Lisnagarvey transmitting station
Encyclopedia
The Lisnagarvey transmitting station is a facility for mediumwave
broadcasting located in the townland
of Magherageery, on the southern edge of Lisburn
, Northern Ireland
(grid reference J257619). It is close to Spurcefield shopping centre
and about one mile from the middle of Lisburn.
The station was built by the BBC
for the Regional Programme
to be transmitted to Northern Ireland and it went into service in 1936. It is now owned by National Grid Wireless.
The station includes three radio masts
, including two standard lattice masts and one diamond shaped Blaw-Knox Radiator. The two standard lattice masts have a wire slung T-antenna suspended between them. The Blaw-Knox radiator is the only one of its kind in Western Europe. The height of a Blaw-Knox radiator is related to the frequency
(or wavelength
) of the service transmitted, and for maximum efficiency should be exactly one half wavelength. Its height was originally 475 ft (144.8 metres), but it was shortened when the station's broadcast frequency was changed.
Similar masts in Europe can be found nowadays only at Lakihegy
, Hungary
, at Riga
, Latvia
, at Vakarel
, Bulgaria
and at Stara Zagora
, Bulgaria.
Mediumwave
Medium wave is the part of the medium frequency radio band used mainly for AM radio broadcasting. For Europe the MW band ranges from 526.5 kHz to 1606.5 kHz...
broadcasting located in the townland
Townland
A townland or bally is a small geographical division of land used in Ireland. The townland system is of Gaelic origin—most townlands are believed to pre-date the Norman invasion and most have names derived from the Irish language...
of Magherageery, on the southern edge of Lisburn
Lisburn
DemographicsLisburn Urban Area is within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area and is classified as a Large Town by the . On census day there were 71,465 people living in Lisburn...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
(grid reference J257619). It is close to Spurcefield shopping centre
Sprucefield
Sprucefield is a major out-of-town retail park in the townland of Magherageery, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the southern edge of Lisburn; about one mile from the middle of Lisburn and ten miles from the middle of Belfast. Sprucefield is located beside the M1 motorway and the A1 road...
and about one mile from the middle of Lisburn.
The station was built by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
for the Regional Programme
BBC Regional Programme
The BBC Regional Programme was a UK radio network which operated from the end of the 1920s until the outbreak of World War II in 1939.-Foundation:...
to be transmitted to Northern Ireland and it went into service in 1936. It is now owned by National Grid Wireless.
The station includes three radio masts
Radio masts and towers
Radio masts and towers are, typically, tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. They are among the tallest man-made structures...
, including two standard lattice masts and one diamond shaped Blaw-Knox Radiator. The two standard lattice masts have a wire slung T-antenna suspended between them. The Blaw-Knox radiator is the only one of its kind in Western Europe. The height of a Blaw-Knox radiator is related to the frequency
Frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency...
(or wavelength
Wavelength
In physics, the wavelength of a sinusoidal wave is the spatial period of the wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats.It is usually determined by considering the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase, such as crests, troughs, or zero crossings, and is a...
) of the service transmitted, and for maximum efficiency should be exactly one half wavelength. Its height was originally 475 ft (144.8 metres), but it was shortened when the station's broadcast frequency was changed.
Similar masts in Europe can be found nowadays only at Lakihegy
Lakihegy Tower
The Lakihegy Tower is a 314 metre high radio mast at Szigetszentmiklós-Lakihegy. The Blaw-Knox type tower was built in 1933 and was one of Europe's tallest structures at the time of construction...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, at Riga
Riga LVRTC Transmitter
The Riga LVRTC Transmitter was a mediumwave transmitter in Riga, Latvia, which broadcasted on 945 kHz a music program in DRM-simulcast mode, which was receivable at night time in wide parts of Europe. It used as an antenna two guyed mast radiators. One of them was a 125 metre tall guyed lattice...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, at Vakarel
Vakarel Transmitter
The Vakarel Transmitter is a large broadcasting facility for long- and medium wave near Vakarel, Bulgaria. The Vakarel Transmitter was inaugurated in 1937. It has one directional antenna consisting of three guyed masts and another consisting of two masts....
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
and at Stara Zagora
Stara Zagora Transmitter
The Stara Zagora Transmitter is a high power mediumwave broadcasting station near Stara Zagora in Bulgaria. It has at least 3 guyed masts. One of these masts is a Blaw-Knox Tower. It is one of the few Blaw-Knox towers in Europe, along with similar masts at Vakarel, Bulgaria, at Riga, Latvia,...
, Bulgaria.
Analogue radio
| Frequency | kW | Service |
|---|---|---|
| 720 kHz | 10 | BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the... |
| 909 kHz | 10 | BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries... |
| 1089 kHz | 12.5 | Talksport TalkSPORT Talksport , owned by UTV radio, is one of the United Kingdom's three terrestrial analogue Independent National Radio broadcasters, offering a sports and talk radio service broadcast from London to the United Kingdom.... |
| 1215 kHz | 16 | Absolute Radio |
| 1341 kHz | 100 | BBC Radio Ulster BBC Radio Ulster BBC Radio Ulster is one of two Northern Irish BBC radio stations, the other being BBC Radio Foyle located in the city of Derry. BBC Radio Ulster is located at Broadcasting House in the Ormeau Avenue area of Belfast city centre... |
See also
- List of masts
- List of towers
- List of radio stations in the United Kingdom