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Full Freeview on the Black Hill (North Lanarkshire, Scotland) transmitter

first published this on - UK Free TV
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The symbol shows the location of the Black Hill (North Lanarkshire, Scotland) transmitter which serves 940,000 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 Black Hill (North Lanarkshire, Scotland) mast?

Black Hill transmitter - Black 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
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Which Freeview channels does the Black 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
C46 (674.0MHz)576mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
1 BBC One (SD) Scotland, 2 BBC Two Scotland, 7 BBC Alba HD, 23 BBC Three, 24 BBC Four (Scotland SD), 201 CBBC, 202 CBeebies, 231 BBC News, 232 BBC Parliament, plus 13 others

PSB2
D3+4
 H max
C43 (650.0MHz)576mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
3 STV (SD) (STV Central (Glasgow micro region)), 4 Channel 4 (SD) Scotland ads, 5 Channel 5, 6 ITV 2, 10 ITV3, 13 E4, 14 Film4, 15 Channel 4 +1 Scotland ads, 18 More4, 26 ITV4, 28 ITVBe, 30 E4 +1, 35 ITV1 +1 (STV Edinburgh), 35 STV+1 (STV Edinburgh),

PSB3
BBCB
 H max
C40 (626.0MHz)576mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
46 5SELECT, 101 BBC One HD Scotland, 102 BBC Two HD Scotland, 103 ITV 1 HD (STV West), 103 STV HD (STV West), 104 Channel 4 HD Scotland ads, 105 Channel 5 HD, 106 BBC Four HD, 108 BBC Scotland HD, 204 CBBC HD, 205 CBeebies HD, plus 1 others

COM4
SDN
 H max
C41+ (634.2MHz)576mDTG-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
C44 (658.0MHz)576mDTG-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
C47 (682.0MHz)576mDTG-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

LG
 H -13dB
C30 (546.0MHz)576mDTG-125,000W
Channel icons
from 2nd June 2014: 8 STV Glasgow,

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 Black Hill transmitter?

regional news image
BBC Reporting Scotland 2.4m homes 9.2%
from Glasgow G51 1DA, 26km west (271°)
to BBC Scotland region - 230 masts.
regional news image
STV News 1.3m homes 4.8%
from Glasgow G51 1PQ, 26km west (271°)
to STV Central (Glasgow) region - 94 masts.

Are there any self-help relays?

Ardtornish ATransposer22 km NW Oban15 homes
BalquhidderTransposer12 km NW Callander42 homes
Benmore BActive deflector50 m WNW Glasgow7 homes
Blair DrummondTransposer5 homes caravan park
Blyth BridgeActive deflector30 km SW Edinburgh50 homes
GlendaruelActive deflector40 hotel40 homes hotel
Glendaruel BActive deflector12 homes (second level)

How will the Black Hill (North Lanarkshire, Scotland) transmission frequencies change over time?

1957-80s1984-971997-981998-20112011-133 Oct 2018
VHFB E TB E TB E TE TW T
C10ITVwaves
C30_local
C32com7
C35com8
C37C5wavesC5waves
C40BBC1wavesBBC1wavesBBC1wavesBBCBBBCB
C41+SDNSDN
C43ITVwavesITVwavesITVwavesD3+4D3+4
C44ArqAArqA
C46BBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBCABBCA
C47ArqBArqB
C50tv_offC4wavesC4wavesC4waves
C51tv_offLG
C55tv_offcom7tv_off
C56tv_off_localCOM8tv_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 8 Jun 11 and 22 Jun 11.

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

Analogue 1-5 500kW
SDN, ARQA, ARQB, BBCA, D3+4, BBCB(-7dB) 100kW
com7(-10.7dB) 42.9kW
com8(-11.1dB) 39.2kW
Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D*(-14dB) 20kW
LG(-20dB) 5kW

Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Black Hill transmitter area

Aug 1957-Jun 1997Scottish Television
Jun 1997-Dec 2014STV plc
Feb 1983-Dec 1992TV-am•
Jan 1993-Sep 2010GMTV•
Sep 2010-Dec 2014ITV Daybreak•
• Breakfast ◊ Weekends ♦ Friday night and weekends † Weekdays only.

