Above: The Belmont mast in April 2010 at reduced height pending installation of the new main UHF aerial.
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Above: The Belmont mast in April 2010 at reduced height pending installation of the new main UHF aerial. |
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THE BELMONT TRANSMITTER is the UHF main station that serves the East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and North-West Norfolk region. Sited seventeen miles east of Lincoln on the Lincolnshire Wolds, the highest ground available in this predominantly flat area of the country, broadcast services from the station are carried on the tallest television transmission mast in the UK. |
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| PRIMARY UHF SERVICE AREA |
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With the exception of analogue Channel 5, Belmont's principal service area covers a radius of up to 50 miles which extends (north and south) from Bridlington in East Yorkshire to the North-West Norfolk coast, taking in Humberside, parts of both South Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire, and the majority of Lincolnshire. OVERLAP UHF SERVICE AREA(S) |
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Belmont has a considerable overlap with the Waltham transmitter across Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, which Waltham reciprocates to equal extent, whilst a lesser but still notable duplication of coverage with Emley Moor exists across parts of South Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire. A minor overlap with the Sandy Heath transmitter is also present in some areas of North Cambridgeshire and North-West Suffolk. See Coverage Maps for further details >>>>>>>>>>>>> |
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CHANNEL 5 (Five) |
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Analogue transmissions of this service from Belmont on UHF Channel 56 place them out of the aerial grouping for the four main channels (Group A) and are also at only 10% of the power, leading to poor reception in many areas even with the use of a Group W (wideband) aerial. Some viewers within those areas that receive overlap transmissions from Emley Moor (see Coverage Maps) have switched entirely to that transmitter to resolve this problem, even though this has sometimes resulted in lower quality reception in respect of the four main terrestrial channels. |
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Aerials> DSO Work> Transmission Site Images> Supersize Images> UHF Coverage Maps> TimeLine |
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| Also visit BELMONT TIMELINE for historical information about the Belmont Transmitter. |
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THE MAST |
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The transmission structure at Belmont is one of the three constructed for the Independent Television Authority (ITA) between 1963 and 1966 with a design based on a combination of a cylindrical steel tube and a lattice aerial support. The cylindrical aspect of the Belmont mast is 2.75 metres (9-ft) in diameter (as per the other two structures) and rises from the base to a height of 274 metres (900-ft). The lattice aerial support that surmounts the cylinder was originally 111 metres (365-ft) in height and comprised two tiers, the lower tier being exposed lattice with aerials attached whilst the upper tier was encased in conventional fibre-glass (GRP cylinder) panels in its capacity as support for the main UHF aerial system. With this lattice section considered part of the actual mast, supporting the main UHF aerial system on this was contrary to the convention of installing UHF antennas that surmounted the main structure. The mast was fitted externally with six platforms, four on the cylindrical section and a further two respectively positioned at the top of each tier of the lattice section. A total of eighteen stay lines held the mast in place, attaching to the structure at the same levels as the six platforms. The lines were secured in pairs at ground level by a total of nine anchoring blocks. As well as being the tallest transmission mast in the UK, at a total height of 385 metres (1265-ft) it also held the record for the tallest man-made structure within the European Union. An identical 385-metre mast was sited at Emley Moor but this collapsed in collapsed extreme weather conditions in March 1969. The other remaining ITA-built cylindrical structure at Winter Hill stands at 309 metres (1015-ft), based on a shorter 198-metre (650-ft) cylindrical section, but with the same 111-metre (365-ft) lattice aerial support section. (Masts of an entirely cylindrical design are located on the former BBC sites at Bilsdale, Mendip and Waltham.) However, re-engineering for Digital Switchover at Belmont has resulted in major changes to the structure's appearance and status. |
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As required for Digital Switchover, the Belmont mast has undergone the standard re-fit comprising a new main UHF aerial combined with a lower-mounted reserve installation, both of which are the main product of one of the more difficult projects necessitated by the switchover process. Installation of the reserve aerial was completed in Summer 2009. This is a twelve-tier cylindrical array mounted on the lower tier of the lattice aerial support at an above-ground height of around 320 metres (1050-ft). It has sustained all UHF services whilst installation and provisioning of the new main aerial has taken place, although its use in this capacity has typically resulted in a reduced quality of service in some areas that relied on the higher positioning of the old main aerial. Replacing the main UHF aerial was however a more complex undertaking than at other transmitter sites due to incompatibility between the new heavier UHF aerial systems and the mast at its original height and configuration. Specifically, one of the new aerial systems