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 11/12/2023 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
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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Wednesday, 25 May 2011
Andrew: Have you got a Freeview HD ("DVB-T2") receiver? Please see What does "Full HD Ready" actually mean? | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice .
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Mike Dimmick3:11 PM
Andrew: The early HD broadcasts really had to be crammed in, so the radiation pattern is restricted. Based on the position of the transmitting aerials - half-way down the south face of the Lichfield mast - the intent was to serve Birmingham only.
The full service available after switchover is expected to be transmitted in all directions, and you should be able to get it then.
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Barry Elkington 10:55 PM
Coventry
Continued from yesterday.
Thanks for the help so far.
Have now removed the video player and read all the information on the Sutton Coldfield transmitter.
Reception on most channels is perfect.
Mux D, with ITV4 and Film4, is better but still breaks up from time to time.
Given the age of the aerial it looks as though it is a Group B one and is currently struggling to pick up the out of band transmission of ITV4 and Film4.
However, am I correct in thinking that when the digital switchover completes in September then ITV4 and Film4 will fall within the band that the aerial can receive properly ?
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Barry's: mapB's Freeview map terrainB's terrain plot wavesB's frequency data B's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Thursday, 26 May 2011
SUTTON COLDFIELD transmitter - Analogue BBC ONE Weak Signal; DSO related from 09:52 on 24 May to 17:51 on 24 May BBC TWO Weak Signal; DSO related from 09:51 on 24 May to 17:51 on 24 May [BBC] Over the next week Sutton Coldfield main transmitter: TV (analogue) Possible weak signal, TV (digital) working normally, Radio (analogue) Possible weak signal, Radio (digital) working normally. [DUK]
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SUTTON COLDFIELD transmitter - Analogue BBC ONE Weak Signal; DSO related from 09:52 on 24 May to 17:51 on 24 May BBC TWO Weak Signal; DSO related from 09:51 on 24 May to 17:51 on 24 May [BBC] Over the next week Sutton Coldfield main transmitter: TV (analogue) Possible weak signal, TV (digital) working normally, Radio (analogue) Possible weak signal, Radio (digital) working normally. [DUK]
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Barry Elkington 10:53 AM
Coventry
Briantist, thank you for your help. I shall now stop worrying about it and look forward to September.
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Barry's: mapB's Freeview map terrainB's terrain plot wavesB's frequency data B's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Friday, 27 May 2011
D
David1:36 PM
How does one reconcile the statements from Sutton Coldfield transmitter news (top of the page) where on the one hand
"Over the next week Sutton Coldfield main transmitter: TV (analogue) Possible weak signal, TV (digital) working normally..."
On the other hand, effective power level for mux 2 and A is 'low' ????
Since I cannot get a sensible picture from nux 2 or A most of the time (B43), I believe the latter, not the former.
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Mike Dimmick3:39 PM
David: effective power level for Mux 2 and A is always 'low'. It's a consequence of the fact that they never changed mode after ITV Digital failed in 2002. Mux 1, B, C and D changed to a mode roughly equivalent to increasing the power by 2-2.5x, without causing any increase in interference to analogue transmissions (primarily those from Emley Moor). The cost was about 25% of the capacity on each multiplex.
The bars shown against each multiplex indicate the normal situation. When there is engineering work, Digital UK only report 'possible weak signal' and don't tell us exactly when and by how much the signal is to be reduced.
At switchover, power levels are 25 times higher and there is no longer a clash with Emley Moor. All SD multiplexes will use the same mode as Mux 2 and A do now.
The BBC did recommend that all six multiplexes changed mode, but ITV and Channel 4, who run Mux 2/D3&4, and S4C, who then ran Mux A, were not required to do so and decided to maintain the higher capacity at the cost of coverage. (ITV Digital had only operated Mux B, C and D. Freeview Ltd doesn't operate anything, it's a PR organization only.).
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David: They are both correct, the output levels are normal as shown. Please see Two frequency interference
| ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice .
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