Sutton Coldfield television transmitter
Encyclopedia
The Sutton Coldfield transmitting station is a broadcasting
and telecommunications facility located in Sutton Coldfield
, Birmingham
, England
. It has broadcast terrestrial television signals every day since 1949 and is thus the oldest working television transmitting station in the world.
to broadcast outside London
and the Home Counties
, bringing BBC Television
to viewers outside of the south-east of England for the first time.
A new mast
was built around 1983 to replace the original structure, primarily to support new mixed-polarisation FM antennas.
All analogue TV transmissions ceased on the 21st September 2011, as part of the digital switchover. This made it one of the oldest transmitters in the country to formally end analogue broadcasts.
for analogue television
and 250 kW for FM radio. The coverage extends as far south as Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire
and as far north as Stoke-on-Trent
. However, there are many relay transmitters around the Midlands
that extend the coverage even further.
The transmitter broadcasts six digital television
multiplexes
, as well as VHF or FM
transmitters for the four BBC
national stations, independent national station Classic FM
, four local commercial radio stations (BRMB
, 100.7 Heart FM
, Kerrang 105.2 and Smooth Radio), the BBC's local service WM and DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting
– i.e. Digital Radio). When opened as a UHF TV transmitter Sutton Coldfield was a B group but with the advent of Digital broadcasting one of the 6 MUXES could not be fitted into the original B group due to co-channel considerations. Thus MUX6 was transmitted slightly out of band on CH55 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 a B group transmitter after DSO (Digital Switchover), a process that was completed on the 21st September 2011.
An MF
transmitter for Radio Birmingham (now Radio WM) used to be installed at this site, but could only be operated at 5 kW instead of the planned 10 kW because of interference to video equipment on the site. It was eventually replaced with a transmitter at the nearby Langley Mill MF site owned by Arqiva. This transmitter is currently used for the BBC Asian Network
.
The station is now owned by Arqiva
.
As at other stations, the digital switchover took place in two stages:
In the first stage (7 September 2011):
In the second stage (21 September 2011):
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.
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 in Sutton Coldfield
Sutton Coldfield
Sutton Coldfield is a suburb of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Sutton is located about from central Birmingham but has borders with Erdington and Kingstanding. Sutton is in the northeast of Birmingham, with a population of 105,000 recorded in the 2001 census...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It has broadcast terrestrial television signals every day since 1949 and is thus the oldest working television transmitting station in the world.
History
On 17 December 1949, it became the first television transmitterTransmitter
In electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which, with the aid of an antenna, produces radio waves. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating...
to broadcast outside London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and the Home Counties
Home Counties
The home counties is a term which refers to the counties of South East England and the East of England which border London, but do not include the capital city itself...
, bringing BBC Television
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...
to viewers outside of the south-east of England for the first time.
A new mast
Radio masts and towers
Radio masts and towers are, typically, tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. They are among the tallest man-made structures...
was built around 1983 to replace the original structure, primarily to support new mixed-polarisation FM antennas.
All analogue TV transmissions ceased on the 21st 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 245 metres (804 ft), it is one of the most powerful transmitters in England, powered at 1000 kilowatts ERPEffective 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...
for analogue television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and 250 kW for FM radio. The coverage extends as far south as Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
and as far north as Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
. However, there are many relay transmitters around the Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
that extend the coverage even further.
The transmitter broadcasts six 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...
multiplexes
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...
, as well as VHF or FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
transmitters for the four 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...
national stations, independent national station Classic FM
Classic FM (UK)
Classic FM, one of the United Kingdom's three Independent National Radio stations, broadcasts classical music in a popular and accessible style.-Overview:...
, four local commercial radio stations (BRMB
Brmb
brmb is a local radio station based in Birmingham, UK, owned and operated by Orion Media. The station broadcasts on 96.4 FM, DAB Digital Radio in the West Midlands and online...
, 100.7 Heart FM
100.7 Heart FM
Heart West Midlands is a radio station based in Birmingham, England, as part of the Heart Network, with a regional license to broadcast to the West Midlands...
, Kerrang 105.2 and Smooth Radio), the BBC's local service WM and DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting
Digital audio broadcasting
Digital 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....
– i.e. Digital Radio). When opened as a UHF TV transmitter Sutton Coldfield was a B group but with the advent of Digital broadcasting one of the 6 MUXES could not be fitted into the original B group due to co-channel considerations. Thus MUX6 was transmitted slightly out of band on CH55 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 a B group transmitter after DSO (Digital Switchover), a process that was completed on the 21st September 2011.
An MF
Mediumwave
Medium wave is the part of the medium frequency radio band used mainly for AM radio broadcasting. For Europe the MW band ranges from 526.5 kHz to 1606.5 kHz...
transmitter for Radio Birmingham (now Radio WM) used to be installed at this site, but could only be operated at 5 kW instead of the planned 10 kW because of interference to video equipment on the site. It was eventually replaced with a transmitter at the nearby Langley Mill MF site owned by Arqiva. This transmitter is currently used for the BBC Asian Network
BBC Asian Network
BBC Asian Network is a British radio station serving those originating from and around the Indian subcontinent. The music and news comes out of the main urban areas where there are significant communities with these backgrounds. The station has production centres in Birmingham, Leicester and London...
