Freeview: Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham, England) full-Freeview transmitter
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Freeview on the Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham, England) transmitter

Google StreetviewGoogle mapBing mapGoogle Earth52.600,-1.835 or 52°36'1"N 1°50'5"WB75 5JJ

Transmitter fauls and engineering works

SUTTON COLDFIELD transmitter - Over the next week Sutton Coldfield main transmitter: TV (digital) working normally, Radio (analogue) Possible weak signal, Radio (digital) working normally. Digital tick
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The symbol shows the location of the Sutton Coldfield transmitter which serves 1,870,000 homes.

Other maps:Sutton Coldfield DABSutton Coldfield AM/FMSutton Coldfield regionBBC West MidlandsCentral (West 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.

Sutton Coldfield 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		200,000
Channel icons
1 BBC One West Midlands, 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 C43 (650.0MHz) from 433m datum.
PSB2
D3+4
 horizontal
Maximum64QAM 8K 2/3
24.1Mb/s
DVB-T MPEG2		200,000
Channel icons
3 ITV (Central (West micro region)), 4 Channel 4 Midlands ads, 5 Channel 5 Part Network ads, 6 ITV 2, 13 Channel 4+1 Midlands ads, 14 More 4, 28 E4, 33 ITV +1 (Central west),
• as a digital multiplex transmitted on frequency C46 (674.0MHz) from 433m datum.
PSB3
BBCB
 horizontal
Maximum256QAM 32KE 2/3
40.2Mb/s
DVB-T2 MPEG4		200,000
Channel icons
101 BBC One HD (England no regional news), 102 BBC Two HD (England), 103 ITV HD (ITV Central West), 104 Channel 4 HD Midlands ads, plus 1 others
• as a digital multiplex transmitted on frequency C40+ (626.2MHz) from 433m datum.
COM4
SDN
 horizontal
Maximum64QAM 8K 3/4
27.1Mb/s
DVB-T MPEG2		200,000
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 C42 (642.0MHz) from 433m datum.
COM5
ArqA
 horizontal
Maximum64QAM 8K 3/4
27.1Mb/s
DVB-T MPEG2		200,000
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 C45 (666.0MHz) from 403m datum.
COM6
ArqB
 horizontal
Maximum64QAM 8K 3/4
27.1Mb/s
DVB-T MPEG2		200,000
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 C39+ (618.2MHz) from 433m datum.


Regional news from the Sutton Coldfield transmitter


BBC Midlands Today 2.9m homes 10.9%
from Birmingham B1 1RF, 15km south-southwest
to BBC West Midlands region - 66 masts.

ITV Central News 2.6m homes 9.9%
from Birmingham B1 2JT, 15km south-southwest
to ITV Central (West) region - 46 masts.

Self-help relays

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

How the transmission frequencies change over time

years1950s~851984-971997-981998-20112011-132013-182013-18
aerial groupVHFB EB EEB E KB E KW
C4BBCtv
600C33com7
C35com8
C39+ArqB+ArqB+ArqB
C40BBC2BBC2BBC2+BBCB+BBCB+BBCB
C41+1
C42SDNSDNSDN
C43ITVITVITVBBCABBCABBCA
C44+2
C45ArqAArqAArqA
C46BBC1BBC1BBC1D3+4D3+4D3+4
C47+A
700C50C4C4C4
C51+Blocal
C52+C
C55D

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 7th September and 21st September 2011.

  • Ofcom have projected that a local television service for Birmingham including Greater Birmingham area, part of Wolverhampton, Walsall, Dudley could use an Interleaved Frequency on the Sutton Coldfield transmitter using C51
  • COM7, COM8 projected for 2013-16. COM7 and COM8 to operate as Bromsgrove,Sutton Coldfield, The Wrekin SFN.

Comparison of old analogue and current digital signal levels

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

History of Channel 3 in the Sutton Coldfield transmitter area

• 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.


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.

