Freeview Light on the Brailes (Oxfordshire, England) transmitter
 | Google map |  | Bing map |  | Google Earth |  | 52.039,-1.536 or 52°2'19"N 1°32'11"W |  | OX15 5BJ |
The symbol shows the location of the Brailes (Oxfordshire, England) transmitter which serves 700 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.
This transmitter has no current reported problems
The BBC and Digital UK report there are no faults or engineering work on the Brailes (Oxfordshire, England) transmitter._______
Digital television services are broadcast on a multiplexes (or Mux) where many stations occupy a single broadcast frequency, as shown below.
H/V: aerial position (horizontal or vertical)
The Brailes (Oxfordshire, England) mast is a public service broadcasting (PSB) transmitter, it does not provide these commercial (COM) channels: 4seven, 5Action, 5STAR, 5USA, Al Jazeera Eng, Al Jazeera English, Blaze, Blaze +1, Challenge, Channel 5 +1, Dave, Dave ja vu, DMAX, Drama +1, E4 Extra, YAAAS!, Film4 +1, Food Network, GREAT! action, GREAT! movies, GREAT! romance mix, GREAT! romance, HGTV, HobbyMaker, ITV2 +1, ITV3 +1, ITV4 +1, ITVBe +1, Legend, PBS America, Quest +1, Quest Red, Really, Sky Mix, Sky News, Talking Pictures TV, TCC, That's 90s, That's TV 2, Together TV, TRUE CRIME, TRUE CRIME XTRA, W, Yesterday +1.
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 Brailes 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.
| Mux | H/V | Frequency | Height | Mode | Watts |
| PSB1 BBCA | V max | C24 (498.0MHz) | 221m | DTG- | 8W |
 1 BBC One (SD) West Midlands, 2 BBC Two England, 9 BBC Four, 23 BBC Three, 201 CBBC, 202 CBeebies, 231 BBC News, 232 BBC Parliament, plus 19 others | |||||
| PSB2 D3+4 | V max | C21+ (474.2MHz) | 221m | DTG- | 8W |
 3 ITV 1 (SD) (Central (West micro region)), 4 Channel 4 (SD) Midlands ads, 5 Channel 5, 6 ITV 2, 10 ITV3, 13 E4, 14 Film4, 15 Channel 4 +1 Midlands ads, 18 More4, 26 ITV4, 28 ITVBe, 30 E4 +1, 35 ITV1 +1 (Central west), | |||||
| PSB3 BBCB | V max | C27 (522.0MHz) | 221m | DTG- | 8W |
 46 5SELECT, 101 BBC One HD West Midlands, 102 BBC Two HD England, 103 ITV 1 HD (ITV Central West), 104 Channel 4 HD Midlands ads, 105 Channel 5 HD, 106 BBC Four HD, 107 BBC Three HD, 204 CBBC HD, 205 CBeebies HD, plus 1 others | |||||
Are you trying to watch these 44 Freeview channels?
The Brailes (Oxfordshire, England) mast is a public service broadcasting (PSB) transmitter, it does not provide these commercial (COM) channels: 4seven, 5Action, 5STAR, 5USA, Al Jazeera Eng, Al Jazeera English, Blaze, Blaze +1, Challenge, Channel 5 +1, Dave, Dave ja vu, DMAX, Drama +1, E4 Extra, YAAAS!, Film4 +1, Food Network, GREAT! action, GREAT! movies, GREAT! romance mix, GREAT! romance, HGTV, HobbyMaker, ITV2 +1, ITV3 +1, ITV4 +1, ITVBe +1, Legend, PBS America, Quest +1, Quest Red, Really, Sky Mix, Sky News, Talking Pictures TV, TCC, That's 90s, That's TV 2, Together TV, TRUE CRIME, TRUE CRIME XTRA, W, Yesterday +1.
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 Brailes transmitter?
BBC Midlands Today 2.9m homes 10.9%
from Birmingham B1 1RF, 55km north-northwest (333°)
to BBC West Midlands region - 66 masts.
ITV Central News 2.9m homes 10.9%
from Birmingham B1 2JT, 55km north-northwest (333°)
to ITV Central (West) region - 65 masts.
All of lunch, weekend and 80% evening news is shared with Central (East)
How will the Brailes (Oxfordshire, England) transmission frequencies change over time?
| 1984-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-2011 | 2011-13 | 7 Mar 2018- | |||||
| W T | W T | W T | A K T | A K T | |||||
| C21 | +D3+4 | D3+4 | |||||||
| C24 | BBCA | BBCA | |||||||
| C27 | BBCB | BBCB | |||||||
| C30 | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | BBC1waves | ||||||
| C34 | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ITVwaves | ||||||
| C52tv_off | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | BBC2waves | ||||||
| C59tv_off | C4waves | C4waves | C4waves |
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 7 Sep 11 and 21 Sep 11.
How do the old analogue and currrent digital signal levels compare?
| Analogue 1-4 | 40W | |
| BBCA, D3+4, BBCB | (-7dB) 8W |
Local transmitter maps
Brailes Freeview Sutton Coldfield TV region BBC West Midlands Central (West micro region)Which companies have run the Channel 3 services in the Sutton Coldfield transmitter area
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Friday, 16 June 2023
Transmitter engineering
7:09 AM
7:09 AM
BRAILES transmitter - Freeview: Weather conditions may be affecting your reception from 16 Jun 03:30 until 16 Jun 03:54. Weather conditions may be affecting your reception from 14 Jun 01:45 until 14 Jun 02:56. . [BBC]
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Friday, 14 July 2023
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Sharon Simms6:27 PM
Only getting BBC channels from the Brailes (Mine Hill) transmitter since this morning (14/7/23) I have Sky so not a problem but my elderly mother called me who also points to this transmitter and she has no channels but BBC. No ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 etc.
