Full Freeview on the Hemel Hempstead (Hertfordshire, England) transmitter
 | Google map |  | Bing map |  | Google Earth |  | 51.729,-0.426 or 51°43'43"N 0°25'34"W |  | HP3 8SA |
The symbol shows the location of the Hemel Hempstead (Hertfordshire, England) transmitter which serves 74,000 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 Hemel Hempstead (Hertfordshire, 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)
The Hemel Hempstead (Hertfordshire, 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 Hemel Hempstead 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 Hemel Hempstead (Hertfordshire, 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 Hemel Hempstead transmitter?
BBC London 4.9m homes 18.4%
from London W1A 1AA, 30km southeast (138°)
to BBC London region - 55 masts.
ITV London News 4.9m homes 18.4%
from London WC1X 8XZ, 31km southeast (135°)
to ITV London region - 55 masts.
How will the Hemel Hempstead (Hertfordshire, England) transmission frequencies change over time?
| 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2012 | 2012-13 | 18 Apr 2018 | |||||
| B E T | B E T | B E T | E T | K T | |||||
| C29 | ArqB | ||||||||
| C31 | ArqA | ||||||||
| C34 | _local | ||||||||
| C37 | SDN | ||||||||
| C40 | BBCA | ||||||||
| C41 | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | D3+4 | |||||
| C42 | _local | ||||||||
| C43 | D3+4 | ||||||||
| C44 | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBCA | |||||
| C46 | BBCB | ||||||||
| C47 | C4waves | C4waves | C4waves | BBCB | |||||
| C50tv_off | SDN | ||||||||
| C51tv_off | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | ||||||
| C55tv_off | ArqB | ||||||||
| C59tv_off | ArqA |
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 4 Apr 12 and 18 Apr 12.
How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?
| Analogue 1-4 | 10kW | |
| SDN, ARQA, ARQB, BBCA, D3+4, BBCB | (-7dB) 2kW | |
| Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B* | (-14dB) 400W | |
| Mux C*, Mux D* | (-17dB) 200W |
Local transmitter maps
Hemel Hempstead Freeview Hemel Hempstead DAB Crystal Palace TV region BBC London LondonWhich companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Crystal Palace transmitter area
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Tuesday, 20 August 2024
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Steve Donaldson2:13 PM
Anthony Breeze: I suggest that the Hemel Hempstead (Pimlico) transmitter may be the best at your location. I will come on to the reasons for this.
It is always good as a first step to check that the TV is tuned to the correct transmitter, and not some other transmitter if one may be available. In this instance Hemel Hempstead is only 12 degrees off beam of Crystal Palace, albeit that the former is vertically polarised and the latter horizontally so.
Multiple programme channels are broadcast on a single signal called a multiplex, and there are six multiplexes carrying the main Freeview channels:
PSB1 - "BBC A" - BBC standard definition TV and radio
PSB2 - "D3&4" - ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 5 and some sister channels
PSB3 - "BBC B" - all HD channels, BBC and non-BBC
COM4 - "SDN" - QVC, U&Drama and others
COM5 - "Arq A" - Sky Mix, Really and others
COM6 - "Arq B" - Quest, U&W and others
Freeview has published a list of programme channels by multiplex ("mux") here, and you can use this to work out which multiplex a programme channel is on and in-turn which UHF channel it is broadcast on from each transmitter:
Channel listings for Industry Professionals | Freeview
The six main multiplexes of Crystal Palace, in order of the above, are on UHF channels 23, 26, 30, 25, 22, 28. There is also the local multiplex which carries London Live on C35. For one service (programme channel) on each of the multiplexes, check it is tuned to the UHF channel for Crystal Palace, usually by looking at the signal information screen.
The six channels of Hemel Hempstead are 40, 43, 46, 37, 31, 29, with the local multiplex being on 34.
Another possible cause of reception issues these days is a mobile phone mast starting using 700MHz frequencies, which were previously the top end of the TV spectrum. Restore TV is the organisation responsible for alleviating such issues. The solution is usually to install a filter, which Restore TV sends out for free. Restore TV says it has sent you a postcard to say you might potentially have issues:
https://restoretv.uk/post…ure/
What this means is that as another possibility to the engineering works, it could be mobile interference.
In terms of whether to go for CP or HH at your location, I offer the following comment. With respect to the channel offerings of Crystal Palace versus Hemel Hempstead, they are the same: they both broadcast the six main multiplexes plus the local London multiplex. A few years ago there were two quasi-national multiplexes carrying mainly HD channels which were broadcast by 30 of the biggest transmitters in the country -- including Crystal Palace but not Hemel Hempstead. At that time it may have been advantageous to go for CP instead of HH at your location.
I suggest that you first check you are tuned to CP. If it turns out you are not, then correct this and see whether it gives good reception. If it does then you might decide to leave things as they are and stick with CP.
