Kilvey Hill transmitting station

Kilvey Hill
	Kilvey Hill transmitting station (Swansea)
Tower height	45 metres (148 ft)
Coordinates	51°37′45″N3°55′13″W / 51.629167°N 3.920278°W
Grid reference	SS672940
Built	1967
BBC region	BBC Wales
ITV region	ITV Cymru Wales

Last updated August 28, 2024

The Kilvey Hill transmitting station was originally built at the summit of Kilvey Hill in Swansea, Wales, by the BBC ^[1] in 1967 as a relay for VHF and UHF television. VHF television came on air a few months before the UHF services. As built, the station did not radiate VHF FM radio, this was added later. Currently, the hill's transmitters cater for viewers and listeners in Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Llanelli. The station is owned and operated by Arqiva.

Freeview digital terrestrial TV was already available at low power from this transmitter before the digital switchover process began, with the first stage taking place on Wednesday 12 August 2009. The second stage was completed on Wednesday 9 September 2009, with the transmitter becoming the first in Wales to complete digital switchover. After the switchover process, analogue channels ceased broadcasting permanently and the Freeview power increased from 383 W ERP to 2 kW ERP, a 7 dB power increase.^[2]

Channels listed by frequency

Analogue television

December 1967 - 17 February 1968

Kilvey Hill provided BBC 405-line VHF television to the Neath and Port Talbot area which is strongly shielded by local hills^[3] from the Wenvoe transmitter just to the west of Cardiff. Kilvey Hill was a relay of the Wenvoe transmitter. Despite being sited at Swansea, no effort was made to provide the VHF TV signal to Swansea itself - the town was already deemed to be well served by Wenvoe.

Frequency	VHF	kW	Service
51.75 MHz	2	0.5	BBC1 Wales

17 February 1968 - 28 January 1972

A BBC R&D report^[4] details the coming of 625-line UHF television to the Kilvey Hill site. This again was with the station acting as an off-air relay of Wenvoe, which was (at that point) only transmitting BBC 2 (in colour) on 625-lines. This time, the northern parts of Swansea were intended to be covered by the signal as local hills (including Kilvey Hill itself) shielded those parts of the town from the UHF signal from Wenvoe.

Frequency	VHF	UHF	kW	Service
51.75 MHz	2	—	0.5	BBC1 Wales
511.25 MHz	—	26	10	BBC2 Wales

28 January 1972 - 1 November 1982

BBC1 and HTV Wales came on air from Wenvoe in April 1970, but it was nearly two years later^[5] before Kilvey Hill started to relay those channels.

Frequency	VHF	UHF	kW	Service
51.75 MHz	2	—	0.5	BBC1 Wales
487.25 MHz	—	23	10	HTV Wales
511.25 MHz	—	26	10	BBC2 Wales
567.25 MHz	—	33	10	BBC1 Wales

1 November 1982 - Second Quarter 1983

Channel 4 launched across the UK in 1982. Kilvey Hill (being in Wales) transmitted the S4C variant.

Frequency	VHF	UHF	kW	Service
51.75 MHz	2	—	0.5	BBC1 Wales
487.25 MHz	—	23	10	HTV Wales
511.25 MHz	—	26	10	BBC2 Wales
535.25 MHz	—	29	10	S4C
567.25 MHz	—	33	10	BBC1 Wales

Second Quarter 1983 - 15 July 1997

405 line television was discontinued early,^[6] and from then onwards TV transmissions were on UHF only.

Frequency	UHF	kW	Service
487.25 MHz	23	10	HTV Wales
511.25 MHz	26	10	BBC2 Wales
535.25 MHz	29	10	S4C
567.25 MHz	33	10	BBC1 Wales

15 July 1997 - 15 November 1998

During 1997, Channel 5 gained an analogue channel from some transmitters and Kilvey Hill was one of them. The site radiated all five UK terrestrial analogue television services at 10 kW until digital switchover was completed on 9 September 2009.

