West Kirby television relay station

West Kirby

West Kirby transmitting mast, June 2009
Mast height 17 metres (56 ft)
Coordinates 53°22′03″N 3°10′01″W / 53.3674°N 3.1669°W / 53.3674; -3.1669Coordinates: 53°22′03″N 3°10′01″W / 53.3674°N 3.1669°W / 53.3674; -3.1669
Grid reference SJ224862
Relay of Winter Hill
BBC region BBC North West
ITV region ITV Granada

The West Kirby television relay station (also commonly known as West Kirby transmitter[1]) serves parts of West Kirby, Wirral, UK (national grid reference: SJ224862[2]). It is a relay of the Winter Hill transmitter. The antenna support structure is a 17 metre-high (56 ft-high) wooden pole situated at an elevation of 64 metres (210 ft).[3] Thus, the top of the pole has an overall height of 81 metres (266 ft) above sea level. As of 2009, the transmitter serves approximately 3,400 homes.[1]

Details

The relay station is located on a United Utilities bore hole site near Column Road,[3] West Kirby. The relay was not an original VHF 405-line transmitter.[1] For 625-line analogue services on UHF, the relay covers a geographical Winter Hill blind spot in the vicinity of West Kirby near the Dee estuary. Prior to switchover, analogue channels BBC One, BBC Two, ITV1 and Channel 4 are radiated from the site.[2] Being a relay of Winter Hill, the transmitter is in the BBC North West and ITV Granada TV regions.

From 4 November 2009[1] some digital TV services started broadcasting from the transmitter.

The final digital switchover date was 2 December 2009, after which three digital multiplexes (known as Freeview Lite[4]) were made available.

All TV transmissions from the West Kirby site are vertically polarised.[1]

Transmitted services

On the extreme left, the TV mast as seen from a distance. Nearby mobile phone infrastructure is shown on the right.
Close-up of the mast showing the lower receiving aerials and upper transmitting aerials. All are of the Log-periodic type.

Digital television

Frequency UHF kW Operator System
474.166 MHz 21+ 0.015 BBC B DVB-T2
498.000 MHz 24 0.015 Digital 3&4 DVB-T
522.000 MHz 27 0.015 BBC A DVB-T

Analogue television

Frequency UHF kW Service
471.25 MHz 21 0.013 BBC One
495.25 MHz 24 0.013 BBC Two
519.25 MHz 27 0.013 ITV1
551.25 MHz 31 0.013 Channel 4

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "West Kirby transmitter - analogue switch-off". ukfree.tv. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
  2. 1 2 "Digital Switchover Transmitter Details: Granada Region" (PDF). Office of Communications (OFCOM). 2007-10-24. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
  3. 1 2 "The Transmission Gallery: West Kirby". mb21. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
  4. ↑ "Freeview Lite?". Brian Butterworth, ukfree.tv. 2006-01-01. Retrieved 2009-06-09.


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