Full Freeview on the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmitter
 | Google Streetview |  | Google map |  | Bing map |  | Google Earth |  | 53.625,-2.516 or 53°37'30"N 2°30'56"W |  | BL6 6SL |
The symbol shows the location of the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmitter which serves 2,690,000 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 Winter Hill (Bolton, England) mast?
Winter Hill transmitter - Winter Hill transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 11/11/2024 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.
DTG-8 64QAM 8K 3/4 27.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
DTG-12 QSPK 8K 3/4 8.0Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
DTG-2 16QAM 2K 3/4 18.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)
Which Freeview channels does the Winter 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.
| Mux | H/V | Frequency | Height | Mode | Watts |
| PSB1 BBCA | H max | C32 (562.0MHz) | 726m | DTG- | 100,000W |
 1 BBC One (SD) North West, 2 BBC Two England, 9 BBC Four, 23 BBC Three, 201 CBBC, 202 CBeebies, 231 BBC News, 232 BBC Parliament, plus 17 others | |||||
| PSB2 D3+4 | H max | C34 (578.0MHz) | 726m | DTG- | 100,000W |
 3 ITV 1 (SD) (Granada), 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 (Granada), 71 That’s 60s, | |||||
| PSB3 BBCB | H max | C35- (585.8MHz) | 726m | DTG- | 100,000W |
 46 5SELECT, 101 BBC One HD North West, 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 | |||||
| COM4 SDN | H max | C29 (538.0MHz) | 726m | DTG-8 | 100,000W |
 20 U&Drama, 21 5USA, 29 ITV2 +1, 32 5STAR, 33 5Action, 38 Channel 5 +1, 41 Legend, 42 GREAT! action, 57 U&Dave ja vu, 58 ITV3 +1, 59 ITV4 +1, 64 Blaze, 67 TRUE CRIME, 68 TRUE CRIME XTRA, 81 Blaze +1, 83 Together TV, 91 WildEarth, 93 ITVBe +1, 209 Ketchup TV, 210 Ketchup Too, 211 YAAAS!, 251 Al Jazeera English, 255 FRANCE 24 (in English), 265 Rok Sky +1, plus 29 others | |||||
| COM5 ArqA | H max | C31 (554.0MHz) | 726m | DTG-8 | 100,000W |
 11 Sky Mix, 17 Really, 19 U&Dave, 31 E4 Extra, 36 Sky Arts, 40 Quest Red, 43 Food Network, 47 Film4 +1, 48 Challenge, 49 4seven, 60 U&Drama +1, 65 That's TV 2, 70 Quest +1, 74 &UYesterday +1, 76 That's TV 2 MCR, 233 Sky News, plus 13 others | |||||
| COM6 ArqB | H max | C37 (602.0MHz) | 726m | DTG-8 | 100,000W |
 12 Quest, 25 U&W, 27 U&Yesterday, 34 GREAT! movies, 39 DMAX, 44 HGTV, 52 GREAT! christmas, 56 That's TV (UK), 63 GREAT! romance mix, 73 HobbyMaker, 75 That's 90s, 82 Talking Pictures TV, 84 PBS America, 235 Al Jazeera Eng, plus 18 others | |||||
| LM | H -20dB | C40 (626.0MHz) | 572m | DTG-12 | 1,000W |
 from 1st October 2014: 7 That's Manchester, | |||||
| LL | H -17dB | C24 (498.0MHz) | 572m | DTG-12 | 2,000W |
 from 30th June 2014: 7 Bay TV Liverpool, | |||||
| LPR | H -20dB | C56 (754.0MHz) | 572m | DTG-12 | 1,000W |
 from 1st October 2014: 7 That's Lancashire, | |||||
| GIM | H -20dB | C57 (762.0MHz) | 572m | DTG-2 | 1,000W |
 Now 90s, Spotlight TV, Clubland TV, Country Music Entertainment , Classic Hits MCR, 77 That's 60s MCR, 78 TCC, 80 That's 80s, 86 That's 90s MCR, 88 TV Warehouse+1, | |||||
DTG-12 QSPK 8K 3/4 8.0Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
DTG-2 16QAM 2K 3/4 18.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)
Which BBC and ITV regional news can I watch from the Winter Hill transmitter?
