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Full Freeview on the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmitter

first published this on - UK Free TV
sa_streetviewGoogle Streetviewsa_gmapsGoogle mapsa_bingBing mapsa_gearthGoogle Earthsa_gps53.625,-2.516 or 53°37'30"N 2°30'56"Wsa_postcodeBL6 6SL

 

The symbol shows the location of the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmitter which serves 2,690,000 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 Winter Hill (Bolton, England) mast?

Winter Hill transmitter - Winter 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
_______

Which Freeview channels does the Winter 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
C32 (562.0MHz)726mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
1 BBC One (SD) North West, 2 BBC Two England, 9 BBC Four, 23 BBC Three, 201 CBBC, 202 CBeebies, 231 BBC News, 232 BBC Parliament, plus 17 others

PSB2
D3+4
 H max
C34 (578.0MHz)726mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
3 ITV 1 (SD) (Granada), 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 (Granada),

PSB3
BBCB
 H max
C35- (585.8MHz)726mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
46 5SELECT, 101 BBC One HD North West, 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 max
C29 (538.0MHz)726mDTG-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
C31 (554.0MHz)726mDTG-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
C37 (602.0MHz)726mDTG-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

LM
 H -20dB
C40 (626.0MHz)572mDTG-121,000W
Channel icons
from 1st October 2014: 7 That's Manchester,

LL
 H -17dB
C24 (498.0MHz)572mDTG-122,000W
Channel icons
from 30th June 2014: 7 Bay TV Liverpool,

LPR
 H -20dB
C56 (754.0MHz)572mDTG-121,000W
Channel icons
from 1st October 2014: 7 That's Lancashire,

GIM
 H -20dB
C57 (762.0MHz)572mDTG-21,000W
Channel icons
 Now 90s,  Spotlight TV,  Clubland TV,  Country Music Entertainment ,  Classic Hits MCR, 76 That's TV 2 MCR, 77 That's 60s MCR, 80 That's 80s, 86 That's 90s MCR, 88 TV Warehouse+1,

DTG-8 64QAM 8K 3/4 27.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
DTG-12 QSPK 8K 3/4 8.0Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
DTG-2 16QAM 2K 3/4 18.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)

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

regional news image
BBC North West Tonight 3.1m homes 11.8%
from Salford M50 2QH, 22km southeast (140°)
to BBC North West region - 92 masts.
regional news image
ITV Granada Reports 3.1m homes 11.6%
from Salford M50 2EQ, 22km southeast (139°)
to ITV Granada region - 80 masts.

How will the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmission frequencies change over time?

1956-80s1984-971997-981998-20092009-132013-182013-1720 Feb 2020
VHFC/D EC/D EC/D EC/D EC/D E TW TW T
C9ITVwaves
C12BBCtvwaves
C24_local
C29SDN
C31com7com7
C32BBCA
C34D3+4
C35BBCB
C37com8com8
C40LOCAL2
C48C5wavesC5waves
C49tv_off ArqAArqA
C50tv_off BBCABBCA
C54tv_off-BBCB-BBCB-BBCB
C55tv_offBBC1wavesBBC1wavesBBC1wavesArqBArqBArqBcom7tv_off
C56tv_off_local_local_localLPR
C57tv_offGIMGIMGIMGIM
C58tv_offSDNSDNSDN
C59tv_offITVwavesITVwavesITVwavesD3+4D3+4D3+4
C61ArqA
C62BBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBCA
C65C4wavesC4wavesC4waves

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 4 Nov 09 and 2 Dec 09.

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

Analogue 1-4 500kW
SDN, ARQA, ARQB, BBCA, D3+4, BBCB(-7dB) 100kW
com7(-12.9dB) 25.7kW
com8(-13.4dB) 22.6kW
Analogue 5(-16dB) 12.5kW
Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D*(-17dB) 10kW
LL(-24dB) 2kW
GIM, LM, LPR(-27dB) 1000W

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

May 1956-Jul 1968Granada Television†
May 1956-Jul 1968Associated British Corporation◊
Jul 1968-Feb 2004Granada 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.

Comments
Tuesday, 29 May 2012
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

4:14 PM

Keith Wright: On having a quick study of your area I can immediately see one major problem that will no doubt be affecting reception for not only yourself but most Foxwood(?) residents receiving a signal from Winter Hill (@ 17miles / 38degrees) being, the somewhat dense range of trees that can be seen at the end of the incline on Cypress Gardens, and with the trees in question stretching far out to the left and right.

Trees as such do not always cause serious reception problems if they are located a few miles away along the signal path towards the transmitter, as elements of signal reflection along the way can help smooth the blocking out effect provided that a multi-element (sharp pick up) aerial is NOT being used as the reception aerial, albeit this negative characteristic not quite so important with analogue reception, but when trees are so close to the receiving aerial then its quite impossible to benefit from this sort of thing.

As you can probably imagine, reception under these circumstances is liable to fluctuate rapidly during windy conditions due to the density of the obstruction changing, and with wet weather bringing another factor into the equation as the leaves will act like multiple reflectors to the signal bouncing it in all sorts of directions, neither of being of any value to reception.

I cant honestly see you having really good reception at any time unless you have Freesat installed, it offering glitch free reception for 99.9% of the time, any time not being for only a few minutes during a really heavy thundery downpour.

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jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
M
Mark Fletcher
sentiment_satisfiedGold

6:00 PM
Halifax

Max Richardson,Middlewich.If you believe your aerial is pointed towards Winter Hill,then the polarisation of your aerial will be horizontal.If on the other hand your aerial is polarised vertically then it will be facing a nearby relay mast as such.If also your aerial is horizontally polarised as you stated to believe check the local news bulletins,if your news bulletins are both BBC North West tonight and ITV1 Granada Reports as well as Channel 4 being on programme channel No 4 on your device's EPG guide then it is facing Winter Hill.If on the other hand your horizontally polarised aerial picks up news bulletins from both BBC Wales and ITV1 Wales as well as S4C on programme channel 4 (Channel 4 on programme channel 8 in this case),then your aerial is facing Moel-Y-Parc transmitter instead.