If you are in fact tuned to CP and have picture break-up, then it is reasonable to suspect either mobile interference or the engineering works. The solution to the former is probably a filter and the latter may be alleviated (now and at any time in the future) by using HH instead.
It may be worthwhile to request a filter from Restore TV, being that it's free and the only cost is the time it takes to order it. Having fitted it, you can see immediately whether it has made any difference or not.
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Wednesday, 21 August 2024
C
Chris.SE12:38 AM
Anthony Breeze:
Oh dear. I'm afraid it's not our usual advise to suggest retuning IF your were correctly tuned and then have pixellated pictures or 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.
IF your aerial is Horizontally polarised and pointing at Crystal Palace then do check in your tuning section that you are tuned to its UHF channels as listed by Steve in his post. If you are incorrectly tuned to even Hemel Hempstead's UHF channels, reception will most likely be unreliable with the wrong polarisation of the aerial.
Where people can get signals from more than one transmitter and have become incorrectly tuned, the best cure is to clear the existing tuning (auto retune with the aerial unplugged) then MANUAL retune of the wanted UHF channels only (not automated retuning).
If you choose to change to reception from Hemel Hempstead then you'll need to change the polarisation of your aerial first (rotate it until the rods are vertical) and swing it so that it's pointing virtually SSE (compass bearing 155 degrees).
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Sunday, 1 September 2024
C
Chris.SE5:26 PM
David Piper :
There don't appear to be any faults currently reported, so if it's not the engineering as noted in the post before yours then it could be current weather conditions with the high pressure producing some quite variable tropospheric conditions affecting parts of the country from time to time.
The BBC do have a current warning in place -
High pressure could affect TV & Radio services across parts of the UK from 30th August | Help receiving TV and radio
Hope you didn't retune, see the first paragraph of my previous post here!
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David Piper 8:18 PM
Lost all HD channels. No signal on channel 46.
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Monday, 2 September 2024
C
Chris.SE12:43 AM
David Piper :
Perhaps you could try reading my previous reply above as well as the Engineering post and my previous post above that. As you haven't given a full postcode, we can't check your predicted reception or whether you may be suffering other interference from new/updated phone masts.
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David Piper 10:26 AM
Hemel Hempstead
Chris.SE: Thanks for the reply.
Issue started in last fortnight, previously been excellent reception for years. No changes at home.
HP39NU
3 TVs have no signal on channel 46, with some errors on channel 43.
2 aerials.
Facebook tells me others in HP3 have same issue with loss of HD channels.
Thanks
David
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David's: mapD's Freeview map terrainD's terrain plot wavesD's frequency data D's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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Steve Donaldson12:43 PM
David Piper : A possible cause is a nearby mobile phone mast which has started using the 700MHz or 800MHz bands, frequencies previously used for TV, and therefore which TVs are capable of receiving (though no longer used). This can sometimes cause issues with TV reception, and Restore TV is the organisation responsible for alleviating such issues. This is usually by means of a filter, which they supply free of charge, which blocks those frequencies, preventing them from reaching the TV.
It may be worth asking them to send you a filter and see if it fixes the issue:
https://restoretv.uk/post…ure/
The filter must go before any signal amplifier/booster. As you have two aerials for which the same issue is occurring, you will need two filters.
As you have three TVs, then one of the aerials must be feeding two TVs. Fit the filter before the splitter (irrespective of whether it is powered amplifier or non-powered, passive splitter).
Then report back your findings here. If a filter alleviates the issue, share this information with others in the area.
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David Piper 9:15 PM
Steve Donaldson:
Thank you for the reply.
I have contacted restoretv and requested 2 filters.
Do you know where this mast is?
Thanks David
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Chris.SE9:40 PM
David Piper :
As you've probably discovered following the link that Steve posted, Restore TV should have sent postcards to your postcode.
You are surrounded by Mobile Phone masts - at least 15 of them within 1.5km. It could be any one (or more) of them recently upgraded. I'm afraid neither the Mobile operators, Freeview or Restore TV tell anyone about which masts it might be!
If you post on that Facebook group, you could post the Restore TV link/details so others can check their postcode or if they've had a postcard.
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Tuesday, 3 September 2024
R
Ray G11:59 AM
Hatfield
Freeview HD channels disappeared completely yesterday (2nd Sept) and very unstable today. This is on several Tv's and STB's in the house. All normal measures have been tried. I even have a ceramic filter still installed, left over from when I had one programme group on channel 59 (when it solved the then problem beautifully).
I am in Hatfield Hertfordshire, AL9 5HF and receive programmes from the Hemel Hempstead transmitter. Reception has been very good and stable for several years now until yesterday. Atmospherics are probably the culprit, but why now? We've all sorts of weather conditions over the last 3-4 years (at least), without any real problems. Has something else changed?
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Ray's: mapR's Freeview map terrainR's terrain plot wavesR's frequency data R's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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