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 22/04/2024 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
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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Tuesday, 3 May 2011
M
Mike Dimmick6:39 PM
Stephen Hall: You're in an awkward location that's between three main transmitters, but the terrain blocks line of sight to all of them.
Your best option will be Sutton Coldfield once it switches over in September. Sandy Heath is expected to continue to be poor, for you.
You're quite close to the Dallington Park relay, but again it's the wrong side of a hill, and the radiation pattern is restricted in your direction.
If you're currently without TV at all, you could try Sutton Coldfield now. You're unlikely to get reliable digital service, but you should get reasonable analogue pictures: the problem here is that digital power levels are relatively low at Sutton Coldfield (and at Oxford, the other alternative).
If you're insistent on Anglia news, you'll probably have to look into satellite.
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Wednesday, 4 May 2011
I
Ian11:35 PM
I retuned my freeview box on the morning of 13th April and I was delighted to see that I could receive Yesterday and ITV4 perfectly. However, when I returned home in the evening these channels had gone, i.e. no signal. I just wondered why these worked fine in the morning and had disappeared by the end of the day.
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Thursday, 5 May 2011
Ian: You are probably on the fringe of the reception are for ArqB, due to the low power output until 14th September 2011.
But, also see Single frequency interference | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice .
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Tuesday, 10 May 2011
M
Mick1:43 PM
Wellingborough
Hi, NN9 5ND
Have retuned my tv (which has Freeview tuner built in) several times and the strength and quality of the signal is fine, as is the picture.
My only problem is that I am not receiving the Freeview HD channels.
I see on the channel guide on my tv that channel 52 is yet to be allocated.
Can anyone help as to if the HD channels are being broadcast or do I have an equipment problem.
Regards
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Mick's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
M
Mike Dimmick4:07 PM
Mick: The HD channels are being transmitted. Most likely you have an 'HD Ready' rather than a 'Freeview HD' TV. Please see What does "Full HD Ready" actually mean? | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice for more information.
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Thursday, 12 May 2011
M
Maz6:17 PM
Bedford
Hi....
Could anyone tell me if the the power output of the 20kw frequencies on the sandy heath transmitter will be upgraded to 180kw in the future.
regards
Maz
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Maz's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Maz: As above "The commercial multiplexes at Sandy Heath will remain on their pre-switchover channels and powers for a period after digital switchover. SDN will then temporarily move to channel 31 (at 20kW ERP) on 31 Aug 2011, before adopting its final allocation of channel 51 on 18th April 2012. Arqiva A will adopt its final allocation of channel 52 on 23 Nov 2011. Arqiva B will temporarily move to channel 67 (at 20kW ERP) at switchover and then it will adopt its final allocation of channel 48 on 14 Sept 2011"
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Tuesday, 17 May 2011
A
Andy Hicks11:08 AM
We have experienced "sound drop" on some freeview boxes (metronic) since the "Switch over" can you advise if this is down to various tests and changes over this period as we have consumers complaining that there products appear to be faulty.
Please can you advise officially what the status is and when things are going to be "set"
Thanks in advance
Andy Hicks
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Andy Hicks: I would see Freeview intermittent interference | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice but the most likely explanation is you have too much signal.
If you have any boosters or amplifiers, remove them from your system. If you don't you may have to fit an attenuator.
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S
Steve12:27 PM
Wrexham
Why are tuners not equipped to recognise and deal with a strong signal?
| link to this comment |
Steve's: mapS's Freeview map terrainS's terrain plot wavesS's frequency data S's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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