Full Freeview on the Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham, England) transmitter
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The symbol shows the location of the Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham, England) transmitter which serves 1,870,000 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.
This transmitter has no current reported problems
The BBC and Digital UK report there are no faults or engineering work on the Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham, England) transmitter._______
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
DTG-12 QSPK 8K 3/4 8.0Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)
Which Freeview channels does the Sutton Coldfield 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
DTG-12 QSPK 8K 3/4 8.0Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)
Which BBC and ITV regional news can I watch from the Sutton Coldfield transmitter?
BBC Midlands Today 2.9m homes 10.9%
from Birmingham B1 1RF, 15km south-southwest (200°)
to BBC West Midlands region - 66 masts.
ITV Central News 2.9m homes 10.9%
from Birmingham B1 2JT, 15km south-southwest (201°)
to ITV Central (West) region - 65 masts.
All of lunch, weekend and 80% evening news is shared with Central (East)
Are there any self-help relays?
| Burton (shobnall) | Transposer | 1 km W Burton-on-Trent | 60 homes |
| Coalville | Transposer | 18 km NW Leicester | 600 homes |
| Solihull | Transposer | Land Rover building | 400 homes |
How will the Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham, England) transmission frequencies change over time?
| 1950s-80s | 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2011 | 2011-13 | 7 Mar 2018 | ||||
| VHF | B E T | B E T | B E T | B E K T | W T | ||||
| C4 | BBCtvwaves | ||||||||
| C33 | com7 | ||||||||
| C35 | com8 | ||||||||
| C36 | LOCAL2 | ||||||||
| C39 | +ArqB | ArqB | |||||||
| C40 | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | +BBCB | BBCB | ||||
| C42 | SDN | SDN | |||||||
| C43 | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | BBCA | BBCA | ||||
| C45 | ArqA | ArqA | |||||||
| C46 | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | D3+4 | D3+4 | ||||
| C48 | _local | ||||||||
| C50tv_off | C4waves | C4waves | C4waves | ||||||
| C51tv_off | LB | ||||||||
| 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 7 Sep 11 and 21 Sep 11.
How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?
| Analogue 1-4 | 1000kW | |
| SDN, ARQA, ARQB, BBCA, D3+4, BBCB | (-7dB) 200kW | |
| com7 | (-10.5dB) 89.2kW | |
| com8 | (-10.7dB) 86kW | |
| LB | (-20dB) 10kW | |
| Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D* | (-21dB) 8kW |
Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Sutton Coldfield transmitter area
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Sunday, 17 November 2019
C
Chris.SE7:05 PM
Derby
Roy:
I presume you want Sutton Coldfield because you'd prefer Central West rather than East from Waltham?
Taking a "virtual" stroll around the area, it seems relatively flat, but some ground seems to be about 10m higher than others. But even in absolutely flat areas, the predictor was giving very variable results from one adjacent road to another !! I don't know if you happen to be at one of the slightly higher points.
Try taking that Ch.59 filter out and see what difference it makes to anything. Is it the same make/quality as the Ch.60 one?
For some stupid reason I was thinking your group T aerial was a different one from the LAB450T ! Did you try the LAB450T with your amplifier or without it and with or without filters?
As I think you probably know, RF and aerials can be a bit of a black art. I think it's a case of try this, try that, try a different position, even slightly off bearing, but my primary concern would be that Ch.59 filter, too close to 55/56 for my liking.
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Chris.SE's: mapC's Freeview map terrainC's terrain plot wavesC's frequency data C's Freeview Detailed Coverage
R
Roy9:42 PM
Chris - Waltham is both more distant and less powerful than Sutton Coldfield (50kW vs 200kW per Mux) so I've never considered it an alternative, unless you disagree?
Yes I tried the Labgeat 450T both with and without the amplifier, it certainly needed the amp. I tried various combos but didn't get as far (but may yet) of pulling through some quality satellite cable to replace the run from loft to living room. I had assumed that the remaining 4G interference found by the installers despite a loft filter must mean the old coax was still letting signal in? I agree that a Ch59 filter is rather close to 55 & 56, given these things are a curve not a slot response. I will try without it and report back when I can.
I wouldn't say I'm elevated at all, fairly flat here and uncomfortably close to sea level, as the recent floods here have reminded everyone.
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Monday, 18 November 2019
C
Chris.SE12:28 AM
Roy:
Double screened cable may certainly help reduce interference getting in via the downlead.
As far as transmitters go, if you are not fussy about which news region you get, you might want to give Waltham a try if predicted reception looks as good/nearly as good on the other/all channels.
