Arfon transmitting station

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Arfon transmitting station is a facility for FM radio and television transmission at Arfon near Nasareth, Caernarfon, Gwynedd in northwestern Wales. It is in the Arfon district. (grid reference SH476493). It comprises a 308.7m (1013ft) guyed mast with antennas attached at various heights. It is owned and operated by Arqiva.

The transmitter was built by the ITA in the 1960s to provide the 405 line ITV Band III (VHF) TV service for the Gwynedd and Lleyn area of North Wales. Unlike the BBC, which served the area from Llanddona (on the island of Anglesey), Arfon gave better coverage to some areas. 405 line TV was discontinued in the early 1980s.

In October 1975 the site became a medium power 625 line UHF TV relay of Llandonna, serving most of Anglesey and central parts of the Lleyn Peninsula. More recently, Police and Ambulance communications have been added, in addition to mobile (cellular) telephone antennas. In 1993, Classic FM began using the site for FM coverage of North West Wales in preference to Llanddona (the BBC's regional FM site), partly due to a dispute over BBC charges for sharing fees of its transmitter masts and antennae, but more because Arfon, in conjunction with Great Ormes Head (Llandudno) gave Classic FM better coverage than the BBC sites.

Many viewers in South Dublin and North Co. Wicklow pick up the UK TV channels from Arfon.

A local commercial station in Caernarfon, Champion FM 103, also uses Arfon as its transmitter site.

The mast had its aircraft warning lights replaced in Summer 2006 to red lamps employing arrays of ultrabright LEDs.

[edit] Channels listed by frequency

Arfon transmits four of the five analogue terrestrial television channels. As with all Welsh transmissions, Arfon is required to carry S4C instead of Channel 4 which is broadcast to the rest of the United Kingdom.