Freeview: Pontop Pike (County Durham, England) Full Freeview transmitter
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Full Freeview on the Pontop Pike (County Durham, England) transmitter

Google StreetviewGoogle mapBing mapGoogle Earth54.868,-1.771 or 54°52'5"N 1°46'15"WDH9 9AT

4G at 800MHz (at800) Freeview reception issues

When 800MHz 4G mobile broadband services start there will be 1 multiplex in the higher risk range (C21-23, C30, C59-60): C59: ArqA
See How do I know if the 4G broadband will overload my Freeview? and Full UK map of 4G issue areas for details.

This transmitter has no current reported problems

The BBC and Digital UK report there are no faults or engineering work on the Pontop Pike (County Durham, England) transmitter. Click to recheck

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The symbol shows the location of the Pontop Pike (County Durham, England) transmitter which serves 700,000 homes.

Other maps:Pontop Pike DABPontop Pike regionBBC North East and CumbriaTyne Tees

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

Pontop Pike 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
C58 (770.0MHz)447m64QAM 8K 2/3
24.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2		100,000W
Channel icons
1 BBC One North East and Cumbria, 2 BBC Two England, 7 BBC Three, 9 BBC Four, 70 CBBC Channel, 71 CBeebies, 80 BBC News, 81 BBC Parliament, 301 301, plus 12 others

PSB2
D3+4
 horizontal max
C54 (738.0MHz)447m64QAM 8K 2/3
24.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2		100,000W
Channel icons
3 ITV (Tyne Tees), 4 Channel 4 North ads, 5 Channel 5 The North ads, 6 ITV 2, 13 Channel 4+1 North ads, 14 More 4, 28 E4, 33 ITV +1 (Tyne Tees),

PSB3
BBCB
 horizontal max
C49 (698.0MHz)447m256QAM 32KE 2/3
40.2Mb/s DVB-T2 MPEG4		100,000W
Channel icons
101 BBC One HD (England no regional news), 102 BBC Two HD (England), 103 ITV HD (ITV Granada), 104 Channel 4 HD North ads, plus 1 others

COM4
SDN
 horizontal -3dB
C50 (706.0MHz)447m64QAM 8K 3/4
27.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2		50,000W
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 -3dB
C59 (778.0MHz)447m64QAM 8K 3/4
27.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2		50,000W
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 -3dB
C55 (746.0MHz)447m64QAM 8K 3/4
27.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2		50,000W
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 Pontop Pike transmitter


BBC Look North (Newcastle) 1.6m homes 6.0%
from Newcastle NE99 2NE, 15km northeast
to BBC North East and Cumbria region - 73 masts.

ITV Tyne Tees News 1.4m homes 5.4%
from Gateshead NE11 9SZ, 12km north-northeast
to ITV Tyne Tees region - 47 masts.

Self-help relays

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How the transmission frequencies change over time

years1950s~851984-971997-981998-20122012-132013-182013-18
aerial groupVHFC/D EC/D EC/D EC/D EC/D EW
C5BBCtv
600C33com7
C34com8
C481
700C49BBCBBBCBBBCB
C50SDNSDNSDN
C53-D
C54C4C4C4D3+4D3+4D3+4
C55+2ArqBArqBArqB
C56local
C58BBC1BBC1BBC1BBCABBCABBCA
C59+AArqAArqAArqA
800C61ITVITVITV
C62+B
C64BBC2BBC2BBC2
C65+C

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 12th September and 26th September 2012.

  • Ofcom have projected that a local television service for Newcastle including Gateshead, South Shields, Sunderland could use an Interleaved Frequency on the Pontop Pike transmitter using C56
  • COM7, COM8 projected for 2013-16.

Comparison of old analogue and current digital signal levels

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

History of Channel 3 in the Pontop Pike transmitter area

• Breakfast ◊ Weekends ♦ Friday night and weekends † Weekdays only. Pontop Pike 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.


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
Thursday 29 April 2010 6:13PM
Paul: Are you sure you have a Freeview HD and not just an HD set with Freeview? www.ukfree.tv link icon What does "Full HD Ready" actually mean? | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice for more.
paul
Thursday 29 April 2010 7:41PM
Thanks for your reply

Yes my tv is Freeview HD its brand new on the market, samsung C7000 series.

I just cant understand why i cant pick it up.
Briantist
Thursday 29 April 2010 7:48PM
paul: Nice TV. Do you have reception of each of the other Freeview multiplexes OK?
paul
Thursday 29 April 2010 8:27PM
yes brian, all other channels and good signal also.

Brian can you confirm people in my area are getting hd freeview?

Or maybe the info is wrong then?

If not then im stumped.

