Freeview: Black Hill (North Lanarkshire, Scotland) Full Freeview transmitter
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Full Freeview on the Black Hill (North Lanarkshire, Scotland) transmitter

Google StreetviewGoogle mapBing mapGoogle Earth55.861,-3.874 or 55°51'40"N 3°52'27"WML7 4NZ

This transmitter has no current reported problems

The BBC and Digital UK report there are no faults or engineering work on the Black Hill (North Lanarkshire, Scotland) transmitter. Click to recheck

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The symbol shows the location of the Black Hill (North Lanarkshire, Scotland) transmitter which serves 940,000 homes.

Other maps:Black Hill DABBlack Hill AM/FMBlack Hill regionBBC ScotlandSTV Central (Glasgow micro region)

Radiation patterns

Radiation patterns withheld

Map key

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.


List by multiplex|List by channel number|List by channel name|See terrain plot

Black Hill transmitter Freeview broadcasts

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.

MuxAerial positionFrequencyHeightModeWatts
PSB1
BBCA
 horizontal max
C46 (674.0MHz)576m64QAM 8K 2/3
24.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2		100,000W
Channel icons
1 BBC One Scotland, 2 BBC Two Scotland, 7 BBC Three, 8 BBC Alba, 9 BBC Four, 70 CBBC Channel, 71 CBeebies, 80 BBC News, 81 BBC Parliament, 301 301, plus 14 others

PSB2
D3+4
 horizontal max
C43 (650.0MHz)576m64QAM 8K 2/3
24.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2		100,000W
Channel icons
3 STV (STV Central (Glasgow micro region)), 4 Channel 4 Scotland ads, 5 Channel 5 Scotland ads, 6 ITV 2, 13 Channel 4+1 Scotland ads, 14 More 4, 28 E4, 33 STV+1 (STV Edinburgh),

PSB3
BBCB
 horizontal max
C40 (626.0MHz)576m256QAM 32KE 2/3
40.2Mb/s DVB-T2 MPEG4		100,000W
Channel icons
101 BBC One HD Scotland, 102 BBC Two HD (England), 103 STV HD (STV West), 104 Channel 4 HD Scotland ads, plus 1 others

COM4
SDN
 horizontal max
C41+ (634.2MHz)576m64QAM 8K 3/4
27.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2		100,000W
Channel icons
10 ITV 3, 20 G.O.L.D. (not free), 25 Dave ja vu, 26 Home (not free), 27 ITV 2 +1, 30 5*, 31 5USA, 34 ESPN UK (not free), 38 Quest, 39 The Zone, 44 Channel 5 +1, 72 CITV, plus 22 others

COM5
ArqA
 horizontal max
C44 (658.0MHz)576m64QAM 8K 3/4
27.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2		100,000W
Channel icons
11 PICK TV, 12 Dave, 17 Really, 29 E4+1, 32 Movie Mix, 46 Challenge, 48 Food Network, 82 Sky News, 87 Community Channel, plus 9 others

COM6
ArqB
 horizontal max
C47 (682.0MHz)576m64QAM 8K 3/4
27.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2		100,000W
Channel icons
15 Film 4, 18 4Music, 19 Yesterday, 21 VIVA, 24 ITV 4, 41 Sky Sports 1 (not free), 42 Sky Sports 2 (not free), 47 4seven, 83 Al Jazeera English, 85 RT English , plus 21 others



Regional news from the Black Hill transmitter


BBC Reporting Scotland 2.4m homes 9.2%
from Glasgow G51 1DA, 26km west
to BBC Scotland region - 230 masts.

STV News 1.3m homes 4.8%
from Glasgow G51 1PQ, 26km west
to STV Central (Glasgow) region - 94 masts.

Self-help relays

Ardtornish ATransposer22 km NW Oban15 homes
BalquhidderTransposer12 km NW Callander42 homes
Benmore BActive deflector50 m WNW Glasgow7 homes
Blair DrummondTransposer5 homes caravan park
Blyth BridgeActive deflector30 km SW Edinburgh50 homes
GlendaruelActive deflector40 hotel40 homes hotel
Glendaruel BActive deflector12 homes (second level)

How the transmission frequencies change over time

years1957~851984-971997-981998-20112011-132013-182013-18
aerial groupVHFB EB EEB E KB E KW
C10ITV
600C32com7
C35com8
C37C5C5
C40BBC1BBC1BBC1BBCBBBCBBBCB
C41+1+SDN+SDN+SDN
C43ITVITVITVD3+4D3+4D3+4
C44+AArqAArqAArqA
C46BBC2BBC2BBC2BBCABBCABBCA
C47+2ArqBArqBArqB
700C50C4C4C4
C51+Blocal
C55C
C56local
800C65D

orange background for multiplexes names moregreen background for transmission frequencieslilac background for power levels in watts800MHz band: 4G mobile to start in 2013700MHz band: possible 4G in 2019 more600MHz band: new or moved digital TV services more
Notes: + and - denote 166kHz offset; aerial group are shown as A B C/D E K W
Italics for analogue, digital switchover was Wednesdays 8th June and 22nd June 2011.

