Freeview: Winter Hill (Bolton, England) full-Freeview transmitter
Site settings
For an enhanced Freeview reception
prediction please enter your
full postcode, a national grid reference or
a UK latitude and longitude pair. 
Most popular
On other sites

Freeview on the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmitter

Google StreetviewGoogle mapBing mapGoogle Earth53.625,-2.516 or 53°37'30"N 2°30'56"WBL6 6SL

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: D3+4
See How do I know if the 4G broadband will overload my Freeview? and Full UK map of 4G issue areas for details.

Transmitter fauls and engineering works



map is loading, please wait...

The symbol shows the location of the Winter Hill transmitter which serves 2,690,000 homes.

Other maps:Winter Hill DABWinter Hill AM/FMWinter Hill regionBBC North WestGranada

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.

Winter 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. The rating shown takes in account the output power level and the various Freeview transmission modes and do not indicate an ongoing fault.

MuxEffective power level, aerial positionRatingModeWatts
PSB1
BBCA
 horizontal
Maximum64QAM 8K 2/3
24.1Mb/s
DVB-T MPEG2		100,000
Channel icons
1 BBC One North West, 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
• as a digital multiplex transmitted on frequency C50 (706.0MHz) from 726m datum.
PSB2
D3+4
 horizontal
Maximum64QAM 8K 2/3
24.1Mb/s
DVB-T MPEG2		100,000
Channel icons
3 ITV (Granada), 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 (Granada),
• as a digital multiplex transmitted on frequency C59 (778.0MHz) from 726m datum.
PSB3
BBCB
 horizontal
Maximum256QAM 32KE 2/3
40.2Mb/s
DVB-T2 MPEG4		100,000
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
• as a digital multiplex transmitted on frequency C54- (737.8MHz) from 726m datum.
COM4
SDN
 horizontal
Maximum64QAM 8K 3/4
27.1Mb/s
DVB-T MPEG2		100,000
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
• as a digital multiplex transmitted on frequency C58 (770.0MHz) from 726m datum.
COM5
ArqA
 horizontal
Maximum64QAM 8K 3/4
27.1Mb/s
DVB-T MPEG2		100,000
Channel icons
 TV News,  TV Stars, 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
• as a digital multiplex transmitted on frequency C49 (698.0MHz) from 726m datum.
COM6
ArqB
 horizontal
Maximum64QAM 8K 3/4
27.1Mb/s
DVB-T MPEG2		100,000
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
• as a digital multiplex transmitted on frequency C55 (746.0MHz) from 726m datum.
MEN
 horizontal
Very lowQSPK 8K 1/2
6.0Mb/s
DVB-T MPEG2		1,000
Channel icons
51 Movies4Men, 52 Movies4Men +1, 53 Sony SAB TV Asia, 56 Capital TV, plus 2 others
• as a digital multiplex transmitted on frequency C57 (762.0MHz).


Regional news from the Winter Hill transmitter


BBC North West Tonight 3.1m homes 11.7%
from Salford M50 2QH, 22km southeast
to BBC North West region - 90 masts.

ITV Granada Reports 3.1m homes 11.6%
from Salford M50 2EQ, 22km southeast
to ITV Granada region - 80 masts.

How the transmission frequencies change over time

years1956~851984-971997-981998-20092009-1310/4/13-2013-182019-
aerial groupVHFC/D EC/D EC/D EC/D EC/D EWK
C9ITV
C12BBCtv
C22SDN
C25ArqA
C28ArqB
600C31com7
C37com8
C39BBCB
C42D3+4
C45BBCA
C48C5C5
700C49 ArqAArqA
C50 BBCABBCA
C54-BBCB-BBCB-BBCB
C55BBC1BBC1BBC1ArqBArqBArqB
C56+1local
C57MENMENMEN
C58SDNSDNSDN
C59ITVITVITVD3+4D3+4D3+4
C60+C
800C61ArqA
C62BBC2BBC2BBC2BBCA
C63+D
C65C4C4C4
C66+2
C67+B
C68+A

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 4th November and 2nd December 2009.