BBC North West Tonight 3.1m homes 11.8%
from Salford M50 2QH, 22km southeast (140°)
to BBC North West region - 92 masts.
ITV Granada Reports 3.1m homes 11.6%
from Salford M50 2EQ, 22km southeast (139°)
to ITV Granada region - 80 masts.
How will the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmission frequencies change over time?
| 1956-80s | 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2009 | 2009-13 | 2013-18 | 2013-17 | 20 Feb 2020 | ||
| VHF | C/D E | C/D E | C/D E | C/D E | C/D E T | W T | W T | ||
| C9 | ITVwaves | ||||||||
| C12 | BBCtvwaves | ||||||||
| C24 | _local | ||||||||
| C29 | SDN | ||||||||
| C31 | com7 | com7 | |||||||
| C32 | BBCA | ||||||||
| C34 | D3+4 | ||||||||
| C35 | BBCB | ||||||||
| C37 | com8 | com8 | |||||||
| C40 | LOCAL2 | ||||||||
| C48 | C5waves | C5waves | |||||||
| C49tv_off | ArqA | ArqA | |||||||
| C50tv_off | BBCA | BBCA | |||||||
| C54tv_off | -BBCB | -BBCB | -BBCB | ||||||
| C55tv_off | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | ArqB | ArqB | ArqB | com7tv_off | ||
| C56tv_off | _local | _local | _local | LPR | |||||
| C57tv_off | GIM | GIM | GIM | GIM | |||||
| C58tv_off | SDN | SDN | SDN | ||||||
| C59tv_off | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | D3+4 | D3+4 | D3+4 | |||
| C61 | ArqA | ||||||||
| C62 | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBCA | |||||
| C65 | C4waves | C4waves | C4waves |
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 4 Nov 09 and 2 Dec 09.
How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?
| Analogue 1-4 | 500kW | |
| SDN, ARQA, ARQB, BBCA, D3+4, BBCB | (-7dB) 100kW | |
| com7 | (-12.9dB) 25.7kW | |
| com8 | (-13.4dB) 22.6kW | |
| Analogue 5 | (-16dB) 12.5kW | |
| Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D* | (-17dB) 10kW | |
| LL | (-24dB) 2kW | |
| GIM, LM, LPR | (-27dB) 1000W |
Local transmitter maps
Winter Hill Freeview Winter Hill DAB Winter Hill AM/FM Winter Hill TV region BBC North West GranadaWhich companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Winter Hill transmitter area
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Sunday, 21 August 2011
J
jb388:44 PM
Andy: Well, what you are doing can be viewed as having similarities to someone using a metal coat hanger stuck into the back of a TV for reception when in a really good reception area.
The Pendle Forrest transmitter is the nearest to you at 3 miles away, Haslingden at 8 miles and Winter Hill on high power at 18 miles, so it has to be assumed that you must be in one of these areas where a pocket of intense signal is received otherwise what you are doing wouldn't work, because it technically shouldn't, maybe even a tad on the outrageous! (meant in the nicest possible way of course!)
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J
jb389:22 PM
Sue: Indications are that you should be able to receive Freeview at about the same strength of signal from three stations, namely Winter Hill - Storeton - Bidston, although another two could also come into the equation.
Humax boxes generally have very sensitive tuners and this could well cause great problems in your area when carrying out an auto-tune, as Storeton might take up EPG1 for BBC, and if not that station Bidston or Moel-Y-Park.
The only somewhat easy way to avoid this happening being to first of all blank the boxes memory store, this done by removing the aerial and carrying out a complete retune.
Once done, keep the aerial plug in your hand and carry out another auto-tune whilst carefully watching the progress indicator travelling up from the starting point, this being where you need to be quick, because as soon as the progress bar passes channel 52 immediately insert the aerial, and that should then enable the box to load Winter Hill, its lowest Mux channel being 54.
That said though, Storeton Wales might still cause a problem dependant on if its reaching you with any strength, as its on Mux Ch's 57 & 53 (HD on 60)
If you do not get any success then manually tuning (and storing) each Mux in turn is the only thing you can do, Mux channel numbers to use supplied if requested. Another way is if you could tune your box at a friends house who can maybe only receive Winter Hill due to their location.
