Full Freeview on the Sudbury (Suffolk, England) transmitter
This transmitter has no current reported problems
The BBC and Digital UK report there are no faults or engineering work on the Sudbury (Suffolk, England) transmitter.
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The symbol shows the location of the Sudbury (Suffolk, England) transmitter which serves 440,000 homes.
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 plotWhich Freeview channels does the Sudbury 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.
| Mux | Aerial position | Frequency | Height | Mode | Watts |
PSB1
BBCA | horizontal max | C44 (658.0MHz) | 229m | 64QAM 8K 2/3
24.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2 | 100,000W |
| 
1 BBC One East, 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 200 BBC Red Button, 700 BBC Radio 1, 701 BBC Radio 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 Radio 6 Music, 708 BBC Radio 4 Extra, 709 BBC Asian Network, 710 BBC World Service,
|
PSB2
D3+4 | horizontal max | C41 (634.0MHz) | 229m | 64QAM 8K 2/3
24.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2 | 100,000W |
| 
3 ITV (Anglia (East 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 (Anglia east),
|
PSB3
BBCB | horizontal max | C47 (682.0MHz) | 229m | 256QAM 32KE 2/3
40.2Mb/s DVB-T2 MPEG4 | 100,000W |
| 
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 232 The Space,
|
COM4
SDN | horizontal max | C58 (770.0MHz) | 186m | 64QAM 8K 2/3
24.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2 | 100,000W |
| 
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 Bluebird 1, ADULT Playboy, 16 QVC, 23 Bid TV, 49 The Jewellery Channel, 170 ADULT Section, 171 Television X, 180 XxXpanded TV, 201 Teletext Hols, 202 Rabbit, 203 Gay Rabbit, 204 1-2-1 Dating, 228 Christian, 229 CONNECT 2, 230 VISION2, 234 CONNECT 4, 235 God TV, 236 Sony SAB TV Asia, 724 Capital FM, 727 Absolute Radio, 728 Heart,
|
COM5
ArqA | horizontal max | C60- (785.8MHz) | 228m | 64QAM 8K 3/4
27.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2 | 100,000W |
| 
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 36 Create and Craft, 37 Price Drop TV, 43 Gems TV 1, 173 ADULT smileTV3, 175 ADULT PARTY, 176 ADULT Blue, 177 Babestation Xtra, 206 SkyText, 723 talkSPORT,
|
COM6
ArqB | horizontal max | C56 (754.0MHz) | 228m | 64QAM 8K 3/4
27.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2 | 100,000W |
| 
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 heat, 0 Argos TV, 22 Ideal World, 35 QVC Beauty, 40 Rocks and Co 1, 172 ADULT smileTV2, 174 Babestation, 199 ADULT Section, 225 VISION, 226 CCTV, 227 Sports, 231 Racing TV , 306 Channel Zero, 711 The Hits radio, 712 Smash Hits!, 713 Kiss, 714 KISSTORY, 715 Magic, 716 Q, 717 Kerrang!, 718 Smooth radio, 725 Premier Radio,
|
Which BBC and ITV regional news can I watch from the Sudbury transmitter?
Are there any self-help relays?
| Felixstowe West | Transposer | | 1000 homes +1000 or more homes due to expansion of affected area? |
| Witham | Transposer | 14 km NE Chelmsford. | 118 homes |
How will the Sudbury (Suffolk, England) transmission frequencies change over time?
| years | | 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2011 | 2011-13 | 2013-18 | 2013-18 | |
| aerial group | | B E | B E | E | E | E | W | |
| 600 | C31 | | | | | | | com7 | |
| C35 | | | C5 | C5 | | | | |
| C37 | | | | | | | com8 | |
| C39 | | | | B | | | | |
| C41 | | ITV | ITV | ITV | D3+4 | D3+4 | D3+4 | |
| C44 | | BBC2 | BBC2 | BBC2 | BBCA | BBCA | BBCA | |
| C47 | | C4 | C4 | C4 | BBCB | BBCB | BBCB | |
| C48 | | | | +A | | | | |
| 700 | C49 | | | | +1 | | | | |
| C50 | | | | +D | | | | |
| C51 | | BBC1 | BBC1 | BBC1 | | | | |
| C54 | | | | C | | | | |
| C56 | | | | | ArqB | ArqB | ArqB | |
| C58 | | | | | SDN | SDN | SDN | |
| C60 | | | | | -ArqA | -ArqA | -ArqA | |
| 800 | C68 | | | | 2 | | | | |
| 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 6th July and 20th July 2011.