  • Ofcom have projected that a local television service for Manchester including Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport could use an Interleaved Frequency on the Winter Hill transmitter using C56
  • Ofcom have projected that a local television service for Liverpool including St Helens, Widnes, Wigan, Wirral could use an Interleaved Frequency on the Winter Hill transmitter using C56
  • Ofcom have projected that a local television service for Preston including Blackpool could use an Interleaved Frequency on the Winter Hill transmitter using C56
  • COM7, COM8 projected for 2013-16. COM7 and COM8 to operate as Saddleworth,Storeton, Winter Hill SFN.

Comparison of old analogue and current digital signal levels

Analogue 1-4 500kW
SDN, ARQA, ARQB, com7, com8, BBCA, D3+4, BBCB(-7dB) 100kW
Analogue 5(-16dB) 12.5kW
Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D*(-17dB) 10kW
MEN(-27dB) 1000W

History of Channel 3 in the Winter Hill transmitter area

• 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.

Carol Melling
Tuesday 3 August 2010 10:47AM
Hello There

I cannot get any stations on my car radio they are all breaking up and crackly - why is this. it has happened before then it suddenly goes OK.

Is there something happening with the transmitter?

Regards

Carol Melling
Briantist
Tuesday 3 August 2010 8:08PM
Carol Melling: Is the problem on FM or DAB?
Grahame
Tuesday 3 August 2010 9:06PM Stockport
Done all you suggested still remains the same,I have picture and sound on all channels,just breaks up intermittently
Grahame
Wednesday 4 August 2010 8:57AM Stockport
Intermittently = Picture pix-elates,Sound breaks up......and no its nothing to do with household appliances.....its a mystery
Briantist
Wednesday 4 August 2010 8:58AM
Grahame: Do you know which transmitter you are getting your signal from?
Grahame
Wednesday 4 August 2010 10:30AM Stockport
As far as I know its Winter Hill,this is my Post Code if that helps SK1 3PD
Briantist
Wednesday 4 August 2010 12:27PM
Grahame: OK, and can you describe the nature of the "intermittent" problem. Does it happen all the time on all multiplexes, for example?
Grahame
Wednesday 4 August 2010 6:00PM Stockport
Happens a few times an hour and seems to be on all multiplexers,picture break up and freezing,sound break up.
Briantist
Wednesday 4 August 2010 6:36PM
Grahame: How long does each episode last? It is worse at a particular time of day?
Danielle
Wednesday 4 August 2010 7:50PM
Hi everyone, I have been having problems with my freeview for months now, somedays I have no signal on any channels then other days I have them all (apart from music channels). There is not set pattern to when it goes off or how long it stays off bu it drives me mad. I have a lg tv with build in freeview and I am already using a booster, I am in a poor signal area as I have heard other neighbours complaining about it. So my question is can I buy an aerial to enhance my signal or is it just tough luck? Thanx
Danielle
Wednesday 4 August 2010 7:55PM
Also my signal strengh and quailty is 0% apart from one that yransmitts BBC that strength is 74.% bu quailty only 1%
TimH
Wednesday 4 August 2010 8:37PM Burry Port
Grahame - is your aerial pointing in the direction of a nearby street light? could be that - it was for me!
KMJ,Derby
Wednesday 4 August 2010 9:22PM
Danielle: It is signal quality that is most important for good reception of Freeview.With quality only 1% it indicates that there is interference present from either another transmitter (this could be analogue, including the RF output of a VCR or Skybox, or digital); or the signal is messy due to multiple reflections or too much amplification. There could also be a problem from trees in leaf or a construction crane interupting the signal path. If you used to have good analogue reception before switchover you should be getting reliable digital signals now. Are there any alternative transmitters receivable at your location? This can be checked if you pop your postcode into the box at the top of the page. Your aerial needs to be mounted outside, clear of any obstructions and other aerials. Use a good quality coax cable for the downlead.
Grahame
Wednesday 4 August 2010 9:56PM Stockport
TimH I hope not its a communal aerial on top of a block of flats......thanks anyway
Grahame
Wednesday 4 August 2010 10:01PM Stockport
They only last a few seconds can be any time of day.Unlike Danielle my signal quality is 99% just 0% signal strength.
TimH
Wednesday 4 August 2010 10:11PM Burry Port
Grahame - shame your region has been fully switched to digital. If you had intermittent electrical interference you would see sparkly dots moving slowly down the screen in a line.