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Monday, 22 August 2011
A
Andy2:45 PM
@jb38: Many thanks for your reply.
ive just done a test where ive got my old tv and connected it to a set top box via the satellite cable then connected the STB to the tv via a scart lead. Here's the result:
I get an excellent picture on all freeview channels.
According to the STB signal gauge i get the following UHF readings:
Channels 58,59 & 62 @ 100%
Channel 55 @ 50-65%.
I then connected my new tv with built-in freeview via just the satellite cable.
I get an excellent picture on all freeview channels apart from the BBC channels where it seems to break up now & again, maybe because of signal strengthquality..?.
This is a shame because i now will either have to invest in getting a new aerial set up or would i be better off purchasing a HD decoder as i already have the satellite dish & cable..?
Your comments would be most welcome, thank you.
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J
jb384:51 PM
Andy: Well you still amaze me with this! but having been involved with RF signals (TX/RX) for many years I am fully aware that areas do exist where touching an aerial socket with the proverbial wet finger can give quite unexpected results.
The only bit that gets me is, that the aforementioned unexpected results is usually when only the centre pin / wire is connected to the socket, whereas "if" your co-ax plug is connected properly that would effectively earth the screen around the inside core from picking up anything, the whole point of the outer screen, and I am quite sure that the LNB doesn't play any part in what you are receiving. (famous last words!)
Anyway, it still indicates that you are in a "chosen" spot for reception from Winter Hill @ 18 miles away, as the channels mentioned are from there, and so even although I would usually always advise satellite (Freesat) any day over terrestrial, satellite for 99.9% reliability of reception, in your case a standard log periodic aerial would likely give great results, a link for same provided. (any one of the three shown would suffice)
Of course it might just be easier (and less costly) just to replace the aerials co-ax.
Online TV FM DAB Aerial sales
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A
Andy7:27 PM
Thanks for the reply & link jb38, spent an hour having a good read on that site, very informative.
As regards to the co-ax plug it is correctly fitted so it's all still a bit of a mystery.
I think maybe a HD freesat box is the way to go because as you advise they have more reliable reception plus the HD channels.
I may also look into sorting an aerial out for backup etc.
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J
jb389:24 PM
Andy: Well for reliability of reception it goes without question that Satellite is a better bet altogether, albeit of course its not near so convenient as Freeview as far as using in more than one room is concerned, both Freesat and Freeview having the same HD channels though.
Of course it all depends on whether or not your TV is capable of showing HD images via an HDMI lead?
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Monday, 29 August 2011
R
Richard11:04 PM
Hi There I was just wondering will I need to retune again on the 21st September as COM6 ARQB will be going to go on full power.
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K
KMJ,Derby11:54 PM
Richard: No need for viewers tuned to Winter Hill to retune on 21st September 2011, as Mux ArqB is already 64QAM 8k mode. The change will just be the transmitter power being increased to 100kW.
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Tuesday, 30 August 2011
J
Jon Rew10:02 PM
Northwich
Hi
I wonder if anyone can help?
We live in CW8 1SH and are connected to Winter Hill but we are struggling to get quite a few of the channels on our BT Vision Box
We don't seem to get channels 3,4,5,6,13,28,33,10, and 27
The house is brand new and we had a brand new aerial installed in the loft along with an amplifier.
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Jon's: mapJ's Freeview map terrainJ's terrain plot wavesJ's frequency data J's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Sunday, 4 September 2011
Got my TVs integrated Freeview HD tuner plugged in to the communal roof antenna (postcode PR1 3NR) via the socket on the wall in my flat, and I can pick up everything on PSB1 (C62), PSB2 (C59), PSB3 (C54) and COM4 (C58). However, COM5 (C61) channels are completely unwatchable most of the time and have constant break up of the picture and audio. COM6 channels work most of the time, but seem to have occasional break up at some times of day. It seems odd that COM6 provides a better signal than COM5, even though COM6 is outputting at 1/8th of the power level.
Is there anything I can do to help this? I can't modify anything to do with the antenna on the roof, but is there anything I can do by the time it reaches my flat to help this?
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Liam's: mapL's Freeview map terrainL's terrain plot wavesL's frequency data L's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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