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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 04/11/2024 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), 71 That’s 60s,

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 U&Drama, 21 5USA, 29 ITV2 +1, 32 5STAR, 33 5Action, 38 Channel 5 +1, 41 Legend, 42 GREAT! action, 57 U&Dave ja vu, 58 ITV3 +1, 59 ITV4 +1, 64 Blaze, 67 TRUE CRIME, 68 TRUE CRIME XTRA, 81 Blaze +1, 83 Together TV, 91 WildEarth, 93 ITVBe +1, 209 Ketchup TV, 210 Ketchup Too, 211 YAAAS!, 251 Al Jazeera English, 255 FRANCE 24 (in English), 265 Rok Sky +1, plus 29 others

COM5
ArqA
 H -0.2dB
C36 (594.0MHz)289mDTG-8170,000W
Channel icons
11 Sky Mix, 17 Really, 19 U&Dave, 31 E4 Extra, 36 Sky Arts, 40 Quest Red, 43 Food Network, 47 Film4 +1, 48 Challenge, 49 4seven, 60 U&Drama +1, 65 That's TV 2, 70 Quest +1, 74 &UYesterday +1, 76 That's TV 2 MCR, 233 Sky News, plus 13 others

COM6
ArqB
 H -0.2dB
C48 (690.0MHz)289mDTG-8170,000W
Channel icons
12 Quest, 25 U&W, 27 U&Yesterday, 34 GREAT! movies, 39 DMAX, 44 HGTV, 52 GREAT! christmas, 56 That's TV (UK), 63 GREAT! romance mix, 73 HobbyMaker, 75 That's 90s, 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
Monday, 3 October 2011
S
Steve P
sentiment_satisfiedGold

11:22 PM
Wrexham

MD - I personally have no idea - just quoting Brian!

Rob - try asking a LOCAL TV Aerial man, who should know local issues.

link to this comment
Steve P's 1,173 posts GB flag
Steve's: mapS's Freeview map terrainS's terrain plot wavesS's frequency data S's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
R
RobWhitwell
10:26 AM
Hitchin

Back up to 59 tv channesl today. Saying that, those 'returning' Mux C ones are frozen images with little signal strength. Perhaps may improve tomorrow as weather gets colder.

No Mux A (SDN) channels yet.

Watch this space.

link to this comment
RobWhitwell's 9 posts GB flag
RobWhitwell's: mapR's Freeview map terrainR's terrain plot wavesR's frequency data R's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
M
Murray Allen
9:06 PM

We have recently lost all MUX C channels (chiefly Dave, Dave Ja Vu and E4+1). I have tried retuning but it makes no difference. It appears to have happened in the last 3 weeks (maybe when I re-tuned on 13th September switchover - which saw the long awaited return of Film4). I live in Cambridge and assume I am accessing the Sandy Heath transmitter. Any ideas? Thanks.

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Murray Allen's 3 posts GB flag
R
RobWhitwell
10:56 PM

Hi Murray.
Seems your problems almost mirror mine.

Today have lost all of the mux C channels so total of 40 TV channels again.

Looks like we both will have to wait until next April :-(


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RobWhitwell's 9 posts GB flag
Thursday, 6 October 2011
J
John Morris
3:53 AM
Peterborough

Is Sandy Heath transmitting horizontal or vertical polarity?
I wish to install a loft antennae as I can't (daren't) climb to the top of my chimney stack where the old (pre 1860's) antennae is.
Can you recommend a suitable antennae for the job?
Lastly I have a dish for receiving Philippine channels what do I need to do to hook it up to receive Freeview? Thank you John Morris

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John Morris's 2 posts GB flag
John's: mapJ's Freeview map terrainJ's terrain plot wavesJ's frequency data J's Freeview Detailed Coverage
J
John Morris
3:58 AM
Peterborough

One more question to settle an argument with my nephew. He says that co-ax cable needs renewing every few years but I think as the core wire is copper and well protected this is not the case. What is your opinion please?

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John Morris's 2 posts GB flag
John's: mapJ's Freeview map terrainJ's terrain plot wavesJ's frequency data J's Freeview Detailed Coverage
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

8:14 AM

John Morris: Sandy transmits on horizontal polarity, and as far as fitting the aerial in the loft it all depends on where you are located in Peterborough, as reception can vary slightly between the North and South sides of the city with many in the North end favouring Waltham, although speaking in general terms a good signal can be received in most areas with the exception of Sandy's Mux Ch67 & Mux Ch48 which are still on low power, this also applies to Mux Ch31 but it is generally received at a far superior level over the other two mentioned.

For a loft aerial, I would recommend that you take advantage of an excellent offer I noticed that's on in Screwfix, the aerial referred to seen on the link and is virtually guaranteed to be perfect for your requirements provided its not positioned facing into a water tank. (this aerial in Argos being £52.00)

By the way on the co-ax issue, there is no real need to change this at all provided water hasn't crept into it nor has it been damaged in any way.

This being the aerial referred to.

Labgear 27885LAB Megaboost Amplified Outdoor Aerial & Cable 16dB | Screwfix.com





link to this comment
jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
S
Steve P
sentiment_satisfiedGold

9:24 AM

JM - like your antique antenna!

If your Filipine dish is pointed in the same direction as "our" satellites you need a Freesat box or old skybox. If it is NOT pointing right you can't get them.

link to this comment
Steve P's 1,173 posts GB flag
M
Mike Dimmick
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

2:59 PM

John Morris: The cable insulation is plastic and like all plastics, it deteriorates with exposure to sunlight, and can then let damp in. White insulation tends to be affected worse than black or brown.

Cables should be anchored at frequent intervals, including clips over tiles, so that they cannot move in the wind and rub over the brickwork or tiles, which wears through the insulation.

I'd say you should plan to replace cables about every ten years.

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Mike Dimmick's 2,486 posts GB flag
Saturday, 8 October 2011
S
Steve
1:52 PM
Milton Keynes

Has Sandy Heath recently reduced power on Mux C in the last few days as I have lost all these channels (Sky News, Dave, E4+1). All other Mux channel bundles are fine.

link to this comment
Steve's 1 post GB flag
Steve's: mapS's Freeview map terrainS's terrain plot wavesS's frequency data S's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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