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That`s a big bolt.....
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.
Mendip television transmitter at dusk, looking towards the South West.
Mendip transmitter into the clouds, and out of the top........
Mendip TV transmitter
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.
Mendip`s channels in relation to the UHF TV band and the gain curves of the aerials we recommend for it. DM Log Log36 Yagi 18K DY14WB
Mendip transmitter page at MB21
Mendip Transmitter page at The Big Tower
Mendip Transmitter page on Wikipedia
Mendip television transmitter (TX) is situated 18 miles South of Bristol. It is a "guyed mast" structure (309m in height see How High is High?) and is identical to Waltham and Bilsdale. It was built in 1967 by British Insulated Callender`s Cables (or B.I.C.C) who were responsible for much of the infrastructure built in this country from 1945 up to the 1980s. The company is still going but now called Balfour Beatty. The mast is a tubular structure to the top and has in internal lift, though this is thought to be out of use following the accident at Belmont. Mendip transmitter was originally owned by the BBC before being sold off to Crown Castle then to National Grid Wireless and finally to Arquiva (sic).
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 !
Mendip is a powerful transmitter, it has the joint eighth highest output in the country but it still needs fifty four smaller repeaters to improve its coverage in areas of poor reception due to the hilly terrain in its coverage area.
Mendip transmitter is horizontally polarised. It was originally (for analogue, then, initially, for digital) a C/D group. When MUXES 7 & 8 came along it went E group (or wideband), see the graph for Mendip. Eventually, by June 2019, it`ll end up a K group (excl MXES 7 & 8, though they will be turned off by about 2022), though all but MUX 5 will be within the A group, which is a handy option for those in a poor signal area.
There is one ”Local” channel off Mendip on CH51 for the Bristol local TV station, though this will go to CH30 in 2019. I
We are more than willing to give advice to those actually purchasing from us. Could those only seeking information please just find the answer somewhere on this site, or ring an aerial installer local to them, or call the reception advice phone numbers.
Subjects are listed on this page in the following order :
History and general info of Mendip Transmitter
Mendip transmitter coverage (area & population)
Digital power output, aerial group and polarisation of Mendip transmitter
Possible extra (future) channels from Mendip
Our TV aerial recommendations for Mendip
Pictures of Mendip transmitter
Mendip`s graph (its transmissions v our aerial recommendations)
Mendip`s channels/frequencies (including alternative transmitters)
Mendip has a population coverage of around 1.5 million and its signals are picked up in many towns/cities including Bristol, Bath, Chippenham, Weston Super Mare and areas of South Wales including Cardiff. In fact there are a lot of houses in Cardiff which can actually see Wenvoe transmitter, but still use Mendip !
For Mendip we recommend the DM log for strong signal areas, the Log36 for medium signal areas, the Yagi 18K for poor signal areas, and the DY14WB for those with worst signals.
The dimensions and test performance of the aerials can be found on the relevant tables.
For those in particularly poor signal areas it should be noted that from June 2019 only MUX4 will be out of the A group, so, if you live a poor signal area we recommend the Yagi18A or the XB10A for poor signal areas, and the XB16A for those with the most marginal signals.
If you`ve found this site informative and, hopefully, interesting as well,
please help us increase the number of people reading it.
For the most up to date MUX to channel allocations see Digital UK Mendip transmitter
The channel guide below 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 alternative transmitters to try if Mendip fails to give an adequate signal, see the importance of “Line Of Sight”. Notice how all the transmitters outputs dovetail together particularly Ridge Hill, Mendip and Wenvoe.
The channel allocation guides can also be very useful in the diagnosis of co-
Also check Mendip`s fifty four smaller repeaters
The frequencies given are for (most) digital MUXES, for analogue channels deduct 3MHz.
The dotted lines are MUXES 7 & 8
(Both only have a small audience and are due to be switched of between 2020 & 2022)
For the most up to date MUX to channel allocations see Digital UK Mendip transmitter
Mendip Transmitter OS Grid Ref ST 564 488
Note, due to the new phenomenon of MUXICAL chairs you may experience problems with certain MUXES disappearing. First try rescanning your TV / set top box, do it manually if possible. If this fails to sort it check on transmitter work or call the reception advice phone numbers.
Also see basic digital fault finding.
700MHz clearance is due at Mendip in between the 4 Apr and 19 Jun 2019, when it will become a K group on CHs 32 to 48 (excl MUXES 7 & 8).
NOTE : In Feb 2018 MUX 5 dropped down the band (and out of the C/D).
