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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Saturday, 19 November 2011
J
jb388:56 PM
GB: Well, any aerial at roughly 20 degrees out from the direction of the transmitter (@ due North) isn't really desirable, and especially so at the distance you are located from the transmitter, that of 61Km.
Another point to observe being, that because you are indicated as being able to receive signals from The Wrekin (28mls @ 183 degrees) as well as Sutton Coldfield (44mls @ 139 degrees) but because these two stations operate on lower Mux channel numbers than Winter Hill its advisable to carry out a quick check after any auto-tuning exercise to ensure that everything received is from the same station, this being where the signal test facility comes in handy by it enabling you to check out the Mux channel number associated with the signal being received.
Winter Hills combination being : BBC1/2 (Mux Ch62) - ITV1 (Mux Ch59) - BBC HD (Mux Ch 54) - SON (Mux Ch59 - ArqA (Mux Ch61) - ArqB (Mux Ch55)
The other little point that you could maybe confirm, (or not as the case may be) is if your TV received the HD channels OK when connected to your neighbours aerial? if by any chance it didn't, then could you please give the TV sets model number.
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G
GB10:14 PM
Nantwich
Dear jb38,
Yes HD was fine at my neighbours and all the channel & MUX numbers seem to correspond to Winter Hill. The booster is not giving the benefit I first thought. I have unplugged it without any noticeable loss. It seems my fault comes and goes, last night most channels disappeared with the booster tonight they are OK without the booster. I appreciate local climate impacts on the signal but can an aerial or cable fault also give intermittent errors to signal strength and quality? One benefit of my problem is that it has made me realise what a fascinating subject this is.
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GB's: mapG's Freeview map terrainG's terrain plot wavesG's frequency data G's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Sunday, 20 November 2011
J
jb3810:06 AM
GB: I really don't think that the situation regarding the possibility of your aerial system actually having a fault can be assessed properly until your aerial is turned around to face the correct direction for the transmitter, because any normally occurring variations (inc atmospheric reasons) in signal strength being received when not in a "line of site" situations gets worse the further away a person is from the transmitter, as signals can get reflected by all sorts of things, with some of being advantageous if of a stable permanent nature, this why some people might find that they get a better signal when their aerial is at an offset from the exact direction of the transmitter.
The problem with your installation is that the offset you have was done for a reason that no longer exists, and so this will really require correcting first to enable a more accurate assessment to be made of the situation, as although an intermittent fault (bad connection etc) might be in existence I have my doubts about this applying.
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G
GB3:58 PM
Nantwich
Dear jb38,
Many thanks for all your replies. I know I am asking random questions about a specific fault. The tree was taken down about 18mts ago and these problems only started this week. I have now phoned a chap who is coming out this week. Just out of interest all the HD channels have come back and standard BBC1 & BBC2 have disappeared. Thanks again.
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GB's: mapG's Freeview map terrainG's terrain plot wavesG's frequency data G's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Monday, 21 November 2011
M
Martin7:30 PM
I have completely lost all com6 channels in the Macclesfield area....film 4 4 music etc. All of them in that group. This has happened fairly recently... say in the last month.
Also the picture on certain other channels like BBC2 is more jerky at times.
We have a communal aerial but have never had major problems before. Is Winter Hill altering its output power and signals?
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Wednesday, 23 November 2011
G
GB1:39 AM
Nantwich
All now fixed, 100% signal strength & quality on all channels. New aerial, new lashings, new cable from aerial to roofspace and new short lead behind the TV and all at a fair price. Thank you to C J Robins Aerials (Cheshire).
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GB's: mapG's Freeview map terrainG's terrain plot wavesG's frequency data G's Freeview Detailed Coverage
K
Keith4:42 PM
I am struggling with MuxD channels.
I am in a mill conversion (100 flats). Using humax freeview. Reception is fine except that last year I lost MuxD. This year it returned for three months and now it has gone again!
The channels are there but it says not enough signal. I am aware that Winter Hill has strengthened MuxD recently, but why should they go again?
What can I do?
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Keith: Have you established that the respective channels are tuned to UHF channel 55? Are you sure that it isn't the signal from another transmitter?
I guess that with 100 flats inside, the building you're in is pretty tall and therefore that the aerial is high up, which means it could be picking up signals from other transmitters.
I assume that your reference to "MuxD" is in fact Com6 which is Arqiva B. MuxD was used for one of the pre-switchover multiplexes.
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Thursday, 24 November 2011
P
Paul9:25 PM
Hello All,
I am currently having problems receiving CH57 Movies for Men etc. on both our main TV receivers (A Samsung LE26D450 & Technika 16-850) Both TV's have individual roof top external aerials which are less than two months old. However, here is the wierd thing ! I am able to pick up CH57 using with no problem whatsoever using a Grundig GUD1500XI Freeview box connected to my old analogue Sharp TV.
I have done the usual retune on both the sets,
but still not able to get CH57, although it is shown on the EPG.
Any Ideas ??????????
Thanks
Paul,
Irlam, Manchester.
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Paul: There was another report of this issue earlier this evening, but in Bolton:
Feedback | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice
Have you been able to pick it up on the Samsung and Technika before?
Ch57 is broadcast from Winter Hill directionally towards Manchester. Perhaps you are on the fringes as you live outside the M60. This will make your reception touch and go.
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