The Wrekin Transmitter
Encyclopedia
The Wrekin transmitting station is a telecommunications and broadcasting
facility on the The Wrekin
, a hill in the county of Shropshire
, England
. It includes a 52 metres (171 ft) tall free-standing lattice tower with transmitting antennas
attached at various heights. The analogue transmitting arrays add about another 10m to this. At present, it broadcasts all analogue
and digital
television broadcasts across 15 UHF frequencies, alongside digital
and FM
(analogue) radio.
transmitter, Winter Hill
, The Wrekin serves a large part of North
and Mid Wales
, despite being the incorrect regional variation. The reason for this was because of the obvious carriage of Channel 5 at the same quality as channels 1-4, and also it carried the English Channel 4
as opposed to the Welsh
equivalent, S4C
. Since the digital switchover, The Wrekin carries all six multiplexes while local relays only carry three. This is a problem, as the Welsh terrain disables many Welsh viewers from receiving DTT from the nearest Welsh transmitter, Moel-y-Parc, so the relays of the transmitter to "fill in the gaps" only carry half the channels.
† Transmitted from The Wrekin B.
stations.
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...
facility on the The Wrekin
The Wrekin
The Wrekin is a hill in east Shropshire, England. It is located some west of Telford, on the border between the unitary authorities of Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin. Rising to a height of above the Shropshire Plain, it is a prominent and well-known landmark, marking the entrance to Shropshire...
, a hill in the county of Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, 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 includes a 52 metres (171 ft) tall free-standing lattice tower with transmitting antennas
Antenna (radio)
An antenna is an electrical device which converts electric currents into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver...
attached at various heights. The analogue transmitting arrays add about another 10m to this. At present, it broadcasts all analogue
Analog television
Analog television is the analog transmission that involves the broadcasting of encoded analog audio and analog video signal: one in which the message conveyed by the broadcast signal is a function of deliberate variations in the amplitude and/or frequency of the signal...
and digital
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
television broadcasts across 15 UHF frequencies, alongside digital
Digital radio
Digital radio has several meanings:1. Today the most common meaning is digital radio broadcasting technologies, such as the digital audio broadcasting system, also known as Eureka 147. In these systems, the analog audio signal is digitized into zeros and ones, compressed using formats such as...
and 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"...
(analogue) radio.
Television
Like the neighbouring GranadaGranada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
transmitter, Winter Hill
Winter Hill transmitting station
The Winter Hill transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications site situated on Winter Hill, at the southern boundary of the Borough of Chorley, and above Bolton in Greater Manchester, England...
, The Wrekin serves a large part of North
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
and Mid Wales
Mid Wales
Mid Wales is the name given to the central region of Wales. The Mid Wales Regional Committee of the National Assembly for Wales covered the counties of Ceredigion and Powys and the area of Gwynedd that had previously been the district of Meirionydd. A similar definition is used by the BBC...
, despite being the incorrect regional variation. The reason for this was because of the obvious carriage of Channel 5 at the same quality as channels 1-4, and also it carried the English 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...
as opposed to the Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
equivalent, S4C
S4C
S4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...
. Since the digital switchover, The Wrekin carries all six multiplexes while local relays only carry three. This is a problem, as the Welsh terrain disables many Welsh viewers from receiving DTT from the nearest Welsh transmitter, Moel-y-Parc, so the relays of the transmitter to "fill in the gaps" only carry half the channels.
Analogue television
Analogue television was switched off during April 2011; BBC Two analogue was switched off on 6 April and the remaining four on 20 April.| Frequency | UHF | kW | Service |
|---|---|---|---|
| 487.25 MHz | 23 | 100 | 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... |
| 511.25 MHz | 26 | 100 | 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... |
| 535.25 MHz | 29 | 100 | 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... |
| 567.25 MHz | 33 | 100 | 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... |
| 583.25 MHz | 35 | 100 | Channel 5 |
Digital television
| Frequency | UHF | kW | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|
| 490.0 MHz | 23 | 20 | 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... |
| 514.0 MHz | 26 | 20 | 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... A |
| 545.8 MHz | 30- | 20 | BBC B |
| 634.2 MHz | 41+ | 10 | 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... |
| 658.0 MHz | 44 | 10 | 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... A |
| 682.0 MHz | 47 | 10 | Arqiva B |
Before digital switchover
Unlike analogue television, The Wrekin had a sub-transmission site, also known as The Wrekin B, designed to serve the east of the region, to fill areas in which the main transmitter didn't broadcast into. This was necessary due to co-channel interference issues with Moel-Y-Parc, on channels 42, 45 and 49 (see external links). After digital switchover, the frequencies serving the east of the region were removed for compromise frequencies that has better reception in all areas of the region.| Frequency | UHF | kW | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|
| 474.0 MHz | 21 | 2 | 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) |
| 498.2 MHz | 24+ | 2 | 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) |
| 522.2 MHz | 27+ | 2 | BBC (Mux B) |
| 554.0 MHz | 31 | 2 | 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) |
| 618.2 MHz | 39+† | 2 | BBC (Mux 1) |
| 642.0 MHz | 42† | 2 | SDN (Mux A) |
| 666.0 MHz | 45† | 2 | BBC (Mux B) |
| 698.0 MHz | 49† | 2 | Digital 3&4 (Mux 2) |
| 730.0 MHz | 53 | 1 | 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) |
| 762.0 MHz | 57 | 1 | Arqiva (Mux D) |
† Transmitted from The Wrekin B.
Radio
Alongside television, the Wrekin broadcasts a number of local and national radioRadio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
stations.
Analogue radio
| Frequency | kW | Service |
|---|---|---|
| 96.0 MHz | 4.8 | BBC Radio Shropshire BBC Radio Shropshire BBC Radio Shropshire is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Shropshire. Launched on 23 April 1985 it broadcasts from its studios in Shrewsbury on 96 , 90 , 95 , 104.1 FM and DAB... |
| 103.1 MHz | 2.7 | Beacon Beacon (Radio) Beacon , is an independent local radio station, broadcasting to the Black Country and Shropshire in the West Midlands region of England.-History:The station began broadcasting to Wolverhampton and the Black Country from studios at 267 Tettenhall Road,... |
Digital radio
| Frequency | Block | kW | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|
| 218.640 MHz | 11B | 0.5 | NOW Wolverhampton NOW Wolverhampton Now Wolverhampton is a Digital Audio Broadcasting multiplex available in the above area which has been broadcasting since January 2001. It carries a variety of stations some of which are local.- Transmitter Sites :... |
| 222.064 MHz | 11D | 8 | 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 | 4 | 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 | 5 | BBC National DAB |