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THE TRANSMISSION GALLERY
SUTTON COMMON
| Photos by Alan Price | Page last updated: 2017-07-07 |
| The update list called for photos of Silk FM’s aerial, which is now at the top of the tower. Ofcom has a last changed date of November 2012, but I believe this was when Silk increased power to 150 + 150 W, partly due to interference from Real Radio (now Heart), also on 106.9 MHz, from Moel-y-Parc. Editor's Note: Ofcom data from mid-2014 shows the antenna at 75 m but we have not yet been able to determine an exact date for this change. Sutton Common pretty much overlooks the whole of Cheshire, as well as parts of Staffordshire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Lancashire, Shropshire and Wales. Line of sight transmitters include Winter Hill, The Wrekin, Moel-y-Parc, Llangollen, City Tower, Mow Cop and Alsagers Bank to name just a few. You'd probably be able to see Lichfield and Sutton Coldfield on a clear night too. |
| The most obvious difference when compared with earlier photos of this site is the removal of almost all the large dishes following the closure of the trunk BT SHF network... |
| ...this makes the broadcast antennas much easier to see! The Silk antenna is aimed north westwards towards Macclesfield. For reference, the large dish in the centre of the photo is also pointing north westwards - perhaps towards Winter Hill or a building in central Manchester. |
| Silk FM's aerial is now a phased pair of dipoles, slant-polarised. |
| Signal’s aerial points roughly south westwards, towards Congleton. The Stoke DAB aerials point westwards. The slant-polarised yagi has been removed from this part of the tower and is assumed to have been part of the original Silk FM antenna - see May 2008 page for further information. |
| The Manchester DAB aerials point northwards and were originally used for the North West regional DAB multiplex. Editor's note: that's not the sky or the ground in the background but the concrete "gallery" above! |
| BT's building... |
| ...and other user's accommodation. Some cabins have GPS cones - planning applications suggest the DAB services may have used two separate enclosures initially. |
| In the haze...Pye Green. A good place for the Post Office to have put another tower for SHF trunk linking! |
| Other landmarks and sites visible (or would be under clear conditions) include The Wrekin... |
| ...Mow Cop... |
| ... and Jodrell Bank |
| Difficult to see but this is Winter Hill, with the broadcast mast and a collection of structures just visible. |
| Manchester |
| Liverpool Cathedral |
| Axe Edge Moor with a non-broadcast tower and the Cat & Fiddle pub. |
| Cheshire with the hills of North Wales beyond |
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