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THE TRANSMISSION GALLERY
SELKIRK
| Photos by Peter Bigwood | Page last updated: 2017-03-01 |
| Selkirk is the station which provides TV and a couple of independent radio stations to SE Scotland. BBC FM radio services for the area come from nearby Ashkirk, which can be seen lurking in the 2nd photo here. Selkirk was originally built to provide ITV 405 line TV reception to south-east Scotland. It used channel 13 in Band III and went into service on 1st December 1961 (using a temporary mast) and receiving its input signal as an RBL from Caldbeck. The permanent tx aerial on the 750 ft mast consisted of four tiers of single three-element Yagis (214 m agl) firing roughly eastwards. Four tiers of four double-four-element Yagis provided the RBL, mounted at 61 m agl. Selkirk was chosen in preference to Ashkirk to provide UHF to the area, and ITV 625 lines went into service on 1st March 1972. The BBC started its UHF services in May 1973. The BBC feed was an RBL from Black Hill to an intermediate site at Dunslair Heights near Peebles, then via an SHF link to Selkirk itself. The receive dish for this was mounted at 93.4 m above ground level on a bearing of 303 deg ETN. RBS was received on a trough aerial near the top of the mast for reception of Black Hill direct. This was mounted at an agl of 227 m on a bearing of 297 deg ETN. This RBS arrangement eventually became the RBL due to tree growth at Dunslair Heights rendering the SHF link defunct. RBS then was from DSAT. IBA programmes were fed from Caldbeck via intermediate SHF link site at Wigg Knowe (NT576041). The SHF dish receiving Wigg Knowe was mounted on the roof of the IBA side of the building. It's interesting to note that the BBC tested both Lindean Moor and Dryden Hill when planning their coverage for the area in 1956; the tests at Dryden Hill (which became "Ashkirk") were abandoned as the results from Lindean Moor (Selkirk) were so much more promising. It's not clear why the BBC ended up having to use Ashkirk rather than Selkirk. Link to the report at the bottom of this page. (Additional notes from Jim and from Martin Watkins) |
| The skew fire panels (215m) were for Channel 5. |
| A rare picture originally published in the Southern Reporter, showing work being carried out on a Klystron amp. The engineers are Frank Magee and Ted Keeper We are indebted to the Southern Reporter, to Stuart Cobley of the Tweeddale Press, and to Jim for making it all possible. |
BBC Report on tests at Lindean Moor
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