Full Freeview on the Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) transmitter
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The symbol shows the location of the Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) transmitter which serves 920,000 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 Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) mast?
Sandy Heath transmitter - Sandy Heath transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 29/04/2024 Pixelation or flickering 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
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)
Which Freeview channels does the Sandy Heath 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
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)
Which BBC and ITV regional news can I watch from the Sandy Heath transmitter?
BBC Look East (West) 1.0m homes 3.7%
from Cambridge CB4 0WZ, 29km east-northeast (65°)
to BBC Cambridge region - 4 masts.
70% of BBC East (East) and BBC East (West) is shared output
ITV Anglia News 1.0m homes 3.7%
from Norwich NR1 3JG, 119km east-northeast (60°)
to ITV Anglia (West) region - 5 masts.
All of lunch, weekend and 80% evening news is shared with Anglia (East)
How will the Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) transmission frequencies change over time?
| 1965-80s | 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2011 | 2011-13 | 12 Feb 2020 | ||||
| VHF | A K T | K T | K T | W T | W T | ||||
| C6 | ITVwaves | ||||||||
| C21 | C4waves | C4waves | C4waves | +BBCB | BBCB | ||||
| C24 | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | D3+4 | D3+4 | ||||
| C27 | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBCA | BBCA | ||||
| C31 | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | ||||||
| C32 | com7 | ||||||||
| C33 | SDN | ||||||||
| C34 | com8 | ||||||||
| C35 | _local | ||||||||
| C36 | ArqA | ||||||||
| C39 | C5waves | C5waves | |||||||
| C43 | _local | ||||||||
| C48 | ArqB | ArqB | |||||||
| C51tv_off | SDN | ||||||||
| C52tv_off | ArqA | ||||||||
| 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 30 Mar 11 and 13 Apr 11.
How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?
| Analogue 1-4 | 1000kW | |
| BBCA, D3+4, BBCB | (-7.4dB) 180kW | |
| SDN, ARQA, ARQB | (-7.7dB) 170kW | |
| com7 | (-13dB) 49.6kW | |
| com8 | (-13.1dB) 49.1kW | |
| Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D* | (-17dB) 20kW | |
| Analogue 5 | (-20dB) 10kW |
Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Sandy Heath transmitter area
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Tuesday, 26 November 2013
G
george8:38 AM
My freeview is disappearing on all but BBC channels every evening until about 10.00pm. Otherwise ok. This started after sandyheath maintenance on 16 November. I am in mk 14
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M
MikeB2:32 PM
george: If the signal is problematic at the same time each day, its likely you've got 'single source interference' (there is a page about it on this site). Its likely to be your heating thermostat, etc (or someones nearby). Also check your cables - shielded are better at dealing with this problem.
Also check your signal strength - if its too high, then its the BBC that are often the first to go.
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G
George4:07 PM
MikeB: Since it's BBC that is OK I can take the too high signal out of the equation then.
It's nothing obvious in my home environment as nothing changes at these particular times. That leaves me with neighbours. How on earth do I find out about that/!
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MikeB4:52 PM
George: I wouldn't discount anything without checking first! Check your wiring - a loose connection might be part of the problem (weaker signals being affected?).
A postcode would be a great help, since that allows you to see what the signal path is, how close to the transmitter, etc.
You could ask your nieghbours if they are having a similar problem - if so, at least your not alone. Think what could be coming on/off at the times you've identified, and at least make sure its not your own house.
JB38 has a neat trick - he suggests you use a LW/MW radio tuned to no channel, and then use it like a 'bug' identifier out of a spy film - hold it in front of you, and the sound of the interfence should be heard, roughly on the plane 90 degress to the radio - ie - in front. behind above you, etc. After that, you should be able to work out where the problem is coming from. I'm sure he will explain that much better!
If you can't get out of the rain, at least get an umbrella - check all your cabling - ATV has some RG6 aerial cables for less that £4 - even with VAT and postage, thats a good deal, and might help, shielding being part of the solution.
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Friday, 29 November 2013
D
Dee10:41 PM
Ely
Cb6 area of cambs
For the last few evenings we have had poor and after rescanning no signal for Bbc and Itv, and channel 4 & 5. They come back during the day and go again in the evening. Digital free view 1 to 9 have all gone and some others after that.
What's going on and how do we report this?
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Dee's: mapD's Freeview map terrainD's terrain plot wavesD's frequency data D's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Sunday, 1 December 2013
M
Moira9:11 PM
Itv 1 & plus 1 itv 2 & plus 2 have vanished - whats happening??
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R
Rebecca9:15 PM
Manchester
Moira:
I don't know but i've had it - just turned back on.. If you've got a computer you could watch it live through itv player?
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Rebecca's: mapR's Freeview map terrainR's terrain plot wavesR's frequency data R's Freeview Detailed Coverage
J
john9:15 PM
Barnsley
Moira:
why has itv 1 been removed from the airwaves on a sunday night when x factor is on
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john's: mapJ's Freeview map terrainJ's terrain plot wavesJ's frequency data J's Freeview Detailed Coverage
J
janet9:17 PM
Moira:
hi there i have had the same problem but if you check now you will find that both channels are back on so i am sitting watching x factor now even though i know who has gone.
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