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
Wednesday, 3 April 2013
Michael Perry
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

8:12 PM

To Mazbar
That Ch48 is received very strongly means that Ch49 will be as well as long as it is a true C/D group aerial - it is of course as Mendip analogue transmissions were in the C/D band.By definition, Group C/D aerials cover 47 to 69 but if signal strength and quality are high then decoding should be fine - but it isn't on Ch49 and it IS on Ch 48! So aerial is not the problem. BTW, I'm a retired TV engineer.

link to this comment
Michael Perry's 3,056 posts GB flag
M
Mazbar
sentiment_satisfiedGold

8:17 PM

Michael Perry: sorry I have only been fitting aerials for over 20 years and as I stated if there is a problem with any part of the aerial the outer ends of the aerial acceptance will be affected the most.

link to this comment
Mazbar's 384 posts GB flag
Michael Perry
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

8:21 PM

To John Crabb
An HDMI cable is carrying digital signals with fast rising edges, so can radiate and that may be picked up by a poor UHF coaxial cable. Always use good quality cables but don't waste money on the 'gold' plated ones - expensive does not mean good quality.
Any electronics book that covers RF signals up to 1000 MHz ought to have something about the relationship between wavelength, frequency and standing waves on cables of a length close to a multiple of the signal wavelength. A rough guide, 300MHz=1m and 100MHz=3m. So for a 600MHz signal avoid any multiple of 0.5m or thereabouts. Hope that helps?
A lot of waffle is spouted about aerials for 'digital' signals. The signal transmitted is an RF carrier so any aerial designed for reception of the frequency range can be considered. Aerial gain and reception angles are also important. A good C/D will suffice for Mendip now but a WB will be needed in a few years- the plan is to move Mendip into the Group A band around 2019!

link to this comment
Michael Perry's 3,056 posts GB flag
Michael Perry
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

8:26 PM

To Mazbar
Sorry I have been teaching engineering staff of a former major TV rental company covering not only the TV sets but aerial systems and satellite systems as well - since 1969! Before that I worked for Philips Electrical. So 59 years experience.
Don't assume that older aerials are deteriorating, it is the enclosed contacts that cause most problems if they are not properly enclosed and sealed. A good quality aerial, well fitted and properly sealed will last for many years. If Ch48 is excellent, it is, then 49 will be as well - it's only 8MHz higher up the band further into the central reception pattern of a C/D aerial.
A C/D group aerial will need replacing before 2019 anyway as they are changing bands for Mendip.

link to this comment
Michael Perry's 3,056 posts GB flag
M
Mazbar
sentiment_satisfiedGold

8:40 PM

Michael Perry: if every thing was ok then your bbc would be working have you had your aerial checked by a professional, could you be experiencing interference from another out of area transmitter some signals can carry very very long distances I received rte in sklmersdale, if it is another transmitter try a log aerial this has a narrow acceptance angle. Judging on how long you have been working you are over 75 so don't try going on your roof unless you are ok.

link to this comment
Mazbar's 384 posts GB flag
K
KMJ,Derby
sentiment_satisfiedGold

8:44 PM

Michael Perry: If the suggested plan is implemented all UHF TV transmitters will be either group A or group K, Mendip being the latter if C40/43/46 is adopted for the PSB muxes. Wideband aerials, especially those in use on transmitters that use vertical polarisation might also need replacing as one of the measures to reduce reception of unwanted 4G (or 5G) signals.

link to this comment
KMJ,Derby's 1,811 posts GB flag
Michael Perry
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

8:47 PM

To Mazbar
Signal reception of wanted channels is excelent strength and quality and I have checked the aerial system all the way to the aerial sockets myself (I do know how to do that). Huntshaw Cross has always been visible in the background but at a very much lower signal strength. That shares 3 channels with Mendip (Chs 48, 52 and 56) but not the signals on Ch49 where the affected services are located (Mux PSB1-BBCA), so not that either especially as one receiver is fine and the other not. Same aerial, active splitter, tried swapping to no effect.
Problem is strongly believed to be how the Hauppauge is responding to the moved channels.

link to this comment
Michael Perry's 3,056 posts GB flag
Michael Perry
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

8:54 PM

To KMJ, Derby
Good point, but not worth changing aerials too soon as the plan is not finalised yet, or so OfCom say. Mendip is a main transmitter for this area so if horizontal polarisation currently and has been since it was built. But the future changes planned will mean a change from C/D aerial and it may be that a WB will not be suitable either (it has reception in the 800MHz+ region where 4G will be).
It all seems badly thought through to me with so many 'retunes' being needed so often. Didn't have that anywhere near as much with analogue.

link to this comment
Michael Perry's 3,056 posts GB flag
M
Mazbar
sentiment_satisfiedGold

8:58 PM

Michael Perry: when you checked the aerial what is the signal strength in dbuv this can help to know

link to this comment
Mazbar's 384 posts GB flag
Thursday, 4 April 2013
J
Jaz W
12:24 AM

We have lost all signal from 7pm on all channels over the last 3 or 4 nights. I have tried retuning at least a dozen times - with aerial lead out before channel 48 to avoid the transmitter from Wales and with the aerial lead in.
The signal seems find in the morning and during the daytime. I have checked the map for the Mendip transmitter and see that we have NO coverage (we live in Lower Zeals (between Mere and Zeals in Wiltshire).

It driving me nuts!

link to this comment
Jaz W's 1 post GB 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.