- COM7, COM8 projected for 2013-16. COM7 and COM8 to operate as Sudbury, Tacolneston SFN.
How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?
| Analogue 1-4 | 250kW | |
| SDN, ARQA, ARQB, com7, com8, BBCA, D3+4, BBCB | (-4dB) 100kW | |
| Analogue 5 | (-7dB) 50kW | |
| Mux 2* | (-14.9dB) 8.1kW | |
| Mux B* | (-15.2dB) 7.5kW | |
| Mux 1* | (-15.5dB) 7kW | |
| Mux A* | (-17dB) 5kW | |
| Mux C* | (-22.2dB) 1.5kW | |
| Mux D* | (-23.6dB) 1.1kW | |
Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Sudbury transmitter area
| Oct 1959-Feb 2004 | Anglia 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. Sudbury 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
First comments 
Earlier comments ◊ Later comments
Latest 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.
N
NickWednesday 4 July 2012 4:00PM
Aldeburgh
I will give Sudbury a few days and see if it settles down, otherwise I think Tacolneston is worth a try. I understand since going digital it has a higher mast and coverage, Aldeburgh is no good, not even got ITV 3.N
NickWednesday 4 July 2012 6:56PM
Aldeburgh
Incidentally, it was only in summer I could get good analogue from Dover, with C4 particularly unwatchable in winter, so guess I am currently getting some help to get all digital channels. In winter the signal could vary significantly minute to minute, sea mist being suggested as the cause. Thanks.R
Russell BattleWednesday 4 July 2012 7:30PM
Les NicolWednesday 4 July 2012 7:46PM
Nick - Line of sight in simple terms means that you have no immediate obstruction i.e. Trees, Buildings, Ground terrain obstuctive issues that may impede the digital signal coming to your TV via your TV aerial from the transmitter. Unlike the analgue transmissions the digital transmission is precise similar to that received by satellite to a satellite dish. If you have an unobstructive clear line of sight to the tramsmitter and everything locally in terms of your aerial, connectivity etc should see you free of any recxeption issues. Satellite reception can be a little bit more problamatic in certain weather conditions extreme heavy rain or snow build up on the LNB - the item that's seen on the end of the dish boom arm. In this scenario it's a case of usually a brief or interrupted signal signal.N
NickWednesday 4 July 2012 8:17PM
AldeburghN
NickWednesday 4 July 2012 8:24PM
Aldeburgh
On the other page about Sudbury switchover it says xmitter works from 18 June for a week, so how do we know if they have finished?Nick,Aldeburgh.Oddly enough i did mention in my text on Wednesday 27 June 2012,1.40pm then on my hols in St Annes on Sea,Lancashire in my first paragraph that the Sudbury page requires updating due to the COM multiplexes increasing in strength to 100kw apiece,albeit i forgot to mention the change in frequencies back then.
Im sure Briantist the owner of this ever valuable and useful website will ultimately update this page in due course once he catches up with the Sudbury pages,after all he is a very busy man assisting us all. Les NicolThursday 5 July 2012 6:55AM
Nick - The sea shouldn't make any difference it's the transmitter coverage - whether it's a main or relay transmitter and their respective outputs. In most cases an existing aerial should suffice, but if your on the fringes of a transmitter(s) you may well need to consider if a particular aerial, cabling etc is up to the job. Alternaitvely as in my area Low Powered Relay transmitters and ground terrain and obstruction issues often dictate the installation of "Freesat" service over "Freeview".
D
davidThursday 5 July 2012 8:14AM
EyeN
NickThursday 5 July 2012 8:46AM
Aldeburgh
Les, I am afraid I still do not follow your reasoning about the sea. I have a shed at the bottom of my garden where I play about with tellies. I cannot get my local transmitter, Sudbury, as there is a tree in the neighbour's garden.
