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thebigtower |
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sutton coldfield |
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THE SUTTON COLDFIELD TRANSMITTER is the UHF and BBC National FM main station that serves the majority of the West Midlands. It is also the site of the longest serving television transmission facility in the United Kingdom. Sited ten miles north of Birmingham, it provides coverage to approximately seven million people, a figure exceeded only by the Crystal Palace transmitter in London. Prior to Digital Switchover in September 2011, it was one of the elite group of transmitters that broadcast analogue UHF at 1000 kilowatts (ERP), the other stations being Crystal Palace and Sandy Heath, as well as the Channel 5 transmitters at Croydon and Lichfield. The Lichfield station, originally the equivalent ITV 405-line transmitter for the Midlands, is sited around three miles north-east of the Sutton Coldfield site. EARLY HISTORY |
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Sutton Coldfield commenced operation in 1949 as the BBC Band I 405-line transmitter serving an approximate 50-mile radius of the Midlands. It was the first of four high-power stations built to extend BBC Television coverage beyond the initial London-only service area of the Alexandra Palace transmitter to the most populated provincial areas of the UK. Being the first of the four high-power stations, it provided the template for the design of the three subsequent transmitters at Holme Moss, Kirk o'Shotts and Wenvoe. (See Sutton Coldfield TimeLine for further information) |
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UPDATED JULY 2017 |
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UPDATED JULY 2017 |
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| TRANSMISSION STRUCTURE |
| The Sutton Coldfield mast is a triangular cross-section lattice stayed structure which originally stood at 225 metres (738-ft), extending to an overall height of 245 metres (804-ft) with the inclusion of the GRP-cylinder-contained UHF aerial system mounted at the top. (See DIGITAL SWITCHOVER below) Although the site has existed since 1949, the current mast was constructed in 1983 to replace the original 1949-built mast as the latter was unable to support the new VHF Band II aerial system required for the upgrade to mixed-polarised FM transmission. For the same reason mast replacements took place at Holme Moss and Wenvoe between 1984 and 1986. It is due to the mast replacement that Sutton Coldfield holds solely the acolade for longest serving television transmission site, the longest serving mast in this respect being that currently located at Divis. |
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Sutton Coldfield is one of seven main UHF transmitter sites to have undergone major re-engineering in order to provide a higher elevation for the post-Digital Switchover transmission aerial system. Five of the other stations (Black Hill, Caldbeck, Divis, Rowridge and Tacolneston) still had masts dating from between 1955 and 1961 and for this reason underwent full replacement of their structures, whereas the relatively recent mast at Sutton Coldfield was deemed to be of sufficient strength to undergo an extension in height to support the new aerial system. To enable this work to take place, a temporary 240 metre (787-ft) mast was erected in 2009 to carry UHF transmissions whilst the main mast was upgraded. This involved the removal of the GRP-cylinder-contained analogue aerial to make way for an extension from the 225 metre level to a new overall height of 270 metres (886-ft). A similar project to extend the near-identical structure at Wenvoe was completed in Summer 2009. Sutton Coldfield completed Digital Switchover on 21 September 2011 and now operates at the new national maximum Effective Radiated Power (e.r.p) of 200 kilowatts, a capability matched only by Crystal Palace and Rowridge. Removal of the temporary mast was implemented almost two years later in Summer 2013. |
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Above: The main station building. |
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Above: The BBC Crest (dated 1950) positioned above the main station building doorway. |
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STATION INFORMATION |
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Location: |
Off Hill Village Road, Mere Green, Sutton Coldfield |
Grid Reference: |
SK113003 |
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Landlord: |
Arqiva (Legacy: BBC/Crown Castle/NGW) |
Ground Height: |
167.7m |
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ITV Region: |
Midlands |
Mast Height: |
245m |
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BBC Region: |
West Midlands |
Aerial Height: (*) |
403m |
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UHF Tx Number: |
10200 |
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(*) Average 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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Mux |
: Ch/Polarisation/e.r.p |
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Service: |
(MHz) |
(e.r.p) |
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PSB1 |
: 43 / H / 200kW |
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BBC Radio 1: |
97.9 |
250kW |
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PSB2 |
: 46 / H / 200kW |
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BBC Radio 2: |
88.3 |
250kW |
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PSB3 |
: 40 / H / 200kW |
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BBC Radio 3: |
90.5 |
250kW |
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COM4 |
: 42 / H / 200kW |
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BBC Radio 4: |
92.7 |
250kW |
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COM5 |
: 45 / H / 200kW |
BBC West Midlands: |
95.6 |
11kW |
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COM6 |
: 39 / H / 200kW |
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Classic FM: |
100.1 |
250kW |
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COM7 |
: 55 / H / 89.2kW (#33) |
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Free Radio: |
96.4 |
10kW |
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LOCAL |
: 56 / H / 10kW (#51) |
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Heart FM West Midlands: |
100.7 |
11kW |
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Greatest Hits Radio: |
105.2 |
11kW |
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Smooth West Midlands: |
105.7 |
11kW |
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(#)=Pre 700MHz clearance channel |
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Digital Radio |
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BBC National (Block 12B) |
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Digital One (Block 11D) |
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West Midlands (Block 12A) |
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PRE-DIGITAL SWITCHOVER UHF TRANSMISSIONS |
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(Shutdown completed 21 September 2011) |
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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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Service |
Ch/Polar/e.r.p |
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| BBC1 |
: 46 / H / 1000kW |
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Mux1 |
: 41 / H / 8kW |
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| BBC2 |
: 40 / H / 1000kW |
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Mux2 |
: 44 / H / 8kW |
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| ITV1 |
: 43 / H / 1000kW |
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MuxA |
: 47 / H / 8kW |
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| Ch4 |
: 50 / H / 1000kW |
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MuxB |
: 51 / H / 8kW |
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| Ch5 |
: No Service - transmitted from Lichfield |
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MuxC |
: 52 / H / 8kW |
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MuxD |
: 55 / H / 8kW |
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Sutton Coldfield Transmitter @ A.T.V (Aerials and Television) |
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