Trouble in t'Republic? (Bilsdale transmitter fire)

[Analoguesat]

3 more relays back on air:

Rookhope

Castleton

Bainbridge

Latest update on incident at Bilsdale mast

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

arqiva.com

 

[ozumo]

Site of scientific interest, allegedly

Bilsdale transmitter: The legal issues behind the delay in restoring TV signal

SITE operators for the Bilsdale transmitter in a recent update, explained that the new temporary mast had been delayed due to the “legal…

www.thenorthernecho.co.uk

If the land owner is responsible for SSSI compliance it's not surprising they aren't keen on the installation of the temporary mast, I assume these restrictions are what the court case is about

The sooner the original mast is deconstructed and replaced the better for everyone. They also need to work with local councils and charities to identify those most affected and sort them out with a new repositioned aerial or Freesat system.

 

[Adam792]

Of limited interest of course, but the two local DAB multiplexes in the affected area (Teesside and North Yorkshire) have appeared on 9°E, PIDs 1064 and 1065 on the 12092H transponder carrying the existing D1 National (11D/12A) and SDL National (11A) feeds. I imagine this is to feed the still on air transmitters for both which would have presumably been supplied by SHF links from Bilsdale originally.

 

[Channel Hopper]

If the land owner is responsible for SSSI compliance it's not surprising they aren't keen on the installation of the temporary mast, I assume these restrictions are what the court case is about

The sooner the original mast is deconstructed and replaced the better for everyone. They also need to work with local councils and charities to identify those most affected and sort them out with a new repositioned aerial or Freesat system.

With the 4/5G tower applications running through without question, Arquiva could piggyback on any one of four local sites, saving the repointing of hundreds of aerials.

 

[ozumo]

At least two months before a temporary mast is erected in Bilsdale:

Minimum of two months to replace Bilsdale transmitter, meeting told - Richmondshire Today

Residents across swathes of North Yorkshire could be facing a minimum of two more months without a television signal due to the construction time in erecting a replacement mast and because of the need to follow international [...]

www.richmondshiretoday.co.uk

"emergency national planning regulations allowed replacement masts as long as they were movable without the need to go through the planning process. Arqiva has proposed to put it on sleds, weighed down by large blocks of concrete flown there by helicopters. The structure would then be secured by guys attached to the surrounding heather moorland"

 

[ozumo]

Improved signal from CH29 SDN & CH31 Arqiva A this morning, both are stable with solid pictures on the group A. Still nothing from CH37 Arqiva B.

UHF Mux	Rooftop Grp A	Indoor loop*
29 SDN	Fair	No
31 ARQ A	Fair	No
37 ARQ B	No	Weak/Fair
40 BBC A	Strong	Strong
43 D3&4	No**	Strong
46 BBC B	?	?

* Upstairs on windowsill facing towards Arncliffe Woods, otherwise no signal.
** The unstable weak signal I thought I had is actually CH42 from Pontop Pike

 

[Lazarus]

Fir call here.

Still, Emley Moor continues to serve reasonably well as my backup.

 

[Adam792]

I wonder if the three commercial multiplexes have appeared on satellite somewhere, considering that the three PSBs were set up at Arncliffe Wood as satellite fed from the off.

What would Pontop Pike reception be like at the site?

 

[ozumo]

I believe it falls within the extended coverage area of Pontop Pike so reception shouldn't be a problem. There used to be dishes pointing at Pontop Pike according to this link, so should have line of sight:

Arncliffe Wood: BT Microwave Sites

www.dgsys.co.uk

Some lovely archive photos on that page, it's a shame all those dishes have gone.

 

[ozumo]

Pontop Pike coverage map
Pink spot = Arncliffe Wood
Green spot = Eston Nab

 

[Adam792]

Ahh thanks for that! Makes sense then for it to be receiving Pontop Pike off air. I suppose even if that’s less reliable than would normally be accepted, it’s fine for those commercial multiplexes whereas for the PSBs the satellite feed provides the increased reliability that may be required.

