Full Freeview on the Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) transmitter
 | Google Streetview |  | Google map |  | Bing map |  | Google Earth |  | 52.130,-0.242 or 52°7'47"N 0°14'33"W |  | SG19 2NH |
The symbol shows the location of the Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) transmitter which serves 920,000 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 Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) mast?
Sandy Heath transmitter - Sandy Heath transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 04/12/2023 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
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)
Which Freeview channels does the Sandy Heath 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
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)
Which BBC and ITV regional news can I watch from the Sandy Heath transmitter?
BBC Look East (West) 1.0m homes 3.7%
from Cambridge CB4 0WZ, 29km east-northeast (65°)
to BBC Cambridge region - 4 masts.
70% of BBC East (East) and BBC East (West) is shared output
ITV Anglia News 1.0m homes 3.7%
from Norwich NR1 3JG, 119km east-northeast (60°)
to ITV Anglia (West) region - 5 masts.
All of lunch, weekend and 80% evening news is shared with Anglia (East)
How will the Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) transmission frequencies change over time?
| 1965-80s | 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2011 | 2011-13 | 12 Feb 2020 | ||||
| VHF | A K T | K T | K T | W T | W T | ||||
| C6 | ITVwaves | ||||||||
| C21 | C4waves | C4waves | C4waves | +BBCB | BBCB | ||||
| C24 | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | D3+4 | D3+4 | ||||
| C27 | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBCA | BBCA | ||||
| C31 | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | ||||||
| C32 | com7 | ||||||||
| C33 | SDN | ||||||||
| C34 | com8 | ||||||||
| C35 | _local | ||||||||
| C36 | ArqA | ||||||||
| C39 | C5waves | C5waves | |||||||
| C43 | _local | ||||||||
| C48 | ArqB | ArqB | |||||||
| C51tv_off | SDN | ||||||||
| C52tv_off | ArqA | ||||||||
| 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 30 Mar 11 and 13 Apr 11.
How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?
| Analogue 1-4 | 1000kW | |
| BBCA, D3+4, BBCB | (-7.4dB) 180kW | |
| SDN, ARQA, ARQB | (-7.7dB) 170kW | |
| com7 | (-13dB) 49.6kW | |
| com8 | (-13.1dB) 49.1kW | |
| Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D* | (-17dB) 20kW | |
| Analogue 5 | (-20dB) 10kW |
Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Sandy Heath transmitter area
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Friday, 10 March 2023
Transmitter engineering
11:08 AM
11:08 AM
Sandy Heath transmitter - Sandy Heath transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 06/03/2023 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels [DUK]
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Monday, 13 March 2023
Transmitter engineering
5:07 AM
5:07 AM
Sandy Heath transmitter - Sandy Heath transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 13/03/2023 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels [DUK]
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Friday, 17 March 2023
S
Steve Cook7:04 PM
Hi,
I am on the Sandy Heath transmitter (mk16 8FD)
and to my knowledge when I sue.e.turner@outlook.com up my tv it was receiving 100 channels plus. I have just retuned my tv due to the lack of signal and I am now getting 10 tv and 16 radio. What's happened?
Thanks
Steve
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C
Chris.SE10:16 PM
Steve Cook:
I can find no current reported faults for the transmitter BUT as per the post immediately before yours, the Transmitter is listed for Planned Engineering.
I'm afraid the last thing you should do when you have no signal is to retune as this will usually just clear the correct tuning. It's more than likely that only one multiplex was transmitting at the time you retuned (probably BBCA/PSB1).
You will need to retune again and if signals are back to normal then hopefully you will have all the channels back.
If signals are not back to normal, you may well have to try several times as, because the tuning of any missing multiplexes has been cleared, you won't know when they are back to normal!
If this is unsuccessful, check all your connections behind the TV etc, check that your aerial looks intact and is still pointing in the correct direction. Check that your downlead is secure and not flapping in the wind.
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Wednesday, 22 March 2023
S
Steve Cook7:59 PM
Quick update.
Looked at aerial and it's up and pointing in the same direction as next door neighbours.
I also checked 2 other tvs in the house that have not been retuned and they are both showing errors on tv lots of channels that used present are now showing errors.
Rebooted booster but still making no difference.
Any other ideas?
Thanks
SC
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Thursday, 23 March 2023
C
Chris.SE2:55 AM
Steve Cook:
What sort of make/model booster is it and where is it located? Is it a splitter as well?
If it is an amp/splitter that is readily accessible does it have coax plugs in and out?
Can you couple the aerial input lead direct to one TV set feed using a straight coax coupler (similar to one of these - PHILEX Coax Coupler - Plastic 2 Pack - Philex Electronics Ltd )
Probably get one from a local ironmonger or hardware or tv shop if you haven't got one.
Power off the booster when you do so (in case it's giving out interference)
Does that improve the situation?
Did you get/should have got a postcard from www.restoretv.uk ?
It's possible that you may have a new/upgraded mobile phone mast nearby that's now causing you interference problems especially if you've seen an improvement when bypassing the booster/splitter.
If that's the case you should get a free filter from restoretv.uk
A filter should be fitted between the aerial and the input to the amp/splitter, NOT after it.
Visit that website for information. Click on Contact us and give them a call on 0808-1313-800
explain that you are now getting interference problems.
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Friday, 14 April 2023
Transmitter engineering
9:46 AM
9:46 AM
Sandy Heath transmitter - Sandy Heath transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 10/04/2023 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels [DUK]
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Monday, 17 April 2023
Transmitter engineering
4:07 AM
4:07 AM
Sandy Heath transmitter - Sandy Heath transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 17/04/2023 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels [DUK]
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Tuesday, 2 May 2023
Transmitter engineering
10:08 AM
10:08 AM
Sandy Heath transmitter - Sandy Heath transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 01/05/2023 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels [DUK]
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Monday, 8 May 2023
Transmitter engineering
4:08 AM
4:08 AM
Sandy Heath transmitter - Sandy Heath transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 08/05/2023 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels [DUK]
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