Stockland Hill transmitting station
 | |
  Stockland Hill transmitting station (Devon) | |
| Mast height | 235 metres (771 ft) |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 50°48′26″N3°06′18″W/ 50.807222°N 3.105°W |
| Grid reference | ST222014 |
| Built | 29 April 1961 |
| BBC region | BBC South West |
| ITV region | ITV West Country |
TheStockland Hill transmitting stationis a transmitting facility of FM Radio and UHF television located nearHoniton,Devon,England.
It was constructed in 1961 by theIBAto transmitITV405-linetelevision with transmissions commencing onBand IIIchannel 9 from antennas at 450 m (1,475 ft) above sea level.
Colour television came to the site in 1971.[1]Channel Four started up in November 1982. Stockland Hill never radiated the analogue Channel Five service.
Digital television was first introduced at this site in 1998, andDigital Switchoverhappened in May 2009. Stockland Hill was the second transmitter in the south west of England to have its analogue television transmissions shut off.BBC Twowas switched off on 6 May 2009 and the rest of the analogue services were switched off on 20 May 2009 around midnight.
Stockland Hill currently transmits all of theDTTmultiplexes at full plannedERP.The threePSBmultiplexes are at 50 kW, the other three multiplexes are at 25 kW.[2]
This transmitter mainly serves the East of Devon, WestSomersetand WestDorset.This includes cities and towns such asExeter,Sidmouth,Tiverton,Exmouth,Taunton,Yeovil,Bridport,WeymouthandSherborne.
Services[edit]
Analogue television[edit]
29 April 1961 – 13 September 1971[edit]
405-lineVHFITV television arrived in the southwest with the simultaneous building of this station andCaradon Hill60 miles (100 km) to the west inCornwall.
| Frequency | VHF | kW | Service |
|---|---|---|---|
| 194.75MHz | 9V | 100 | Westward |
13 September 1971 – 1 November 1982[edit]
UHF colour television commenced.
| Frequency | VHF | UHF | kW | Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 194.75MHz | 9V | — | 100 | TSW(Westwarduntil 1981) |
| 487.25MHz | — | 23 | 250 | TSW(Westwarduntil 1981) |
| 511.25MHz | — | 26 | 250 | BBC2 South West |
| 567.25MHz | — | 33 | 250 | BBC1 South West |
1 November 1982 – 3 January 1985[edit]
The UK's fourth UHF television channel started up.
| Frequency | VHF | UHF | kW | Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 194.75MHz | 9V | — | 100 | TSW |
| 487.25MHz | — | 23 | 250 | TSW |
| 511.25MHz | — | 26 | 250 | BBC2 South West |
| 535.25MHz | — | 29 | 250 | Channel 4 |
| 567.25MHz | — | 33 | 250 | BBC1 South West |
3 January 1985 – 15 November 1998[edit]
The VHF 405-line system was discontinued across the UK, and from that point for the next 23 years, television from Stockland Hill was the originally-intended four channels on UHF only.
| Frequency | UHF | kW | Service |
|---|---|---|---|
| 487.25MHz | 23 | 250 | Westcountry(TSWuntil 1992) |
| 511.25MHz | 26 | 250 | BBC2 South West |
| 535.25MHz | 29 | 250 | Channel 4 |
| 567.25MHz | 33 | 250 | BBC1 South West |
Analogue and Digital television[edit]
15 November 1998 – 6 May 2009[edit]
The initial roll-out of digital television involved running the digital services interleaved (and at low ERP) with the existing analogue services.
| Frequency | UHF | kW | Service | System |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 481.833MHz | 22- | 5 | BBC(Mux 1) | DVB-T |
| 487.25MHz | 23 | 250 | Westcountry | PAL |
| 505.833MHz | 25- | 5 | SDN(Mux A) | DVB-T |
| 511.25MHz | 26 | 250 | BBC2 South West | PAL |
| 529.833MHz | 28- | 5 | Digital 3&4(Mux 2) | DVB-T |
| 535.25MHz | 29 | 250 | Channel 4 | PAL |
| 546.166MHz | 30+ | 2.5 | Arqiva(Mux C) | DVB-T |
| 561.833MHz | 32- | 5 | BBC (Mux B) | DVB-T |
| 567.25MHz | 33 | 250 | BBC1 South West | PAL |
| 578.166MHz | 34+ | 2.5 | Arqiva (Mux D) | DVB-T |
6 May 2009 – 20 May 2009[edit]
Digital Switchovercommenced at Stockland Hill, with analogue BBC2 being switched off on channel 26 and BBC Mux 1 being switched off on channel 22-. Channel 26 was reused by the new BBC A multiplex at full post-DSO power (50 kW) and using 64-QAM with 8k carriers.
| Frequency | UHF | kW | Service | System |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 487.25MHz | 23 | 250 | Westcountry | PAL |
| 505.833MHz | 25- | 5 | SDN(Mux A) | DVB-T |
| 514.166MHz | 26+ | 50 | BBCA | DVB-T |
| 529.833MHz | 28- | 5 | Digital 3&4(Mux 2) | DVB-T |
| 535.25MHz | 29 | 250 | Channel 4 | PAL |
| 546.166MHz | 30+ | 2.5 | Arqiva(Mux C) | DVB-T |
| 561.833MHz | 32- | 5 | BBC (Mux B) | DVB-T |
| 567.25MHz | 33 | 250 | BBC1 South West | PAL |
| 578.166MHz | 34+ | 2.5 | Arqiva (Mux D) | DVB-T |
Digital television[edit]
20 May 2009 – 18 April 2012[edit]
Digital switchover was completed at Stockland Hill. All analogue television was switched off and the new post-DSO multiplexes took over the analogue frequencies plus a few new ones. Full power could not immediately be achieved for the COM multiplexes due to interference issues atRowridgeand inFrance.[3][4]
| Frequency | UHF | kW | Operator | System |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 481.833MHz | 22- | 10 | ArqivaA | DVB-T |
| 490.166MHz | 23+ | 50 | Digital 3&4 | DVB-T |
| 505.833MHz | 25- | 10 | SDN | DVB-T |
| 514.166MHz | 26+ | 50 | BBCA | DVB-T |
| 529.833MHz | 28- | 10 | Arqiva B | DVB-T |
| 538.166MHz | 29+ | 50 | BBC B | DVB-T2 |
18 April 2012 - present[edit]
The currentUHFchannels that Stockland Hill is transmitting are:
| Frequency | UHF | kW[5] | Operator | System |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 481.833MHz | 22- | 25 | ArqivaA | DVB-T |
| 490.166MHz | 23+ | 50 | Digital 3&4 | DVB-T |
| 505.833MHz | 25- | 25 | SDN | DVB-T |
| 514.166MHz | 26+ | 50 | BBCA | DVB-T |
| 529.833MHz | 28- | 25 | Arqiva B | DVB-T |
| 538.166MHz | 29+ | 50 | BBC B | DVB-T2 |
Analogue radio (FM)[edit]
| Frequency | kW | Service |
|---|---|---|
| 103.0 MHz | 1 | Heart West |
Digital radio (DAB)[edit]
| Frequency | Block | kW[6] | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|
| 221.352 MHz | 11C | 5 | NOW Exeter and Torbay |
| 222.064 MHz | 11D | 2 | Digital One |
| 225.648 MHz | 12B | 5 | BBC National DAB |
References[edit]
- ^"ITV75p146w".txlib.mb21.co.uk.Archived fromthe originalon 31 May 2014.
- ^"UK free TV".
- ^"About us".
- ^"About us"(PDF).
- ^Television Viewers Guide 2009
- ^Radio Listeners Guide 2010