Colin
Sunday 11 November 2007 3:54PM Wolverhampton
Hi, I live in WV3 8AH and have in the past enjoyed listening to radio via freeview from my TV. In addition I used to be able to pick up channels such as UK History. Recently I've been unable to connect to these channels so I've retuned all the available stations. It appears that I cannot pick up anything on MUX B C51. Since I used to be able to do so I assume that something, somewhere is wrong - an anybody what to do to get the MUX B channels again
Colin
Sunday 11 November 2007 7:40PM Wolverhampton
Hi, Re last message, it was local analogue interference - OK for me, I did study electronics some years back, but try explaining what to do to my 90 yer old mother - no chance. Lets hope things get better than this
Briantist
Monday 12 November 2007 7:42PM
Colin: Thanksfully, very few people have this kind of problem.
Mick Collins
Monday 12 November 2007 9:57PM Wolverhampton
Hi. Live at WV8 1JE postcode. Last week or two, the ITV / Channel 4 type channels have had appalling freeview signal. Have two digiboxes in the house, which have been retuned. The aerial was replaced a couple of years ago, and we have had generally good all round signals until recently. I note that MUX groups 2 & A (above on this page) are currently at Low rating. Is this due to improve, as it is more than a little annoying to only be able to view half my channels, when there wasn't a problem before?
Thanks.
Briantist
Tuesday 13 November 2007 9:18AM
Mick Collins: There will be no changes to the multiplexes until switchover. Please see www.ukfree.tv link icon Single frequency interference | ukfree.tv - independent digital TV and switchover advice for more help.
Steve.
Tuesday 13 November 2007 10:08PM West Bromwich
Postcode is B70 6EB. CBeebies has gone very patchy in the last two weeks - jumping and freezing. Changed set top box last week, but problem continued. Had first box for a year with no problem. BBC4 has same problem, but don't know if this is recent as don't watch regularly.
Mick Collins
Tuesday 13 November 2007 10:39PM Wolverhampton
Thanks Briantist for your reply. The link only confirmed that all my problem channels are in MUX 2 & A. The thing i struggle to grasp is that until a couple of weeks back, all channels gave a good picture. It is as if the output for these two multiplexes has gone backwards. I don't use a skybox or games console etc either.
One coincidence (or not) is that i retuned both digiboxes recently, to pick up new / changed channels.
Can anything else locally be affecting the signal, or is freeview just not what it cracked up to be? Not impressed at the prospect of waiting till switchover clinging to the hope of decent pictures again, or at having to revert to analouge to watch ITV, 4 & 5.
Thanks
Briantist
Thursday 15 November 2007 9:48AM
Mick Collins: Any problems with your reception equipment will effect the 64QAM mode multiplexes first - 2 and A.
Graham
Thursday 22 November 2007 12:57PM Oldbury
Hi i live in B69 1UX and the only object between me and visual site of the Sutton Coldfield Transmitter is the house across the close from me, as i live in a very high position i have been told it's the highest point in the west midlands.
My question is what type of aerial would be best for me to pick up all the Freeview channels as i am shortly having BT Vision installed and want the best reception i can get but dont want to get an aerial that might too powerful if thats possible.
Briantist
Thursday 22 November 2007 6:44PM
Graham: You need a wideband aerial, probably not a large one as long as it is outside on the roof.
Graham
Friday 23 November 2007 1:34PM Oldbury
Thanks for your reply
Jill
Sunday 9 December 2007 3:10PM Stourbridge
At DY7 6EB. We are not supposed to be able to get Freeview but can - via back of the set connector on the main TV and a new digital TV upstairs. I believe that we are picking up from the SC transmitter. However we can not get Film 4 - one of our reasons for going digital before switchover!
Our aerial is roof mounted and is about 12 yrs old. Would a new aerial give us Film 4?
Briantist
Sunday 9 December 2007 3:21PM
Jill: Yes, a wideband aerial is required to watch Film4 from this transmitter.
michael
Thursday 13 December 2007 11:55AM Stourbridge
At dy7 6lb we are not supposed to get Freeviwe , but we do albeit with a weaker signal , however during the last three days the signal has gone altogether during the day and then returned late in the evening , any ideas please
michael
Thursday 13 December 2007 2:27PM Stourbridge
Thanks for the reply , but as the saying goes been there done that .
All appliances off , some off ,some on
no Christmas lights ....Sometimes signal goes at midday then returns at 6ish twice its gone at 10 am or thereabouts , the returned around 10pm .
and yet before Monday this weeks there were no problems at all .
Briantist
Thursday 13 December 2007 2:36PM
