Waltham TV Transmitter Digital Channels

The Waltham TV transmitter provides Freeview digital TV coverage to Leicester and the East Midlands including north Northamptonshire (with fringe coverage of Corby and Kettering) and parts of Nottingham plus south and east Nottinghamshire. UHF DTT multiplex channels and DVB-T power levels from the Waltham transmitter are given in the table below. A high gain wideband TV aerial is required for good reception. Existing aerials pointed at the Waltham transmitter may be legacy Group CD types, which will not allow reception of Freeview channels on Mux A, Mux 2, Mux B and D.

To check whether you are in the Waltham transmitter coverage area for good Freeview DVB-T reception, enter your postcode at the Freeview site by clicking here. For long distance (DX) Freeview coverage predictions for Waltham click here.

Compatible digital aerials, suitable for Freeview reception from the Waltham TV transmitter are available from Satcure. Click here to obtain a discount voucher before you buy.

Waltham TV Transmitter UHF DTT Channels (Digital Multiplexes)
Mux 1	Mux 2	Mux A	Mux B	Mux C	Mux D
Ch49 - 5kW	Ch23 - 4kW	Ch26 - 4kW	Ch33 - 4kW	Ch45 - 5kW	Ch42 - 5kW

After Digital TV Switchover Date 1 May 2011 (DVB-T power increase to 37.5kW)
DVB-T PSB1	DVB-T PSB2	DVB-T COM4	DVB-T PSB3	DVB-T COM5	DVB-T COM6
UHF Ch54	UHF Ch58	UHF Ch29	UHF Ch61	UHF Ch56	UHF Ch57

Final digital switchover DVB-T multiplex channel information is liable to change.

You'll need a digital compatible high gain wideband TV aerial for Freeview reception from the Waltham transmitter. This means that many homes served by this transmitter will need an aerial upgrade to get good Freeview reception as their existing aerials (if installed a few years ago) may not be wideband types as they're more likely to be Group C/D.

High gain Freeview aerials compatible with the Central TV Waltham TV transmitter are available on eBay.co.uk.

Waltham Freeview Reception Problems

Many of the existing TV aerials in service which will be of a Group C/D type previously installed for the analogue TV transmissions from Waltham. These aerials, if retained will give Freeview reception problems particularly of Mux 2, Mux A and Mux B since Group C/D aerials are optimised for UHF channels 52 - 68, well away from the UHF DTT channel numbers used by the Waltham transmitter (often referred to as digital multiplexes).

If some Waltham Freeview channels are missing from your digital TV channel line up, start by checking your aerial. If you are getting Freeview reception problems on Waltham UHF channel 23 and 26 DTT multiplexes, and you're well inside the service area from the transmitter, it is likely that your existing TV aerial is unsuitable for Freeview. In this case, you'll need to buy a high gain wideband aerial and get it installed by a CAI registered aerial contractor. Alternatively, if you live in a good DTT signal area, you can try installing a loft aerial yourself.

Some high gain wideband aerials have lower signal gain on the low number UHF channels. A recent Freeview installation that I did in Bingham, Nottinghamshire showed lower signal quality readings on the UHF Channel 23 and 26 DTT multiplexes. The best way around this is to get a fringe area high gain wideband aerial like a Triax 52 type fitted which has a higher overall gain. In some parts of east Nottinghamshire, Freeview reception from the Belmont Transmitter (Yorkshire TV) is also possible but a high gain wideband aerial is needed.

Disclaimer

The information contained in this page is provided in good faith and is accurate to the best of our ability. No guarantees are offered concerning accuracy of information provided.

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