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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.

This transmitter has no current reported problems

The BBC and Digital UK report there are no faults or engineering work on the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmitter.

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), 71 That’s 60s,

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 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)726mDTG-8100,000W
Channel icons
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)726mDTG-8100,000W
Channel icons
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)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, 77 That's 60s MCR, 78 TCC, 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
Friday, 22 November 2013
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

2:25 PM

D Hardy: You won't be able to diplex Moel-y-Parc and Romiley because the broadcast channels used don't allow. You could diplex MYP with Ladder Hill, if you can receive a good enough signal from it.

For more information on diplexing see:

Television Aerial Boosters / Amplifiers, Splitters, Diplexers & Triplexers

The three MYP COM channels are 48, 51 and 52. Romiley uses 41, 44 and 47. Ladder Hill uses 23, 26 and 29.

Diplexers generally split at 36, 38 or 51.


I can't advise on particular models as I'm not an aerial installer. However, ATV Sheffield provides a wealth of information and has an online shop. I know they sell Blake stuff and Vision stuff. Televes, Triax and Antiference are three other names that spring to mind.

I've come across these "overlap blocking filters" from Blake:

Overlap Blocking Filter from Blake UK

However, I'm not sure any will be of use to you. Whilst there is one that passes 48 to 62, there isn't one that passes 21 to 47. The filters will slope off so 48 is likely to be reduced a bit. The same effect is true of diplexers on channels adjacent to the split. I suspect that even if you could get filters with these passbands that 47 and 48 would not be useable because of the slope-off and the edge of the band.

There are notch filters available, but these are expensive. I know Televes do them, but you're talking over £20 for one which only does two channels.

Moel-y-Parc is due to have two new HD multiplexes soon, and these will be on 32 and 34. If you can pick them up where you are then, having diplexed a Ladder Hill aerial, you'll have filtered them out. What you're really looking for are two blocking filters 21 to 30 and 31 to 52 (or higher) so as to make your own diplexer.

One word of warning: In five years' time it could all change again. The two quasi-national HD muxes I mentioned - which use 31 to 37 exclusively - have been granted licences which could be revoked in 2018. This is because the 700MHz band (roughly 49 to 60) could be sold off for mobile services (5G maybe). This would obviously mean that transmitters on those channels will have to move downwards and probably those on lower channels shuffle down as well. There have been suggestions that the three COM multiplexes could become single frequency networks on channels in the 20s.

If this were to happen and you had diplexed a MYP aerial with a Ladder Hill one (with a 36 or 38 diplexer) then you would have to change it. Providing that Romiley was still Group B and on channels that your diplexer allowed, then you could simply switch your Ladder Hill aerial to face MYP and the MYP one to face Romiley.

With this in mind, I suggest that you get a Group A aerial that would be suitable for reception from MYP. Wideband yagis are a compromise and on Group A channels aren't as good as higher up the band:

Aerials, TV Aerial and Digital Aerial

The Group A aerial would be suitable for Ladder Hill now, whilst being suitable for MYP if it used Group A channels.

Alternatively, you could have a MYP aerial and Romiley aerial and keep them separate. You might use MYP as your main transmitter and switch to Romiley for regional programming. This would require a separate set-top box receiver. If you distribute the signals to different rooms you would require two distribution systems in order to have regional programming in each room (and of course you would need a set-top box in each room).

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Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
D
D Hardy
3:18 PM
Stockport

Dave Lindsay

Thank you for your advice I'm very grateful for the time you've taken.

Need to think about all you've said but must admit some of it has gone right over my head!

I do have separate aerials for Romiley and the w/band high gain aerial I mentioned earlier so I can already use both but have to change the aerial lead of course.

Lots to think about!!

Thank you for all your help.

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D Hardy's 8 posts GB flag
D's: mapD's Freeview map terrainD's terrain plot wavesD's frequency data D's Freeview Detailed Coverage
MikeP
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

9:31 PM

D Hardy:
It is always a problem to bring the signals from 2 different aerials together without causing serious problems.