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Steve Donaldson7:49 PM
Sharon Simms: This really sounds like a transmitter fault. The multiplex which carries these services is operated by Digital 3&4 Limited, which is a consortium of ITV and Channel 4.
You can find contact details on the Ofcom website under multiplex licensees:
Multiplex licensees - Ofcom
It gives the contact name Greg Bensberg, who a quick search reveals is the managing director. The phone number 020 7157 5607 is given with his email greg.bensberg@itv.com.
There is also an email for Sarah Graham, and her Linked In page says she was the assistant to the MD and left in April 2022. I found an advert for a new assistant, but haven't found a name.
Drop Mr Bensberg an email and hopefully it may get passed on to those responsible.
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Steve Donaldson8:04 PM
Sharon Simms: Further to the above, see this from 30 March 2023. Mr Bensberg has stepped down, and his successor is Steve Holebrook:
Steve Holebrook appointed Managing Director of Digital 3&4 | Channel 4
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Steve Donaldson9:39 PM
Sharon Simms: If you or your mother have a Freeview HD TV or box then the HD channels might still be available, including ITV1, Channel 4 and Channel 5. And the TV/boxes are HD then there would seem little point in watching the SD variants. The HD channels are all on one multiplex run by the BBC.
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Monday, 17 July 2023
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Sharon Simms10:30 AM
Steve Donaldson:
Hi Steve, thanks for your help. Unfortunately none of the HD channels work for the 700 or so residents who use the Brailes Light transmitter. Either message saying no signal or very pixelated. Most of residents affected are elderly and have no internet. I've raised a case with BBC and have a case number and also called Freeview who only operate Monday to Friday.
Seems the Brailes Light transmitter is not really fit for purpose. I might suggest that people have their aerials turned to face Sutton Coldfield to get a full service.
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Wednesday, 19 July 2023
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Steve Donaldson12:34 PM
Sharon Simms: It sounds like you have it all in hand. Let us know how you get on, and when you get it resolved for everybody.
As for receiving the full complement of Freeview channels from Sutton Coldfield, then this will not be easy, it could potentially be variable, and how successful or variable it may be could vary across the village.
Even where an aerial has been installed with all channels received, it doesn't mean it will definitely remain like that at all times. Where reliability is more important, such as for the elderly, then it may be better to stick with the more limited choice from the Brailes relay because reception is more reliable.
As you probably know, Castle Hill is responsible for a shadow in the signal from Sutton Coldfield in Lower Brailes. Jeffs Close and the area around it is in the greatest part of the shadow. That is, if one draws a line from the transmitter to that location, the line intersects the highest part of the hill, including the castle. Thus, the people in this area may be expected to have greatest difficulty.
Freesat is the free-to-air satellite service and this may be worth considering to extend the range of channels without having to subscribe to Sky. With the elderly there are factors to consider, chiefly how they will handle a different piece of equipment which may work differently to the one they currently have.
It is possible to get TVs with Freesat in-built. This gets around the potential issue of having to have a separate Freesat box as this may complicate matters when it comes to using the TV and Freesat box together, as in having to have the TV set to the input from the Freesat box. That said, if the Freesat box has a remote that can work the TV then this may allow the volume to be turned up and down, and TV powered on and off.
At one time TVs had numbered buttons, volume up and down, and power on and off, these being the main ones that are required. The introduction of on-screen menus and teletext brought with them extra buttons that can complicate and confuse elderly users, particularly where they press one accidentally and then do not know what to do to resolve the situation, such as pressing the button to exit the menu if the menu has been entered.
Please do let us know how you get on, and when and how it is resolved.
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Steve Donaldson1:00 PM
Sharon Simms: It should be added that TV reception, particularly in difficult areas, can vary from property to property. What the situation is like in practice at any property, and across the wider area, can only be determined by an engineer "on the ground" (or "on the roof", in this case).
That the Jeffs Close area is in the biggest part of the shadow of the hill is a fact, hence my "greatest difficulty" comment. This is from a broad assessment of the area, more a statistical probability of what the situation might be in general. In reality, each case requires its own specific assessment. With obstructions in the way (e.g. trees and buildings) varying from property to property this impacts chances of success and reliability, and therefore level of difficulty.
If someone in the worst spot, with the tallest obstruction in the way, can receive, don't take it that everyone else will be able to. It may be hit and miss, plus the fact that how variable it is may vary.
With the elderly in particular, it might be better to go with more reliable and less choice of channels.
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Monday, 24 July 2023
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Sharon Simms5:13 PM
Steve Donaldson: Thank you for your very helpful comments. I would like to say that after the call to Freeview, they called me back and we went through several ways of retuning my TV. None of which worked except for the BBC channels. Not HD as all pixelated. He did mention that work had been ongoing at the Sutton Coldfield transmitter the previous week which might have affected the Brailes Light as it is linked. They only get an update of works once a week.
To cut a long story short, normal service was restored to all Brailes Residents later on that afternoon including the HD channels! Just goes to show that if people have problems, they need to report it. In fairness to the company they can't fix a problem that they aren't aware of.
Once again, many thanks for all your very helpful suggestions.
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Tuesday, 5 September 2023
Transmitter engineering
5:09 AM
5:09 AM
BRAILES transmitter - Freeview: Weather conditions may be affecting your reception from 5 Sep 00:55. . [BBC]
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