Freeview Light on the Bath (Bath and North East Somerset, England) transmitter
This transmitter has no current reported problems
The BBC and Digital UK report there are no faults or engineering work on the Bath (Bath and North East Somerset, England) transmitter.
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The symbol shows the location of the Bath (Bath and North East Somerset, England) transmitter which serves 24,000 homes.
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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.
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See terrain plotBath 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.
| Mux | Aerial position | Frequency | Height | Mode | Watts |
PSB1
BBCA | vertical max | C25 (506.0MHz) | 228m | 64QAM 8K 2/3
24.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2 | 50W |
| 
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 200 BBC Red Button, 700 BBC Radio 1, 701 BBC 1Xtra, 702 BBC Radio 2, 703 BBC Radio 3, 704 BBC Radio 4, 705 BBC Radio 5 Live, 706 BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra, 707 BBC 6 Music, 708 BBC Radio 4 Extra, 709 BBC Asian Network, 710 BBC World Service,
|
PSB2
D3+4 | vertical max | C28 (530.0MHz) | 228m | 64QAM 8K 2/3
24.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2 | 50W |
| 
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 | vertical max | C22 (482.0MHz) | 228m | 256QAM 32KE 2/3
40.2Mb/s DVB-T2 MPEG4 | 50W |
| 
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 232 The Space,
|
Looking for these 26 channels?
The
Bath (Bath and North East Somerset, England) mast is a
public service broadcasting (PSB) transmitter, it does not provide these
commercial (COM) channels: 4Music, 4seven, 5*, 5USA, Al Jazeera English, Challenge, Channel 5 +1, CITV, Community Channel, Dave, Dave ja vu, E4+1, Film 4, Food Network, ITV 2 +1, ITV 3, ITV 4, Movie Mix, PICK TV, Quest, Really, RT English , Sky News, The Zone, VIVA, Yesterday.
If you want to watch these channels, your aerial must point to one of the 80
Full service Freeview transmitters. For more information see the
will there ever be more services on the Freeview Light transmitters? page.
Regional news from the Bath transmitter
Self-help relays
| Claverton | Active deflector | 4.5 km E Bath | 40 homes |
How the transmission frequencies change over time
| years | 1968~85 | 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2010 | 2010-13 | 2013-18 | 2013-18 | |
| aerial group | VHF | A K | A K | A K | A K | A K | A K | |
| C6 | BBCtv | | | | | | | |
| C8 | ITV | | | | | | | |
| C22 | | BBC1 | BBC1 | BBC1 | BBCB | BBCB | BBCB | |
| C25 | | ITV | ITV | ITV | BBCA | BBCA | BBCA | |
| C28 | | BBC2 | BBC2 | BBC2 | D3+4 | D3+4 | D3+4 | |
| 600 | C32 | | C4 | C4 | C4 | | | | |
| orange background for multiplexes names more | green background for transmission frequencies | lilac background for power levels in watts | 800MHz band: 4G mobile to start in 2013 | 700MHz band: possible 4G in 2019 more | 600MHz band: new or moved digital TV services more |
Notes:
+ and
- denote 166kHz offset; aerial group are shown as
A B C/D E K WItalics for
analogue, digital switchover was Wednesdays 24th March and 7th April 2010.
Comparison of old analogue and current digital signal levels
| Analogue 1-4 | 250W | |
| BBCA, D3+4, BBCB | (-7dB) 50W | |
History of Channel 3 in the Mendip transmitter area
| Jan 1958-Jul 1968 | Television Wales and the West |
| Jul 1968-Feb 2004 | Harlech Television |
| Feb 2004-Dec 2014 | ITV plc |
| | Feb 1983-Dec 1992 | TV-am• |
| Jan 1993-Sep 2010 | GMTV• |
| Sep 2010-Dec 2014 | ITV Daybreak• |
|
• Breakfast ◊ Weekends ♦ Friday night and weekends † Weekdays only.
Your comments: most recent posts are at the bottom
First comments 
Earlier comments ◊ 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.
Philip DentThursday 30 August 2012 10:26AM
Bath There is no free view signal at BA26QB. I have tried retuning and the TV tells me "No signal"M ChantThursday 30 August 2012 10:32AM
Bath Same at BA2 1HF (10.30, Aug 30th) - No signal despite no known problem with local ariel connection. Just hope things return to normal soon before obliged to seek external help!HannahThursday 30 August 2012 10:56AM
No signal in BA18BE Larkhall despite retune for radio and TV. Has been same all morning...Based on the three reports, the Bath transmitter would appear to be off the air.
Philip Dent and Hannah, you've shot yourselves in the foot by retuning as you have wiped the memory of your receivers. You now have too issues: 1. The transmitter is giving no signal 2. Your receiver isn't tuned to its frequencies.
Therefore you will have to repeatedly retune, but only once the transmitter is back on will you get anything. This is because you can't tune to something that isn't there and you won't know it's there until you've tuned.
