Freeview: Whitehawk Hill (Brighton and Hove, England) full-Freeview transmitter
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Freeview on the Whitehawk Hill (Brighton and Hove, England) transmitter

Google StreetviewGoogle mapBing mapGoogle Earth50.825,-0.113 or 50°49'29"N 0°6'47"WBN2 5EL

4G at 800MHz (at800) Freeview reception issues

When 800MHz 4G mobile broadband services start there will be 1 multiplex in the higher risk range (C21-23, C30, C59-60): C60: BBCA
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 Whitehawk Hill transmitter which serves 96,000 homes.

Other maps:Whitehawk Hill DABWhitehawk Hill AM/FMWhitehawk Hill regionBBC South EastMeridian (South Coast 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.

Whitehawk Hill 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
 vertical
Maximum64QAM 8K 2/3
24.1Mb/s
DVB-T MPEG2		4,000
Channel icons
1 BBC One South East, 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 C60- (785.8MHz) from 171m datum.
PSB2
D3+4
 vertical
Maximum64QAM 8K 2/3
24.1Mb/s
DVB-T MPEG2		4,000
Channel icons
3 ITV (Meridian (South Coast 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 (Meridian south coast),
• as a digital multiplex transmitted on frequency C53 (730.0MHz) from 171m datum.
PSB3
BBCB
 vertical
Maximum256QAM 32KE 2/3
40.2Mb/s
DVB-T2 MPEG4		4,000
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
• as a digital multiplex transmitted on frequency C51 (714.0MHz) from 171m datum.
COM4
SDN
 vertical
Maximum64QAM 8K 3/4
27.1Mb/s
DVB-T MPEG2		4,000
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 C57 (762.0MHz) from 164m datum.
COM5
ArqA
 vertical
Maximum64QAM 8K 3/4
27.1Mb/s
DVB-T MPEG2		4,000
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 C56 (754.0MHz) from 171m datum.
COM6
ArqB
 vertical
Maximum64QAM 8K 3/4
27.1Mb/s
DVB-T MPEG2		4,000
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 C48 (690.0MHz) from 171m datum.


Regional news from the Whitehawk Hill transmitter


BBC South East Today 0.8m homes 3.2%
from Tunbridge Wells TN1 1QQ, 43km northeast
to BBC South East region - 45 masts.

ITV Meridian News 0.8m homes 3.2%
from Whiteley PO15 7AD, 80km west
to ITV Meridian (South Coast) region - 36 masts.

How the transmission frequencies change over time

years1950s~851984-971997-981998-20122012-132013-182013-182019-
aerial groupVHFC/D EEEC/D EC/D EC/D EK
C2BBCtv
C22SDN
C25ArqA
C28ArqB
600C35C5C5
C39BBCB
C42D3+4
C45BBCA
C48BArqBArqBArqB
700C502
C51BBCBBBCBBBCB
C53C4C4C4D3+4D3+4D3+4
C54local
C55A
C56ArqAArqAArqA
C57BBC1BBC1BBC1SDNSDNSDN
C58+C
C60ITVITVITV-BBCA-BBCA-BBCA
800C61+D
C63BBC2BBC2BBC2
C661

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 7th March and 21st March 2012.

  • Ofcom have projected that a local television service for Brighton and Hove could use an Interleaved Frequency on the Brighton (Whitehawk Hill) transmitter using C54

Comparison of old analogue and current digital signal levels

Analogue 1-4 10kW
Analogue 5(-3dB) 5kW
SDN, ARQA, ARQB, BBCA, D3+4, BBCB(-4dB) 4kW
Mux B*(-10dB) 1000W
Mux 2*, Mux C*, Mux D*(-14dB) 400W
Mux 1*, Mux A*(-17dB) 200W
local(-44dB) 0.4W

History of Channel 3 in the Whitehawk Hill transmitter area

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

Diana Palmer
Thursday 26 January 2006 4:43PM
I have just bought a freeview box and am amazed that I can't receive ITV 1 and channel 4. When will this problem be rectified? One would have thought the main tv channels would be a priority! I was thinking of buying an integrated digital TV but this changes my mind!

