Visit to TV transmitter

[Paul-R]

I had the pleasure of a tip round the Moel-y-Parc transmitter yesterday evening. It was arranged by my amateur radio club and we had an 'in' as the son of one of our members works for Arqiva.

This is what it's all about:

Tucked away in a corner were these poor forlorn dishes which are there as a backup for a backup.

We were asked not to take any pictures of the transmitting equipment inside the building but this was OK. It was very desirable but I couldn't fit it under my coat!

[CitroJim]

Wow! Magic I'd have loved a visit there Paul...

[bobins]

Just up the road from here is the Midhurst TV transmitter site. I've often wandered past it and looked at the hardened buldings and wondered what's actually in them now. I can imagine when it was built there were racks and racks of kit all pumping out heat, now the kit is probably highly efficient and confined to one small corner of a building with a table and a kettle in the other corner

[Paul-R]

The equipment still takes up a fair amount of room in 19" racks. One thing that really surprised me was that most of the equipment in the racks was fed using 230v 16A blue connectors (caravan plugs and sockets).

There was a mostly disused area that we walked through that was a real blast from the past. Offices with an overwhelming brown colour scheme and loose carpet tiles! Sort of like a bad 70s hotel.

[bobins]

There was a mostly disused area that we walked through that was a real blast from the past. Offices with an overwhelming brown colour scheme and loose carpet tiles! Sort of like a bad 70s hotel.

The brownness sounds lovely - got any photos ?

[Paul-R]

Sorry, only the ones I've posted. I do have one further photo of the (mostly stainless steel) items I found on the ground that were presumably dropped from on high.

[Paul-R]

Not needed up on top?

[CitroJim]

There was a mostly disused area that we walked through that was a real blast from the past. Offices with an overwhelming brown colour scheme and loose carpet tiles! Sort of like a bad 70s hotel.

Reminds me of the time I had a tour of the BBC Washford transmitting Station many years ago...

And indeed, our very own radio stations where I worked for many a year ended up looking a bit like that toward the end... A sad end, a bit like the derelection that happened to railway stations knowing they were soon to fall under the Beeching axe...

Washford, when I visited, had entirely relocated to the old generator house with the commissioning of new transmitters which left the main transmitter hall empty. It was soon to be occupied by the Tropicaria theme park which was kept nicely tropical using the waste heat from the transmitters...

Some of the old offices became a small radio museum. I believe it's since relocated to nearby Watchet.

The BBC Washford station has a wonderful Art Deco facade. Quite a building...

With MF radio services likely to end in 2024 its future may be in doubt. I really hope it survives and remains the treasure it is...