Tenby transmitting station

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Tenby
Pembrokeshire UK location map.svg
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Tenby transmitting station (Pembrokeshire)
Mast height17 metres (56 ft)
Coordinates 51°39′43″N4°44′05″W / 51.661948°N 4.734818°W / 51.661948; -4.734818
Grid reference SS109994
Built1978
Relay of Carmel
BBC region BBC Wales
ITV region ITV Cymru Wales

The Tenby television relay station is sited to the southwest of the town of Tenby and north of Penally on the south coast of Pembrokeshire, South Wales. It was built in the 1980s as a fill-in relay for UHF analogue television covering the southwest of Tenby town, plus Penally and the low-lying land between them that is shielded from Carmel (or Wenvoe) by the headland. It consists of a 17 m wooden pole standing on a hillside which is itself about 80 m above sea level. The transmissions are beamed northeast and west to cover the targets. The Tenby station is owned and operated by Arqiva.

Contents

Tenby transmitter re-radiates the signal received off-air from Carmel about 30 km to the northeast. The digital switchover process for Tenby duplicated the timing at Carmel, with the first stage taking place on 26 August 2009 and the second stage being completed on 23 September 2009. After the switchover process, analogue channels had ceased broadcasting permanently and the Freeview digital TV services were radiated at an ERP of 20 W each. [1]

Channels listed by frequency

Analogue television

24 November 1978 - 1 November 1982

FrequencyUHFkWService
615.25  MHz 390.031 BBC One Wales
663.25  MHz 450.031 BBC Two Wales
695.25  MHz 490.031 HTV Wales

1 November 1982 - 26 August 2009

Tenby (being in Wales) transmitted the S4C variant of Channel 4.

FrequencyUHFkWService
615.25  MHz 390.031 BBC One Wales
639.25  MHz 420.031 S4C
663.25  MHz 450.031 BBC Two Wales
695.25  MHz 490.031 ITV1 Wales (HTV Wales until 2002)

Analogue and digital television

26 August 2009 - 23 September 2009

The UK's digital switchover commenced at Carmel (and therefore at Tenby and all its other relays) on 26 August 2009. Analogue BBC Two Wales on channel 45 was first to close, and ITV Wales was moved from channel 49 to channel 45 for its last month of service. A new allocation on channel 56 started up, occupied by the new digital BBC A mux which started up in 64-QAM and at full power (i.e. 20 W).

FrequencyUHFkWServiceSystem
615.25  MHz 390.031 BBC One Wales PAL System I
639.25  MHz 420.031 S4C PAL System I
663.25  MHz 450.031 ITV1 Wales (HTV Wales until 2002) PAL System I
753.833  MHz 56-0.02 BBC A DVB-T

Digital television

23 September 2009 - present

The remaining analogue TV services were closed down and the digital multiplexes entered service on completely new frequencies barely overlapping the allocation used in the days of analogue TV. This caused the transmitter to become an "aerial group W" site, whereas it had previously been an "aerial group B" site. Some homes in the area may have required new aerials though the post-DSO ERP of the transmitter is about 5.1 dB greater than is normal on switchover and this should have alleviated much of the problem.

FrequencyUHFkWOperator
690.000  MHz 480.02 Digital 3&4
721.833  MHz 52-0.02BBC B
753.833  MHz 56-0.02BBC A

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The Talley television relay station is sited on high ground to the north of the village of Talley in Carmarthenshire. It was originally built in 1986 as a fill-in relay for UHF analogue television covering the community of Talley. It consists of a 17 m wooden telegraph pole standing on a hillside which is itself about 220 m above sea level. The transmissions are beamed southwest and northwest to cover all the small settlements of the area and to provide a signal for the Llansawel repeater about 5 km to the northwest. The Talley transmission station is owned and operated by Arqiva.

The Penderyn television relay station is sited on high ground to the east of the village of Penderyn in the Brecon Beacons. It was originally built in 1984 as a fill-in relay for UHF analogue television covering the communities of Penderyn and Hirwaun. It consists of a 12-metre (39 ft) self-supporting lattice steel mast standing on a hillside which is itself about 310 metres (1,020 ft) above sea level. The transmissions are beamed west and south to cover all these targets. The Penderyn transmission station is owned and operated by Arqiva.

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The Bronwydd Arms television relay station is sited on high ground to the west of the village of Bronwydd to the north of Carmarthen. It was originally built in mid 1989 as a fill-in relay for UHF analogue colour television covering the village of Bronwydd Arms and the surrounding community. It consists of a 14 m wooden telegraph pole standing on a hillside which is itself about 85 m above sea level. The transmissions are beamed east to cover the target. The Bronwydd Arms transmission station is owned and operated by Arqiva.

The Cilycwm television relay station is sited on high ground to the east of the village of Cilycwm to the north of Llandovery in Carmarthenshire, South Wales. It was originally built in 1987 as a fill-in relay for UHF analogue colour television covering the communities of Cilycwm and Rhandirmwyn. It consists of a 17 m self-standing lattice steel mast standing on a hillside which is itself about 190 m above sea level. The transmissions are broadly beamed west and east to cover the targets. The Cilycwm transmission station is owned and operated by NTL.

The Llanwrtyd Wells television relay station is sited on high ground by the hamlet of Cefn Gorwydd to the east of the village of Llanwrtyd Wells in Powys, mid Wales. It was originally built in the 1980s as a fill-in relay for UHF analogue television covering the communities of Llanwrtyd Wells, Cefn Gorwydd and the surrounding area. It consists of a 25 m (82 ft) self-supporting lattice steel mast standing on a hillside which is itself about 240 m (790 ft) above sea level. The transmissions are beamed broadly northwest and northeast to cover its targets. The Llanwrtyd Wells transmission station is owned and operated by Arqiva.

The Cwmgors television relay station is sited on high ground at Gwaun Cae Gurwen to the north of the village of Cwmgors in south Wales. It was originally built in 1983 as a fill-in relay for UHF analogue colour television covering the communities of Cwmgors, Gwaun Cae Gurwen and Tairgwaith. It consists of a 25 m self-supporting lattice steel mast standing on a hillside which is itself about 180 m above sea level. The transmissions are beamed broadly south to cover its targets. The Cwmgors transmission station is owned and operated by Arqiva.

The Erwood television relay station is sited on high ground to the west of the village of Erwood in Powys, south Wales. It was originally built in the 1980s as a fill-in relay for UHF analogue colour television covering the communities of Erwood, Llandeilo Graban and Llansteffan. It consists of a 20 m self-supporting lattice steel mast standing on a hillside which is itself about 215 m above sea level. The transmissions are beamed northeast and southeast to cover its targets. The Erwood transmission station is owned and operated by Arqiva.

The Rhayader television relay station is sited on high ground to the northeast of the town of Rhayader, south Wales. It was originally built in the 1980s as a fill-in relay for UHF analogue television covering the communities of Rhayader and St. Harmon. It consists of a 45 m self-supporting lattice steel mast standing on a hillside which is itself about 345 m above sea level. The transmissions are beamed southwest and northwest to cover its targets. The Rhayader transmission station is owned and operated by Arqiva.

References

  1. "Freeview on Tenby TV transmitter". ukfree.tv. Retrieved 20 April 2012.