  • Ofcom have projected that a local television service for Glasgow including East Kilbride, Motherwell, Paisley could use an Interleaved Frequency on the Black Hill transmitter using C51
  • Ofcom have projected that a local television service for Falkirk including Stirling could use an Interleaved Frequency on the Black Hill transmitter using C56
  • COM7, COM8 projected for 2013-16. COM9 UK-wide SFN

Comparison of old analogue and current digital signal levels

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

History of Channel 3 in the Black Hill transmitter area

Aug 1957-Dec 2014Scottish Television
Feb 1983-Dec 1992TV-am•
Jan 1993-Sep 2010GMTV•
Sep 2010-Dec 2014ITV Daybreak•
• Breakfast ◊ Weekends ♦ Friday night and weekends † Weekdays only.


Your comments: most recent posts are at the bottom

firstFirst comments prevEarlier comments  ◊  Later commentsnext Latest commentslast

Your comments are always welcome. Please use the form below to add your thoughts or questions to this page. We will get back to you as soon as we can.

Briantist
Friday 4 June 2010 2:10PM
Gordon: You don't have a booster in the system somewhere?
Mike Dimmick
Friday 4 June 2010 5:29PM Reading
Briantist: Half is only 3dB. It's actually almost insignificant (unless you're less than 3dB above the cliff-edge). Attenuators are usually 20dB.

The target signal level for digital, at least pre-switchover, is 45-60 dBuV, and for analogue 60-80 dBuV. My Humax PVR-9200T is calibrated to its input range of 35 to 95 dBuV. 100% signal strength is too much under almost any circumstance - it probably means the box is clipping the signal. Given that for 256QAM it has to determine which of eight amplitudes is intended, it's not likely to work well if it sees three of them (say) as the same size.

Without accounting for terrain and reflections, aerial gain, or radiation pattern, you should get about 74 dBuV on analogue, 57-59 dBuV on the main digital muxes, and 55 dBuV on the HD mux. (I've cross-checked the method with Justin Smith's reports of his aerial test site: the actual received signal strength was mostly 2-8dB below theoretical, and in one case 1dB higher.) If you have a high-gain aerial (e.g. an X-type with 16 bays) it could be adding 15dB at its peak, which for Group E is usually C55 - having any problems with Mux C?
Gordon
Friday 4 June 2010 8:46PM Glasgow
Brian,

Yes, I live in a new flat which has a communal aerial / satellite arrangement feeding into my flat where it is distributed via a Proception 8 way amplifier. (see earlier post above)
Briantist
Saturday 5 June 2010 10:59AM
Gordon: I would have thought the best thing to do is to bypass everything from the TV to the communal aerial point.

This will eliminate the internal stuff, if you can get Freeview HD to work directly connected to the point.

If it still doesn't work then you might have to get someone to check the communal system.
Gordon
Saturday 5 June 2010 8:55PM Glasgow
Brian,

