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Full Freeview on the Pontop Pike (County Durham, England) transmitter

first published this on - UK Free TV
sa_streetviewGoogle Streetviewsa_gmapsGoogle mapsa_bingBing mapsa_gearthGoogle Earthsa_gps54.868,-1.771 or 54°52'5"N 1°46'15"Wsa_postcodeDH9 9AT

 

The symbol shows the location of the Pontop Pike (County Durham, England) transmitter which serves 700,000 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 Pontop Pike (County Durham, England) mast?

Pontop Pike transmitter - Pontop Pike 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
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Which Freeview channels does the Pontop Pike 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
C39 (618.0MHz)447mDTG-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
C42 (642.0MHz)447mDTG-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
C45 (666.0MHz)447mDTG-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
C32 (562.0MHz)447mDTG-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
C34 (578.0MHz)447mDTG-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
C35 (586.0MHz)447mDTG-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

LNE
 H -13dB
C33 (570.0MHz)447mDTG-125,000W
Channel icons
from 22nd September 2014: 7 Made in Tyne and Wear,

DTG-8 64QAM 8K 3/4 27.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
DTG-12 QSPK 8K 3/4 8.0Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)

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

regional news image
BBC Look North (Newcastle) 1.6m homes 6.0%
from Newcastle NE99 2NE, 15km northeast (42°)
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, 12km north-northeast (29°)
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?

Kieldor DamActive deflector6 homes Holiday complex
Low HaberActive deflectorWest Allen Dale, 18 kn SW Hexham caravan site
North HartlepoolTransposer84 homes

How will the Pontop Pike (County Durham, England) transmission frequencies change over time?

1950s-80s1984-971997-981998-20122012-1313 Nov 2019
VHFC/D EC/D EC/D EC/D E TW T
C5BBCtvwaves
C32SDN
C33com7
C34com8
C35ArqB
C39BBCA
C42D3+4
C45BBCB
C49tv_offBBCB
C50tv_offSDN
C54tv_offC4wavesC4wavesC4wavesD3+4
C55tv_offArqBcom7tv_off
C56tv_offLNE
C58tv_offBBC1wavesBBC1wavesBBC1wavesBBCA
C59tv_offArqA
C61ITVwavesITVwavesITVwaves
C64BBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBC2waves

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 1-4 500kW
BBCA, D3+4, BBCB(-7dB) 100kW
SDN, ARQA, ARQB(-10dB) 50kW
com8(-11.6dB) 34.6kW
com7(-11.7dB) 33.8kW
Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D*(-17dB) 10kW
LNE(-20dB) 5kW

Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Pontop Pike transmitter area

Jan 1959-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. Pontop Pike 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.

Comments
Saturday, 6 October 2012
E
Eileen
11:55 AM
Morpeth

jb38 Ch58 = s98% q100%
Ch54 s99% q100%
Ch50 s48-50% q100%

I get what you're saying about signal strength - very interesting and makes sense when you think about it.

Thank you for the explanation and your time.



link to this comment
Eileen's 4 posts GB flag
Eileen's: mapE's Freeview map terrainE's terrain plot wavesE's frequency data E's Freeview Detailed Coverage
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

7:58 PM

Eileen: Pleased to have been of some assistance! albeit that what I had mentioned was somewhat abbreviated in content to save an over lengthy posting, as there are few other effects that can be experienced connected with this type of situation.

By the way thanks for your latest update and which is very informative, insomuch that even although Ch50 (ITV3 etc) is transmitting on half the power of the PSB channels (BBC / ITV1) you are still receiving it with a 100% quality, its lower reception strength being as would be expected considering the difference in transmission power involved. (PSB's - 100Kw / Commercials - 50 Kw).

link to this comment
jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
Thursday, 11 October 2012
D
Dec
8:13 PM
Newcastle Upon Tyne

NE12 8UF
Arial on roof
Every day the channels from com5 have disappeared. Then we re-tune and they appear again, but it's a bit annoying having to re-tune. Any idea why this is happening?

link to this comment
Dec's 1 post GB flag
Dec's: mapD's Freeview map terrainD's terrain plot wavesD's frequency data D's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

8:19 PM

Dec: Probably because too many channels are being picked up to fit in the memory. COM5 from Pontop Pike is on C59 which is the highest channel for this station.

Your receiver is probably picking up signals from other transmitters and storing these.

Run the automatic tuning scan with the aerial unplugged for the first 50% of the scan to hopefully miss some out.

link to this comment
Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
Sunday, 21 October 2012
M
Mark Blanchard
8:11 PM

We live in Stanley County Durham, our tv signal is still poor, there's lots of interference even after the change over and the 17th oct 12. Any tips...........

link to this comment
Mark Blanchard's 1 post GB flag
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

8:17 PM

Mark Blanchard : Have you confirmed that your receiver is tuned to Pontop Pike for all channels? UHF channels are given at the top of this page.

If they are correct, or having corrected them the problem persists, then perhaps the signal is on the high side due to your close proximity to the transmitter. See:

Freeview signals: too much of a good thing is bad for you | ukfree.tv - 10 years of independent, free digital TV advice

link to this comment
Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
Friday, 9 November 2012
D
David Brown
10:47 AM

Thanks for your reply 12/07/2012. Receiving all programmes currently transmitted via WEARDALE mast including radio (via the TV) . However cannot receive radio reception on our DAB radio, even with the F connector that supplies the tv signal connected.Are different frequencies involved? Do we need a separate DAB aerial? What is the polarity of the transmission? The radio works perfectly well with its telescopic aerial in other districts where presumably the signal is better. Thanking you in anticipation of enlightenment.

link to this comment
David Brown's 2 posts GB flag
Dave Lindsay
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

11:06 AM

David Brown: The Weardale transmitter at Frosterley does not broadcast any DAB. It relays the four BBC national FM radio stations only.

As the BBC has seen fit to install FM transmitters, then perhaps there are similar gaps in its DAB coverage.

link to this comment
Dave Lindsay's 5,724 posts GB flag
Sunday, 11 November 2012
J
John Fox
8:40 PM

I live near centre of Sunderland, SR33AQ. Picture is nigh on perfect, but since changeover subtitles on all channels are a little out of sync. Tried two different freeview boxes as well. Who do I complain to?

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John Fox's 1 post GB flag
Sunday, 25 November 2012
P
Paul Smith
1:27 PM
Hexham

I am a TV engineer in this area Hexham/ Northumberland post code NE46 3NX
Reports of poor DAB reception in this and surrounding area NE43 etc, since digital switch over 26th sep 2012, yet no faults reported with pontop pike or reduced power o/p

Any idears, its not a one off, I have seen this and had many other reports all over the Tyne valley, only since we went fully digital tv.

link to this comment
Paul Smith's 1 post 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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