| Beacon Hill | |
| Map Name: | Devon |
| Coordinates: | 50.4464°N -3.6108°W |
| Height: | 103.6m (339.9feet) |
| Gridref: | SX857619 |
| Bbc: | BBC South West |
| Itv: | ITV West Country |
The Beacon Hill transmitting station is an English telecommunications facility located at Beacon Hill, Marldon, Devon. It includes a guyed mast (Beacon Hill A)[1] and a free-standing lattice tower (Beacon Hill B),[2] both of which support various antennas.
Beacon Hill A became operational in 1972–3, bringing 625 line PAL colour television to the coverage area of Torbay and south Devon. Beacon Hill B transmits FM radio and DAB radio to the area. In 2007, a third guyed lattice mast was constructed at the site to provide medium wave transmissions for Gold (Exeter/Torbay). The transmitter for Gold was dismantled after the service was discontinued.[3]
In April 2009, the analogue television transmissions at Beacon Hill A were turned off, requiring homes in the area to switch to the Freeview service.[4] The Beacon Hill transmitter group was the first in the South West of England to stop broadcasting analogue television services. BBC Two ceased at 00:50 on 8 April 2009 and the remaining analogue signals were turned off on 22 April 2009 at 00:20.[5]
| Frequency | kW[6] | Service | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 88.7 MHz | 1 | BBC Radio 2 | |
| 90.9 MHz | 1 | BBC Radio 3 | |
| 93.1 MHz | 1 | BBC Radio 4 | |
| 96.4 MHz | 1.8 | Heart West | |
| 98.4 MHz | 1 | BBC Radio 1 | |
| 104.3 MHz | 1 | BBC Radio Devon | |
| 105.5 MHz | 1.6 | Greatest Hits Radio Devon |
| Frequency | Block | kW | Operator | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 220.352 MHz | 11C | 2 | NOW Exeter and Torbay | |
| 222.064 MHz | 11D | 2 | Digital One | |
| 225.648 MHz | 12B | 5 | BBC National DAB |
| Frequency | UHF | kW | Operator | System | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 10 | Arqiva B | DVB-T | ||
| 41 | 20 | Digital 3&4 | DVB-T | ||
| 42 | 10 | SDN | DVB-T | ||
| 44 | 20 | BBC A | DVB-T | ||
| 45 | 10 | Arqiva A | DVB-T | ||
| 47 | 20 | BBC B | DVB-T2 |
The 700MHz clearance programme led to the removal of some of the Freeview HD and SD channels from the Beacon Hill transmitter.[7] [8] Prior to 27 March 2019, Beacon Hill used to transmit these services:
| Frequency | UHF | kW | Operator | System | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | 7.3 | COM7 | DVB-T2 | ||
| 34 | 1 | COM8 | DVB-T2 |
| Frequency | UHF | kW | Operator | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52- | 2 | BBC (Mux 1) | ||
| 54+ | 2 | BBC (Mux B) | ||
| 56- | 1 | Arqiva (Mux C) | ||
| 58+ | 2 | SDN (Mux A) | ||
| 61+ | 2 | Digital 3&4 (Mux 2) | ||
| 64+ | 1 | Arqiva (Mux D) |
Analogue television signals ceased in April 2009. BBC2 was closed on 8 April 2009, with ITV Westcountry temporarily moving into its place, followed by the remaining services on 22 April.
| Frequency | UHF | kW[9] | Service | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53 | 100 | Channel 4 | ||
| 57 | 100 | BBC1 South West | ||
| 60 | 100 | Westcountry | ||
| 63 | 100 | BBC2 South West |