Freeview: Oxford (Oxfordshire, England) full-Freeview transmitter
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Freeview on the Oxford (Oxfordshire, England) transmitter

Google StreetviewGoogle mapBing mapGoogle Earth51.790,-1.179 or 51°47'25"N 1°10'46"WOX3 9SS

4G at 800MHz (at800) Freeview reception issues

A retune will happen 29 May 2013 to clear C62: COM4 C62 to C50. When 800MHz 4G mobile broadband services start there will be 2 multiplexes in the higher risk range (C21-23, C30, C59-60): C59: ArqA, C60: 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



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The symbol shows the location of the Oxford transmitter which serves 410,000 homes.

Other maps:Oxford DABOxford AM/FMOxford regionBBC OxfordCentral (South 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.

Oxford 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 Oxford, 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 C53+ (730.2MHz) from 295m datum.
PSB2
D3+4
 horizontal
Maximum64QAM 8K 2/3
24.1Mb/s
DVB-T MPEG2		100,000
Channel icons
3 ITV (Central (South micro region)), 4 Channel 4 South ads, 5 Channel 5 Part Network ads, 6 ITV 2, 13 Channel 4+1 South ads, 14 More 4, 28 E4, 33 ITV +1 (Central west),
• as a digital multiplex transmitted on frequency C60- (785.8MHz) from 295m 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 Central West), 104 Channel 4 HD South ads, plus 1 others
• as a digital multiplex transmitted on frequency C57 (762.0MHz) from 295m datum.
COM4
SDN
 horizontal
Above average64QAM 8K 3/4
27.1Mb/s
DVB-T MPEG2		50,000
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 C62 (802.0MHz) from 295m datum.
COM5
ArqA
 horizontal
Above average64QAM 8K 3/4
27.1Mb/s
DVB-T MPEG2		50,000
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 C59- (777.8MHz) from 319m datum.
COM6
ArqB
 horizontal
Above average64QAM 8K 3/4
27.1Mb/s
DVB-T MPEG2		50,000
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 319m datum.


Regional news from the Oxford transmitter


BBC South (Oxford) Today 0.4m homes 1.6%
from Oxford OX2 7DW, 6km west-southwest
to BBC Oxford region - 6 masts.

ITV Central News 0.7m homes 2.7%
from Birmingham B1 2JT, 91km north-northwest
to ITV Central (South) region - 25 masts.

How the transmission frequencies change over time

years1950s~851984-971997-981998-20112011-1329/5/13-2013-18
aerial groupVHFC/D EC/D EWC/D EC/D EW
C2BBCtv
C29D
600C31com7
C341
C37com8
C48C
700C49C5C5
C50SDNSDN
C51-Alocal
C52-B
C53C4C4C4+BBCA+BBCA+BBCA
C55ArqBArqBArqB
C57BBC1BBC1BBC1BBCBBBCBBBCB
C59-ArqA-ArqA-ArqA
C60ITVITVITV-D3+4-D3+4-D3+4
800C62SDN
C63BBC2BBC2BBC2
C682

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 14th September and 28th September 2011.

  • Ofcom have projected that a local television service for Oxford including Abingdon, Didcot could use an Interleaved Frequency on the Oxford transmitter using C51
  • 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
Analogue 5(-11dB) 40kW
Mux 1*, Mux 2*(-17dB) 10kW
Mux C*, Mux D*(-18dB) 8kW
Mux A*, Mux B*(-19.2dB) 6kW

History of Channel 3 in the Oxford transmitter area

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

David
Wednesday 28 September 2011 10:02AM Towcester
I have a roof mounted Aerial , with a masthead amp ,new cable one feed to a HD tv , at NN12 8HQ. No HD channels on CH 57.

