Farnborough radar frequencies quality

[Hants Eaglet]

Not sure if this has ever been covered before but..... Has anybody noticed the really variable reception quality of the RT transmissions on Farnborough's radar frequencies, especially the Zone frequency 133.440? Approaching the airspace from the South or East for a clearance through I've often found the frequency weak and distorted even quite close to the field. Last week I flew from Kent back to Berks via Bagshot mast and the reception was so poor I very nearly diverted South around Guildford or considered trying 125.250, although that one might have been closed or bandboxed at the time. Reception improved approaching OCK just enough to understand what the controller was saying and I got an immediate clearance. Reception N of the M3 was much better, but not perfect. 125.250 also has quality issues sometimes to the South and East. I always receive other aircraft and ground stations well, I have a Trig radio which works well with no issues elsewhere. I also wonder about the suitability and quality of the headset mics in use at Farnborough and RAF radar units, the audio quality isn't great. I know the AM bandwidth isn't ideal, but in many respects I think audio quality has decreased over the years. Any comments.

(Me - 37 years ATCO, retired, 52 years pilot and counting)

[chevvron]

I'm told that when it's not too busy, Farnborough will bandbox and cross couple 133.440 and 125.250. This means that transmissions on the 8.33 kHz channel are re-transmitted on the 25 kHz one (which has offset carrier waves due to being transmitted and received at more than one site) and vice versa.
Could this explain poor reception?
(ATCO 37 yrs Retd, 60 yrs pilot)

[scifi]

When you say 133.440, I take it that you mean 133.441666..? As a retired radio technician, and was told the transmit was on 133.440, If I measured it to be 133.441666, the first thing I would do is tweak your master crystal oscillator..