Black Hill transmitting station

Black Hill

Black Hill transmitter
Location Salsburgh,
North Lanarkshire
Mast height 306.6 metres (1,006 ft)
Coordinates 55°51′43″N 3°52′21″W / 55.8619°N 3.8725°W / 55.8619; -3.8725Coordinates: 55°51′43″N 3°52′21″W / 55.8619°N 3.8725°W / 55.8619; -3.8725
Grid reference NS828647
Built 1961
BBC region BBC Scotland
ITV region STV Central
Local TV service STV Glasgow

The Black Hill transmitting station is a facility for FM and TV broadcasting at Black Hill (grid reference NS828647), on Duntilland Road, Salsburgh, North Lanarkshire, Scotland which is near the town of Airdrie. It has a guyed mast 306.6 metres (1,006 ft) tall, bringing the antennas to a height of 540 metres above sea level. It was built, by the ITA, in 1957 and is now owned and operated by Arqiva.

The present mast is the second to have been built at the site. The first, built in 1957 brought the Independent Television service to Central Scotland and opened for service on 31 August 1957. Unfortunately complex anomalies in the behaviour of the antenna caused its performance to be less than predicted, and the decision was taken in 1959 to replace the mast with a higher structure and a more conventional aerial on the outside of the mast rather than inside as had been the case with the first mast. The original 750 foot mast was then dismantled and later used at the Selkirk station in the Borders where it still stands.

The transmitter was originally a B group but with the advent of Digital two of the 6 muxes are now out of band and require an E group (or wideband) aerial if reception of these is required. In July 2007 it was confirmed by Ofcom that Black Hill would be returning to a B group transmitter after DSO (Digital Switchover). Black Hill has the fifth greatest population coverage with a figure of around 2.5 million.

Between 1961 and the end of the 405 line ITV service in 1985 the Black Hill aerial had the highest effective radiated power of any transmitter in the ITV network with 475 kW radiated towards Dundee.

In the Summer of 2008 work began on the construction of a second 306.6 metre mast close to the original. This mast carries the new full-power Digital TV (DTT) services since digital switchover became effective at Black Hill in June 2011. The original mast will now be shortened in height and will radiate FM and DAB services only.

In June 2011, Black Hill became the final transmitter in Scotland to switch off analogue television. BBC Two Scotland was turned off first on 8 June, and the remaining four closed on 22 June.

Services listed by frequency

Analogue radio (FM VHF)

Frequency kW[1] Service
89.9 MHz 250 BBC Radio 2
92.1 MHz 250 BBC Radio 3
94.3 MHz 250 BBC Radio Scotland
95.8 MHz 250 BBC Radio 4
97.6 MHz 0.1 Forth 1
99.5 MHz 250 BBC Radio 1
100.3 MHz 20 Heart Scotland
101.7 MHz 125 Classic FM
102.5 MHz 15† Clyde 1
104.7 MHz 10 BBC Radio nan Gàidheal
105.2 MHz 30† Smooth Radio
106.1 MHz 10 Capital FM

† This signal is largely radiated towards Glasgow.

Digital radio (DAB)

Frequency Block kW[1] Operator
220.352 MHz 11C 4.23 Bauer Glasgow
229.072 MHz 12D 0.44 Bauer Edinburgh

Digital television

Frequency UHF kW Operator System
562.000 MHz 32 42.9 COM7 (ARQ C) DVB-T2
586.000 MHz 35 12.5 COM8 (ARQ D) DVB-T2
626.000 MHz 40 100 PSB3 (BBC B) DVB-T2
634.166 MHz 41+ 100 COM4 (SDN) DVB-T
650.000 MHz 43 100 PSB2 (D3&4) DVB-T
658.000 MHz 44 100 COM5 (ARQ A) DVB-T
674.000 MHz 46 100 PSB1 (BBC A) DVB-T
682.000 MHz 47 100 COM6 (ARQ B) DVB-T
714.000 MHz 51 5 LTVmux DVB-T

Before switchover

Frequency UHF kW Operator System
634.166 MHz 41+ 20 BBC (Mux 1) DVB-T
658.166 MHz 44+ 20 SDN (Mux A) DVB-T
682.166 MHz 47+ 20 Digital 3&4 (Mux 2) DVB-T
714.166 MHz 51+ 20 BBC (Mux B) DVB-T
746.000 MHz 55 20 Arqiva (Mux C) DVB-T
778.000 MHz 59 10 BBC B (Mux HD) DVB-T2
826.000 MHz 65 20 Arqiva (Mux D) DVB-T

Analogue television

Analogue television was broadcast from Black Hill until 22 June 2011. BBC Two Scotland was previously switched off on 8 June.

Frequency UHF kW Service
599.25 MHz 37 500 Channel 5
623.25 MHz 40 500 BBC One Scotland
647.25 MHz 43 500 STV
671.25 MHz 46 500 BBC Two Scotland
703.25 MHz 50 500 Channel 4

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Radio Listener's Guide 2010

External links

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