Local Radio

Does switchover happen all at the same time for everyone receiving a signal from the Redruth transmitter group?

Switchover for the Redruth transmitter group is a two stage process taking place on Wednesday 8 July and Wednesday 5 August. At each stage engineering work is carried out at the Redruth transmitter and each of its 16 relay transmitters and television services will be restored at different times depending on where you live.

On both stages services at the Redruth transmitter and some relay transmitters are expected to be restored by 6am, and services at all transmitters are expected to be restored by mid- afternoon.

If you have Freeview, BT Vision or Top Up TV, you will need to re-tune your equipment.

In addition, on 30 September, viewers receiving their signal from the main Redruth transmitter will need to re-tune their Freeview, BT Vision or Top Up TV equipment, when some of the commercial services will change frequencies and power levels. Viewers will lose services such as Dave and Film 4 if they do not re-tune at this stage.

What happens on Wednesday 8 July?

On Wednesday 8 July after midnight, the switchover process for the Redruth transmitter group will start:
At around midnight, the analogue BBC Two service and the low-powered digital BBC services will be switched off at the Redruth transmitter and its 16 relays.

At this stage, analogue BBC Two will stop broadcasting permanently.

The remaining analogue services, BBC One, ITV and Channel 4, will continue to be available but are subject to breaks in service. Analogue channel Five broadcast from the main Redruth transmitter will remain on-air and is unaffected.

The remaining low-powered digital services broadcast from the main Redruth transmitter will remain on-air but are subject to significant breaks in service.

During the morning, some Freeview channels will be available from local relays for the first time - BBC Two digital, as well as BBC One, BBC Three, BBC Four, CBBC Channel, CBeebies, BBC News, BBC Parliament, BBC Red Button services. Viewers receiving their signal from the main Redruth transmitter will receive the new high powered BBC digital services as well as the existing low powered digital services:

Services at the Redruth transmitter, and the Alverton, Isles of Scilly, Penryn, Perranporth, Porthleven, Porthtowan, Portreath, Praa Sands and St Anthony in Roseland relay transmitters are expected to be restored by 6am.

Services at the Bossiney, Helston and Truro relays are expected to be restored by mid- morning.

Services at the Boscastle, Gulval, St Austell and St Just relay transmitters are expected to be restored by mid-afternoon.

At the Helston and Truro relay transmitters, analogue Channel 4 will move to the old analogue BBC Two spot.

All viewers are advised to wait until their expected completion time before installing or re-tuning their Freeview, BT Vision or Top Up TV equipment.

What happens on Wednesday 5 August?

On Wednesday 5 August, the switchover process will start at around midnight.
At around midnight, all analogue services will be switched off and will stop broadcasting permanently.
During the morning, new digital services are launched:

Services at the Redruth transmitter are expected to be restored by 6am.

Services at the Bossiney, Helston, Isles of Scilly, Perranporth, St Austell, St Just and Truro relay transmitters are expected to be restored by mid-morning.

Services at the Alverton, Boscastle, Penryn, Porthleven, Porthtowan, St Anthony in Roseland, Gulval, Portreath and Praa Sands relay transmitters are expected to be restored by mid-afternoon.

All viewers are advised to wait until their expected completion time before installing or re-tuning their Freeview, BT Vision or Top Up TV equipment.

The commercial groups of channels broadcast from the main Redruth transmitter will remain on low power until the 30 September. At this point a further re-tune will be required for all Redruth viewers.

What happens between midnight and the time when switchover is complete?

Before the completion of switchover at each stage, you may find that channels appear at different times. We advise that you wait until the expected completion time for switchover at your transmitter on both dates, before re-tuning your equipment.

Are any aerial changes necessary for those receiving signals from the Redruth transmitter group?

A small proportion of homes receiving their signal from the Bossiney and Perranporth transmitters may need a new aerial in order to receive all the available channels. We recommend you wait until after switchover to see if your home will actually be affected to avoid having unnecessary work done.

