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Freeview Light on the Seaham (County Durham, England) transmitter

first published this on - UK Free TV
sa_gmapsGoogle mapsa_bingBing mapsa_gearthGoogle Earthsa_gps54.830,-1.376 or 54°49'47"N 1°22'33"Wsa_postcodeSR7 8LB

 

The symbol shows the location of the Seaham (County Durham, England) transmitter which serves 6,700 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 Seaham (County Durham, England) mast?

Seaham transmitter - Seaham transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 21/10/2024 Screen may go black 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 Seaham 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
 V max
C41 (634.0MHz)150mDTG-100W
Channel icons
1 BBC One (SD) North East and Cumbria, 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
 V max
C44 (658.0MHz)150mDTG-100W
Channel icons
3 ITV 1 (SD) (Tyne Tees), 4 Channel 4 (SD) North ads, 5 Channel 5, 6 ITV 2, 10 ITV3, 13 E4, 14 Film4, 15 Channel 4 +1 North ads, 18 More4, 26 ITV4, 28 ITVBe, 30 E4 +1, 35 ITV1 +1 (Tyne Tees), 71 That’s 60s,

PSB3
BBCB
 V max
C47 (682.0MHz)150mDTG-100W
Channel icons
46 5SELECT, 101 BBC One HD North East and Cumbria, 102 BBC Two HD England, 103 ITV 1 HD (ITV Granada), 104 Channel 4 HD North ads, 105 Channel 5 HD, 106 BBC Four HD, 107 BBC Three HD, 204 CBBC HD, 205 CBeebies HD, plus 1 others

H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)

Are you trying to watch these 44 Freeview channels?

the effected channels
the effected channels
the effected channels
the effected channels

The Seaham (County Durham, England) mast is a public service broadcasting (PSB) transmitter, it does not provide these commercial (COM) channels: U&Yesterday, 4seven, 5Action, 5STAR, 5USA, Al Jazeera Eng, Al Jazeera English, Blaze, Blaze +1, Challenge, Channel 5 +1, DMAX, E4 Extra, YAAAS!, Film4 +1, Food Network, FRANCE 24 (in English), GREAT! action, GREAT! christmas, GREAT! movies, GREAT! romance mix, HGTV, HobbyMaker, ITV2 +1, ITV3 +1, ITV4 +1, ITVBe +1, Legend, PBS America, Quest +1, Quest Red, Really, Sky Mix, Sky News, Talking Pictures TV, That's 90s, That's TV 2, Together TV, TRUE CRIME, TRUE CRIME XTRA, U&Dave, U&Dave ja vu, U&Drama +1, U&W.

If you want to watch these channels, your aerial must point to one of the 80 Full service Freeview transmitters. For more information see the will there ever be more services on the Freeview Light transmitters? page.

Which BBC and ITV regional news can I watch from the Seaham transmitter?

regional news image
BBC Look North (Newcastle) 1.6m homes 6.0%
from Newcastle NE99 2NE, 22km northwest (315°)
to BBC North East and Cumbria region - 70 masts.
regional news image
ITV Tyne Tees News 1.4m homes 5.4%
from Gateshead NE11 9SZ, 24km northwest (308°)
to ITV Tyne Tees region - 47 masts.
All of lunch, weekend and 50% evening news is shared with Border

How will the Seaham (County Durham, England) transmission frequencies change over time?

1984-971997-981998-20122012-1313 Nov 2019
B E TB E TB E TB E K TB E K T
C41ITVwavesITVwavesITVwavesBBCBBBCA
C44BBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBCAD3+4
C47C4wavesC4wavesC4wavesD3+4BBCB
C51tv_offBBC1wavesBBC1wavesBBC1waves

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 12 Sep 12 and 26 Sep 12.

How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?

BBCA, D3+4, BBCB 100W
Analogue 1-4(-2.3dB) 59W

Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Pontop Pike transmitter area

Jan 1959-Feb 2004Tyne Tees 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. Seaham was not an original Channel 3 VHF 405-line mast: the historical information shown is the details of the company responsible for the transmitter when it began transmitting Channel 3.

Comments
Sunday, 8 May 2011
D
Daniel
8:50 PM

I live in Seaham currently, we have recently changed our Ariel in a hope to get a better digital signal, fortunately the signal had increased and more channels became available.
however even the increased signal is often terrible. I have heard rumours that after the digital switch-over the digital strengths can become better.
I was hoping someone may be able to tell me if that is true or not?

