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Full Freeview on the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmitter

first published this on - UK Free TV
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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 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
_______

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.

MuxH/VFrequencyHeightModeWatts
PSB1
BBCA
 H max
C32 (562.0MHz)726mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
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)726mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
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),

PSB3
BBCB
 H max
C35- (585.8MHz)726mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
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)726mDTG-8100,000W
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
 H max
C31 (554.0MHz)726mDTG-8100,000W
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
 H max
C37 (602.0MHz)726mDTG-8100,000W
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

LM
 H -20dB
C40 (626.0MHz)572mDTG-121,000W
Channel icons
from 1st October 2014: 7 That's Manchester,

LL
 H -17dB
C24 (498.0MHz)572mDTG-122,000W
Channel icons
from 30th June 2014: 7 Bay TV Liverpool,

LPR
 H -20dB
C56 (754.0MHz)572mDTG-121,000W
Channel icons
from 1st October 2014: 7 That's Lancashire,

GIM
 H -20dB
C57 (762.0MHz)572mDTG-21,000W
Channel icons
 Now 90s,  Spotlight TV,  Clubland TV,  Country Music Entertainment ,  Classic Hits MCR, 76 That's TV 2 MCR, 77 That's 60s MCR, 80 That's 80s, 86 That's 90s MCR, 88 TV Warehouse+1,

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 BBC and ITV regional news can I watch from the Winter Hill transmitter?

regional news image
BBC North West Tonight 3.1m homes 11.8%
from Salford M50 2QH, 22km southeast (140°)
to BBC North West region - 92 masts.
regional news image
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?

1956-80s1984-971997-981998-20092009-132013-182013-1720 Feb 2020
VHFC/D EC/D EC/D EC/D EC/D E TW TW T
C9ITVwaves
C12BBCtvwaves
C24_local
C29SDN
C31com7com7
C32BBCA
C34D3+4
C35BBCB
C37com8com8
C40LOCAL2
C48C5wavesC5waves
C49tv_off ArqAArqA
C50tv_off BBCABBCA
C54tv_off-BBCB-BBCB-BBCB
C55tv_offBBC1wavesBBC1wavesBBC1wavesArqBArqBArqBcom7tv_off
C56tv_off_local_local_localLPR
C57tv_offGIMGIMGIMGIM
C58tv_offSDNSDNSDN
C59tv_offITVwavesITVwavesITVwavesD3+4D3+4D3+4
C61ArqA
C62BBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBCA
C65C4wavesC4wavesC4waves

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

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

May 1956-Jul 1968Granada Television†
May 1956-Jul 1968Associated British Corporation◊
Jul 1968-Feb 2004Granada Television
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.

Comments
Sunday, 23 February 2020
M
Mr R. Tyson
4:29 PM

Hi again,
I reckon the BBC have "broken something" even if you don't. Viewers were told to re-tune their sets. Having done that many can not get a signal on any of the BBC channels. I believe there are long delays because the phone help service is swamped by callers. I am easily capable of following all the steps to manually, automatically re-tune and also set everything back to the TV manufacturers default. There are going to be thousands of people who can't do this and that would explain why the helpline is clogged up with callers.
Now if you take something which is working and alter it so that many thousands of people can no longer use it then, by my definition, you have broken it. It then takes some digging online to find out that you may need to change your aerial.... why wasn't more information made generally available to the public about the problems this alteration could/would cause ?
On Friday night I was talking to three normal, sensible people who all have problems with no BBC reception since they re-tuned. What about the very elderly on their own with nobody to help them ?


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Mr R. Tyson's 5 posts GB flag
D
David Parr
9:38 PM

Mr R. Tyson: I must say that I tend to agree that not enough information has been given to the general public. OFCOM did estimate that 100,000 people in Greater Manchester might lose service. I'm a techy who was able to just buy a high gain T-Band Aerial for 20 and install it in my loft in 30 minutes, but what about the pensioner living alone? Yes, anyone who loses service can have a free replacement, but the "let's see what we can get away with" sort of approach is a sad reflection on our society.

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David Parr's 2 posts GB flag
C
Chris.SE
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

10:38 PM

Mr R. Tyson:

I don't disagree with you about the poor level of information given to the public and too much of the available information relies on being "on-line", which of course a lot of pensioners won't be, exactly as David Parr has said. However if they were to call their TV dealer, they should be told how to get the free help.

None of you should have trouble with "NO" BBC channels, js told you in a post on the previous page here, how to get the BBC programmes from the old UHF channel. This will continue until April 22nd to give enough time for aerial problems to be resolved.

Did you not follow the links I gave you in my previous reply to you -
"The BBC has done nothing to "break the system" . If you want to understand what all the changes are about see What is 700MHz clearance? | Freeview "

This is all the subject of International Agreements and the UK has to be in-line with them otherwise broadcasting in Europe (and elsewhere) would be a complete mess as everyone would be causing interference to each other. OFCOM are responsible for this country's part of the agreements, and Arqiva are the Engineering company that make the transmitter changes required. Freeview is the public interface and responsible for organising free replacement aerials for those that need them.

Have you told your neighbours, and there may be others, especially the elderly who don't know where to find the BBC channels in the meantime, and the free help that is available.

You obviously know about the long delays on the free helpline 0808-100-0288 but that is Freeview's fault for bad management, but at least it's free! I will say that there are many engineers like those of us posting help here who are not impressed by the poor performance of the Freeview Helpline services, although I will say that once you are assigned a booking for a replacement aerial, the company that's employed to do the job is normally extremely good. I've only heard good reports.

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Chris.SE's 4,101 posts GB flag
Monday, 24 February 2020
M
Mr R. Tyson
2:28 PM

Once more into the breach.

