Freeview: Mendip (Somerset, England) Full Freeview transmitter
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Full Freeview on the Mendip (Somerset, England) transmitter

Google StreetviewGoogle mapBing mapGoogle Earth51.237,-2.626 or 51°14'12"N 2°37'33"WBA5 3LB

This transmitter has no current reported problems

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

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The symbol shows the location of the Mendip (Somerset, England) transmitter which serves 720,000 homes.

Other maps:Mendip DABMendip regionBBC WestWest

Is the transmitter output the same in all directions?

Radiation patterns withheld

What do the colours on the map mean?

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

Which Freeview channels does the Mendip transmitter broadcast?

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
C49 (698.0MHz)591m64QAM 8K 2/3
24.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2		100,000W
Channel icons
1 BBC One West, 2 BBC Two England, 7 BBC Three, 9 BBC Four, 70 CBBC Channel, 71 CBeebies, 80 BBC News, 81 BBC Parliament, 301 BBC Red Button 1, plus 12 others

PSB2
D3+4
 horizontal max
C54 (738.0MHz)591m64QAM 8K 2/3
24.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2		100,000W
Channel icons
3 ITV (West), 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 (West),

PSB3
BBCB
 horizontal max
C58 (770.0MHz)591m256QAM 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 Meridian Southampton), 104 Channel 4 HD South ads, 303 BBC Red Button HD, plus 1 others

COM4
SDN
 horizontal max
C48 (690.0MHz)591m64QAM 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 21 others

COM5
ArqA
 horizontal max
C56 (754.0MHz)591m64QAM 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, 302 BBC Red Button 2, plus 9 others

COM6
ArqB
 horizontal max
C52 (722.0MHz)591m64QAM 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 22 others



Which BBC and ITV regional news can I watch from the Mendip transmitter?


BBC Points West 0.9m homes 3.4%
from Bristol BS8 2LR, 25km north
to BBC West region - 60 masts.

ITV West Country News (East) 0.9m homes 3.4%
from Bristol BS4 3HG, 23km north
to ITV West region - 61 masts.
All of lunch, weekend and 50% evening news is shared with West Country (West)

Are there any self-help relays?

CheddarTransposer15 km E Weston-super-Mare1674 homes
LuccombeActive deflector6 km w Minehead38 homes

How will the Mendip (Somerset, England) transmission frequencies change over time?

years1984-971997-981998-20102010-1327/3/13-2013-182019-
aerial groupC/D EEEC/D EC/D EWK
C22SDN
C25ArqA
C28ArqB
600C33com7
C35com8
C37C5C5
C40BBCB
C43D3+4
C46BBCA
C48SDNSDNSDN
700C49 BBCABBCA
C51local
C52ArqBArqBArqB
C54C4C4C4D3+4D3+4D3+4
C55+2
C56+CArqAArqAArqA
C58BBC1BBC1BBC1BBCBBBCBBBCB
C59+1
800C61ITVITVITVBBCA
C62+A
C64BBC2BBC2BBC2
C65+B
C67D

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 24th March and 7th April 2010.

  • Ofcom have projected that a local television service for Bristol could use an Interleaved Frequency on the Mendip transmitter using C51
  • COM7, COM8 projected for 2013-16. COM7 and COM8 to operate as Bristol Ilchester Crescent,Bristol Kings Weston, Mendip SFN.

How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?

Analogue 1-4 500kW
Analogue 5(-6dB) 126kW
SDN, ARQA, ARQB, com7, com8, BBCA, D3+4, BBCB(-7dB) 100kW
Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D*(-17dB) 10kW

Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Mendip transmitter area

Jan 1958-Jul 1968Television Wales and the West
Jul 1968-Feb 2004Harlech Television
Feb 2004-Dec 2014ITV plc
Feb 1983-Dec 1992TV-am•
Jan 1993-Sep 2010GMTV•
Sep 2010-Dec 2014ITV Daybreak•
• Breakfast ◊ Weekends ♦ Friday night and weekends † Weekdays only. Mendip 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

  ◊  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.

