Peterborough transmitting station

Last updated

Peterborough
Morborne hill from west.jpg
Morborne Hill site from west
Cambridgeshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Peterborough transmitting station (Cambridgeshire)
Location Cambridgeshire
Mast height154 metres (505 ft)
Coordinates 52°30′28″N0°20′36″W / 52.507778°N 0.343333°W / 52.507778; -0.343333
Grid reference TL127913
Built5 October 1959 (original)
2006 (current)
Collapsed30 October 2004 (original)

The Peterborough transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility at Morborne Hill, near Peterborough, England (grid reference TL127913 ).

Contents

There are two tall structures on adjacent sites: a guyed steel lattice mast belonging to Arqiva, and a 98.45 m (323.0 ft) tall reinforced concrete tower belonging to BT. These sites are known by their owners as 'Peterborough' and 'Morborne Hill' respectively. [1]

History

The site was originally owned by Mr FJ Cheney of Polebrook. [2] On Monday 23 September 1957 a 110 foot experimental aluminium mast was erected to test strength of transmissions around the area, with BBC engineer Colin White of the Field Strength Test Unit. [3] A 560 ft high mast was planned. [4] On Monday 14 October 1957 a war-surplus barrage balloon was flown at 600 ft. Morborne itself was 184 ft high. [5] By November 1957 the test mast was removed. [6] By June 1958, television broadcasts were expected by March 1959. [7]

On Thursday 30 April 1959, the first 40ft part of the mast was installed, weighing 1.5 tons. The rest of the mast was expected to take three weeks. [8] It was a 7.5 acre site. [9] Test broadcasts took place from 21 September 1959. Television came from Sutton Coldfield, via a relay at Skeffington in Leicestershire. [10] [11]

It was the same design and height as Tacolneston. Rowridge, North Hessary Tor and Pontop Pike are a similar design, but built two years earlier.

Transmission

The 560 ft lattice mast would open on Monday 5 October 1959, with 405 line television. This was the first day of BBC eastern news programmes. The G.P.O. link between Norwich and Morborne would be completed by early December 1959. [12] Broadcasts started at 6am on 5 October 1959. The mast did not carry ITV. [13] ITV reception came from Lichfield or Mendlesham, in central Suffolk. [14]

The FM frequencies were the same as today - the BBC Home Service on 94.5 FM and the BBC Third Programme on 92.3 FM. [15] Stereo FM radio came in July 1980, and also [16] Hereward Radio began broadcasting on 95.7 on FM at 6am on Thursday 10 July 1980. For the south of Lincolnshire, this radio broadcast reception would much better than when BBC Radio Lincolnshire began later in the year in November 1980. [17]

Arqiva mast

Original steel lattice mast collapsed, showing contact with building at the base. Morborne mast collapsed.jpg
Original steel lattice mast collapsed, showing contact with building at the base.

A 154-metre (505 ft) guyed high-steel lattice mast, belonging to Arqiva, is used primarily for FM broadcasting but carries many other services.

Originally, this mast was built for broadcasting television on VHF Band I.

On 30 October 2004, the original mast was destroyed by a fire. It collapsed, seriously damaging the transmitter building at the base. Services were temporarily restored by transferring them to the adjacent BT tower and two temporary masts, including the BBC emergency mast which was put in use for the first time. [18] A new replacement mast finished construction in 2006 and is in full service.

Communications tower

In June 1961 the original GPO 328 foot steel lattice tower had reached 100 feet, which weighed 80 tons. It was hoped to be built by the end of June 1961. It would carry around 5,000 telephone circuits. [19] [20] The foundations were 700 tons of reinforced concrete. It connected with a GPO tower 96 miles away, the Heaton Park BT Tower in north Manchester. [21] [22]

The 1961 lattice GPO tower was replaced in September 1970 by a 280 ft concrete tower, built by Monk of Warrington, as more communication dishes were needed, with 9,000 more trunk circuits being needed. [23] [24]