.
The station is now 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...
.
Analogue (FM)
| Frequency | kW | Service |
|---|---|---|
| 88.3 MHz | 250 | BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres... |
| 90.5 MHz | 250 | BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation... |
| 92.7 MHz | 250 | BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the... |
| 95.6 MHz | 11 | BBC WM BBC WM BBC WM is the BBC Local Radio service for the West Midlands, South Staffordshire, north Worcestershire and north Warwickshire, operated by BBC Birmingham. Launched on 9 November 1970 as BBC Radio Birmingham, it broadcasts from central Birmingham on 95.6 FM, DAB and on the internet... |
| 96.4 MHz | 10 | brmb Brmb brmb is a local radio station based in Birmingham, UK, owned and operated by Orion Media. The station broadcasts on 96.4 FM, DAB Digital Radio in the West Midlands and online... |
| 97.9 MHz | 250 | BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock... |
| 100.1 MHz | 125 | Classic FM Classic FM (UK) Classic FM, one of the United Kingdom's three Independent National Radio stations, broadcasts classical music in a popular and accessible style.-Overview:... |
| 100.7 MHz | 11 | Heart West Midlands Heart West Midlands Heart West Midlands is a radio station based in Birmingham, England, as part of the Heart Network, with a regional license to broadcast to the West Midlands... |
| 105.2 MHz | 11 | Kerrang! 105.2 Kerrang! 105.2 Kerrang! Radio is a specialist rock music radio station broadcasting to the West Midlands, England. The station's format mixes modern & classic rock with speech programmes targeted at young people and an adult rock audience. Broadcasting on FM in the West Midlands and DAB & Freeview and online,... |
| 105.7 MHz | 11 | Smooth Radio |
Digital (DAB)
| Frequency | Block | kW | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|
| 222.064 MHz | 11D | 8.7 | 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... |
| 223.936 MHz | 12A | 3 | MXR West Midlands MXR West Midlands MXR West Midlands is a regional commercial digital radio multiplex in the United Kingdom, which serves the West Midlands.-Transmitters:MXR West Midlands is transmitted on frequency block 12A from the transmitter sites: -Stations broadcast:... |
| 225.648 MHz | 12B | 10 | BBC National DAB |
Analogue
Analogue television signals are no longer broadcast from Sutton Coldfield as of 21 September 2011.| Frequency | UHF | kW | Service |
|---|---|---|---|
| 623.25 MHz | 40 | 1000 | BBC Two 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... |
| 647.25 MHz | 43 | 1000 | ITV1 ITV1 ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their... |
| 671.25 MHz | 46 | 1000 | BBC One 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... |
| 703.25 MHz | 50 | 1000 | 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... |
Digital
| Frequency | UHF | kW | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|
| 618.2 MHz | 39+ | 200 | 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 |
| 626.2 MHz | 40+ | 200 | 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 |
| 642.0 MHz | 42 | 200 | 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... |
| 650.0 MHz | 43 | 200 | BBC A |
| 666.0 MHz | 45 | 200 | Arqiva A |
| 674.0 MHz | 46 | 200 | 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... |
Before switchover
| Frequency | UHF | kW | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|
| 634.0 MHz | 41 | 8 | 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... (Mux 1) |
| 658.0 MHz | 44 | 8 | 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... (Mux 2) |
| 682.0 MHz | 47 | 8 | 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... (Mux A) |
| 714.0 MHz | 51 | 8 | BBC (Mux B) |
| 722.0 MHz | 52 | 8 | 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... (Mux C) |
| 746.0 MHz | 55 | 8 | Arqiva (Mux D) |
Relays
The transmitter is served by a set of 35 local relays, delivering signals to areas shaded from it by hills. These are:Digital switchover
Digital switchover took place at Sutton Coldfield in September 2011. In preparation for this, major engineering works took place at the station. The mast height was increased from 245 metres (804 ft) to 270.5 metres (887 ft) and the UHF television antennas were replaced. This was accomplished through the use of a temporary 240.2 metres (788 ft) mast constructed to broadcast all the area's services so that the main mast could be worked on 'cold'.As at other stations, the digital switchover took place in two stages:
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)
- ITV1 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
- ITV1 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
Lichfield transmitting station
The Lichfield transmitting station is situated close to Tamworth in Staffordshire in the West Midlands between the A5 and A51. The nearest geographical feature is Hopwas Hill. The station is owned and operated by Arqiva. The mast is known locally as Hopwas mast or Hints mast.-History:The...
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 stationLichfield transmitting stationThe Lichfield transmitting station is situated close to Tamworth in Staffordshire in the West Midlands between the A5 and A51. The nearest geographical feature is Hopwas Hill. The station is owned and operated by Arqiva. The mast is known locally as Hopwas mast or Hints mast.-History:The...
- List of masts
- List of radio stations in the United Kingdom
- List of tallest buildings and structures in Great Britain