UK Broadcast Transmission

THE TRANSMISSION GALLERY

Castle Vale West Midlands NGR: SP140914 Maps: Google  Streetmaps (Ord Surv)   Site Height: 80m       Structure Height: 42m Digital TV: National Radio: Local Radio: Switch Radio: 107.5   Digital Radio: Birmingham - North: 9A   Comments: Carried Birmingham local DAB on channel 9A until late summer 2022. Also known as Topcliffe Tower.

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September 2016

Topcliffe House (known to Ofcom as "Castle Vale") is the transmit site for Switch Radio, a community radio station in North East Birmingham. Their studios are in the building and the station started broadcasting in April 2010. The Trial Birmingham DAB multiplex was added in August 2015, as of October 2016 this carried Switch Radio and a further twelve stations including other CRs from the Birmingham area.

Alan comments: "Ofcom data has the DAB aerial at 36 m and FM at 40 metres. The folded dipole is slightly higher, so I reckon this must be the FM aerial." Not the easiest to identify as both are vertical polarization, and end fed aerials are popular in community radio.

We believe this the FM antenna. ERP is 25 W with maximum direction on bearing 190 and around a 4 dB reduction to the north according to Ofcom data. This pattern is presumably meant to be achieved by the spacing of the antenna and support pole.

This is very likely the DAB antenna - all of the trial sites were initially expected to use a "recommended" colinear. The ERP is 100 W.

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