Frequency	UHF	kW	Service
487.25 MHz	23	10	HTV Wales
511.25 MHz	26	10	BBC2 Wales
535.25 MHz	29	10	S4C
567.25 MHz	33	10	BBC1 Wales
583.25 MHz	35	10	Channel 5

Analogue and digital television

15 November 1998 - 12 August 2009

The initial rollout of digital television in the UK involved radiating the signals at low power in between the existing analogue channels. The apparent use of channels "21" and "22-" for muxes "C" and "2" respectively might look like a mistake, but is confirmed by OFCOM's site.^[7]

Frequency	UHF	kW	Operator	System
474.000 MHz	21	0.1	Arqiva (Mux C)	DVB-T
481.833 MHz	22-	0.6	Digital 3&4 (Mux 2)	DVB-T
487.25 MHz	23	10	HTV Wales	PAL System I
505.833 MHz	25-	0.6	BBC (Mux 1)	DVB-T
511.25 MHz	26	10	BBC2 Wales	PAL System I
529.833 MHz	28-	0.3	SDN (Mux A)	DVB-T
535.25 MHz	29	10	S4C	PAL System I
553.833 MHz	31-	0.1	Arqiva (Mux D)	DVB-T
561.833 MHz	32-	0.6	BBC (Mux B)	DVB-T
567.25 MHz	33	10	BBC1 Wales	PAL System I
583.25 MHz	35	10	Channel 5	PAL System I

12 August 2009 - 9 September 2009

The UK's digital switchover commenced with Kilvey Hill on 12 August 2009. Analogue BBC2 Wales on channel 26 was first to close, and HTV Wales was moved from channel 23 to channel 26 for its last month of service. With it went Mux 1 from channel 25- to be replaced by the new BBC A mux which started up in 64-QAM and at full power (i.e. 2 kW) on channel 23 which had just been vacated in the shuffle.

Frequency	UHF	kW	Operator	System
474.000 MHz	21	0.1	Arqiva (Mux C)	DVB-T
481.833 MHz	22-	0.6	Digital 3&4 (Mux 2)	DVB-T
490.000 MHz	23	2	BBC A	DVB-T
511.25 MHz	26	10	HTV Wales	PAL System I
529.833 MHz	28-	0.3	SDN (Mux A)	DVB-T
535.25 MHz	29	10	S4C	PAL System I
553.833 MHz	31-	0.1	Arqiva (Mux D)	DVB-T
561.833 MHz	32-	0.6	BBC (Mux B)	DVB-T
567.25 MHz	33	10	BBC1 Wales	PAL System I
583.25 MHz	35	10	Channel 5	PAL System I

Digital television

9 September 2009 - 17 Jul 2019

The remaining analogue TV services were closed down, the digital multiplexes took over their original frequencies (and a few new ones) with a power increase and a move to 64-QAM encoding. The service covers Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, and parts of South Wales including Cowbridge and the Vale of Glamorgan where the Wenvoe Transmitters’ signals are shielded by hills.

Frequency	UHF	kW	Operator
482.000 MHz	22	2	Arqiva A
490.000 MHz	23	2	BBC A
506.000 MHz	25	2	SDN
514.000 MHz	26	2	Digital 3&4
530.000 MHz	28	2	Arqiva B
538.000 MHz	29	2	BBC B

17 Jul 2019 - present

Services have moved to different frequencies.

Frequency	UHF	kW	Operator
474.000 MHz	21	2	BBC A
482.000 MHz	22	2	Arqiva A
498.000 MHz	24	2	Digital 3&4
506.000 MHz	25	2	SDN
522.000 MHz	27	2	BBC B
530.000 MHz	28	2	Arqiva B
578.000 MHz	34	2	_local

Analogue radio (VHF FM)

30 September 1974 - Early 1980s

The first FM radio from the site was Wales' first independent radio station, Swansea Sound.^[8]

Frequency	kW	Service	Description
95.1 MHz	1.0	Swansea Sound	Contemporary and chart music and information station for under 44s