I can, however, get Dover as it comes from a different direction with no tree in the way. There is, however, a wall of sea, probably 50 miles thick due to the curvature of the earth between here and Dover 66 miles away.
What is the difference between that tree and the wall of water?N
NickThursday 5 July 2012 10:08AM
Aldeburgh
But why is it when I look out of my window over the sea, I can only see ships, say, 10 miles out at most before the sky meets the sea? Are you saying that if my upstairs window was only 13 metres higher I could technically see Dover?
What effect do you think a sudden sea mist has? Is it like the tree in the neighbour's garden?
When Dover was analogue the picture could go from strong to almost imperceptible in minutes.Nick: The horizon is where the ground or sea "meets" the sky. There can be things on the horizon which are effectively "protruding" from the horizon.
Imagine if, after having gone over the horizon, the ship were to sprout a tall mast and fly a flag on it. The height of the flag may be visible over the horizon, even though the ship itself is not visible owing to the curvature of the earth.
The same appears to be true of the top of the Dover mast. Whilst it may not be possible to see it due the air not being clear, there is no land (hill) or other object inbetween it and you when on the top of your house.
It could be that the Kent coastline, and even the high ground on which the transmitter sits, is over the horizon (from your vantage point), but the top of the mast is not.
Visible light is also carried as electromagnetic waves. If you're driving your car at night you have the headlights on and they shine into the distance and on to objects which reflects the light back to you.
The more the mist and fog set in, the more difficult it is to see the objects. Headlights in dense fog result in illuminating the water droplets. The light becomes much more of a "ball" in front of you than a beam shining afar.
Conversely, other drivers see nothing of the radiated light until they are close. This is because the light is no longer travelling as far as it does when visibility is clear.
And so, I imagine that TV reception is much the same. The almost sudden loss of signal is probably down to a sudden mist moving in. The signal is travelling over the sea for over 40 miles.
Imagine what it would be like to look out from the top of the transmitter and see the signal being radiated. On a clear day, the signal will travel and objects a long way away will be visible in the "light" of the signal. When the mist comes in, the electromatnetic energy will end up getting "caught" in the droplets. What will be seen is the "light" reflecting back from the droplets. Those who can normally receive the signal will find that they get nothing or much less "light" than they normally do.
This suggests that you may not have stable reception of the COMs from Dover after all. You may have to listen to the Shipping Forecast to find out whether your viewing may be affected. N
NickThursday 5 July 2012 2:12PM
Aldeburgh
I wonder why you differentiate the coms, though.
I suppose the fact that the atmosphere in winter is just plain damp also reduces the signal.
I had thought that my current good reception was similar to the fact that those blessed Dutchmen mess us about in summer, ie atmospherics, but presumably not so. I just get a good signal in its own right, with it reduced due to moisture.
I suppose if I play about trying to get an inland xmitter such as Tacolneston I will be less affected by mist etc. To think, you have given me all this time when all these problems might be caused by men playing with the Sudbury xmitter, who knows if they are or if they have finished.When I checked my signal strength for Sudbury this morning channels: 56, 58 and 60 all come through as 92%. Hope it helps Nick. J
John StoneThursday 5 July 2012 4:51PM
Hockley
John.
