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Full Freeview on the Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) transmitter

first published this on - UK Free TV
sa_streetviewGoogle Streetviewsa_gmapsGoogle mapsa_bingBing mapsa_gearthGoogle Earthsa_gps52.130,-0.242 or 52°7'47"N 0°14'33"Wsa_postcodeSG19 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 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
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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.

MuxH/VFrequencyHeightModeWatts
PSB1
BBCA
 H max
C27 (522.0MHz)291mDTG-180,000W
Channel icons
1 BBC One (SD) Cambridge, 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
C24 (498.0MHz)291mDTG-180,000W
Channel icons
3 ITV 1 (SD) (Anglia (West micro region)), 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 (Anglia east),

PSB3
BBCB
 H max
C21+ (474.2MHz)291mDTG-180,000W
Channel icons
46 5SELECT, 101 BBC One HD Cambridge, 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 -0.2dB
C33 (570.0MHz)291mDTG-8170,000W
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 -0.2dB
C36 (594.0MHz)289mDTG-8170,000W
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 -0.2dB
C48 (690.0MHz)289mDTG-8170,000W
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

DTG-8 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?

regional news image
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
regional news image
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?

1965-80s1984-971997-981998-20112011-1312 Feb 2020
VHFA K TK TK TW TW T
C6ITVwaves
C21C4wavesC4wavesC4waves+BBCBBBCB
C24ITVwavesITVwavesITVwavesD3+4D3+4
C27BBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBCABBCA
C31BBC1wavesBBC1wavesBBC1waves
C32com7
C33SDN
C34com8
C35_local
C36ArqA
C39C5wavesC5waves
C43_local
C48ArqBArqB
C51tv_offSDN
C52tv_offArqA
C55tv_offcom7tv_off
C56tv_offCOM8tv_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

Oct 1959-Feb 2004Anglia 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.

Comments
Friday, 10 March 2023
Transmitter engineering
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

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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Transmitter engineering's 149,799 posts GB flag
Monday, 13 March 2023
Transmitter engineering
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

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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Transmitter engineering's 149,799 posts GB flag
Friday, 17 March 2023
S
Steve Cook
7:04 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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Steve Cook's 2 posts GB flag
C
Chris.SE
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

10:16 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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Chris.SE's 4,101 posts GB flag
Wednesday, 22 March 2023
S
Steve Cook
7:59 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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Steve Cook's 2 posts GB flag
Thursday, 23 March 2023
C
Chris.SE
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

2:55 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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Chris.SE's 4,101 posts GB flag
Friday, 14 April 2023
Transmitter engineering
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

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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Transmitter engineering's 149,799 posts GB flag
Monday, 17 April 2023
Transmitter engineering
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

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]

link to this comment
Transmitter engineering's 149,799 posts GB flag
Tuesday, 2 May 2023
Transmitter engineering
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

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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Transmitter engineering's 149,799 posts GB flag
Monday, 8 May 2023
Transmitter engineering
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

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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Transmitter engineering's 149,799 posts GB flag
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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.

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