Moel-y-Parc transmitting station

Moel-y-Parc
Height of mast	235 metres (771 ft)
Grid reference	SJ123702
Built	1963
BBC region	BBC Wales
ITV region	ITV Wales

The Moel-y-Parc transmitting station is situated on Moel y Parc, a hill in north-east Wales at the northern end of the Clwydian range, close to the town of Caerwys and several kilometres north-east of Denbigh. It was built in 1962/1963 by the IBA to bring 405-line VHF ITV television to North Wales and it has been on the air since 1963. Its original height of 229 m made it the tallest structure in North Wales and it stands on land that is itself about 335 m above sea level. In 1965, VHF television transmissions from the BBC commenced from the site.

With the addition of the UHF aerials in 1969, the mast height increased to 235 m high. Its official coverage area includes parts of Flintshire, Denbighshire and Wrexham (although the majority of Wrexham is in a blindspot of direct transmission from Moel-y-Parc, its analogue transmissions were relayed via the Wrexham-Rhos transmitting station). A network of relay stations extends television coverage as far as Colwyn Bay in the west and Bala in the south.

VHF television services from both BBC and ITV were discontinued in January 1985 as the 405-line TV system was switched off across the UK as a whole.

Moel-y-Parc's UHF channel allocation made it a "Group B" transmitter, but with the roll-out of the UK's first digital TV services in 1998, a "Group W" wideband aerial was needed. The site reverted to being a "Group B" transmitter at digital switchover (DSO).

The site is currently administered by Arqiva

Channels listed by frequency

Analogue television

28 January 1963 - 28 October 1965

ITV 405-line TV commenced.

28 October 1965 - 5 July 1969

BBC 405-line TV was added, obtaining its signal from an SHF link on the Great Orme which picked up the signal from Llanddona on Anglesey.

Until the mid-1960s, it had been common practice for BBC and ITV transmitters to be hosted from different masts. Moel-y-Parc had been engineered to take both services and be capable of the UHF transmission when they arrived. Additionally (and unusually) the BBC's VHF television transmissions were on Band III as were the ITV's transmissions. Having both services on the same mast meant that the region's viewers only needed one aerial.

This was the final BBC VHF television "main station" to be commissioned. The BBC published a technical report^[1] on the mast and its aerials.

5 July 1969 - 1973

1973 - 1 November 1982

1 November 1982 - 3 January 1985

3 January 1985 - 15 November 1998

405-line television was switched off across the UK and both Moel-y-Parc's VHF transmitters ceased operation after 20 and 22 years of service for the BBC and ITV respectively.

Analogue and digital television

15 November 1998 - 28 October 2009

28 October 2009 - 25 November 2009

Digital television

25 November 2009 - 14 November 2012

As part of the digital switchover, analogue BBC Two Wales ceased transmission on 28 October 2009, followed by analogue BBC One Wales, ITV1 Wales and S4C on 25 November 2009. They were replaced by higher powered digital transmissions.

14 November 2012 - present

As a side-effect of frequency-changes elsewhere in the region to do with clearance of the 800 MHz band for 4G mobile phone use,^[3] Moel-y-Parc's "Digital 3&4" multiplex was moved from channel 49+ to channel 39+.^[4]

Analogue radio (FM VHF)

Digital radio (DAB)

Reception area

In terms of land area and population, Moel-y-Parc delivers a receivable signal to a greater area, and a greater number of potential viewers, in North West England than in its intended coverage area of north-east Wales. Transmissions can be received using standard aerials in Liverpool, parts of Manchester, parts of Lancashire as far north as Blackpool, and Wales-facing coastal areas of Cumbria and the Isle of Man. In the past, some English viewers have erected a second aerial for Moel-y-Parc in order to receive a slightly increased choice of viewing, although this practice has declined with the introduction of satellite television and the reduction in schedule variations between different ITV regions. Liverpool is located directly between the Winter Hill transmitter and Moel-y-Parc, and many Liverpudlians obtain a watch-able picture through the back of their normal TV aerial.