Early 1980s - 1989

Swansea Sound changed frequency to 96.4 MHz as required by a new bandplan for Band II broadcasting which placed BBC stations below 96 MHz and Independent Local Radio stations above that. The band limit was 98 MHz at that point. BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio Cymru commenced from the site sometime before 1988 as the BBC's Service Area map of 1988 shows.^[9]

Frequency	kW	Service	Description
89.5 MHz	0.925	BBC Radio 2	Adult contemporary music-led service
91.7 MHz	0.925	BBC Radio 3	Classical, jazz, world music and the arts
93.9 MHz	0.925	BBC Radio Cymru	Welsh language service
96.4 MHz	1.5	Swansea Sound	Contemporary and chart music and information station for under 44s

1989 - 30 September 1995

The 1988 bandplan for Band II raised the upper limit for broadcasting to 100 MHz and Radio 1 gained its own frequency.

Frequency	kW	Service	Description
89.5 MHz	0.925	BBC Radio 2	Adult contemporary music-led service
91.7 MHz	0.925	BBC Radio 3	Classical, jazz, world music and the arts
93.9 MHz	0.925	BBC Radio Cymru	Welsh language service
96.4 MHz	1.5	Swansea Sound	Contemporary and chart music and information station for under 44s
99.1 MHz	0.925	BBC Radio 1	New and popular music, news, entertainment and talk

30 September 1995 - 1997

Swansea Sound changed its name first to "96.4 Sound Wave" then (quickly) to 96.4 The Wave.

Frequency	kW	Service	Description
89.5 MHz	0.925	BBC Radio 2	Adult contemporary music-led service
91.7 MHz	0.925	BBC Radio 3	Classical, jazz, world music and the arts
93.9 MHz	0.925	BBC Radio Cymru	Welsh language service
96.4 MHz	1.5	The Wave	Contemporary and chart music and information station for under 44s
99.1 MHz	0.925	BBC Radio 1	New and popular music, news, entertainment and talk

1997 - present

Classic FM came on air in 1997, the other new services have joined at various times since then. Radio Cymru has moved to 104.2 MHz with BBC Radio Wales taking over the vacated 93.9 MHz slot.

Frequency	kW	Service	Description
89.5 MHz	0.925	BBC Radio 2	Adult contemporary music-led service
91.7 MHz	0.925	BBC Radio 3	Classical, jazz, world music and the arts
93.9 MHz	0.925	BBC Radio Wales	A music-led service, with talk and entertainment revolving around Wales
94.6 MHz	0.925	BBC Radio 4	Speech, news and current affairs
96.4 MHz	1.5	Hits Radio South Wales	Contemporary and chart music and information station for under 44s
99.1 MHz	0.925	BBC Radio 1	New and popular music, news, entertainment and talk
101.3 MHz	0.5	Classic FM	Classical music
102.1 MHz	1.25	Swansea Bay Radio	Adult contemporary ^[10]
104.2 MHz	0.925	BBC Radio Cymru	Welsh language service
106.0 MHz	1	Heart South Wales	Adult contemporary, news, entertainment and sports. Formerly Real Radio
107.3 MHz	1.25	Nation Radio Wales	Rock music

Digital radio (DAB)

Frequency	Block	kW	Operator
222.064 MHz	11D	1	Digital One
223.936 MHz	12A	2	Swansea SW Wales
225.648 MHz	12B	4.1	BBC National DAB
229.072 MHz	12D	1.2	MuxCo Mid & West Wales
216.928 MHz	11A	5	SDL National

The digital radio signal covers Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, and parts of South Wales including Cowbridge and the Vale of Glamorgan where the Wenvoe Transmitters’ signals are shielded by hills.

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The Craig-Cefn-Parc television relay station is sited on Mynydd Gelliwastad to the west of Clydach in the Swansea Valley. It was originally built in the 1980s as a fill-in relay for UHF analogue colour television. It consists of a 17 m self-supporting lattice mast standing on land which is itself about 160 m above sea level. The transmissions are beamed to the northwest to avoid cross-channel interference with the Alltwen transmitter which is about 4 km to the northeast and which uses the same frequencies. The Craig-Cefn-Parc transmitter is owned and operated by Arqiva.

