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Moel Y Parc Transmitter                                      OS Grid Ref SJ 123 701

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.

Moel-Y-Parc television transmitter is located 15 miles WNW of Chester and was opened in 1963. It is a cable stayed structure around 240m in total height, see How High is High ?
Moel has a population coverage of about 300 thousand, though I can`t help wondering if the latter figure varies according to whether it`s the holiday season ! It must be pointed out that quite a high proportion of those within Moel`s coverage area choose to watch the programmes broadcast from English transmitters (e.g. Winter Hill) which is easily spotted by which way the aerials(s) face. Whether this is due to a lower Welsh content is a
question I would prefer to leave to the reader to answer but I do wonder if this was also accounted for when the coverage figure was arrived at ?
The structure is built near the top of a mountain (the actual site height is 340m) and
anyone visiting it will be rewarded with fabulous views, particularly if you walk up to the
Trig point just behind it.
As a main transmitter Moel Y Parc is horizontally polarised and is a B group
Moel Y Parc has twenty smaller repeaters to improve its signal coverage.

Power is 20kW for MUXES 1, 2 & 3, 10kW for MUXES 6 and 2.5kW for MUXES 4 & 5. The latter two will be transmitted at reduced power until 2011, from that date they will be increased to 10kW.
(Pre DSO the transmission power was 1kW for MUXES 1 to 4, and 250W for MUXES 5 & 6)

DSO occurred from the 28th Oct to the 25th of Nov 2009.

HDTV will be transmitted from June 2010 on MUX3.

There is one interleaved spectrum channel allocated to Moel Y Parc (CH 30) which is more
or less within the announced post DSO group. Any B group or E group aerial will still be working fine down at CH30, as well or better than the equivalent wideband anyway !
Although this may not apply to some cheap crappy Contract aerials though......

Moel Y Parc (what an evocative name....) and its surroundings.    Picture Justin Smith ATV

Base of Moel Y Parc showing the feeders taking the signals up to the transmitting antennas on the mast.                                                                            Picture Justin Smith ATV

The majesty of Moel Y Parc against the evening sun.                 Picture Justin Smith ATV

Moel Y Parc`s frequencies/channels for before (above) and after (below) the complete digital switchover.  Also check Moel`s twenty smaller repeaters                                  

The frequencies given are for the analogue channels, for (most) digital MUXES add 3Mhz.

Note Storeton Wales which started transmitting after DSO in October 2009. This will rebroadcast Welsh Language MUXES (from Moel Y Parc) in a 30 degree arc around Flint.

Moel Y Parc transmitter`s channels in relation to the UHF TV band and the gain curves of the aerials we recommend for it.   DM Log    Log40    Yagi 18B    XB10B     XB16B

 

Also see other relevant B group curves.

Moel Y Parc`s frequency/channel guides also provide the same information for Llanddona,

Winter Hill, Storeton, Fenton, Sutton Coldfield, The Wrekin and Conway. This data can be very useful for identifying causes of co-channel interference and possible alternative transmitters. The Channel Allocation Guide can 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-channel.

 

Moel Y Parc can can be seen from the main railway line along the N Wales coast which was originally opened (by the Chester & Holyhead railway) as far as Bangor in 1848. Two years later Stephensons famous Tubular bridge was opened across the Menai straights

and the line finally reached Holyhead. This line to North Wales was once so busy (particularly in the summer with holiday makers) that it was four track for the 34 miles from Chester to all the way to Abergele. These days most people go by car along the A55 "Express way" which has undoubtedly improved access to this area of Wales but at what cost ? The road is already full to bursting half the time, I can`t help wondering where all the cars went before it was there. At least they went to the trouble of building a tunnel under Conway (opened around 1992) because constructing a huge dual carriageway through that beautiful area would undoubtedly have been a crime.....

 

External links

 

Moel Y Parc Transmitter page at The Big Tower

Moel Y Parc Transmitter page on Wikipedia

For Moel Y Parc we recommend the DM log for strong signal areas, the Log 40 for

medium signal areas, the Yagi18B for outdoor installs in poor signal areas,

the XB10B for loft installations in poor signal areas, and the XB16B for those with the

most marginal signals. Unless you have a massive loft we`d normally recommend an XB10B for loft installs (over an XB16) due to smaller size of the former aerial.

The dimensions and test performance of the aerials can be

found on the relevant tables.

Spectrum = Interleaved Spectrum Channels

Some post switchover MUX allocations will be changed due to the 800MHz clearance.

 

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