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Full Freeview on the Whitehawk Hill (Brighton and Hove, England) transmitter

first published this on - UK Free TV
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The symbol shows the location of the Whitehawk Hill (Brighton and Hove, England) transmitter which serves 96,000 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 Whitehawk Hill (Brighton and Hove, England) mast?

Whitehawk Hill transmitter - Whitehawk Hill transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 25/03/2024 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 Whitehawk Hill 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
C48- (689.8MHz)171mDTG-4,000W
Channel icons
1 BBC One (SD) South East, 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
C35 (586.0MHz)171mDTG-4,000W
Channel icons
3 ITV 1 (SD) (Meridian (South Coast 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 (Meridian south coast),

PSB3
BBCB
 V max
C36 (594.0MHz)171mDTG-4,000W
Channel icons
46 5SELECT, 101 BBC One HD South East, 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
 V max
C33 (570.0MHz)164mDTG-84,000W
Channel icons
20 Drama, 21 5USA, 29 ITV2 +1, 32 5STAR, 33 5Action, 38 Channel 5 +1, 41 Legend, 42 GREAT! action, 57 Dave ja vu, 58 ITVBe +1, 59 ITV3 +1, 64 Blaze, 67 TRUE CRIME, 68 TRUE CRIME XTRA, 78 TCC, 81 Blaze +1, 83 Together TV, 89 ITV4 +1, 91 WildEarth, 209 Ketchup TV, 210 Ketchup Too, 211 YAAAS!, 267 Al Jazeera English, plus 30 others

COM5
ArqA
 V max
C57 (762.0MHz)171mDTG-84,000W
Channel icons
11 Sky Mix, 17 Really, 19 Dave, 31 E4 Extra, 36 Sky Arts, 40 Quest Red, 43 Food Network, 47 Film4 +1, 48 Challenge, 49 4seven, 60 Drama +1, 65 That's TV 2, 70 Quest +1, 74 Yesterday +1, 75 That's 90s, 233 Sky News, plus 11 others

COM6
ArqB
 V max
C32 (562.0MHz)171mDTG-84,000W
Channel icons
12 Quest, 25 W, 27 Yesterday, 34 GREAT! movies, 39 DMAX, 44 HGTV, 52 GREAT! romance, 56 That's TV (UK), 61 GREAT! movies extra, 63 GREAT! romance mix, 71 That’s 60s, 73 HobbyMaker, 82 Talking Pictures TV, 84 PBS America, 235 Al Jazeera Eng, plus 18 others

LBN
 V -10dB
C40 (626.0MHz)171mDTG-12400W
Channel icons
from 8th July 2014: 7 Latest TV,

DTG-8 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)

The Whitehawk Hill (Brighton and Hove, England) mast is a public service broadcasting (PSB) transmitter, it does not provide these commercial (COM) channels: .

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 Whitehawk Hill transmitter?

regional news image
BBC South East Today 0.8m homes 3.2%
from Tunbridge Wells TN1 1QQ, 43km northeast (36°)
to BBC South East region - 45 masts.
regional news image
ITV Meridian News 0.9m homes 3.6%
from Whiteley PO15 7AD, 80km west (274°)
to ITV Meridian (South Coast) region - 39 masts.
All of lunch, weekend and 50% evening news is shared with all of Meridian plus Oxford

How will the Whitehawk Hill (Brighton and Hove, England) transmission frequencies change over time?

1950s-80s1984-971997-981998-20122012-1316 Oct 2019
VHFC/D EEEC/D E TW T
C2BBCtvwaves
C34ArqA
C35C5wavesC5wavesD3+4
C36BBCB
C40_local
C48ArqBArqB
C51tv_offBBCB
C53tv_offC4wavesC4wavesC4wavesD3+4
C54tv_offLBN
C56tv_offArqA
C57tv_offBBC1wavesBBC1wavesBBC1wavesSDNSDN
C60tv_offITVwavesITVwavesITVwaves-BBCABBCA
C63BBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBC2waves

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 Mar 12 and 21 Mar 12.

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

Analogue 1-4 10kW
Analogue 5(-3dB) 5kW
SDN, ARQA, ARQB, BBCA, D3+4, BBCB(-4dB) 4kW
Mux B*(-10dB) 1000W
Mux 2*, Mux C*, Mux D*, LBN(-14dB) 400W
Mux 1*, Mux A*(-17dB) 200W

Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Whitehawk Hill transmitter area

Aug 1958-Jan 1992Southern Television
Jan 1982-Dec 1992Television South (TVS)
Jan 1993-Feb 2004Meridian
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. Whitehawk Hill 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
Monday, 29 April 2013
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

3:14 PM

Me: In answer to your question of 4:56AM, because different frequencies (and hence different signals) travel differently. The reason being that there are objects in and around them which refract, reflect and so on to degrees which differ by frequency.

The end result is that in one spot one channel can be good and the others not so. This was easier to see in the days of analogue, particularly if you ever used a set-top aerial. The trick was finding a spot for the aerial where all channels were good.


In response to your posting made at 12:52PM, I very much doubt you will be able to receive from Reigate. What makes you think that it's Reigate?

If you can receive from Rowridge then be aware that it uses all Group A channels, and that, as such, you would be much better off with a Group A yagi than a wideband yagi. See here for an explanation:

Rowridge Transmitter

With a yagi, the lower the frequency the less gain and hence the less directivity. A wideband yagi is a greater compromise than a Group one.

Rowridge's COMs are stronger vertically (it broadcasts all channels horizontally and vertically).

link to this comment
Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
M
Me
9:48 PM

I think that I am receiving some signals from Reigate because I get a strong signal (strength and quality) on Channel 24 (498.00MHz).

