menuMENU    UK Free TV logo Freeview

 

 

Click to see updates

Full Freeview on the Mendip (Somerset, England) transmitter

first published this on - UK Free TV
sa_streetviewGoogle Streetviewsa_gmapsGoogle mapsa_bingBing mapsa_gearthGoogle Earthsa_gps51.237,-2.626 or 51°14'12"N 2°37'33"Wsa_postcodeBA5 3LB

 

The symbol shows the location of the Mendip (Somerset, England) transmitter which serves 720,000 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 Mendip (Somerset, England) mast?

Mendip transmitter - Mendip 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
_______

Which Freeview channels does the Mendip 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
C32 (562.0MHz)591mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
1 BBC One (SD) West, 2 BBC Two England, 9 BBC Four, 23 BBC Three, 201 CBBC, 202 CBeebies, 231 BBC News, 232 BBC Parliament, plus 17 others

PSB2
D3+4
 H max
C34 (578.0MHz)591mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
3 ITV 1 (SD) (West), 4 Channel 4 (SD) South ads, 5 Channel 5, 6 ITV 2, 10 ITV3, 13 E4, 14 Film4, 15 Channel 4 +1 South ads, 18 More4, 26 ITV4, 28 ITVBe, 30 E4 +1, 35 ITV1 +1 (West),

PSB3
BBCB
 H max
C35 (586.0MHz)591mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
46 5SELECT, 101 BBC One HD West, 102 BBC Two HD England, 103 ITV 1 HD (ITV Meridian Southampton), 104 Channel 4 HD South ads, 105 Channel 5 HD, 106 BBC Four HD, 107 BBC Three HD, 204 CBBC HD, 205 CBeebies HD, plus 1 others

COM4
SDN
 H max
C48 (690.0MHz)591mDTG-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
C33 (570.0MHz)591mDTG-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
C36 (594.0MHz)591mDTG-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

LBS
 H -10dB
C30 (546.0MHz)591mDTG-1210,000W
Channel icons
from 22nd September 2014: 7 Made in Bristol,

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 Mendip transmitter?

regional news image
BBC Points West 0.9m homes 3.4%
from Bristol BS8 2LR, 25km north (3°)
to BBC West region - 60 masts.
regional news image
ITV West Country News (East) 0.9m homes 3.4%
from Bristol BS4 3HG, 23km north (11°)
to ITV West region - 61 masts.
All of lunch, weekend and 50% evening news is shared with West Country (West)

Are there any self-help relays?

CheddarTransposer15 km E Weston-super-Mare1674 homes
LuccombeActive deflector6 km w Minehead38 homes

How will the Mendip (Somerset, England) transmission frequencies change over time?

1984-971997-981998-20102010-132013-182013-1727 Feb 2018
C/D EEEC/D EC/D E TW TW T
C30_local
C32BBCA
C33com7com7
C34D3+4
C35com8com8
C36ArqB
C37C5wavesC5waves
C48SDNSDNSDNSDN
C49tv_off BBCABBCA
C51tv_offLBSLBS
C52tv_offArqBArqBArqB
C54tv_offC4wavesC4wavesC4wavesD3+4D3+4D3+4
C55tv_offcom7tv_off
C56tv_offArqAArqAArqACOM8tv_off
C58tv_offBBC1wavesBBC1wavesBBC1wavesBBCBBBCBBBCB
C61ITVwavesITVwavesITVwavesBBCA
C64BBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBC2waves

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 24 Mar 10 and 7 Apr 10.

