Full Freeview on the Oxford (Oxfordshire, England) transmitter
 | Google Streetview |  | Google map |  | Bing map |  | Google Earth |  | 51.790,-1.179 or 51°47'25"N 1°10'46"W |  | OX3 9SS |
The symbol shows the location of the Oxford (Oxfordshire, England) transmitter which serves 410,000 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 Oxford (Oxfordshire, England) mast?
Oxford transmitter - Oxford transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 04/11/2024 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
DTG-12 QSPK 8K 3/4 8.0Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)
Which Freeview channels does the Oxford 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 Oxford transmitter?
BBC South (Oxford) Today 0.4m homes 1.6%
from Oxford OX2 7DW, 6km west-southwest (258°)
to BBC South (Oxford) region - 6 masts.
BBC South (Oxford) Today shares 50% content with Southampton service
ITV Meridian News 0.9m homes 3.4%
from Whiteley PO15 7AD, 102km south (182°)
to ITV Meridian/Central (Thames Valley) region - 15 masts.
Thames Valley opt-out from Meridian (South). All of lunch, weekend and 50% evening news is shared with all of Meridian+Oxford
How will the Oxford (Oxfordshire, England) transmission frequencies change over time?
| 1950s-80s | 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2011 | 2011-13 | 2013-18 | 2013-17 | 23 May 2018 | ||
| VHF | C/D E | C/D E | C/D E | C/D E | C/D E T | W T | W T | ||
| C2 | BBCtvwaves | ||||||||
| C29 | SDN | ||||||||
| C31 | com7 | com7 | |||||||
| C37 | com8 | com8 | |||||||
| C41 | BBCA | ||||||||
| C44 | D3+4 | ||||||||
| C46 | _local | ||||||||
| C47 | BBCB | ||||||||
| C49tv_off | C5waves | C5waves | |||||||
| C50tv_off | SDN | SDN | |||||||
| C51tv_off | LOX | LOX | |||||||
| C53tv_off | C4waves | C4waves | C4waves | +BBCA | +BBCA | +BBCA | |||
| C55tv_off | ArqB | ArqB | ArqB | com7tv_off | |||||
| C56tv_off | COM8tv_off | ||||||||
| C57tv_off | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBCB | BBCB | BBCB | |||
| C59tv_off | -ArqA | -ArqA | -ArqA | ||||||
| C60tv_off | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | -D3+4 | -D3+4 | -D3+4 | |||
| C62 | SDN | ||||||||
| C63 | 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 14 Sep 11 and 28 Sep 11.
How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?
| Analogue 1-4 | 500kW | |
| BBCA, D3+4, BBCB | (-7dB) 100kW | |
| SDN, ARQA, ARQB | (-10dB) 50kW | |
| Analogue 5 | (-11dB) 40kW | |
| com8 | (-14.7dB) 17.1kW | |
| com7 | (-14.8dB) 16.4kW | |
| Mux 1*, Mux 2*, LOX | (-17dB) 10kW | |
| Mux C*, Mux D* | (-18dB) 8kW | |
| Mux A*, Mux B* | (-19.2dB) 6kW |
Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Oxford transmitter area
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Sunday, 14 February 2021
B
Bernard Martin9:52 PM
Chris.SE: Thanks for the response. I certainly did notice and was able to receive COM7 channels for some considerable time (years) up to late summer last year. Previous attempts to retune usually lose the channels on the MPX, and weather conditions can affect reception/tuning. As we speak, the MPX is unavailable again. I've never quite appreciated why Ch 106 & 107 haven't been reallocated to the higher power MPXs, but I 'm only a humble member of the public and recall reading somewhere that the channels on COM7 are lower priority or have lower viewing figures which isn't surprising as they are transmitted on lower power! Cheers.
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Monday, 15 February 2021
C
Chris.SE1:53 PM
Bernard Martin:
The reason those HD channels aren't on other multiplexes is simply there is no space for them and there is only the BBCB mux that is HD and also the other factor is cost. Because of the reduced coverage and temporary nature of COM7 it is considerably cheaper for Broadcasters on that multiplex. Many of us are hoping that one of the other muxs will get converted to HD/T2 broadcasts in the not too distant future, but there's no indication that will happen.
The other thing I should have remembered to mention is HDMI interference. Check that you don't have any HDMI leads close to any aerial or flyleads, especially if the aerial and flyleads aren't high quality double screened types. HDMI is known to sometimes cause interference, especially to C55 (COM7). It's an easy thing to forget when a problem looks as though it's a reception issue. That said, if you provide a full postcode we can look at the predicted reception in your locale.
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Wednesday, 24 February 2021
C
Chris.SE10:37 PM
Alan Green:
This is a public, free and independent helpsite. If you post information on a public message board, others will be able to read what you post. There are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of message boards on the internet and wherever you post on such message boards, the information you choose to put in a post can be read by others. Information that you may have provided to this site, like your internet email address is NOT available to others.
Those of us that post here in response to others requests for help and information (we are all volunteers in that respect), have no control whatsoever over what you put in a post, if we make errors in our own posts we are unable to edit or change them. We usually make another post to correct any information.