J
Jeff Thomas
Monday 13 March 2006 1:28PM
Just a quick question I have always received a crystal-clear analogue reception from the Mendip transmitter, but over the last few weeks BBC1 and particularly Channel 5 has a very poor quality. could you inform me if there is any work being carried out on this transmitter.
Yours sincerely Mr J. Thomas
Briantist
Tuesday 14 March 2006 10:18PM
There's been no Freeview downtime on Mendip this month, and none listed here currently for analogue:

www.bbc.co.uk link icon Transmitter work
M
Mike MacDonald
Tuesday 4 April 2006 9:25PM
We have had Freeview since Jan 2005 and no problems. Over the last several weeks on most days we lose digital reception completely and then it comes back a few hours later. Signal strength fluctuates between non-existent and then back to "Good" per the tuning info on our Sony digital box.
Any idea what may be happening?
Thanks.
B
Brian
Wednesday 5 April 2006 9:41AM
4th April all channels were unwatchable during daytime. Error rate as high as 9862 screen was a fuzz of colour and very broken sound. Evening was alot better with channels 16 and over still showing some breaking up. Channels 16 and over have been getting worse since Jan 06 but yesterday was unreal. Any ideas why?
BC
Briantist
Wednesday 5 April 2006 8:36PM
Mike: There are a few possiblities:


  • High Pressure, causing the www.bbc.co.uk link icon "inversion effect" can cause signals from far-distant transmitters to interfere. You might get this effect for a few days as high pressure moves over the country. See www.bbc.co.uk link icon BBC Weather.

  • local interference from an industrial area or police radio systems such as TETRA (TErrestrial Trunked RAdio)
  • in house interference caused by a fault domestic appliance, or from unwanted RF output on a VHS video player, DVD player, Games console or old computer.

  • unpublished transmitter works.


Does the problem happen at exactly the same time each day?
B
brian
Friday 7 April 2006 12:04PM
Hi Briantist, No the error on 4/4/6 was the worst it has ever been (my wife videoed it for me) by the time she turned the tv back on (5pmish) it was back to just channels 16 and over (QVC to Men & Moters)having the problems. Not as bad as before but really annoying sound cutouts and pixel "smeering" across the screen which made it unwatchable. The only change in the area is a neighbour has built a extention on top of their garage but not inline with transmitter/my ariel, could that cause interference? I was wondering if a indoor signel booster would help (rented house-can't alter loft ariel)the problem?
Cheers
Brian
S
Steve
Friday 21 April 2006 10:39AM
Hi,

I'm in Combe Down, Bath, and have been having identical problems with digital reception to those reported above over the past few days; this is after pretty faltless reception for months.

I was about to rethink my aerial to strengthen the signal, but could this be premature?

Yours, pixelated,

Steve
L
Louise Hodges
Tuesday 2 May 2006 6:22PM Glastonbury
Hi, I live in Glastonbury Somerset - BA6 9AA and am finding that in the mornings only my signal on Freeview Top Up is very weak 0 - 3, this lasts for about 2 hours, can you tell me why this could be?