If the problem is worse at sunset then it may be a street light. Check to see if you have one within 20 or so yards from your home. I was lucky enough to be given Ofcom's details from Briantist and they came to investigate - found an old street light was spewing out a load of crap and within 2 weeks a new one was fitted. Probelm solved.

You should know though that if Ofcom find the fault is within your home then they may chage you 50 quid, but at least you have your answer.

By the way, I think you said it is a comunal aerial - do your neighbours who use this have the same issues?
TimH
Wednesday 4 August 2010 10:15PM Burry Port
Danielle - is your aerial indoor or outside? If you have a poor set up then a booster wont do much more than amplify the interference you already have? Try it without the booster just to see if there is any difference? Freeview really does need an outdoor aerial unless you are mighty close to the transmitter.
Danielle
Thursday 5 August 2010 10:31AM
Hi thanx for all the advice, I did have scarts for wii n DVD player hooked in n a rgb lead so I was hoping that was the problem bu it made no difference unhooking them, I tryd without the booster also bu that made no difference. I live in flats and I am pretty sure mine is on the roof as I can see everyone elses, bu I am surrounded by trees and have also had new metal guttering put in in the last year cud this add to the problem? Before the switch over I had the occasional problem especially with music channels bu nothin like this. I have noticed that a few neighbours have round satalight dishes on the side of there flats would this help me or wud I have to get like a sky provider? I really am cluless about this type of stuff so sorry for babbling. I live in Liverpool so think I can only use winter hill.
Thanx again for all the advice hope u can help me, although I do have BBC 1 & 2 today
Danielle
Thursday 5 August 2010 10:34AM
The street light right outside has been flickering on n off for months also cud thid cause interference then?
Briantist
Thursday 5 August 2010 10:50AM
Danielle: Hi. Over the years I have known many people have problems with broken streetlights, and this is after Ofcom has been called in to find the culprit.

It seems when they go faulty in a specific way, they emit signals that destroy TV reception.
TimH
Thursday 5 August 2010 1:16PM Burry Port
Danielle - Does your interference happen mostly at night? If so then it could wel be the street light. Might be worth getting Ofcom in if all other avenues are tried.
TimH
Thursday 5 August 2010 1:19PM Burry Port
Danielle - re satellite - this is far less susceptible to such electrical interference. You could have Freesat installed for under 100 quid. Only very hevy rain tends to interfere with satellite tv.
Briantist
Thursday 5 August 2010 2:54PM
Danielle: Ofcom details are on the www.ukfree.tv link icon Broadcaster complaints details | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice page.
Danielle
Thursday 5 August 2010 5:08PM
Hi once again thanx for the advice, no the problem happens all the time and thinking about it my neighbour who lives across the close has the same problem intact everyone seems to, so it's probably nt the light. I will look into getting the sat then cz I have had to resort to watching live tv via Internet. One neighbour seems to think it's the guttering causing the problem. I don't suppose u know if it falls to my landlord to ensure the tv is working, it's not a private landlord n it seems the whole close is suffering. I will ring the council about streetlight tho cz it is actually effecting my sleep. Thanks
Briantist
Thursday 5 August 2010 5:14PM
Danielle: Good luck with the council.
Pete
Friday 6 August 2010 5:32PM
There are also a number of regions such as the GRANADA/BBC NORTH WEST from the WINTER HILL TRANSMITTER, where at least one multiplex is on reduced power (COM6 also known as Arqiva B) until an adjoining region (in this case the CENTRAL / BBC WEST MIDLANDS region from SUTTON COLFIELD) has fully switched to digital (not until Sep 2011 in this instance), as there are Multiplex frequency clashes until this future date, preventing the power being turned up. Good for aerial shops, but not so not good for the wallets and purses of people who live on the boundary of the coverage area. Also it is not always easy to know whether or not your box has tuned itself into the correct regional variation of the non-regional channels on non-regional multiplexes. You may well be watching a lower power version of a channel from a more distant transmitter on the correct numbered button that keeps breaking up instead of a stronger clone of this channel from a nearer transmitter which may be dumped in the 800s on your channel guide / list. Explain that to a pensioner or a non-technically minded viewer and I'm sure you will see a few scratched heads !!
Pete
Friday 6 August 2010 5:35PM
COM6/Arqiva B is the multiplex that broadcasts Film 4, ITV4, 4 Music & Yesterday amongst others in case you were wondering (full list at top of this page).
Jill Ratcliffe
Sunday 8 August 2010 6:12PM Stockport
Hello,

