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

Radiation patterns

Radiation patterns withheld

Map key

The bright green areas shown where the signal from this transmitter is strong, dark green areas are poorer signals. Those parts shown in yellow may have interference on the same frequency from other masts.


List by multiplex|List by channel number|List by channel name|See terrain plot

Mendip transmitter Freeview broadcasts

If you have any kind of Freeview fault, follow this Freeview reset procedure first.

Digital television services are broadcast on a multiplexes (or Mux) where many stations occupy a single broadcast frequency, as shown below.

MuxAerial positionFrequencyHeightModeWatts
PSB1
BBCA
 horizontal max
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, 301 301, 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, 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 22 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, 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 21 others



Regional news 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.

Self-help relays

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

How the 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.

Comparison of old analogue and current digital signal levels

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

History of Channel 3 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

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.

Gill P
Monday 13 December 2010 2:45PM Clevedon
When will we be able to get sky 1 0r 2 by bt vision? They are busy promoting it to us as we have broadband. I live on a hill in Tickenham near Clevedon.
Briantist
Tuesday 14 December 2010 3:06PM
Gill P: Either January or September next year.
Elaine
Tuesday 14 December 2010 9:09PM
I've got an aerial booster. Without it I get the Freeview Lite channels. With it, I pick up Mux C and / or D as well - depending on the atmospherics.

Definitely need a new aerial and cables, though.
Briantist
Wednesday 15 December 2010 8:43AM
Elaine: You might get more if you remove the "booster".
Andrea
Wednesday 15 December 2010 11:29AM Settle
I had huge problems with BT Vision, they basically lied & told me I could get Sky Sports which wasn't the case at all. They blamed the Transmitter at Mendip. I was since told that the actual BT Vision Box doesn't have a booster in, which the normal freeview boxes do. I have since bought a Freeview HD box from Tesco and now get all the channels I should.
Andrea
Wednesday 15 December 2010 11:32AM Settle
Sorry, not Mendip, my local transmitter. Just wanted to make you aware of BT!!
Briantist
Wednesday 15 December 2010 2:01PM
Andrea: Whoever told you that "actual BT Vision Box doesn't have a booster in" clearly doesn't know what on earth they are talking about.
David S.
Thursday 16 December 2010 8:27AM Warminster
I was thinking of taking up BT Vision, which I understand is delivered via the Home Hub. Our Hub is in our annexe and the tv is in the house. I wonder if it possible to get hold of a signal booster to improve the quality of the broadband in the house as it loses a lot of its vitality trying to penetrate several walls and a roof space?
Mark Aberfan Aerials
Thursday 16 December 2010 2:22PM
Hi David S,

The epg & on demand stuff comes via the home hub & the freeview channels via the tv aerial. BT supply devices called homeplugs which send your broadband from your router along your homes electrical system to your BT Vision box, this means that wireless reception is not a issue.


Mark Aberfan Aerials
Michael Bane
Thursday 16 December 2010 10:13PM
David S: I can confirm that the homeplug system works very well.....my broadband hub is upstairs and my vision box is connected to my downstairs tv.
David S.
Friday 17 December 2010 11:41AM Warminster
Thanks to to M&M for their advise. The annexe has its own consumer unit. Will that make any difference? We have so far been unable to get the dongle on our new Panosonic Vierja tv to recognise and connect to the hub, which we assume is because of the distance from the hub to the tv (about 16m) and the number of walls and floors the signal has to negotiate.

The new Humax was installed yesterday and look impressive.

On a slightly different tack, anyone know when Mux A,C and D will be on full power?
Mike Dimmick
Friday 17 December 2010 12:27PM Reading
David S.: under the 'Digital UK tradeview' link, you'll see that there are three "COM late channel change, mode change and power-up" coming up, one in January, one on 28 September, and one in 2012.

January: Mux D moves to C67 (and presumably, since the other muxes stay the same, changes to 64QAM mode and increases in power.) This may be to fix the Sky Sports problem.

September: Mux A moves to C48 and Mux C loses its offset (C56+ to C56), Mux D moves to C52. Mux C changes to 64QAM and increases in power. (My guess based on the information given at switchover, that Mux C and D would change over earlier than A.)

Q1 2012: Mux A changes from 2K to 8K mode and increases power. This very little effect on capacity, but makes it better able to handle reflections.
Jools
Saturday 18 December 2010 6:08PM
Hi - a couple of weeks ago I purchased an i-Can Easy HD Freeview HD Box (from Currys), mainly for the Freeview HD channels but also for the iPlayer and TopUp TV functionality. The box came with a free month of Sky Sports 1 and 2 and ESPN which I took advantage of.

