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thebigtower |
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angus |
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THE ANGUS TRANSMITTER provides the main UHF service to the Tayside area of Scotland. It is sited on Balcalk Hill, near the village of Tealing, approximately six miles north of the centre of Dundee. The station is also the main DAB radio transmitter for the region with BBC National FM radio transmitted from nearby Forfar. Angus is the most southerly of the main UHF transmitters in the North-East Scotland ITV franchise area, formally known as Grampian and currently STV North. TRANSMISSION STRUCTURE |
| Transmissions from Angus are carried on a 229.5m (753ft) triangular cross-section lattice stayed mast, which is held in place by twelve stay-lines secured at ground level by six anchoring blocks. |
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| UHF Aerials> Transmission Site (800x600 or 1024x768 version)> Supersize Images> UHF Coverage Map |
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| UHF COVERAGE |
The Angus station provides coverage up to a radius of 25-40 miles (depending on direction) and principally serves the city of Dundee, most of Angus County, plus parts of Fife and Perthshire. This service area is virtually self-contained, slotting neatly between the coverage area of the Durris transmitter to the north and the Craigkelly transmitter to the south. To the direct north and west of the Angus transmitter, the signal is curtailed by the Cairngorms and Grampian mountain ranges, a region which is almost entirely dependent on relays of both Angus and Durris for television coverage. To the south, the Angus signal crosses the Tay Estuary into North-East Fife, reaching St Andrews, Leuchars and Ladybank. Here, the Lomond Hills provide a natural cut-off for the signal, preventing it from extending further south into Central Fife. As a result of these natural barriers, there is no significant overlap from Angus into areas served by either the Durris or Craigkelly transmitters. |
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| CHANNEL FIVE (FIVE) |
| Due to lack of a suitable frequency combined with the station's positioning near the North Sea (providing the potential to interfere with European stations) there is no Five analogue service from Angus. A service is however broadcast from Tay Bridge (a UHF relay of Angus) which provides sufficient power to serve those with suitable aerials in the Dundee area. |
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Site Images |
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DIGITAL SWITCHOVER |
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Re-engineering of the Angus mast in preparation for Digital Switchover took place principally in the latter half of 2008 with the replacement of both the main GRP-cylinder-encased analogue UHF aerial and the original Digital Terrestrial four-level cylindrical aerial. (See UHF Aerials for images). The two stages of the switchover process are currently scheduled to take place as follows - 4 August 2010 - Stage 1 (DSO1) |
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Shutdown of BBC2 analogue and launch of PSB1 (BBCA) multiplex 18 August 2010 - Stage 2 (DSO2) |
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Shutdown of remaining analogue services and launch of PSB2 and PSB3 plus COM Multiplexes |
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| STATION HISTORY |
| Angus was built by the Independent Television Authority (ITA) for two main purposes, the immediate objective being the provision of improved ITV 405-line VHF coverage to an area that neither the existing ITA transmitters at Black Hill and Durris were serving effectively. Based on the respective levels of coverage provided by these distant transmitters, both Scottish Television and Grampian Television laid claim to the Angus transmitter, with the ITA settling in favour of the latter. The site of the new transmitter was close to that of the Forfar station, which the BBC had opened in July 1964 to overcome a similar issue of poor coverage in the Dundee area. This was to be the last significant example of the ITA siting a 405-line transmitter close to an existing BBC station. From the 750-ft mast and fully automated transmission facility, the Angus station came into full service on 13 Ocober 1965, operating as a relay of the Durris transmitter and broadcasting on VHF Channel 11 at a peak output of 50kW (vision e.r.p). The second and ultimately primary function of the Angus transmitter was to provide UHF coverage to Tayside plus areas of Fife and Perthshire, in which capacity the station was designated a main transmitter site. In accordance with established practice, BBC2 was the first UHF service to be installed, bringing colour television pictures to the area for the first time from 28 July 1969. UHF transmitters for BBC1 and ITV followed in 1972, whilst Channel 4 came into operation in November 1983. |
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SITE INFORMATION |
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Location: |
Balcalk Hill, Kirkton of Tealing, Angus |
Grid Reference: |
NO394407 |
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Landlord: |
Arqiva (Legacy: ITA/IBA/NTL) |
Ground Height: |
313.0m |
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ITV Region: |
STV North (Formerly Grampian) |
Mast Height: |
229.5m |
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BBC Region: |
Scotland |
Aerial Height: (*) |
547m |
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UHF Tx Number: |
12300 |
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(*) Average UHF aerial height above sea level (a.o.d) |
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CURRENT TRANSMISSIONS |
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Analogue Television (Until 2010) |
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Analogue Radio (FM) |
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Service |
: Ch/Polarisation/e.r.p |
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Station: |
(MHz) |
(e.r.p) |
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BBC1 |
: 57 / H / 100kW |
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classic fm: |
100.1 |
10.6kW |
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BBC2 |
: 63 / H / 100kW |
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Tay FM: |
102.8 |
5.25kW |
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ITV1 |
: 60 / H / 100kW |
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BBC National FM: |
From Forfar |
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Ch4 |
: 53 / H / 100kW |
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Five |
: No service - transmitted from Tay Bridge relay |
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Digital Television (Until 2010) |
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Digital Radio |
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Service |
: Ch/Polarisation/e.r.p |
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BBC National |
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Mux1 |
: 68 / H / 2.0kW |
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Digital One |
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Mux2 |
: 66 / H / 2.0kW |
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MuxA |
: 59 / H / 2.0kW |
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MuxB |
: 62 / H / 2.0kW |
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MuxC |
: 56 / H / 2.0kW |
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MuxD |
: 65 / H / 2.0kW |
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