Kind Regards

David
mst
Wednesday 28 September 2011 10:04AM
@Tricia

see

www.ukfree.tv link icon TVs and boxes that do not support the 8k-mode | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice

Then head down to Argos or out to Tesco and choose a new box from 17.99 before they sell out! (OX13PJ)
Katie Bridge
Wednesday 28 September 2011 10:06AM
In Surrey we have retuned 2 TVs and lost ITV and Channel 4 to name just two that I have noticed. Will this be rectified and when will we know to retune again?
David Griffiths
Wednesday 28 September 2011 10:24AM
After retuning my Bravia this morning I have lost all the ITV channels - help!
Bill
Wednesday 28 September 2011 10:27AM Leighton Buzzard
I retuned 4 Freeview TVs and boxes this morning at 7am, and guess what, they all picked up about 106 digital channels, and they all appear to work. I can uncross my fingers now. What a wait we've had to get to this stage. Keep up the great web site Briantist. A mine of information.
Briantist
Wednesday 28 September 2011 11:50AM
Tricia: You should check the list on the Freeview signals: too much of a good thing is bad for you | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice page.
Briantist
Wednesday 28 September 2011 11:51AM
David: An HDTV is not enough, you must have a DVB-T2 receiver. See www.ukfree.tv link icon What does "Full HD Ready" actually mean? | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice please.
Briantist
Wednesday 28 September 2011 11:55AM
Katie Bridge: It will be rectified when you sort it out... Please see the above comments to David Griffiths.
Briantist
Wednesday 28 September 2011 12:00PM
mst: The current allocations for digital services are C53+, C55, C57, C59-, C60- and C62 .

C68 is now pooled for 4G mobile broadband use.

I would check your aerial, you should have 100% signal quality on all multiplexes.
Briantist
Wednesday 28 September 2011 12:01PM
Bill: Thank you very much for your kind comments - they make it all worthwhile.
David
Wednesday 28 September 2011 12:36PM
Are you saying the 5 week old tv will not pick up HD channels TV model/ www.kogan.co.uk link icon 26" LED TV with DVD player, PVR & SRS Audio (Full HD) - Buy your Full HD 26 inch LED TV DVD combo from Kogan

Reading this info on this site i thought this tv would be ok, for HD link below
To receive Freeview HD consumers will need to purchase new integrated Freeview HD TVs or Freeview HD set-top boxes and recorders to work with their existing HD Ready TV's. When you're buying a Freeview product, look out for the Freeview HD logo. This ensures you're buying a Freeview approved product which means you'll be able to access all the Freeview HD channels as well as the standard 50 Freeview channels.

www.dtg.org.uk link icon DTG :: Consumer :: What is DVB-T2?

Thanks David (NN128HQ)
mst
Wednesday 28 September 2011 12:53PM
@Briantist

I am well aware of the correct Channel Nos - and C62 is also in the Digital Dividend sell-off and will have to move down to C48 or similar at some point.

Interference on C68 was probably Hemel Hempstead which is using this channel till Crystal Palace DSO (despite what you have on this site!), because if you are west of Oxford it will be behind Beckley, but should be vertical not horizontal...
liz
Wednesday 28 September 2011 1:48PM Aylesbury
I have retuned and have lost E4+1 ITV2+1 Dave 5* 5USA to name but a few and yet gained ITV Channel4 and 5 E4 and some others. Dont know if anyone else has same probs with oxford transmitter. Any idea how I can fix this?
MHaffy
Wednesday 28 September 2011 2:27PM Abingdon
All my TV's run off same roof top aerial feed that but very different performance. My two TV's that have built in freeview tuners pick up all channels with good signal strength/quality (95-100% strength & quality) on all channels. My freeview boxes that feed old analogue TV's are same strength/quality as TV's with built in tuners with exception of Ch55 & Ch59. Yesterday for instance, 12 on Ch55, for instance has no signal? Sky News, 82 on Ch59, freezes periodically. Sonewhat confused by this discrepancy. Could there be a problem with my freeview boxes/will this improve when power is increased from 12.5kw on ArqA/B? My postcode is Ox14 4ax.
All channels, including Yesterday/Sky News etc were fine on all TV's/boxes before todats switchover....
Ron
Wednesday 28 September 2011 2:38PM Witney
Reply to Tricia,Do a first time install reset. Turn power off, disconnect the antenna from the TV,for a short while, reconnect, and let TV do a reset. This should find all channels.
Ron
Nicholas
Wednesday 28 September 2011 4:33PM Luton
Yesterday I was getting 12 muxes (22, 24, 25, 27, 28, 32, 48, 51, 52, 53, 67, 68), but on rescanning at 6.30 this morning got only 6 muxes: 48, 53, 55, 59, 60, 62. Tried again at 8.00, and now get 15 muxes (22, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 32, 34, 48, 53, 55, 59, 60, 62, 67) and 244 channels! Strangely though, my box has put ITV (Oxford) in the 900 series, and put ITV (Sandy) in the normal position instead; BBC Oxford is in the correct allocation.

