Sutton Coldfield transmitting station
Made in Birmingham |
The Sutton Coldfield transmitting station is a
History
On 17 December 1949, it became the first television
In 1949 the site housed Britain's first post-war Band 1
For most of 1965, it had a low-power BBC2 service; this was turned onto full power on 4 October 1965; the East Midlands had no BBC2 service until Waltham began transmissions on 31 August 1968.
A new mast was built around 1983 to replace the original structure, primarily to support new mixed-polarisation FM antennas.
A 788-foot (240 m) tall temporary mast was erected alongside the 1983 mast in the spring of 2009 while the latter's height was increased by 100 ft (30 m) to 887.5 ft (270.5 m). After four years in service and almost a year after the completion of digital switch over, the temporary mast was removed during August 2013.
All analogue TV transmissions ceased on 21 September 2011, as part of the digital switchover. This made it one of the oldest transmitters in the country to formally end analogue broadcasts.
Services
With a mast height of 270.5 m (887 ft), it is one of the most powerful transmitters in England, powered at 200
The transmitter broadcasts eight
When opened as a UHF TV transmitter, Sutton Coldfield was a B grouping, but with the advent of digital broadcasting one of the six muxes could not be fitted into the original B group due to co-channel considerations. Thus mux 6 was transmitted slightly out of band on UHF Channel 55, though this would still be receivable on most B group aerials as this graph makes clear. In July 2007, it was confirmed by Ofcom that Sutton Coldfield would return to an undisputed B group transmitter post-digital switchover; a process that was completed on 21 September 2011.
An
The station is now owned by Arqiva.
Radio
Analogue (FM)
Frequency | kW[2] | Service |
---|---|---|
88.3 MHz
|
109.9 | BBC Radio 2 |
90.5 MHz | 109.9 | BBC Radio 3 |
92.7 MHz | 109.9 | BBC Radio 4 |
95.6 MHz | 11.4 | BBC Radio WM |
96.4 MHz | 10 | Free Radio Birmingham
|
97.9 MHz | 109.9 | BBC Radio 1 |
100.1 MHz | 219.8 | Classic FM |
100.7 MHz | 11 | Heart West Midlands |
105.2 MHz | 11 | Greatest Hits Radio Birmingham & The West Midlands |
105.7 MHz | 11 | Smooth West Midlands |
Digital (DAB)
Frequency | Block | kW[2] | Operator |
---|---|---|---|
211.648 MHz | 11A | 20 | SDL National |
222.064 MHz | 11D | 8.7 | Digital One |
225.648 MHz | 12B | 10 | BBC National DAB |
Television
Digital
|
Before switchover
|
Analogue
Analogue television signals are no longer broadcast from Sutton Coldfield as of 21 September 2011.
Frequency | UHF | kW[6] | Service |
---|---|---|---|
623.25 MHz | 40 | 1000 | BBC2 West Midlands |
647.25 MHz | 43 | 1000 | Central |
671.25 MHz | 46 | 1000 | BBC1 West Midlands |
703.25 MHz | 50 | 1000 | Channel 4 |
Relays
The transmitter is served by a set of 35 local relays, delivering signals to areas shaded from it by hills and the curve of the Earth. These are:[7]
- Allesley Park
- Brailes
- Bretch Hill
- Bridgnorth
- Brierley Hill
- Cheadle
- Earl Sterndale
- Edgbaston
- Fenton
- Gib Heath
- Gravelly Hill
- Haden Hill
- Hamstead
- Harborne
- Hartington
- Ipstones Edge
- Ironbridge
- Kenilworth
- Kidderminster
- Kinver
- Leamington Spa
- Leek
- Long Compton
- Malvern
- Oakamoor
- Perry Beeches
- Queslett
- Redditch
- Repton
- Rugeley
- Tenbury Wells
- Turves Green
- Whittingslow
- Winchcombe
- Winshill
- Woodford Halse
Digital switchover
As at other stations, the digital switchover took place in two stages:[7]
In the first stage (7 September 2011):
- BBC Two analogue (Channel 40) closed down
- Low-power BBC multiplex (Mux 1) on channel 41 closed down
- Low-power SDN multiplex (Mux A) moved from channel 47 to channel 41 (until stage 2)
- ITV analogue moved from channel 43 to channel 40 (until stage 2)
- High-power multiplex BBC A started on channel 43
In the second stage (21 September 2011):
- BBC One analogue (Channel 46) closed down
- ITV analogue (Channel 40) closed down
- Channel 4 analogue (Channel 50) closed down
- Mux 1 (C41), Mux 2 (C44), Mux A (C47), Mux B (C51), Mux C (C52) and Mux D (C55) closed down
- All multiplexes increased in power to 200,000 watts (200 kW)
- New multiplexes came on air: SDN on C42, Arqiva A on C45, Arqiva B on C39, Digital 3&4 on C46 and BBC B on C40.
HD broadcasts were moved from the Lichfield transmitter to Sutton Coldfield on the BBC B multiplex (C40, 626.2 MHz). The Lichfield transmitter ceased the broadcast of all television services (Analogue Channel 5 and Digital BBC B (Mux HD)), with all six multiplexes being broadcast from Sutton Coldfield.
Further reading
- Pawley, Edward (1972), BBC Engineering 1922 - 1972, London, BBC. pp 355, 368-70. ISBN 0-563-12127-0
- Cooper, Ray (2006), Tales from a Cold Field.
See also
- Lichfield transmitting station
- List of masts
- List of radio stations in the United Kingdom
- List of tallest buildings and structures in Great Britain
References
- ^ "Predicted coverage of public service and commercial digital television multiplexes following switchover". 29 September 2016.
- ^ a b Radio Listeners Guide 2010
- ^ "Digital Switchover Transmitter Details: Central Region" (PDF). Ofcom. 25 May 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
- ^ "Comux Technical Plan" (PDF). Ofcom.
- ^ Television Viewers Guide 2009
- ^ Television Viewers guide 2009
- ^ a b c "Sutton Coldfield". Digital UK. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
- ^ Birmingham Council Planning Control: Application No. N/04511/07/FUL