menuMENU    UK Free TV logo Freeview

 

 

Click to see updates

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

first published this on - UK Free TV
sa_streetviewGoogle Streetviewsa_gmapsGoogle mapsa_bingBing mapsa_gearthGoogle Earthsa_gps53.625,-2.516 or 53°37'30"N 2°30'56"Wsa_postcodeBL6 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 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
Saturday, 13 April 2013
D
David Rogers
5:36 PM

I give up! The BBC channels have now disappeared completely again and ITV1 (but unwatchable) has replaced BBC1 at 800 on my remote.

ITV1 is still perfectly watchable at 3 on the remote, as it always has been.

If there is any logic to any of this, it's beyond me...

link to this comment
David Rogers's 12 posts GB flag
M
martin brown
5:39 PM

jb38: Many thanks for your analysis of my problem. Unfortunately I'm not familiar enough with the technological jargon to say I understand it fully, but.... I think you are advising me that my next step should be to get an aerial engineer to come and do some adjustments to try to improve reception. If, however, there is a phase matching deficiency (whatever that means, is that an insuperable problem that an aerial engineer would not be able to solve?

If you feel an aerial man should indeed be my next step, I'll do this, though I do find it odd that reception from Winter Hill was good enough to get BBC on 9 April but not on 11th!

Many thanks again for your advice

link to this comment
martin brown's 5 posts GB flag
E
Elisabeth Voges
5:44 PM

I am writing on behalf of my Mother who has today had to pay a television engineer the sum of £57:60 to have her set retuned to receive BBC1, BBC2, BBC3 and BBC4 following the retune of the 10th of April 2013. She was able to receive all other channels apart from the BBC. Both I and my husband tried to retune these channels, but to no avail. We are both technically competent and have been able, historically, to retune our own set with no problems. She is a pensioner on a limited income and I feel very strongly that she should not have to pay for this retune, through no fault of her own. I would be obliged if you could advise me as to the most appropriate course of action.

link to this comment
Elisabeth Voges's 1 post GB flag
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

5:50 PM

martin brown: A slight alteration to that said as on checking back I see that you initially did indicate your location, which on checking the signal path to same indicates it being obstructed at approximately 1.5 miles away from you.

The other aspect of the indicator being that it only indicates natural ground obstructions and not anything other than that, such as trees or man made obstacles and which might also be playing a role.


link to this comment
jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

5:51 PM

Elisabeth Voges: Perhaps write to her (or your) MP.

link to this comment
Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
K
KMJ,Derby
sentiment_satisfiedGold

6:14 PM

David Rogers: If the original channel positions now consistently say no signal it suggests that the old frequency remains stored in these locations. If there is a channel delete facility on your receiver delete all those channels that report "no signal" and then re-tune. If using Winter Hill direct, manual tune C50 if the reciver permits manual tuning. If there is no channel delete facility do a factory reset to clear the channel list. Then do a complete scan with the aerial unplugged, as some receivers appear to need convincing that there really are no channels! Plug the aerial back in and scan for channels, or manually insert the frequencies of each mux for the transmitter you are using.

link to this comment
KMJ,Derby's 1,811 posts GB flag
B
Brian Ingersent
6:24 PM
Kendal

Dave Lindsay: - many thanks for your detailed response! The two transmitters we receive signals from are Windermere and Winter Hill. Although Kendal is nearest we cannot get reception from that transmitter. On checking it appears there is nothing from the Lancaster transmitter (although this may be possible with moving one of the aerial directions? The channels I can receive are: Windermere 44 & 47. Winter Hill: 55, 58 & 59. If I understand you correctly, you are saying that my missing channels (49 & 50)are trying to come from Windermere rather than Winter Hill, due to the likely feed split being at C51 which would explain the situation. We would be happy enough just to use the Winter Hill option as it is a better signal (and ITV Border is rubbish!)but guess I need an aerial engineer to "undo" the link. many thanks for taking the time to try and explain a likely cause for my problem. Cheers, Brian.

link to this comment
Brian Ingersent's 4 posts GB flag
Brian's: mapB's Freeview map terrainB's terrain plot wavesB's frequency data B's Freeview Detailed Coverage
W
whobris
6:49 PM

Hi hope this helps.I lost all BBC channels etc. and it has taken me 3 days to sort out. My sky box rf output was set to 50 and was clashing with new C50 changes.I. altered the sky rf to 60 retuned the freeview. and. presto all channels came back crystal clear.hope this helps

link to this comment
whobris's 1 post GB flag
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

7:25 PM

martin brown: Just noticed that you had already posted a reply about ten minutes or so prior to my addition, it unfortunately being hidden in the masking at the top of my screen, however the change you referred to coincided with channel number changes to the BBC and ArqA mux transmitters and which would obviously involved retuning procedures having been carried out on the transmitters involved as well as an element of aerial matching having taken place to compensate for the change of frequency, and that's what I was referring to.

But though it would be worth trying to make some checks with neighbours for purposes of verifying if they are also experiencing the same problems that you are, because should they be then its extremely doubtful if any experiments carried out on your aerial would have any chance of success, because in cases where moving an aerial in the aforementioned way is successful its usually in systems where differences in levels can be observed with movements from as little as 12" or so , or say maybe from one side of an average loft to the other, or sometimes from a fixed position roof fixing to a suitably positioned gutter mount, aerial type allowing.

But the main reason for suggesting that you first of all make an enquiry with a neighbour is really because that if you go ahead and consult an aerial installer without having made any enquiries then it could well become costly, as the very nature of the procedure I mentioned automatically means that it can be very time consuming by not being an exact science, the whole exercise being basically one of trial and error but which on occasions (and not always) can be highly successful dependant on the situation involved.

Situations where a signal level is high but accompanied by highly erratic quality is one of the most difficult things to deal with "if" the problem is not caused by an intermittent defect on the aerial system, such for example as a bad joint where the coax joins the aerial or indeed a bad joint anywhere in the aerial system, although the time factor of your problem suggests that these latter types of fault conditions mentioned are not likely to apply, unless that is by some unfortunate coincidence!!

link to this comment
jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
D
David Rogers
7:45 PM

KMJ: Thank you so much - I now realise my difficulties were due to unfamiliarity with the "setup" sub-menu on my receiver.

I was concentrating solely on the options available on the "tuning" sub-menu. On checking the "others" sub-menu, I found an "initialize" option which I belatedly realised must be the "factory reset" that some posters (including yourself) were referring to.

That has done the trick.

Thanks once again!

link to this comment
David Rogers's 12 posts GB flag
Select more comments

Your comment please
Please post a question, answer or commentIf you have Freeview reception problems before posting a question your must first do this Freeview reset procedure then see: Freeview reception has changed, Single frequency interference, and Freeview intermittent interference.

If you have no satellite signal, see Sky Digibox says 'No Signal' or 'Technical fault'

If you have other problems, please provide a full (not partial) postcode (or preferably enter it in box at the top right) and indicate where if aerial is on the roof, in the loft or elsewhere.

UK Free TV is here to help people. If you are rude or disrespectful all of your posts will be deleted and you will be banned.








Privacy policy: UK Free Privacy policy.