Mine is working ok. It was the other chap who still has problems.
Patrick
Monday 7 June 2010 1:59PM Edinburgh
Hi, I'm at EH11 1SQ just outside the black hill strong signal area. If I install a roof mounted class 1 aerial what are the chances of me picking up the below ave freeviewHD signal from black hill? Also if I use a group E/W aeriel for black hill would I then be able to use this to pick up signal from craigkelly (K/W) after it has it's switchover?
Cheers
Briantist
Monday 7 June 2010 4:23PM
Patrick: You might have to make sure that the aerial is mounted up very high. You might be, to be honest, be better spending your money on a Freesat HD system, because you can be sure that it will work.
Steve
Monday 7 June 2010 10:05PM
I live in the FK15 area and according to the Freeview site I should be able to get Freeview HD no bother. I have a Technika smartbox 8320HD and it can get all the normal Freeview channels but not the Freeview HD Channels. I've tried manual tuning too. Any suggestions. I also think that the online website Freeview area checker for Freeview HD is a bit suspect...
Briantist
Monday 7 June 2010 10:11PM
Steve: It's a bit hard to say without a postcode...
stephen hamill
Monday 7 June 2010 10:21PM
further to my recent post....I thought all my standard freeview channels were fine because they appeared listed on the guide page. However, I appear to have lost Film 4 and a few others. When I view the guide via my BT vision box and select Film 4 (Ch15)I get a blank black screen. It isn't even listed on the guide via the tv. Spoke to sony centre again today and he claims its most likely my aerial. I got film 4 with my old CRT Toshiba. Now I don't know who to listen to.
KMJ,Derby
Tuesday 8 June 2010 12:04AM
stephen hamill:It would appear that MuxD was present when the channels were stored in the BT vision box but the signal has now become too weak to decode or is now subject to interference.Check that there is no equipment with the RF modulator set to C65. Also try doing a manual tune to C65 on the TV- is a signal detected and if so what is the quality? As C65 is the highest frequency in use on this transmitter it is also more difficult to receive than the other muxes.Also check for trees in leaf in the signal path. An aerial with more gain(use a group E for best pick-up) may be required.
B. Rowe
Tuesday 8 June 2010 2:29AM Edinburgh
I Live in edinburgh postcode EH6 6DP. Should i be able to receive Freeviw HD. TY for your help
Briantist
Tuesday 8 June 2010 6:23AM
B. Rowe: You do not stand a good chance of getting the service from the Black Hill transmitter, so you are going to have to wait for switch-over - 15 June 2011 - you can get Freesat today, however.
Dott
Friday 11 June 2010 11:52AM
Hi Briantist, a lady from Trading Standards went to visit Asda on my behalf & they said that if the box was brought in, when the fault was first noticed, as a 'good will' gesture on their behalf (even when the warranty ran out) they might have fixed it, instead of me contacting Goodmans. It took me ages to get someone & it's my fault apparently for not knowing where to go in the first place. Had I known Asda would fix it as a 'good will' gesture, I wouldn't had all this carry on (to & fro). The lady from Trading Standards mentioned taking it to the 'small claims' court, but that I would have to pay £65 & I might not win. Took time out to think about it and have decided not to proceed as I can't afford to pay for something that wouldn't be worth it (£164 in total - for recorder box & fee) incase I do lose. Have decided to no longer buy electrical stuff from Asda, Sainsbury's offer extended warranty on all their products, so might give them a try sometime. Thanks for all your help & advice, it was very much appreciated. All the very best - Cheers
Briantist
Saturday 12 June 2010 8:17AM
Dott: It is a bit of a shame that Asda don't really care what Trading Standards say and the only option is going to the small claims court, which costs money.

Thanks.
Gordon
Saturday 12 June 2010 8:25PM Glasgow
You should take it to the small claims court. You will win, because it will never reach court - they will settle immediately.
Dott
Sunday 13 June 2010 10:10AM
Hi Gordon, even if I did win at the small claims court, I've stilled paid £164 for a recorder box which wouldn't be worth it. I wouldn't get the £65 back & have decided that I don't want any more stress over it. Briantist gave me good advice & I appreciated his help. Thank you anyway - Cheers
Briantist
Sunday 13 June 2010 10:32AM
Dott: When you make a Small Claims Court claim, you get everything back, including your costs.
Dott
Sunday 13 June 2010 11:56AM
Hi Briantist, the lady from Trading Standards never explained that bit to me & that's what I thought would happen with the money no matter what the outcome was! If that was explained better to me then I would've considered there and then to go ahead as I had enough money at the time. Maybe because I've taken time out to think about it, I might have lost out? Will try and give the lady from Trading Standards a call during the week to see how long I have left to consider going to small claims court. Once again, thank you for your help & advice, glad you know more about this stuff & know that I really appreciate it. Cheers
Gordon
Sunday 13 June 2010 8:52PM Glasgow
Hi Dott, its your shout and I fully respect that. To me, these things are like a red rag to a bull and I would have been pretty confident of getting either replacement or full purchasde price refunded.
John Chambers
Thursday 17 June 2010 9:41PM
I have just bought a freeview HD TV, but cant get HD. I live in the Rutherglen area, is their a problem with freeview HD?
alex
Friday 18 June 2010 12:06AM
i live in leith and can't pick up freeview hd from craigkelly, can i get this from black hill easily?
Roger
Sunday 20 June 2010 9:40PM Glasgow
Problems on the Black Hill Transmitter
Having recently purchased a Freeview HD Box and unable to pick up HD (althogh I checked my postcode on theFreeview HD post code check)I have stumbled across this Black hill web site which show the HD is working at below average and only transmitting at half the wattage of the other channels, could this be why I am having prolems (post code G67 3BH)?
Davie
Monday 21 June 2010 6:06PM
John/Roger ,