However, even though I can pick up 70-odd freeview channels (including the HD ones) I have been unable to pick up Sky Sports 1 and 2 (ESPN is ok). After much to-ing and fro-ing with TopUp TV technical support (and some quite expensive phone calls) one of their support people has claimed this is because I am on the Mendip transmitter which won't be broadcasting Sky Sports until September 2011. I live in Warminster, Wiltshire.

I have two questions - (a) Is this correct (or am I being given excuses because they can't get my box to receive the signal and (b) If so, can I do anything about it? To be honest even though the i-CAN is a nice box I probably wouldn't have gone for it if I had known beforehand I can't receive Sky Sports. Can I cancel my service and claim for the cost of the phone calls?

Any advice much appreciated.

cheers

Jools
Keith Rodgerson
Saturday 18 December 2010 6:24PM
This issue has only been evident for a couple of weeks. If I feed other devices with the same aerial they tune to all channels but the polaroid tv no longer gets any signal strength on ch 61 Strength good on 54, 56, 59,62 only Any ideas? Keith
Briantist
Saturday 18 December 2010 7:22PM
Keith Rodgerson: Did you eliminate everything as suggested on Single frequency interference | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice ?
David S.
Sunday 19 December 2010 12:53PM Warminster
Jools - whereabouts in Warminster? I would be happy to compare notes.

Latest news from Chain Lane, BA12 9LT is that we have once more lost Mux D programmes.
Elaine
Sunday 19 December 2010 9:49PM
Brian, sorry, I didn't check back for a while. If I take the booster out of the circuit entirely, I get Freeview Lite only - and most of that is actually coming from the local relay a mile or so behind the aerial, rather than from Mendip.

I know I need new external cables, new internal cables and quite possibly a new aerial. Just need to find time to be home for an aerial fitter - not to mention the cash :) Since the aerial's on the roof, there's not much I can do myself to check it's aligned properly.
Michael Bane
Monday 20 December 2010 4:34PM
Jools: I'm afraid that Mendip is the culprit here.....it is very good for HD tv signals but unable to deliver Sky Sports. This was initially to September 2011 - but there is now a possibility that changes being made to MUX D in January 2011 - hopefully Sky Sports will be available for transmission then.
This applies to BT Vision as well as Top Up TV.

Briantist
Tuesday 21 December 2010 8:28AM
Elaine: You might just find that waiting for the post-switchover changes to Mendip that happen during 2011 could provide a full service without a booster.

But as you say, having you aerial, cables and connectors replaced might be the best thing to do for long-term good reception.
Andy
Wednesday 22 December 2010 1:10PM
Hi Briantist

Could not resist buying a Panasonic DMR-BW780 high definition blue ray recorder as i found a ex display one at a good price i can now finaly get and record hd mux from mendip.

Pictures look sharper than with my sky hd box.
Briantist
Wednesday 22 December 2010 1:54PM
Andy: Sounds like a very good purchase. The picture quality should be the same as with satellite.
Elaine
Thursday 23 December 2010 8:15AM
Andy: I'm jealous now, a Panasonic Blu-ray recorder with Freeview HD is on my list of future purchases (once I replace my CRT television!) :)

Michael Bane
Thursday 30 December 2010 8:51PM
Briantist: Thank you very much for the info. My Gran told me that everything comes to he who waits!
Briantist
Friday 31 December 2010 3:21PM
Michael Bane: Indeed it does.
Gareth Smart
Wednesday 5 January 2011 4:20AM
Is it just me, or is it that the Mendip Transmitter seems to be the only main transmitter in the country to have all these problems? I regularly look at other transmitter locations on this site and am yet to see another transmitter post DSO to have all these problems!
Briantist
Thursday 6 January 2011 7:49AM
Gareth Smart: At the moment, the Mendip transmitter is stuck betweeen regions that have fully switched (Wales, South West) and those that have not (Midlands, South).

This means that the commercial multiplexes here are at low power for a long time, as their frequencies are still in use for analogue services to the north and east.

This will happen to some other transmitters, but currently Mendip has had the worst of this.
David S.
Friday 7 January 2011 8:28AM
Can I assume full power will be restored when the south and midlands (Sutton Coldfield?) switch? If so, do you know when this will happen?

Elaine
Friday 7 January 2011 8:52AM
David: it says at the top of the page, just under the transmission frequencies "NOTE: Mendip COM multiplexes will temporarily operate on channels 62+ for SDN, 56+ for Arqiva A, and 59+ for Arqiva B (all at 10kW ERP) until Autumn 2011. Final DSO channels will then be adopted, though ERP levels will remain limited until early 2012."

