Full Freeview on the Rowridge (Isle Of Wight, England) transmitter
 | Google Streetview |  | Google map |  | Bing map |  | Google Earth |  | 50.676,-1.369 or 50°40'35"N 1°22'7"W |  | PO30 4HT |
The symbol shows the location of the Rowridge (Isle Of Wight, England) transmitter which serves 620,000 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 Rowridge (Isle Of Wight, England) mast?
Rowridge transmitter - Rowridge transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 22/04/2024 Screen may go black 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 Rowridge 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 Rowridge transmitter?
BBC South Today 1.3m homes 4.9%
from Southampton SO14 7PU, 26km north (354°)
to BBC South region - 39 masts.
ITV Meridian News 0.9m homes 3.6%
from Whiteley PO15 7AD, 24km north-northeast (20°)
to ITV Meridian (South Coast) region - 39 masts.
All of lunch, weekend and 50% evening news is shared with all of Meridian plus Oxford
Are there any self-help relays?
| Portsmouth Docks | Transposer | 2 km N city centre | 50 homes Estimate. Group of houses' |
How will the Rowridge (Isle Of Wight, England) transmission frequencies change over time?
| 1950s-80s | 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2012 | 2012-13 | 2 May 2018 | ||||
| VHF | A K T | A K T | A K T | A K T | W T | ||||
| C3 | BBCtvwaves | ||||||||
| C21 | C4waves | C4waves | C4waves | +BBCB | BBCB | ||||
| C22 | +ArqA | ArqA | |||||||
| C24 | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBCA | BBCA | ||||
| C25 | SDN | SDN | |||||||
| C27 | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | D3+4 | D3+4 | ||||
| C28 | ArqB | ArqB | |||||||
| C29 | LSO | ||||||||
| C31 | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | com7 | |||||
| C37 | com8 | ||||||||
| C55tv_off | com7tv_off | ||||||||
| C56tv_off | COM8tv_off |
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 7 Mar 12 and 21 Mar 12.
How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?
| Analogue 1-4 | 500kW | |
| PSB1||, PSB1≡, PSB2||, PSB2≡, PSB3||, PSB3≡ | (-4dB) 200kW | |
| COM4≡, COM4||, COM5≡, COM5||, COM6≡, COM6|| | (-10dB) 50kW | |
| com7≡ | (-13.1dB) 24.4kW | |
| Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D* | (-14dB) 20kW | |
| com8≡ | (-14.3dB) 18.4kW | |
| LSO≡ | (-17dB) 10kW |
Local transmitter maps
Rowridge Freeview Rowridge DAB Rowridge TV region BBC South Meridian (South Coast micro region)Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Rowridge transmitter area
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Monday, 30 October 2023
Transmitter engineering
5:11 AM
5:11 AM
Rowridge transmitter - Rowridge transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 30/10/2023 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels [DUK]
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Transmitter engineering
5:11 AM
5:11 AM
Rowridge transmitter - Rowridge transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 30/10/2023 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels [DUK]
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Monday, 6 November 2023
Transmitter engineering
5:10 AM
5:10 AM
Rowridge transmitter - Rowridge transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 06/11/2023 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels [DUK]
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Transmitter engineering
5:10 AM
5:10 AM
Rowridge transmitter - Rowridge transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 06/11/2023 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels [DUK]
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Monday, 20 November 2023
Transmitter engineering
10:47 AM
10:47 AM
Rowridge transmitter - Rowridge transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 20/11/2023 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels [DUK]
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Tuesday, 21 November 2023
C
Chris Horn11:15 AM
Bournemouth
BH8 9LX
Any idea why Ch 71 suddenly became unavailable sometime between 6th Nov 2023 and 10h Nov and ever since just displays a "temporarily unavailable" screen. This is not just me but my local TV shop as well.
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Chris's: mapC's Freeview map terrainC's terrain plot wavesC's frequency data C's Freeview Detailed Coverage
C
Chris.SE3:12 PM
Chris Horn:
LCN71 was rebranded by the broadcaster as That's 60s on the 18th October.
At present it seems scheduled to broadcast only between 4am-6am and the rest of the time was supposedly a streamed channel. Streaming was only part working for some, it came up with a screen where you had to press Red, but nothing ever loaded. Now we have the screen you see.
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Monday, 27 November 2023
Transmitter engineering
5:09 AM
5:09 AM
Rowridge transmitter - Rowridge transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 27/11/2023 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels [DUK]
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Friday, 1 December 2023
G
GRAHAM DOLPHIN10:22 AM
Christchurch
I find that I get no reception or pixilation in the early morning 6 to about 9.30 especially in spring or early summer usually when the weather is fine, is this something to do with high weather pressure please?
Also have had no service at all for the last 2 days 29/30 Nov, though it is back today, would appreciate your advice, my Post Code is BH23 2SW.
Kind Regards
Graham
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GRAHAM's: mapG's Freeview map terrainG's terrain plot wavesG's frequency data G's Freeview Detailed Coverage
S
Steve Donaldson5:14 PM
GRAHAM DOLPHIN: I make two observations: Catherine Hill will be the source of difficulty with reception in the area. Also, mobile phone networks and devices connected to them may be a source of interference. If you haven't already done so, I suggest you use vertical polarity for reception, turning your aerial so it is vertical (elements up/down) rather than horizontal (elements flat). Also, enquire with Restore TV about a filter to block any mobile interference.
