mb21 - The Transmission Gallery

	UK Broadcast Transmission

THE TRANSMISSION GALLERY

BLACK HILL A

Photos by Jack Richardson

Page last updated: 2024-05-11

March 2024

A busy site, two masts to photograph with a lot going on. Whilst staying in the area and being a sunny day I thought I'd get some updated detail for the gallery.

It seems the quiet road past the site is used by the locals as a tip. I parked in a layby, of which there are a few, and started taking photos. Despite not being far from Glasgow the area feels quiet.

A change since Dan's previous photos from 2017 is the move of the local TV mux antennas to Black Hill B.

Starting with Black Hill A

From top down - Glasgow DAB, Mux 7, Clyde 1 and Forth 1, National FM.

At 291m, these are the antennas for the Glasgow DAB mux.

The panels for Mux 7. These are the former Channel 5 analogue panels.

On the left are the antennas for Clyde 1. Six slant-polarised 3-element yagis. Mean height 228m. I think these are made by Kathrein?

On the left is the antenna for Forth 1. Height 225m. An Amphenol 7410000 log periodic.

The National FM stack. Mean height 200m. Interestingly, Radio 4 at Black Hill is 200 kW, the rest of the nationals are 250 kW. BBC Radio nan Gàidheal also comes from this antenna, at a much lower 10 kW.

Moving down - TV Rx antennas, Heart and Capital, Smooth and Edinburgh DAB, reserve Siras and Sandale RBS.

At a mean height of 175m, these are the antennas for the regionals Heart and Capital. Both 20 kW.

The four UHF Yagis I estimate are pointing towards Selkirk. The two above I estimate are pointing towards Angus.

From another angle

On the left are the antennas for Smooth Radio. These point towards Glasgow, and are quite directional towards the west. The signal doesn't last too long travelling towards Edinburgh. Mean height 161m. It is quite a powerful signal being radiated at 30 kW, I imagine due to the lower position on the mast.

On the right are the antennas for Edinburgh DAB. Mean height 155m.

Two Sira reserve FM antennas and the Sandale RBS. Quite a rig! I imagine it's because Sandale on some frequencies is only 0.4 MHz away, and 82 miles.

Folded dipole near the bottom of the mast. I wonder if this is used for monitoring?

Black Hill A building

Dishes

DAB dishes

Moving over to Black Hill B...

The main TV antenna

The reserve TV antenna

This is the antenna stack for SDL DAB. Mean height 263m. The rest of the DAB nationals come from Kirk o' Shotts. I wonder if a fourth DAB mux couldn't be 'plumbed' in there?

About half way up Black Hill B are the antennas for the Glasgow local TV mux. Dan's photos from August 2014 show these on Black Hill A as four single shrouded logs, so at some time since then the rig has become more substantial and obviously moved over!