Full Freeview on the Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham, England) transmitter
 | Google Streetview |  | Google map |  | Bing map |  | Google Earth |  | 52.600,-1.835 or 52°36'1"N 1°50'5"W |  | B75 5JJ |
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.
Are there any planned engineering works or unexpected transmitter faults on the Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham, England) mast?
Sutton Coldfield transmitter - Sutton Coldfield transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 22/04/2024 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels 
_______
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
|
|
Thursday, 14 April 2011
C
Carl9:12 PM
Belper
KMJ: Thanks, something seems to have happened though as I still have the same signal strength on all the Sutton MUXs, but no signal quality. Could there be any interference from elsewhere ? I wouldn't have thought it would affect all MUX's tho. I am rather foxed, just glad I installed a sky dish a few weeks ago for freesat using an old skybox.
| link to this comment |
Carl's: mapC's Freeview map terrainC's terrain plot wavesC's frequency data C's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Friday, 15 April 2011
K
KMJ,Derby12:27 AM
Carl:As you say if you have the same signal strength but poor or zero quality it points to an interference problem. It is possible that trees coming into leaf have caused the signal to become messy which is confusing the freeview tuner. What is the analogue reception like? If there is patterning on the picture due to a faulty amplifier or other equipment it would also adversely affect the digital signals.Have you checked that the Sky box is not causing any general interference? Interference from other transmitters due to the inversion effect would give poor quality readings but it is unusual for every mux to be affected at the same time.For example C41,C44 and C47 are used at Wenvoe for high power digital and for analogue at Emley Moor and Sudbury But C52 and C55 are not used for high power transmision at any of these sites.Try moving cables and equipment connected to or positioned near the tv to see if anything changes. With regard to channels in the 800s these usually indicate a signal from another transmitter has been found.The Digital UK postcode checker shows that a poor signal on Mux1 from Waltham might be received at your location.
| link to this comment |
Monday, 18 April 2011
M
M Tracey4:46 PM
Have been using Freeview for some time now with no problems. Over the last few days every TV receiver I have suddenly loses transmission signal, digital and analogue, at about 9.30pm every night. Next day transmission back on. All receivers fed from one aerial trained on Sutton Coldfield mast from Solihull area. Have changed booster and cables without joy. Is the transmitter being turned off?
| link to this comment |
M Tracey: Of course the transmitter is not being turned off, it serves 1,870,000 homes.
Please see Freeview intermittent interference | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice for help.
| link to this comment |
Tuesday, 19 April 2011
T
Tim12:25 PM
Rugby
Loss of Mux2 from Sutton Coldfield transmitter (29 miles away in Rugby
I have lost all the Mux2 channels after experiencing a couple of days of very poor, almost unwatchable reception on the same channels. I have tried retuning dong a default reset and tuning the box (Humax 9200T) with the aerial unplugged in an attempt to clear everything. Transmitter seems to be transmitting fine from what I can see on the web. My father lives 1.5 miles away and has had no problems and has similar equipment (H 9300T). I am getting 70% signal strength but 0% quality. Occasionally it shows 10% quality but only fleetingly. I did manage on one retune to get the channels but they were in the 800 channel range and unwatchable.
I have retuned so many times my eyes are going square! All the other muxs are about 70% signal strength and 100% qaulity. Any advice on getting this issue sorted would be much appreciated
| link to this comment |
Tim's: mapT's Freeview map terrainT's terrain plot wavesT's frequency data T's Freeview Detailed Coverage
B
Brian3:57 PM
Coventry
Hi,
I'm CV3 6JE and can get Freeview except ITV4, Yesterday and Film4. I've tried the reset to no avail. I've two 2010 vintage Freeview boxes and neither get the missing channels - even with a signal booster. My aerial is a standard yagi on the roof. Please help.
| link to this comment |
Brian's: mapB's Freeview map terrainB's terrain plot wavesB's frequency data B's Freeview Detailed Coverage
M
Mike Dimmick8:13 PM
Reading
Brian: You can get everything *except* Mux D? The prediction is exactly the opposite. Try it without the signal booster, or if you can vary the gain, turn it down to the minimum and just increase it enough to get all the channels without break-up.
The Winter Hill transmitter is beyond Sutton Coldfield in the same direction, and it uses C55 for the ArqB multiplex. It is currently running at relatively low power, and the terrain normally blocks the signal, but in the right weather conditions it can cause enough interference to stop Mux D working.
This will no longer be a problem after switchover as Sutton Coldfield and Winter Hill will have no frequencies in common. (The Winter Hill power restriction is removed on 21 September, which is DSO Stage 2 at Sutton Coldfield.)
| link to this comment |
Mike's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
M
Mike Dimmick8:20 PM
Reading
Tim: 70% on a Humax 9200T is too much signal. You should reduce it to below 50%. If you have an amplifier, remove it or turn it down.
I believe the box is calibrated for a range of 35 to 95 dBuV (this is the range shown in the manual). 95 dBuV is fine in a test lab with no other signals, but the combination of all the other signals transmitted by this transmitter, and fringe reception of others, means that the recommendation before switchover is a maximum of 60-65 dBuV. 65 dBuV is half-way between 35 and 95 - 50%.
Too much signal causes a problem called intermodulation, where the distorted signal bleeds into other channels, particularly adjacent ones. Multiplexes 1, 2, A and B are adjacent to much louder analogue channels; multiplex C is next to mux B.
(I own a 9200T.)
| link to this comment |
Mike's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
M
Mrs Jones10:18 PM
I have been home since 6pm and i've had no signal on both televisions, 1 has freeview built in the other a box. I live in a tower block in the city centre. What is the problem and when will it be sorted?
| link to this comment |
Select more comments
Your comment please