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, 5 August 2020
C
Chris.SE6:47 PM
js:
Thanks, got them, will study later, Oh and I meant Haslingden not the typo ending in "ton" !
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Sunday, 9 August 2020
M
Mazbar12:36 PM
Hi does anyone know what time the retune takes place on Wednesday, so what time the channel's go off and the new ones come back on thanks.
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C
Chris.SE2:15 PM
Mazbar:
Transmitters normally go off just after midnight. The retune is normally complete on main transmitters like Winter Hill by 6.00am, but as this was originally scheduled for April, and they've been have a practise with a few things during planned engineering in recent weeks, you never know, it may be back on sooner. But then again, unexpected events can occur!!
If it's a relay transmitter, they usually happen a bit later in the morning and some have to wait until the afternoon.
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Wednesday, 12 August 2020
C
Chris.SE5:12 AM
Mazbar:
I think Winter Hill was all up and running by 0230, not heard of any issues (yet!).
All:
For those they may have missed any previous information in/on the local media and pop-up on-screen messages and may not have read the previous posts here -
In February the main BBC multiplex moved to C32, the TV programmes remaining in the LCNs 1,2, etc in the EPG, but the multiplex continued a simulcast on its previous C50 but with the TV programmes in LCNs 751 et seq.
The final retune event has now taken place at Winter Hill, are you getting the BBC channels BBC1, BBC2 etc on LCN's 1,2, etc.? If Not, you may be missing other channels as well if you have not carried out a full retune. If you've done that and are still missing channels post back with some more detail. Here is some further information -
Older Group C/D aerials will still pick up some signals on "out of band/group" channels lower down in the UHF band (but not often the other way about) but they may be too weak for a given TV receiver to decode.
Even if you are getting the BBC channels on C32 they may not be as reliable as they should be depending on your aerial, and reception of the lower channels will be very variable so eg. C37 may be less reliably received if it's a C/D group aerial. If you can see the ends of the aerial (maybe use binoculars or a telescope) if it has a Green plastic plug in the ends then it's a C/D group. If you happen to know that it's a Wideband aerial (which receives all Groups) the this isn't the issue and we need to look for other reasons, but we can probably check more if the right information is in your TV's tuning sections.
In your TVs tuning sections, there should be an indication of signal strength and signal quality for each multiplex on its respective UHF channel.
One each set, first have a look at C32 for the PSB1/BBCA multiplex and note down the figures. Then look at PSB2/D3&4 at C34 and note the figures. Then have a look at COM6/ArqB on C37 and note the figures.
If you used to receive COM7 on C55, look at that one as well. And if need be the BBCB HD mux on C35 (you need a T2/HD tuner for HD channels.
Did you used to receive any of the Local multiplexes, if so have a look for the signals on C21, C24, C27, or C40. Which ones you got/will get will depend on location in - Liverpool, Manchester (C24. C27) or Preston.
If you were receiving most channels before the retune and are not now, you most likley need a replacement aerial which you can get arranged Free of Charge by ringing Freeview on 0808-100-0288.
Otherwise post the information mentioned above and we'll try and help further.
The final channels in the order PSBs1-3, COMs 4-7, Local Liverpool, Local Manchester, Local Preston, Manchester GI, are
C32, C34, C35, C29, C31, C37, C55, C24, C21, C40, C27.
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P
Pauline11:00 AM
Chris.SE: Hello, I had all the free view channels upto 12.15am when they all went off. I then retuned and now have no channels at all after several retuning attempts still have no channels. Same no signal on my recorder either. What can I do?.
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C
Chris.SE1:56 PM
Pauline:
Have you retuned since? The transmitter was not back on air with all multiplexes until at least 0230.
If you have and still have no channels, did you previously have the regular BBC channels at LCNs 1,2,9 etc in your programme guide, or were they at 751,752 etc.
Please provide a full postcode so we can see what the predicted reception is at your location.
Did you read the post immediately before yours?
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C
Chris.SE2:17 PM
All:
Apologies for the error in the channel listing of the Local Multiplexes, I have the Manchester and Liverpool ones the wrong way round, it should be:
Local Liverpool, Local Manchester, Local Preston, Manchester GI on C21, C24, C40, & C27.
The main multiplexes are as previously listed C32, C34, C35, C29, C31, C37, C55 for PSBs1-3, COMs 4-7.
For which channels are on which multiplex see https://www.freeview.co.u…ngs.
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M
Mazbar3:13 PM
Chris.SE: done 17 retune today, no problem with signal at all.
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C
Chris.SE11:59 PM
Mazbar:
Good show, hope that continues. There's a handful of people who are getting problems, no doubt got old C/D group aerials and not in a strong enough signal area. What beats me is that prior to retune they must have been getting the BBC channels at 751,752, ...etc in their EPG rather than 1,2,9, etc. and they never bothered to ask why or seek advice, so now they'll have a wait for Freeview to organise the Free In-Home support!
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Thursday, 13 August 2020
B
Bill Tapp9:18 AM
I`m wondering what is going to happen to BBC Four HD and sundry other services on Ch55 (Winter Hill) when that frequency ceases to be available after November 2020. I haven`t been able to find any information on the net. Do you know of any info regarding this?
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