Given that the signal from Oxford is the strongest, and that I'm getting Oxford, Sandy, and London on just the one aerial, is any way I can get it to put Oxford ITV in the correct allocation, and Sandy back with London in the 800 and 900 series? With 244 channels, I've filled the 800 series and am up to 965!
mhaffy
Wednesday 28 September 2011 4:45PM
Have looked at recommended page : "Too much of a good thing is bad". Can my problem re ArqA & ArqB mux really be due to too much signal - thought that these were transmitting on lower power than other mux channels which are all fine?
Briantist
Wednesday 28 September 2011 4:50PM
Nicholas: Please see Digital Region Overlap | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice .
chris
Wednesday 28 September 2011 4:54PM Didcot
are there problems with certian makes of tvs as our son has a panasonic tv no problems, we have 2 technika tvs have problems with both our neighbour has same make same problems fine before switch over now will only work with booster
Mike Dimmick
Wednesday 28 September 2011 5:17PM
David: There is no mention of DVB-T2 and only the Freeview logo is shown, not Freeview HD. I'm sorry, it looks like it isn't compatible. You would need an additional Freeview HD box, but it's unlikely you'd be able to record from it.

I'd get in touch with them, see if you can return it.
Howie B
Wednesday 28 September 2011 5:44PM
Thanks for clarifying what's on channels 50,51 etc locally, Brian. I guess if I want to see the lovely Gerry Peers (BBC Oxford) and Jo Kent, Lexi and Reham (South Today) I'll have to settle for seeing them in SD at 576i only.
Freeview HD is so amazing I'm reluctant to switch over. I hope everyone is happy with the new power levels in these parts. It's been a long wait for many of you. Howie "B"
mst
Wednesday 28 September 2011 5:59PM
@Chris - some Tesco Technika boxes have Vestel internals which don't handle the "negative offsets" well, is it the muxes with C59- and C60- that are a problem? There were firmware upgrades for this issue for some boxes a while ago.
mst
Wednesday 28 September 2011 6:06PM
I'm sure there's a write up on this site but this doc refers to the Vestel n egative offset issue

www.digitaluk.co.uk link icon http://www.digitaluk.co.u….pdf

but doesn't say what you can do if upgrade missed!
Spartan
Wednesday 28 September 2011 8:03PM
Switching on the TV this evening at 19:00 and retuning the Freeview box produced a big fat ZERO, no stations, nada. Reset to manufacturer's defaults, but still nothing from Beckley, which is my local transmitter. Gave up and switched aerials to Hannington and watched analogue for half an hour. Despite generally getting a weaker signal from Hannington I managed to successfully reset the Freeview box to receive digital signals. Said it found 182 stations! Some while later I switched aerials back and tried Beckley again. Found it this time but with only 102 stations. What is going on, and why does Hannington offer more stations?
Dawn
Wednesday 28 September 2011 8:18PM Buckingham
Have done retune on Toshiba RD-XV48DTKB today. I received my satellite programmes through this machine...until retune was done. I am now unable to receive any satellite programmes. I have done retune 3 times & still nothing. I appear to have everything else except still receiving Look East as local news channel therefore signal is still coming from Sandy not Oxford. I should say I have an old TV & receive my digital channels through the Toshiba. Also Sky box is about 15 years old. I also have a Humax but don't get me started on that heap of junk. Please can anyone help.
Steve Hopkins
Wednesday 28 September 2011 8:46PM Buckingham
Sony Bravia from Buckingham with aerial pointing at Oxford can't pick up Channel 60 everything else Ok. So what now?
Briantist
Wednesday 28 September 2011 9:19PM
Steve Hopkins: Please see Single frequency interference | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice .
Briantist
Wednesday 28 September 2011 9:21PM
Dawn: The switchover has had no effect whatsoever on satellite or cable television.
Briantist
Wednesday 28 September 2011 9:22PM
Spartan: Bit hard to say without a full postcode and details of where your aerial is located.
Briantist
Wednesday 28 September 2011 9:25PM
mhaffy: Yes, that is correct.
Nick Wilcock
Wednesday 28 September 2011 9:45PM Witney
"Dawn: The switchover has had no effect whatsoever on satellite or cable television."