I think I have made my point. Yes I did look at the online information whose links were given to me on here.
I had already found them for myself. It is O.K for those who are capable of sorting this out but there are going to be lots of people who won't know what to do. For the frailer and older members of our communities this is a problem they can well do without. I hope they have success finding an aerial/TV. firm as a lot seem to have gone out of business - certainly in my area. Yes I did tune to alternative frequencies for the BBC channels but it is not a good signal and it appears that will also change in April.

I live on the coast where there is a high rate of salt corrosion to metal parts so my aerial is in the loft. It is easy for me to replace. This won't be the case for many people and they will have to wait for an aerial rigger - and it looks as though they are going to be in great demand with long waiting times.

Before making a change with the impact that this had had/will have it might have been sensible to cover it on some of the TV news broadcasts. To make such a sweeping change with virtually no information shows a high degree of contempt for those about to be affected. To know that in one area alone some 100,000 people could be inconvenienced and then to go ahead and do it without providing any information is incredible.

I realise why this is being done and can well appreciate the complete mess of conflicting services sharing limited spectrum. That is no excuse for generating a complete mess of another sort in the process.





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Mr R. Tyson's 5 posts GB flag
C
Chris.SE
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

5:38 PM

Mr R. Tyson:

I don't disagree with you one jot about making such changes with such poorly available information. Perhaps you'd like to contact your local press and media and ask them why they've not given it decent publicity. However the mess is down to the incompetent management at Freeview & DigitalUK, Arqiva are only doing the donkey work.

Quote > " I hope they have success finding an aerial/TV. firm...."
They don't have to. A free replacement aerial installation will be provided to those that need it, all they have to do is contact Freeview on 0808-100-0288.

Quote > ".. Yes I did tune to alternative frequencies for the BBC channels but it is not a good signal "
The signal for the BBC programmes at EPG LCN751 and upwards should be identical to the signal before the new multiplex was started on C32. The power on C50 is supposed to be the same.

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Chris.SE's 4,101 posts GB flag
Tuesday, 25 February 2020
M
Mr R. Tyson
11:16 AM

Hi,

Last word on the subject...

Quote > ".. Yes I did tune to alternative frequencies for the BBC channels but it is not a good signal "
The signal for the BBC programmes at EPG LCN751 and upwards should be identical to the signal before the new multiplex was started on C32. The power on C50 is supposed to be the same.

That's as may be but in practice it isn't at my location. The quality of image is not as good and there are slight signs of break up at times.

I will have resolved my problem by tomorrow. Good luck to all those trying to get through on helplines and then are awaiting an aerial replacement. The amount of people affected will slow the process down.


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Mr R. Tyson's 5 posts GB flag
D
Dave Williams
1:45 PM
Neston

Just add to the Winter Hill retune , I live at CH64 0SH on the Dee coast on the Wirral , with line of sight to Moel y Parc , with A band antenna turned from Wrekin to Winter Hill , perfect reception of new BBC NW channels .

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Dave Williams's 1 post GB flag
Dave's: mapD's Freeview map terrainD's terrain plot wavesD's frequency data D's Freeview Detailed Coverage
C
Chris.SE
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

2:40 PM

Dave Williams:

The Freeview Detailed Coverage Checker shows highly variable reception from The Wrekin at your location and of course it is Central Region. Now you get the NW region which I assume pleases you. Whether or not you'll get any usable signal from COM7 with a Group A aerial you can only try if you want. COM8 prediction is variable until other changes elsewhere on the 22nd April when it should improve to be similar to COM7.

Mr R. Tyson:

Anyone having to use Freeview Helplines needs Good Luck for whatever reason!! Their issue here will no doubt be understaffing. Because other major regions had similar changes last year, it's not as though that they couldn't anticipate demand being much higher because Granada (Winter Hill) serves a very large population 2nd only to London!
It's certainly strange that you are finding the signal on C50 not as good as previously.

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Chris.SE's 4,101 posts GB flag
Wednesday, 26 February 2020
M
Mr R. Tyson
8:21 PM

Hi,
I wasn't going to comment further but....
Prior to the change I had good signals on all Freeview channels.
After the change I had lost all BBC channels - none of the other channels were affected.
Today I installed a new multi band, high gain T aerial. in the loft space as a direct replacement for the one that had been providing good service before.
Still no BBC channels, they are all breaking up and there is no sound. Other Freeview channels are very good, absolutely no problems, good sharp picture and very good colour.
The aerial positioning was the same as before and I checked the alignment with a good compass.
According to the Winter Hill information I am in a strong signal area.
I can receive the BBC channels by using 751 upwards, but this is not satisfactory and even then the picture quality is not as good as the other channels.
O.K I use a loft aerial but this has not been a problem before and still isn't apart from the BBC channels, even with an improved aerial.



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Mr R. Tyson's 5 posts GB flag
Thursday, 27 February 2020
C
Chris.SE
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

12:59 AM

Mr R. Tyson:

Using an aerial in a loft shouldn't make any difference if you are in a good enough signal area. The only thing with a Group T compared to your old C/D is it might not have as much gain.
What is the make/model of the Group T aerial that you've got? Do you know what you old C/D one was?

Can you tell us with your new aerial what the signal strength and quality in your TV's tuning section is for the following -
New PSB1/BBCA on C32, old PSB1 on C50, PSB2/D3&4 on C59, & ArqA/COM5 on C49.
I'm still puzzled as to why the BBC channels on 751 ...... are not as good as before the retune (head scratching).
Can you give us your postcode so we can look at your predicted coverage?

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Chris.SE's 4,101 posts GB flag
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