Thanks Alot
Louise Hodges
Briantist
Wednesday 3 May 2006 11:44PM
If this happens for just a few weeks, it could be because of engineering works on the transmitter. Saldly only the BBC publish their schedules. Does this happen at the same time every day and how long has it been going on for?
M
marinersgas
Sunday 7 May 2006 4:20PM
I move to Coronation Road in Bristol last week. Freeview and top up reception fine until this morning. There is now no signal at all. Has anyone else had any problems? Has the transmitter been shut down?
Briantist
Monday 22 May 2006 2:05PM
You are very distant from this transmitter, so you will probably need a www.ukfree.tv link icon Class I aerial and because of the transmission mode that these channels use. See www.ukfree.tv link icon Freeview modes.
L
lynne
Saturday 27 May 2006 1:03PM
We have had Freeview for a couple of years. We have Samsung digital TV and the signal has occasionally been poor, but generally OK until the past 2 weeks when we cannot maintain a signal until late evening, we live in Yate our aeriel is in the loft and points to Mendip transmitter. My husband is pulling his hair out about the poor or no picture, it is impossible to watch on Freeview.
M
Morganwg
Saturday 3 June 2006 12:07PM
Why are you and the BBC recommending a group EW antenna for the Mendip transmitter? My box shows no frequencies below 746MHz, which is well within the range of the group CD antenna which most people already have for analogue reception on that transmitter. And yes, I am using a wideband antenna to look for those frequencies.
Briantist
Saturday 3 June 2006 3:13PM
If you have a wideband aerial, there is no problem. The E recommendation is to allow for the whole E group (not just the subset covered by C/D) of channels AFTER switchover. C37 will be deallocated after switchover and this makes the aerial Group E, rather than C/D. The BBC actually say that you should use a wideband aerial if you have to change your antenna.
G
Gareth Thomas
Monday 5 June 2006 2:22PM
I live in Newport South Walesn and due to local topography use the Mendip transmitter for DTT reception. Despite two years nearly faultless reception I lost ITV/CH4 and related channels about a month ago. I have been able to solve the problem by replacing my aging PACE box with a DigiLogic one from Tesco (£25) which has better sensitivity. Someone has suggested that the problem may be caused by Wenvoe increasing its transmitter power and causing interference. Anyone know if this maybe true?
K
Keith Rodgerson
Wednesday 7 June 2006 12:40PM
I'm in Clifton in Bristol and getting Channel 5 only occasionally. Is it on a lower power group than other channels?
Also I insist that the analogue transmissions are being lowered in power. Ch 5 and BBC 2 almost unwatchable for noise now.
Briantist
Wednesday 7 June 2006 2:10PM
If you click on the link above (or www.ukfree.tv link icon click here) you will find that Multiplex A is on half-power. The strength of an analogue signal is NEVER a guide to the strenth of digital signals from the same transmittter. Also the www.ukfree.tv link icon  64QAM mode of multiplex A makes it harder to receive.
M
Morganwg
Wednesday 7 June 2006 5:32PM
Having bought a cheap set-top box on the internet and found that it didn't get satisfactory reception, I was very pleased to find that an equally cheap one from Curry's did the job very well. This is the Matsui DTR3 costing £24.99 (June 2006, also in Dixon's). There is no top-up TV card slot, and only now and next EPG, but you get all the free channels and radio, and I get them well up here in the Cotswolds the wrong side of Bristol from the Mendips.
J
janet
Saturday 17 June 2006 9:14AM
We're in wotton & have recently been having probs. with our normal good freeview reception. The problem only seems to be affecting non-BBC channels, which makes us think its not our kit. We've made no new purchases of electrical equipment or similar to suggest our interference has changed. Is it meterological (I know that we're on the fringes of FREEVIEW reception). Is there work going on at the transmitter? Is anyone else suffering (it seems to be a problem at all times)?
Really we need to know if we should sit it out, or start spending money on replacing aerials and the like.
Briantist
Sunday 18 June 2006 3:25PM
Any known work on the transmitter is listed at the top of this page and on the www.ukfree.tv link icon  transmitter main page. The most likely reason for changes in reception is www.ukfree.tv link icon  the Inversion Effect.
A
Adam
Monday 19 June 2006 7:59AM
All Itv channels showing signal quality of 3-6 but bbc 9-10 New Panasonic box feeding a projector great when football on BBC but patchy on ITV in henstridge south somerset east of yeovil
Briantist
Monday 19 June 2006 8:20PM
All the ITV (ITV-1, ITV-2, ITV-3, ITV-4, CITV) channels are carried on the same transmission multiplex (number 2) along with the channel 4 channels, so you will always be shown the same signal stength. If you upgrade your aerial to a Class I type you will probably get perfect reception!
A
Adam
Tuesday 20 June 2006 6:15AM
Briantist

Thanks but that will be tried the problem has only happend in the last week as perfect itv before that and on an old pace box before that died.
A
Adam
Saturday 24 June 2006 7:37AM
Briantest
Well Cai approved antenna and downlead

still a problem but resolved by fitting a clip on ferrite on the mains and antenna feed.

Still get fluctuation in quality but no picture loss.

Maplin was the source of the ferrites.
J
John Burgess
Monday 17 July 2006 5:07PM
For what it's worth ITV (61) Mendip has been corrupted forthe last few days - both antennas & all tuners.
Weather?
Z
zarathustra
Monday 24 July 2006 8:31PM
Greetings,
I cannot receive MuxD (Film4 et al) since past two weeks via MENDIP transmitter. Since rescanning, have lost _all_ MuxD channels from the list.
Can anyone assure me this will be rectified _some_ time soon?
Waiting with baited breath - & my thanks.