Services available

Analogue radio

FrequencykWService
90.1 MHz 40 BBC Radio 2
92.3 MHz40 BBC Radio 3
94.5 MHz40 BBC Radio 4
95.7 MHz5.1 BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
99.7 MHz40 BBC Radio 1
101.9 MHz40 Classic FM

Digital radio

FrequencyBlockkWOperator
216.928 MHz11A5 SDL National
221.352 MHz11D5 Digital One
225.648 MHz12B10 BBC National DAB
229.072 MHz12D4 NOW Peterborough

BT concrete tower

The adjacent tower is one of fourteen reinforced concrete towers owned by BT in the UK. It is used mainly for point-to-point microwave links and forms part of BT's national telecommunications network. It was not damaged by the collapse of the Arqiva mast.

See also

Related Research Articles

The Isle of Man has an extensive communications infrastructure consisting of telephone cables, submarine cables, and an array of television and mobile phone transmitters and towers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BT Tower</span> Communications tower in London, England

The BT Tower is a grade II listed communications tower in Fitzrovia, London, England, owned by BT Group. It was also known as the GPO Tower and the Post Office Tower. It was later officially renamed the Telecom Tower. The main structure is 581 feet (177 m) high, with a further section of aerial rigging bringing the total height to 620 feet (189 m).

BBC Radio Cambridgeshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Cambridgeshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crystal Palace transmitting station</span> Telecommunications site in Bromley, England

The Crystal Palace transmitting station, officially known as Arqiva Crystal Palace, is a broadcasting and telecommunications site in the Crystal Palace area of the London Borough of Bromley, England. It is located on the site of the former television station and transmitter operated by John Logie Baird from 1933.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belmont transmitting station</span> Broadcasting and telecommunications facility in Lincolnshire, England

The Belmont transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility next to the B1225, 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the village of Donington on Bain in the civil parish of South Willingham, near Market Rasen and Louth in Lincolnshire, England. It is owned and operated by Arqiva.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chillerton Down transmitting station</span> Radio transmission site on the Isle of Wight, England

The Chillerton Down transmitting station is a broadcasting facility for FM and DAB radio at Chillerton Down, above the village of Chillerton on the Isle of Wight off the south coast of England. The transmitter was erected in 1958 and uses a 228.9-metre (751 ft) high guyed steel lattice mast of triangular cross section as an aerial.

There are three Redruth transmitting stations:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waltham transmitting station</span> Television and radio transmitter at Melton, Leicestershire

The Waltham transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility at Waltham-on-the-Wolds, 5 miles (8 km) north-east of Melton Mowbray. It sits inside the Waltham civil parish near Stonesby, in the district of Melton, Leicestershire, UK. It has a 315 metres (1,033 ft) guyed steel tubular mast. The main structure height to the top of the steelwork is 290.8 metres (954 ft), with the UHF television antennas contained within a GRP shroud mounted on top.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tacolneston transmitting station</span> Transmitter station in the UK

The Tacolneston transmitting station is a facility for both analogue and digital VHF/FM radio and UHF television transmission near Tacolneston, 11 miles (18 km) south-west of Norwich, Norfolk, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purdown BT Tower</span> Telecommunications tower in Bristol, England

Purdown BT Tower, also known as Purdown Transmitter, is a 70.1 metres (230 ft) tall telecommunications tower in Bristol, England. Built in 1970 for the British Telecom microwave network, it is now used to transmit radio and provide mobile phone coverage.

The Kirk o' Shotts transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications site at The Hirst which lies just outside the village of Salsburgh which is near the town of Shotts in North Lanarkshire central Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mendlesham transmitting station</span> Broadcasting facility

The Mendlesham transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility, situated close to the village of Mendlesham, near the town of Stowmarket, in Suffolk, United Kingdom. It is owned and operated by Arqiva.

