Full Freeview on the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmitter
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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 04/11/2024 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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Wednesday, 1 July 2020
R
Robert Lee9:35 PM
Hi Chris, I note your comments above regarding log periodic aerials. I live in north Wales 39 miles from Winter Hill. I use a log periodic aerial which points midway between Winter Hill and Storeton and am able to pick up all English and Welsh multiplexes at full signal strength, including the low power C21 Liverpool signal and Com78 on C55, both from Winter Hill. The log periodic aerial is much smaller that the old Yagi I used to use but seems to be just as effective.
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C
Chris.SE11:00 PM
Robert Lee:
It all depends on your likely/predicted reception which will vary from location to location, not only dependent on local topography but which transmitters' signals may get to your location. Clearly from what you are saying, your predicted reception is a lot better than Peter Whitehead's? That was the reason for my remarks, log periodics are not always the best option. If you want to look at aerial gain curves to compare a log periodic with a quality Yagi18WB, I'll give you a link.
As I don't have your postcode, I can't look at what the predictors are saying.
That said, your reception can't be that good as you have complained about loss of reception before now?
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Thursday, 2 July 2020
R
Robert Lee9:03 AM
Buckley
Chris, My postcode is CH7 3EB. My height ASL is 427 ft and I live in a bungalow with the aerial chimney mounted ca. 20 ft AGL. From the roof I have direct line of sight of Winter Hill on a clear day, which probably accounts for the fact that I get superb reception. The reason I had a new aerial installed last year was that the old installation as showing serious signs of corrosion, bits having dropped off, including the reflectors, which didn't seem to affect reception. I do not recollect commenting about loss of reception - it must have been some time ago.
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Robert's: mapR's Freeview map terrainR's terrain plot wavesR's frequency data R's Freeview Detailed Coverage
K
Karl10:38 AM
I'm about 4 miles north of Blackpool and use a log rooftop aerial. My set up is the aerial feeding into the loft and into an (old now) Antiference four way distribution amp.
The feed to the main lounge is split 3 ways in the lounge (passive Triax splitter) and feeds a Sony 43" Android TV, a Panasonic HD recorder and an older Sony HDD recorder.
Moel Y Parc has always been an issue with the Sony as intermittent reception can confuse the timer settings for BBC in particular with it selecting the Moel Y Parc transmitter if the programme times happen to be different between that and Winter Hill.
That problem is 99% solved by adding a 15db attenuator to the Sony feed. The Triax splitter will already be adding around 6db to each of the three feeds.
The Sony TV reports CH55 @ 63% strength and 100% quality. CH54 is @ 99% strength and 100% quality.
The Sony with its massive attenuation reports all receivable channels at 100% quality. Signal strengths are:
CH21 @ 35%
CH32 @ 92%
CH37 @ 87%
CH40 @ 44%
CH49 @ 79%
CH50 @ 79%
CH58 @ 60%
CH59 @ 57%
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C
Chris.SE11:28 PM
Robert Lee:
Well with bits dropping off your old aerial, it's a good job it was replaced, from a safety point of view even if your reception didn't appear to be affected.
You are very lucky because you are in a pretty good location where your predicted reception for COM7 is quite good, but what's more, you location is also giving some predicted reception from Storeton Wales, figures all in the green! I'd had a look at a random selection of postcodes elsewhere in your town and figures for COM7 were quite poor, none gave any prediction for Storeton, and the BBC didn't predict anything for COM7.
Let's be crystal clear, I was not saying that log periodics were no good for COM7, my remarks were to Peter Whitehead in the context of the poor predicted reception of COM7 in his location. His predicted "Served" figure is 4 - not just poor, very poor! compared to your figure 88. That's a huge difference for reliable reception.
Karl:
Whilst I haven't got your postcode, in your location at Cleveleys with that Antiference RX20, it's serving you well there. Those figures are pretty good. You've got plenty of gain from the aerial and with the amp and splitter, in a way I not surprised you needed the attenuator! The slight drop-off at C58/59 is no doubt due to it being a Group T, but even the lower strength figures on those local muxes is no problem to a good set, the key being the 100% quality.
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C
Chris.SE11:36 PM
Bob:
Have you had any luck? Propagation conditions should be a bit more stable now. Tell us a bit more about your installation, what aerials have you got? I'm guessing, but you don't have any amp/splitters?
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Friday, 3 July 2020
C
Chris.SE12:09 AM
Robert Lee:
Peter Whitehead:
I had meant to include this link to some gain curves as examples of how much extra gain you can get at the top of the band with a Yagi18WB compared to a log periodic. If it were a Log40 and you're in a good reception area, it would be quite good, but these aerials are no longer made.
https://www.aerialsandtv.….png
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K
Karl7:10 AM
Chris.SE:
Well it used to be an Antiference RX20 but a few weeks ago it took a direct hit from what I assume was a seagull... it sounded like the roof was falling in. The old aerial was left pointing at Blackpool Tower rather than Winter Hill and so it all got replaced with a new Log type which I don't know the brand of unfortunately.
So all those signal levels are with the Log aerial.
Given that we will end up on Group A when its all over and done with even has me wondering whether a loft Yagi such as an XB10 might be viable.
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C
Chris.SE12:50 PM
Karl:
Whoops, I did read "log" on the first reading of your previous post, but didn't reply until later and clearly read it too fast then! You are obviously in a good spot, even though I can't see your predicted figures (need postcode). Difficult to judge (from a distance) about how well an XB10A would do in a loft (you've got space I suppose) you've got plenty of extra gain, but attenuation from the roof etc. Loft aerials become much more of a black art, depending on what you've got in there (water tanks, metal flues, partitions walls, etc., lead flashing, solar panels and the likes outside! You really need a signal meter on site, especially for the two local muxes you currently get, the gain is dropping off quite rapidly at 21, and tailing off at 40, add the attenuation of the roof and etc.
Let's hope you don't need another replacement in the next two years ;)
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K
Karl6:45 PM
Thornton-cleveleys
Chris.SE:
Postcode is FY5 2HS. There is enough space in the loft for something like an XB10 with there just being a central chimney running through the middle of the loft space. Should be enough space at the side though. I do realise it's one of those things you would have to try for real and that in the end it's an 'unknown' until you do.
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Karl's: mapK's Freeview map terrainK's terrain plot wavesK's frequency data K's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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