Only other thing i can think off is maybe my tvs firmware needs updating but i dont think so.

cheers
KMJ,Derby
Friday 30 April 2010 10:15AM
paul: Have you tried doing a manual tune for C63?
Paul
Friday 30 April 2010 11:19AM
No but i can try tonight.

So pontop pike is deffo outputting these HD channels now?

thanks
chrissyg
Friday 30 April 2010 11:32AM
i have an identical issue, however i have a self installed loft aerial for the upstairs dtv, it works fine on that aerial and picks up the pontop pike hd channels. Downstairs it does not. the downstairs aerial gets all other channels. Could it be a tweak in allignment? or is it the case to pick up the signal it has to be a specific aerial type, obviously the loft aerial is more modern and i just happened to point it is the general direction. I did notice the general channels went in at different times on the installation, so allignemnt or aerial type. As a footnote the hd channels were last to drop in upstairs, any help would be appreciated
Briantist
Friday 30 April 2010 12:37PM
paul: Out of interest is the aerial on the roof, and are you using any boosters or amplifiers?
Briantist
Friday 30 April 2010 12:38PM
chrissyg: You don't stand much of a chance getting the DVB-T2 256QAM transmissions on an indoor aerial.

Ideally you should fit the loft aerial onto the roof and then use satellite-grade coax to connect it to both sets.
chrissyg
Friday 30 April 2010 12:44PM
i think you missed what i was saying, i do get the dvb t2 on the loft aerial, my roof aerial is the problem that gets all of the sd channels
Briantist
Friday 30 April 2010 12:48PM
chrissyg: I see, I thought when you said "downstairs aerial" you meant just that.

C63 is between Mux B and BBC TWO, so you might have problems if you have any boosters.
chrissyg
Friday 30 April 2010 12:56PM
As a matter of interest - i do use a booster upstairs which does work on dvb t2, (pic quality as good as sky i have to say) the downstairs has no reason for not getting them - it gets all sd channels etc. I have read aerial type is important for t2, is this right?
Briantist
Friday 30 April 2010 6:32PM
chrissyg: No special aerial is require to receive DVB-T2.
Paul
Saturday 1 May 2010 6:53PM
Ok tried manual 63 search and no luck, my aerial is connected directly from my roof. I'm stumped as to why I can't pick up HD channels
Transmitter engineering
Monday 17 May 2010 8:39AM
PONTOP PIKE transmitter - Over the next week Pontop Pike main transmitter: TV (analogue) working normally, TV (digital) working normally, Radio (analogue) Possible weak signal, Radio (digital) Possible weak signal. [DUK]
Pam
Monday 17 May 2010 6:41PM
I have an outside ariel just installed. Am getting freeview no problem but am finding a lot of channels have not great signal 58% is this normal or should I be getting the bloke who installed the ariel back out
Briantist
Thursday 20 May 2010 6:14PM
Pam: As long as the signal quality is at maximum, I would not worry about the signal level. You didn't say where you are located, so it is hard to be exact.
KMJ,Derby
Thursday 20 May 2010 7:37PM
Pam: Note that the transmitter power increases to 100kW on the PSB muxes at switchover.Increasing signal levels at the present time is pointless as any amplification or supergain aerials would need to be removed to avoid signal overload!
Kevin
Friday 21 May 2010 10:26PM
Re loss of reception on Mux B

Thanks for the suggestions Briantist

Discovered that the Arial on the roof had turned. Mux B must be the weakest signal as we could still pick up all the others. Turned it back to the right angle and everything working again
Briantist
Saturday 22 May 2010 6:52AM
Kevin: I'm very happy to hear that you have all your multiplexes back.
Mike Dimmick
Saturday 22 May 2010 12:50PM Reading
Pam: Adding to what KMJ's saying you'll probably get over 70% after switchover and that could actually be too much.

My box's manual (Humax PVR-9200T) actually has a range of signal level printed in the specification section: 35 to 95 dBuV. (Well, actually it says -35 to -95 but this is an obvious misprint.) I'm guessing that the on-screen meter is calibrated to this, so 58% would be 69.8 dBuV.

I've seen the suggested range for digital signals to be 45-60dBuV, so you could *already* have too much signal. For analogue, a range of 60 to 80dBuV was recommended, but digital requires much less carrier-to-noise to get error-free reception. However, the digital range could have been selected to be 15-20dB lower than analogue simply because analogue transmissions are/were that much more powerful.

Too much signal can cause cross-modulation interference when other signals are received on nearby frequencies - 95dBuV might be fine in the lab with only a single transmitter but we've got 10 transmissions just from this transmitter and analogue Five out at Burnhope. (The analogue transmissions here are 17dB louder).

If it's on the verge of being too loud now, adding 10dB at switchover is likely to push it right out. However, you can at least stick an attenuator in, even if it means that you've basically overpaid now.