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

Analogue 1-4 500kW
Analogue 5(-6dB) 126kW
SDN, ARQA, ARQB, BBCA, D3+4, BBCB(-7dB) 100kW
com7(-8.4dB) 72.4kW
com8(-8.6dB) 69.1kW
Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D*, LBS(-17dB) 10kW

Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Mendip transmitter area

Jan 1958-Jul 1968Television Wales and the West
Jul 1968-Feb 2004Harlech Television
Feb 2004-Dec 2014ITV plc
Feb 1983-Dec 1992TV-am•
Jan 1993-Sep 2010GMTV•
Sep 2010-Dec 2014ITV Daybreak•
• Breakfast ◊ Weekends ♦ Friday night and weekends † Weekdays only. Mendip was not an original Channel 3 VHF 405-line mast: the historical information shown is the details of the company responsible for the transmitter when it began transmitting Channel 3.

Comments
Saturday, 9 August 2014
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

8:46 PM

Jon: Thanks for the update on the test, I will say though that Ch58 giving indication of 54% strength on the Humax cannot be classed as a particularly sparkling signal level, suggesting that you might possibly be located in a less than ideal area for reception, as even although Mux Ch33 is radiating at around 28Kw "under" that of Mux Ch58 I would still have expected to see a trace of it being indicated using the test as described. However, taking the above mentioned into account, I have to reiterate on that said with regards to the aerial, insomuch that I very much doubt if changing it to a wideband version will result in a signal level (if any) of a sufficient magnitude to resolve a picture, but of course that is entirely your decision. I would though like if you could carry out one final test, that being to blank out everything stored in the tuner, ensuring all has been deleted by "not" seeing anything in the guide list, once verified go into the tuning menu and select DVB-T2 followed by entering Mux Ch33 and check for any evidence of a signal. My reason for requesting this test is that some devices have a problem picking up DVB-T2 transmissions from two separate Mux transmitter channels, and I just want to verify that yours is not one of them. By the way, should you not have any form of booster on your aerial system? then I am quite sure that your somewhat lack lustre signal level would be significantly improved by the addition of this excellent low cost variable gain SLX brand device sold by Argos, it having proved a boon to many who suffered from low signal level problems. Plug-In 1-Way TV Aerial Signal Booster. | eBay

link to this comment
jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
Monday, 11 August 2014
M
Mike
sentiment_satisfiedBronze

4:14 PM

jb38 Have had installer call to try and sort Ch 33 problem he separated the two aerials and connected Mendip aerial to head amp but did not get any usable signal showing only 2 bars on quality (until having aerial installed to receive Poole there was a fair signal on Samsung and good one on You View) So reluctantly I have given up effort to obtain Com7. Thanks for all your help and advice.

link to this comment
Mike's 29 posts GB flag
Tuesday, 12 August 2014
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

12:10 AM

Mike : Thanks for the update on the situation with regards to the aerial installers findings, this unfortunately somewhat backing up that indicated on DUK's reception predictor of Ch33 not being receivable at your location.

However, on the subject of one of your aerials being used for the reception from the vertically polarised Poole transmitter, and with the other for Mendip which is horizontally polarised, are both aerials of the same grouping? or is the one facing Mendip wideband? the other point I wondered about being, has the diplexer now been removed from the system?

link to this comment
jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
M
Mike
sentiment_satisfiedBronze

8:58 AM

jb38: The diplexer has been re-connected the aerial used for Mendip is a wideband type

link to this comment
Mike's 29 posts GB flag
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

11:42 PM

Mike: Thanks for the info, although "if" the device in question is definitely a diplexer and "not" a combiner, then this device will have the effect of attenuating the signal from one of the aerials as diplexers are designed to combine aerials of different groupings, and of course reception from both the Poole and Mendip transmitters require the "same" group of aerial with the exception of Mendip's COM7.

link to this comment
jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
Sunday, 17 August 2014
B
Bernard Sullivan
4:47 PM

I am in a very poor reception area for the Mendip tx, but it is at least stronger than any other transmitters. I get all the Mux 1, 2 and 3 channels perfectly, but none of the Mux 4,5 and 6 channels. The receiver reports either poor signal or no signal from these channels. The receiver is tuned correctly. Can anyone explain why this might be, and have any suggestions?

