St Hilary transmitting station
Mast height | 229 metres (750 ft) |
---|---|
Coordinates | 51°27′26″N 3°24′11″W / 51.457222°N 3.402944°W |
Grid reference | ST026741 |
Built | 1957 |
ITV region | TWW (1958-1968) HTV (1968-1985) |
The St Hilary transmitting station is a facility for
It broadcasts Heart South Wales on FM and DAB to the large parts of South Wales.[1]
Its broadcast areas include: St. Hilary, Cowbridge, Ystradowen, Miskin, Pontyclun, Bonvilston, St. Nicholas, Swansea, Llanelli, West of Barry, Pontypridd, Caerphilly, Mountain Ash, Llantrisant, Church Village and Talbot Green.
The studios of the regional radio station
History
Construction
The plan by the
Objections were noted, the mast height was eventually limited to 229 m (750 ft) and it was built by
Transmission
Test transmissions commenced on 2 September 1957 on
In 1965, Band III channel 7 (184.75 MHz) was added to the mast, transmitting from an antenna array sited about 20 m below the existing channel 10 array. This was to carry the programmes of the bilingual
In 1985, when 405-line TV closed, the site was re-engineered to remove the VHF television antennas. St. Hilary became just a telecommunications mast and remained so until October 2000 when Real Radio commenced FM Radio broadcasting from the site. In late 2000, DAB Digital Radio was added to the radio broadcasting repertoire initially transmitting the Cardiff & Newport multiplex on channel 11C, but with Swansea SW Wales on channel 12A commencing in February 2004.[6]
In 2006 Ofcom received a proposal[7] for a new Rock-Orientated FM station to transmit from the site, but the licence was awarded to Xfm South Wales, now Nation Radio. Nation's studios are located at the foot of the St Hilary mast, but the station's Cardiff transmitter is a few miles away at Wenvoe.
Services
Analogue television
14 January 1958 - 15 February 1965
Frequency | VHF | kW | Service |
---|---|---|---|
199.75 MHz | 10 | 200 | TWW |
15 February 1965 - 3 January 1985
Frequency | VHF | kW | Service |
---|---|---|---|
184.75 MHz | 7 | 100 | Teledu Cymru until 1968)
|
199.75 MHz | 10 | 55 | HTV West (TWW West until 1968) |
Analogue radio (VHF FM)
October 2000 - May 2014
Frequency | kW | Service |
---|---|---|
105.4 MHz
|
5 | Real Radio |
May 2014 - present day
Frequency | kW | Service |
---|---|---|
105.4 MHz
|
5 | Heart South Wales |
Digital Radio (DAB)
October 2000 - 31 January 2004
Frequency | Block | kW | Operator |
---|---|---|---|
220.352 MHz | 11C | 2 | NOW Cardiff & Newport
|
February 2004 - Present
Frequency | Block | kW | Operator |
---|---|---|---|
227.360 MHz | 12C | 2 | South East Wales
|
223.936 MHz | 12A | 1 | Swansea SW Wales |
See also
- Radio masts and towers
- List of tallest buildings and structures in Great Britain
References
- ^ a b "St Hilary (The Vale of Glamorgan, Wales) DAB transmitter". UK Free TV. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
- ^ "Nation Radio". Retrieved 29 April 2018.
- ^ "Analogue Broadcast Radio Measured Coverage Area (MCA) Maps" (PDF). Ofcom.
- ^ "TELEVISION MAST NEAR RHOOSE AIRPORT (Hansard, 2 May 1957)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 2 May 1957. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
- ^ Times Tuesday 27 October 1959, page 6
- ^ "Swansea dab - Page 6 - Radio - Digital Spy Forums". Forums.digitalspy.co.uk. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 January 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)