I'm having the same problem , full freeview channels but no HD ones. G13 area , although I put it down to communal aerial system filtering out frequency here.
KMJ,Derby
Monday 21 June 2010 8:10PM
Davie: Have you tried to do a manual tune on C59? Some receivers need a bit of prompting to store channels in more than one mode.If it turns out that the signal is too weak it may be that it is not possible to increase the gain at the head end without the analogue signals overloading everyones tuner.It is unlikely that individual channel filters are in use. Check that no VCR or sky box has the RF modulator set to C59.
Briantist
Monday 21 June 2010 8:57PM
Roger: Yes, the current service that will run until Wednesday 22nd June 2011 is a special low-power "preview". The power will be 100,000 W, 10 times stronger after switchover.

However, you might want to check www.ukfree.tv link icon Single frequency interference | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice first, as this might be the problem.
Adrian
Tuesday 22 June 2010 3:21PM Alloa
I have a sony bravia ex703. Also have the correct ariel and mast head amplifer giving me 100% SD signal from blackhill. HD on the other hand is a bit of hit or miss. Some time I have 75 to 92% Signal Quality with 56 to 70% Strength.Most days it comes and goes. Thought at first it was atmospheric conditions, but now it happening regardless of weather. Watching the readings in system info, they fluctuate between 88% and zero, very annoying!! (Postcode FK10)
Davie
Tuesday 22 June 2010 5:47PM
Thanks KMJ : Tried the manual scan of C59 at both 8MHz & 7MHz but signal strength showed 0% and sure enough got nothing. Checked Sky box and its set at C68.

Saw the info about aerial @ www.freeview.co.uk link icon  Freeview -
Home Resolutions About Freeview HD About Freeview HD Do you have a shared or communal aerial system and want to get HD? (G133EG)
Briantist
Tuesday 22 June 2010 5:52PM
Davie: Just to check, you do have a Freeview HD device, not just a HDTV with Freeview? All the UK channels are 8MHz wide.
Briantist
Tuesday 22 June 2010 6:01PM
Adrian: The masthead amplifier should be compatible. Is that the only amplifier?

It is always worth checking www.ukfree.tv link icon Single frequency interference | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice .
Davie
Tuesday 22 June 2010 6:19PM Glasgow
Briantist: Its a Humax HD-FOX T2 Freeview HD box. When you do manual tune you get to choose between 8/7MHz - just thought I'd try both in case :)
Briantist
Tuesday 22 June 2010 6:33PM
Davie: It seems strange that you are getting "0%" when you get "100%" on all the other multiplexes. You wouldn't expect that.
Davie
Tuesday 22 June 2010 7:01PM Glasgow
Briantist: I agree , thats why I thought it was the frequency being filtered out as per the link I posted a few messages above. It was only when I saw John & Roger having similar problems that I thought it might be something else going on.
Briantist
Wednesday 23 June 2010 8:20AM
Davie: Yes. Without professional equipment is it hard to know what else to suggest.
john
Wednesday 23 June 2010 8:39AM Biggar
OMG, Ive lost all the pics on all channels analogue. Does this mean ill have to go buy all those freeview boxes now... Someone please help. cos all my b&b rooms have lost pics.. Cheers john
Briantist
Wednesday 23 June 2010 8:45AM
john: It probably means your aerial system has failed. You won't get Freeview if you can't see the analogue channels.
Davie
Wednesday 23 June 2010 12:37PM
Briantist: No problem , thanks for the suggestions. I've contacted the owner of the flats to check with them and am awaiting a reply.
I've borrowed an all-in-one indoor HD aerial that I'll try when I get home from work to see if I can at least get some sort of signal on C59 or if its a general problem.

Thanks again
Briantist
Wednesday 23 June 2010 1:49PM
Davie: Let me know if it works.
john
Wednesday 23 June 2010 5:10PM Biggar
Well yet again you are right, Found a nice dry joint thats made all the pics disappear.. Quick smack with the hammer and all fine again.. Oh and by the way.. Im still waiting for that freesat box to be changed... how long now !!! john
Briantist
Wednesday 23 June 2010 5:18PM
john: Our old friend, the dry joint. Not sure if a hammer is the best way to deal with it in the long run, but if it works for now, I guess it's fine.

