Full Freeview on the Preseli (Pembrokeshire, Wales) transmitter
 | Google Streetview |  | Google map |  | Bing map |  | Google Earth |  | 51.944,-4.661 or 51°56'38"N 4°39'40"W |  | SA41 3QR |
The symbol shows the location of the Preseli (Pembrokeshire, Wales) transmitter which serves 57,000 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 Preseli (Pembrokeshire, Wales) mast?
Preseli transmitter - Preseli transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 22/04/2024 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels 
_______
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)
The Preseli (Pembrokeshire, Wales) mast is a public service broadcasting (PSB) transmitter, it does not provide these commercial (COM) channels: .
If you want to watch these channels, your aerial must point to one of the 80 Full service Freeview transmitters. For more information see the will there ever be more services on the Freeview Light transmitters? page.
Which Freeview channels does the Preseli 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)
The Preseli (Pembrokeshire, Wales) mast is a public service broadcasting (PSB) transmitter, it does not provide these commercial (COM) channels: .
If you want to watch these channels, your aerial must point to one of the 80 Full service Freeview transmitters. For more information see the will there ever be more services on the Freeview Light transmitters? page.
Which BBC and ITV regional news can I watch from the Preseli transmitter?
BBC Wales Today 1.2m homes 4.7%
from Cardiff CF5 2YQ, 111km east-southeast (118°)
to BBC Wales region - 206 masts.
ITV Cymru Wales 1.2m homes 4.7%
from Cardiff CF5 6XJ, 110km east-southeast (120°)
to ITV Wales region - 206 masts.
Are there any self-help relays?
| Abergynolwyn | Active deflector | Gwynedd | 84 homes |
| Caerberllan | Active deflector | ||
| Cwmtydu A/d | Active deflector | 17 km NNE Newcastle Emlyn | 10 homes 50 caravans |
| Drefelin | Active deflector | 20 km NNW Carmarthen | 36 homes |
| Poppit Sands | Active deflector | 39 km NE Carmarthen Caravan Park | |
| Rhyd-yr-onnen | Active deflector | 20 km N Aberystwyth | 20 homes caravan site |
How will the Preseli (Pembrokeshire, Wales) transmission frequencies change over time?
| 1962-80s | 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2009 | 2009-13 | 2013-18 | 2013-17 | 31 Oct 2018 | ||
| VHF | B E T | B E T | B E T | W T | K T | K T | K T | ||
| C8 | ITVwaves | ||||||||
| C30 | _local | _local | _local | _local | |||||
| C37 | C5waves | C5waves | |||||||
| C39 | +ArqB | +ArqB | ArqB | ||||||
| C40 | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | +BBCB | +BBCB | BBCB | |||
| C42 | -SDN | -SDN | -SDN | SDN | |||||
| C43 | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | +BBCA | +BBCA | +BBCA | BBCA | ||
| C45 | -ArqA | -ArqA | -ArqA | ArqA | |||||
| C46 | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | +D3+4 | +D3+4 | +D3+4 | D3+4 | ||
| C49tv_off | +ArqB | ||||||||
| C50tv_off | C4waves | C4waves | C4waves | +BBCB |
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 19 Aug 09 and 16 Sep 09.
How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?
| Analogue 1-5 | 100kW | |
| BBCA, D3+4, BBCB | (-7dB) 20kW | |
| SDN, ARQA, ARQB | (-10dB) 10kW | |
| Mux A*, Mux B* | (-17dB) 2kW | |
| Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux C*, Mux D* | (-20dB) 1000W |
Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Preseli transmitter area
|
|
Wednesday, 13 December 2023
A
Alexander Scott9:57 AM
Signal the last couple of months has been horrendous ; sometimes non existant our aerial is outside on a pole in the field. Postcode SA311TX
| link to this comment |
A
Alexander Scott10:03 AM
Last few months signal has been very poor ,sometimes non exiistant we live in Elim Road Carmarthen .our aerial is outside on a pole in the field.Postcode SA311TX
| link to this comment |
S
Steve Donaldson2:35 PM
Alexander Scott: The first thing to check is that your TV is in fact tuned to Preseli and not Carmel, which would mean that the broken or non-existent picture you have been watching is actually from Carmel. The other thing to note is that there is a mobile phone mast which could potentially (but in no way definitely) be interfering with TV reception at your postcode. There are other possible causes of the issue, such as a problem with your aerial system, but I will expand on these two for now.
