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A.T.V   (Aerials and Television) est. 1994
419 Langsett Rd
 Hillsborough
 Sheffield
 S6 2LL
Tel : 0114 285 4254
© 2008 Justin Smith A.T.V
 All Rights reserved
Free P&P for orders over £100, Online or by Phone
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Oxford Transmitter                                      OS Grid Ref SP 567 105  
Note As work takes place on various digital transmitters (to prepare for the DSO)
 you may experience reception  problems, e.g. with certain MUXES disappearing.
First try rescanning your set top box and if this fails to work check on Transmitter work  
 or phone reception advice on 08700 100 123 (BBC) or 0844 881 4150 (ITV).

 Oxford transmitter is situated 4 miles NE of the City and it has a population coverage of around three quarters of a million. Its transmissions can be picked up in Swindon, Reading, Banbury, Bicester and Milton Keynes amongst others. A VHF/405 line transmitter built in 1962 originally occupied the site (it is still there but now covered in microwave dishes) but this was replaced by the current 160m structure in 1968.
 At 500kW power (analogue) it is very powerful though it`s C5 output is only 40kW.
Digital / Freeview MUXES 1 & 2 are transmitted at 10kW whilst 3 & 4 are put out at 6kW and 5 & 6 at 8kW. It may be worth pointing out that dropping from 10 to 6kW would
normally only have a marginal effect on reception. That said (bearing in mind the cliff edge effect) such a difference could be significant if you are in a fringe area. Being a main transmitter Oxford is horizontally polarised and was originally a C/D group but in order to accommodate Digital it has gone wideband. Consultation of the its Frequency/Channel Guide will reveal that whilst most of the Digital output is within the original group, two of the MUXES may require swapping your aerial to a wideband to ensure reception. That said,
C/D group antennas often pick up signal quite well below their designed for band,
so reception may well still be possible, see the graph for Oxford.
 Oxford transmitter has (only) two smaller repeaters to improve its coverage in hilly areas.
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Oxford transmitters TV Frequencies/Channels for “pre DSO” (above),
and for “post DSO” (below).

Note the number of co-channel interference issues which the above table reveals.
 On the “Post DSO” version (below), notice the gaps for “other uses” on channels
31 to 35, 37, 39 to 40 and 63 to 68.
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Overall view of Oxford TV transmitter, the original VHF structure of 1962 is on the left.

Picture Justin Smith ATV

Close up of one of the massive concrete anchors for the stays, there is considerably more

of it underground......                                                                Picture Justin Smith ATV

Sun shining through the Oxford television transmitter, one of my favourite pictures.                             Picture Justin Smith ATV

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Oxford`s channels in relation to the UHF TV band and the gain curves of the aerials

we recommend for it.   DM Log    Log40     XB10WB     XB16WB

Note that MUX 6 and (bizarrely) MUX1 are out of the original C/D group of the transmitter. But the graph shows quite clearly that the “cut off” for C/D group aerials is not precipitous and that most people in decent signal areas may well get all the Digital OK off their “old”

C/D group aerial. At DSO in 2011 Oxford will return to a C/D group and the power is going

to be increased by a large margin.

For Oxford`s frequencies see its Channel Allocation Guides for before & after the DSO.

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We recommend the DM log aerial for strong signal areas, the Log 40 for medium signal areas, the XB10WB for poor signal areas and the XB16WB for those with the most

marginal signals. The dimensions and test performance of the antennas can be found on

the relevant tables. The prices of the aerials are on the Sales page.

Somewhat bizarrely one of the out of band MUXES is (arguably) the most important since MUX1 carries the main BBC channels. The Channel Guide also reveals how many

compromises the channel planners had to make to fit in all the new broadcasts and how many co-channel interference issues are apparent. The guides (for before and after DSO) also show the output for the main co-receivable transmitters within Oxfords coverage area, namely Sutton Coldfield, Waltham, Sandy, Hemel Hempstead, Crystal Palace, Hannington, Mendip, Ridge Hill and Lark Stoke. This information can be most useful for identifying alternative transmitter options or potential causes of co-channel interference for example

one can see that Oxfords analogue C5 is transmitted on the same frequency as

Waltham`s MUX1. The guides can also be invaluable if you are trying to find a spare

channel for a modulated output (e.g. for a Sky box or CCTV system) to be added to your

TV setup/distribution system without suffering from co-channel.

Somewhat surprisingly, Ofcom report that the output of Oxford is more or less omni directional. DSO is due to occur in 2011 and it has been confirmed by Ofcom that Oxford will be returning to a C/D group.

The transmitter can be seen on the hill from the railway between Oxford and Banbury which was opened in 1850 by the Great Western Railway as part of a route which eventually reached Chester and Birkenhead. Interestingly it was built as a broad gauge line then converted to mixed gauge in 1852 before becoming standard gauge only in 1869.

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