Standing on the summit of North Hessary Tor in Devon, England is an FM radio and television transmitter which uses antennas on a high guyed mast.

History It was built by BICC for the BBC in 1955 when a transmitter was needed to introduce 405-line television into Devon, alongside Rowridge and Pontop Pike (both 500ft). It now carries a small UHF TV transmitter which serves Princetown and Dartmoor. FM radio transmissions began in 1956 and covers most of Devon and eastern parts of Cornwall, along with Somerset and South Wales as a backup for Wenvoe. It is owned and operated by Arqiva.

Services listed by frequency

Analogue radio (FM VHF) FrequencykWService88.1 MHz160BBC Radio 290.3 MHz160BBC Radio 392.5 MHz160BBC Radio 497.7 MHz160BBC Radio 1100.0 MHz160Classic FM103.4 MHz15BBC Radio Devon

In all BBC publications the national FM ERPs for North Hessary Tor are listed as 160 kW (mixed polarisation): Classic FM list their ERP as 80 kW (horizontal) and 80 kW (vertical) for North Hessary Tor which equates to the same power as the BBC.

The mast covers a large area including Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and South Wales.

Digital radio (DAB) FrequencyBlockkWOperator225.648 MHz12B3.2BBC National DAB

Analogue television

17 December 1954 – 3 January 1985 405 Line transmittions were launched. in 1985 it was switched off . then in 1990, it resumed broadcasting tv FrequencyVHFkWService215BBC Television

Until 12 August 2009 FrequencyUHFkWService550.012BBC1 South West590.012Westcountry620.012BBC2 South West650.012Channel 4

Analogue and digital television

12 August 2009 – 9 September 2009 BBC Two was switched off on UHF 62. BBC A was launched on the old BBC2 Frequency. FrequencyUHFkWServiceSystem550.012BBC1 South WestPAL System I590.012WestcountryPAL System I620.0025BBC ADVB-T823.25 MHz650.012Channel 4PAL System I

Digital television

9 September 2009 – June 2013 FrequencyUHFkWOperatorSystem550.0025BBC BDVB-T2590.0025Digital 3&4DVB-T620.0025BBC ADVB-T

From June 2013 In June 2013, BBC A moved from UHF 62 to UHF 50, to allow for the clearance of the 800 MHz band for 4G LTE mobile services. FrequencyUHFkWOperatorSystem500.0025BBC ADVB-T550.0025BBC BDVB-T2590.0025Digital 3&4DVB-T

See also List of masts List of tallest structures in the United Kingdom

References

External links The Transmission Gallery: North Hessary Tor Transmitting Station photographs, coverage maps and information North Hessary Tor Transmitter at thebigtower.com