The Welsh stations transmitted from Moel-y-Parc compete with English TV stations transmitted from the Winter Hill, which can be received in the Wrexham area and along the North Wales coast.

Prior to 1963, the only official ITV provider for north-east Wales was Granada Television based in Manchester. Pressure for a distinctly Welsh TV station was one of the driving forces behind the construction of the Moel-y-Parc mast, along with the need to deliver television to the more mountainous interior of Wales, which was out of range of English transmitters. As late as the 1980s, Granada continued to claim north Wales as part of its coverage area. After a series of mergers, Granada and ITV1 Wales are now both part of ITV plc, and competition between the two providers is undoubtedly more muted, however both Granada and ITV1 Wales still provide local news and programmes for those in North Wales. The ITV Regions Official Map distinctly shows the area of North Wales as part of Granada, however for many across North and Mid Wales, it is possible to receive Central (West) via The Wrekin Transmitter. Unlike Granada, these areas are not shown as part of Central's coverage area on the ITV Regions map, and neither are they included as part of the region in Central's weather forecasts .

DSO problems

Moel-y-Parc has always had co-channel interference issues with a number of other co-receivable transmitters such as Llanddona, Storeton, Fenton, Sutton Coldfield and The Wrekin B (see external links). In analogue, Greater Manchester area was also able to receive Welsh channels because the Saddleworth transmitter, a relay of Winter Hill, used the same frequencies as Moel-y-Parc.

By December 2009, more than 6,000 complaints over interference from Moel-y-Parc had been received following the changeover to digital in the Granada TV region Many residents in Wirral and west Cheshire only found Welsh channels including BBC Wales and S4C at the top of their channel listings (instead of BBC North West and Channel 4). Digital UK, the organisation responsible for the switchover, said interference had always occurred and responded by telling consumers to retune their systems manually.^[7]

See also

• Wales West and North Television
• List of tallest buildings and structures in Great Britain

References

External links

• The Transmission Gallery: photographs, information and coverage maps
• Pictures and info of Moel Y Parc including co-receivable transmitters
• Moel-y-Parc photo gallery at the-Moores.co.uk
• Moel-y-Parc Transmitter at thebigtower.com

v t e Television transmitter and major relay sites in the United Kingdom England East Mendlesham Sandy Heath Sudbury Tacolneston East Midlands Belmont Chesterfield Waltham Greater London Alexandra Palace Croydon Crystal Palace North East Berwick-upon-Tweed Burnhope Chatton Pontop Pike North West Caldbeck Sandale Storeton West Kirby Winter Hill South East Bluebell Hill Chillerton Down Dover Frémont Point (Channel Islands) Hannington Heathfield Membury Midhurst Oxford Rowridge Whitehawk Hill South West Beacon Hill Caradon Hill Huntshaw Cross Mendip North Hessary Tor Redruth Stockland Hill Washford West Midlands Lichfield Ridge Hill Sutton Coldfield The Wrekin Yorkshire and the Humber Bilsdale Emley Moor Halifax Holme Moss Oliver's Mount Sheffield Scotland Angus Balgownie Black Hill Bonchester Bridge Bressay Craigkelly Darvel Durris Eitshal Eyemouth Galashiels Hawick Jedburgh Keelylang Hill Kirk o'Shotts Knock More Meldrum Mounteagle Rosemarkie Rumster Forest Selkirk Skriaig Tay Bridge Yetholm Wales Arfon Blaenplwyf Carmel Ferryside Flint Haverfordwest Kilvey Hill Llanddona Moel-y-Parc Preseli St Hilary Storeton Wenvoe Wrexham-Rhos Northern Ireland Black Mountain Brougher Mountain Divis Limavady Strabane Italics denotes a transmitter no longer used for transmitting television signals.

Coordinates: 53°13′16″N 3°18′52″W / 53.22111°N 3.31444°W / 53.22111; -3.31444