Comments
Sunday, 10 May 2020
C
Chris.SE
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

3:21 PM
Glasgow

Sarah-Jane Morris:

Did you mean G21 1XH for the postcode? (There's no G12 1XH in the database!).
Using the G21 postcode in the checker (use the boxes on this page Platform management | Freeview as it goes straight to the Detailed view then scroll down to see figures) it shows Black Hill as the most likely transmitter (a main transmitter) with excellent reception of all multiplexes. It also shows Darvel with Good reception. Depending on the house number (DON'T post that here) it may show some relay transmitters in the list but show no predicted reception or poor/variable reception). The relays listed (you referred to "booster" - not a correct term - if Freeview used that term they are badly trained) may be Cathcart, Glasgow West Central and Netherton Brae - none of which are going to give good reliable signals at your mum's location.

Using street view, there's some slight variation in terrain which will account for which Relays may show in this list, but this doesn't affect predicted reception from Black Hill. All the roof aerials I could see point at Black Hill (bearing 101 degrees - that's fractionally S of due E) and rods horizontal.
If your mum's TV is regularly showing "weak signal" then it's possible there's a problem with the aerial installation OR for some reason the set has become incorrectly tuned to the wrong transmitter. Let's hope it's not the former, the latter is relatively easy to fix.

None of the transmitters including Black Hill have any currently reported problems though the BBC reported a fault 4 days ago on Cathcart From 9:24pm to 10:20pm on 6th May 2020 BBC A (PSB1) Off the air due to a fault (also BBCB HD - PSB3). If Freeview are aware of any faults they will get reported, you don't have to do anything.
It would be worth your mum checking the aerial coax connections first by unplugging them from the set and wall connection (if there is one) or any PVRs etc and plugging them back in. This should help clean any poor connections that could be the cause of problems.

Depending on how technically with it your mum is, we'll take the simple route first.
She needs to unplug the aerial from the back of the set, and then do an automatic retune (might be called first time installation depending on the set) which should clear all the previous (possibly incorrect) tuning as no signals will be found. Then plug the aerial back in and repeat the automatic retune and hopefully all channels will be correctly restored.

I'll now list the correct UHF multiplex channels for Black Hill in the order PSB1-3, COMs4-8, Local.
They are C46, C43, C40, C41, C44, C47, C55, C56, C30 (C meaning UHF channel).
If your mum knows how, she could go to the TV's tuning section and look for something that might be called Signal Test or possibly Manual Tuning and look to see if those are the channels the set has tuned to. It may also show the strength and quality of the signals for each multiplex.

If your mum is not sure/able to do a retune, then get her to phone Freeview on 0808-100-0288 tell them the exact model and make of set and they should be able to take her through a step by step guide on what to do. If they aren't much help, post back here with the make and model.

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Chris.SE's 4,101 posts GB flag
Chris.SE's: mapC's Freeview map terrainC's terrain plot wavesC's frequency data C's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Tuesday, 12 May 2020
S
Sarah-Jane Morris
12:23 AM

Chris.SE: Yes G21 , sorry. There was an outage on the Blackhill transmitter detailed on the website at the weekend and I have found out today that there is a local communal aerial/booster/don't know what? situated in the Council compound on Ashgill Road/Colston Road. The other local freeview residents have also had their signal disappear so it's not my Mum's TV that is the problem. Apparently when this happens (on a regular basis) someone has to go over and ask a member of the team there to reset whatever it is and then everything comes back again. I did retune the TV on a general autotune several times, I also took the aerial out and did everything that Freeview indicated to me (I was on chat for an hour on Sunday morning) but also on a specific channel tune and both show no channels and weak/no signal. I am quite technically minded so this kind of thing is easy for me but it wouldn't be possible for my Mum or the significant number of older residents here who rely on TV to keep them company. Luckily I am here and can do it for her but I don't know what will happen when I go home in however many weeks.

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Sarah-Jane Morris's 6 posts GB flag
C
Chris.SE
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

6:50 AM

Sarah-Jane Morris:

OK, the situation requires some clarification. If this is a regular occurrence, we need to get to the bottom of this. Which website was indicating an outage at the Black Hill main transmitter?
The BBC have still not reported any fault at the Black Hill main transmitter that's affecting their channels.

Next, I initially had the impression that your mum was in a house that had its own aerial, if so, does that aerial point virtually East with the aerial rods horizontal as indicated in my previous post?

It's a totally different kettle of fish if you mum is in a property where the signal is provided by a communal aerial, which is possibly what you may be saying. If this is the case then it's the council or maybe building management if it's not a council managed property that are responsible if it's say the power supply for the distribution system that has tripped out either due to a fault or power failure.

Back to the situation of your mum being in a house with it's own aerial. If it's pointing as I said, then did you manual tune using the channel numbers I indicated i my previous post?