Basically it seems we don't get full power until next door (Meridian I think) switches in 2012.
Gareth Smart
Friday 7 January 2011 6:16PM
Thanks for that Brian. I appreciate as well that Mendip is like it is until after our neighbouring regions have switched but sorry I am a COMPLETE amateur at all this but I am keen to learn, I appreciate as well the dates that the final channels will be adopted but it doesn't seem to tie in with either the Meridian or Central regions changing?
Gareth Smart
Friday 7 January 2011 6:37PM Winscombe
Also one more question please!?

My Aerial is facing towards Mendip and I did a re-tune the other day and am getting Fiver, FiveUS, ITV3, E4 etc from a UHF C51.

Anyone know which transmitter this is coming from?

Thanks in advance all
Briantist
Saturday 8 January 2011 10:37AM
Gareth Smart: There is only one transmitter that uses C51 for Mux A - www.ukfree.tv link icon Freeview on Oxford TV transmitter | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice .
Andy Scott
Saturday 8 January 2011 10:46AM Trowbridge
Hey all, has anyone else had problems on this transmitter last night as, i have lost all channels on my TV and Play TV on my PS3, rescanned and all, but to no avail.
Briantist
Saturday 8 January 2011 12:43PM
Gareth Smart: The Central regions switch this year, the Merdian ones in 2012.
Briantist
Saturday 8 January 2011 12:50PM
Andy Scott: There are no faults, please can you see Freeview reception has changed? | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice .
Rob M
Saturday 8 January 2011 2:10PM
Re Andy Scotts post, I have had the same problem, had to retune and now lost all Mux A channels and poor reception on Dave, Sky 3 etc.

Am I the only one unimpressed with DTV reception performance? It is damn annoying when you watch a series then lose the channels
Briantist
Saturday 8 January 2011 2:34PM
Rob M: Remember that the commercial multiplexes are still running in their pre-switchover configurations and are at about one tenth of the power for 12 to 18 months.
KMJ,Derby
Saturday 8 January 2011 2:34PM
Gareth Smart: It is likely you are receiving Mux SDN from Wenvoe which is using C51 temporarily.
Gareth Smart
Sunday 9 January 2011 10:16PM Winscombe
brian: Does this mean then that the change of channels will fall in line with Central region switching then?

KMJ: Thanks that does make sense now!
Gareth Smart
Sunday 9 January 2011 10:16PM Winscombe
brian: Does this mean then that the change of channels will fall in line with Central region switching then?

KMJ: Thanks that does make sense now!
Briantist
Monday 10 January 2011 7:21AM
Gareth Smart: Some with Central, some with Meridian (Southampton).
Gareth
Tuesday 11 January 2011 3:39PM
Just done a retune because of the change for ITV1+1 and ITV2+1 and have lost everything on Channel 67 e.g. Yesterday, ITV4 etc on iDTVs but on set top boxes OK so far. Just to add an extra hour shift channel it doesn't seem worth it.
Pete Green
Tuesday 11 January 2011 3:48PM Weston-super-mare
Gareth. Channel 67 OK now.
Briantist
Tuesday 11 January 2011 3:51PM
Pete Green/Gareth: Please see ITV1+1 11 January 2011 (at last) | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice .
Briantist
Tuesday 11 January 2011 3:52PM
Gareth: It's not just those on the Mendip transmitter - www.ukfree.tv link icon Mendip transmitter - January 11th retune required | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice .

"In summary - if you use Mendip - even if you don't use Sky Sports, you must retune again on 11th January 2011. "
Me
Tuesday 11 January 2011 6:27PM
Lost ch67
Briantist
Tuesday 11 January 2011 6:29PM
Me: This may happen to some people on the fringes of reception, due to the change of transmission mode to provide Sky Sports 1 and 2.

But, please try www.ukfree.tv link icon My Freeview box has no EPG, is blank on FIVE, ITV3, ITV4, ITV2+1, has no sound or the channel line up is wrong | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice first.
Me
Tuesday 11 January 2011 6:30PM
Great so all those who don't subscribe to Sky Sports lose their channels for the minority that do.
Briantist
Tuesday 11 January 2011 6:31PM
Me: Not all, just some people on the fringes of reception area.
Chris
Tuesday 11 January 2011 7:05PM
Just retuned. 67 is a dead loss quality wise so am missing those channels. Note that the rating above is "very low". Is this going to improve ?
Briantist
Tuesday 11 January 2011 7:09PM
Chris: Yes, it will improve Autumn 2011/Spring 2012.



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'

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