michael: Is your aerial on the roof and is it pointing at Sutton Coldfield?
michael
Thursday 13 December 2007 2:38PM Stourbridge
It certainly is , it was new a couple of years ago , just before I purchased the Freeview boxes
Briantist
Thursday 13 December 2007 2:43PM
michael: It's just that Brierley Hill is only 15 degrees out from Sutton Coldfield at your location.
Michael
Thursday 13 December 2007 2:59PM Stourbridge
Well whenever I retune .....which seems to be often these last few days , it goes for Sutton Coldfield . I thought there were only three to chhose from .Sutton , Kinver ( or is that also known as Brierley Hill ) and Wrekin.
The plot thickens , UI'm open to suggestions other than climbing onto the roof !!!
Briantist
Thursday 13 December 2007 3:04PM
Michael: Can you use this page to check the actual transmitter you are using? www.ukfree.tv link icon Find a freeview transmitter by frequency | ukfree.tv - independent digital television and switchover advice, since 2002
Michael
Thursday 13 December 2007 3:15PM Stourbridge
Hi again Well I reckon channel 41
Briantist
Thursday 13 December 2007 4:55PM
Michael: Am I right in thinking that you are suddenly unable to receive ALL Freeview channels? what happens to the analogue services?
michael
Monday 17 December 2007 7:56AM Stourbridge
Morning . The Analogue services are fine .
geg
Monday 17 December 2007 11:05PM
Any knowledgable people out there, I have recently set up my pc with dvb cards and also have a similar one in laptop, when I search all I get is the mux D channel set of programs none of the others are found, PC is scanning correct frequencies but not getting anything any Ideas? Please?
Briantist
Tuesday 18 December 2007 9:16AM
geg: You MUST use a rooftop aerial, the one supplied will not work.
john
Wednesday 26 December 2007 10:54PM
this transmiter is meant to supply the west midlands ie coventry ect you need to turn up the gain and give off a bit more radiation signal is very weak in coventry so please up the gain on your system
Steve Mills
Thursday 3 January 2008 8:24PM Ashby-de-la-zouch
Hi Brianist.
I live in Ashby De La Zouch (LE65 2FA).
I have an existing aerial with a simple signal booster which has worked fine for a couple of years. Even though I am on the edge of reception area, I am getting maximum signal with the booster.
I have noticed that MUX 2 and MUX A from Sutton Colefield keep dipping from full power to 0 for a fraction of a second at a time, causing sound dips and pixelating. Is this because it is on 64 QAM (2/3) mode. When the other channels eventually switch over to 64 QAM (2/3) mode, will they all experience this same problem?
Would an High gain Digital Aerial solve this in the meantime, or is it something I just need to put up with until 2011 when the power is boosted.
Cheers
James Knights
Wednesday 16 January 2008 8:33PM
Our Daewoo SetPal digibox stopped receiving signals yesterday (15/1/08). Daewoo tell me this is because Sutton Coldfield no longer sends signals that can be picked up by older set top boxes such as ours. I have therefore had to buy a new receiver. Why am I, and no doubt thousands of others being penalised in this way?
Nick
Thursday 17 January 2008 10:32PM Solihull
Lost all channels except BBC TV (mux1?) yesterday on an integrated TV receiver bought only 2 years ago (Sony). B91 3RN. Wta's ging on? Anyone experiencing same or got a solution?
John
Friday 18 January 2008 11:59AM
Something very strange going on at the moment.
My labgear setpal box wont store any channels when scanning Sutton Coldfield or The Wrekin(relay of Sutton)
Seems as James mentions above that they have changed something and the setpal boxes wont work any more!
This could also cause problems for other freeview TV's or Set top boxes.
Will be interested to learn what has been changed.
The Box works fine (at the moment)!!!
from Ridge Hill.
tonyP
Friday 18 January 2008 6:31PM
I 've found this page whilst trying to find out why I've lost all the BBC MUX channels on my SAGEM digibox after retuning yesterday. when i retune it can receive C41 but none of the channels appear on the listings. checking the strength of C41 is very good...the receiver just doesnt recognise or store the TV channels.
Anyone any ideas?
pete
Friday 18 January 2008 6:37PM Coventry
hi, i also have a sagem 6240 box live in the Coventry area, cannot get bbc1 bbc3 news24, even though i have gone and bought a new high gain aerial, and have rescanned many times, very frustrating, nobody seems to have an answer, even after many hours of googleing!
tonyP
Friday 18 January 2008 6:55PM Solihull
hi I live in solihull. everything was fine with all channels available and a good signal until i retuned yesterday. It's as if the new channels have made the bbc channels overflow
tonyP
Friday 18 January 2008 7:57PM
Looks like THEY have changed something at Sutton coldfiled and olderdgiboxes won't work
www.freeview.co.uk link icon http://www.freeview.co.uk…/q24

