Full Freeview on the Rowridge (Isle Of Wight, England) transmitter
 | Google Streetview |  | Google map |  | Bing map |  | Google Earth |  | 50.676,-1.369 or 50°40'35"N 1°22'7"W |  | PO30 4HT |
The symbol shows the location of the Rowridge (Isle Of Wight, England) transmitter which serves 620,000 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 Rowridge (Isle Of Wight, England) mast?
Rowridge transmitter - Rowridge transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 29/04/2024 Screen may go black 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.
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 Freeview channels does the Rowridge 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.
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 Rowridge transmitter?
BBC South Today 1.3m homes 4.9%
from Southampton SO14 7PU, 26km north (354°)
to BBC South region - 39 masts.
ITV Meridian News 0.9m homes 3.6%
from Whiteley PO15 7AD, 24km north-northeast (20°)
to ITV Meridian (South Coast) region - 39 masts.
All of lunch, weekend and 50% evening news is shared with all of Meridian plus Oxford
Are there any self-help relays?
| Portsmouth Docks | Transposer | 2 km N city centre | 50 homes Estimate. Group of houses' |
How will the Rowridge (Isle Of Wight, England) transmission frequencies change over time?
| 1950s-80s | 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2012 | 2012-13 | 2 May 2018 | ||||
| VHF | A K T | A K T | A K T | A K T | W T | ||||
| C3 | BBCtvwaves | ||||||||
| C21 | C4waves | C4waves | C4waves | +BBCB | BBCB | ||||
| C22 | +ArqA | ArqA | |||||||
| C24 | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBCA | BBCA | ||||
| C25 | SDN | SDN | |||||||
| C27 | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | D3+4 | D3+4 | ||||
| C28 | ArqB | ArqB | |||||||
| C29 | LSO | ||||||||
| C31 | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | com7 | |||||
| C37 | com8 | ||||||||
| C55tv_off | com7tv_off | ||||||||
| C56tv_off | COM8tv_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 7 Mar 12 and 21 Mar 12.
How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?
| Analogue 1-4 | 500kW | |
| PSB1||, PSB1≡, PSB2||, PSB2≡, PSB3||, PSB3≡ | (-4dB) 200kW | |
| COM4≡, COM4||, COM5≡, COM5||, COM6≡, COM6|| | (-10dB) 50kW | |
| com7≡ | (-13.1dB) 24.4kW | |
| Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D* | (-14dB) 20kW | |
| com8≡ | (-14.3dB) 18.4kW | |
| LSO≡ | (-17dB) 10kW |
Local transmitter maps
Rowridge Freeview Rowridge DAB Rowridge TV region BBC South Meridian (South Coast micro region)Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Rowridge transmitter area
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Monday, 7 January 2013
P
PaulD8:44 PM
Portsmouth
Hi, I wonder if anyone can help me out. I'm renting a house at PO1 5JP, and I'm trying to troubleshoot a problem with my Freeview signal. I seem to be missing PSB3, COM4 and COM5. COM6 lists a weaker reception than PSB1 and PSB2, but it does work fine. I tried a few things to check what the problem might be, like moving cables around so they were clear of the Coax, but no improvement. I even unplugged the aerial pass-through RF lead from the back of my Freeview+ HD box but that actually made things worse, as I lost COM6 when I did that. Plugging it back in restored COM6. My alternative amplified indoor aerial couldn't get any signal at all when I pointed it straight at Rowridge with the power all the way up. I doubt it's a problem with the box as I was able to tune all the multiplexes with it at my parents' house in Peterborough. Is there anything that any of you can suggest might be the problem? I'm a bit stumped :/
| link to this comment |
PaulD's: mapP's Freeview map terrainP's terrain plot wavesP's frequency data P's Freeview Detailed Coverage
PaulD: PSB3 is the HD one and if you try a manual tune for it, it is UHF channel 21. If there is a setting on the manual tune screen for the mode, ensure that it is set to DVB-T2 rather than DVB-T, the latter being that of Freeview standard definition broadcasts.
Rowridge is unique as a main station because it has used mixed polarisation since switchover. In the days of analogue it was horizontally polarised, like all other main stations. However, following switchover all six channels are on the same power of 200kW vertically whereas the COMs are restricted to 50kW horizontally (with PSBs being 200kW horizontally). The horizontal component is more for backward compatibility with existing aerials.
There is generally no requirement for Rowridge aerials to be replaced as all digital channels are Group A; only switch to vertical polarisation.
In some cases, such as with Sandy Heath, some or all COM channels are outside of the group (which is a part [third] of the frequency band) used for former analogue and hence outside of that which installed aerials work best.
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Tuesday, 8 January 2013
P
PaulD1:05 PM
Portsmouth
Hi Dave, thanks for your help. I've now managed to solve the problems by eliminating electrical interference and using a shorter lead, which enabled me to receive COM4 and COM5, and by installing a battery operated aplififier just before the Freeview HD box I was also able to regain access to PSB3. All the channels now working, and I'm a happy camper :D
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PaulD's: mapP's Freeview map terrainP's terrain plot wavesP's frequency data P's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Wednesday, 16 January 2013
C
Christopher Martin James3:39 PM
Winchester
I have a horizontally polarised aerial fitted to the roof 3 years ago. Reception is occasionally patchy on some channels. Would I do better to switch to vertical polarisation now? Would this require a new aerial,or can the existing one simply be rotated? Many thanks
| link to this comment |
Christopher's: mapC's Freeview map terrainC's terrain plot wavesC's frequency data C's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Christopher Martin James: The existing aerial should be fine (assuming it's not damaged of course).
