Full Freeview on the Pontop Pike (County Durham, England) transmitter

Brian Butterworth first published this on 1st May 2004 at 08:20 - UK Free TV

Google Streetview

Google map

Bing map

Google Earth

54.868,-1.771 or 54°52'5"N 1°46'15"W

DH9 9AT

The symbol shows the location of the Pontop Pike (County Durham, England) transmitter which serves 700,000 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 Pontop Pike (County Durham, England) mast?

Pontop Pike transmitter - Pontop Pike transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 22/04/2024 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels

Choose from three options: ■ List by multiplex ■ List by channel number ■ List by channel name

_______

Which Freeview channels does the Pontop Pike 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.

Mux	H/V	Frequency	Height	Mode	Watts
PSB1 BBCA	H max	C39 (618.0MHz)	447m	DTG-	100,000W
	1 BBC One (SD) North East and Cumbria, 2 BBC Two England, 9 BBC Four, 23 BBC Three, 201 CBBC, 202 CBeebies, 231 BBC News, 232 BBC Parliament, plus 16 others
PSB2 D3+4	H max	C42 (642.0MHz)	447m	DTG-	100,000W
	3 ITV 1 (SD) (Tyne Tees), 4 Channel 4 (SD) North ads, 5 Channel 5, 6 ITV 2, 10 ITV3, 13 E4, 14 Film4, 15 Channel 4 +1 North ads, 18 More4, 26 ITV4, 28 ITVBe, 30 E4 +1, 35 ITV1 +1 (Tyne Tees),
PSB3 BBCB	H max	C45 (666.0MHz)	447m	DTG-	100,000W
	46 5SELECT, 101 BBC One HD North East and Cumbria, 102 BBC Two HD England, 103 ITV 1 HD (ITV Granada), 104 Channel 4 HD North ads, 105 Channel 5 HD, 106 BBC Four HD, 107 BBC Three HD, 204 CBBC HD, 205 CBeebies HD, plus 1 others 66 TBN UK,
COM4 SDN	H -3dB	C32 (562.0MHz)	447m	DTG-8	50,000W
	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 -3dB	C34 (578.0MHz)	447m	DTG-8	50,000W
	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 -3dB	C35 (586.0MHz)	447m	DTG-8	50,000W
	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
LNE	H -13dB	C33 (570.0MHz)	447m	DTG-12	5,000W
	from 22nd September 2014: 7 Made in Tyne and Wear,

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 Pontop Pike transmitter?

BBC Look North (Newcastle) 1.6m homes 6.0%
from Newcastle NE99 2NE, 15km northeast (42°)
to BBC North East and Cumbria region - 70 masts.

ITV Tyne Tees News 1.4m homes 5.4%
from Gateshead NE11 9SZ, 12km north-northeast (29°)
to ITV Tyne Tees region - 47 masts.
All of lunch, weekend and 50% evening news is shared with Border

Are there any self-help relays?

Kieldor Dam	Active deflector		6 homes Holiday complex
Low Haber	Active deflector	West Allen Dale, 18 kn SW Hexham	caravan site
North Hartlepool	Transposer		84 homes

How will the Pontop Pike (County Durham, England) transmission frequencies change over time?

	1950s-80s	1984-97	1997-98	1998-2012	2012-13	13 Nov 2019
	VHF	C/D E	C/D E	C/D E	C/D E T	W T
C5	BBCtv_waves
C32						SDN
C33						com7
C34						com8
C35						ArqB
C39						BBCA
C42						D3+4
C45						BBCB
C49_{tv_off}					BBCB
C50_{tv_off}					SDN
C54_{tv_off}		C4_waves	C4_waves	C4_waves	D3+4
C55_{tv_off}					ArqB	com7_{tv_off}
C56_{tv_off}						LNE
C58_{tv_off}		BBC1_waves	BBC1_waves	BBC1_waves	BBCA
C59_{tv_off}					ArqA
C61		ITV_waves	ITV_waves	ITV_waves
C64		BBC2_waves	BBC2_waves	BBC2_waves

_{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 12 Sep 12 and 26 Sep 12.

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
com8	(-11.6dB) 34.6kW
com7	(-11.7dB) 33.8kW
Mux 1, Mux 2, Mux A, Mux B, Mux C, Mux D	(-17dB) 10kW
LNE	(-20dB) 5kW

Local transmitter maps

Pontop Pike Freeview Pontop Pike TV region BBC North East and Cumbria Tyne Tees

Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Pontop Pike transmitter area

Jan 1959-Feb 2004	Tyne Tees Television
Feb 2004-Dec 2014	ITV plc

Feb 1983-Dec 1992	TV-am•
Jan 1993-Sep 2010	GMTV•
Sep 2010-Dec 2014	ITV Daybreak•

• Breakfast ◊ Weekends ♦ Friday night and weekends † Weekdays only. Pontop Pike 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.

