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thebigtower |
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dover |
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THE DOVER TRANSMITTER is the UHF main station for the far south-east of England, principally serving the Kent area including the majority of the county's coastline, as well as some parts of East Sussex. It is sited between the villages of West Hougham and Church Hougham, approximately three miles south-west of Dover town centre. Due to the station positioning near the English Channel, the mast has always carried aerial systems (for both VHF and UHF television) with highly directional properties in order to limit the signal strength towards France for the purpose of avoiding co-channel interference to European stations. UHF COVERAGE OVERLAP |
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Dover UHF transmissions directed towards the north-west can be received clearly in some coastal and inland areas of South Essex. This duplication of coverage is reciprocated by the Sudbury transmitter which is receivable in some parts of the Dover service area, most significantly along the northern coastline of Kent. Under 405-line VHF, a similar reciprocal overlap existed with the Mendlesham transmitter although by the very nature of VHF coverage the range of these transmissions was significantly more extensive than under UHF. TRANSMISSION STRUCTURE |
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Services from Dover are broadcast from a 228.6-metre (750-ft) triangular cross-section lattice stayed-mast. The fibre-glass cylinder-contained UHF aerial mounted at the top extends the overall height to 243.2 metres (798-ft). The mast is held in place by fifteen stay lines secured at ground level by nine anchor blocks. The structure is typical of those on sites originally constructed as main transmitters for the ITV 405-line VHF Band III network. (See STATION HISTORY below). |
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Aerials> Site Images (800x600 or 1024x768 version)> Supersize Images> UHF Coverage Map |
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DIGITAL SWITCHOVER |
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The two stages of the Digital Switchover process took place at Dover as follows - 13 June 2012 - Stage 1 (DSO1) |
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BBC2 Analogue (Channel 56) closed, Mux 1 closed, BBC1 Analogue temporarily moved to Channel 56 in order to release Channel 50 and PSB1 Multiplex (BBC A) launched on Channel 50. 27 June 2012 - Stage 2 (DSO2) |
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All remaining analogue services and pre-DSO digital multiplexes ceased and PSB2, PSB3 and COM Multiplexes commenced transmission. |
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Aerials> Site Images (800x600 or 1024x768 version)> Supersize Images> UHF Coverage Map |
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| The Dover station was constructed by the Independent Television Authority (ITA) in order to formally extend coverage of ITV to the south-east of England on the original 405-line VHF Band III system. Prior to the station opening, the area relied on distant reception from either Croydon, Chillerton Down or Mendlesham. The regional ITV companies respectively associated with those transmitters sought control of the Dover station, with the ITA eventually awarding the franchise for the area it would serve to Southern Television, making Dover their second transmitter alongside Chillerton Down. In choosing a site for a station serving the south-eastern extremity of England, the ITA had to address the critical issues of how to avoid (or at least minimise) the risk of interfering with overseas stations, whilst also serving the coastal port towns of Dover and Folkestone which lied in a sudden dip beyond the Dover cliffs. The obvious solution was to build a station on the Dover cliffs from where the highest-powered transmissions could be beamed in-land, whilst enabling the few outward areas to be served with minimal power directed from the cliff top downwards towards the coast. To achieve this, engineers undertook the highly complex task of constructing an aerial that took the 'directional-power' principle to a new extreme. Utilising the 450-ft high site at Church Hougham as a platform, a 750-ft mast was deemed to offer sufficient height for the transmitting aerial, which would be fed by single vision and sound transmitters rated at 4kW and 1kW respectively. The aerial that was eventually constructed beamed the highest power of 100kW (e.r.p) 50 miles westwards along the southern coastline, allowing a link-up with the service area of Chillerton Down around Eastbourne. Towards the north, 10kW to 20kW was directed towards areas on the periphery of or beyond coverage from the Croydon transmitter. Across the eastern and southern arc, transmissions had to be limited to just 1kW, providing just enough power to serve Dover and Folkestone. After a prolonged period of helicopter-based testing, the aerial was deemed to be performing as anticipated. Dover went into full programme service on 31 January 1960, broadcasting on VHF Channel 10. STATION HISTORY (UHF) |
| Having begun its first regular UHF transmissions with BBC2 from 11 February 1967, Dover was in the second group of transmitters to begin broadcasting ITV and BBC1 in UHF-Colour, respectively from 13 December 1969 and 3 January 1970. Dover was also the base for one of the fourteen nationwide ITA Colour Control Rooms (CCRs), in this instance covering all ITA UHF and VHF transmitters within the area of Kent served by Southern Television plus all of East Sussex. With a CCR also based at Chillerton Down, this was the only ITV franchise area to feature two control rooms, although both were absorbed in 1978 by the Regional Operation Centre (ROC) at Croydon. Typically for a transmitter upgrading from VHF to UHF, the transmission range of Dover was significantly reduced under the latter. Consequently, a further UHF main station was opened at Bluebell Hill, near Maidstone, on 25 February 1974 in order to serve the area of North Kent that was beyond the UHF range of Dover and also that of the Crystal Palace transmitter. |
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STATION INFORMATION |
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Location: |
Hougham Court Lane, Church Hougham, CT15 7AF |
Grid Reference: |
TR274397 |
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Landlord: |
Arqiva (Legacy: ITA/IBA/NTL Broadcast) |
Ground Height: |
135m |
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BBC1 Region: |
South East |
Mast Height ("): |
228.6m |
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ITV1 Region: |
Meridian East |
Aerial Height (*): |
366m |
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UHF Tx Number: |
11300 |
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(") Main structure height only - UHF antenna inclusive is 243.2m |
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(*) UHF aerial height above sea level (a.o.d) |
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| CURRENT TRANSMISSIONS |
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Digital Television |
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Analogue Radio (FM) |
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: Ch/Polarisation/e.r.p |
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Service: |
(MHz) |
(e.r.p) |
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PSB1 |
: 50 / H / 80kW |
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Classic FM (H): |
101.8 |
1.0kW |
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PSB2 |
: 51 / H / 80kW |
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Classis FM (V): |
101.8 |
4.2kW |
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PSB3 |
: 53 / H / 80kW |
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Heart FM (Kent): |
97.0 |
0.5kW |
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COM4 |
: 55 / H / 40kW |
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COM5 |
: 59 / H / 40kW |
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COM6 |
: 48 / H / 40kW |
Digital Radio (DAB) |
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BBC National (Block 12B) |
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Digital One (Block 11D) |
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PRE-DIGITAL SWITCHOVER UHF TRANSMISSIONS |
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(Shutdown completed 27 June 2012) |
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| Analogue Television |
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Digital Television |
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Service |
Ch/Polar/e.r.p |
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Ch/Polar/e.r.p |
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| BBC1 |
: 50 / H / 100kW |
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Mux1 |
: 68 / H / 1.0kW |
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| BBC2 |
: 56 / H / 100kW |
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(+) |
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Mux1 |
: 45 / H / 2.0kW |
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| ITV1 |
: 66 / H / 100kW |
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Mux2 |
: 61 / H / 2.0kW |
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| Ch4 |
: 53 / H / 100kW |
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(+) |
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Mux2 |
: 42 / H / 2.0kW |
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| Five |
: No Service |
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MuxA |
: 60 / H / 2.0kW |
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MuxB |
: 58 / H / 2.0kW |
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MuxC |
: 62 / H / 1.0kW |
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(+) |
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MuxC |
: 39 / H / 1.0kW |
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MuxD |
: 55 / H / 2.0kW |
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(+) = Dover 'B' |
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