Hockley, SS5 4JNJohn Stone.Hockley,SS5 4JN.Are you still using a group B (yellow tipped) diplexed aerial for the COM multiplexes from Sudbury itself.That could be the answer to your predicament as such.If it is you will have to either change the group B aerial for a group C/D green tipped aerial,or group E brown tipped semi-wideband aerial for the diplexed part of your horizontally polarised aerial aimed at Sudbury for the SDN,ArqA and ArqB commercial multiplexes. N
NickThursday 5 July 2012 5:34PM
AldeburghR
Robert BFriday 6 July 2012 3:59PM
J
JohnSaturday 7 July 2012 1:44PM
Hopefully the weak Mux's, com5 /6 will be higher?P
Pete GreenSaturday 7 July 2012 8:53PM
All the channels now 100kw. The 20th of July at the top of this page was last year.N
Norm De PlumeSaturday 7 July 2012 9:56PM
A retune should have you sorted.S
Steve PSunday 8 July 2012 12:32PM
N
NickSunday 8 July 2012 5:54PM
AldeburghDaleSunday 8 July 2012 7:44PM
Ipswich Have noticed that there is an interruption every day at 3.29 p.m. It only lasts a few seconds but is at exactly the same time each day for the last few days. Not sure if it is every MUX as have been on BBC1/2 for the tennis every time!Hi
Just a quick ask? I retuned my mother in laws tv today she is in Gosfield Essex, total channels 24 tv on digital, 11 radio, and 3 data, lots missing, is there a reason for this, retuned it 3 times as it seemed that so many were not there, anyone enlighten me, is that what we are ending up with, or does it need retuning again at a later date. John Snowden: Also see above postings. It "may" be that Sudbury is not in its final state and therefore it might be worth waiting a little longer before replacing the aerial. N
NickMonday 9 July 2012 8:14PM
AldeburghN
NickMonday 9 July 2012 8:14PM
AldeburghN
NickTuesday 10 July 2012 9:14AM
Aldeburgh
I get 100% from ch 58, and cannot see why just two channels higher there is not even a weak signal. Granted the aerial may not be wideband enough, yet when there were very low power stations on ch 63, just occasionally I could receive them. Nick, Hollesley. With Sudbury finally transmitting on full power we read that with the introduction of 4G services by the moblie phone companies that Freeview may be disruppted for over two million viewers. If 4G goes ahead does anyone know if it will affetct Sudbury Freeview services? I read that some kind of filters will have to be connected to affected equipment to correct the problem. Sounds like more hassle. P
PETER HUGHESWednesday 11 July 2012 8:21AM
Clacton-on-sea
Perhaps channel 60 is not, yet, transmitting at full intended power?N
NickWednesday 11 July 2012 10:19AM
Bures
This problem, which has only started recently, creates dropouts in picture/sound. I should point out that the weather is clear right now, just in case that is an issue.
Any help from this forum would be gratefully acknowledged.
Kind regards
NickD
DavidWednesday 11 July 2012 11:03AM
Clacton-on-sea
CP is around 75% and Bluebell Hill 60% + Dover is around 50% all on the same one. N
Nick AWednesday 11 July 2012 11:08AM
Bures
Just to say the time is now 1100 and the signal quality is back to a steady 100%. Any ideas ?N
Nick AWednesday 11 July 2012 11:10AM
Bures
Did you have any issues between 0900 and 1100 this morning ?
Nick AN
Nick AWednesday 11 July 2012 11:14AM
BuresN
Nick AWednesday 11 July 2012 2:43PM
Bures
Thanks for that. I looked at the website which addresses signal 'strength'. But my issue is with 'quality' not 'strength'.
The signal 'strength' stays consistently at 80%, even when the 'quality' fluctuates down to 20% .
So, I am still stymied. Thoughts ?
Regards
Les NicolWednesday 11 July 2012 2:57PM
Nick A: I realise you are seeking further response from Dave, but if you are still "stymied" and aren't a fanatical fan with regard to the "Dave" channel on "Freeview" there is a comparable channel line up on the "Freesat" platform. Perhaps a "no goer" for you if you have invested in "Freeview" equipment beyond a TV set with an onboard "Freeview" tuner.
Just a thought?Nick A: There are two factors with digital signals:
- strength: this is the level of the signal (level of voltage if you like)
- quality: digital pictures are resolved to digits (numberical values)
A poor quality signal means that the digits are not being received correctly and hence the picture breaks up or cannot be resolved at all.
Receivers have upper thresholds of signal strength that they can operate at.
A hifi system has a similar maximum level above which the signal starts to distort and therefore the quality reduces.
I imagine that when the strength of a digital signal gets to a level that is excessive (or bordering on excessive), then the effect is analogous to distortion of a hifi system's sound output. K
KMJ,DerbyWednesday 11 July 2012 3:29PM
N
Nick AWednesday 11 July 2012 3:50PM
Bures
Questions:
1. the site Dave sent me to says that any signal above 75% is too high. Yet, that is what it has been registering since the day I installed it a year ago and without any problems. The problem has arisen and been intermittent since the signal boost at Sudbury in June. If I install an attenuator will it fix the problem ?
