Freeview: Crystal Palace (Greater London, England) Full Freeview transmitter
Site settings
For an enhanced Freeview reception
prediction please enter your
full postcode, a national grid reference or
a UK latitude and longitude pair. 
Most popular
On other sites

Full Freeview on the Crystal Palace (Greater London, England) transmitter

Google StreetviewGoogle mapBing mapGoogle Earth51.424,-0.076 or 51°25'26"N 0°4'32"WSE19 1UE

4G at 800MHz (at800) Freeview reception issues

When 800MHz 4G mobile broadband services start there will be 3 multiplexes in the higher risk range (C21-23, C30, C59-60): C22: ArqA, C23: BBCA, C30: BBCB
See How do I know if the 4G broadband will overload my Freeview? and Full UK map of 4G issue areas for details.

This transmitter has no current reported problems

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

map is loading, please wait...

The symbol shows the location of the Crystal Palace (Greater London, England) transmitter which serves 4,490,000 homes.

Other maps:Crystal Palace DABCrystal Palace AM/FMCrystal Palace regionBBC LondonLondon

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

Crystal Palace 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
C23 (490.0MHz)324m64QAM 8K 2/3
24.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2		200,000W
Channel icons
1 BBC One London, 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
C26 (514.0MHz)324m64QAM 8K 2/3
24.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2		200,000W
Channel icons
3 ITV (London), 4 Channel 4 London ads, 5 Channel 5 London ads, 6 ITV 2, 13 Channel 4+1 London ads, 14 More 4, 28 E4, 33 ITV +1 (London),

PSB3
BBCB
 horizontal max
C30- (545.8MHz)324m256QAM 32KE 2/3
40.2Mb/s DVB-T2 MPEG4		200,000W
Channel icons
101 BBC One HD (England no regional news), 102 BBC Two HD (England), 103 ITV HD (ITV London), 104 Channel 4 HD London ads, plus 1 others

COM4
SDN
 horizontal max
C25 (506.0MHz)314m64QAM 8K 3/4
27.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2		200,000W
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
C22 (482.0MHz)321m64QAM 8K 3/4
27.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2		200,000W
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
C28- (529.8MHz)321m64QAM 8K 3/4
27.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2		200,000W
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 Crystal Palace transmitter


BBC London 4.9m homes 18.4%
from London W1A 1AA, 11km north-northwest
to BBC London region - 55 masts.

ITV London News 4.9m homes 18.4%
from London WC1X 8XZ, 11km north-northwest
to ITV London region - 55 masts.

Self-help relays

Charlton AthleticTransposerRedeveloped north stand Charlton Athletic Football Club130 homes
DeptfordTransposersouth-east London100 homes
GreenfordTransposer12 km N Heathrow Airport203 homes
HendonTransposerGraham Park estate50 homes
White CityTransposer9 km W central London80 homes

How the transmission frequencies change over time

years1950s~851984-971997-981998-20122012-132013-182013-18
aerial groupVHFA KA KA KA KA KA K
C1BBCtv
C22-2ArqAArqAArqA
C23ITVITVITVBBCABBCABBCA
C25-1SDNSDNSDN
C26BBC1BBC1BBC1D3+4D3+4D3+4
C28-B-ArqB-ArqB-ArqB
C29-Dlocal
C30C4C4C4-BBCB-BBCB-BBCB
600C32-A
C33BBC2BBC2BBC2com7
C34+C
C35com8

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 4th April and 18th April 2012.

  • Ofcom have projected that a local television service for London including Greater London area could use an Interleaved Frequency on the Crystal Palace transmitter using C29
  • COM7, COM8 projected for 2013-16. COM7 and COM8 to operate as Crystal Palace,Guildford, Reigate SFN.

Comparison of old analogue and current digital signal levels

Analogue 1-4 1000kW
SDN, ARQA, ARQB, com7, com8, BBCA, D3+4, BBCB(-7dB) 200kW
Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D*(-17dB) 20kW
PreDSO-BBCB*(-20dB) 10kW

History of Channel 3 in the Crystal Palace transmitter area

Sep 1955-Jul 1968Associated-Rediffusion†
Sep 1955-Jul 1968Associated TeleVision◊
Jul 1968-Dec 1992Thames†
Jul 1968-Feb 2004London Weekend Television♦
Jan 1993-Feb 2004Carlton†
Feb 2004-Dec 2014ITV plc†
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. Crystal Palace 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.