When you go to look when you put your postcode in at Freeview | All your favourite TV shows, all in one place and all for free put your house number in as well in case it changes the prediction a bit. Scroll down the page and click "Detailed view".
Obviously figures in green boxes are good (the higher the better), orange boxes mean variable, red means poor and you'll possibly struggle to get a signal that's reliable.
Here's a trick you might want to try. Point your 450T at Waltham and see if you can get a reliable 55/56 signal from there (no filter at the top). If all multiplexes are reliable and news region isn't an issue, go for Waltham, it's only 2.5km further away IIRC never mind the power. BUT look at any predicted reception changes upto March/April next year. Without being able to look at your specific postcode, on the few random ones I've done, overall Sutton Coldfield seems better.
Now if the Waltham 55/56 is reliable and if the 55/56 signal on Sutton Coldfield is poor to non-existent (&/or can be clobbered with the C59 filter before the booster on you outside aerial), then you could think about combining the two using a low-loss (inductive) splitter in reverse. So no filter on the 450T unless it's giving an interference issue then try the C60 on it. If it's not needed you could put the C60 in series with the C59 on the Sutton aerial all other things being equal. (Note using a splitter in reverse only works with two different groups of channels in this way because each aerial can't get the same channels either because of filtering and/or different transmitters).
Leaving aside the above & any interference you may see on removing the C59 filter in your current setup, if the signal on 55&56 increases then I'd give At800 a ring (0808 13 13 800) and see what filters they actually do, and at worst get them to send you another C60 one if they don't do say a C61. Whether it's wise to mention you already have the C60 one, or just say they fitted this C59 one and it's clobbering your COMs 7&8 on 55&56, I don't know. You could play it by ear, as they say.
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Sunday, 1 December 2019
C
Chris.SE8:49 PM
Roy:
I don't know if you've spoken to At800, but they only do the Ch.59 & Ch.60 filters. The Ch.60 filter is a better filter with a sharper cut-off. The Ch.59 filter might reduce marginal C55&56 signals sufficiently to fall off the cliff-edge.
Any update on the situation?
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Monday, 2 December 2019
R
Roy7:35 PM
Chris.SE - Sorry for the delay, I was away for a while. I did try with the downstairs Ch59 filter removed but it didn't make a discernible difference in terms of the crude signal strength measure via TV channel tuning. I am still getting the Com7 & Com8 workably, generally 6/10. Not sure if the increased exposure to a 4G transmitter makes removal unwise in this case. I haven't tried pointing the unsuccessful loft bacofoil aerial at Waltham, it was no mean feat fitting in my loft space as it is but I will try when I get weekend at home and report back. It would be nice to know what the 'end game' is of all these clearances, i.e. if/when standard density channels will be abandoned to return space now slowly being taken for 5G, but I guess no one knows that.
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Tuesday, 3 December 2019
C
Chris.SE2:12 AM
Roy:
No problem Roy, was just wondering how you were getting on, it's interesting to hear what results you are getting. If the C59 filter isn't making any discernable difference then no problem. I'd still see if you can get a C60 one off At800!
Also worth mentioning that Sutton Coldfield has Planned Engineering this week with "Possible service interruptions"
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Wednesday, 4 March 2020
A
Andrew Hannay12:05 AM
Hi, I live in Shrewsbury, and as a computer technician know a fair amount about Freeview multiplexes and the UHF channels they use and often help family and friends optimise their reception.
Due to where I live, my rooftop aerial is pointing at The Wrekin transmitter, and I get excellent reception, but Sutton Coldfield is also pretty much in a direct line, so I manually tune my TVs to select the optimal UHF channels whilst avoiding the Sutton Coldfield ones.
Wrekin UHF's
23 D3&4 20kW
26 BBC A 20kW
30- BBC B 20kW
41 SDN 10kW
44 AqvA 10kW
47 AqvB 10kW
Anyway, I've noticed Birmingham TV appear on one of my TVs on EPG channel 7, and it's picking it up from UHF48, however nothing on shown on The Wrekin, or Sutton Coldfield on this UHF channel on this site (shows UHF 51 on here) so I'm trying to work out where I'm getting it from. The signal is very weak but just about watchable with some pixelation at times (maybe current atmospheric conditions are allowing it).
I've had a look here at Ofcom, and it shows Sutton Coldfield broadcasting local TV on UHF48 at 10kW and not UHF51. Is the UHF channel numbers correct on the site? Without visiting the birmingham area and using a TV or bringing a TV closer to the transmitter to check, I can't confirm.