The Caldbeck transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility, situated close to the village of Caldbeck, in Cumbria, England. It is owned and operated by Arqiva.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Durris transmitting station</span> Transmitter in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK

The Durris transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility, situated close to the town of Stonehaven, within Durris Forest, within the area also known historically as Kincardineshire. It is owned and operated by Arqiva, and is the tallest structure in Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rumster Forest transmitting station</span> Broadcasting and telecommunications facility in Scotland

The Rumster Forest transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility near the town of Wick, in Caithness, Scotland. It is owned and operated by Arqiva.

The Black Mountain transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility, situated on land 301 metres (988 ft) above Ordnance Datum to the west of the city of Belfast, in Northern Ireland. It includes a guyed steel lattice mast which is 228.6 metres (750 ft) in height. The height of the top of the structure above mean sea level is 529 metres (1,736 ft). It is owned and operated by Arqiva.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haverfordwest transmitting station</span> Broadcasting and telecommunications facility

The Haverfordwest transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility located at Woodstock about 13 km (8 mi) to the north east of the town of Haverfordwest, in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was originally built by the BBC, entering service in early 1964 acting as a main transmitter for the 405-line VHF television system, and as a repeater for Band 2 VHF FM radio received off-air from Blaenplwyf transmitting station. It is now owned and operated by Arqiva.

The Selkirk transmitting station is a telecommunications facility located next to Lindean Loch, near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders. It includes a 229.1 metres (752 ft) high guyed steel lattice mast, surmounted by a UHF television transmitting antenna array, which brings the overall height of the structure to 238.8 metres (783 ft). It is owned and operated by Arqiva.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emley Moor transmitting station</span> Telecommunications and broadcasting facility in West Yorkshire, England

The Emley Moor transmitting station is a telecommunications and broadcasting facility on Emley Moor, 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the village centre of Emley, in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England.

University Academy Long Sutton is a co-educational secondary school located in Long Sutton in the English county of Lincolnshire. The school educates pupils from the local surrounding areas in Lincolnshire, and a little from Cambridgeshire and Norfolk

References

  1. ↑ Engineers, Institution of Electrical (1959). Electronics & Power. Institution of Electrical Engineers.
  2. ↑ Peterborough Standard Friday 20 September 1957 page 1
  3. ↑ Peterborough Evening Telegraph Saturday 21 September 1957, page 6
  4. ↑ Spalding Guardian Friday 27 September 1957, page 4
  5. ↑ Lincolnshire Free Press Tuesday 22 October 1957, page 8
  6. ↑ Peterborough Evening Telegraph Wednesday 6 November 1957, page 6
  7. ↑ Peterborough Standard Friday 27 June 1958, page 1
  8. ↑ Lincolnshire Free Press Tuesday 5 May 1959, page 6
  9. ↑ Spalding Guardian Friday 28 February 1958, page 7
  10. ↑ Peterborough Standard Friday 28 August 1959, page 1
  11. ↑ Lincolnshire Free Press Tuesday 1 September 1959, page 8
  12. ↑ Peterborough Evening Telegraph Friday 28 August 1959, page 7
  13. ↑ Peterborough Standard Friday 9 October 1959, page 11
  14. ↑ Spalding Guardian Friday 16 October 1959, page 6
  15. ↑ Spalding Guardian Friday 9 October 1959, page 3
  16. ↑ Peterborough Advertiser Thursday 19 June 1980, page 47
  17. ↑ Peterborough Advertiser Thursday 10 July 1980, page 1
  18. ↑ "Mast fire 'could be deliberate'". 1 November 2004. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  19. ↑ Peterborough Evening Telegraph Wednesday 14 June 1961, page 6
  20. ↑ Peterborough Standard Friday 16 June 1961, page 8
  21. ↑ Lincolnshire Free Press Tuesday 20 June 1961, page 8
  22. ↑ Peterborough Evening Telegraph Thursday 3 August 1961, page 7
  23. ↑ Peterborough Evening Telegraph Tuesday 8 September 1970, page 9
  24. ↑ Peterborough Evening Telegraph Tuesday 15 September 1970, page 7
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.