Mike Dimmick
Wednesday 11 April 2012 2:27PM
peter T: If you still get BBC Two analogue, you're not getting it from Crystal Palace, or any of the London transmitters. It was switched off last Wednesday. Perhaps you're using Bluebell Hill?

We can't provide any better advice without a full postcode.
Mike Dimmick
Wednesday 11 April 2012 2:28PM
peter T: Also check that your box is not one that is known to have a problem with the larger Network Information Table used from 2009 - www.digitaluk.co.uk link icon http://www.digitaluk.co.u…tnit .
Mike Dimmick
Wednesday 11 April 2012 2:37PM
David Kanareck: It may be a shortage of channel memory, where the left-over information from before switchover is not being cleared out, so the new information is only stored in temporary memory rather than permanent.

Others have reported success (on other equipment) by doing a full first-time installation with the aerial unplugged, to clear everything out, then plugging the aerial back in and scanning again. Or, retune with the aerial unplugged, then plug in and manually scan the most important multiplexes first (though a simple lowest-to-highest scan would find the ITV/C4/C5 multiplex first, then the BBC channels). If the TV allows you to delete channels, alternatively try scanning the multiplexes with the most channels first, and deleting the channels you don't want (e.g. start with Mux D on C29 and delete all the shopping and adult channels).

Guides specific to your equipment may be available at www.tvretune.co.uk link icon TV Re-tune productmanuals .

19PFL isn't specific enough to identify your TV. 19 is simply the screen size (19") and PFL indicates it's a Philips TV. The important numbers and letters are *after* the PFL.

If you're unlucky, you may find it's not compatible with 8K mode, or has a problem with some channels being in 8K mode and some in 2K mode. I even heard of some equipment that had different memory for the two modes and it wouldn't always clear both of them on a normal rescan!
Linda
Wednesday 11 April 2012 4:57PM
Nothing changed when it happened, i was watching ITV1 one minute, the next the display was saying no signal. Cables and connections inhouse are fine. If something happened externally there's no way of knowing.

With the analogue indoors aerial I only get BBC1 & BBC2 (which are both clear and NOT snowy) and ITV, C4 and C5 say no signal and the screen is black.
Big Mart
Wednesday 11 April 2012 9:22PM London
jb38: I don't understand mux channel changes or one disappearing !!

I know last week, I did an autoscan and it didn't work (aerial still plugged in), I wasn't receiving all the channels. I then did a manufacturer's reset and everything was sorted! So would it be quicker to do that first time?

(This time I have made a note of my settings for picture and sound as they all get reset and it takes ages to get them right again!).
Michael Brockwell
Wednesday 11 April 2012 9:43PM Banstead
My postcode is SM7 3JT. Have retuned all tv's and boxes in the house with two showing reduced signal strength on mux 23, but sufficient to receive without breakup. One TV though a Samsung LE22B350 has no signal on any BBC channel, despite numerous re-tunes. Any ideas?
jb38
Wednesday 11 April 2012 11:15PM
Big Mart: You ask if you would require to carry out a manufacturers reset next week when the next re-tune is required and I in effect said no, although not as many words!, as if you carried out a re-tune "with the aerial unplugged" that would delete anything stored.

The reason I specifically did not mention manufacturers reset is because as you have found out for yourself all of your personal settings will be lost, and this puts some people to a lot of bother "if" they are unaware how to remake all the personal settings.

In other words, the procedure I mentioned in most cases is all that's required, its only if some odd problem happens to crop up then its time for the full reset to be carried out.
Michael Brockwell
Thursday 12 April 2012 7:18PM Banstead
Michael Brockwell:

Thanks Dave. I used an old indoor aerial which produced fine pictures on the full power multiplex. A fair bit of breakup on the remaining channels but until Wednesday they are still on low power. Presumably they will be ok after then.
Dave Lindsay
Thursday 12 April 2012 7:27PM
Michael Brockwell: If the problem is signal overload, then a perminant solution may be to install an attenuator inline with the lead from the roof-top aerial. Attenuators are available from eBay for a few pounds (other sources are available).
Steve Brown
Thursday 12 April 2012 8:55PM Kingston Upon Thames
I have a Sharp LC-32WD1E purchased in 2007 and live KT2 5JH. Since the first stage of the digital switchover I have (a) retuned, (b) reset to factory defaults (c) unplugged the TV for 30 seconds then plugged back in, unplugged the aerial and done a channel search - resulting in no stations found, and (d) repeated the channel search with the aerial reconnected.
I cannot pick up the multiplex group 1 (BBC1, BBC2, BBC3, etc). Can anyone help?
Thanks in advance,
Steve Brown
Dave Lindsay
Thursday 12 April 2012 9:10PM
Steve Brown: Try manually tuning to UHF channel 23 if the set allows. If it gives a signal strength/quality reading when you do this, see if it is there but very low.