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Friday, 15 February 2013
Idris Martin
10:08 PM
10:08 PM
Hi
I live in Weymouth & have fitted a high gain vertically polorised ariel with mast head booster set up by compass bearing then fine tuned with the signal strength meter in the tv's menu.
However,the ststions on multiplex channel 22 keep breaking up, signal strength ok, but quality poor except on a sunny day when it is ok.
Can somebody explain why the other multiplex channels ore ok but not channel 22.
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Idris Martin: Because different frequencies are affected by objects in the path to differing degrees. Different frequencies radiate slightly differently from the transmitter.
You have a quality issue. The fact that it is OK on a sunny day suggests that there is vegetation somewhere in the path.
The terrain plot shows that the Purbeck Hills are in the way and so you have no where near line of sight. For that reason I think that a high-gain aerial is likely not to be the best device.
The higher the gain, the narrower the acceptance "beam". As you aren't anywhere near line of sight, you don't have anything to aim at. Rather, your objective is to pick up what you can.
As digital reception requires good quality (digits intact) a wider acceptance angle could perhaps give better results. It stands to reason that if the quality of the signal across a wider angle is better than across a narrower one then reception is better, even though a lower gain aerial has been used. You can increase the signal strength with an amplifier, but you can't repair its quality.
If it is a wideband high-gain aerial then it isn't "high" gain on the channels you are trying to receive as the gain of wideband yagi aerials drops off on lower channels.
As you have no where near line of sight then it might be worth trying turning the aerial a bit to see if it improves it.
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Saturday, 16 February 2013
R
Roy Barton3:08 PM
Wimborne
For years we had perfect reception at BH21 7BT. Over the last few months it has degraded. I recently rescanned all the channels and it was puzzling why BBC1HD should have moved from ch 50 to ch101. But tht is trivial compared to our real problem. As a qualified electronics engineer I can't understand why signal strength and quality for BBC on Channel 24 is 99% but signal strength of Film4 on channel 28 is almost non existent on a good day as measured by our sharp TV signal strnegth is high but n a bad day quality is down to 1% or no signal at all. I have advice that we should rotate our aerial so that is is Vertical polarisation. We have not tried it yet. WE are confused as the UKfree.tv website indicates that Rowridge is H. But there are clues that it might be also V. Any info on this is very confusing, probably because some info on your website is out of date.
Please clarify. Should we continue pointing at rowridge and rotate our aerial through 90 degrees so the dipoles are vertical? I guess we should be using a type A aerial. Would you confirm that a wideband aerial is not to be recommended for our location.
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Roy's: mapR's Freeview map terrainR's terrain plot wavesR's frequency data R's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Roy Barton: The short answer is yes, rotate your aerial for vertical polarisation with Rowridge; there isn't, generally, a requirement to replace the aerial. The information at the top of this page is correct and says that each multiplex is broadcast horizontally and vertically.
The gain (sensitivity) of yagi aerials drops on lower channels. A wideband yagi is a greater compromise than a Group one as by the time you get down to Group A channels the gain is low. Manufacturers will quote the gain on the highest channel which is likely to be not what you're using it for. Rowridge is all Group A, so for that reason if you use a yagi then use a Group A one. For example gain curves that illustrate the point, see:
Gain (curves), Again
Above it does say "To receive Freeview from the Rowridge transmitter you will require an aerial of group A positioned horizontally." I will alert the site administrator to see if it can be changed.
The longer explanation: There are the PSB (Public Service) channels and there are the COM (Commercial) channels. The COMs don't have as extensive a coverage as the PSBs. This is due mainly to the fact that small relays don't carry them, but there will also be a few who won't get them reliably even though they use a transmitter that broadcasts them.
Basically, the PSB-network is designed to serve all areas that the former four-channel analogue network did and without requirement for existing aerials to be adjusted or replaced. The COM transmitters fit in where they can and in some cases require a replacement aerial, or in the case of Rowridge, vertical polarisation may be beneficial.
Rowridge broadcasts horizontally so as to be backward-compatible with existing aerials.
Because the COM channels fit in where they can, the channels that are used for them are reused by other transmitters in closer proximity than those of the PSB channels. Rowridge's COMs are co-channel with those of Stockland Hill's in the west and Crystal Palace's in the east. This is the reason that Rowridge's COMs are effectively restricted power horizontally; it's so they don't spread as far. Turning your aerial for vertical polarisation will increase the "rejection" of the unwanted Stockland signals (which are only horizontal).
Vertical polarisation may also reduce co-channel interference during lift conditions. Like the UK, France uses horizontal polarisation for high-power transmitters. (Rowridge being the one exception.)
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R
Roy Barton11:24 PM
Wimborne
John Lindsay. Thank you for your answer. Can I assume that a wide band aerial would be a definite bad choice?. (I bought one just today **** )
I also purchased a Labgear aerial amplifier. In the blurb it states it is for terrestial digital TV DTT and radio T-DAB and no mention of DVB-T. Is it safe to assume that a MSA111 would not degrade the signal in any way. (Other than when it might be overloaded) ?
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Roy's: mapR's Freeview map terrainR's terrain plot wavesR's frequency data R's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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