Yes, the amount of time your have been waiting is now officially "ridiculous".
Adrian
Wednesday 23 June 2010 7:54PM Alloa
Briantist - Yeah masthead is only amp, made sure it was compatable before buying. cheers Adrian.
Davie
Wednesday 23 June 2010 10:02PM Glasgow
Briantist : Still nothing on C59 with internal HD aerial. Could get about 50-60% strength on normal Freeview with aerial but nothing on C59 no matter what position/direction.
Looks like I'll need to wait for the switchover when power is increased.
Briantist
Wednesday 23 June 2010 10:04PM
Davie: I would suggest Freesat, but you might not want to spend any more money. www.ukfree.tv link icon How much is it going to cost to get High Definition TV? | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice .
Aitken
Monday 5 July 2010 11:23AM
The new big mast at Blackhill switched over in June 2010. We live near Lanark and have had good reception for 25 years although we are in an area of poor reception. We have been able to get all five channels and since we got free view didgy box have been able to get all the stations. Since the big mast came into operation we can`t get Channels 3,4,5,6,7,8,even although we get the new recommended aerial. What is the explanation for this?.
David Rose
Tuesday 6 July 2010 6:49PM Haddington
I live in Haddington (EH41 3LJ) right on the edge of The Blackhill signal reach. I receive all standard definition channels mostly very well, the exception being when an occasional rouge vehicle passes by on a fairly busy road outside.
I recently bought a Full HD Sony Bravia tv with the hope of watching The World Cup and Wimbledon in high definition but I’m unable to receive the HD channels even after performing several program scans.
I’m wondering if this could be caused by one or more of these things:-
The transmitter output of the 3 HD channels is half that of the standard definition channels?
I need a new aerial?
I need to replace the signal booster (amplifier)?
I need to replace old brown coloured aerial cable with specified digital cable (I have a real of digital satellite cable)?
KMJ,Derby
Tuesday 6 July 2010 8:41PM
David Rose: If you are on the edge of the service area the lower power of the HD Mux could well be a significant factor. Do you receive Film4 on MuxD? If this is ok the aerial is suitable for the HD frequency. Replacing the cable with a good quality double screened variety should help with interference rejection even if it does not help with the HD problem.An aerial with more gain might help,as could more precise alignment or slight repositioning of the aerial but check first that no VCR or Sky box has the RF output set around C59.
iain
Tuesday 13 July 2010 9:05PM
Ah ha! Thanks all, Film 4/itv 4 coverage seems to wax and wane here in Govanhill Glasgow G42. It's an upgraded communal aerial

I thought it was channel shuffling, as I noticed it at prompted retunes, but it appears C59 comes and goes due to the weak signal.

In the past few days it dissappeared whenever the Tour de france was on and came back for Bergerac or something!!



Fred Glaser
Friday 16 July 2010 8:40AM Edinburgh
Hi
I tuned in my friends brand new Samsung LEC580 40 inch Freeview HD tv last night in post code EH48 (Bathgate) but despite tuning the tv in twice I could not get the tv to pick up any HD channels. I even did a firmware update to the tv but this made no difference. He has a roof aerial with good signal strength and can pick up Film4 no problem. Does that mean he should be able to pick up the Freeview HD channels? Would a manual scan possibly pick them up? Thanks. Fred.
Pete
Friday 16 July 2010 10:29AM
Looking at the table above Fred the HD multiplex (BBC B) from Black Hill is currently on a lower power (half the others), he may need a booster or a better aerial to get HD ? Check reception with the Digital UK post code device putting in your full post code and also compare it with the prediction tool on this site.
Graham
Saturday 17 July 2010 11:39PM
I have just got the Technika HD PVR and like others here can get all freeview channels except HD. ML4 postcode in bellshill and can see the masts all lit up from my window! Manual tune on CH59 gives 0% signal strength/quality, others are 60% strength/100% quality. Loft aerial.
Pete
Sunday 18 July 2010 10:06PM
Tour de France highlights are on ITV1 overnight odd nights check your guide for times.
Briantist
Wednesday 21 July 2010 8:39AM
Aitken: Black Hill has not in any way 'switched', it will do this on Wednesday 22nd June 2011.



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.

If you have no satellite signal, see Sky Digibox says 'No Signal' or 'Technical fault'

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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