Brighton Coastal
(Whitehawk transmitter).
Briantist
Friday 27 January 2006 5:35PM
Diana, This is the classic problem caused by the 64QAM transmitter mode. The multiplexes were allocated under the assumption they would use the same mode. You will probably need (unless you want to wait until 2012) a new class-I aerial to receive the "mutliplex" that carries ITV1-4, C4, more4 and E4. See : www.ukfree.tv link icon Freeview modes. This is a common problem for people in Brighton and Hove who receive their signal from Whitehawk Hill. I take it you are missing a digital channel "five" as well (because it's analogue signal is stronger).
Rod Main
Tuesday 16 May 2006 8:15PM
Since about 13th May, all the ITV channels seemed to have dropped off the mast. Everything else is fine.
Lisa
Thursday 18 May 2006 5:57PM
Yup! Ours was poor when we first got the box two or three months ago, but Whitehawk Hill is directly in our line of sight so a bit of fiddling about (with just an indoor aerial no less!) meant we finally managed to get all the channels. But we've also just recently lost all the Mux 2 channels and no amount of standing on chairs with the aerial in hand is getting even a glimmer of reception now...poor or otherwise! Having read a bit more I was wondering if it was weather/shrubbery related (certainly it's completely coincided with all the new leaves on the trees suddenly showing themselves)? And are these problems likely to be rectified before the big roll out or will we just have to make do with an inferior mast/signal strength until then?!?
Briantist
Thursday 18 May 2006 7:42PM
I checked yesterday when I was in Brighton and I could watch channels on multiplex 2. If you imagine the transmitter as a lighthouse, anything that would block the light will block the tv signal too. There are no plans to improve the signal strength before switchover. It would be a good incentive though, to decrease the analogue strenth and increase the digital signal strenth over time...?
C Bowles
Sunday 23 July 2006 10:14AM
I live in Sompting, about 4 miles from Worthing and am tuned into Whitehawk Brighton for Freeview.

The picture and signal are always 100% perfect but since the storm yesterday morning, I have lost all Freeview Channels and only get very grainy terrestrial channels, hardly viewable.

Is the Whitehawk transmitter down (how do I confirm this?) or could the aerial have blown (how do I confirm this?).

The aerial is fitted in the roof and is a high gain wideband aerial - does this mean it contain amplifiers that could have blown due to the static in the storm?

Anybody currently receiving Freeview ok from Whitehawk?

Thanks.
Briantist
Sunday 23 July 2006 12:40PM
Brighton's Whitehawk Hill transmitter is fine. A high gain wideband aerial does not need a amplifer to work. See www.ukfree.tv link icon Freeview reception - all about aerials | ukfree.tv - independent digital TV and switchover advice Freeview reception - all about aerials. The most likly explanation for your problem is that the aerial has been blown off target by high wind.
C Bowles
Sunday 23 July 2006 4:11PM
Traced the problem, it was at my end.

I have a Class 2 Digital High Gain Aerial I installed in the loft. The coax goes down the cavity and into the lounge wall outlet. This leads via a short coax to a plug in mains powered amplifier which then outputs into the freeview box.

When I removed the mains amplifier the terrestrial picture improved and I received an average quality Freeview picture. Purchased a new mains amplifier and the Freeview picture is now perfect with 100% signal quality and strength, likewise the terrestrial picture.

The lightning must have increased the static levels and blown the old mains amplifier as you suggested.

The old amplifier was single output with 12.5db gain. I purchased another single with switchable 6 and 18.5db gain (I'll leave on 18.5db presumably for best picture?????). The multi output amplifiers were only 7.5db gain and I didn't want to drop below 12.5db which was what I originally had.

Excellent link about aerials, thanks.