My parents live in Romiley (SK6 4NW) and are having a lot of problems with their digital signal.

They've been told that this is due to maintenance work but can you please tell me when this will be completed?

Many thanks,

Jill Ratcliffe
Nedbod
Sunday 8 August 2010 11:04PM
Just watched the Chaity Shield highlights on standard Freeview in ITV1 tonight (Sun 08 August 2010) and the picture and sound was dreadful and the pixellation was the worst I have ever seen since digital switchover (with a signal strength Max of 10/10 and Quality Max of 10/10 on my box info). This was far worse than last season and considerably worse than BBC digital standard Freeview. Pixellation was so bad I had to stop watching it as you could see large squares quite often. What are ITV playing at ? My analogue UHF picture on Channel 59 from Winter Hill pre 2 December 2009 on ITV football was 10 times better than this and so was my VHF picture on Channel 9 from Winter Hill from 1958 - 1973 (albeit in Black & White). If this is the best ITV1 can offer than I suggest they switch back to analogue UHF !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I imagine this is just another attempt by the broacasters to force us to switch to pay TV SKY (especially so soon after ITV's announcement that their digital HD channels are moving to SKY only). Well they can sod off. I'd rather switch my TV off and listen to the radio than do that. No wonder ITV are losing advertising revenue hand over fist, if this is the best they can offer, not to mention there worst line up of programming since they began broadcasting in 1955. Even then more people listened to The Archers on the Home service than watched ITV's opening night. If they carry on like this the same will be true in 2010. I hope Cathy Perks and Kenton sort out their differecies soon and Jamie tears himself away from his computer.
Briantist
Monday 9 August 2010 8:57AM
Jill Ratcliffe: Please see Freeview reception has changed? | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice - there is nothing happening that should be causing problems.
Grahame
Monday 9 August 2010 4:15PM Stockport
How long is this work on Winter Hill going on for?
Briantist
Monday 9 August 2010 5:35PM
Grahame: Digital UK list the engineering week for one week at a time. This work should be only during office hours, and only short breaks.
Transmitter engineering
Friday 13 August 2010 5:09PM
WINTER HILL transmitter - Over the next week Winter Hill main transmitter: TV (digital) Liable to interruption, Radio (analogue) Liable to interruption, Radio (digital) Possible weak signal. [DUK]
james
Saturday 14 August 2010 2:42PM
just lost all tv channels on channel 59(iv, C4, c5 etc), i'm presuming this is part of the engineering work, can anyone confirm?
Briantist
Saturday 14 August 2010 2:45PM
james: It could be, but I would check Freeview reception has changed? | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice .
Kevin
Saturday 14 August 2010 2:48PM Manchester
Same here..
Pete
Saturday 14 August 2010 6:43PM
Some interesting new additions to the Winter Hill Transmitting Station page on Wiki in the past few months. I see the COM6 issue is there + the Freeview Lite scenario.
Transmitter engineering
Tuesday 17 August 2010 2:39PM
WINTER HILL transmitter - Over the next week Winter Hill main transmitter: TV (analogue) working normally, TV (digital) Liable to interruption, Radio (analogue) Liable to interruption, Radio (digital) Possible weak signal. [DUK]
Evan
Friday 20 August 2010 9:07PM
For a almost a week now I have been without teletext on many of my freeview channels ..
The problem seems specific to My Panasonic TX-P50G10 plasma..
Non of the other TVs in my house are affected..
I've checked signal strength and have swapped sets around ...ony the Panasonic is affected.
I don't believe the set is at fault...as I get teletext no problems on ITV1 BBC1 BBC2 and many other channels ..
CHannel 4 and CH4+1 to name just 2 channels (there are others).. have no teletext but _do_ have subtitles running ...
I would hazard a guess that the Teletext transmission has changed in some way that the Panasonic cannot handle.
I am a TV engineer by trade ...so I have a good Idea of what looks like a fault and what looks like a broadcast error.
This looks like the latter
All pictures on all channels are otherwise perfect ..the problem being just text related.
Can anyone in the Winter Hill broadcast area with the same or similar TV confirm or deny my findings ?
Thankyou for reading this