If so, I wonder if it is signal overload. See here:

www.ukfree.tv link icon Freeview signals: too much of a good thing is bad for you | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice
Big Mart
Thursday 12 April 2012 10:14PM London
JB38: Thank you again for your advice.

What would happen if I just did an update with the aerial still plugged in?
jb38
Friday 13 April 2012 7:57AM
Big Mart: Selecting "channel update" can in many cases add to whats already stored in a TV or boxes memory and can, dependant on the box or TV, result in the frequently heard complaint of a person losing channels when the device is switched off over night, this in most cases caused by the devices memory capacity having been exceeded during a re-scan.

The thing that has to be remembered is that memory system used to store / alter channels varies across different brands of equipment as there isnt a standard for this, and with this fact being why the blanket statement made of "carry out a factory reset" is usually always given as it "does" guarantee a fresh empty memory irrespective of brand.
terry ng
Friday 13 April 2012 1:13PM Kingston Upon Thames
My location is KT2 5LF north Kinston where a few households around do not receive any signal and have none channels picked-up. It is a long term problem even before the switchover.
All aerials are pointing to crystal Palace transmitter (9 mile).
I bought a new led tv with inbuild freeview HD. It make no different and receive nothing at all. We are possibly under shadow of some object.
I womnder if I should use high-gain rooftop aerial point to Reigate (12 mile) to receive freeview HD signal. Please can you advise? Thank in advance.
Dave Lindsay
Friday 13 April 2012 1:29PM
Terry NG: I would wait until Wednesday before doing anything as then all services will be on full power from Crystal Palace and Reigate.

That said, BBC A multiplex (standard definition) services are on full post-switchover power now. Try manually tuning to C23. If the manual tune screen shows signal strength/quality when you enter 23, then see whether it is there but low. Not all receivers have manual tuning.


See this plot:


Terrain between ( m a.g.l.) and (antenna m a.g.l.) - Optimising UK DTT Freeview and Radio aerial location

In the direction of CP, the ground goes upwards and blocks the signal path. The transmission attennas for the pre-switchover multiplexes are lower down than the post switchover and analogue ones, so the obstruction is likely to be greater for them.

How is your analogue reception of BBC One, ITV1 and Channel 4 (and BBC Two previously)?
Big Mart
Friday 13 April 2012 6:20PM London
jb38: Thank you again.
NICK ADSL UK
Monday 16 April 2012 9:30AM
I just lost last night all channels from crystal palace on free view on all our TV sets
even after a full restore retune this morning nothing

Maybe a power change over glitch on the Reigate transmitter clashing with the crystal palace transmitter ?
Steve
Tuesday 17 April 2012 9:46AM Luton
Freeview he breaks up. Will things be ok after 18th?
NICK ADSL UK
Tuesday 17 April 2012 8:04PM
Should be Steve
Thomas
Wednesday 18 April 2012 12:12AM Leeds
Announcement on BBC1, here we go...
Tim
Wednesday 18 April 2012 12:38AM Radlett
Farewell analogue you served us well.....
Viavault
Wednesday 18 April 2012 12:46AM
12:30am: All Analog TV transmissions have now been switched off for London. 12:40am Mux22 for freeview ITV, ITV2 etc is switched off.
Chris
Wednesday 18 April 2012 12:53AM
Yes, I'm definitely seeing fewer muxes right now: Just three on 490.0MHz, 537.8MHz and 578.2MHz.

