Full Freeview on the Mendip (Somerset, England) transmitter
 | Google Streetview |  | Google map |  | Bing map |  | Google Earth |  | 51.237,-2.626 or 51°14'12"N 2°37'33"W |  | BA5 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 18/09/2023 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
DTG-12 QSPK 8K 3/4 8.0Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)
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.
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?
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?
| Cheddar | Transposer | 15 km E Weston-super-Mare | 1674 homes |
| Luccombe | Active deflector | 6 km w Minehead | 38 homes |
How will the Mendip (Somerset, England) transmission frequencies change over time?
| 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2010 | 2010-13 | 2013-18 | 2013-17 | 27 Feb 2018 | |||
| C/D E | E | E | C/D E | C/D E T | W T | W T | |||
| C30 | _local | ||||||||
| C32 | BBCA | ||||||||
| C33 | com7 | com7 | |||||||
| C34 | D3+4 | ||||||||
| C35 | com8 | com8 | |||||||
| C36 | ArqB | ||||||||
| C37 | C5waves | C5waves | |||||||
| C48 | SDN | SDN | SDN | SDN | |||||
| C49tv_off | BBCA | BBCA | |||||||
| C51tv_off | LBS | LBS | |||||||
| C52tv_off | ArqB | ArqB | ArqB | ||||||
| C54tv_off | C4waves | C4waves | C4waves | D3+4 | D3+4 | D3+4 | |||
| C55tv_off | com7tv_off | ||||||||
| C56tv_off | ArqA | ArqA | ArqA | COM8tv_off | |||||
| C58tv_off | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBCB | BBCB | BBCB | |||
| C61 | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | BBCA | |||||
| C64 | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBC2waves |
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
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Wednesday, 28 February 2018
MikeP
12:28 PM
12:28 PM
To those having oproblems with receiving certain programmes from Mendip, I can assure you that it is not a fault at the transmitter as I have all the usual channels still. As I'm in Trowbridge, I have a Log36 aerial with a powered amplifier adjacent to it. I did the retune yesterday after the overnoght work and all is as expected. No channe;s are missing.
So some may have the wrong aerial to cover all the channels, which is why we recommend a log-periodic aerial as that covers all the frequencies used for Freeview TV and hence will not need replacing if/when there are further changes in the future.
Bruce: It is a well known that a poor connection in an aerial feed can cause loss of just one group of channels in a multiplex. So please do as suggested and check all the leads and connections (by unplugging and then refitting) behind the TV and as far as you can safely reach to the aerial.
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MikeP: word of advice before faffing with the aerial that was working perfectly fine previously, I recommend trying a re-tune!
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Thursday, 1 March 2018
Transmitter engineering
4:30 AM
4:30 AM
MENDIP transmitter - Freeview: BBC Digital TV Off Air; DSO related from 00:14 on 27 Feb to 04:27 on 27 Feb, HD Digital TV Off Air; DSO related from 00:14 on 27 Feb to 04:28 on 27 Feb. [BBC]
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MikeP
11:22 AM
11:22 AM
BrizzlweRocker:
It is always good advice to check all the aerial connections BEFORE attempting a retune. All a retune will do is wipe all the current tuning stettings and that is not something you want to do if the problem is with one multiplex.
Checking aerial connections is something that we television service engineers have been doing for more than 70 years, as even in the days of VHF TV there were problems of corrosion affecting coaxial plugs/sockets causing loss, or poor reception, of some signals whilst others were perfect.
I did not suggest any work on the aerial other than recommending use of a log-periodic aerial for all reception of all channel now and in the future.
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Saturday, 3 March 2018
S
SimonP2:48 AM
This info is unhelpfully out of date. Ch56 is now defunct and Dave can now be found on Ch33.
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S
StevensOnln16:36 PM
SimonP: The frequency change only took place a few days ago. Have some patience, it takes time for websites to be updated by their owners.
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Sunday, 4 March 2018
V
VW Mike10:17 AM
Just to help people out until the site is updated:
Since 28-02-18 :
ARQA is now on channel 33 (was 56)
COM7 is now on channel 36 (was 33)
I do not know if LBS is still on Channel 51 - all other channels were not changed.
The listed 31st March 2018 change above is completely fictitious - there is no change due before April 2019 and even then those channel numbers are completely wrong.
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Tuesday, 6 March 2018
C
Chris.SE3:55 PM
Firstly, at time of posting there are no problems, faults or engineering work at Mendip.
As already mentioned by StevensOnln1, this page needs updating, but not just because of the recent Mux changes, there have also been one or two programmes Close and/or move multiplex in recent times (most of these often require some sort of retune). Now some specifics.
As already mentioned, there were some MUX changes on the 27th -
COM7 moved from UHF33 to UHF36.
ArqA (COM5) moved from UHF56 to UHF33.
LBS mux has not changed in anyway and is still on UHF51.
BrizzleRocker: MikeP has already responded to your remarks, he was not suggesting you climb up and fiddle with your aerial but check all connections (that you can easily reach). I fully endorse his comments, and those for future aerial requirements.
Bruce: Does your TV have an HD tuner and were you getting the COM7 Mux (eg. BBC News HD etc) before the MUX change? If you don't have an HD tuner you would not know, or if you have an HD tuner and couldn't get COM7 previously, then it's possible your aerial cannot receive UHF33 satisfactorily and you may need a new aerial. If all your aerial connections are fine, then it may be worth following a full Freeview Reset as sometimes with several changes some sets can get "confused" and not sort the channels correctly.
Comments to Bruce could also apply to anyone who can no longer get Pick, Dave & Sky News etc (ArqA - COM5) which is now on UHF33.
Fedup: Your problem could be due to a similar issue with your aerial BUT the reason you can get UHF33 on your older STB is because most STBs had greater signal sensitivity than a lot of more modern TV sets. This was because in the days before the full DSO, the digital signals were much weaker than now, most STBs were made to cope with this.
For those having problems with Welsh channels, then a Manual Retune may be the best option (you might have to do a full Reset with the aerial unplugged first to clear all memory). Look at your user manual to find out how to do these things (or look at the links on this site for a guide).
For those wanting to do a manual retune, the UHF channels are as follows -
UHF33 (ArqA-COM5), UHF48 (SDN-COM4), UHF49 (BBCA-PSB1), UHF51 (LBS) reception depends on location, UHF52 (ArqB-COM6), UHF54 (D3&4-PSB2). For those with HD tuners - include the following - UHF35 (COM8), UHF36 (COM7) and UHF58 (BBCB-PSB3).
For those wanting a list of Digital changes at Mendip, consult Freeview UK at Coverage Checker - Detailed View
To check reception at your own location, click on Change Address just below the big pink menu bar and then enter your postcode, make sure you have Detailed View ticked.
A list of current Freeview channels can be seen here - Digital UK | Channel listings
Planned Engineering work can be seen here - Digital UK | Planned engineering works
Hope you all find the above helpful.
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Wednesday, 7 March 2018
G
Gary Colby9:39 PM
Bristol
North bristol. Bs34. UHF33 is now a very poor signal. Any idea why ?
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Gary's: ...
S
StevensOnln111:31 PM
Gary Colby: COM5 on UHF C33 is broadcasting at 100kW the same as COM4 & COM6 so the most likely explanation would be that you're using a Group C/D aerial which gives a poor response as C33 is outside of the frequency range it was designed to receive. If you contact the Freeview Advice Line (see link below) they'll arrange for someone to fit a new wideband aerial (free of charge if you don't have satellite or cable).
Important changes to Freeview TV signals | Freeview
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