andy
Friday 20 August 2010 10:36PM Chester
Hi Evan, Try a retune on CH4 Multiplexs if this fails try Factory Reset. Had same Problem on my Sony Bravia. Andy Ex. GTVR Tech
LutonFan
Saturday 21 August 2010 1:09AM
Evan- Teletext is only available on select channels, dependant on the MUX they are in.

Going back to basics, have you tried a power off reset?
Briantist
Saturday 21 August 2010 8:57AM
Evan: On Freeview, the subtitles are carried as bitmaps as part of the programme, whereas the text services are MHEG5.

If you can't access the text services on a channel (either by RED or TEXT) then usually the box/set just needs resetting, as it seems to be the "text access" facility that seems to go wrong.
Evan
Saturday 21 August 2010 9:50AM
Thanks for your comments and suggestions..
I've already tried rescanning the freeview channels..with no improvement.

Since the problem appears to be channel specific I guess I have no option than to perform a full reset ..
Which I'm not totally happy about as the set also has built in freesat ...and many channels other than 'freesat' where manually scanned.
A full reset will likely remove all channel data including the sat channels.
rgds
Evan
Saturday 21 August 2010 10:55AM
Thanks for the Suggestion Brian..
I'll give it a go.
I certainly can't hurt to try it.
rgds
Evan
Saturday 21 August 2010 11:29AM
Sadly no improvement..
Removed the aerial and scanned ..which cleared the freevioew database .
Disconnected and then reconnected mains power.
Reconnected aerial and scanned for freeview channels.
All found again ...text on bbc2/2 & itv1 no text on Ch4..
So nothing has changed.
I'm still convinced something about the way text is being broadcast has changed and that there is an incompatibility with my Panasonic.
Why some channels and not others ..thats the mystery..
rgds
andy
Saturday 21 August 2010 7:56PM Chester
Try Emailing Panasonic Support Centre.
Pat
Sunday 22 August 2010 2:50AM
When will I be-able to receive sky 1-2 from winter hill on top up tv ?
Briantist
Monday 23 August 2010 7:13AM
Evan: There is no way that the "way" that the MHEG-5 service are transmitted.

Can you access the text services on the Radio channels OK?
Briantist
Monday 23 August 2010 7:16AM
Pat: Sky Sports 1 and 2 are on the COM6/ARQB multiplex on this transmitter.
Transmitter engineering
Monday 23 August 2010 10:09AM
WINTER HILL transmitter - Over the next week Winter Hill main transmitter: TV (analogue) working normally, TV (digital) Liable to interruption, Radio (analogue) Possible weak signal, Radio (digital) Possible weak signal. [DUK]



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.

UK Free TV is here to help people. If you are rude or disrespectful all of your posts will be deleted and you will be banned.







Privacy policy: UK Free Privacy policy.