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THE TRANSMISSION GALLERY
LISNAGARVEY
| Photos by Brian Hutchison and Jordy Lyons | Page last updated: 2012-04-10 |
| The unusual and distinctive diamond shaped mast at Lisnagarvey is known after its designers and manufacturers as a Blaw-Knox radiator and is now the only surviving example in Western Europe. As built, at its original size it was almost 145m (475 feet) tall but when its main operating frequency was changed to 1341kHz its top section was removed. Thanks to Aub McKibben for the picture below of the mast in its original state at the BBC's historic Lisnagarvey site - also known locally, at the time, as Blaris and also, as you can see, as Lisburn. The photo was originally printed in the BBC Annual of 1936. |
Brian Hutchison took the next two photos. He says: "While this mast is very efficient it also causes a lot of problems for the computer networks in the neighbouring car dealers. It is rumoured that this mast will be dismantled in the next year or so, and either moved or replaced by another mast elsewhere." |
| The top section of the mast was removed many years ago and now stops at the third platform up. Some services (R4 and R Ulster?) are radiated by the mast itself while other services are radiated by more conventional wire antennas suspended from adjacent supports. It may be the size and shape of the mast which make Radio Ulster audible over a wide area, including parts of England sometimes as far south as London! The extensive old transmitter halls at this site and offices are the main base for NGW's maintenance operations in N.I. |
| There are now two conventional lattice masts supporting a wire aerial at the site. But rumours that the Blaw-Knox mast's days are numbered are apparently untrue. |
| Station History Lisnagarvey was the sixth transmitter site opened as part of the BBC's regional scheme, replacing Belfast (2BE). 20-Mar-1936 Northern Ireland regional programme on 977 kHz. 1-Sep-1939 Northern Ireland regional programme replaced with the Home Service on 767 kHz. 29-Jul-1945 N. Ireland Home Service 1050 kHz. Light Programme 1149 kHz 15-Mar-1950 Copenhagen 1948 frequency changes implemented. Home Service 1151 kHz, Light Programme 1214 kHz. 7-Jan-1963 N. Ireland Home Service frequency changed to 1340 kHz. 30-Sep-1967, 1214 kHz re-assigned to Radio 1. 1-Jan-1975 Radio Ulster replaces Radio 4 N.Ireland on 1340 kHz. 23-Nov-1978 GE75 frequency changes implemented. R.Ulster frequency changed to 1341 kHz, Radio 3 re-assigned to 1215 kHz. New transmitters brought into service for Radio 1, 1089 kHz, Radio 2, 909 kHz and Radio 4, 720 kHz. 27-Aug-1990, 909 kHz re-assigned to Radio 5 28-Feb-1992, Radio 3 on 1215 kHz closed. 30-Apr-1993, INR 2 (Virgin Radio) launches on 1215 kHz. 30-Jun-1994, Radio 1 on 1089 kHz closed. 14-Feb-1995, INR 3 (Talk Radio) launches on 1089 kHz. 6-May-2021 Radio Ulster, 1341 kHz closed. 20-Jan-2023 INR 2 (Absolute Radio), 1215 kHz closed |
Lisnagarvey and the Blaw-Knox mast
More about Lisnagarvey
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