Whilst your previous post(s) may well still be present somewhere on the site, I, and no doubt some others, have no interest in trawling back to find it. Whilst the information will probably be there, I doubt that whatever you posted is different from the information any member of the public might find in a telephone directory or similar, or indeed on the public electoral roll. Nevertheless it is never sensible to post such information on a public message board. The only information that volunteers need to provide specific help about reception is a postcode, and there are many addresses to most postcodes, so generally it's of little significance to anyone.
You should read the UK Free Privacy Policy and then you will need to contact the site owner Brian Butterworth directly to have any such posts of yours removed should you choose to do so. It is highly unlikely that he'll see your post here (but then again he might).
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S
StevensOnln111:51 PM
Alan Green: The text above the comments form makes it pretty clear that you are posting a public comment and not sending a private message. If you misunderstood that or posted by mistake, I can only suggest that you contact the site owner as nobody else can remove any posts.
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Wednesday, 7 April 2021
J
John J4:55 PM
There have been problems at the Oxford Transmitter for a long time.
The channels in PSB2 are so unreliable it's not really
Worth continuing with Freeview. I think I'll switch to
Freesat which must be being run in a better way as they
Very seldom have problems.
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S
StevensOnln15:52 PM
John J: If there was a long running problem at a main transmitter like Oxford there would be hundreds of people complaining about it. Since there aren't, it's far more likely that there is either a fault somewhere in your aerial system or you are suffering from interference caused by something nearby. Start by checking for any loose or damaged cables or connections behind your TV, then follow along the aerial cable as far as you can safely access. Also, try to keep the different cables separated behind your TV, as HDMI leads in particular are a common source of electrical interference.
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C
Chris.SE9:57 PM
John J:
It's also possible, but maybe less likely that you are in a bit of an awkward spot in relation to PSB2 reception. If you provide a full postcode (or one for a very close retail or public premises) we could check that for you. If the terrain is your locale is very variable, it'll need to be somewhere very close by or your own postcode.
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Friday, 30 July 2021
P
P Wallace8:43 PM
I'm receiving Freeview from the Oxford transmitter using the right sort of rooftop antenna. Most of the time it is perfect, with the Humax PVR reporting at least 95% signal and solid 100% quality, but on some days there are occasional brief (fraction of a second) interruptions where the signal goes to zero. Is it conceivable this could be weather, or is it more likely flaky wiring?
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Saturday, 31 July 2021
C
Chris.SE4:51 AM
P Wallace:
These sorts of intermittent type problem are often the most difficult to resolve.
Whilst I was going to say that it's unlikely to be weather related because of the way you've described your issue, it's possible that things like "Tropospheric Ducting" might be a (the) cause (there have been periods of this in recent times), but you should notice other factors if this was likely. See How does good weather affect my television? | Help receiving TV and radio for a rather simplistic and crude explanation.
Basically it results in interference from more distant transmitters in the UK or Europe. This is usually quite frequency dependent - in other words not all multiplexes may be affected, it could be just one. The effect may only last briefly, but because it's interference to the wanted signal, you should also see changes to the signal quality - again it could be brief. More typically the quality will drop (as may the strength but not always) until the set cannot decode the wanted signal. This can last for seconds, minutes or even hours depending on the precise weather conditions.
If the issue is affecting all multiplexes, the problem could obviously be an intermittent connection (flaky wiring!) there would usually be something to disturb a connection eg. equipment vibration (maybe due to usage - button pushing etc.) or more often disturbance to the aerial connection or downlead usually wind blowing either about, maybe a bird landing on the aerial, and so on.
The best way to eliminate this as a potential cause is to check every coax plug connection especially for corrosion, any ready made flyleads which can develop intermittent faults at the back of the plug etc.), check the downlead is secure and not flapping in any wind, check the aerial connection if you can access it.
Your issue does sound more like electrical interference from a "switching" spike. Does it occur at (exactly) the same time of day - could be something switching on a time-clock, could be things like boilers coming on or going off, fridge or freezer thermostats going faulty, particular lights being switched on/off, ...and so on.
It's a tiresome task of checking around to see if any such events happen at the instant you have the signal drop. The worst is it may not be on your premises, it could be a near neighbour, or even something commercial nearby where perhaps more "heavy" equipment switching is involved. These latter things are less likely but nevertheless possible, try and eliminate anything on your premises before worrying about external sources.
HTH. Post back with any further info that maybe helpful or queries if you need more help.
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Saturday, 9 October 2021
J
J.Holbrooke1:48 PM
At 9.30 this morning my TV picture disappeared and it said 'The Receiver is not receiving a signal or the signal is too weak'. It is not the TV - but the reception. I have a Humax box for Freeview. I obviously cannot retune - even if it was necessary. I rang Freeview - recorded message - gone home for the w.e.. Tried the 0800 number given by the gone home number - although it said they work 7 days a week 24 hours a day - a recorded message and no one to speak to. So no TV and do not know who to contact or what to do. Has the local transmitter been affected by the transmitter fire in the North....... It's not that my Freeview reception has changed - there isn't any to change!
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