Channel changes at the Boscastle, Bossiney, Gulval, Perranporth, Praa Sands, St Austell and St Just relay
transmitters mean that channelised communal systems will need to be reconfigured at both switchover stages.

Channel changes at Redruth mean that channelised communal systems will require additional reconfiguration on the 30 September.

I’ve heard some equipment will fail at switchover – can you let me know which?

After switchover the Freeview signal will be changed to provide viewers with pictures that are less susceptible to interference and break-up. This change in format will happen at each switchover. TV equipment with the ‘digital tick’ logo is compatible with the improved signal but some early digital boxes (in particular ONDigital and ITV Digital devices) and early integrated digital televisions are not.

Owners of affected digital boxes are advised to look for the ‘digital tick’ if considering a replacement. Affected televisions can be upgraded using a digital box. A list of affected products is available from the

Digital UK website as follows: http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/2kequipment 

We recommend that anyone with affected equipment should contact the relevant manufacturer.

Will there be any Roadshow events or Advice Points taking place in the Redruth area during the switchover period?

The Digital UK Roadshow will be in the west Cornwall area for both stages of switchover. If you would like to meet Digit Al or put your questions to our specially trained advisors please come and visit us at the following locations:

8 July     Truro City Centre
9 July     Truro City Centre
5 August Truro City Centre

What happens at the Redruth transmitter group between the two switchover dates?

If you have Freeview, BT Vision or Top Up TV for the first time, you may need to use your TV remote to switch between analogue and digital, to watch the full range of channels until the second switchover date. You can do this as follows:

For a digital TV press either “TV” or “DTV” on your remote control
For a digital box or recorder connected to your TV by SCART, switch the digital equipment to standby and then back on again or alternatively press the “AV” button on your remote control,

I receive my signal from the main Redruth transmitter – why can’t I receive all the available Freeview channels after the second stage?

The switchover process for viewers of the main Redruth transmitter will not be fully completed until Wednesday 30 September. On this date some of the commercial groups of channels will be increased in power and moved to different frequencies.

On Wednesday 30 September, this final stage of the switchover process will start at around midnight.
At around midnight the existing low powered commercial groups of channels will be switched off. The public service digital channels, including BBC1, BBC2, ITV and Channel 4 will remain on-air but may be subject to short breaks in service.

During the morning the new high powered commercial groups of channels will be restored – this is expected to be completed by 6am. All viewers of the Redruth transmitter are advised to wait until after 6am before re-tuning their Freeview, BT Vision or Top Up TV equipment.

Viewers of relay transmitters within the Redruth transmitter group are not affected by this change.

What time do I need to re-tune my equipment on both stages of switchover?

Switchover for the Redruth transmitter group is a two stage process taking place on Wednesday 8 July and Wednesday 5 August. At both stages engineering work is carried out at the Redruth transmitter and each of its 16 relay transmitters – digital television services will be restored at different times depending on where you live.

Please check the list below to see when you are likely to have your service restored. At the times listed below viewers with Freeview equipment will need to complete a First Time Installation.

The Redruth transmitter and its 16 relays are expected to switch by these times:

                          8 July 2009 (Stage One)  5 August 2009 (Stage Two)
Redruth                 6am                               6am
Alverton                6am                              mid-afternoon
Boscastle              mid-afternoon                mid-afternoon
Bossiney               mid-morning                  mid-morning
Gulval                   mid-afternoon                mid-afternoon
Helston                 mid-morning                   mid-morning
Isles of Scilly         6am                              mid-morning
Penryn                  6am                              mid-afternoon
Perranporth           6am                              mid-morning
Porthleven             6am                              mid-afternoon
Porthtowan            6am                              mid-afternoon
Portreath               6am                              mid-afternoon
Praa Sands            6am                              mid-afternoon
St Anthony in Roseland   6am                      mid-afternoon
St Austell              mid-afternoon                mid-morning
Truro                    mid-morning                  mid-morning
St Just                  mid-afternoon                mid-morning

If you have any further issues we also provide details about contacting Digital UK for further advice.

Digital UK: 08456 505050

Helpscheme: 0800 40 85 900