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THE TRANSMISSION GALLERY
MANCHESTER (BRITISH MUSLIM HERITAGE CENTRE)
| Photos by DJBroadcasting | Page last updated: 2017-04-14 |
| On 26th June 2013 Ofcom advertised a tranche of licences available in what they call 'Region 5,'Yorkshire, Humberside and North West England.' In the city areas there were no frequencies available on VHF band II and so this station was awarded a licence to broadcast on medium wave to the Manchester area in June 2014 (Ofcom move very slowly). The station was planned to be broadcast from the grounds of the British Muslim Heritage Centre at College Road, Whalley Range, 2 1/2 miles south of Manchester. The building is Grade II listed and the grounds fall within a conservation area so plans had to be drawn up, agreements reached and planning permission sought. Editor's note: we are always grateful for an insight into the "how and why" as well as the completed installation. |
| While the formalities were progressing the transmitter was built and tested... |
| ....and boxed up in two rack mounts in a small room next to the field where the mast was to be built. The studio was also built in rooms a considerable distance away and needed 130 metres of balanced audio cable to connect the two. |
| All agreements had been reached by April 2016 and so the race was on to complete the antenna mast before Ramadan which started on 6 June. The site was marked out for the copper wire ground planes and a trench was dug for the co-axial cable. |
| The mast was raised using the 'gin pole' technique where a shorter pole (vertical in picture) is used to raise the mast (painted green). The mast is foreshortened in this picture but it is 24 metres (78 feet). This photograph was taken about 4 weeks before Ramadan, just enough time for the statutory testing period and visit and testing by Ofcom. |
| This is the result of the efforts after straightening on the next day, after the clouds had cleared. The upper guys were later extended to the edges of the field on safety grounds, despite protests from the committee. |
| The middle section of the mast is made of fibreglass and wound with a loading coil to make it electrically longer. |
| Also a top 'capacity hat' was included of 4 x 5 metre wires, terminated by insulators. A matching circuit was employed to match the impedance of the aerial to the 50 ohm cable. |
| On the air in time for Ramadan 2016! |
| The front of the British Muslim Heritage Centre is an early Gothic design with an Ashlar sandstone façade. The tower is 24 metres/78 feet high and had been earmarked for one end of a Marconi ‘Tee’ aerial but Historic England wouldn’t agree to any wires being attached to a Grade II listed building. The building began in 1840 as Lancashire Independent College to provide higher education for northerners who were excluded by sniffy southerners from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge until 1871. It was used until about 1980 when the building began a long period of decline. It became the national college of the GMB union in the late 20th century but they sold the college in 2004 as it was considered too expensive to maintain. After further decline the building was purchased by the British Muslim Heritage Centre and a lot of repairs were made although there is a lot of work still to be done. Part of the building is used as a Mosque, part offices and part meeting rooms. There is a ‘Stories of Sacrifice’ exhibition, dedicated to the bravery and sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of Muslim soldiers who fought for Britain in World War One. There is also a marquee at the rear, near the mast, which accommodates banqueting for over 600 people. |
Manchester (British Muslim Heritage Centre) index
British Muslim Heritage Centre (official website)
British Muslim Heritage Centre (Wikipedia) with building history
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