Full Freeview on the Pontop Pike (County Durham, England) transmitter
 | Google Streetview |  | Google map |  | Bing map |  | Google Earth |  | 54.868,-1.771 or 54°52'5"N 1°46'15"W |  | DH9 9AT |
The symbol shows the location of the Pontop Pike (County Durham, England) transmitter which serves 700,000 homes. 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.
Are there any planned engineering works or unexpected transmitter faults on the Pontop Pike (County Durham, England) mast?
Pontop Pike transmitter - Pontop Pike transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 11/11/2024 Screen may go black on some or all channels 
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Digital television services are broadcast on a multiplexes (or Mux) where many stations occupy a single broadcast frequency, as shown below.
64QAM 8K 3/4 27.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
DTG-12 QSPK 8K 3/4 8.0Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)
Which Freeview channels does the Pontop Pike 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.
64QAM 8K 3/4 27.1Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
DTG-12 QSPK 8K 3/4 8.0Mb/s DVB-T MPEG2
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)
Which BBC and ITV regional news can I watch from the Pontop Pike transmitter?
BBC Look North (Newcastle) 1.6m homes 6.0%
from Newcastle NE99 2NE, 15km northeast (42°)
to BBC North East and Cumbria region - 70 masts.
ITV Tyne Tees News 1.4m homes 5.4%
from Gateshead NE11 9SZ, 12km north-northeast (29°)
to ITV Tyne Tees region - 47 masts.
All of lunch, weekend and 50% evening news is shared with Border
Are there any self-help relays?
| Kieldor Dam | Active deflector | 6 homes Holiday complex | |
| Low Haber | Active deflector | West Allen Dale, 18 kn SW Hexham | caravan site |
| North Hartlepool | Transposer | 84 homes |
How will the Pontop Pike (County Durham, England) transmission frequencies change over time?
| 1950s-80s | 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2012 | 2012-13 | 13 Nov 2019 | ||||
| VHF | C/D E | C/D E | C/D E | C/D E T | W T | ||||
| C5 | BBCtvwaves | ||||||||
| C32 | SDN | ||||||||
| C33 | com7 | ||||||||
| C34 | com8 | ||||||||
| C35 | ArqB | ||||||||
| C39 | BBCA | ||||||||
| C42 | D3+4 | ||||||||
| C45 | BBCB | ||||||||
| C49tv_off | BBCB | ||||||||
| C50tv_off | SDN | ||||||||
| C54tv_off | C4waves | C4waves | C4waves | D3+4 | |||||
| C55tv_off | ArqB | com7tv_off | |||||||
| C56tv_off | LNE | ||||||||
| C58tv_off | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBCA | |||||
| C59tv_off | ArqA | ||||||||
| C61 | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ||||||
| C64 | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBC2waves |
tv_off Being removed from Freeview (for 5G use) after November 2020 / June 2022 - more
Table shows multiplexes names see this article;
green background for transmission frequencies
Notes: + and - denote 166kHz offset; aerial group are shown as A B C/D E K W T
waves denotes analogue; digital switchover was 12 Sep 12 and 26 Sep 12.
How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?
| Analogue 1-4 | 500kW | |
| BBCA, D3+4, BBCB | (-7dB) 100kW | |
| SDN, ARQA, ARQB | (-10dB) 50kW | |
| com8 | (-11.6dB) 34.6kW | |
| com7 | (-11.7dB) 33.8kW | |
| Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D* | (-17dB) 10kW | |
| LNE | (-20dB) 5kW |
Local transmitter maps
Pontop Pike Freeview Pontop Pike TV region BBC North East and Cumbria Tyne TeesWhich companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Pontop Pike transmitter area
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Monday, 17 December 2012
N
Nick Hayes11:09 PM
Durham
My mother has lost ITV3 since the final retune in October 2012. It was her favourite channel. She lives at DH1 3DB and has a shared aerial so there is no opportunity for moving it. No-one else seems to have a problem with this channel which seems to come from Pontop Pike. Any suggestions?
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Nick's: mapN's Freeview map terrainN's terrain plot wavesN's frequency data N's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Tuesday, 18 December 2012
J
jb3812:22 AM
Nick Hayes: This could suggest that your mothers TV or box has tuned to the local (very, less than 1 mile) Durham relay and which as a PSB only station does not transmit commercial channels.
The problem is that the usual procedure of removing the aerial connector during an auto tune then reconnecting it at a certain point along the scale might not work at your mothers location, as the gap between the channels used by Durham and Pontop Pike are too close for accuracy, but if all other channels are coming in OK then it might be possible just to add ITV3 by going into the tuning menu / manual tune selecting and then scanning on mux Ch50, this being used by a number of different programme operators, although to test if this is already stored see if you can receive EPG Ch38 Quest, as Quest uses the same multiplex as ITV3.
