Croydon transmitting station

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Croydon
Height of tower152 metres (499 ft)
Grid referenceTQ332696
Built1955 (original tower)
1962 (current tower)
BBC regionBBC London (backup)
ITV regionITV London (backup)

The Croydon transmitting station (also known as the NTL Tower) is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility on Beulah Hill[1] in Upper Norwood, London, England (grid reference TQ332696), in the London Borough of Croydon, owned by Arqiva. It was established in 1955 and initially used a small lattice tower. The present tower is 152 metres (499 ft) high and was built in 1962.

It was originally used to broadcast the London ITV signal on VHF Band III. When UHF broadcasting began, nearby Crystal Palace transmitting station was used. VHF television was discontinued in 1985, and the Croydon transmitter was not used for regular TV broadcasting until 1997, when a new directional UHF antenna, designed to avoid interference with continental transmitters, was installed to carry the newly launched Channel 5 in the London area. It carried Channel 5's analogue signal, and the digital terrestrial signal is transmitted from Crystal Palace. Croydon also had reserve transmitters for ITV1 and Channel 4, but these were used only in the event of engineering works or a failure at Crystal Palace. Since the digital switchover in April 2012 no television has been broadcast from Croydon, but is still used as a backup for Crystal Palace for the BBC A & B and Digital 3&4 multiplexes.

The site is also a maintenance base for transmitter teams and used to house one of four Regional Operations Centres.

Channels listed by frequency

Croydon transmitter at sunset.

Analogue radio (FM VHF)

Frequency kW Service
94.9 MHz — BBC London 94.9†
95.8 MHz 4 Capital London
97.3 MHz 4 LBC 97.3
100.0 MHz 4 Kiss
102.2 MHz 4 Smooth Radio
105.4 MHz 4 Magic 105.4 FM
106.2 MHz 4 Heart London

† Backup for Crystal Palace.

Digital radio (DAB)

Frequency Block kW Operator
218.640 MHz 11B 2.5 DRG London
227.360 MHz 12C 5 CE London

Analogue television

22 September 1955 - 3 January 1985

ITV franchises Associated-Rediffusion (weekdays) and Associated Television (weekends) began transmitting on VHF 9 on 22 September 1955, and was the first ITV service. Its power was originally 60 kW but after the new tower was built in 1962 this increased to 400 kW. Thames Television and London Weekend Television took over the London franchise area in 1968. The VHF analogue service closed down, along with the rest of the UK, on 3 January 1985.

Frequency VHF kW Service
194.75 MHz 9 400 Rediffusion/ATV (1955-1968)
Thames/LWT (1968-1985)

30 March 1997 - 18 April 2012

Channel 5 launched on 30 March 1997 at Croydon and at many other former VHF sites in the UK. Backup for ITV1 and Channel 4 was later added in case they were not available from Crystal Palace.

Frequency UHF kW Service
487.25 MHz 23 — ITV1†
543.25 MHz 30 — Channel 4†
599.25 MHz 37 1000 Channel 5

† Backup for Crystal Palace.

Digital television

18 April 2012 - present

Since 18 April 2012, no television is broadcast from Croydon. Backup for the PSB multiplexes BBC A & B and Digital 3&4 are available should there be a problem at Crystal Palace.

Frequency UHF kW Service System
490.000 MHz 23 200 BBC A† DVB-T
514.000 MHz 26 200 Digital 3&4† DVB-T
545.833 MHz 30- 200 BBC B† DVB-T2

† Backup for Crystal Palace.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.thebigtower.com/live/Croydon/Index.htm

External links

Buildings and structures in Croydon
Highrises
Notable lowrises
Major railway stations
Major complexes
Sports venues
United Kingdom Television transmitter and major relay sites in the United Kingdom
England
East
East Midlands
Greater London
North East
North West
South East
South West
West Midlands
Yorkshire and the Humber
Scotland
Wales
Northern Ireland
Italics denotes a transmitter no longer used for transmitting television signals.
Croydon VHF 405-line Transmitter Group
Transmitter stations

Coordinates: 51°24′35″N 0°5′9″W / 51.40972°N 0.08583°W / 51.40972; -0.08583

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