mb21 - The Transmission Gallery

	UK Broadcast Transmission

THE TRANSMISSION GALLERY

FORT AUGUSTUS

Photos by Martin Briscoe

Page last updated: 2024-11-17

Fort Augustus

Fort Augustus was part of the Band I and Band II Great Glen Chain. Two RC4/501 valved receivers received TV from Rosemarkie and this was sent to Fort William on a Pye M7000 (??) SHF link.

The three radio services were also received from Rosemarkie on RC5/3 transistorised receivers then fed to Fort William on PO lines. There is a link at the foot of this page to a BBC Research Department report which details the programme feed arrangements to the Great Glen Chain of transmitters.

The track initially follows the old military road towards Corrieyairack then turns off to Meall A'Cholumain. It was noted as being a particularly bad one with some steep rough sections. I was told that initially there was no track on part of the route at the top and a special large-wheeled Land Rover was used. Unusually the first part of the track is a scheduled ancient monument.

The site was a Hydro Electric one so they typically used an electricity pylon complete with the side-arms - why buy a tower when you have a yard full of pylons! I think the side-arms were taken off at some point then the tower became unsafe and a new one was erected. This again was eventually replaced with a more modern one.

The building has been extended several times and various ones erected around it with the usual mobile phone cabins and a large BOXER one - can't remember how this was got to site, some were flown in by helicopter and think this might have been.

UHF TV transmissions entered service on 15-Sep-1978 with Channel 4 from 11-Sep-1987.

BBC FM radio services were added on 20-Dec-2005.

Fort Augustus
An early picture, probably early 1970s.
Old transparency that is quite dirty
The two Band I receive antenna can be seen at the top of the tower, I think the Band II receive are at the bottom right quite low down. Dish is link to Fort William.

Fort Augustus
An early picture, probably early 1970s.
Old transparency that is quite dirty

Fort Augustus
Another early picture, probably mid 1970s.

Fort Augustus
An early picture - 1976

Fort Augustus
An early picture - 1973

Fort Augustus
Date unknown. After the pylon was declared unsafe, a new tower has been built and antenna transferred to it. The wooden hut was a temporary building for the police, I think it was during the transfer to the new High Band radio system.

Fort Augustus
2008 - for a time there were three towers.

Fort Augustus
Unknown date - new (third) tower in use but no Band II transmit antenna so prior to 2005

Fort Augustus
Unknown date - new (third) tower in use with Band II transmit antenna so probably 2005

Fort Augustus
Original equipment, this was taken when Band I TV still running.
Left hand bay has two groups of three Band II receivers (RC5/3 I think) for the three radio services.
Middle bay
At top, second down is the TIP/2 telephone signalling equipment that was interrogated to check the state of the site
Then six AM4/2 amplifiers for the outgoing lines - these were early transistorised amplifiers using GET103/GET104 transistors (or something like that)
In the right hand bay are the two RC4/501 Band I TV receivers
And just visible at right edge one of the two SHF link transmitters.

Fort Augustus index

Fort William | Rosemarkie

Technical Instructions for receiver RC5/3
BBC RD: Service Areas of the Great Glen Chain of Television and VHF Sound Transmitters (1964)

Back to TX Gallery index | TX main index

mb21 by Mike Brown

Hosted by

GDPR and Privacy Policy