The Carmel transmitting station, located half a mile (0.8km) SSW of the village of Carmel in Carmarthenshire, has been broadcasting terrestrial TV and radio services since the mid-1970s. The TV coverage area for the Carmel transmission station includes most of Carmarthenshire, the southern and eastern parts of Pembrokeshire; the southern fringes of Powys and Ceredigion; the northern part of Swansea. The Carmel signal is also receivable in parts of Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend and Rhondda Cynon Taff. Places as far away as Merthyr Tydfil and the north Devon coast are also able to receive signals from Carmel.
Carmel started to switch over to digital terrestrial TV broadcast services on 26 August 2009.UK Free TV - Freeview on the Carmel transmitter
Services available
Analogue television
21 May 1973 - 1 November 1982 Carmel never did broadcast VHF television, and went live with the UK's three national UHF television services.
FrequencyUHFkWService57100BBC1 Wales60100HTV Wales63100BBC2 Wales
1 November 1982 - 15 November 1998 The UK's fourth national television service joined the set transmitted from the site. Being in Wales, the S4C variant was broadcast.
FrequencyUHFkWService53100S4C57100BBC1 Wales60100HTV Wales63100BBC2 Wales
Analogue and digital television
15 November 1998 - 26 August 2009 The initial rollout of digital television in the UK involved radiating the signals at low power in between the existing analogue channels.
FrequencyUHFkWServiceSystem53100S4CPAL System I552.5BBC (Mux 1)DVB-T57100BBC1 WalesPAL System I59-5SDN (Mux A)DVB-T60100HTV WalesPAL System I62-2.5BBC (Mux B)DVB-T63100BBC2 WalesPAL System I65-2.5Digital 3&4 (Mux 2)DVB-T661Arqiva (Mux C)DVB-T671Arqiva (Mux D)DVB-T
26 August 2009 - 23 September 2009 The UK's digital switchover commenced at this site. Analogue BBC2 Wales closed on channel 63 and HTV took over on that frequency for what would be its final 3 weeks of service, vacating channel 60 as it did so. The new BBC A multiplex started up at full power in 64-QAM mode on channel 60 (which just had been Vacated by Analogue HTV Wales) and Mux 1 on channel 55 closed.
FrequencyUHFkWServiceSystem53100S4CPAL System I57100BBC1 WalesPAL System I59-5SDN (Mux A)DVB-T6020BBC ADVB-T62-2.5BBC (Mux B)DVB-T63100HTV WalesPAL System I65-2.5Digital 3&4 (Mux 2)DVB-T661Arqiva (Mux C)DVB-T671Arqiva (Mux D)DVB-T
Digital television
23 September 2009 - may 2013 All the analogue television services closed and the new digital multiplexes took over their frequencies (and two new ones) with name-changes, power increases and a shift to 64-QAM.
FrequencyUHFkWOperator5320Digital 3&45410SDN5720BBC B5810Arqiva A6020BBC A6110Arqiva B
May 2013 As a side-effect of frequency-changes elsewhere in the region to do with clearance of the 800 MHz band for 4G mobile phone use, Carmel's "Arqiva B" multiplex will have to be moved from channel 61 to channel 49 and the "BBC A" multiplex will get a negative offset.
FrequencyUHFkWOperator4810Arqiva B26 (was 53)20Digital 3&433 (was 54) 10SDN29 (was 57)20BBC B36 (was 58)10Arqiva A23 (was 60-)20BBC A
Analogue radio (VHF FM) FrequencykWService88.4 MHz3BBC Radio 290.6 MHz3BBC Radio 392.8 MHz3BBC Radio 495.1 MHz3BBC Radio Wales97.1 MHz1.4Radio Carmarthenshire98.0 MHz3BBC Radio 1104.6 MHz3BBC Radio Cymru105.2 MHz3Heart South Wales
Digital radio (DAB) FrequencyBlockkWRadio Listeners Guide 2010Operator222.064 MHz11D1Digital One223.936 MHz12A1Swansea SW Wales225.648 MHz12B5BBC National DAB
References
External links Pictures of Carmel transmitter masts on Geograph Freeview transmission details Carmel Transmitter at thebigtower.com