Unless, that is, you are watching Sky via an RF connection and the new DVB-T signal is on the same channel which you've used for the RF connection? Unlikely, I agree, but possible nevertheless?

Anyway, voice les votes du judges in East Witney OX283SR avec un ancient Group C/D antenna:

53 BBCA 'Very good'
55 ArqB 'Very good'
57 BBCB null points - but my digital TV isn't DVB-T2 compatible, so that's probably the reason.
59 ArqA 'Good'
60 D3+4 'Very good'
62 SDN 'Very good'

And that completes the votes from Witney.


jb38
Wednesday 28 September 2011 9:45PM
chris: Another aspect you should consider as well as the issue of the possible offset problem, that of the possibility that the Technika TV's "might" be picking up stations from another source that uses lower Mux channels, and which hitherto were not receivable before high powered multiplex operation came into force in a variety of locations.

What I suggest you do to verify whether this applies or not, is to carry out a signal check whilst on BBC1 on both the Panasonic as well as the Technika, noting if the BBC Mux channel number indicated is the same on both sets, if its Oxford its Mux Ch53, whereas if Hannington its Mux Ch50, Hannington being indicated as possible for reception albeit on a lesser footing than Oxford.

(You could also use ITV1 or anything else, so long as the programme used is the same on both sets)
tom
Wednesday 28 September 2011 9:48PM Bampton
hi im receiving a very weak beds and camb transmitter, and im in oxford is there something wrong with oxford
Jonathan
Wednesday 28 September 2011 10:15PM Oxford
Based in Oxford (OX4 4EY) with a pole mounted wideband high gain aerial (no direct view of Beckley from ground level due to Rose Hill being in the way).

Yesterday I could receive all the multiplexes on my Humax HDR-Fox-T2, though some of the low power multiplexes were poor quality.

Today I did a hard restart (reset to factory settings and reinstall from scratch). I can get PSB1 on C53 (33% signal 100% quality) but that is all. Not a sniff of any other multiplex. Tried your reset procedure; didn't help.

All thoughts much appreciated.
Steve Hopkins
Wednesday 28 September 2011 10:18PM Buckingham
Sony Bravia from Buckingham with High Gain Class 1 Wideband aerial pointing at Oxford & no other analogue kit attached but still can't pick up Mux Channel 60 everything else Ok. So what next?
Briantist
Wednesday 28 September 2011 10:30PM
tom: No, there is nothing wrong with the Oxford transmitter, quite the reverse. Have you looked at www.ukfree.tv link icon Freeview signals: too much of a good thing is bad for you | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice ?
Mike Oxlade
Wednesday 28 September 2011 10:52PM
OX33 can see Beckley from our garden and loving the new service. Full strength on all channels and can't stop watching HD - brilliant. This is the first time we have had anything that was on CH68 - ie most of the ITV channels - for nearly 2 years!!!
mst
Thursday 29 September 2011 12:01AM Oxford
Just noticed on a Technika HD box that ArqA and ArqB on C55 and C59 are using 3/4 FEC compared to all others using 2/3 FEC. This is correct according to digitalUK until COM power up when ArqB comes in line with the others. My understanding is that FEC 3/4 has less error correction than 2/3 (25% vs 33%) to squeeze more data out of the link.