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Daniel's 1 post GB flag
M
Mike Dimmick
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

9:22 PM

Daniel: These relay transmitters exist because there are areas that were not covered by the main transmitters, for analogue services.

At switchover, the relays will only transmit the three public service multiplexes: the services listed above.

If you're getting good quality analogue signals from one of the main transmitters now, you should get reliable digital signals after switchover. Virtually every transmitter in the country will be getting much stronger digital transmissions, at least equivalent coverage to analogue and sometimes more. (The only transmitters *not* getting much stronger digital are those where it was already practically equivalent.)

If you provide a full postcode we can work out which transmitter is most likely to provide the most reliable service.

link to this comment
Mike Dimmick's 2,486 posts GB flag
Thursday, 20 October 2011
A
Alan
2:47 PM
Seaham

Post code SR7 8LA.

Despite having a good quality aerial installed, digital signal quality is still erratic (small burst pixelation and picture freeze). Signal strength is 75% and quality varies on digital channels from 75% to 100%.
Is this likely to improve?
Is the redcar transmitter the best option for SR7 8LA? as that seems where all the aerials in my location are pointing.
What will the Seaham relay station be transmitting at switchover?
Are portable digital receivers (pocket devices) going to receive signals, as currently they pick up very little unless you move round the house bending the antenna in multiple positions while you earth yourself to a radiator. Analogue portable devices received signals perfectly!

link to this comment
Alan's 1 post EU flag
Alan's: mapA's Freeview map terrainA's terrain plot wavesA's frequency data A's Freeview Detailed Coverage
M
Mike Dimmick
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

5:15 PM

Alan: Digital UK reckon the best transmitter for you, both now and after switchover, is Bilsdale West Moor. It's not that near Redcar; it's actually the other side of Middlesbrough.

Bilsdale transmits currently at 1.6 kW to 6 kW depending on the multiplex, compared to analogue at 500 kW. At switchover the digital signals will be 100 kW for PSB channels, 50 kW for COM channels. These levels are intended to give equivalent coverage compared to analogue for the COMs and slightly more for the PSBs.

The commercial multiplexes will be out of group after switchover, and you will need to change to a wideband or Group K aerial to get them. If you have *already* got a wideband, that might be the cause of some problems as they don't have a lot of gain at the lower frequencies currently used.

Results are currently expected to be variable on Mux 2 - carrying ITV1, ITV1 +1, ITV2, C4, C4+1, E4, More 4 and C5 - and Mux D, which carries Yesterday, ITV4, Film4 among others.

The Seaham transmitter will be 'Freeview Light', carrying only the public-service multiplexes: the BBC's channels, the ones I listed earlier for Mux 2, and the HD services BBC One HD, BBC HD, ITV1 HD and 4hd. By the time the Tyne Tees region has switched, BBC HD may have become BBC Two HD, and a fifth HD service may have joined the line-up.

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Mike Dimmick's 2,486 posts GB flag
Sunday, 25 March 2012
M
McDonald
5:47 PM

Digital TV lost channels. ITV, 4, 5. ITV2, E4 & others. Tried retuning twice. Seaham. County Durham

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McDonald's 2 posts GB flag
M
McDonald
10:14 PM

Working now

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McDonald's 2 posts GB flag
Saturday, 29 December 2012
D
Dave
9:44 PM

new to freeview and missing all the COM multiplexes. Live in the SR70 area. Picking up the PSB channels fine, good signal etc. Aerial in loft, brand new 48 element high gain. Noticed the Bilsdale transmitter is not green in my area on the coverage map. Do I have any options?


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Dave's 3 posts GB flag
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

10:25 PM

Dave: Are you picking up the PSBs from Bilsdale? If so, perhaps putting the aerial outside will give you the COMs as well.

Or might you be able to receive from Pontop Pike instead?

Like many places by the sea, inland from Seaham the ground goes up which is why it has its own relay.

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Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

10:26 PM

Dave: Where are others around you receiving from?

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Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
Sunday, 30 December 2012
D
Dave
9:46 AM

Dave Lindsay: How do I know where I am picking up from??? I think I am picking up from Seaham relay although I cannot find anything saying this, just guessing as Seaham puts out PSB's and this is what I am receiving.
I am unsure where others are receiving but most people have sky etc. I have pointed my aerial in the same direction as theirs (which I know is rough direction of relay) and this is what I get. On the coverage map, Bilsdale is not green over my house, does this mean I will not receive from there?

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Dave's 3 posts GB flag
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