Regards.
Briantist
Tuesday 25 July 2006 12:29PM
Yes the problem is the current high pressure conditions that cause www.ukfree.tv link icon  The Inversion Effect. You should consider upgrading your aerial installation to have reception 100% of the time.
M
Mike
Saturday 4 November 2006 1:25PM
I am confused about the information given about the Mendip transmitter. It says Channel 5 digital transmission is weaker than ITV/Channel 4. However my Channel 5 transmission is excellent and better than the analogue signal, but I can rarely get ITV/Channel 4. Why is this? I have a Group E aerial and am about 60Km from the transmitter in S. Wales
M
mike
Saturday 4 November 2006 2:08PM
I just want to add to my previous post, that I have seen the responses to others about switching off other devices. I have done this but there is no improvement to ITV.
Briantist
Saturday 4 November 2006 5:41PM
It is possible that you have interference from another tranmitter. What is you full postcode please?
M
Mike
Saturday 4 November 2006 5:48PM Caerphilly
Cf83 8sn
T
Trevor
Thursday 9 November 2006 12:14PM
I have same problem as Mike-appeared in last 2 weeks. No ITV, CH4 channels from Mendip. Is problem connected to Wenvoe?
Briantist
Thursday 9 November 2006 12:35PM
Actually, it says "Effective power", not that the signal is weaker, this is to compensate for the 64QAM transmission mode, which makes multiplexes 2 and A harder to recieve. As the ITV and C4 channels are carried on the same multiplex, if you can't receive one of them, you can't get any of them! Try www.ukfree.tv link icon My Freeview box has no EPG, is missing Film4 or the channel line up is wrong | ukfree.tv - get free UK television My Freeview box has no EPG, is missing Film4 or the channel line up is wrong.
T
Trevor
Saturday 11 November 2006 8:52AM Newport
Friday (11th Nov) ITV,Ch4 etc perfect reception but this morning zilch! Only difference is weather, raining last night, dry today. This is on Om15 wideband aerial installed May this year with 10db lowgain mast amp. No problems up until about 2 weeks ago. Aerial set to Mendips post code NP10 9ED. Help????
C
Chris Sellar
Monday 27 November 2006 9:35PM
I have recently moved from Shepton mallet to wells I can see the mendip trans from by bedroom window hence know which way to point my arial, situated in the loft. i get a good digital picture for htv ch4 etc but nothing for the bbc channels can anyone help.
J
Jenny
Wednesday 29 November 2006 10:51PM Stroud
We have had a Panasonic TV with integrated digital decoder for about 3 years. We have a standard loft aerial set to the Mendip transmitter. At first we were able to receive all the free digital channels but after a while they all 'disappeared' except for the BBc channels. Later we were briefly able to receive ITV3 & 4, More4 etc, but then they too disappeared and we were back to BBC only.
I could understand it if we had never from the outset been able to receive the commercial channels (given that we only have a loft aerial) but not why we have 'lost' them after they were originally available.
Our post code is GL6 9EZ.
Any suggestions welcome
Briantist
Thursday 30 November 2006 11:29PM
Chris Sellar: loft aerials are not recommended for Freeview reception. Remount your aerial externally for proper reception.
Briantist
Friday 1 December 2006 12:11AM
Jenny: loft aerials are generally not recommended for the reasons you have found. Remount the aerial on the roof for consistant reception.
F
Frank
Tuesday 5 December 2006 9:36PM
We have suddenly lost ITV/Ch4. Have found site v interesting and tried all your tips that seemed to work for lots of folks but not for us unfortunately! How can channels suddenly disappear? Any further ideas? We are in CF14.
M
Mike Wonham
Friday 8 December 2006 8:19AM
Can't get Mux D off the Mendip transmitter. I'm in the POlden Hills to the south. Everything else fine. IT all seemed to go wrong when Film4 moved from channel 31 to channel 29. Using a Topfield. Rescanned, emptied the memory, restarted, etc - no luck. Help!
Briantist
Saturday 9 December 2006 8:48PM
Frank: you have only lost a single multiplex - Channel 4, CITV, E4, itv1, ITV2, itv3, itv4, More4, TeleG, Teletext, Teletext Holidays, Teletext on 4, Teletext TV Guide are all carried on the same frequency. You could either have local interference on C55 from a VCR, games console or Sky Digibox or your aerial, cables or connectors have been slightly damaged. Check everything is in order, and then use the www.ukfree.tv link icon  My Freeview box has no EPG, is missing Film4 or the channel line up is wrong
procedure.
Briantist
Saturday 9 December 2006 9:40PM
Mike Wonham: First try the www.ukfree.tv link icon  My Freeview box has no EPG, is missing Film4 or the channel line up is wrong
procedure. If this doesn't fix the problem you probably have an interference problem.
F
Frank
Tuesday 12 December 2006 9:11PM Cardiff
Briantist: Thank you! We had unplugged our PS2 from the mains and removed the aerial last week and it made no difference. On reading your advice above we physically moved the console away from the Freeview/PVR box, did a re-scan and hey presto, got all the channels back! Thank you so much...
Briantist
Wednesday 13 December 2006 2:02PM
Frank: I'm glad it's all working again for you now.
M
Mike Godwin
Sunday 17 December 2006 7:22PM Bath
Usually I can get Freeview from Mendip without problems. However, the last few weeks I have experienced total shutdown of most digital services except for ITV4 and a couple of the pop and buy-this-rubbish channels. I was watching News24 quite happily this morning (Sunday 17th December) but when I tried to tune in this afternoon it had shut down again - at 12.29 according to the guide. Do you have any suggestion as to what is going on, please?