mounted on the existing lattice support (most likely as a bulky cylindrical 'wrap-around' as per the post-DSO layout at Winter Hill) at a height of around 350 metres (1150-ft) and more, was deemed to represent a severe risk to the stability of the structure. This took into account also the weight of the cylindrical reserve aerial installed on the lower tier. With the additional conclusion that a lower overall aerial height would be tolerable in terms of viewer reception, the solution to this issue was to reduce the height of the main structure and install a more conventional surmounting UHF aerial. To achieve this, the upper tier of the lattice support needed to be removed entirely, resulting in the loss also of the two highest platforms (five and six) and the three stay lines attaching to the top of the structure at platform six. This removal work took until April 2010 to complete. (See DSO Work for images of the final stages). The new main UHF aerial was installed by May 2010 and is shorter in aperture then the previous installation. With the main structure now comprising the 274-metre (900-ft) cylinder and the 55-metre (180-ft) lattice section that remains, the revised overall height including the new surmounting UHF aerial is 351.7 metres (1154-ft). As a consequence of the height reduction, the mast has ceased to be the tallest man-made structure in the European Union. It does however remain the tallest television transmission structure in the UK although by a much smaller margin, with the new Caldbeck mast around 15 metres shorter and Emley Moor differing by just under 22 metres. It has now been confirmed that Belmont will complete the Digital Switchover process on 30 July 2011. |
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(Updated June 2010) |
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Above Left: This ice warning is located at the site access road entrance. Similar warnings currently appear at Waltham and Winter Hill (and previously at Emley Moor). Above Right: This early NTL site-name-plate used to be positioned just beyond the ice warning. It has been removed following the change of site ownership to Arqiva. |
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Above: One of the three sets of stays based on the original total of eighteen lines before Digital Switchover. |
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Above and below: The main transmitter buildings. |
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Aerials> DSO Work> Transmission Site Images> Supersize Images> UHF Coverage Maps> TimeLine |
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STATION INFORMATION |
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Location: |
High Street, South Willingham, LN8 6JU |
Grid Reference: |
TF218836 |
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Landlord: |
Arqiva (Legacy: ITA/IBA/NTL) |
Ground Height: |
128m |
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BBC Region: |
East Yorkshire & Lincolnshire |
Mast Height: |
351.7m |
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ITV Region: |
Yorkshire |
Aerial Height (*): |
472m |
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UHF Tx Number: |
12000 |
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(*) Average UHF aerial height above sea level (a.o.d) pre-DSO re-engineering - new height TBC |
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CURRENT TRANSMISSIONS |
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Analogue Television |
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Analogue Radio (FM) |
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Service |
: Ch/Polarisation/e.r.p |
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Service: |
(MHz) |
(e.r.p) |
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BBC1 |
: 22 / H / 500kW |
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BBC Radio 1: |
98.3 |
16kW |
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BBC2 |
: 28 / H / 500kW |
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BBC Radio 2: |
88.8 |
16kW |
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ITV1 |
: 25 / H / 500kW |
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BBC Radio 3: |
90.9 |
16kW |
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Ch4 |
: 32 / H / 500kW |
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BBC Radio 4: |
93.1 |
16kW |
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Five |
: 56 / H / 50kW |
BBC Radio Lincolnshire: |
94.9 |
6kW |
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Classic FM: |
100.5 |
7kW |
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Lincolnshire FM: |
102.2 |
6.4kW |
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Digital Television |
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Digital (DAB) Radio |
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Mux1 |
:30 / H / 5kW |
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Service: |
Block |
(e.r.p) |
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Mux2 |
:48 / H / 10kW |
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BBC National: |
12B |
5.0kW |
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MuxA |
:68 / H / 10kW |
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MXR Yorkshire: |
12A |
2.4kW |
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MuxB |
:66 / H / 10kW |
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Digital One: |
11D |
5.0kW |
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MuxC |
:60 / H / 4kW |
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(+) Mux Co: |
10D |
TBC |
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MuxD |
:57 / H / 4kW |
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(+) Service start pending as of May 2010 |
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Other Cylindrical Masts |
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(Lancashire) |
(North Yorkshire) |
(Somerset) |
(Leicestershire) |
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