The
Brookmans Park transmitting station is a facility for medium wave broadcasting north of London . The station was built by the BBC for a regional programme to be transmitted to the
Home CountiesThe "Home counties" refers to the counties that border or surround London, England but not including the United Kingdom's capital city itself. There is no exact definition of the term and the composition of the 'home counties' is sometimes a matter of debate....
, London and South East. The station went into service in 1929.
The original antenna configuration for the station was two
T-antennaA T-antenna is an antenna whereby "a vertical or sloping wire is connected to the approximate centre of a straight horizontal top wire" . This forms its characteristic "T"-shape.- External links :*...
s hung from four x 200 ft towers, one T-antenna to the north of the station and the other to the south of the station.
The transmitting station itself featured the latest transmitters from the
Marconi CompanyThe Marconi Company Ltd. was founded by Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 as The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company...
.
The
Brookmans Park transmitting station is a facility for medium wave broadcasting north of London . The station was built by the BBC for a regional programme to be transmitted to the
Home CountiesThe "Home counties" refers to the counties that border or surround London, England but not including the United Kingdom's capital city itself. There is no exact definition of the term and the composition of the 'home counties' is sometimes a matter of debate....
, London and South East. The station went into service in 1929.
The original antenna configuration for the station was two
T-antennaA T-antenna is an antenna whereby "a vertical or sloping wire is connected to the approximate centre of a straight horizontal top wire" . This forms its characteristic "T"-shape.- External links :*...
s hung from four x 200 ft towers, one T-antenna to the north of the station and the other to the south of the station.
The transmitting station itself featured the latest transmitters from the
Marconi CompanyThe Marconi Company Ltd. was founded by Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 as The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company...
. No public electricity supply was available so large generators were installed and extensive support staff was recruited and trained by the BBC.
In 1939 a 300 ft mast was built on the south side of the station, which along with the existing south T-antenna made a
directional arrayIn broadcast engineering, directional array refers to multiple antennas arranged such that the superposition of the electromagnetic waves produce a predictable electromagnetic field...
pointing towards central London. This antenna configuration would be used after the war for the BBC Light Programme.
During the second world war an extension was added to the northern side of the transmitter building and a 140 kW
STCStandard Telephones and Cables Ltd was a British telephone, telegraph, radio, telecommunications and related equipment R&D manufacturer. During its history STC invented and developed several groundbreaking new technologies including PCM and optical fibres.The company began life in London as...
transmitter was installed.
In the mid 1950s a 500 ft mast radiator was constructed on a field around half a mile north of station for the BBC Home Service and the original north T-antenna would be become a reserve antenna for that service.
The station was re-engineered in the late 1970s and an extra T-antenna (mini T) was hung between two 60 ft poles constructed a few hundred feet north from the original north T-antenna, and new transmission equipment was installed replacing the original Marconi transmitters, the 140 kW STC transmitter, and other BBC-designed transmission equipment which was installed in the 1960s.
After the re-engineering the south T-antenna and the 300 ft mast transmitted BBC Radio London and Radio 3; the north T-antenna along with the newly installed mini T-antenna was used for Radio 1, and the 500 ft mast was used for Radio 2.
In the years since the re-engineering little has changed to the antenna and structure layout of the station, but the services have changed and the station now transmits Virgin Radio instead of Radio 3, Sunrise Radio instead of BBC Radio London, TalkSPORT instead of Radio 1, and BBC Radio 5 Live instead of Radio 2.
Much development has taken place and the station now is now the home to many communications companies who operate various satellite and communication services.
The station is owned by National Grid Wireless a Warwick based company owned by the National Grid company based in Coventry.
Channels listed by frequency
- Analogue Radio (AM
Amplitude modulation is a technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave. AM works by varying the strength of the transmitted signal in relation to the information being sent...
Medium Wave)
| Station |
Frequency |
EMRP |
| BBC Radio Five Live |
909 kHz |
150 kW |
| TalkSPORT |
1089 kHz |
400 kW |
| Virgin |
1215 kHz |
125 kW |
| Sunrise |
1458 kHz |
125 kW |
- Digital Radio (DAB
Digital Audio Broadcasting , is a digital radio technology for broadcasting radio stations, used in several countries, particularly in Europe. As of 2006, approximately 1,000 stations worldwide broadcast in the DAB format....
)
- Block 11B: 218.640 MHz - DRG London
DRG London is a Digital Audio Broadcasting multiplex available in the London area and has been broadcasting since January 2002. The station operates on Block 11B...
See also
External links