Black Mountain transmitting station

Black Mountain
Height of mast	228.6 metres (750 ft)
Built	1959
Relay of	Divis
BBC region	BBC Northern Ireland
ITV region	UTV

The Black Mountain transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility, situated on land 301 metres (987 ft) above Ordnance Datum (mean sea level) to the west of the city of Belfast, in Northern Ireland (grid reference J278727). It includes a guyed steel lattice mast which is 228.6 metres (750 ft) [1] in height. The height of the top of the structure above mean sea level is 529 metres (1,737 ft). It is owned and operated by Arqiva.

History

• 1959: The station is commissioned by the Independent Television Authority to transmit ITV signals (provided by Ulster Television) on 405-line VHF, using Channel 9 (Band III) on high power. Service commences on 1 October.
• 1970: UHF 625-line PAL colour TV begins at high power from the adjacent Divis transmitting station.
• 1975: A low power UHF filler service begins, designed to cover districts close to the station that cannot pick up Divis.
• 1976: FM commercial radio station Downtown Radio (later Cool FM) starts transmissions.
• 1985: VHF 405-line television is discontinued in the UK, having been replaced by the UHF service. The VHF service from Black Mountain closes.
• 1990: FM commercial radio station BCR (later City Beat) begins on 96.7 MHz on 6th April.
• 1997: Analogue transmissions of Channel 5 begin at high power.
• 2001: DAB Digital Radio transmissions start from Score Northern Ireland on block 12D on 6 September.
• 2005: FM station U105 begins on 105.8 MHz on 14 November.

Coverage

For high power UHF television of Channel 5, and Cool FM, coverage includes most of central and eastern Ulster, north as far as Ballymena, south as far as Downpatrick and Newry, and west past Dungannon and Cookstown.

Radio stations City Beat and U105 have a more restricted coverage area, including areas around Greater Belfast, up to Carrickfergus, Antrim, and the shore of Lough Neagh.

The low power UHF TV relay is only designed to cover areas of Belfast not already covered by Divis.

Service availability by frequency

Analogue radio

Frequency	kW	Service
96.7 MHz	0.55	Belfast CityBeat
97.4 MHZ	3.2	Cool FM
105.8 MHz	0.96	U105

Digital radio

Frequency	Block	kW	Operator
229.072 MHz	12D	7	Score Northern Ireland

Analogue television

Frequency	UHF	kW	Service
599.25 MHz	37	1.1	Channel 5

This channel will close in 2012 with the digital transmissions coming from the nearby Divis transmitter.

See also

• List of masts
• List of tallest buildings and structures in the United Kingdom
• List of radio stations in the United Kingdom

External links

• The Transmission Gallery: Black Mountain Photographs and Information