Strabane transmitting station
Encyclopedia
The Strabane transmitting station is a broadcasting
and telecommunications facility located at Legfordrum and situated very close to the town of Strabane
, in County Tyrone
, Northern Ireland
(Grid Reference: H393947, GNR: IH393947). It is owned and operated by Arqiva
.
It includes a 305.5 metres (1,002 ft) high guyed steel lattice mast, which is the tallest structure in Ireland. The transmission antennas surmounting the structure are contained within a fibreglass cylinder. Constructed in 1963, it came into service on 18 February of that year.
It was originally commissioned by the Independent Television Authority
to bring ITV signals (provided by Ulster Television
) to West Ulster, including the districts of Derry
, Donegal
and Enniskillen
on 405-line
VHF, using Channel 8 (Band III
). 405 line television was discontinued in the UK in 1985.
When UHF television came to Northern Ireland, main transmitters were commissioned at Limavady
and Brougher Mountain, near Omagh
. However this left a gap in the Strabane and Newtownstewart
areas, so in July 1977 UHF television was added to the Strabane site. Due to the elevation of the antennas (584 m above sea level), a 2kW
effective radiated power
is sufficient to cover a very wide area, with coverage
available well into County Donegal.
In 2001, the site was installed with a transmitter for Score Northern Ireland, a regional digital radio multiplex
.
Digital switchover is scheduled to occur in Northern Ireland during 2012, when analogue TV transmissions from this station will be replaced by digital transmissions. The coverage
area is expected to be approximately the same as the analogue services, and there are expected to be at least three digital multiplexes broadcast.
Digital Radio (DAB
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...
and telecommunications facility located at Legfordrum and situated very close to the town of Strabane
Strabane
Strabane , historically spelt Straban,is a town in west County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It contains the headquarters of Strabane District Council....
, in County Tyrone
County Tyrone
Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
(Grid Reference: H393947, GNR: IH393947). It is owned and operated 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...
.
It includes a 305.5 metres (1,002 ft) high guyed steel lattice mast, which is the tallest structure in Ireland. The transmission antennas surmounting the structure are contained within a fibreglass cylinder. Constructed in 1963, it came into service on 18 February of that year.
It was originally commissioned by the Independent Television Authority
Independent Television Authority
The Independent Television Authority was an agency created by the Television Act 1954 to supervise the creation of "Independent Television" , the first commercial television network in the United Kingdom...
to bring ITV signals (provided by Ulster Television
UTV
UTV is a television channel based in the UK region of Northern Ireland. The channel is the Channel 3 or Independent Television licensee for Northern Ireland and is operated by UTV Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of UTV Media.- Terrestrial :* Analogue: Normally tuned to 3 * Freeview : 3...
) to West Ulster, including the districts of Derry
Derry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
, Donegal
Donegal
Donegal or Donegal Town is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. Its name, which was historically written in English as Dunnagall or Dunagall, translates from Irish as "stronghold of the foreigners" ....
and Enniskillen
Enniskillen
Enniskillen is a town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is located almost exactly in the centre of the county between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,599 in the 2001 Census...
on 405-line
405-line
The 405-line monochrome analogue television broadcasting system was the first fully electronic television system to be used in regular broadcasting....
VHF, using Channel 8 (Band III
Band III
Band III is the name of a radio frequency range within the very high frequency part of the electromagnetic spectrum.Band III ranges from 174 to 230 MHz, and it is primarily used for radio and television broadcasting...
). 405 line television was discontinued in the UK in 1985.
When UHF television came to Northern Ireland, main transmitters were commissioned at Limavady
Limavady
Limavady is a market town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with Binevenagh as a backdrop. It lies east of Derry and south west of Coleraine. It had a population of 12,135 people in the 2001 Census, an increase of some 17% compared to 1991...
and Brougher Mountain, near Omagh
Omagh
Omagh is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers Drumragh and Camowen meet to form the Strule. The town, which is the largest in the county, had a population of 19,910 at the 2001 Census. Omagh also contains the headquarters of Omagh District Council and...
. However this left a gap in the Strabane and Newtownstewart
Newtownstewart
Newtownstewart is a village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is overlooked by hills called Bessy Bell and Mary Gray and is at the confluence of the rivers Strule and Owenkillew. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 1,479 people. It lies within the Strabane District Council...
areas, so in July 1977 UHF television was added to the Strabane site. Due to the elevation of the antennas (584 m above sea level), a 2kW
Kw
kw or KW may refer to:* Kuwait, ISO 3166-1 country code** .kw, the country code top level domain for Kuwait* Kilowatt* Self-ionization of water Kw* Cornish language's ISO 639 code* Kitchener–Waterloo, Ontario, Canada...
effective radiated power
Effective radiated power
In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains...
is sufficient to cover a very wide area, with coverage
Coverage map
Coverage maps are designed to indicate the service areas of radiocommunication transmitting stations. Typically these may be produced for radio or television stations, for mobile telephone networks and for satellite networks. Such maps are alternatively known as propagation maps...
available well into County Donegal.
In 2001, the site was installed with a transmitter for Score Northern Ireland, a regional digital radio multiplex
Multiplexing
The multiplexed signal is transmitted over a communication channel, which may be a physical transmission medium. The multiplexing divides the capacity of the low-level communication channel into several higher-level logical channels, one for each message signal or data stream to be transferred...
.
Digital switchover is scheduled to occur in Northern Ireland during 2012, when analogue TV transmissions from this station will be replaced by digital transmissions. The coverage
Coverage map
Coverage maps are designed to indicate the service areas of radiocommunication transmitting stations. Typically these may be produced for radio or television stations, for mobile telephone networks and for satellite networks. Such maps are alternatively known as propagation maps...
area is expected to be approximately the same as the analogue services, and there are expected to be at least three digital multiplexes broadcast.
Digital Radio (DABDigital audio broadcastingDigital Audio Broadcasting is a digital radio technology for broadcasting radio stations, used in several countries, particularly in Europe. As of 2006, approximately 1,000 stations worldwide broadcast in the DAB format....
)
| Frequency | Block | kW | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|
| 229.07 MHz | 12D | 5 | Score Northern Ireland Score Northern Ireland Bauer Northern Ireland is a DAB digital radio multiplex broadcasting to Northern Ireland. The multiplex is now operated by Bauer Radio, having originally been awarded to the Scottish Radio Holdings unit Score Digital; SRH was sold to Emap, who were in turn subsequently purchased by Bauer.Aside... |
Analogue television
| Frequency | UHF | kW | Service |
|---|---|---|---|
| 615.25 MHz | 39 | 2 | BBC One Northern Ireland BBC One Northern Ireland BBC One Northern Ireland is the national variation for BBC Northern Ireland of the network BBC One service broadcast by the BBC. The service is broadcast in Northern Ireland from Broadcasting House in Belfast... |
| 639.25 MHz | 42 | 2 | 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... |
| 663.25 MHz | 45 | 2 | BBC Two Northern Ireland |
| 695.25 MHz | 49 | 2 | UTV UTV UTV is a television channel based in the UK region of Northern Ireland. The channel is the Channel 3 or Independent Television licensee for Northern Ireland and is operated by UTV Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of UTV Media.- Terrestrial :* Analogue: Normally tuned to 3 * Freeview : 3... |
See also
- List of masts
- List of tallest structures in the United Kingdom
- List of radio stations in the United Kingdom
External links
- The Transmission Gallery entry for Strabane transmitting station
- TV Coverage Map
- http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?b54396