Sandy Heath transmitting station
Encyclopedia
Sandy Heath transmitter is a television broadcast
station located between Sandy, Bedfordshire
and Potton
near the B1042. It is owned by Arqiva
, formerly NTL Broadcast. It was built in 1966, originally broadcasting Anglia Television
on VHF 405-lines, UHF with 625-line services of BBC2
, BBC1
and Anglia Television
being added by January 1971. It carried Channel 4
and Channel 5 from their launch days, Channel 5 at lower power than the other four services. Today it broadcasts digital television
on the DTT platform
as Digital Switchover took place on 13th April 2011.
It is a wideband TV transmitter (horizontal polarization), though an original A group aerial will still receive the three main Public Service Broadcast (PSB) Muxes. During DSO the digital transmission power for the PSB muxes increased from 20kW to 180kW. The commercial muxes remain at 20kW pending a further reorganization in late 2011.
Sandy Heath is the main local TV transmitter for Cambridgeshire
, Northamptonshire
and north Hertfordshire
, bringing the nearby area Look East and Anglia Tonight
.
It also broadcasts the BBC local radio station BBC Three Counties Radio
and the independent radio station Heart Bedford
formerly Chiltern
.
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
station located between Sandy, Bedfordshire
Sandy, Bedfordshire
Sandy is a small market town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is between Cambridge and Bedford, and on the A1 road from London to Edinburgh. The area is dominated by a range of hills known as the Sand Hills. The River Ivel runs through Sandy. The dedication of the Anglican church is to...
and Potton
Potton
Potton is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is 10 miles from Bedford and the population in 2001 was 4,473 people. In 1783 the 'Great Fire of Potton' destroyed a large part of the town. The parish church dates from the 13th Century and is dedicated to St Mary...
near the B1042. It is owned by Arqiva
Arqiva
Arqiva is a telecommunications company which provides infrastructure and broadcast transmission facilities in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The present company, with headquarters located at Crawley Court in the village of Crawley, Hampshire, was formed by National Grid Wireless...
, formerly NTL Broadcast. It was built in 1966, originally broadcasting Anglia Television
Anglia Television
Anglia Television is the ITV franchise holder for the East Anglia franchise region. Although Anglia Television takes its name from East Anglia, its transmission coverage extends beyond the generally accepted boundaries of that region. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional...
on VHF 405-lines, UHF with 625-line services of BBC2
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
, BBC1
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
and Anglia Television
Anglia Television
Anglia Television is the ITV franchise holder for the East Anglia franchise region. Although Anglia Television takes its name from East Anglia, its transmission coverage extends beyond the generally accepted boundaries of that region. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional...
being added by January 1971. It carried Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
and Channel 5 from their launch days, Channel 5 at lower power than the other four services. Today it broadcasts digital television
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
on the DTT platform
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
as Digital Switchover took place on 13th April 2011.
It is a wideband TV transmitter (horizontal polarization), though an original A group aerial will still receive the three main Public Service Broadcast (PSB) Muxes. During DSO the digital transmission power for the PSB muxes increased from 20kW to 180kW. The commercial muxes remain at 20kW pending a further reorganization in late 2011.
Sandy Heath is the main local TV transmitter for Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
and north Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, bringing the nearby area Look East and Anglia Tonight
Anglia Tonight
Anglia Tonight is a regional television news and current affairs programme, produced by ITV Anglia , serving the East of England and parts of the East Midlands and South East England. The programme is usually broadcast at 18:00 every weeknight, also including local sports news and local features of...
.
It also broadcasts the BBC local radio station BBC Three Counties Radio
BBC Three Counties Radio
BBC Three Counties Radio is the BBC Local Radio service for the English counties of Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire...
and the independent radio station Heart Bedford
Heart Bedford
Heart Bedford was an Independent Local Radio station based in the Priory Business Park in Bedford, Bedfordshire.-History:...
formerly Chiltern
Chiltern
Chiltern can refer to the following places:In England:* Chiltern Hills, an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, known locally as "the Chilterns"** Chiltern , a local government district in Buckinghamshire named after the hills...
.
Analogue radio
| Frequency | kW | Service |
|---|---|---|
| 96.9 MHz | 0.84 | Heart Bedford Heart Bedford Heart Bedford was an Independent Local Radio station based in the Priory Business Park in Bedford, Bedfordshire.-History:... |
| 95.5 MHz | 1 | BBC Three Counties Radio BBC Three Counties Radio BBC Three Counties Radio is the BBC Local Radio service for the English counties of Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire... |
Digital radio
| Frequency | Block | kW | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|
| 222.064 MHz | 11D | 4.7 | Digital One Digital One Digital One is a national commercial digital radio multiplex in the United Kingdom, owned by Arqiva. , the multiplex covers more than 90% of the populationfrom a total of 137 transmitters... |
| 225.648 MHz | 12B | 5 | BBC National DAB |
Digital television
| Frequency | UHF | kW | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|
| 474.2 MHz | 21+ | 180 | BBC BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff... B |
| 498.0 MHz | 24 | 180 | Digital 3&4 Digital 3&4 Digital 3&4 is a consortium consisting of regional Channel 3 companies and Channel 4 Television Corporation, which operates a multiplex broadcasting from a number of transmitter sites in the UK, carrying television and radio channels from both ITV and Channel 4; however three per-cent of the... |
| 522.0 MHz | 27 | 180 | BBC A |
| 554.0 MHz | 31 | 20 | SDN S4C Digital Networks SDN is a company that operates Multiplex A, one of the six groups of channels on digital terrestrial television in the United Kingdom... |
| 690.0 MHz | 48 | 20 | Arqiva Arqiva Arqiva is a telecommunications company which provides infrastructure and broadcast transmission facilities in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The present company, with headquarters located at Crawley Court in the village of Crawley, Hampshire, was formed by National Grid Wireless... B |
| 722.0 MHz | 52 | 20 | Arqiva A |
- SDN will move to UHF 51 on 18 April 2012.
- The power of the commercial multiplexes will eventually increase to 170 kW.
- BBC B is DVB-T2