Trouble in t'Republic? (Bilsdale transmitter fire)

[Analoguesat]

Folk in the south of the area near the coast might get away with slewing their tv antennas towards Belmont or Emley. OK you end up with the wrong ITV region but thats better than nothing.

 

[Analoguesat]

 

[Analoguesat]

Heaven help us if we ever lose one of the txers serving a really large population (Crystal Palace / Sutton Coldfield / Winter Hill) We will have yokels with pitchforks out on the streets demanding the return of Strictly or Eastenders...

 

[Channel Hopper]

Well,now I realise I thought "t'republic" was that of Ireland...hence my misunderstanding...
So,what is this Yorkshire Republic?

The breakaway state of East Lancashire

 

[rodscha]

I must visit that state!

 

[jeallen01]

...Oi stop stirring! Last thing those of us to the north need is trouble spilling over t'border!

What, me, a "sort of" Royalist, stir up trouble? - perish the thought !
OTOH, seems "trouble" is always happening there!

 

[Llew]

I must visit that state!

Passport needed, with a high-value East Lancashire unit of currency slipped inside.

 

[jeallen01]

Passport needed, with a high-value East Lancashire unit of currency slipped inside.

Would 3 Pontefract cakes, a tatty pie & a pint of John Smiths get me in, should I ever want to revisit that weird place???

 

[Channel Hopper]

Passport needed, with a high-value East Lancashire unit of currency slipped inside.

 

[ozumo]

Heaven help us if we ever lose one of the txers serving a really large population (Crystal Palace / Sutton Coldfield / Winter Hill) We will have yokels with pitchforks out on the streets demanding the return of Strictly or Eastenders...

The unrest caused by the loss of Emmerdale has been somewhat tempered by Love Island also disappearing from screens

If Bilsdale does fall it would be great if it was replaced with an aesthetically pleasing structure similar to Emley Moor, alas chances of that are probably zero

mb21 - The Transmission Gallery

tx.mb21.co.uk

 

[Analoguesat]

The unrest caused by the loss of Emmerdale has been somewhat tempered by Love Island also disappearing from screens

If Bilsdale does fall it would be great if it was replaced with an aesthetically pleasing structure similar to Emley Moor, alas chances of that are probably zero

mb21 - The Transmission Gallery

tx.mb21.co.uk

I think Bilsdale is more or less identical to the Emley tower that fell over 52 years ago.

 

[ozumo]

The temporary mast at Emley Moor is about the same size as Bilsdale, so wouldn't be surprised if once they're finished with it there, they move it 80 miles up the road to North Yorkshire.

Another nugget of misinformation from Look North this evening, saying there's already a temporary mast active at Bilsdale but it's going to be replaced by an 80m one in the next week

 

[Channel Hopper]

The temporary mast at Emley Moor is about the same size as Bilsdale, so wouldn't be surprised if once they're finished with it there, they move it 80 miles up the road to North Yorkshire.

Another nugget of misinformation from Look North this evening, saying there's already a temporary mast active at Bilsdale but it's going to be replaced by an 80m one in the next week

These days the BBC are it seems interested in cavities or erections, real or imagined.

 

[Analoguesat]

There must be a couple of spare decent sized masts in store somewhere - several masts were replaced during DSO. Rowridge was one, and I have a feeling Black Hill up near Edinburgh was another.

 

[Channel Hopper]

There must be a couple of spare decent sized masts in store somewhere - several masts were replaced during DSO. Rowridge was one, and I have a feeling Black Hill up near Edinburgh was another.

The installers of such towers left the business a while ago.

 

[scopus]

The temporary mast at Emley Moor is about the same size as Bilsdale, so wouldn't be surprised if once they're finished with it there, they move it 80 miles up the road to North Yorkshire.

Another nugget of misinformation from Look North this evening, saying there's already a temporary mast active at Bilsdale but it's going to be replaced by an 80m one in the next week

Might have been sold..it was on EBay some time back..

 

[Analoguesat]

Ah - Black Hill was shortened & repurposed as a radio mast.


These were replaced:

Black Hill
Caldbeck
Talconeston
Rowridge
Divis


So what happened to all the old redundant sections of mast? Are they in store or were they flogged off for scrap?


EDIT - Divis remained on site - there are 2 masts in the compound now.

 

[ozumo]

Might have been sold..it was on EBay some time back..

Found this, it was up for auction in March:

Arqiva Ltd - On-Line Tender Sale (Phase 3) - Peaker Pattinson (Auctioneers) Ltd

www.ppauctions.com

Can't find any results. Looking at mb21 it was still there in June.

 

[ozumo]

The temporary 80m mast at Bilsdale will not be up and running by the original target date of August 28th:

"The legal process to secure appropriate access to the site to build the temporary mast is taking longer than we initially anticipated"

Latest update on incident at Bilsdale mast

An update on our efforts to restore services following the incident at the Bilsdale mast

www.arqiva.com

 

[Fisty McB]

Heaven help us if we ever lose one of the txers serving a really large population (Crystal Palace / Sutton Coldfield / Winter Hill) We will have yokels with pitchforks out on the streets demanding the return of Strictly or Eastenders...

In the analogue days, at least, there were backup transmission systems in place at Croydon were Crystal Palace was to suddenly go off-air. AFAIK this system was renewed after DSO so that in the event of a transmission failure at CP, Croydon can kick in with the six main multiplexes.

For most of the terrestrial TX sites that serve large urban jungles in the UK, there is usually one nearby site with similar tower/mast heights that's been leftover from the 405 line days (a few of which broadcasted Channel 5 in analogue). Presumably were these to suffer major faults/damage like what has happened at Bilsdale, then these nearby sites could be pressed into emergency use with some rigging. For Sutton Coldfield there's Litchfield, Black Hill -> Kirk O'Shotts, Wenvoe -> St. Hilary, Divis -> Black Mountain etc. however Winter Hill does stand out as not having any transmission station nearby with a similar structure. I'd guess that Saddleworth could be pressed in for Manchester in such a scenario, otherwise a lot of NW England could be knocked into a cocked hat except for the area overspilled by Moel-y-Parc. I'm not sure how well such a service from Holme Moss would work out - a fine location for VHF Bands I & II broadcasts, but IIRC had notable shortcomings for Band III let alone UHF.