Regarding the explanation of relections etc. that account for some channels appearing but others no appearing (same transmitter), I doubt that this is the reason because the frequencies are too similar and, therfore, the distorting effects are likely to be equivalent.

link to this comment
Me's 5 posts GB flag
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

11:48 PM

Me: Re: your 12.52PM posting, on what basis is the assumption being made that you are receiving a strong signal from Reigate? as the terrain indicator points to the signal from that transmitter being completely blocked starting from a distance of approximately 7.5 miles from your given location. (if genuine!)



Terrain between ( m a.g.l.) and (antenna m a.g.l.) - Optimising UK DTT Freeview and Radio aerial location


link to this comment
jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
Tuesday, 30 April 2013
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

9:29 AM

Me: I think that if you are receiving anything on C24 then it must be PSB1 (BBC One etc) from Rowridge and certainly not COM5 (Pick TV etc) from Reigate.

link to this comment
Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
Monday, 6 May 2013
M
Me
1:03 PM

I have been trying some different orientations of the aerial.

I pointed it towards Whitehawk Hill (WH) and received no signals. I adjusted the angles several time, but it made no difference. I tried a couple of heights, no difference.

I repositioned the aerial back to its original location, towards Newhaven. I can pick up weak signals from WH on occasions.

I assume that these signals are caused by refelections, although I am surprised that I can occasionally get signals from WH when pointing away from this transmitter, but nothing when I point towards it.

Can anyone suggest how I might increase reception from WH (home build solutions preferrrd, such as modifying the aerial).

On a related point, is there a difference between a Yagi aerial and an Antiference aerial.

Thanks

link to this comment
Me's 5 posts GB flag
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

4:54 PM

Me: Antiference is simply a brand name of an old established company who manufactures all types of aerials including the Yagi types mentioned.

With regards to the reason for picking up a signal from WH even although your aerial was facing the reverse, yes your assumption is quite correct as the signal from WH is obviously being reflected back towards you from a hill or some other tall structure, this type of thing is quite commonly experienced by many who reside in areas where hills can be seen in the background.

As far as improving your signal is concerned, its totally futile for anyone to try and improve the performance of a manufactured aerial as it quite simply cannot be done, because "if" by any remote chance any channel is improved it will always be at the expense of another.

That said though, the only aerial that can be doctored for a specific purpose is a Log periodic, although doctored in this case means killing part of its coverage range by removing two or three of the small elements on the front of the aerial to restrict its performance from Ch60 upwards in cases where interference from 4G might be a problem.

Matter of fact, in your type of situation a DM log used in conjunction with a 20db variable gain booster such as sold by Argos is a perfect combination for carrying out experiments.

link to this comment
jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

5:09 PM

Me: This is a link to the aerial referred to and underneath is the item number for the booster, these only provided to give you an idea of what I am referring to.

Online TV FM DAB Aerial sales


SLX variable gain (0 - 20 dB) plug in booster (Page 603)- item No 534 / 4235 @ £11.99.



link to this comment
jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
M
Me
6:25 PM

Sometimes I get considerable reflections, at other times none at all. Since hills etc. are constant, am I right in assuming that the differences are due to atmospherics.

If atmospherics are the correct explanation for the difference in phenomena, I have noticed that similar weather conditions produce different results (strong or no reflections).

I find it difficult to explain these phenomena. I seem to get all (meaning weak), or nothing - nothing in between. The Signal, when I can detect it, is always strong, but of poor quality.

You mention experimenting with a log periodic. Would not removing the small elements (directors) from the front of a Yagi have a similar effect, i.e., reduce the forward gain. I would have thought that this loss would have resulted in a larger gain at other positions, including the rear.

I found that removing the reflectors, although in theory should have had an effect, had no effect at all.

Best wishes, thanks for the links

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Me's 5 posts GB flag
MikeP
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

7:00 PM

Me
A log periodic aerial does not work in the same way as a Yagi pattern! Removing the directors of a Yagi does NOT improve the performance in part of the spectrum significantly, so it should not be done. It tends to reduce the overall gain, widens the reception angle and unbalances the reception across the designed operating band. These are most noticeable with weak signals. Removing directors behind the dipole changes the reception pattern so it is slightly less sensitive forward by more sensitive rearwards and sideways. The effect it to allow more unwanted signals to be received, which can easily cause co-channel or adjacent channel signals to interfere and for unwanted transmitter signals to be a potential source of trouble. You may well see a reduction in signal quality rather than any improvement! Aerial design always has an element of compromise but is not to be undertaken lightly without a full and comprehensive understanding of what is required.

link to this comment
MikeP's 3,056 posts GB flag
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

11:53 PM

Me: As MikeP has fully explained why the procedure mentioned for a log aerial cannot be used where Yagi's are involved then that somewhat saves me from having to, but as far as log types are concerned, the only reason that this can be done on a log is simply because that every element on a log aerial is active and with this being the reason for it being shaped as it is as, the short elements on the front of the aerial catering for the high channels and with the longer elements on the rear for the low, this totally unlike that found in any other aerial which only has one active element positioned immediately in front of the reflector.

The other point about a log aerial and its series of active elements being, that this arrangement results in the aerial having a relatively flat response across the entire band over that of any other type of aerial, and why signal levels measured across a main stations six mux channels when taken using a log aerial always results in a more accurate indication of the true level of the signal being received from each mux by the aerials response not enhancing any part of the band, (short logs being even more accurate) and why standard aerials are unsatisfactory for measuring comparative levels where accuracy is required.

Just purely out of curiosity, when you mention trying tests with your aerial in various orientations I was wondering what type of aerial you are using and where is it installed?

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jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
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