Further info dependant on results.
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N
Nick Hayes12:54 PM
Many thanks for your very useful comments.
Unfortunately my mother is in Durham and I am in London so this will have to wait until the Christmas visit next week. So that I have all I need, can I ask:
1. is there any reason why a 2012 Samsung 323" LED set would not offer manual tuning?
2. do I only need to know that I am tuning to mux Ch50 or are there other details I need, eg frequency, ....?
Crystal Palace seems very easy, and Sky even more so!
Best wishes.
NH
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Friday, 4 January 2013
K
keith3:32 PM
Blaydon-on-tyne
i am debating whether to opt for a indoor aerial for my kids bedroom instead of tapping into the outdoor aerial just for ease, do you know the signal stength for ne21 5ey thanks
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keith's: mapK's Freeview map terrainK's terrain plot wavesK's frequency data K's Freeview Detailed Coverage
keith: Whilst there should always be caution with an indoor aerial, and you should not take anything for granted, it would appear that you are in an excellent signal area.
Bear in mind that objects reduce and refract signals, so if your son's room is on the side of the house that faces away from the transmitter, then you would be receiving the signal that has come through more bricks and morter and reflections from other buildings.
Fenham would appear to be the best at your location, although if that doesn't work, it appears that Pontop Pike might be worth a shot.
I went on Google Streetview and placed myself on Pickering Drive and looked in the direction of Fenham. It would appear that the transmitter is visible on the horizon:
NE21 5EY - Google Maps
I have one of these Labgear aerials that I use when a fixed aerial isn't available (other suppliers are available):
SLx Indoor Digital Aerial ANR310 UHF DAB Fully Flexible Caravan Motorhome | eBay
For Fenham it should be set vertically (the photo shows it almost vertical). The narrower end, where the cable is attached, should be directed at the transmitter.
Ideally, before you connect the aerial to the TV in order to site it, you need the TV tuned. If your roof-top aerial points to Fenham, then use it to tune in the TV. Ensure that all channels are tuned correctly to Fenham (so you aren't unwittingly receiving from another transmitter). Do this by viewing the strength screen whilst on each of the following and checking that the tuned UHF channel is correct:
PSB1 - BBC One - C27
PSB2 - ITV1 - C24
PSB3 (if applicable) - BBC One HD - C21
COM4 - ITV3 - C25
COM5 - Pick TV - C22
COM6 - Film4 - C28
If you try Pontop Pike, then the aerial will need to be set horizontally. The channel numbers for it are shown at the top of this page.
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Monday, 7 January 2013
D
David Cook6:19 PM
Location:- Chester le Street
Transmitter:- Pontop Pike
I am experiencing "drop outs" ( 1 to 2 seconds) in TV and Radio reception at various times of the day on 3 TV,s all with their own Aerial. My Ext.hard drive recorder shows a signal strength of 72% (whatever this means) Any Help PLEASE???
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David Cook: Have you confirmed that you are indeed receiving the signals from Pontop Pike and not Bilsdale?
Bilsdale is a possibility, particularly if your receiver goes with the first signals it finds; Pontop Pike uses higher channels and are thus found later on in the scan.
Receivers usually give the tuned UHF channel on signal strength screens. Check the following:
PSB1 | BBC One | P=C58 | B=C26 | F=C27
PSB2 | ITV1 | P=C54 | B=C29 | F=C24
PSB3 | BBC One HD | P=C49 | B=C23 | F=C21
COM4 | ITV3 | P=C50 | B=C43 | F=C25
COM5 | Pick TV | P=C59 | B=C46 | F=C22
COM6 | Film4 | P=C55 | B=C40 | F=C28
P=Pontop Pike, B=Bilsdale and F=Fenham
For example, bring up the signal strength screen and it should be tuned to 58 for Pontop Pike, or could be 26 if it's Bilsdale or 27 for Fenham.
If you have either Fenham or Bilsdale tuned in, run the automatic tuning scan with the aerial unplugged until 53% to miss out scanning of their channels.
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David Cook: The example is to bring up the signal strength screen on BBC One.
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Wednesday, 9 January 2013
G
Graham Francis11:40 AM
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE16 6BS
My Panasonic TV has suddenly lost Channel 50 (ITV3 etc).
Other TVs using the same aerial are OK.
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Graham's: mapG's Freeview map terrainG's terrain plot wavesG's frequency data G's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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