Briantist
Tuesday 25 July 2006 11:41AM
Thanks for the information. It is often the case that amplifiers cause more problems than they solve, and more modern ones ("digital aware") ones are less likely to cause problems with Freeview reception. You may need to switch the amplifier to a lower gain when switchover happens.
tufty
Friday 28 July 2006 12:35AM
It's worth noting that the ITV multiplex is directional and has a null towards Patcham which may result in you not getting a signal for that multiplex. The reason for this Null is because the Patcham analogue relay has a channel that is on the same frequency as the ITV multiplex.
Briantist
Friday 28 July 2006 12:05PM
Yes, the Patcham relay uses www.ukfree.tv link icon  C50 for analogue channel 4, and will cause interference to anyone who is trying to receive multiplex 2 from Whitehawk Hill who can also recevie a signal from the Patcham relay.
Alan Skinner
Thursday 26 October 2006 4:50PM Worthing
Can you help, at present i receive my pictures from the Isle of Wight transmitter channels 1,2,3&4. Their is a large tree at the bottom of my garden that I can not touch sometimes the picture is very gainy-heronbone lines. I have a 12year old analogue aerial.
Living in Goring-by-sea BN12 6AP can I fit a new aerial and change direction to the Whitehawk tranmitter as I believe this will get me channels 1,2,3,4&5. Would a class2 mount vertical on a 12' mast pole with High gain & wideband be ok. Or should I use a deicated C/D band aerial?
Briantist
Thursday 26 October 2006 5:19PM
Alan: if you are going to buy a new aerial for digital reception, a wideband one will be fine, as there is no requirement to filter out other transmissions from other transmitters. You are on the edge of what can be received digitally from Whitehawk Hill, so you will need a Class I or II CAI-marked aerial. I would switch to using Freeview as you will get 30 channels rather than 5. You should always mount the aerial as high up as possible.
Dan
Monday 30 October 2006 7:41PM
Hello, I am living in Seaford right on the seafront, Purchased a freeview box today and can only receive Mux B, I am guessing from whitehawk hill but there is no way I am in it's line of sight. Will replacing my rooftop aerial with a wideband one give me more multiplexes? thanks for any help.
Briantist
Monday 30 October 2006 7:49PM
Not specifically a wideband aerial - the transmission are already in the correct group - but a digital Class I or II aerial with lots of elements might.
Dan
Monday 30 October 2006 9:03PM
Thanks Briantist, Do you think a 48 Element High Gain Wideband aerial will get me all channels in Seaford? I think thats a class 2.

Link pasted below

www.maplin.co.uk link icon 
43Element HighGain Wideband TV Aerial : Outdoor TV Aerials : Maplin
Briantist
Monday 30 October 2006 9:18PM
That sort of thing, but this particualr one has no CAI markings, so it has not been tested.
Dan
Tuesday 31 October 2006 7:45PM
Could you please show me one on maplin that you think would get all the freeview channels from Seaford? Thanks for all your help.
Stuart
Friday 3 November 2006 9:44PM
Receiving all Mux's from Whitehawk Hill here in Friston (near eastbourne) using Televes DAT75 with Mrd and two low noise -medium gain amps for distribution. Occasional early evening breakup on ch55 Mux when high-pressure moving across from Brighton direction!
Michael Clements
Saturday 11 November 2006 10:44AM
Sir,
Do you not think that the transmittion of a decent signal should be implimented before we are forced to go digital. The signal I recieve from I O W is very variable so over an evenings viewing we only get to see 2/3rds of the transmittions because the rest is scrambled. How about reducing the Licence fee until you get your end right. I do gave the top of the range ariel and cables installed with no benifit of a consistent decent picture.
PS I am thinking of moving to Goring by Sea West Susex
Briantist
Saturday 11 November 2006 6:26PM
Michael: it is simply not possible to do that. It is necessary to remove the analogue transmissions before switching to high-power digital-only ones because the current 'dual-running' uses frequencies that were reserved as 'buffers' between the analogue transmitters. A whole new frequency plan has been devised. You are really out-of-range for the digital transmissions from Rowridge at the moment.
John
Wednesday 22 November 2006 12:30AM
Hi. I'm in the Preston Park area of Brighton, at the hilltop near close to the Ditchling Road. After fairly hassle-free viewing of Freeview for the last couple of years - I have a wideband aerial on the roof - I've just started having severe reception problems with Mux2. I wondered if I was alone? Also I wondered how many channels I should expect to pick up. I read on another forum from a person living in London and using the Crystal Place transmitter that 96 Freeview channels are now available. Regards, John
Briantist
Wednesday 22 November 2006 5:26PM
John: the channels broadcast on Freeview are more-or-less idential (aside from regional variations and S4C rather than QVC in Wales). Multiplex 2 (and A) are broadcast in 64QAM mode and are more prone to interference. Has the problem continued?
John
Wednesday 22 November 2006 11:06PM
Tonight my tuner after a reset/rescan cannot find any of the Mux2 channels. 67 channels found in total. Signal strength on these channels as measured by the tuner is between 58-64%. John
Briantist
Monday 27 November 2006 2:00PM
John: you may need a bigger aerial to receive all the channels with good enough signal strength the whole time. However, first check that you cables, connectors and aerial are in good condition.
Gary
Monday 27 November 2006 8:35PM
John,
You are not alone - I live in the same area (5 ways hill) & have experienced the same problem - after a year of good reception.
Could this be a transmitter fault?
rupert
Tuesday 28 November 2006 9:03AM
John/Gary,