Those who resisted the temptation to retune will simply be able to keep switching on their sets and seeing if the channels have returned. In a flapThursday 30 August 2012 11:06AM
Bath it seems the transmitter is down today. I hope it gets fixed before prime timeIn a flapThursday 30 August 2012 11:57AM
Bath is there any resolution time for this problemIn a flapThursday 30 August 2012 12:13PM
Bath its back nowBATH transmitter - Freeview BBC Digital TV Off Air from 08:33 today to 11:50 today HD Digital TV Off Air from 08:33 today to 11:50 today [BBC] BATH transmitter - Freeview BBC Digital TV Off Air from 08:33 on 30 Aug to 11:50 on 30 Aug HD Digital TV Off Air from 08:33 on 30 Aug to 11:50 on 30 Aug [BBC] ChrisSaturday 8 September 2012 8:32AM
Bath Can anyone tell why Bath West does not have channel 20, really, available? We have just moved to BA1 6PB and can't get the same amount of channels we had in the north west.Chris: This is because the UK now has a two-tier terrestrial televsion transmitter network. There are over 1,000 small "filler-in" relay transmitters that carry only the Public Service channels. This is because the Commercial broadcasters (those that aren't available from the Bath transmitter) don't wish to pay to transmit from those sites. Those transmitters serve about 8.5% of the population and the full-service transmitters serve about 90% of the population. The cost of running the the 1,000+ sites is about the same as that of 81 full-service transmitters. As the Commercial broadcasters operate solely to generate profit, they decided that an extra 10% potential viewer-bases was not worthy of double the cost.
I guess that the difficulty you have (as far as receiving the full service from a main station such as Mendip) is that you're in a valley. ChrisSaturday 8 September 2012 12:38PM
Thanks Dave. So I presume there is no plan to change this in the near future. We have a great little freeview recorder, just like sky+ but the main programs we used to record are now not available. They're not on freesat as sky has them as subscriber channels and sky is just too expensive for us. What a shame.Chris: That is correct; it is likely to stay as it is.
The only thing I can suggest is that you keep your eyes peeled for Mendip-facing aerials. It is extremely doubful, but never say never. Obviously it is likely that where there is a Mendip aerial (in locations where reception from Bath is much easier) that it has been installed to get the full complement of channels.
Mendip is at 226° from your location and aerials will be horizontal (elements flat) rather than vertical for Bath.
In situations such as yours where it is quite a way off line-of-sight, reception may vary in just a short space, so even if a neighbour can get it (just!), you may not be able to. Similarly, greater height doesn't always mean better reception. So if you do see a Mendip aerial, don't let it get your hopes up too high. It is, of course, always a possibility that reception from Mendip may vary over time. For this reason, it may be wise to retain the Bath aerial as a back-up should you find that you can pick-up from Mendip.
I suggest seeing if there are any Mendip aerials because it is about the only thing you can do. I can't over-emphasise how much of a long shot it might be! Chris: One final thing; "if" you do find that you can receive from Mendip, but that reception is poor, such as when it rains or when there's snow on the ground, then it is the case that some tuners are more tolerable of poor signals than others. Where one faulters, another "may" be OK. RyanFriday 21 September 2012 1:29PM
Bath Hi, I've just moved into a flat at BA1 6AX.
My girlfriend really wants ITV3 but we can't seem to pick it up (or other channels on that multiplex, at first it appeared in the guide and was almost coming through but just a garbled image. Tried buying a signal booster but that just meant when I rescanned it wasn't even appearing in the guide and completely undetected. From reading on here I wonder if I should try the booster with the power off to try attenuating the signal and see if that helps.
It seems the Bath transmitter only has 3 multiplexes, not including the one I was looking for, is it possible to pick up the signals from a different transmitter? It seems I almost was. I'm going to look at the orientation of the antenna tonight, I'm not sure if it's vertical or horizontal.
Any advice would be really appreciated!Ryan: "If" your aerial is pointing at the Bath transmitter, then, as you already know, it doesn't broadcast the COM channels and so I recommend that you look towards a replacement aerial pointing at Mendip rather than trying to amplify what signal is being picked up from Mendip by your Bath aerial.
A look on Streetview (photos taken August 2009) shows a few aerials on Mendip in the area. Remember that these photos were taken in the days before switchover (when the digital signals were weaker and therefore "perhaps" unavailable at that the location).
If this is a shared communal aerial then obviously you will either need to get those responsible for it to get it changed. If it is your own aerial, then you might like to see whether you can have a replacement for Mendip on the roof of the building, even if you do not live on the top floor.
The Bath transmitter is at 128° and aerials are vertical. Mendip is at 228° and aerials are horizontal. Mark LittlejohnsFriday 9 November 2012 7:27AM
Bath I live near the centre of Bath in BA2 3HE and have been picking up limited freeview channels from presumably the Bath transmitter. Recently my freeview has started picking up all the extra channels that were only previously available from the Mendip transmitter. However most of these are of varying quality digital picture and sound breaking up.