Thanks!
D
Dave
Thursday 21 December 2006 11:42AM Yeovil
Postcode: BA22 8QF, 5 miles north west of Yeovil. Noting some comments about loft aerials (above). A year or so ago I had an aerial erecting company check my aerial for Freeview reception. They advised (and fitted) that I needed a larger and external 'spikey' aerial on a 6ft pole, which left the aerial level with roof ridge, pointing at Mendip. After a worsening signal, I asked another company for a second opinion; they advised that the huge new thing was not required and they fitted a new (but smaller) aerial, in the loft, suspended from wires. They seemed very knowledgeable and had lots of equipment for testing etc. After fitting they wired in a signal amplifier alongside the set. Can you hazard a guess why two 'professional' installers should decide on two completely differing setups? :-) Was I 'had' do you think? Last bit .... I am exactly mid-way between Mendip and Stockland, 32kms. Stick with Mendip do you think? Many thanks and Merry Christmas !!
Briantist
Thursday 21 December 2006 3:35PM
Dave: For the best Freeview reception, and external aerial is required. You can get a stronger signal from Mendip than Stockland Hill, that would be the best to use. At your location there should be no requirement for an amplifier, a roof-top aerial should provide a reliable and consistant signal.
P
PeteC
Thursday 21 December 2006 7:06PM
I live in Bishop Sutton, am being told we can receive all freeview channels by Freeview web site, but our local television installer say no digital signal can be received in Bishop Sutton as the small Ubley transmitter is analogue only, and no date has been given for digital, we are also apparently obscured by the hills from receiving Mendip transmission digital or analogue?
any help appreciated
Briantist
Thursday 21 December 2006 9:09PM
PeteC: put your postcode into My Freeview to find out.
P
PeteC
Friday 22 December 2006 10:44AM Bristol
I have put my postcode into "My freeview" and the suggested sites are Mendip or Ridge hill, can you tell me why not ubley? We have always had poor reception in our area and been told because it was low power from ubley and the hills obscuring Mendip. we have sky on the main tv but I am looking to convert the other televisions, why also would mendip not transmit freeview in full power on all digital stations ?

Regards PeteC
Briantist
Friday 22 December 2006 11:41AM
PeteC: Aside from www.ukfree.tv link icon Ubley transmitter not having Freeview, you are probably just a little far away from it to get a decent analogue signal. Until digital switchover is complete, no UK transmitter is providing Freeview on full power.
P
PeteC
Friday 22 December 2006 3:23PM Bristol
Thanks Brian

Will Ubley eventually go Digital ? and if so any dates ?

It looks like we will be stuck between transmitters and the high surrounding Mendip hills
My best bet at the moment is to sit on analogue and see what happens, after all I already have all the channels on sky

Regards Pete




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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