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Mark Fletcher's 673 posts GB flag
Mark's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
M
Max Richardson
10:14 PM
Middlewich

Mark.From what you describe we are definately receiving from Winter Hill, as we get Northwest News and Granada Reports. Nothing from the Wales transmitter at all. Still no signal here in CW10. All the tv's are dead, apart from the set in the lounge that is wired up to Sky. Dont know whats going on but, Digital is a non starter. No wonder so many people end up changing over completely to Sky. Analogue never ever gave us any problems at all, and we were receiving the signal from Winter Hill then too. So why has our reception always been poor on Digital with regular pixelation most nights, cumminating in no signal for the last 4 days now???


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Max Richardson's 2 posts GB flag
Max's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
M
Mark Fletcher
sentiment_satisfiedGold

11:42 PM
Halifax

Max Richardson,Middlewich.
I would look up Freeview reception has changed?
There are so many possibilities,but i can confirm that in my location i did a test just recently and apart from BBCB (HD) on frequency 54 (my set-top box is non-HD,i did pick up ArqB on frequency 55,SDN on frequency 58,D3+4 on frequency 59,ArqA on frequency 61 and BBCA on frequency 62 all from Winter Hill with and without signal amplification as such.
Difficult for me to answer your question about why your freeview digital reception from Winter Hill is poor in your locality with regular pixellation on most nights you described which now culminates in no signal for the last four days or so but i reiterate if you look up Freeview Reception Has Changed there are many possibilities.
One other option you could consider is Freesat,if you find digital freeview TV signals from Winter Hill troublesome,either that or change the terrestrial aerial to either Moel-Y-Parc,The Wrekin or a nearby local relay if this suffices or barring these then its a case of making do with what you have got.

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Mark Fletcher's 673 posts GB flag
Mark's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Wednesday, 30 May 2012
K
Keith Wright
9:09 AM

'jb38', many many thanks for your informed advice. We have looked into the possibility of having a satellite dish installed (cable does not currently cover our estate); Sky installers have twice visited our house to install a satellite dish but have been unable to obtain a signal on both occasions; so I suspect any TV service which relies on satellite dish reception is out of the question. As I keep saying, can I have analogue back please ? Our reception was so so much better in those days.

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Keith Wright's 7 posts EU flag
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

8:35 PM

Well, satellite reception and especially Freesat is definitely about the only choice that you have for virtually guaranteed glitch free reception, and indeed on further checking I see is already installed in the first three or four properties on your left hand side starting just across the footpath that leads to Buckthorn Gardens, the dishes being mounted on the rear of these buildings.

With regards to your own property, I just fail to see why the engineers could not obtain a signal, and quite frankly feel its a case that they either did not try hard enough or alternatively just wanted to make life easy for themselves and not be involved mounting a dish in an awkward position, that is for them! because as far as your property is concerned, and "if" I am viewing it correctly, then a dish mounted on the very rear of the left hand side wall (or just around it mounted on an angle arm) of your property should be able to have a sufficiently clear enough view to pick the signal up, or failing that at a position slightly down from the apex of the roof on the left hand side wall.

Just purely for information purposes, an approximate way for anyone to judge if they are able to get a signal is to stand with their back against a wall and be facing 28.2 degrees to the left of due South, and if they can look up at an angle of approximately 25 degrees from the horizontal and see an unobstructed view of the Sky then they will definitely be able to receive a signal.

That said, you have to transfer the fact of this being done standing on the ground to the higher up position that the dish would be installed at, as any obstruction seen at ground level is liable to clear when the dish is mounted higher up.

By the way, if you draw an imaginary line through your property running from the front right hand corner to the left hand side wall rear corner, then that line runs from North to South, unless Google has a serious error!

Anyway, hope the info may prove to be of assistance.




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jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
Les Nicol
sentiment_satisfiedGold

10:05 PM

Keith - I concur with JB38 in his posting. I think you would be better in contacting a Local installer and going with a "Freesat" receiver, rather than than the contracted in SKY installers who for the most part work to a prscribed installation policy.

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Les Nicol's 991 posts GB flag
Saturday, 16 June 2012
M
Mrs L Parry
7:02 PM

Dear sir/madam
Could you please explain why when the weather is bad we loose our reception and the tv channels comes up with no signal or bad signal. Picture breaking up skipping through the program. After 2 years of the switchover we still have problems when the weather is bad can you please explain.

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Mrs L Parry's 3 posts GB flag
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

7:41 PM

Mrs L Parry: This can depend on where you reside (which isnt known!) and the level of signal that you normally receive, a post code or one from nearby (a shop) being necessary to check on this, as the level received when all is working OK might not be that terribly much above the minimum threshold level thats required to resolve a picture, and if the signal you receive passes over areas where trees are located then that can have a very bad effect on reception, and especially so if its raining as nothing blocks signals more than wet leaves.

If you come back with the info on location further advice can then be given once checks have been carried out on the levels expected wherever you are, as well as the transmitter being used.

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jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
Sunday, 17 June 2012
M
Mrs L Parry
9:24 AM
Blackburn

Dear sir/madam
Thankyou for your reply i live on housing estate near lower darwin my postcode is BB2 3UR when the weather is settle we normal do have a good signal only when the weather is bad it plays up.

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Mrs L Parry's 3 posts GB flag
Mrs's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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