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Full Freeview on the Bilsdale (North Yorkshire, England) transmitter

first published this on - UK Free TV
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The symbol shows the location of the Bilsdale (North Yorkshire, England) transmitter which serves 570,000 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 Bilsdale (North Yorkshire, England) mast?

Bilsdale transmitter - Bilsdale 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 Bilsdale 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
C27 (522.0MHz)676mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
1 BBC One (SD) North East and Cumbria, 2 BBC Two England, 9 BBC Four, 23 BBC Three, 201 CBBC, 202 CBeebies, 231 BBC News, 232 BBC Parliament, plus 16 others

PSB2
D3+4
 H max
C24 (498.0MHz)676mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
3 ITV 1 (SD) (Tyne Tees), 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 (Tyne Tees),

PSB3
BBCB
 H max
C21 (474.0MHz)676mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
46 5SELECT, 101 BBC One HD North East and Cumbria, 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 -3dB
C43 (650.0MHz)676mDTG-850,000W
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 -3dB
C46 (674.0MHz)681mDTG-850,000W
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 -3dB
C40 (626.0MHz)681mDTG-850,000W
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

DTG-8 64QAM 8K 3/4 27.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)

Which BBC and ITV regional news can I watch from the Bilsdale transmitter?

regional news image
BBC Look North (Newcastle) 1.6m homes 6.0%
from Newcastle NE99 2NE, 74km north-northwest (336°)
to BBC North East and Cumbria region - 70 masts.
regional news image
ITV Tyne Tees News 1.4m homes 5.4%
from Gateshead NE11 9SZ, 75km north-northwest (333°)
to ITV Tyne Tees region - 47 masts.
All of lunch, weekend and 50% evening news is shared with Border

Are there any self-help relays?

Garsdale (pin Fold)Transposer63 homes (coverage together with SH34)
Hawsker BottomActive deflector 150 caravans
LangthwaiteActive deflector30 homes

How will the Bilsdale (North Yorkshire, England) transmission frequencies change over time?

1984-971997-981998-20122012-1313 Nov 2019
A K TA K TA K TK TW T
C21BBCB
C23C4wavesC4wavesC4wavesBBCB
C24_localD3+4
C26BBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBCA
C27BBCA
C29ITVwavesITVwavesITVwavesD3+4
C30_local
C31com7
C33BBC1wavesBBC1wavesBBC1waves
C35C5wavesC5waves
C37com8
C40ArqBArqB
C43SDNSDN
C46ArqAArqA
C55tv_offcom7tv_off
C56tv_offCOM8tv_off

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 12 Sep 12 and 26 Sep 12.

How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?

Analogue 1-5 500kW
BBCA, D3+4, BBCB(-7dB) 100kW
SDN, ARQA, ARQB(-10dB) 50kW
com7(-14.3dB) 18.5kW
com8(-14.4dB) 18.1kW
Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*(-19.2dB) 6kW
Mux 1*(-20.2dB) 4.8kW
Mux D*(-24.9dB) 1.6kW

Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Bilsdale transmitter area

May 1956-Jul 1968Granada Television†
May 1956-Jul 1968Associated British Corporation◊
Jul 1968-Jul 1974Yorkshire Television
Jul 1974-Feb 2004Tyne Tees 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. Bilsdale was not an original Channel 3 VHF 405-line mast: the historical information shown is the details of the company responsible for the transmitter when it began transmitting Channel 3.

Is the transmitter output the same in all directions?

Radiation patterns withheld

Comments
Thursday, 2 September 2021
J
John Hardy
4:37 PM

Re: Bilsdale Transmitter,

Has anyone thought about asking the Army for the use of a big commercial
Helicopter to take parts of the temperally new mast and other equipment to the site, instead
of waiting for the courts to decide, simple, just get a big enough Helicopter, and go over the private land and offload it at the site.

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John Hardy's 1 post US flag
S
StevensOnln1
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

7:07 PM

John Hardy: Helicopters are used in the construction and maintenance of masts which are too tall for cranes, so I imagine that the idea would have been considered, although I doubt there would be any need to involve the army when there are already commercially available helicopters which can do that kind of work. Having said that, is the legal issue down to the access route to the site of the temporary mast, or is the use of the land itself for the siting of the temporary mast, which is outside of the 300m exclusion zone around the existing mast? The area is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) so the land owner may not even be the party bringing the legal action.

In a further update on the restoration of Freeview services, COM4/5/6 have now been added to the temporary transmitter at Arncliffe Wood on UHF channels 29, 31 & 37. The Teeside local mux and COM7 have been added to Eston Nab on UHF channels 30 and 55.