If you look at this site there are plenty of other people with the same problem..

www.digitalspy.co.uk link icon PVR Tuning Problem Freeview from Sutton Coldfield - Technical - Digital Spy Forums

So it's either wait and see if SAGEM provide a softaware fix..unlikely..or I get a new flat screen tv with freeview sooner than i planned!

not a good way to treat the consumer! (B946QW)
Geoff Gray
Saturday 19 January 2008 4:27PM
As like James above our Daewoo SetPal box stopped working this week. If it is the case that I have now to buy another set top box I'm not a happy bunny. The decoder that I had installed in my new PC only 12 months ago also seems to have the same problem. It seems to be bad news but on the positive side I'm pleased to have out what the problem is and that I'm not the only one with it.
tonyP
Saturday 19 January 2008 9:39PM Solihull
just retuned and "hey presto" all is back to normal!.....engineering work over the weekend perhaps.
All i can suggest is to retry as soon as possible before they change something else

I'll be ignoring the retune requests for a while
Dan
Monday 21 January 2008 9:40AM Daventry
Can I just confirm - if I live in Leamington and have a decent aerial on top of the (very tall) block of flats where I live pointed at the Sutton Coldfield transmitter, I will be able to pick up all the multiplexes?

I ask because I cannot get C and D at the moment. I am guessing the aerial we have at the moment is pointing at the analogue Leamington transmitter (we have perfect picture on analogue)

If I get the people who run the complex to point the aerial at Sutton, will the analogue signal decrease - I don't want to annoy the other residents...
Briantist
Monday 21 January 2008 9:54AM
Dan: You need a wideband aerial to get multiplex D from this transmitter. The signals from this transmitter are the strongest at your location on analogue. But people will have to retune!
Dan
Monday 21 January 2008 8:33PM Leamington Spa
Cheers Briantist - I'll get in touch with the management company.

It's mainly old people in the flats I live in, so I'm guessing it will take a lot of persuading. Perhaps I can offer to retune everyone's TV for free if they agree to installing a new aerial and pointing it NNW!

It's odd, because I could get C (Sky Sports News etc.) on Friday night, but now the picture is all broken no matter how many time I retune.
Briantist
Tuesday 22 January 2008 6:22AM
Dan: You WILL need to sort this out eventually anyway. See also Single frequency interference | ukfree.tv - independent digital television and switchover advice, since 2002
pete
Wednesday 23 January 2008 7:16AM Coventry
Just as i was about to buy a new box, last night I got mux 1 / a back, dont how whe or why but obsviously some engineering work has gone on over the past week nobody bothered to tell us about!! (Sagem 6240 box) Coventry area
Briantist
Wednesday 23 January 2008 9:31AM
pete: Your reception is more likely to effected by local interference or from atmospheric conditions. You must ensure that your aerial installation is suitable for operation in the poorest conditions, not just the most ideal.
Eric Seddon
Tuesday 29 January 2008 3:03PM
I recently carried out an auto retune on my HDD / Freeview recorder (Sony SVR-S500)in order to retune the radio channels which were recently changed. In this I was succesful, however, immediately afterwards the reception on all the C41 TV programmes became so bad that they are now totally unwatchable. Reception prior to this was perfect.

I have tried to erase all the previously saved programmes, as per another query on these pages, however, the VCR does not allow me to save "nothing". When I do the retune with the ariel disconnected the VCR does not automatically save what has been scanned, i.e. 0 frequencies and 0 programmes. When I reconnect the ariel I am still left with the same saved and unwatchable programmes. Are you able to offer any advice?
Neil G
Sunday 3 February 2008 1:05PM
Dan, I suspect your aerial might be pointing at the Campion Hill/Newbold Comyn transmitter in Leamington? IIRC this is due to be directly switched over to digital (without a phased roll-out).

It will be interesting to see if this sorts of reception issues in Warwick where even on analogue the picture can be quite fuzzy!


Neil
Graham F
Sunday 10 February 2008 9:50AM
Hi
Over the last week i lost all channels bar the bbc group (mux1 ?). all other freeview channels were down at 20% quality or below. retuned several times - including a wipe (null entry) of channels. Just retuned again this am and all now back ok. im just o.s telford pointed due east at sutton coldfield (44km).

Question is - why ? why am i losing the quality on groups of channels ? I have a new HG aerial, using BT vision box. Was advised that wrekin transmitter power was low and blocked in my area - even though i can eyeball it from my lounge window.

Any ideas why i lose signal quality ?

Briantist
Sunday 10 February 2008 10:02AM
Graham F: I can't really comment specifically without your full postcode, but please see www.ukfree.tv link icon Single frequency interference | ukfree.tv - independent digital television and switchover advice, since 2002 for help when you have a problem with a single multiplex.
Mark
Tuesday 12 February 2008 8:33PM Shipston-on-stour
I live 6 miles south of Stratford Upon Avon at CV37 8TF (Lower Quinton). We usually get good Freeview reception from out loft aerial. Just occasionally we have periods where the reception takes a nose dive. At the moment we can't receive any ITV type channels - totally unwatchable. I notice these are shown as MUX 2 and A above. Is this more likely to be interference as it is intermittent or perhaps atmospheric. We don't think anything in our house is interfering - could this be external e.g. neighbours SKy box?? HELP!!



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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