You may know this and be familiar, as it is a common issue, even back in the days of analogue. At your location Carmel is in the opposite direction to Preseli and it is on lower UHF channels, thereby being found before Preseli during the TV's automatic tuning scan.
The channels for Preseli are:
PSB1 - BBC One - C43
PSB2 - ITV - C46
PSB3 - BBC One HD - C40
COM4 - QVC - C42
COM5 - Sky Mix - C45
COM6 - Quest - C39
Check the signal strength screen for the programme channels shown above to see that the UHF channel numbers, prefixed 'C', are those of Preseli.
For reference, Carmel's in the same order are: 23, 26, 29, 33, 36, 48
If the TV is tuned to Carmel then this needs correcting. Manually tuning the six Preseli channels may be the only way to achieve this effectively and easily.
The other observation I have made is that Restore TV says it sent postcards to your postcode notifying you of the fact that a mobile phone base station in your area had begun operating in the 700MHz or 800MHz bands, these previously used for TV, and that this could potentially cause interference with TV reception. Restore TV is the organisation charged with alleviating such issues and will send out a free filter to block the higher frequencies now used by mobile phones.
I note there is the nearby lattice tower at the fire station with mobile phone antennae on. While it is supposition and isn't forced to be this mast, it is nonetheless close by.
If you have an amplifier (masthead amp) with your aerial then the filter will need to be fitted before it, so that the mobile phone signal does not enter the amplifier. In cases where someone has a masthead amp then a waterproof outdoor filter is supplied, and you will need to tell Restore TV this when you ring them. They usually send an engineer to fit it. However, this is usually on the rooftop, and if your aerial is on a pole I have no idea whether they can do this, if it means climbing the pole to access it.
| link to this comment |
S
Steve Donaldson2:36 PM
Alexander Scott: Information about and contact details for Restore TV is here: https://restoretv.uk
| link to this comment |
C
Chris.SE11:41 PM
Alexander Scott:
To add to what Steve has already said, we've made the presumption that your aerial is pointing at Preseli because you've posted on the Preseli page. If so, your aerial should be pointing at compass bearing 292 degrees, that's virtually WNW.
If it's pointing at Carmel, it should be compass bearing 108 degrees, that's almost ESE.
In both cases the aerial rods (or squashed Xs) should be horizontal.
It's not at all obvious why your aerial should point at Preseli as there are multiple (quite severe) line-of-sight obstructions due to the terrain between you and Preseli, whereas there is only one much smaller one between you and Carmel, which is also closer.
3 different reception predictors also suggest Carmel would give better reception, also the ArqA/COM5 multiplex is not predicted to be as reliable as the others from Preseli.
HOWEVER, predictions are not always 100% and there could be some very local conditions where a local installer has found Preseli to be better. If that's the case, do you know why?
Just to compound matters, both transmitters have been listed for Planned Engineering for several weeks recently, although the work at Preseli should have been finished as it's no longer listed - but we also know those lists are sometimes not 100%. Carmel is still listed.
How old is your aerial installation? Do check it's still pointing correctly , that the downlead isn't flapping about in the wind and that all accessible coax connections are free of corrosion and water.
Steve has mentioned the possibility of interference from a new/upgraded phone mast and if you haven't got a Free Filter for 700MHz (more commonly referred to as 5G) then you should get in touch with Restore TV.
| link to this comment |
Thursday, 14 December 2023
C
Chris.SE10:50 PM
Alexander Scott;
The list of transmitters on Planned Engineering has been updated during the week and Carmel is no longer listed, so it's presumed that Preseli and Carmel are operating normally.
Have your signals improved?
| link to this comment |
Thursday, 28 December 2023
Transmitter engineering
8:20 AM
8:20 AM
PRESELI transmitter - DAB: Off the air due to a fault from 28 Dec 05:20. . [BBC]
| link to this comment |
Transmitter engineering
2:20 PM
2:20 PM
PRESELI transmitter - DAB: Off the air due to a fault from 28 Dec 05:20 until 28 Dec 11:40. . [BBC]
| link to this comment |
Tuesday, 2 January 2024
Transmitter engineering
11:21 AM
11:21 AM
Preseli transmitter - Preseli transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 01/01/2024 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels [DUK]
| link to this comment |
Monday, 8 January 2024
Transmitter engineering
5:09 AM
5:09 AM
Preseli transmitter - Preseli transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 08/01/2024 Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels [DUK]
| link to this comment |
Select more comments
Your comment please