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Full Freeview on the Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham, England) transmitter

first published this on - UK Free TV
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The symbol shows the location of the Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham, England) transmitter which serves 1,870,000 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 Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham, England) mast?

Sutton Coldfield transmitter - Sutton Coldfield 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 Sutton Coldfield 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
C43 (650.0MHz)433mDTG-200,000W
Channel icons
1 BBC One (SD) West Midlands, 2 BBC Two England, 9 BBC Four, 23 BBC Three, 201 CBBC, 202 CBeebies, 231 BBC News, 232 BBC Parliament, plus 19 others

PSB2
D3+4
 H max
C46 (674.0MHz)433mDTG-200,000W
Channel icons
3 ITV 1 (SD) (Central (West micro region)), 4 Channel 4 (SD) Midlands ads, 5 Channel 5, 6 ITV 2, 10 ITV3, 13 E4, 14 Film4, 15 Channel 4 +1 Midlands ads, 18 More4, 26 ITV4, 28 ITVBe, 30 E4 +1, 35 ITV1 +1 (Central west),

PSB3
BBCB
 H max
C40+ (626.2MHz)433mDTG-200,000W
Channel icons
46 5SELECT, 101 BBC One HD West Midlands, 102 BBC Two HD England, 103 ITV 1 HD (ITV Central West), 104 Channel 4 HD Midlands 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
C42 (642.0MHz)433mDTG-8200,000W
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
C45 (666.0MHz)433mDTG-8200,000W
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
C39+ (618.2MHz)433mDTG-8200,000W
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

LB
 H -13dB
C48 (690.0MHz)433mDTG-1210,000W
Channel icons
from 31st October 2014: 7 Big Centre TV,

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 Sutton Coldfield transmitter?

regional news image
BBC Midlands Today 2.9m homes 10.9%
from Birmingham B1 1RF, 15km south-southwest (200°)
to BBC West Midlands region - 66 masts.
regional news image
ITV Central News 2.9m homes 10.9%
from Birmingham B1 2JT, 15km south-southwest (201°)
to ITV Central (West) region - 65 masts.
All of lunch, weekend and 80% evening news is shared with Central (East)

Are there any self-help relays?

Burton (shobnall)Transposer1 km W Burton-on-Trent60 homes
CoalvilleTransposer18 km NW Leicester600 homes
SolihullTransposerLand Rover building400 homes

How will the Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham, England) transmission frequencies change over time?

1950s-80s1984-971997-981998-20112011-137 Mar 2018
VHFB E TB E TB E TB E K TW T
C4BBCtvwaves
C33com7
C35com8
C36LOCAL2
C39+ArqBArqB
C40BBC2wavesBBC2wavesBBC2waves+BBCBBBCB
C42SDNSDN
C43ITVwavesITVwavesITVwavesBBCABBCA
C45ArqAArqA
C46BBC1wavesBBC1wavesBBC1wavesD3+4D3+4
C48_local
C50tv_offC4wavesC4wavesC4waves
C51tv_offLB
C55tv_offcom7tv_off
C56tv_offCOM8tv_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 Sep 11 and 21 Sep 11.

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

Analogue 1-4 1000kW
SDN, ARQA, ARQB, BBCA, D3+4, BBCB(-7dB) 200kW
com7(-10.5dB) 89.2kW
com8(-10.7dB) 86kW
LB(-20dB) 10kW
Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D*(-21dB) 8kW

Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Sutton Coldfield transmitter area

Feb 1956-Jul 1968Associated TeleVision†
Feb 1956-Jul 1968Associated British Corporation◊
Jul 1968-Dec 1981Associated TeleVision
Jan 1982-Feb 2004Central Independent 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. Sutton Coldfield was not an original Channel 3 VHF 405-line mast: the historical information shown is the details of the company responsible for the transmitter when it began transmitting Channel 3.

