal because high ground is in the way for both. Or it could be that it is "much of a muchness" and that you might benefit by using Crystal Palace instead.
At 200kW, Crystal Palace is among a few of the most powerful transmitters in the country. Heathfield at 20kW (for PSBs) and 10kW (for COMs) is relatively low power 'high power' transmitter. The high power helps reach people, particularly those who have an obstruction such as a hill in the way. Choose how powerful a transmitter is, though, there will always be those who are struggling and would have been in a better position had it been more powerful.
My cursory assessment of Oxted leads me to believe that TV reception is either Crystal Palace or Heathfield, neither of which may be great. The only remaining question is whether Reigate may be possible. I tried a couple of postcodes in the predictor and it didn't come up, and I get the feeling that Oxted is beyond its coverage area, although as I say, a full postcode is really required to get any useful idea.
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S
Steve Donaldson7:01 PM
Mrs C Liston: Having looked into this further, it looks like high ground at Crowborough isn't completely obstructing the view to the transmitter, although it is still high enough to potentially cause an issue. The terrain plotter I am using had the height of the Heathfield mast down as being not as tall as it is. Having consulted another source to find the correct height, I have now entered it into the terrain plotter, taking a couple of sample locations in Oxted and it seems that the top of the mast can just about be seen, although the terrain is still a little in the way.
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