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Chris.SE's 4,101 posts GB flag
S
Sarah-Jane Morris
8:28 AM

Hi Chris
I think it was this website that showed the outage but it could have been another one, I can't remember if I am honest. I thought Mum had her own aerial but there is nothing in the loft or on the roof and I have been told by her neighbour that the box or whatever it is in the Council compound has to be reset on a regular basis as this happens quite often. The other neighbour said that his Freeview stopped working on Friday. They are all individual houses and are now mostly privately owned, having been council. When I was a teenager we had a Mast in the green space on the quadrant behind our house but it was moved to the council compound a number of years ago for safety. We were never allowed to use that space as children but I do remember it being there. We are in a dip and so signal has never been good here hence them always having to boost it. Manual tuning on any of the channels showed nothing and the TV shows 0 on the signal strength. I can walk down to the compound today and I was just about to find our MSP's number so I can ask them to get involved too. Mum and her elderly neighbours rely on the TV and if they don't have it , especially at this strange time when they aren't allowed to go out, it can cause severe distress as they are cut off from the world.

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Sarah-Jane Morris's 6 posts GB flag
S
StevensOnln1
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

10:27 AM

Sarah-Jane Morris: Your mother's house is connected to a communal aerial system which receives the signal from the transmitter and distributes it via cable to each property (either underground or running from house to house and not related to the Virgin Media cable TV network). You need to get whoever is responsible for that system to send someone to investigate and fix it properly, not just keep resetting whatever is tripping. Only the council (or whoever is responsible for the communal aerial system) can do that, it isn't something that the transmitter company or anyone else can fix.

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StevensOnln1's 3,605 posts GB flag
C
Chris.SE
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

1:34 PM

Sarah-Jane Morris:

With the extra information I totally concur with what StevensOnln1 has said, whatever is tripping needs to be fixed properly or replaced, it's totally unacceptable that so many vulnerable individuals have to suffer this isolation.

There may be other problems with the system if it's that old, cable deteriorating etc. and I could imagine the council may not be keen on spending money on something that's no longer serving council tenants.
You said you are in a bit of a dip and (when you were a teenager) the signal was never good, but are/were you talking about pre-1970s when there was only VHF analogue ITV transmitted from the Black Hill Mast? (BBC at the time came from a nearby mast). And of course transmitters have changed somewhat since then, first with UHF Analogue in the late 60s and of course digital since 2011.
Using Street view, I didn't get the impression that there was that much of a dip in the whole of your postcode and although the Detailed Coverage Checker can't be guarantee to be 100% correct, it does give the impression that a good signal is available from Black Hill all around the postcode.

So it could depend on how much of dip you are actually in. Have a look at nearby neighbour's aerials. It may be worth your mum considering having her own aerial installed on the chimney which of course would eliminate the current issue, but may be tricky at the current time because of covid-19 situation, and of course it will cost, but if you go down that route, get several quotes and preferably use a contractor that has been recommended by a trustworthy person that knows they are ok.

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Chris.SE's 4,101 posts GB flag
S
Sarah-Jane Morris
11:45 PM

Thank you both. Yes, the crux of the question is that no one is admitting responsibility for it so I don't know who to speak to to get it rebooted. It's cable connected to the houses. I walked down today and noticed that all the houses have that box built into the structure of the house. I have spoken to the housing association and to our local councillor and so he is going to try to find out as well. The MSP had an auto reply on his email saying it would be 5 - 10 days before there might be an answer to any emails!
Chris - no not pre 1970's , we didn't move here until 1976 and I wasn't a teenager until the 80's . At800 did say they had a note of a 4 G mast in the area that does cause problems too. Hopefully the councillor might be able to help a member of staff gain access to the building tomorrow, fingers crossed.

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Sarah-Jane Morris's 6 posts GB flag
C
Chris.SE
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

11:50 PM

Sarah-Jane Morris:

Well good luck with that.

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Chris.SE's 4,101 posts GB flag
Wednesday, 13 May 2020
S
Sarah-Jane Morris
7:19 PM

I have managed to track down the person who is responsible for the mast and they are trying to get someone to fix it with help from our MSP.

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Sarah-Jane Morris's 6 posts GB flag
Thursday, 14 May 2020
C
Chris.SE
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

1:04 AM

Sarah-Jane Morris:

Well done, don't suppose you know what exactly the problem is/what causes it?
Certainly make sure your mum has their contact details in case it happens when you aren't available.

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Chris.SE's 4,101 posts GB flag
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