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/….pdf
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Andrew's: mapA's Freeview map terrainA's terrain plot wavesA's frequency data A's Freeview Detailed Coverage
C
Chris.SE7:24 AM
Andrew Hannay:
Hi, the UHF channel numbers on this transmitter page & many others are not up-to-date. The site owner hasn't has the time to update it with all the 700MHz clearance changes, as well as all the broadcasters changing some of their programs on the COM muxes etc., as I'm sure you know there are 1100+ transmitters in the UK!
That OFCOM document is an interesting one with all the polar diagrams! But I'm afraid that even that one isn't 100% up-to-date as the power for that multiplex was increased to 15.8kW at the Sutton Coldfield retune in March 2018. You must be in a very good location to be able to pick-up Sutton Coldfield, especially that multiplex on C48 as if you look at the polar diagram Figure A3, it's not particularly beamed in your direction. You might also note figure A4 for the multiplex on C36, but that is only 1kW. AFAIK they both transmit the same programs.
Generally, the best place to get up-to-date information is from the Freeview site now that the DUK Detailed Coverage Checker has been amalgamated into the site (but the job hasn't been done that well and you can no longer reference particular predictions with a url!)
If you go to Freeview | All your favourite TV shows, all in one place and all for free and put your postcode and house name/number into the boxes then on the next page scroll down and select "Detailed view" this will show the predicted reception at your location which may include more than one transmitter. As it is a prediction, the actual coverage may not be 100% but especially for a location well outside the intended service area, and it won't show detail that you aren't expected to receive, so to get all the transmitter information you sometimes have to pick a postcode within the relevant area. If you hover over channel numbers it will give you transmission mode & power.
Also note at the top of the page, you can select a region to view eg. Central which can be linked with a shortened url Freeview | All your favourite TV shows, all in one place and all for free help/coverage-checker/detailed-view/central
I have seen the occasional odd result if the original submitted postcode isn't in the region you select, if you shorten the url you can replace the region name at the end of the url with the another of interest.
The information is generally correct but is different, it shows historic data but not detail like modes and power. You need to refer to clearance documents for the changes or the Detailed Coverage Checker for a specific postcode for detail.
Whilst most of the information can be relied upon, I've seen errors in all types of document, sometimes it pays to try and cross-reference with another document.
Other places on the Freeview site worth checking are -
Freeview | All your favourite TV shows, all in one place and all for free corporate/platform-management/channel-listings
Freeview | All your favourite TV shows, all in one place and all for free corporate/platform-management/planned-engineering-works
Freeview | All your favourite TV shows, all in one place and all for free service-updates
HTH.
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C
Chris.SE7:52 AM
Andrew Hannay:
Apologies, a correction to the above, the LOC1 mux on C48 power increase was 30th October 2019 not March 2018.
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Thursday, 5 March 2020
A
Andrew Hannay11:30 PM
Thanks Chris for the links and further information. I never realised that detailed information was on the freeview site, I thought it was just basic information for average users. It's nice to see the bearing information too, which shows The Wrekin being at 103 and Sutton Coldfield 100 from my position, which shows just how in line they pretty much are.
So it looks like it must be picking UHF48 up from Sutton Coldfield, even though the signal is over 10dB less than the 200kW multiplexes. The Wrekin is 13km away, Sutton Coldfield 62km away. I know inverse square law sigificantly reduces power over distance too though don't know the maths to try and work out theoratical signal strength or dB loss compared to to both transmitters received here.
For comparison and for interests sake here's a table of what main TV can receive.
Wrekin Strength/Quality
23 D3&4 20kW 100/100
26 BBC A 20kW 100/100
30- BBC B 20kW 100/100
41 SDN 10kW 95/100
44 AqvA 10kW 97/100
47 AqvB 10kW 92/100
Sutton Coldfield Strength/Quality
46 D3&4 200kW 35-37/24-25 Watchable, no pixelation
43 BBC A 200kW 48-50/57-66 Watchable, no pixelation
40+ BBC B 200kW 0-30/0 No signal decoded
42 SDN 200kW 31-32/0 Major errors in signal, watchable intermittently in bursts of a few seconds
45 AqvA 200kW 36-37/13-17 Watchable, no pixelation
39+ AqvB 200kW 0/0 No signal decoded
55 COM7 56.162kW 0/0 No signal decoded
56 COM8 56.162kW 0/0 No signal decoded
48 L-BRM 15.8kW 0-27/0 Intermittent signal
Interesting that two of the 200kW signals I don't receive at all! When on the fringes of reception, even the frequency can have an impact. Roof aerial is shown to be able pick up local signals between UHF 23-47 and UHF39-40 which I don't receive signals are in that range too. Not sure what group the aerial is offhand, I've only had this house 3 years and noone has been on the roof!
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Andrew's: mapA's Freeview map terrainA's terrain plot wavesA's frequency data A's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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