Hillsborough
Sheffield
S6 2LL
All Rights reserved
have (only) it`s head in the clouds.....
This picture was taken from near the National Coal Mining Museum which is definitely worth a visit, and it`s free !
Picture Justin Smith ATV
Emley Moor television transmitter, all 1084ft of it...... Picture Justin Smith (ATV)
The structure may look solid * but according to someone who works there it sways in the wind and this can sometimes induce sea sickness to those working in the microwave link room when gales are about !
* The foundations consist of a solid concrete annulus of 8.2m width and 6.1m depth with a thickness of 4.3m. That`s a lot of concrete.......
Emley Moor TV transmitter as you`ve never seen it before....... Picture Justin Smith (ATV)
The ring marks in the concrete will be noted, this is where the shuttering was used to build the structure. Because the tower is tapered the shuttering`s diameter had to be reduced each time a new (higher) section was added. (Picture added 30 Mar 06)
Note that Emley Moor is not a “mast” because it`s a self supporting structure, it`s actually
a “tower”. Masts are cable stayed, like Winter Hill for example.
Top of Emley Moor transmitter showing the microwave link room, also note the spiral structure at the top to deflect wind upwards. The link room is at 262m and one (of the two) lifts goes straight to this level. Despite this it still takes seven (seven ! ) minutes to do so. The other lift provides engineers access to all the different levels, but you could always
use the ladder(s), with a total of 865 rungs......
you may experience problems, e.g. with certain MUXES disappearing.
First try rescanning your set top box and if this fails to work check on Transmitter work
or phone reception advice on 08700 100 123 (BBC) or 0844 881 4150 (ITV).
Emley Moor is one of the most powerful transmitters in the country at 870kW (analogue), plus Digital /Freeveiw at 10kW (apart from MUX6/D which is only 4kW).
It is the tallest free standing structure in the UK at 328m (a.g.l), that`s 1084 ft ! The previous transmitter was a cable stayed mast which was even taller at 385m (the same design as Belmont) but this infamously blew down in 1969. One theory was that a weak point in the design was found wanting by the unprecedented weather. Others speculated that there was so much ice on the cable stays that the weight broke them, after that the mast was doomed.... It had only been up for 5 years ! A team of Polish riggers were bought in to erect a temporary mast, apparently they were the only people who were willing to
work in the winter conditions prevailing at the time.
The very first Emley Moor was a steel lattice tower built in 1956 to broadcast ITV on the old 405 line VHF system and as such it worked in tandem with the original Holme Moss mast, which transmitted the BBC (only one programme, BBC2 didn`t start till 1964) on VHF until 1984. Duplicated transmitters were/are also used at Sutton Coldfield/Lichfield,
Crystal Palace/Croydon and Pontop Pike/Burnhope amongst others.
The present tower opened in 1971 and is an elegant tapered concrete structure which is situated about half way between Huddersfield and Barnsley. This area of high ground is perfect for RF (Radio Frequency) transmission and both Holme Moss and Moorside Edge transmitters are visible (SW and WNW respectively) from the site. Emley Moors population coverage is the forth highest of any UK transmitter at about 4 million people and its signals are received in many large towns/cities including Sheffield, Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield and Doncaster. Emley has fifty six small repeaters off it to its signal improve coverage.
To many people Emley is iconic and fully deserving of the Grade 2 listed status it received
in 2002. For most locations in South Yorkshire the transmitter is NW and on a clear day it can be seen from many high points in the city or from the M1. As one travels North it`s on the left. Whenever I return back home from a long journey, I see Emley and know there
isn`t long to go now ! Incidentally, this stretch of the M1 was opened in 1968,
doesn`t time fly..... All aerials on Emley Moor should be horizontally polarised,
i.e. if you live in Sheffield, your antenna is horizontal and it`s pointed NW then you`ll probably be on Emley. This can be confirmed if you receive your local Calendar news
from Leeds, see Crosspool.
Emley Moor by night.
Note the red glow, of the top navigation light, on the cloud just above the transmitter.
(Picture Justin Smith, dedicated to my wife who was getting impatient as I farted about with exposure settings etc.....)
Note Emley Moors output clashes with that of Sutton Coldfield and Chesterfield.
Also check Emley Moor`s fifty six small repeaters.
Emley Moors Post DSO Channel Allocations (below) 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”....
Emley Moor transmitter from Shelley station on the Kirklees Light Railway.
The latter is a 15” gauge line built on the trackbed of the ex branch line to Clayton
West which was originally built by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway in 1879 but
closed in 1983. The KLR was opened in stages from 1991 to 1996 and the loco shown
is Hawk which is an 0-
Emley Moor`s channels in relation to the UHF TV band and the gain curves of the aerials
Luckily the channel planners were able to fit all the Digital / Freeview MUXES
(transmitted at 10kW) within the B group along with the analogue stations, so an aerial change may not be necessary. Furthermore those in poor reception areas, who may require an upgrade, can take advantage of the superior performance of an B group aerial
over a wideband. In fact there is an argument that there is no such thing as a “High Gain” wideband aerial for the B group frequencies and they shouldn`t be fitted on B group transmitters. If the site is in a poor spot a B group aerial should be used. On the other
hand if the signal is strong (or medium) then by definition it doesn`t need a “high gain” antenna anyway ! Under these circumstances a Log Periodic should be fitted instead.
We recommend the DM log for strong signal areas, the Log 40 for medium signal areas,
the Yagi18B for poor signal areas and the XB16B for those with the most marginal signals. The dimensions and test performance of the antennas can be found on the relevant tables. The prices of the aerials are on the Sales page.
For Emley`s frequencies see its Channel Allocations for both before and after the
DSO. These also include the same data for Bilsdale, Belmont, Waltham, Sutton Coldfield,
Chesterfield, Sheffield, Idle, Keighley and Beecroft Hill. This information can be
useful for diagnosing co-
Ofcom report Emley`s output as being essentially omnidirectional.
DSO is due to occur in September 2011, and unsurprisingly it has been confirmed that Emley will remain a B group at DSO.
Those living in the North Notts area should take particular note of the fact that most of Sutton Coldfields channels are on the same frequencies as Emley Moor !
The best approach is to use a B group “high gain aerial” (with as narrow a beam width as possible) e.g. our Yagi18B or XB16B. If necessary try to mount the aerial so as to shield
it from the unwanted transmitter, e.g. down the side of your house. Emley is NNW and
Sutton Coldfield is SSW. Note that for this problem use of an amplifier will make no difference at all and would probably make things worse, in fact an attenuator (ideally a variable one) would be of more use.