On Catherine Hill are lots of trees. The trees change throughout the seasons and throughout the day, and therefore this could account for the observation that the issue is particularly prevalent at one time of year during a particular part of the day.
At your location the other transmitter that may be available is Winterborne Stickland. This is in the exact opposite direction to Rowridge, the exact same distance and not as powerful, although it would appear that there may be line-of-sight. It also doesn't carry all the Freeview channels (it is PSB-only, no COMs -- more on this below). I can see on Google Street View that some houses on Rydal Close have (or had) their aerials on Winterborne Stickland (at least they did in August 2012 when the photos were taken). From what I can see, those at the far end of the road are/were all on Winterborne, with some Rowridge users at and near the end with junction with Hillside Drive.
Uniquely, Rowridge broadcasts with both horizontal polarity (HP) and vertical polarity (VP), and has done so since digital switchover in March 2012. The transmission powers of the multiplexes are not all the same and vary between HP and VP. I suggest, if you have not already done so, that you use VP.
Also on Google Street View, from a photo taken at the junction with Hillside Drive in May of this year numbers 1 and 4 Rydal Close now have Rowridge aerials set vertically. Both appear to be the same aerial (log periodic type), so I might speculate that they could be by the same installer. In the previous photo of August 2012, number 1 had its aerial set horizontally on Rowridge and little above the apex. It is now higher up, is a different aerial and is vertical. Number 4 was using Winterborne Stickland and now has a new aerial on Rowridge. One reason to switch to Rowridge is to get the full complement of channels.
With digital broadcasts, multiple programme channels (services) are carried by a single signal, known as a multiplex or "mux". There are six main multiplexes (six signals), three PSBs (public service broadcaster) and three COMs (commercial). Winterbourne Stickland, as with many relays carries only the PSBs.
Rowridge broadcast (UHF) channels are:
PSB1 - "BBC A" - BBC One etc. - C24
PSB2 - "D3&4" - ITV etc. - C27
PSB3 - "BBC B" - BBC One HD and other HD services - C21
COM4 - "SDN" - QVC etc. - C25
COM5 - "Arq A" - Sky Mix etc. - C22
COM6 - "Arq B" - Quest etc. - C28
The full list of Freeview services by multiplex is here:
Channel listings for Industry Professionals | Freeview
In terms of the transmission power used by Rowridge, the PSBs are at 200kW HP and VP, while its COMs are 50kW HP and 200kW VP.
As well as transmission power, there is also the matter of distant transmitters which use the same broadcast channels. Across the transmitter network as a whole, the PSBs get the better channels, where there is less areas of overlap. The COMs often use channels which are reused by another transmitter at closer distance to the PSBs, hence there are more pockets of potential overlap, where a distant transmitter may be a source of interference.
With Rowridge, its COMs are co-channel to those of Stockland Hill to the west/north west (and Crystal Palace to the north east, covering London). By contrast, Rowridge's PSBs are not co-channel with Stockland Hill (or Crystal Palace). This explains the COMs being at quarter power. At your location, Stockland Hill is roughly in the opposite direction to Rowridge at 57 miles out, although there is high ground in the way, particularly that north of Dorchester.
This therefore presents another reason to use vertical polarity. Stockland Hill transmits only with HP, hence an aerial set vertically (for Rowridge) will have more rejection of the unwanted HP signal of Stockland Hill. The same may go for distant stations, whether in the UK or on the Continent, when atmospherics result in signals carrying much further than they normally do, although it is not to say interference will never occur, just that the aerial set for VP may be expected to help lesson it generally.
On the other observation I have made, the potential for mobile phone interference, Restore TV [https://restoretv.uk] is the organisation responsible for alleviating issues caused by mobile phone base stations and associated devices from interfering with TV reception. It says your postcode has received a postcard informing you that you might suffer interference. Emphasis here is on the "might" because it's no where near an exact science.
Suffice to say that if there are no phone base stations operating in what was formerly the top portion of the TV band of frequencies (700MHz and 800MHz bands) then there cannot possibly be an issue. So, that it says you have received a postcard tells us there is at least one base station in the vicinity which could potentially be an issue.
I see the lattice mast on Street View on Catherine Hill, a little anticlockwise of the direction of Rowridge. I can also see there are in fact two adjacent towers, and it wouldn't surprise me being in such a prominent position above the surrounding area if these towers are home in the area to all four of the mobile networks. This isn't to say this is the potential cause, but if it is (meaning if it is operating on 700MHz and/or 800MHz) then it could potentially be.
If you haven't already done so, then give Restore TV a ring and they should send you a free filter. If your aerial feeds into an amplifier before reaching your TV (whether at the aerial or so as to feed more than one room), then it any filter will need to be fitted before it. If the amplifier is on the roof, with the aerial, then Restore TV should send an engineer to fit a suitable outdoor filter.
Being that it sounds like the problem has been going on year on year then it seems unlikely that any mobile phone interference is the sole cause, hence why I made this the second point.
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