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 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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Friday, 4 March 2011
Monday, 14 March 2011
M
Mike Dimmick4:19 PM
Reading
Dave: If you had Freeview before switchover, it may be that the signals are now too loud, causing interference between neighbouring channels. If you have an amplifier or booster, try removing it. If not, or that doesn't help, try adding a variable attenuator and slowly increasing the attenuation.
COM6/Arqiva B will increase to its final power level on 21 September 2011.
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Mike's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
R
Ron3:19 PM
Southport
Why is my Humax freeview box changing channels automatically? It only happens on BBC the commercial channels work fine. I was trying to watch BBC News on Ch 80 and it would insist on canging back to Ch 1 by itself.
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Ron's: mapR's Freeview map terrainR's terrain plot wavesR's frequency data R's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Ron- There seems to be an issue at the moment with these boxes. I will post further as soon as any further info comes my way.
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Wednesday, 16 March 2011
M
Mike Dimmick2:04 PM
Ron, LutonFan: It sounds like there's a bug in the MHEG code that produces the 'Press Red' popup. This could either be a bug in the code that the BBC are transmitting, or a bug in the Humax MHEG interpreter.
Try turning the box off and on again - it may have cached the wrong MHEG program. If that doesn't work, try to hit the green button on your remote immediately after changing to the channel. That may cancel the attempt to show the popup. Otherwise you can only contact the BBC - try BBC Complaints - Hompage (RG47SH)
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R
Ron5:24 PM
Southport
Mike Dimmick
Thanks for your informative reply. It's strange that today the problem started around 10:30 and ceased around 15:00. I have not done anything you suggested, as yet, but the problem seems to have gone for now. One thing I noticed in the top right hand corner of the screen where the red button usually appears was a flash of "Please Wait" and then the problem happened. Wierd eh? Seems like someone is using the public to test out if some changed routines work.
All working fine on the two Humax PVR's ----until tomorrow I expect.
Cheers
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Ron's: mapR's Freeview map terrainR's terrain plot wavesR's frequency data R's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Saturday, 19 March 2011
R
Ron1:24 PM
Southport
INFO
It's now Saturday and have had no further problems with either of my Humax's.
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Ron's: mapR's Freeview map terrainR's terrain plot wavesR's frequency data R's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Thursday, 24 March 2011
P
Peter Wharton9:14 PM
Congleton
Post Code: CW12 2EE, aerial is on the roof
When doing auto tune mainly get NW channels as expected; however get S4c on 4 and C4 on 8 (from Wales)both of these have poor quality. The C4 from NW is there with full quality but doesn't get picked up. If I try to correct after tuning by using manual tune (I have a Panasonic TV)it says no new channels, implying it thinks it got the NW C4?. My current solution is, clear channel list by tuning with no aerial connected, manually tune to C59 which happily sets up the correct C4 at position 4, the do an update list.
I don't seem to have any way to get the TV to ignore things or remove them when its got them
All very messy and shouldn't be necessary, any suggestions for what's going on and a better solution?
thanks
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Peter's: mapP's Freeview map terrainP's terrain plot wavesP's frequency data P's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Friday, 25 March 2011
M
Mike Dimmick6:31 PM
Reading
Peter Wharton: The problem here is that the TV is storing the first version of the channels it finds, rather than the strongest available version. The Moel-Y-Parc transmitter in North Wales uses lower frequencies than the Winter Hill transmitter near Bolton. Although the aerial is pointing to Winter Hill, it does pick up in a fairly wide angle and it will be getting sufficient signal from Moel-Y-Parc to decode the channel list.
It's quite likely that your TV is actually picking up all services from Moel-Y-Parc as they are all on lower frequencies, though the D3+4 mux is the most likely.
To stop this happening, you have to get it to reduce the level that's picked up from there. You could rotating the aerial so it points slightly east of the Winter Hill transmitter, which should reduce the amount picked up from Moel-Y-Parc. If you have a wideband aerial you could try swapping it for a Group C/D aerial, which should pick up less signal from Group B. You could also try using a Group C/D filter to filter out the lower frequencies.
If you have any amplifiers, you can try removing them (they shouldn't be necessary for good reception from Winter Hill). You can try adding an attenuator, either just when you retune, or permanently since your signal levels should be more than sufficient already. Or, you can try unplugging the aerial when you start a retune, and plug it in when it gets to about 2/3 of the way through.
Or you could get a Freeview HD-branded TV or box, which are supposed to store the strongest signals and, if they pick up more than one region, ask which one you want to keep.
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Mike's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Saturday, 26 March 2011
H
Honest John8:24 PM
Poole
The last couple of days I have lost all the BBC channels, both radio and TV, for long periods. Today I had them at breakfast time but by mid morning they had gone again and still at 8pm have not come back although occasionally they have made a feeble attempt to splutter into life. Non BBC stations seem to be working fine. I have been using a recent rooftop aerial and a Panasonic Viera TV which was new at Christmas and has worked perfectly up until now.
Additionally I have an older Sony TV connected to a smaller, older, lower aerial. I am not sure how much affected this is but I can say that at this moment (2018hrs on Sat 26 March) the Sony is picking up Radio 2 but the Panasonic will not. My postcode is BH14 8HJ.
My father has a similar problem except that I tried to retune his set. I chose the wrong time to do this and so he has lost the BBC channels on a permanent, not intermittent basis. He has a similar Panasonic Viera TV and lives in a block of flats with an enormous aerial installed a few months ago on a tall mast. His postcode is BH15 2QE.
Is there something wrong with the BBC transmissions at present and/or are our particular models of Panasonic TV particularly susceptible to a weak signal? (BH14 8HJ)
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Honest's: mapH's Freeview map terrainH's terrain plot wavesH's frequency data H's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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