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Full Freeview on the Durris (Aberdeenshire, Scotland) transmitter

first published this on - UK Free TV
sa_streetviewGoogle Streetviewsa_gmapsGoogle mapsa_bingBing mapsa_gearthGoogle Earthsa_gps57.000,-2.392 or 56°59'59"N 2°23'30"Wsa_postcodeAB39 3TH

 

The symbol shows the location of the Durris (Aberdeenshire, Scotland) transmitter which serves 180,000 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 Durris (Aberdeenshire, Scotland) mast?

Durris transmitter - Durris 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 Durris 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
C28 (530.0MHz)639mDTG-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
C25 (506.0MHz)639mDTG-100,000W
Channel icons
3 STV (SD) (STV North (Aberdeen 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
C22 (482.0MHz)639mDTG-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 -3dB
C23 (490.0MHz)639mDTG-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
C26 (514.0MHz)639mDTG-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
C30 (546.0MHz)639mDTG-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

DTG-8 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 Durris transmitter?

regional news image
BBC Reporting Scotland 2.4m homes 9.2%
from Glasgow G51 1DA, 173km southwest (224°)
to BBC Scotland region - 230 masts.
regional news image
STV News 0.4m homes 1.5%
from Aberdeen AB12 3QH, 23km northeast (52°)
to STV North (Aberdeen) region - 76 masts.

Are there any self-help relays?

Aberdeen (old Town)Transposer2 km N city centre837 homes (dealer estimate)
Aberdeen-talismanTransposer1 km SW city centre100 homes
FyvieActive deflector37 km NW Aberdeen10 homes Hotel
Glen TanarActive deflector11 km E Ballater13 homes
GlenlivetTransposer15 km E Grantown-on- Spey70 homes School
Haughton House C/pTransposer1 km N Aford Aberdeenshire1 homes 150 caravans
OyneActive deflector33 km NW Aberdeen11 homes
Strathdon ATransposer60 km W Aberdeen25 homes
Strathdon BTransposer25 homes
Strathdon CTransposer ‘appreciable population'
Strathdon DActive deflector
Strathdon EActive deflector
Strathdon FActive deflector

How will the Durris (Aberdeenshire, Scotland) transmission frequencies change over time?

1961-80s1984-971997-981998-20102010-133 Oct 2018
VHFA K TWWA K TW T
C9ITVwaves
C22BBC1wavesBBC1wavesBBC1wavesBBCBBBCB
C23SDNSDN
C25ITVwavesITVwavesITVwavesD3+4D3+4
C26ArqAArqA
C28BBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBCABBCA
C29ArqB
C30_localArqB
C32C4wavesC4wavesC4wavescom7
C35com8
C41_local
C55tv_offcom7tv_off
C56tv_offCOM8tv_off
C67C5wavesC5waves

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 1 Sep 10 and 15 Sep 10.

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

Analogue 1-4 500kW
Analogue 5, BBCA, D3+4, BBCB(-7dB) 100kW
SDN, ARQA, ARQB(-10dB) 50kW
Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*(-14dB) 20kW
com7, com8(-15.4dB) 14.5kW
Mux B*(-17dB) 10kW
Mux C*, Mux D*(-20dB) 5kW

Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Durris transmitter area

Sep 1961-Jun 1997Grampian 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.

Is the transmitter output the same in all directions?

Radiation patterns withheld

Comments
Wednesday, 13 July 2011
B
Bruce Norrie
10:43 AM
Peterhead

Hi there, I posted a comment before but no-one seems to have answered it. We are STILL not recieving the COM6, Mux ArqB channels (Yesterday, Film4 etc). Our post code is AB42 0TE, near Hatton, Peterhead, approximately 2.5 miles from the east coast at Cruden Bay. We had a guy out to check our aerial alignment and signal strength today. The alignment is fine, signal strength is 58-64 for Muxs 1-5, but COM6 reads only 42 (not sure what the unit of measurement is). We have a booster box and all equipment & cabling is only 5 years old. We are not recieving interference from Knockmore. Our technician says the COM6 channel was moved from Channel 41 to Channel 29 in June in an attempt to improve the signal but he reckons there has been no improvement at all and a lot of people are not recieving this Mux.

Is anything being done to improve the distribution of channels on COM6, Mux ArqB from the Durris transmitter?

Is there anything I can do to improve reception of these channels other than install freeSat (which is a cop out!)?

Thanks in advance,
Bruce.

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Bruce Norrie's 2 posts GB flag
Bruce's: mapB's Freeview map terrainB's terrain plot wavesB's frequency data B's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Thursday, 14 July 2011
K
KMJ,Derby
sentiment_satisfiedGold

10:21 AM

Bruce Norrie: When the technician checked the signal levels did he try moving the aerial about, ie raising or lowering, backwards/forwards or a short distance either side of its present position? It is not unusual for the best signal on each mux to be found in differing locations, a compromise being found for the eventual siting. It is also worth using a group A receiving aerial which has the best gain for a given size of aerial on the frequencies now used at Durris.

link to this comment
KMJ,Derby's 1,811 posts GB flag
Sunday, 17 July 2011
Monday, 18 July 2011
R
roy
4:19 PM

live at Woodside in Aberdeen. only have 19 freeview channels. How to increase this number, missing ITV 3, ITV4, etc ...

link to this comment
roy's 2 posts GB flag
Briantist
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

4:56 PM

roy: Please can you provide a full postcode?

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Briantist's 38,915 posts GB flag
M
Mike Dimmick
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

5:38 PM

roy: It's likely that you're using the Balgownie relay transmitter. If so, your aerial's rods will be going up-and-down rather than side-to-side, and pointing somewhere between north and north-east. The Balgownie transmitter is a 'Freeview Lite' transmitter, only providing the three public service multiplexes, shown as PSB1/BBCA, PSB2/D3&4 and PSB3/BBCB above. We do not know if the commercial multiplexes will ever extend their services to more transmitters - they turned down the opportunity at switchover, saying it would be too expensive.

If you have the aerial replaced, you may be able to get a reliable service on at least some of the commercial multiplexes direct from Durris. The chances of reliable reception, with a standard installation, are shown as good for Arqiva B, but variable for SDN and Arqiva A. In this area, the problem is co-channel interference from Knock More, so a more directional aerial is probably helpful.

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Mike Dimmick's 2,486 posts GB flag
A
Andy MacL
10:34 PM

Roy
how many aerials have you on your roof and which way do they point?

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Andy MacL's 1 post GB flag
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
W
Will
sentiment_satisfiedBronze

7:52 PM

Thanks Briantist. I had to look back to remember what I'd posted!

Mike Dimmick: I doubt that interference from Knockmore would be a major issue in roy's case. I'm not that far from that area and it's not an issue for anyone here.

I think the problem for you roy is that you live halfway down the south face of the River Don valley. The hill to the south and west (i.e. the steep hill you climb when you travel up N. Anderson Drive from the Haudagain roundabout) sits between you and the Durris transmitter. You therefore do not have a direct line of sight with Durris.

The purpose of the Balgownie relay is to provide coverage to the people on the southern face of this hill which is confirmed by its radiation pattern. You should be able to see the transmitter from your location if you look across to the opposite side of the river in the direction of the university playing fields. It sticks out like a sore thumb in the scenery.

As Mike Dimmick says, if your aerial is vertical and pointing across the River Don towards it then, you will only get 'Freeview Light.' If your aerial is horizontal and pointing south-east, you probably cannot receive the weaker COM muxes because you do not have a direct line of sight with Durris.

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Will's 39 posts GB flag
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