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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Tuesday, 11 June 2013
T
tracy10:37 PM
I have been unable to get normal bbc, bbc3, bbc4 and thhe news channnel, since april when the 4g was installed in the winter hill area, i have retune my digial several times, I have a hd freeview...
I can still not get these channels. I have also taken the aerial out and retuned then put the aerail back in, still not been able to recevie the channels... is the only answer a signal booster?
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J
J palliser10:55 PM
J palliser: if the ariel in the loft plus trees now full with leaves thane surely this would effect all channels and not just itv/ channel 4 etc ch59!! It must be the 4G or a weakened signal.. As everything was fine a few weeks ago.. Guess I'm goin to have to try the ariel outside!
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T
tracy11:22 PM
Manchester
Ive been having the same roblem j palliser, certain area are been sent a at800 filter, then filter out the 4g interance
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tracy's: mapT's Freeview map terrainT's terrain plot wavesT's frequency data T's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Wednesday, 12 June 2013
J
jb3812:43 AM
J palliser: On catching up on what had been said, the Humax test on Ch60/Ch61 was only to give me an idea if any non-TV RF signals were present above Ch59, as some older Humax boxes can act like an RF sniffer if used in the way mentioned likewise might reveal the presence of a 4G signal being "unofficially" tested, as I noticed that the nearest Mobile phone mast to your location is on the B6241 between the roundabout and Glencourse Drive, albeit the info I have might have been updated.
As far as the trees are concerned, although a terrain check does indicate a clear line of sight from Winter Hill this excludes anything other than bare land, and the fact that your signal reaches you from across a mini forest on either side of the B6242 is bound to cause signal problems, higher frequencies always being affected to a much greater degree, as an erratic signal (strength / quality) indication is always symptomatic of problems being caused by vegetational reasons such as blocking / signal scattering etc.
By the way, when you had originally mentioned that others seem to be affected, were you meaning local to yourself (neighbours) or from what you had gathered from similar postings? because it would be prudent to check with others around you just in case you are trying to effect a cure on something that is outwith your control.
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A
anthony4:52 PM
Altrincham
Could you give us the signal strength and quality of all the multiplexes as displayed on both your TV and Humax as this would help to eliminate the possibility of 4G which I didn't think had started in this area yet. If it is 4G you will be able to get a free filter from at800.
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anthony's: mapA's Freeview map terrainA's terrain plot wavesA's frequency data A's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Tuesday, 18 June 2013
P
phil10:53 PM
Originally (2012) had poor reception on the HD channels, now they are great (70%=) strength, 0 strength on all ordinary BBC, Sky and some others. Excellent reception al Jazeera and Russia Today suggests this is not the TV or aerial but that the output strength has been downgraded.Or does it?
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Tuesday, 2 July 2013
S
Stephen11:48 PM
Chorley
Ever since I bought my Sony Freeview HD TV in January 2011 I have enjoyed perfect picture and audio on all services, both SD and HD. Within the last month this has changed.
The HD services are still perfect but BBC 1 NW (which I only watch for the local news) on Ch 50 is now problematic: one day all is fine; then the next there is no service; the following day all is fine again and the next - who knows? Sometimes reception is passable but there are picture and audio breaks; sometimes there is nothing at all.
I've followed the resetting/retuning procedure several times but the problem just returns, so I'm assuming that it isn't a tuning problem. In fact, I'm certain because all my other Freeview tuners (Humax PVR and no-name STB) are suffering in the same manner.
I'm writing this today because it's a bad day and I'm getting seriously fed up!
For the record, signal strength and quality for the various channels, obtained from the Humax HDR-FOX T2 PVR, are as follows:
Ch. 50: 38%; 10%
Ch. 59: 55-66% (variable); 100%
Ch. 54: 55%; 100%
Ch. 58: 55%; 100%
Ch. 49: 38%; 10%
Ch. 55: 55-66% (variable); 100%
So something amiss with 49 and 50 alone.
Transmitter is Winter Hill, of course.
Any suggestions, please?
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Stephen's: mapS's Freeview map terrainS's terrain plot wavesS's frequency data S's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Wednesday, 3 July 2013
Stephen: I looked on Streetview and the aerials on long poles tells the story.
I do note that some houses have an aerial on Winter Hill and one on Moel-y-Parc, which is 90 degrees clockwise from the former. If yours is one of these and the feeds of both aerials is combined into one downlead then you may have to say goodbye to this convenience. This is because the diplexer, which is the box that combines the two feeds, will probably "split" at C51, meaning that C50 and C49 are now being picked up by the Moel-y-Parc aerial.
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R
RCM11:22 AM
I have exactly the same problem as Stephen
(Tuesday 2 July 2013 11:48PM, on the same channels and with approximately the same reception values (also sourced from a Humax HDR-FOX T2), it is also on all the reception devices (4xTV, 1xHumax PVR & 1xDTV USB stick for laptop reception)
The only difference is that I live in north Manchester. The aerial is pointing in the direction of Winter Hill and is not obscured in any way as I live on top of a hill.
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S
Stephen6:18 PM
Chorley
Many thanks, Dave, for your swift and well-researched reply. I do indeed have a Wales-pointing aerial. This is now just a throwback to the analogue days so, if it's compromising my Winter Hill reception, it will have to go.
What I still don't understand is why reception varies so much. After last night's poor show, I'm just home from work and found that channels 49 and 50 are back up to 44% and 100% on signal strength and quality respectively and perfectly watchable.
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Stephen's: mapS's Freeview map terrainS's terrain plot wavesS's frequency data S's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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