If the 45-60dBuV range is right, it would be only 17% to 42% on the signal strength meter!

The tuner unit in the PVR-9200T is a Philips TD1316AS twin-tuner. They seem to be used in a lot of boxes, so I would expect this to be a fairly standard range of input.
marc blair
Monday 24 May 2010 10:28AM
picking up on the point that certain types of aerials are recomended for freeview HD, FACT OR FICTION? I spoke to an installer recently about recieving HD and he said i would need a HD aerial. I've never heard of one, do they exist? And are they nessecarry? Thanks Marc.
Mike Dimmick
Monday 24 May 2010 3:08PM Reading
Marc Blair: total nonsense, the aerial is designed for the range of frequencies it has to receive. The HD mux is on C63 between Mux B and BBC Two analogue. At Pontop Pike it has the same power as the other multiplexes (10kW). If you get good performance for Mux A you'll probably get good performance for the HD mux.

Existing analogue aerials generally work fine for digital TV if they, and the cabling, are in good condition.
Mags
Monday 24 May 2010 3:24PM Newcastle Upon Tyne
Pontop Pike states no problems, but we've had increasing pixelation on Mux 2 over the last few weeks & just in from work today and am not receiving anything on Mux 2 whatsoever :( - All other mux's are fine.
Freeview tuners are Samsung LE32B650 TV and Samsung SH897M HDD/DVD , along with Sony Bravia KDL32EX503U and Humax PVR9200T, so have tried TV's independently of linked equipment & can get nothing on all 4 tuners. Also like "Brianist" the Sony was purchased for it's built in Freeview HD capability & we cannot pick up any of the HD channels (obviously by trying to tune via the TV Freeview tuner - I know we can't get them through the Hummy). Finally as a result of trying to retune to get ITV 1 back we have lost all channels on Mux B as well! - they still appear in the TV channel guide but there is no signal. What's going on?
Briantist
Wednesday 26 May 2010 6:58PM
Mags: I would check the Freeview reception has changed? | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice page for things to try.
Transmitter engineering
Monday 7 June 2010 9:34AM
PONTOP PIKE transmitter - Over the next week Pontop Pike main transmitter: TV (analogue) working normally, TV (digital) working normally, Radio (analogue) Possible weak signal, Radio (digital) working normally. [DUK]
Paul
Wednesday 9 June 2010 8:59PM Washington
I have a TV with built in Freeview HD but when I have scanned the channels I have every channel other than the HD channels. After calling digital TV they have told me if my roof aerial is pointing south east then I will be getting transmission from Bisdale.

How easy is it to change the direction on the aerial to Pontop Pike? Any advice welcomed!
Briantist
Wednesday 9 June 2010 9:24PM
Paul: Yes, but if the aerial is not wideband then you might have to change it for one that is to get all the channels.
Paul
Wednesday 9 June 2010 9:36PM Washington
So as long as it is wideband, all I have to do is point it in the direction of the transmitter?
Briantist
Wednesday 9 June 2010 9:38PM
Paul: Yes, that is all you have to do.

If you could get Multiplex D (Film4 etc) from Bisdale then you probably have a wideband aerial.
Paul
Wednesday 9 June 2010 9:42PM Washington
Is it as easy as climbing a ladder and pointing it in the direction of the transmitter or will I need additional equipment?
Briantist
Wednesday 9 June 2010 9:46PM
Paul: It depends where the aerial is mounted. It can be very dangerous to go on a roof, and chimney stacks can be very unstable.

If the aerial is somewhere accessible, you might be able to do it yourself.

You will need some suitable tools too.
Paul
Wednesday 9 June 2010 9:48PM Washington
Thanks Brian for your advice it is very much appreciated. The aerial is accessible so I will give it a go.
Briantist
Wednesday 9 June 2010 10:25PM
Paul: You don't want to end up like Rod Hull - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia .
terry foxlow
Friday 11 June 2010 10:21PM
i live in washington tyne and wear and receive transmissions from pontop pike on freeview, however itv1 channel 4 and channel 5 suffer from pixalating why? and how can i stop this i put a sgnal booster on about a month ago but doesnt seem to have done anything. signal strengh on these channels is about 46% aND QUALITY IS ABOUT 18%.can you help please.
Mike Dimmick
Saturday 12 June 2010 12:46AM Reading
Terry Foxlow: well, the first thing you should do is remove the booster. If you have sufficient signal to reach the box's minimum it will work. Far more important to digital TV is signal-to-noise ratio and amplifiers just add extra noise, plus add the risk of making the analogue signals too loud. The box itself has built-in amplification to bring all signals up to the same level.

