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Close up of one of Mendip television transmitters stay tensioning assemblies where it attaches to the anchor block.
Note the £1 coin (to give an idea of the scale) and also the earthing straps.
Note the various co-
The frequencies given are for the analogue channels, for (most) digital MUXES add 3MHz.
Note the gaps in the table below for channels 31 to 35, 37, 39 to 40 and 63 to 68, they`re reserved for “other uses”....
Mendip television transmitter at dusk, looking towards the South West.
Mendip transmitter into the clouds, and out of the top........
Mendip TV transmitter Picture Justin Smith (ATV)
That`s a big piece of concrete (and there`s a lot more of it underground)......
One can imagine how much pull is exerted on the stay lines (particularly in a high wind) by the size of the block required to anchor it. Picture Justin Smith (ATV)
Mendip`s channels in relation to the UHF TV band and the gain curves of the aerials
we recommend for it. DM Log Log40 Yagi18C/D DY14WB XB16E
Note analogue C5 and how it should still be receivable on a C/D in the vast majority
of areas, although this may not apply to some cheap crappy Contract aerials....... It is also transmitted on Digital MUX 2 anyway. Also see other relevant C/D group curves.
Mendip has no railways within 12 miles of it now but the old Somerset & Dorset line (from Bath to Bournemouth) used to run only three miles to the west of it. The S & D was opened between 1862 and 1874 but finally closed in 1966, thus no travellers on it would have seen the transmitter as it was opened in 1967 ! Part of the original Great Western line (which ran from Yatton to Witham and ran within two miles of Mendip) does still exist and is used by aggregate traffic from the huge quarry at Merehead. This same line is also used by the
East Somerset Railway which has been based near Shepton Mallet since 1972.
External links
For Mendip we recommend the DM log for strong signal areas, the Log 40 for
medium signal areas, the Yagi18CD or the DY14WB for poor signal areas,
and the XB16E for those with the most marginal signals.
The dimensions and test performance of the aerials can be found on the relevant tables.
If requiring a “high gain aerial” in the loft we recommend the DY14WB over the XB16 because of the former aerial`s smaller size.
A C/D aerial may be down on analogue C5 (on CH37) but our tests prove that a C/D will
still be working reasonably well down to this frequency (see Mendip Graph), although
this may not apply to some cheap crappy Contract aerials......
If you don`t get C5 off a C/D it`s more likely because you`re in a poor signal area and C5 is
lower power than the other four analogue channels. Analogue C5 is on digital MUX2 anyway.
Note, as work takes place on various digital transmitters (to prepare for the DSO) you may
experience problems, e.g. with certain MUXES disappearing. First try rescanning your
TV / set top box (do it manually if possible), but if this fails to work check on Transmitter work
or call the reception advice phone numbers. Also see basic digital fault finding.
it`s signals are picked up in many towns/cities including Bristol, Bath, Chippenham,
Weston Super Mare and areas of South Wales including Cardiff.
The mast was built in 1967 and with a total height of 305m (a.g.l) it is of a similar design to Waltham, see How High is High ? Mendip`s power output is 500kW on analogue (apart from Channel 5 at 126kW) and 10kW on all the Digital / Freeview. The transmitter is horizontally polarised and was a C/D group but although all digital Muxes are still within band, plus the 4 main analogue channels. Analogue C5 is out of band (on CH 37) and may require an E group although most people should still get it OK, see the graph for Mendip.
This may not apply to some cheap crappy Contract aerials though......
It is relatively common to find people wanting to receive both Mendip and Wenvoe transmissions (with a different aerial for each of them) and this can be accommodated quite well by using a diplexer split at CH52 to combine the cables from the two aerials into one downlead. The low leg (CHs 21 to 51) would be connected to the Wenvoe aerial, and the high leg (CHs 53 to 68) to the Mendip aerial. Analogue C5 from Mendip (on CH37) would be lost however, see TV/TV diplexers.
Mendip has fifty nine smaller repeaters to improve its coverage in areas of poor reception.
For Mendip`s TV Channels/frequencies see its Channel Allocation Guides for before
and after the DSO. These also includes the same information for Rowridge, Stockland Hill, Wenvoe, Ridge Hill, Bristol Kings Weston, Bristol Ilchester, Oxford, Hannington and Salisbury. This data can be of great use in determining possible causes of co-
also be invaluable if you are trying to find a spare channel for a modulated output
(e.g. for a Sky box or CCTV system) to be added to your TV setup/distribution system without suffering from co-
DSO is due to occur between the 24 Mar and 7 April 2010 and it has been confirmed
by Ofcom that Mendip will be returning to a C/D group.
There are two interleaved spectrum channels allocated to Mendip, CH55 and CH59, which are both within the previously announced post DSO group.
