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Sandy Heath Transmitter OS Grid Ref TL 204 494
Note, as work takes place on various digital transmitters (to prepare for the DSO) you may
experience problems, e.g. with certain MUXES disappearing. First try rescanning your
TV / set top box (do it manually if possible), but if this fails to work check on Transmitter work
or call the reception advice phone numbers. Also see basic digital fault finding.
Sandy television transmitter started broadcasting ITV (Anglia) on the VHF band in 1966. By 1969 BBC2 had been added (on UHF) and this was extended to BBC1 and ITV in 1971.
The mast is situated 10 miles East of Bedford, just next to the town of, surprisingly, Sandy.
The transmitter broadcast`s to about 2 million people and it`s analogue power is huge at 1000kW (except a C5 which is only 10kW). There are only two other 1MW transmitters in the country, Crystal Palace and Sutton Coldfield, plus Emley Moor at 870kW.
When we moored our hire boat in Cambridge (beautiful city by the way) I found the analogue C5 from Sandy was nonexistent. Thus it can be deduced that the signal is attenuated in
that direction, which is unsurprising because CH39 is co-
Sandy`s digital power is 20kW for all six MUXES.
Due to the relatively flat nature of the country in the transmitter`s coverage area Sandy only has three smaller repeaters to increase its signal coverage.
The site is only 55m a.s.l. (one of the lowest for a main transmitter ? ) and the mast is
about 240m high. This may be some way shorter than Belmont (at 385m) but it`s still
around the same height as Canary Wharf ! Just to put it into perspective the chap working on the transmitter (in the picture) is at about 75m, so there`s another 165m above him !
The transmitter is Horizontally polarised was an A group, but with the addition of Digital it has now become a wideband. One of the latter is required for all of the MUXES, though MUX5 on CH 40 (and possibly MUX1 on CH42) may be receivable in decent signal areas.
Analogue C5 is an interesting one because technically it is out of the A group (on CH 39)
but I reckon most A groups should pick it up OK. This would certainly apply to aerials fitted since about the mid 90s, when the group was “enhanced” from CH 34 up to CH 37.
It should be borne in mind that analogue C5 is only transmitted at low power though.
How High Is High ?
The fella on the Sandy Heath transmitter is at about 75m.
If you fell from there you`d get more than a grazed knee.
There`s another 165m of the mast above him.
If the chap working on Sandy dropped his spanner from where he is it`d take about four seconds to hit the ground, and if he dropped it from the top it`d take seven seconds.
I just hope he`d have a spare because that`s a lot of steps to climb down, and back.....
Belmont transmitter is the tallest in the country at 385m (as originally built) and is shown
to scale on the right. Incidentally, something dropped from the top of Belmont would take about nine seconds to hit the ground, and would be travelling at about 195 mph.
And if that hit you, it would give you a really bad headache. How high is high ?
Also see Transmitter Relative Heights
For Sandy we recommend the DM log for strong signal areas, the Log 40 for
medium signal areas, the DY14WB for poor signal areas,
and the XB22WB for those with the most marginal signals.
Since the K group aerials we stock outperform widebands up to CH55, if you are in a particularly poor spot (and most people are not) you could forsake MUX 4 (until DSO)
and use an XB16K. The latter aerial will pick up all the post DSO transmissions.
The dimensions and test performance of the aerials can be found on the relevant tables.
If requiring a “high gain aerial” in the loft we recommend the DY14WB over the XB22 (or XB16) because of the former aerial`s smaller size.
Sandy Heath TV Transmitter.
Could this picture possibly explain the origins of its name.....
Sandy TV transmitter.
More of the ‘Heath’ and less of the ‘Sand’ on this picture....
Sandy`s channels in relation to the UHF TV band and the gain curves of the aerials
we recommend for it. DM Log Log40 DY14WB XB22WB
Note the channels out of the original A group of the transmitter and the fact that analogue
C5 should still be receivable, though remember it is transmitted at low power.
There is also a possibility of MUX 5 (and even MUX 1) off an A group if you live in a reasonable signal area. Also see Channel Allocations Guides.
The graph below illustrates Sandy`s channels in relation to our stocked K group aerials which are an alternative for those in particularly poor locations. The Ks will work a bit
better than widebands but will not pickup digital MUX 4.
Post DSO all the channels will be within the compass of our K groups aerials.
Note that the “original A group curve” is that for post 1995 aerials, when the A group was extended up to CH37 from CH34. Thus the response curve for aerials fitted prior to this
date would be about 3 channels down.
Also see other relevant Wideband curves and K group curves.
Sandy`s Pre DSO Channel Allocations (above)
Also check Sandy`s three smaller repeaters, though I wouldn`t have thought there`d be many people on them !
The frequencies given are for the analogue channels, for (most) digital MUXES add 3MHz.
Sandy`s Post DSO Channel Allocations (below), apart from its other uses this guide shows clearly that Belmont will remain a wideband (for two of the six MUXES) after DSO.
Note the gaps in the table below for channels 31 to 35, 37, 39 to 40 and 63 to 68, they`re reserved for “other uses”....
If you`ve found this site informative and, hopefully, interesting as well,
For Sandy`s frequencies see its Channel Allocation Guides for before and after the DSO. The guides also include the same information for some of the other transmitters in Belmont`s coverage area, namely Crystal Palace, Sudbury, Tacolneston, Belmont, Waltham, Sutton Coldfield, Oxford, Hemel Hempstead and Hertford.
This data can be very useful in the diagnosis of co-
The Channel Allocation 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-
Somewhat surprisingly, given its central position and its co-
A big shock but Sandy is due to remain a wideband (or K group) after DSO in
April 2011, though the three PSBs will be within the original A group.
There are two interleaved spectrum channels allocated to Sandy, CH23 and CH49, which
are both within the previously announced post DSO group.
Those situated to the West of Sandy may find that during certain weather condition they
can suffer from co-
If you are on Sandy and suffer this type of co-
One of the best views of the transmitter can be had from the East Coast Mainline railway which runs only 1.5 miles to the West. You might not have that long to see it though as the express trains here are usually travelling at about 125 mph, which is rather faster than they were doing when the line was first built by the Great Northern Railway in 1850 !
There was actually another line which ran even closer, about half a mile to the SE, on its way from Sandy to Cambridge. Originally opened by the Bedford & Cambridge Railway in 1862 it became part of the London & North Western shortly afterwards but after passing through various other owners it eventually closed in 1968. It`s a pity the planning authorities didn`t protect the trackbed because there are now plans to reopen a line from Bedford to Cambridge, but it will probably have to detour southwards via Hitchen.
Good views are also possible from the A1 and the transmitter is about 3 miles to the East.
There are plans to build yet another bypass on it, and this is to bypass the original bypass, which was built to divert traffic off London Rd in Sandy. Just to put that into perspective apparently the A1`s junction at Sandy was still traffic light controlled in the 1970s !
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