Comments
Saturday, 23 June 2018
MikeP
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

3:17 PM

Alan S:

At only 19km from the Sutton Coldfield transmitter you should be getting an excellent service. Being that close, it is possible that you may have too much signal (see 'Too much of a good thing' on this website). Please check the signal strengths of all the multiplexes. They should be between 60% and 85% - not more and not less. If it is more on any of the multiplexes you need to fit an attenuator in the aerial feed. Add that with an extra short flylead so the weight of the attenuator does not 'hang' on any coaxial socket. Whilst doing that, check all your leads and joints are in perfect confition.



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MikeP's 3,056 posts GB flag
Wednesday, 11 July 2018
M
Mr D Metcalfe
8:16 PM

What is happening on Freeview signals in north Leamington Spa area. Over last few TV's are pixelated or channels lost.

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Mr D Metcalfe's 1 post GB flag
Thursday, 12 July 2018
MikeP
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

3:26 PM

Mr D Metcalfe:

In short - warm weather. That causes signals top travel further than usual, resulting in interference in some afreas from signals travelling longer distances than usual. It is a perfectly natural occurence and has happened for many, many years. DO NOT RETUNE.



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MikeP's 3,056 posts GB flag
Thursday, 19 July 2018
N
ntscuser
1:26 PM

The Leamington Spa relay station moved from Group C to Group B in March. It's possible some people in that area require a new aerial.

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ntscuser's 7 posts GB flag
Sunday, 12 August 2018
C
Carol
3:30 PM

Hi, I am in the Sutton Coldfield area not too far from the transmitter. I have noticed recently, that com 7 drops off, usually in the evenings and then returns the next day. Shall I put this down to the weather or as mentioned in an earlier post, 'too much signal'? Not noticed it before but then to be honest have not been checking. My aerial is roof mounted by the way and therefore not that easy to check cables etc.

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Carol's 2 posts GB flag
Monday, 13 August 2018
MikeP
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

10:05 AM

Carol:

Please provide a full post code so that we can see what your reception is predicted to be like.

You can check all the aerial cables and connections as far as you can safely reach. Please also check what the signal strengths are like on all the 8 multiplexes broadcast from Sutton Coldfield (your TV User Manual will tell you how to do that but do not retune).



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MikeP's 3,056 posts GB flag
S
Sam
12:48 PM
Lichfield

MikeP: This happens to me too! I thought it was just my TV! When watching Channel 47HD and BBC NEWS HD I get no service in evenings and as Carol said, it comes back the next morning fine.

My postcode is: WS13 8SD

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Sam's 3 posts GB flag
Sam's: mapS's Freeview map terrainS's terrain plot wavesS's frequency data S's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Tuesday, 14 August 2018
MikeP
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

10:57 AM

Sam:

You are less than 8 miles from one opf the most powerful transmitters in the UK.So there is every chance that you have too much signal. Please check the signal strengths shown by your TV (the User Manual will tell you how to check that). It needs to be between 60% and 85%, any more will cause the symptoms you describe.

Look at 'Too much of a good thing' on this website for further information.



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MikeP's 3,056 posts GB flag
Wednesday, 15 August 2018
C
Carol
8:13 AM

Thanks for the reply MikeP.

link to this comment
Carol's 2 posts GB flag
Monday, 3 September 2018
Transmitter engineering
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

12:23 PM

SUTTON COLDFIELD transmitter - DAB: BBC National DAB Radio Weak Signal from 10:03 today to 10:30 today. FM: Radio 1 FM Weak Signal from 10:03 today. [BBC]

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Transmitter engineering's 149,822 posts xx flag
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Your comment please
Please post a question, answer or commentIf you have Freeview reception problems before posting a question your must first do this Freeview reset procedure then see: Freeview reception has changed, Single frequency interference, and Freeview intermittent interference.

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If you have other problems, please provide a full (not partial) postcode (or preferably enter it in box at the top right) and indicate where if aerial is on the roof, in the loft or elsewhere.

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