One possible method to consider is to use a shielded coaxial switch with 2 inputs and 1 output. The downlead from one aerial is fed to one input and the other downlead fed to the second input. You can the select which transmitter service you want to watch by manually 'flipping' the switch. I have successfully used that method to receive signals from Mendip and Oxford (they offer different 'local' news, etc). I have to stress that you should buy a good quality shielded switch designed specifically for UHF TV signal reception. The inputs and output may be either a 'standard' IEC coaxial socket or an 'F-connector' as is commonly used for satellite cables.

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MikeP's 3,056 posts GB flag
Saturday, 23 November 2013
D
D Hardy
9:10 AM
Stockport

Mike P

Thanks for your comments.

Last night I decided I would connect both aerial leads to a cheap plastic y shaped aerial connector I've had for years and never used. I assume it's designed to split a signal but I've reversed that.

Then I have plugged the Y connector directly into my Freeview PVR but not re-tuned it leaving it tuned to the Romiley transmitter.

Then simply connected the PVR to the TV in the normal way. Then re-tuned the TV only whilst it is receiving a signal from both aerials.

Afterwards I checked whether BBC 1, 2 and ITV were north West and they were and being received from the Romiley transmitter most of the rest including Yesterday and the other channels I couldn't previously receive are
coming from MYP transmitter.

The PVR is only tuned to Romiley and that's all it's picking up the TV however is picking up both.

Slightly concerned by your comment about serious problems perhaps you could expand on that?



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D Hardy's 8 posts GB flag
D's: mapD's Freeview map terrainD's terrain plot wavesD's frequency data D's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

3:10 PM

D Hardy: Using the splitter as a combiner is, by far, the cheapest and most straightforward possible solution. It isn't forced to work, but worth a try, particularly as there's no other straightforward solution.

The point is that the best practice way to combine two feeds is to have them filtered, which is how a diplexer works.

With your combiner, when receiving from Moel y Parc the Romiley aerial is connected and vice versa. Ideally, the one you don't want should be filtered out.

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Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
D
D Hardy
7:05 PM
Stockport

Hi, Dave

The set up is working OK since I combined the two aerials into one feed to the PVR/TV

Unfortunately the PVR doesn't allow me to sort the channels which is a a pity.

As has been suggested a switch might be the ultimate solution but for now it's working OK.

Cheers.




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D Hardy's 8 posts GB flag
D's: mapD's Freeview map terrainD's terrain plot wavesD's frequency data D's Freeview Detailed Coverage
MikeP
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

9:32 PM

D Hardy:
The problems referred to are what happens when signals from different sources but are on the same or adjacent channels are combined together. A combiner is capable to doing that well enough if the channels are well enough separated. If there are two transmitters using the same channel (co-channel) they can cancel each other out, meaning no signal from either source. If they are using channels next to each other, such as 21 and 22, then there can be cross interference between them with can give either no signal, intermittently no signal, no signal on one source (or the other, but unpredictable), etc.
The fact that this happens can give rise to confusion and result in constant re-tuning when that is usually not necessary and can lead to no signals and severe frustration.
Such is the way with physics.

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MikeP's 3,056 posts GB flag
P
Paul Cooper
11:03 PM

I have no BBC signal at all tonight in Stalybridge. It hss been difficult / intermittent for some months and needing frequent retuning, but now the freeview tuners on two different tvs don't see those channels at all. What can I do about this. Cheers, Paul

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Paul Cooper's 2 posts GB flag
M
MikeB
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

11:44 PM

Paul Cooper: Apostcode would be helpful, so we could see what sort of signal you should get. Looking at someone elses postocde from that area, you should be ok for winter hill - check your comon cables, etc, since its likely you've got a fault with your aerial or connections.

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MikeB's 2,579 posts GB flag
Sunday, 24 November 2013
P
Paul Cooper
9:30 AM
Stalybridge

Paul Cooper: thankyou, the postcode is SK15 1LZ. I do have an amplifying multiway adaptor with the main tv being direct off the aerial, but none of the tvs will tune BBC channels. All other channels are good.

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Paul Cooper's 2 posts GB flag
Paul's: mapP's Freeview map terrainP's terrain plot wavesP's frequency data P's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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