Ossy wind farm

[SteveKJ]

Is anyone in Baxenden or surrounding area having problems with freeview reception over last week as latest structures have gone up?
I'm getting broken pictures just on BBC channels which are all broadcast from Winter Hill on the same bandwidth and we are in a direct line through the farm to the transmitter. Wind Farms have been shown to disrupt analogue and freeview signals in other parts of the country, if you are on Sky or Freesat this wouldn't be an issue.

[maxthecollie]

Yes my freeview pictures freeze for a few seconds and we are up Sandy Lane in Accrington

[maxthecollie]

Yes our picture freezes quite often . We are tuned into Winter Hill and we live at the top of Sandy Lane Accrington

[MargaretR]

A quick google reveals that wind farms can cause the signal disruption.

Electromagnetic fields and marine organisms

"During the generation, transmission and utilisation of electromagnetic energy, the devices generate electromagnetic disturbance that can interfere with the normal operation of other systems.

Wind turbines can potentially disrupt electromagnetic signals used in telecommunications, navigation and radar services. The degree and nature of the interference will depend on:

The location of the wind turbine between receiver and transmitter.
Characteristics of the rotor blades.
Characteristics of receiver.
Signal frequency.
The radio wave propagation in the local atmosphere.

Interference can be produced by three elements of a wind turbine: Tower, rotating blades and generator. Tower and blades may obstruct, reflect or refract the electromagnetic waves."

[emamum]

ahh! i knew they were new! i was in baxenden last week and asked my friend how long they'd been there and she had never noticed them lol

[Lucysgirl]

I live in Baxenden and the reception has been getting steadily worse but it's not just the BBC channels either. I live on an extremely windy corner and thought the aerial needed tweaking but my local aerial technician intimated that its the wind farm which is affecting the reception in Baxenden and he also feels it's got worse as the year progressed.

According to the BBC website the developers and local council are responsible for sorting out the problem.

<<Terrestrial television transmissions for reception within the UK are the joint responsibility of the BBC and Ofcom. The transmission network is provided and operated on behalf of the broadcasters by Arqiva.
Where a new development such as a wind farm causes reception problems, we look to the develop to rectify these. Planning authorities sometimes require a legally binding commitment, under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 or Section 75 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, in order to enforce this at the outset.
The BBC and Ofcom have produced a technical document, aimed at town planners and developers, entitled 'Tall structures and their impact on broadcast and other wireless services'. See the link in the right-hand column.
If a development causes reception problems, there may be straightforward solutions such as improving the receiving aerials or providing the affected households with an alternative source of suitable television signals. These could be analogue or digital, and could come from a different transmitter, from an existing cable system, or in certain circumstances from a satellite.>>


BBC - Help receiving TV and radio - Wind farms and interference to TV reception

[Neil]

Have you tried plotting a straight line from your house to the Winter Hill transmitter to see if they are between you and the transmitter?

Google maps should help you do that

[MargaretR]

Originally Posted by Neil

Have you tried plotting a straight line from your house to the Winter Hill transmitter to see if they are between you and the transmitter?

Google maps should help you do that

Before I posted earlier in this thread, I did just that.

It is not possible to be precise because the windfarm is not yet shown on google earth, but I consider that the likelihood is that the windfarm IS on a line between Winterhill and Baxenden.

[Neil]

I think it probably is but it might depend where in Baxenden you are. I would expect it to cause problems for others living around her as well unless it is her aerial and or coax causing the problem.

[MargaretR]

Originally Posted by Neil

I think it probably is but it might depend where in Baxenden you are. I would expect it to cause problems for others living around her as well unless it is her aerial and or coax causing the problem.

I link to google maps with 'A' as Winter Hill.

This clearly shows that Ossy is north of the line which could be drawn between Winter hill and Baxenden and so isn't affected

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Win...nter+Hill&z=11

[SteveKJ]

The wind farm site at Home : HyndburnWindFarm gives a detailed OS map with the positions of all 12 windmills which you can xfer to an OS map and draw the line from winter hill. If the map on the web is accurate I can see the wind farm is smack bang between our house and Winter Hill.

[SteveKJ]

Should have said, it's the link labelled windfarm layout not location map.

[maxthecollie]

I have contacted the BBC re reception problem and they tell me there is not a problem with Winter Hill Transmitter so we should contact H.B.C. Ihave this morning sent an email to my local councillor and Hyndburn Borough Council

[Neil]

Originally Posted by maxthecollie

I have contacted the BBC re reception problem and they tell me there is not a problem with Winter Hill Transmitter so we should contact H.B.C. Ihave this morning sent an email to my local councillor and Hyndburn Borough Council

Is this a problem for your neighbours as well?

[maxthecollie]

No one has said so, but we will contact the neighbours as they may think it is down to the weather