Freeview have now published a page giving full UHF channel listings for the temporary transmitters and Bilsdale's relays:
Channel information for Eston Nab and Arncliffe Wood | Freeview

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StevensOnln1's 3,606 posts GB flag
C
Chris.SE
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

10:22 PM

Arqiva have also provided an update
https://www.arqiva.com/ne…mast

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Chris.SE's 4,102 posts GB flag
Friday, 3 September 2021
C
Christopher Smith
1:26 PM
Harrogate

MP's mast frustration
Enough is enough: MP's mast frustration Harrogate Informer
Futile gesture but I suppose it ticks a box demonstrating that he's doing his job

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Sunday, 5 September 2021
C
Chris.SE
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

7:02 AM

In case anyone misses the information elsewhere -

The UHF channels for Eston Nab are C27, C24, C21, C23, C26, C48, C30, C55 that's in the multiplex order
BBC A/PSB1, D3&4/PSB2, BBC B HD/PSB3, SDN/COM4, ARQ A/COM5, ARQ B/COM6, Local/(L-MDB), COM 7

The UHF channels for Arncliffe Wood are C40, C43, C46, C29, C31, C37 that's in the multiplex order
BBC A/PSB1, D3&4/PSB2, BBC B HD/PSB3, SDN/COM4, ARQ A/COM5, ARQ B/COM6

All Bilsdale Relay transmitters are now supposedly operational on their usual UHF channels.

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A
Alethea Francis
8:47 PM

I live in Northallerton, North Yorkshire. Although I have retuned my TV several times since I was advised that temporary aerials are now in place after Bilsdale Mast fire on 10th August, all I receive is a fuzzy, streaky and partial picture with distorted sounds and continuing 'clicking sound'. BBC channels have now disappeared completely and some Freeview programmes appear and then disappear. My TV aerial is in the loft. Not allowed to put it on the roof in our area. My postal code is DL78QU. I do NOT have a twitter account or smartphone. I am nearly blind and have mobility problems so TV is my main entertainment. I have an old laptop for Blind People and so it is not possible to view TV on my laptop because the operating system cannot download the TV programmes.

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Alethea Francis's 1 post GB flag
C
Chris.SE
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

11:06 PM

Alethea Francis:

Sorry to hear of your predicament. When was the last time you tried a retune?
The most likely temporary transmitter that you may get signals from is Arncliffe Wood, there has been some additional work there recently.

Having an aerial in the loft isn't especially helpful in current circumstances as I'm sure you appreciate. The Bilsdale mast is a few degrees N of due E (bearing 82 degrees) from you, whereas Arncliffe Wood is nearer ENE (bearing 67 degrees). This difference is possibly within the beamwidth of your aerial but with the reduced signal being in a loft and other possible obstructions, it might mean the signal is just too weak BUT it's worth trying another retune.

First, unplug the aerial and do an automatic retune, this should clear all previous tuning as nothing is found.
Plug the aerial back in and repeat the retune, hopefully this will pick up the multiplexes.

If that doesn't work and you don't pick up anything, try a manual tune for the UHF channels listed in the post before yours (for Arncliffe Wood). Auto-retune sometimes misses weaker signals.

If you are picking up all the UHF channels and those multiplexes on them but you are suffering bad pixellation, or not picking up anything, it MIGHT be worth trying to reposition the aerial. Now, is there anyone you know AND trust, that would be competent to go in your loft and move your aerial slightly towards ENE, that's an anticlockwise move by no more than 15 degrees? BUT first they must note exactly which way it points for Bilsdale so it can be put back there in due course. Make sure it's someone agile enough and mechanically competent!

To make matters worse, the current high pressure weather system sometimes can cause signals from other transmitters to travel further and cause interference to the ones you want. So if you are getting the multiplexes but there's occasional pixellation (it can last longer than a few minutes sometimes), there's not a lot you can do, just bear with it.

If you need further help just post back.

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Chris.SE's 4,102 posts GB flag
Monday, 6 September 2021
C
Christopher Smith
10:40 AM
Harrogate

Agree that having the aerial in the loft is not ideal, but unfortunately it's a requirement on new builds in conservation areas such as where I live :(

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Christopher Smith's 7 posts GB flag
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D
Dorothea Margaret Barker
11:34 AM

My friend lives in Helmsley she has just lost her husband and is in her eighty's.
She receives her television programs via the Bilsdale mast and has not been able to receive her TV programmes for weeks she is unable to retune her TV herself although I have just read on the computer that this could be possible. Is there a company in the area who may be able to visit her home and do the work for her. I would not know what to do and live near Harrogate.
If you can help please reply to me in the first instance.
Margaret Barker dunedin.darley@uwclub.net
telephone 01423 781544
Many thanks in anticipation.

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C
Chris.SE
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

12:51 PM

Dorothea Margaret Barker:

You should not post your details - email, phone etc. on publicly accessible sites like this. You leave yourself vulnerable to cranks and scammers. Do NOT accept ANY offers of help that you receive in this way, there are ALREADY scammers taking advantage of people such as yourself and your friend and people are being ripped off.

if someone makes a recommendation on this site, at least you then have the opportunity of looking at the person's/organisation's credentials via a phone book or the internet etc.
Please do not accept any offers that come via your phone or email.

Freeview now have a dedicated helpline where they should be able to advise if there is an alternative temporary transmitter your friend could receive, one might hope they could recommend local installers that could do anything with an aerial BUT that is likely to cost and won't be cheap, phone 0800-121-4828.
BUT does your friend not have a near neighbour that she trusts that could come and retune her TV for her - Freeview again have guides on their website on how to retune for many makes of TV set.

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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.

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