I'm guessing this final switchover isn't someone hitting The Big Red Button...
Chris
Wednesday 18 April 2012 1:02AM
Goodbye 537.8MHz and 578.2MHz. Hello, 514MHz :-).
Viavault
Wednesday 18 April 2012 1:03AM
BBCA is the only active multiplex at the moment.
Chris
Wednesday 18 April 2012 1:15AM
Hmm, my tuning program is finding the following channels:

0x2005 0x2045: pmt_pid 0x0100 (null) -- ITV1 (running)
0x2005 0x2085: pmt_pid 0x0102 (null) -- ITV2 (running)
0x2005 0x20fa: pmt_pid 0x010e (null) -- More 4 (running)
0x2005 0x2100: pmt_pid 0x010b (null) -- E4 (running)
0x2005 0x21c3: pmt_pid 0x0112 (null) -- Rabbit (running)
0x2005 0x2104: pmt_pid 0x010c (null) -- Channel 4+1 (running)
0x2005 0x20c0: pmt_pid 0x0108 (null) -- Channel 4 (running)
0x2005 0x2181: pmt_pid 0x0120 (null) -- Gay Rabbit (running)
0x2005 0x20a9: pmt_pid 0x0122 (null) -- ITV1 +1 (running)
0x2005 0x2134: pmt_pid 0x0121 (null) -- Channel 5 (running)

So I think PSB2 must be active as well.
Tim
Wednesday 18 April 2012 1:16AM Radlett
D3+4 ch 26 is active with programs
Chris
Wednesday 18 April 2012 1:21AM
I think BBCB has just joined the party too :-).
SwitchoverIWasThere
Wednesday 18 April 2012 1:23AM
Bybye analogue, love U loads...
Lot of Freeview channels currently out... but hopefully slowly coming back more powerful than ever... hence hopefully bybye to aerial tinkering and so on... Cheers all thanks and good luck :)
Piers
Wednesday 18 April 2012 2:24AM
Hi all just got this from www.ukfree.tv link icon Five million London homes must 'full retune' when switchover ends on 18th April | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice

Do not expect ANY FREEVIEW television service from midnight until 6am - or a late as mid-afternoon on some relay transmitters (see below for timetable). This means you will not be able to record Freeview programmes overnight. --- but you can watch online here - www.ukfree.tv link icon Watch live UK TV channels and listen to live radio now.
so we will have to wait :-).
Ann
Wednesday 18 April 2012 2:29AM Dartford

My aerial is a new Council Communal Dish type

2.15am : I am still missing lots of channels including ITV 3 Yesterday Five* five USA Quest Ideal World etc. Signal strength is still only 55%

My Signal strength on BBC1/2/3/News went up to 55% the rest stayed at usual 43/47% after the 4th - last few days the rest went up to 55% and were still that before switch off this morning.

Perhaps someone could wake up the chap that switches on the rest of the Channels and the chap that turns the Signal Volume up.

There appears to be a bad spot on the Map between the last d in Dartford and the G of Gravesend - I hope I am not in that spot.

tim
Wednesday 18 April 2012 2:45AM Radlett
All muxes being received A OK here, although I would not advice a rescan until morning.
Ann
Wednesday 18 April 2012 3:12AM Dartford

3.0am All present and correct now hereabouts plus 2 new additions to be born later - Signal still 55%

Thanks whoever took the cup of tea to the Engineers to wake them up - must have missed the Signal Volume chappie.
andyboy
Wednesday 18 April 2012 6:32AM Benfleet
hi andyboy just done a full rescan all ok now live in essesx ss7 all 100% very happy good to all
Roger
Wednesday 18 April 2012 7:40AM Chelmsford
CM3 in Essex. All present & correct. :-)
optimist
Wednesday 18 April 2012 8:03AM Stansted
CM24 8DL - Stansted. Rooftop wideband aerial horizontal + masthead amp- std coax in house. Analogue TV. DVD HDD recorder Panasonic DMR EX75 with digital tuner inbuilt & Sony digibox VTXD800 which feeds TV. Scart connections. Aerial path first to Panasonic and then looped through to Sony and then to TV. All retuned successfully. PROBLEM - Tuner sensitivity of Panasonic is less than Sony so it appears that on the Sony we are possibly overloading on the D3+4 mux so that ITV and ITV+1 (and possibly the others) are dropping out periodically. Otherwise all OK on other channels so far. Switching off masthead amp gives no signal at all - no pass through. Should I try and attenuator on the aerial loop from the Panasonic to the Sony to dampen its enthusiasm? Thoughts appreciated.
stu
Wednesday 18 April 2012 8:18AM
All present and correct here in camberley roof mounted aerial 52 element no booster 80% signal and one very happy chappy
Doug
Wednesday 18 April 2012 8:34AM
Dear Optimist - I put a 'high gain' aerial on the roof when the digitial signals started and found it wasn't really needed - I had way too much power (over deviating?) so I put an attenuator in and the reception improved - now they've upped the power looks like I might need to wind in some more attenuation.
Briantist
Wednesday 18 April 2012 9:35AM
There is a checklist about signals being too strong on the Freeview signals: too much of a good thing is bad for you | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice page.
Colin Newman
Wednesday 18 April 2012 9:50AM
Hi. I have retuned my Goodmans GDB5 several times, including twice with the aerial disconnected, but I am not picking up channel 28. My TV is picking up 28 fine, which suggests it's not an aerial problem. Crystal Palace.
Dave Lindsay
Wednesday 18 April 2012 10:31AM
Colin Newman: If I may, I offer an observation about GDB2 and GDB3 models.