Does anyone know if there has been an upgrade to the Bath transmitter and if so how I can improve the picture quality of these 'extra' channels? Or if I expect my aerial is now picking up a weak signal from the Mendip transmitter.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
MarkMark Littlejohns: The 1,000 plus PSB-only relays aren't likely to be upgraded to provide the full service. Bath transmitter continues to relay only the three PSB multiplexes.
Identify which UHF channel (frequency) that the other channels are coming in on, and hence what transmitter they are coming from. Do this by viewing the signal strength screen whilst on the following: 10:ITV3 (COM4), 11:Pick TV (COM5) and 15:Film4 (COM6).
The three COM channels from Mendip are 48, 56 and 52 respectively.
The result for digital reception (a picture being shown) is pretty much all or nothing. Thus the signal level may have been "just below" before and is "just above" now which is a "slight" change. This is to explain why you may have no reception in one instance, and some in another.
Your aerial is obviously facing the wrong way, it is vertically polarised (Mendip's signals are horizontally polarised) and it is probably a Group A one (which is more sensitive on the lower channels that Bath uses and hence less sensitive on the highest channels which Mendip uses).
I wouldn't like to say whether you will be able to get continual reliable reception from Mendip even with your Bath aerial giving some sort of reception. A professional installer on-site is only likely to be able to say.
It is possible that you are receiving the Mendip signals because there is something that has changed and is reflecting them. Or they may have been there all along, albeit a "slight" increase. Or perhaps something in the path between the transmitter and you has changed and allows more signal through.
The difficulty with Mendip is that you don't have line-of-sight due to residing in a valley. This in itself does not necessarily mean that reception isn't possible.
Look around to see if others have had Mendip-facing aerials fitted. These will be horizontal roughly south west. MarkFriday 9 November 2012 4:44PM
Bath Thanks Dave for your comprehensive reply. I forgot to mention that I had the aerial replaced recently as the previous one was damaged so maybe the new aerial is making the difference. However the aerial has been up a few weeks now and the extra channels have only appeared in the last couple of days. As you suggest I will investigate further.jb38Friday 9 November 2012 11:50PM
Mark: I am inclined to think that the only reason that you are presently receiving these extra channels is purely down to seasonal changes in atmospheric conditions, plus the possibility of vegetational changes haven taking place, this in the form of leaves falling from trees and which always improves signals being received should the signal path be anywhere near to passing over dense vegetation.
The reflective reasons as mentioned by Dave Lindsay always plays a role as well.
Needless to say I would refrain from altering anything, as the signal is very likely to vanish again. MarkWednesday 14 November 2012 8:17PM
Thanks jb38: Yes I think I will leave well alone for now. To be honest there isn't really anything of interest to me on the extra channels in any case. If I still get a signal in a few months I may investigate further. Thanks again for the advice.MarkWednesday 26 December 2012 7:18PM
Bath Poor picture today....loss of signal, pixellation....is this down to the weather?BATH transmitter - Freeview BBC Digital TV Off Air from 06:15 today to 12:42 today HD Digital TV Off Air from 06:15 today to 12:42 today [BBC] MFPAFriday 4 January 2013 1:18PM
My father-in-law tells me the signal from the Bath transmitter is down again today. Any ideas?
He also tells me it came back on yesterday at about 1530 and not at 1242. (It was 1330 when he was on the phone moaning about having had no TV all day...).MFPAFriday 4 January 2013 5:17PM
Dave: thanks for the link. Anything I have been able to find by googling suggests it was all fixed by yesterday afternoon - and it did come back on from around 1530 yesterday until well after midnight. But this morning it was down again when my Father-in-law got up at 10 o'clock, and was still down when I spoke to him about 10 minutes ago.BATH transmitter - Freeview BBC Digital TV Off Air from 06:15 on 03 Jan to 12:42 on 03 Jan HD Digital TV Off Air from 06:15 on 03 Jan to 12:42 on 03 Jan [BBC] BATH transmitter - DAB: BBC National DAB Radio Off Air from 11:42 today to 12:32 today. [BBC] BATH transmitter - DAB: BBC National DAB Radio Off Air from 11:42 on 21 Jan to 12:32 on 21 Jan. [BBC] BATH transmitter - DAB: BBC National DAB Radio Weak Signal from 10:43 on 28 Mar to 11:16 on 28 Mar. [BBC] BATH transmitter - DAB: BBC National DAB Radio Weak Signal from 09:20 today, BBC National DAB Radio Weak Signal from 05:36 yesterday to 05:36 today. [BBC] BATH transmitter - DAB: BBC National DAB Radio Weak Signal from 09:20 today to 10:38 today, BBC National DAB Radio Weak Signal from 05:36 yesterday to 05:36 today. [BBC] BATH transmitter - DAB: BBC National DAB Radio Weak Signal from 09:20 yesterday to 10:38 yesterday, BBC National DAB Radio Weak Signal from 05:36 on 30 Apr to 05:36 yesterday. [BBC] updates
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