2. it does seem odd that I am the only person having this problem (or at least reporting it on this website). this leads me to believe it could be a localised issue. Yet, I have done the usual debugging (including the tip from KMJ, thank you). No difference.
And thank you to Les. I did toy with a Freesat, but am now fully invested in Freeview. So for the time being, and provided I can fix this, I will keep the status quo.
Sign me Nick A, frustrated but still working it !
N
Nick AWednesday 11 July 2012 3:57PM
BuresNick A: 1. Signal level meters vary between devices. So the levels indicated by different devices connected to the same aerial may show different levels. If they were more accurate then receivers would be more expensive as they would have to have more accurate components in!
An attenuator will reduce the level of the signals and will rectify the issue if it is caused by too high a signal level.
2. The level of the signal coming out of the aerial cable is relative to the strength of the signal in the air where your aerial is as well as the sensitivity of the aerial.
You have said that the problem seems to have arisen since the power increase of the three Commercial multiplexes from Sudbury last month. Each multiplex is a single signal which carries multiple services. For example, one carries all BBC standard definition services (BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three etc).
It is not necessarily just the signal in question that is tuned to that can overwhelm a receiver. High power signals on nearby frequencies can do so as well. Since June you have more higher power signals on nearby frequencies.
A solution to a technical problem isn't necessarily clear cut. It is a case of making observations of what is happening and making a change which may seem the most likely. In this case, trying reducing the signal level would seem the most likely possible solution based on what we know. It is also the case that its cost is low.
You may be able to crudely attenuate the signal (reduce its level) by removing the aerial plug and holding it close to the socket (either at the wall socket or the back of the receiver).
Or at your location you may be able to use a set-top aerial. These being to test the theory that it may be too high a signal level.
If it is too high a signal level, then the fact that it works without difficulty sometimes could be explained by signal levels varying a little bit at different times. At certain times they become too high. N
Nick AWednesday 11 July 2012 4:55PM
Bures
i am assuming that if the signal 'overstrength' was an issue then the 'quality' would be consistently poor. it is not. it fluctuates from 100% down to 40% and back, and then is perfectly fine at 100% for half an hour or more.Nick A: It may be worth checking that your receiver is tuned to the signals from Sudbury and that you are, unknowingly, watching the output from a neighbouring transmitter.
Signal strength screens usually give the UHF channel (frequency) that it is tuned to. There are six signals (multiplexes) from Sudbury:
PSB1 | BBC One | C44
PSB2 | ITV1 | C41
PSB3 | BBC One HD | C47 (if applicable)
COM4 | ITV3 | C58
COM5 | Pick TV | C60
COM6 | Yesterday | C56
The "C" numbers are UHF channel numbers.
I have listed one service carried on each multiplex. To identify which multiplex a particular service is carried on, see this page:
http://www.dmol.co.uk/mux….php
Looking at the predictor for your location, Sandy Heath and Crystal Palace are perhaps possibilities. If you find any of the PSBs tuned (incorrectly) to channels in the 20s, then a simple way around this is to run the automatic tuning scan with the aerial unplugged for the first 30% of the scan (or until it gets past C30). N
Nick AWednesday 11 July 2012 5:36PM
Bures
Sorry, our posts went up at the same time. Thanks for your further notes. I will try a few things.
The aerial is in another location. I tried moving it off about 15 degrees and have reduced the signal strength down to 70%, but the quality problem is still there. So i will totter out and get an attenuator tomorrow.
But logic says to me, if i can reduce the signal to within tolerance and the problem remains, then the strength issue may not be the problem.
Yours ever hopeful,
Nick AN
NickWednesday 11 July 2012 7:47PM
Aldeburgh
You were possibly talking to the other Nick, but here at Hollesley I am scratching my head.
I actually have three boxes on three separate Sudbury aerials. In analogue days, one aerial was much better for C5. Now I find that the main box, my pvr, on that aerial, shows virtually no signal on ch60 and therefore no reception, whilst the other boxes and aerials are now getting the mux on C60. Dover, on a homemade aerial, at upstairs window height only, brings in all channels!N
Nick AThursday 12 July 2012 2:15PM
Bures
19:03
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