link to this comment
Bernard Sullivan's 2 posts GB flag
MikeP
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

8:26 PM

Bernard Sullivan
The explanation is that the MUxes 1,2 and 3 are transmitted at a higher ERP than the other muxes. So you will receive a stronger signal from the Muxes 1, 2 and 3. If your signal levels for Muxes 4, 5 and 6 are close to the receiver's lower threshhold you are likely to get picture pixelation or break up and potentially signal loss if the received level drops below that threshhold.
Usually, adding a signal amplifier resolves the weak signals but at the expense of the strong signals, as those become too strong!

link to this comment
MikeP's 3,056 posts GB flag
Monday, 18 August 2014
J
Jon
11:04 PM

Hi jb38,

Thanks for your persistence and suggestions; I have solved the problem, and the answer is very silly. I didn't blank my Humax, I borrowed an HD signal analyser so I could check the whole of my system from the aerial down. I connected the analyser in the loft, and it said 46dBuV on ch33 direct from the aerial, and gave a decent picture of BBC News HD. I wasn't expecting that!

The aerial goes to a 20dB loft amp, then a long downlead, a passive splitter under the ground floor then to an aerial socket in the living room. There was a huge signal loss in the living room, which was due to the socket. At first I thought the socket was faulty, and then I realised what I'd done. My excuse is that the socket is in an awkward position behind a cabinet, but it is a dual outlet socket (TV/FM) and I had put the plug into the FM hole! It passed enough signal for the higher channels to work, but not channel 33. Now I have 80% signal strength on ch49 and 70% on ch33.

I was convinced there was nothing wrong with my system, so it is only because of your prodding that I actually checked it properly.
Thanks for your help,

Jon

link to this comment
Jon's 4 posts GB flag
Tuesday, 19 August 2014
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

11:16 PM

Jon: Re: the Ch33 problem. Many thanks for the update on the outcome of your fault finding exercise in an attempt to trace the reason for the problem, I'll bet you gave a sigh of relief when you eventually found it!

Of course, now that the reason is known this explains why Ch58 was only indicating 54% on your Humax, which as you know was something I commented on, although I feel that even the 54% was purely down to your 20dB booster, as otherwise it would have been a lot lower due to the FM sockets filtering / attenuating of signals in excess of 108Mhz, the top side of the FM band.

With regards to your aerial not being wideband, the situation has to be looked at in a similar way to that applying to boosters, insomuch that a signal "has" to there in the first place to be improved on, and although changing an aerial from C/D to a wideband type in order to accommodate a transmitter operating on a lower frequency "will" in most cases give an improvement, (albeit not always as much as might be expected) it will only do so if an signal is being detected in the first place, detected meaning "not" via an auto-tune which activates threshold limits, but either on a proper signal meter or, by using the aforementioned "manual tune" test procedure which is free of such limits, in your case no signal detected on Ch33 being the reason for my reservations about changing the aerial.

Anyway, thanks again for taking the time to update me on the situation, most interesting!



link to this comment
jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
Thursday, 21 August 2014
Transmitter engineering
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

4:31 PM

MENDIP transmitter - DAB: BBC National DAB Radio Off Air from 14:25 today to 14:46 today. [BBC]

link to this comment
Transmitter engineering's 149,799 posts xx flag
Select more comments

Your comment please
Please post a question, answer or commentIf you have Freeview reception problems before posting a question your must first do this Freeview reset procedure then see: Freeview reception has changed, Single frequency interference, and Freeview intermittent interference.

If you have no satellite signal, see Sky Digibox says 'No Signal' or 'Technical fault'

If you have other problems, please provide a full (not partial) postcode (or preferably enter it in box at the top right) and indicate where if aerial is on the roof, in the loft or elsewhere.

UK Free TV is here to help people. If you are rude or disrespectful all of your posts will be deleted and you will be banned.








Privacy policy: UK Free Privacy policy.