I came across this previously:

www.digitaluk.co.uk link icon http://www.digitaluk.co.u….pdf

Channel 28 is the only service from Crystal Palace with a negative offset.


If I were you, Google around as others may well have experienced the same problem.
Chris
Wednesday 18 April 2012 10:40AM
Here's the initial transponder information my scanner receives:

T 490000000 8MHz 2/3 NONE QAM64 8k 1/32 NONE # London .
T 514000000 8MHz 2/3 NONE QAM64 8k 1/32 NONE # London .
T 545833330 8MHz 2/3 NONE QAM256 AUTO AUTO AUTO # London .
T 482000000 8MHz 3/4 NONE QAM64 8k 1/32 NONE # London .
T 506000000 8MHz 3/4 NONE QAM64 8k 1/32 NONE # London .
T 529833330 8MHz 3/4 NONE QAM64 8k 1/32 NONE # London .

It doesn't quite match the numbers given above. For example, ArqB seems to be on 529.8MHz instead of 530.0MHz, and if I force it to scan 530.0MHz instead then it gives me everything on 529.8MHz anyway so that every channel is listed twice.
Briantist
Wednesday 18 April 2012 10:47AM
Chris: Digital UK are showing a negative ofset on C28-, so I have added that in.

Just to note, the word "transponder" is not correct, that only applies to a satellite, the word "multiplex" is used in the context of terrestrial broadcasting.
Chris
Wednesday 18 April 2012 10:59AM
OK, thanks. The scan also indicates that SDN and ArqA have FEC of 3/4 instead of 2/3.
Dave K
Wednesday 18 April 2012 11:55AM
Here at TN9 postcode area we are not "officially" in the area to receive Crystal Palace transmissions and aerial is optimised for Bluebell Hill. However I find I can even pick up HDTV from Crystal Palace today and it seems that strength and quality is fine :)

Rather chuffed at the mo, hope it lasts and that DSO at Bluebell Hill doesn't mess it up!
Maria
Wednesday 18 April 2012 12:25PM London
Hello...
I normally watch tv on my Pc. I have a WinTv Nova-T with access to the freeview. Today Its impossible to watch any channel.Could you please explain me what to do to retune or if I should wait untill this start again.Thank you very much for your help!
Chris
Wednesday 18 April 2012 12:38PM
Maria, you're going to need to retune all your channels for your WinTV, exactly the same as for any other TV. How you should do this depends on the software that you are using, and if you're using Windows software then all I can suggest is that you read the manual.
ad
Wednesday 18 April 2012 12:56PM Banstead
I just retuned my freeview tv via factory reset and had no problems i have all channels. Just did my sister's tv too and she's missing pick tv and yesterday!! Er..... what to do? Help?! we both have the same tv
ken
Wednesday 18 April 2012 1:45PM
The reception map isnt not entirely correct,all receivable muxes in aylesbury bucks,despite chiltern hills in the distance.
NICK ADSL UK
Wednesday 18 April 2012 1:51PM
well i have always had a perfect set up and must be the only person who has now got less signal then before
i have always had 10 for quality and 5 for strength and after switch over i now get 8 for quality and 5 for strength

i have used a attenuator just to see what difference that would make and all that does is drop the quality to 4



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.

UK Free TV is here to help people. If you are rude or disrespectful all of your posts will be deleted and you will be banned.







Privacy policy: UK Free Privacy policy.