The Mynydd Emroch television relay station is sited on the eponymous hill to the east of Port Talbot. It was originally built in the 1970s as a fill-in relay for UHF analogue television. It consists of a 25 metres (82 ft) self-supporting lattice tower standing on a hillside which is itself 600 ft above sea level. The transmitters are beamed southwards to cater for those digital terrestrial TV subscribers in Port Talbot and Margam which for reasons of geography can't get a signal from the Kilvey Hill transmitter across the bay at Swansea. The Mynydd Emroch transmission station is owned and operated by Arqiva.

The Briton Ferry television relay station is sited on a hill to the east of Briton Ferry. It was originally built in the 1970s as a fill-in relay for UHF analogue colour television. It consists of a 25 m self-supporting lattice mast standing on a hillside which is itself about 180 m above sea level. The transmitters are beamed towards the southwest and northwest to cater for those digital terrestrial TV subscribers in Briton Ferry and western Neath which for reasons of geography can't get a signal direct from the Kilvey Hill transmitter at Swansea nor from the relay transmitter at Neath Abbey across the valley. The Briton Ferry transmission station is owned and operated by Arqiva.

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References

↑ "KILVEY HILL V.H.F . RELAY STATION: SUMMARY OF INSTALLATION , Technological Report No. RA-19/11" (PDF). BBC.
↑ "Freeview on Kilvey Hill TV transmitter". ukfree.tv. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
↑ "Reception, Port Talbot area (Hansard, 2 June 1964)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . 1964-06-02. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
↑ "KILVEY HILL U.H.F. RELAY STATION: SUMMARY OF INSTALLATION, Technological Report No. RA-15/3" (PDF). BBC.
↑ "Welcome to the Gallery Upgrader". Txlib.mb21.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2014-05-31. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-12-05. Retrieved 2012-04-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
↑ "UK Television Reception Advice". Ofcom.org.uk. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
↑ "Welcome to the Gallery Upgrader". Txlib.mb21.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
↑ Mike Brown. "mb21 - The Transmission Gallery". Tx.mb21.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
↑ "National Grid Wireless wins 102.1 Swansea Bay Radio contract". National Grid Wireless. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-10-06. Retrieved 2007-07-31.

External links

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[1] "KILVEY HILL V.H.F . RELAY STATION: SUMMARY OF INSTALLATION , Technological Report No. RA-19/11" (PDF). BBC.

[2] "Freeview on Kilvey Hill TV transmitter". ukfree.tv. Retrieved 2009-08-12.

[3] "Reception, Port Talbot area (Hansard, 2 June 1964)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . 1964-06-02. Retrieved 2013-05-28.

[4] "KILVEY HILL U.H.F. RELAY STATION: SUMMARY OF INSTALLATION, Technological Report No. RA-15/3" (PDF). BBC.

[5] "Welcome to the Gallery Upgrader". Txlib.mb21.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2014-05-31. Retrieved 2013-05-28.

[6] "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-12-05. Retrieved 2012-04-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[7] "UK Television Reception Advice". Ofcom.org.uk. Retrieved 2013-05-28.

[8] "Welcome to the Gallery Upgrader". Txlib.mb21.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-05-28.

[9] Mike Brown. "mb21 - The Transmission Gallery". Tx.mb21.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-05-28.

[10] "National Grid Wireless wins 102.1 Swansea Bay Radio contract". National Grid Wireless. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-10-06. Retrieved 2007-07-31.

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v t e Transmitter sites in Wales
Transmitter stations	Arfon Blaenplwyf Carmel Criggion Ferryside Haverfordwest Kilvey Hill Llanddona Moel-y-Parc Preseli St. Hilary Tenby Wenvoe Wrexham-Rhos
Telecommunicationportal Walesportal

v t e Wenvoe VHF 405-line Transmitter Group
Wales Transmitter group	Abergavenny Carmarthen Kilvey Hill Llandrindod Wells Llanelli Llanidloes
West Transmitter group	Barnstaple Bath Marlborough Swindon