As shown above, the multiplex that carries ITV C4 and Five (Mux 2) requires a higher signal-to-noise ratio to work successfully than the BBC and Arqiva multiplexes (1, B, C and D).

To get more signal with less noise you may need to check that your aerial is still in good condition and pointing in the right direction, and that the cabling is also still in good condition. Water can eventually get in through most seals, if it hasn't been looked at for several years it's worth getting it checked.

I would advise not replacing the aerial itself unless it's damaged. I'm seeing a lot of aerials installed that are frankly overkill for current signal levels and are likely to have too much signal after switchover. The 'X' type aerials are designed for *weak* signal areas, and 10 miles from a major transmitter with direct line-of-sight is anything but. Even much more than a 10-element Yagi is probably overkill, or a log periodic would also likely be suitable (these are good at rejecting unwanted noise).

I'd look at the cabling first because the raw signal strength looks good.
terry foxlow
Saturday 12 June 2010 11:03AM Washington
thanks mike, i forgot to say that we receive freeview through bt vision, i have contacted them who said i needed the booster thats why i got one.however our 2nd tv which gets it signal from the aerial after a splitter was put in which runs to both tvs. and does not suffer pixalation to any degree.i feel its the vision box but they wont have any of it. our second tv has freeview built in.so are you saying i should get a yagi aerial.
Alan Nicho
Tuesday 22 June 2010 9:16PM Newcastle Upon Tyne
I posted this almost the same comment last week, but why can I not receive QVC without pixelation?

All other channels work fine.
Peter
Saturday 26 June 2010 9:22PM
Having been threw digital switch over in Devon, remember it takes 2 stages, and most people will loose chanels, UN till final switchover is complete, itv will be switched over to bb2 frequency, till 3nd stage complete, so remember all free view tvs and boxes will need retuing at least twice.
Briantist
Monday 28 June 2010 7:25AM
Peter: Yes, as listed at the top of the page...
Brian Rochester
Thursday 1 July 2010 9:42PM Washington
We have a Panasonic LCD TV with built-in freeview receiver in our kitchen connected to an aerial in the loft. We can see the Pontop Pike transmitter (approx 10 miles away). Until recently reception was fine on all channels, however now we are having problems with ITV channels in particular, where the picture & sound breaks up (pixelation)after the set has been on for 20-30 mins. According to the TV setup menu, the signal strength is 10 out of 10 when we switch on but the signal quality starts at 10 and fluctuates dramatically. BBC channels show 10 out of 10 strength & quality at all times. Any ideas?
Anne Watson
Friday 2 July 2010 8:54AM Newcastle Upon Tyne
I also have a Panasonic TV and live in the area covered by the Pontop Pike transmitter. When my TV did "it's" automatic update on 1 July 2010 I lost all of my freeveiw channels, no idea why, they have just vanished.I am left with the basic BBC & ITV channels, it is as though my TV had no freeview capability.
(TV & aerial are both very new - less than 12 months old)
Any ideas how I fix this?
Adam
Friday 6 August 2010 9:43AM Newcastle Upon Tyne
I'm having a problem picking up MUX2 channels. I have bought a brand new aerial. The SLX 27769R which is the most recommended aerial for indoors. I pick up BBC now with a stronger signal but fail to for MUX2.

The aerial is wideband, I'm just wondering is it something on the transmitter site?
Mike Dimmick
Friday 6 August 2010 6:07PM
Adam: Set-top aerials do not work well enough to get a reliable digital picture. Get a roof-top aerial.

There's an interesting comparison between set-top and roof-top aerials here:

www.megalithia.com link icon Selecting and Siting your TV aerial: Measuring Signal Quality - What's
wrong with set-top aerials

Set-top aerials *will* work for people lucky (?) enough to be less than a kilometre away from a major transmitter. However, you're 20km away from Pontop Pike. At this distance the signal just isn't going to be strong enough. Mux 2 and A are always the first to go. (RG47SH)
JC
Monday 9 August 2010 8:06AM
Can someone explain why iam losing all my freeview channels when it rains. i live in the felling area thankyou.
Transmitter engineering
Monday 9 August 2010 10:09AM
PONTOP PIKE transmitter - Over the next week Pontop Pike main transmitter: TV (analogue) working normally, TV (digital) Possible weak signal, Radio (analogue) Possible weak signal, Radio (digital) Possible weak signal. [DUK]
Mike Edmondson
Thursday 12 August 2010 2:26PM Newcastle Upon Tyne
I am using an Inverto 7000 PVR box which, until about 4 weeks ago, was picking up the EPG download without problem. For the last 5 weeks or so the EPG has not been pikcked up despite leaving the box on standby overnight. I have not been able to get any information from Inverto. Any ideas please?
Any help will be much appreciated.



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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