 

[Lazarus]

Just been out walking on the Moors above Hawnby - not far from Bilsdale as the fly crows.

It appears (perhaps unsurprisingly) that a lot of the antennae have been de-rigged.

At first sight, it looked as if the mast was leaning very slightly and the differing angles of the guy wires seemed to bear that out, but looking again from other vantage points I suspect I was suffering a touch of parallax error and doppler shift!

 

[ozumo]

Tonight on the Group A CH42 D3&4 from Pontop Pike is coming in strong enough for a just about stable picture, with only the odd glitch. CH37 Arqiva B from Arncliffe has scanned in with occasional images.

I've yet to find anyone locally who's able to receive all multiplexes reliably on an unadjusted aerial. There's also a lot of delusion around that the quarter size temporary mast will solve everything.

Does anyone know if it's possible have the Freeview system work as a single frequency network like DAB - as Eston Nab and presumably Arncliffe Wood are retransmitting signals from Pontop Pike would it improve reception if they operated as an SFN?

 

[Analoguesat]

At least two months before a temporary mast is erected in Bilsdale:

Minimum of two months to replace Bilsdale transmitter, meeting told - Richmondshire Today

Residents across swathes of North Yorkshire could be facing a minimum of two more months without a television signal due to the construction time in erecting a replacement mast and because of the need to follow international [...]

www.richmondshiretoday.co.uk

"emergency national planning regulations allowed replacement masts as long as they were movable without the need to go through the planning process. Arqiva has proposed to put it on sleds, weighed down by large blocks of concrete flown there by helicopters. The structure would then be secured by guys attached to the surrounding heather moorland"

You do not dump "large blocks of concrete" in the middle of a Site of Special Scientific Interest without some very awkward questions being asked. Even if it is in the middle of a disused quarry!

I wonder which will happen first - the damaged existing mast is safely demolished and sent for scrap in a controlled manner or the first good Autumnal gale brings it down and scatters it across said SSSI.

 

[ozumo]

I wonder which will happen first - the damaged existing mast is safely demolished and sent for scrap in a controlled manner or the first good Autumnal gale brings it down and scatters it across said SSSI.

I've seen very little mention of what will happen to the original mast, other than no one is allowed on site and nobody knows if it is structurally safe. I get the impression they'd rather it fell in the middle of the night.

 

[Analoguesat]

The Richmond local paper report has a quote from one of the National Park bods which says words to the effect " the mast has got a big bulge in it" QED its finished - its structurally unsafe & will likely come down over the winter in an uncontrolled manner once it gets a nice bit of icing on it. Lets hope it doesnt knock the temporary mast over!

 

[ozumo]

I've just tested a couple of televisions from the rooftop group A, an old Panasonic plasma could only receive CH29 SDN, a cheap & nasty Vestel 17" found nothing. As the same tuners are likely used in many televisions, it's no wonder many people are having trouble. My Sony DVD recorder has a much superior tuner, as does an old Sony 20" LCD.

 

[ozumo]

MP calls for OFCOM inquiry... “The talks with the private landowner neighbouring the site of the transmitter appear to be moving at a glacial pace with little outcome"

Bilsdale transmitter: Mast operator SLAMMED for their response to loss of TV signal

A NORTH East MP is calling for a “full inquiry” into, what he has called, the “ wholly inadequate” response from site operator Arqiva after…

www.thenorthernecho.co.uk

 

[scopus]

MP calls for OFCOM inquiry... “The talks with the private landowner neighbouring the site of the transmitter appear to be moving at a glacial pace with little outcome"

Bilsdale transmitter: Mast operator SLAMMED for their response to loss of TV signal

A NORTH East MP is calling for a “full inquiry” into, what he has called, the “ wholly inadequate” response from site operator Arqiva after…

www.thenorthernecho.co.uk

Freesat receivers must be selling like hot cakes....

 

[ozumo]

Freesat receivers must be selling like hot cakes....

Trouble is there aren't enough installers, then when people read there's a temporary mast going up they don't think it's worth waiting months for a dish to be installed... I can imagine there's going to be a lot of folks without telly this Christmas.