I live at 5 ways and have the same exerience (again after a year of good reception).
rupert
Tuesday 28 November 2006 9:06AM
Briantist,

in fact I had a class 2 aerial installed on a 9 foot pole (a few days ago to try and rectify this). The new aerial now picks up MUX2 but it's VERY VERY low and drops out completely in bad weather.

I think that they have simply dropped the output power on MUX 2 at the transmitter and those with poorer quality aerials no longer can recieve it.
Ray
Tuesday 28 November 2006 3:16PM
I have just bought a digibox but it keeps switching itself off and on so it it impossible to watch anything. Could this be a problem with the ariel or is the box faulty, when it is on the picture quality is fine.
John
Tuesday 28 November 2006 8:51PM
Three people posting onto this forum at the same time concerning the same issue with the same transmitter is likely not a co-incidence.

If this transmitter's power has been lowered, where does this new information get published please?

And who do we complain to about this issue?

John
Rupert
Wednesday 29 November 2006 12:04PM
John,

rang OFCOM. They tell me that to either ring ITV (as they might know of any tramitter work) 0870 600 6766 or call Digital 3 & 4 (owners of MUX 2) on 01953 608 040.

Some other names to know, appearently ARQIVA and National Grid Wireless are the two companies that own the transmitters.
Rupert
Wednesday 29 November 2006 12:13PM
John,

rang ITV - they are not aware of any problems or work going on at the Whitehawk Hill transmitter.

I recommend ringing them and telling them also that you have a problem. The more people that do it might help to rectify any problems.

Rupert
rupert
Wednesday 29 November 2006 1:55PM
John/Gary,
ITV called me back, they have spoke to their engineers at Whitehawk Hill and have confirmed that the signal is low and that you may not be able to get MUX2. They have not reduced the power or changed anything recently.

Not only is this not very helpful ( yeah we are crap, good init? ) I don't think that it's likely that nothing has changed.

Perhaps others would like to call them (and ofcom) and complain.
Ian
Wednesday 29 November 2006 6:21PM
I've just recently been having a problem with freeview reception on both Mux1 and MuxA, other Muxes are ok, including Mux2. I'm off New Church Road and never had a problem in nearly two years here. I would blame my aerial as the analogue reception isn't that great and the wind could have got at it or some other thing. However, I had channel 5 (MuxA) go bad for a day and then come back ok the next day. Now bbc (Mux1) and channel 5 are both bad together. Suggests to me that there is some tweaking going on that hasn't worked out that well for some people especially as Mux1, 2 and A are lowest powered ones.


