Full Freeview on the Plympton (Plymouth, England) transmitter
 | Google map |  | Bing map |  | Google Earth |  | 50.381,-4.068 or 50°22'52"N 4°4'3"W |  | PL7 1TT |
The symbol shows the location of the Plympton (Plymouth, England) transmitter which serves 35,000 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 Plympton (Plymouth, England) mast?
Plympton transmitter - Plympton transmitter: Possible effect on TV reception week commencing 02/12/2024 Pixelation or flickering 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
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)
The Plympton (Plymouth, England) mast is a public service broadcasting (PSB) transmitter, it does not provide these commercial (COM) channels: .
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.
Which Freeview channels does the Plympton 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
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)
The Plympton (Plymouth, England) mast is a public service broadcasting (PSB) transmitter, it does not provide these commercial (COM) channels: .
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.
Which BBC and ITV regional news can I watch from the Plympton transmitter?
BBC Spotlight 0.8m homes 2.9%
from Plymouth PL3 5BD, 4km west (280°)
to BBC South West region - 107 masts.
ITV West Country News (West) 0.8m homes 2.9%
from Plymouth PL7 5BQ, 3km east-northeast (76°)
to ITV West Country region - 107 masts.
All of lunch, weekend and 50% evening news is shared with West Country (East)
How will the Plympton (Plymouth, England) transmission frequencies change over time?
| 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2009 | 2009-13 | 2013-18 | 2013-17 | 10 Apr 2019 | |||
| C/D E | W | W | W | W T | W T | K T | |||
| C30 | C5waves | C5waves | _local | _local | _local | _local | |||
| C40 | BBCA | ||||||||
| C41 | SDN | ||||||||
| C42 | SDN | SDN | SDN | D3+4 | |||||
| C44 | ArqA | ||||||||
| C45 | ArqA | ArqA | ArqA | BBCB | |||||
| C47 | ArqB | ||||||||
| C49tv_off | D3+4 | D3+4 | |||||||
| C54tv_off | C4waves | C4waves | C4waves | BBCA | BBCA | BBCA | |||
| C56tv_off | ArqB | ArqB | ArqB | ||||||
| C58tv_off | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBCB | BBCB | BBCB | |||
| C61 | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | D3+4 | |||||
| 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 Aug 09 and 9 Sep 09.
How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?
| Analogue 1-5 | 2kW | |
| SDN, ARQA, ARQB, BBCA, D3+4, BBCB | (-7dB) 400W | |
| Mux 1*, Mux 2*, Mux A*, Mux B*, Mux C*, Mux D* | (-10dB) 200W |
Local transmitter maps
Plympton Freeview Plympton DAB Caradon Hill TV region BBC South West West CountryWhich companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Caradon Hill transmitter area
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Monday, 20 April 2020
There is a problem with just channel 40. The strength of the signal drops at different points during the day. I
It seems to constantly drop around 21:30 and the signal strength is better by the morning.
This effects all stations transmitted on that channel. BBC1 is one of these channels which is okay offer switch over to HD station 101.
This isn't a problem but we dont get the local news in HD.
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Tuesday, 21 April 2020
C
Chris.SE5:56 AM
Marcus Pasmore:
UHF Ch.40 is the BBCA/PSB1 multiplex carrying all the main BBC SD and Radio channels. Neither Free view or the BBC are currently reporting any problems with the Plympton transmitter and it's not listed for Planned Engineering.
As you have checked the other multiplexes and not seeing any problems with them it's highly unlikely to be a problem with your aerial installation, however it might be worth checking all your coax plugs, connections, flyleads etc, unplug connectors check for corrosion or other problems and reconnect them. Flyleads are a common problem, try swapping/changing them. Also check that your downlead looks undamaged (especially if it is old) and that your aerial seems intact and pointing in the correct direction.
Problematic connections, water ingress etc. can seem to affect reception of just an individual or several multiplexes.
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C
Chris.SE6:13 AM
Marcus Pasmore:
To add to the above, if the problems continue, phone BBC Engineering Reception Advice (office hours) 03700 100123 They won't answer because of the current covid-19 situation but you can leave a message giving details of your issue, remember to explain the problem and checks you've done. Don't bother using their problem assistant it won't help with this issue.
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Marcus Pasmore: thanks for your comments, tonight has been the same all okay until 9:30 ish and then the signal drops. Tonight I didn't turn over I just left if on and at 22:50 the signal strength came back for 10 mins and then dropped again 5 mins later.
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C
Chris.SE10:30 PM
Marcus Pasmore:
This is beginning to possibly sound like some form of interference. Obvious candidates are central heating and lighting, the latter could be a faulty street light - but maybe 9.30 is a little late for that coming on - however it may need to be on for a while before it starts playing up, then there may be something visibly obvious - flickering etc.
Any form of discharge lighting in the house (or external lighting) fluorescent, compact fluorescent, some LED lighting can do this. Do you have any new electrical equipment, or something you don't always use that you are now? Anything with motors etc.
Check out those possibilities. Timing could point the finger more precisely. If it starts at exactly the same time each evening, it could be on a time switch.
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Saturday, 6 June 2020
A
Alex Hutchinson7:21 PM
Transmitter engineering: I have had rubbish Freeview TV reception from the Plympton relay transmitter for several days now, probably from about the time of the latest lot of engineering work, particularly on BBC channels. Is it possible something wasn't "plugged back in" or "switched back up" after this work?
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C
Chris.SE11:19 PM
Alex Hutchinson:
I'm not sure what's given you the impression that there's engineering work going on at present. There's none listed for Plympton or Caradon Hill. The BBC aren't currently listing any faults, but if a new one has recently developed, there may be a reporting delay because of the current covid-19 situation.
There was some Tropospheric Ducting around several days ago which may have caused reception interference, but that cleared up a couple of days ago.
In the meantime, I would check all your coax plugs, connections, flyleads etc, unplug connectors check for corrosion or other problems and reconnect them. Flyleads are a common problem, try swapping/changing them. See what signal strengths and quality you are getting for the multiplexes shown in your TV's tuning section. Also check that your downlead looks undamaged (especially if it is old) and that your aerial seems intact and pointing in the correct direction.
Problematic connections, water ingress etc. can seem to affect reception of just an individual or several multiplexes.
If you've done those checks and the problem remains on Monday morning, I'd give BBC Engineering a call on 03700-100123.
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Thursday, 18 June 2020
L
Lyn Sandell9:34 AM
Plymouth
Unable to get a signal from loft Ariel. Signal unavailable in 3 rooms but was ok yesterday. Ariel is tuned to Plymoton transmitter. Postcode PL6 8RR
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Lyn's: mapL's Freeview map terrainL's terrain plot wavesL's frequency data L's Freeview Detailed Coverage
D
Dy Taylor9:51 AM
PL3 - have no 'extra' channels like horror,
Talking Pictures. Was watching Smithsonian
up to 0900 now not available due to weak signal.
All BBC, ITV, Ch4 programmes there, except HD.
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C
Chris.SE5:25 PM
Lyn Sandell:
Dy Taylor:
Hopefully you will have all your signals and programmes back now. The BBC have reported several issues at the transmitter throughout the day with a fault and essential engineering causing it to be off-air or on reduced power.
If you retuned at all when you had no signal, and haven't retuned since, you will need to retune again.
Retuning when there is no signal usually just clears all correct tuning resulting in the need for a further retune.
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