Technika signal strength Nos on same aerial connection quite different than Toppy look more like dB than percent, but trend the same BBC on C53 significant stronger than others C60 same as C55 (should be x8 or 9dB stronger) C59 weakest, but everything reported as 95% quality - which I suspect is the maximum (perfect picture).

C53 now so strong single can receive good quality signal on internal loop antenna on ground floor opposite side of house to transmitter!
Rick Mock
Thursday 29 September 2011 8:26AM
I have BT Vision and Phillips set top boxes.I live in Didcot and I now find since the switch over yesterday I have very low signal quality 25% on CH59 Dave and Dave Ja View etc.
All others seem to be at 100%
I have a set top aerial with a booster and the signal strength is around 62% on all channels except CH59.Can't remember what the signal strength is thoughbut it is a lot lower than 62%.
In fact the guy from BT who came to replace our set top box said we get better signal strength on our indoor aerial than his roof top aerial.
Briantist
Thursday 29 September 2011 8:46AM
Nick Wilcock: If you look at the Oxford frequency allocation table (above), if you were using any of the current six digital frequencies for your RF connection from a Sky box, then it would have been rendered useless by the presence of a high power analogue channels on it or the neighbouring frequency as they analogue four used C53, C57, C60, and C63.
Briantist
Thursday 29 September 2011 8:47AM
Rick Mock: I would get rid of the booster to start with. Indoor aerials perform badly for Freeview reception, and as you have not provided a full postcode it is impossible to say more.
Briantist
Thursday 29 September 2011 8:48AM
Mike Oxlade: I am pleased to hear that you now have all the TV services. Freeview HD is rather good, isn't it?
jb38
Thursday 29 September 2011 8:54AM
Jonathan: Fully appreciating that you do not have a direct line of sight to the transmitter, however I still feel that at only five miles away from a 100Kw (main Muxes) transmitter there is a possibility of you receiving a signal that's slightly too strong for your boxes tuner, especially with the aerial system you are using.

The other point being, that signal strength indications can be totally incorrect in these type of situations because of the measuring system used being upset, so purely for a test I would try reducing the input to your box by the inclusion of an attenuator in line with the aerial socket, then try a manual scan on the ITV Mux Ch60 to see what comes up.

Needless to say, and although not mentioned, but if you have any form of booster it must be removed.

It could well be that the obstruction you mention is causing a severe reduction in signal strength, but frequently they don't to the extent that some may imagine that they would do.

Briantist
Thursday 29 September 2011 9:09AM
mst: Because the commercial multiplexes fit into the new digital plan as "extra services", it has been necessary to hold them at low powers, or in pre-switchover configurations at some masts until the rest of the PSB digital network is complete.

This is the reason for the pre-switchover modes being "held" on some transmitters - the first one with this issue was Mendip - see www.ukfree.tv link icon BT Vision, TUTV, Sky Sports 1+2 and the Mendip transmitter | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice .
Jonathan
Thursday 29 September 2011 9:40AM Oxford
jb38, thanks for the advice. No signal booster involved at the moment; I have a variable attenuator on order and will report back once I have tried this out.

To other readers can I recommend the article "Freeview signals: too much of a good thing is bad for you" which Brian pointed another questioner to shortly after my question. Very interesting reading and quite counter intuitive.
Rick Mock
Thursday 29 September 2011 10:19AM
OX11 Post code and can see the lights of the Beckley transmitter from the street.

Never really had a problem with indoor aerial before other than occassional signal dropout caused by kitchen appliances.

Other than CH59 all the other channels are running at 62% signal strength and 100% quality . If I remove the booster would that not reduce that?
Dawn
Thursday 29 September 2011 10:36AM Buckingham
Thanks for your answer. I should have explained that I record satellite programmes on the Toshiba and it hasn't found the satellite on the retune. My main problem is ... How do I get back to the Oxford transmitter. Retune has put me on the Sandy transmitter
Briantist
Thursday 29 September 2011 1:49PM
Rick Mock: Removing the booster will usually increase the signal quality, which is what is required for reliable digital reception.



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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