Gareth
Wednesday 29 November 2006 6:57PM
Just rang ITV on the advice above, spoke to a very nice lady who asked me to provide her with postcodes of people I knew where affected. Might be an idea if other people could do the same, apparently they've had an engineer on site today.

so far its been 10 days without 'I'm a celebrity!' Heaven!
Briantist
Thursday 30 November 2006 11:24PM
Ray: your problem is a box fault. Please return it to the retailer for an immediate refund or exchange.
Briantist
Thursday 30 November 2006 11:28PM
Because Brighton is so close to France (with only the flat sea in the way), the power of the transmissions have to be kept very low to stop interference with French analogue transmissions. The problem will be fixed in 2012. I have personally received all multiplexes from all over the place in Brighton and : the bottom of Ditchling Rise, Second Avenue, Elm Grove, Union Street, Palmeria Square, Western Road and so forth. The best possible advise is to get a 100-element digital (CAI-marked) aerial.
Briantist
Thursday 30 November 2006 11:46PM
rupert: you may need a 100-element aerial for reliable reception.
Dave
Friday 1 December 2006 7:04PM Brighton
Along with John, Gary and Rupert I have experienced a recent and severe degradation of Mux2. Again, I had perfect reception of these channels until recently. I live half-way up Elm Grove (BN2 3PJ).
Thanks for advice posted, I'll ring ITV next week.
Martin
Monday 4 December 2006 12:08PM
As well as John, Gary, Rupert and Dave I'm having problems with Mux2. I live near the top of 5ways hill and have line of sight to the Whitehawk Hill transmitter For about 4 yearsI have had virtualy no problems with reception. Aboout 3 weeks ago Mux2 dropped out. There has been no sign of it since. To quote the song we seem to have us a convoy. Surely not coincidence I am phoning ITV/OFCOM I wonder how many people it will take before somethin is done?
Rupert
Tuesday 5 December 2006 12:08PM
Martin,

indeed. This problem must be affecting hundrends of households, it's just that they don't know where to go to report the problem I guess.

Perhaps some one could write an article for the free Fiveways magazine to try and ascertain the scale of this problem.
Gary
Tuesday 5 December 2006 3:07PM
I have put an official complaint about the loss of MUX2 from Whitehawk to ITV, & referred them to this blog. Perhaps they will be able to investigate further.
Rupert
Wednesday 6 December 2006 8:58AM
Maybe we should ask our neighbours if they are experiencing the problem and get them to post here and ring ITV! I wonder how many complaints ITV need to do something?
Chris
Wednesday 6 December 2006 11:11AM Brighton
I am in Normanton St off Elm Grove and cannot get MUX2 any more BN2 3AT have band new twig and Humax boxen. used to work fine.
Rupert
Wednesday 6 December 2006 12:21PM
Chris,
please ring ITV 0870 600 6766 speak to the duty officer and air your complaint. Also it might be a good idea to ask them if they are aware that there seems to be a big problem developing here and for them to investigate further. If you find anything out please post it here.
Clare
Wednesday 6 December 2006 9:08PM
I live in Withdean, Brighton and after a year of problem free reception of all the main Freeview channels we have recently lost ITV1 and 1TV3 amongst other channels. We've been trying to sort it out for the last week or two and I've only just found this site. Who do we contact to report it or ask for help? Suggestions welcome!
rupert
Thursday 7 December 2006 9:01AM
Clare, see my above post to Chris!
As mentioned before I think we need to spread the word. Talk to your neighbours, get them to ring ITV and complain.
Geoff
Friday 8 December 2006 5:22PM
I live up on the hill in Westdene - direct line of site to Whitehawk - all my mux2 services have started breaking up over the last few weeks. An aerial installer I spoke to said that he was getting loads of calls from people having trouble with ITV and CH4
Johh
Friday 8 December 2006 9:21PM
As well as phoning ITV on the number above they can also be emailed too:

www.itv.com link icon http://www.itv.com/page.a…1215

Don't be put off by the standard headings in this online form; even if you don't enter information under the standard headings you can still submit the form.

Has anyone had any feedback following a complaint by phone?



Briantist
Saturday 9 December 2006 8:56PM
I've just phoned up a few people in various part of Brighton and they are able to watch multiplex 2 fine...
clare
Sunday 10 December 2006 12:25PM
I've emailed The Argus, hoping they'll do a little probing into the problem (of no itv channels). It might stir someone into action!



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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