Is the transmitter output the same in all directions?

T

Tony
9:05 PM

I'm experiencing a sound issue with BBCHD at the moment on my Sony KDL TV. I see from the Sony's info screen that the format is changing quite regularly between 1080i and 1080p and when this occurs I'm getting an audio drop out. Why is the format frequently changing mid-programme? Is this a temporary broadcast experiment? Should the TV be seamlessly changing formats? Either way BBCHC for me is unwatchable with the high number of audio drop-outs which I'm totally unhappy about.

link to this comment

Tony's 1 post GB flag

Briantist

_{sentiment_very_satisfied}Owner

6:04 AM

Tony: From BBC - Research and Development: Software Upgrade for BBC HD on Freeview HD :

The platform has always been specified to provide a 1080p25 capability. This is why STBs are mandated to have a 1080p50 to enable seamless up-conversion to a which is guaranteed to be present in all display devices. A great deal of material is shot natively at 1080p25 and there are significant advantages in maintaining 1080p25 through to the viewer's display. Within a single programme interlaced may be used for moving credits, cross-fades and studio shots whereas progressive may be used for location shot material.

Up until now this capability has not been exploited and 1080p25 material was encoded using a 1080i25 encoding mode. But after a software on the 22nd/23rd March the HD encoder supporting BBC HD on Freeview HD has been set-up to automatically detect progressive material and change
encoding mode appropriately. The encoded bitstream can only change at each GOP boundary to ensure decoders maintain a consistent display. This means that each coded sequence either contains interlaced or progressive pic_struct values within the bitstream. The transitions between interlaced and progressive modes are entirely dependent upon how a programme has been made.

link to this comment

Briantist's 38,915 posts GB flag

J

Jamie
10:04 PM
Harrogate

Hi, this is Jamie from Harrogate. My tranmitter is . pictures were fantastic in last few weeks till yesterday evening, pictures unstable, breaking up, all day today on every channel.Is there work going on? Thanks.

link to this comment

Jamie's 12 posts GB flag

Jamie's: J's Freeview map J's terrain plot J's frequency data J's Freeview Detailed Coverage

Briantist

_{sentiment_very_satisfied}Owner

6:20 AM

Jamie: No work is going on. Please see Freeview intermittent interference | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice for.

link to this comment

Briantist's 38,915 posts GB flag

J

Jamie
9:02 AM
Harrogate

Thanks . It just got back to normal now. Will TVI RF Filter make difference to (s)? But every time it rained, only continuous rain, pictures breaking up very badly, can you give me a idea because I have already booked for man to come down. Thanks again.

link to this comment

Jamie's 12 posts GB flag

Jamie's: J's Freeview map J's terrain plot J's frequency data J's Freeview Detailed Coverage

Briantist

_{sentiment_very_satisfied}Owner

8:01 AM

Jamie: If you have problem when it rains, I would suggest you replace the , as it will have water getting into it.

The best to use for
it -grade coaxial cable.

link to this comment

Briantist's 38,915 posts GB flag

D

Dan Rodway
5:29 PM
Shildon

I'm unable to get bbc 1 bbc 2 & bbc 3 on my built in tv. I can however get bbc 4. I was wondering how to get bbc 1,2 & 3 back on. is on the of the house.

link to this comment

Dan Rodway's 2 posts GB flag

Dan's: D's Freeview map D's terrain plot D's frequency data D's Freeview Detailed Coverage

B

Brian
7:44 PM
Whitley Bay

I wish to buy a new for my elderly father. He lives in a bungalow, so fitting it would be no problem.
He has TV in his lounge, but the set top box in his bedroom is not picking up any when plugged into the aerial cable. The existing aerial has been on the chimney for well over 20 years, BBC1,BBC2, ITV and are OK, but freeview box ... nothing at all.
Which aerial would the experts recommend please
Postcode NE26 3HZ
Many many thanks !

link to this comment

Brian's 2 posts GB flag

Brian's: B's Freeview map B's terrain plot B's frequency data B's Freeview Detailed Coverage

Briantist

_{sentiment_very_satisfied}Owner

8:00 PM

Brian: You need nothing more than a "contract" . However, it is recommended to use -grade coaxial when fitting a new aerial.

The and transmitters are already providing a full service. Use Pontop Pike if you want to use before .

link to this comment

Briantist's 38,915 posts GB flag

B

Brian
3:50 PM

Many thanks

link to this comment

Brian's 2 posts GB flag

Page 8

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.
Your comments
Your name
Your email
Your site or @twitter
Email me updates
Save my details

Privacy policy: UK Free Privacy policy.