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Hannington transmitting station

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}

{{Use British English|date=July 2019}}

{{short description|Television and radio transmitting station in Kingsclere}}

{{Infobox UK transmitter

|name = Hannington

|image = 250px

|caption = Transmission Mast, Cottington Hill

|map_name = Hampshire

|coordinates = {{coord|51.3080|-1.2447|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}}

|height = {{convert|151.9|m|ft|0}}

|gridref =

|built = 1970

|demolished =

|collapsed =

|relay =

|BBC = BBC South

|ITV = ITV Meridian (Thames Valley)

|localtv = That's Thames Valley

}}

Hannington transmitting station is a television and radio transmitting station located on Cottington Hill near the village of Hannington, Hampshire. The transmitter is actually in the parish of Kingsclere. The station provides broadcast services to Berkshire, north Hampshire and parts of Surrey and Wiltshire, and includes a {{convert|131.4|m|ft|0|adj=on}} guyed steel lattice mast. This includes cities and towns such as Basingstoke, Reading, Farnborough, Winchester, Andover, Newbury, Amesbury and Camberley. Surmounting the mast is a GRP aerial cylinder, which contains the UHF television transmitting antennas, which brings the overall height of the mast to {{convert|151.9|m|ft|0}}.

Hannington's digital broadcasts were severely attenuated to the east before the digital switchover (DSO) so as not to cause co-channel interference with Guildford transmitter. Those restrictions were removed soon after DSO in 2012.

The transmitter has 8 local relays: Alton, Aldbourne, Chisbury, Hemdean, Hurstbourne Tarrant, Lambourn, The Bournes and Tidworth.{{cite web|url=https://ukfree.tv/maps/tvregions/23|title=Hannington (including relays)|date=1 May 2004|website=UK Free TV|accessdate=26 September 2024}}

Broadcast interruptions

=1977 Ashtar Galactic Command message=

{{main|Southern Television broadcast interruption}}

On Saturday 26 November 1977 at around 5:10 pm, the Southern ITV broadcast from this transmitter had its UHF sound transmission hi-jacked by unknown agents. At that time Hannington re-broadcast off-air UHF transmissions from Rowridge on the Isle of Wight. The UHF audio signal from Rowridge was swamped by a signal presumably from a location much closer to the Hannington transmitter, overriding the sound of the local ITV station Southern Television and broadcast their own audio message purporting to be from Vrillon, an alien from an institution calling itself the Ashtar Galactic Command. The message, transmitted over an ITN News bulletin and a subsequent Merrie Melodies cartoon, lasted six minutes.

Despite extensive investigations by Hampshire Police, the Independent Broadcasting Authority and Southern Television, those responsible have never been identified, and the potential culprits have ranged from students to university professors to disgruntled television technicians.

=1994 World Cup Final blackout=

On 17 July 1994 vandals sabotaged the mast's power supply during the 1994 FIFA World Cup Final, meaning that hundreds of thousands of viewers missed about an hour of the match.{{cite web | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/vandals-black-out-world-cup-1414571.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220509/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/vandals-black-out-world-cup-1414571.html |archive-date=9 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | title=Vandals black out World Cup | work=The Independent | date=18 July 1994 | access-date=25 April 2019 |author=Graham Moorby}}

Services available

=Analogue radio=

class="wikitable sortable"

!Frequency

!kWRadio Listeners Guide 2010

!Service

102.9 MHz

|4

|Heart South

104.1 MHz

|3

|BBC Radio Berkshire

=Digital radio=

class="wikitable sortable"

!Frequency

!Block

!kW

!Operator

222.064 MHz

|11D

|4.8

|Digital One

225.648 MHz

|12B

|5

|BBC National DAB

229.072 MHz

|12D

|1

|NOW Berkshire & North Hampshire

=Digital television=

class="wikitable sortable"

!Frequency

!UHF

!kW

!Operator

!System

{{UK DVB-T|ch=39}}

|39

|50

|BBC B

|DVB-T2

{{UK DVB-T|ch=40}}

|40

|25

|SDN

|DVB-T

{{UK DVB-T|ch=42}}

|42

|50

|Digital 3&4

|DVB-T

{{UK DVB-T|ch=43}}

|43

|25

|Arqiva A

|DVB-T

{{UK DVB-T|ch=45}}

|45

|50

|BBC A

|DVB-T

{{UK DVB-T|ch=46}}

|46

|25

|Arqiva B

|DVB-T

{{UK DVB-T|ch=55}}

|55

|36.7

|COM7

|DVB-T2

==Before switchover==

class="wikitable sortable"

!{{no2}}Frequency

!{{no2}}UHF

!{{no2}}kW

!{{no2}}Operator

{{UK DVB-T|ch=40|off=pos}}

|40+

|20

|SDN (Mux A)

{{UK DVB-T|ch=41|off=pos}}

|41+

|10

|Arqiva (Mux D)

{{UK DVB-T|ch=43|off=pos}}

|43+

|20

|Digital 3&4 (Mux 2)

{{UK DVB-T|ch=44|off=pos}}

|44+

|10

|Arqiva (Mux C)

{{UK DVB-T|ch=46|off=pos}}

|46+

|20

|BBC (Mux B)

{{UK DVB-T|ch=50}}

|50

|20

|BBC (Mux 1)

=Analogue television=

Analogue television transmissions ceased from Hannington during February 2012; BBC2 analogue closed on UHF 45 on 8 February 2012 and all other analogue services closed on 22 February 2012.

class="wikitable sortable"

!{{no2}}Frequency

!{{no2}}UHF

!{{no2}}kW

!{{no2}}Service

{{UK System I|ch=35}}

|35

|60

|Channel 5

{{UK System I|ch=39}}

|39

|250

|BBC1 South

{{UK System I|ch=42}}

|42

|250

|Meridian

{{UK System I|ch=45}}

|45

|250

|BBC2 South

{{UK System I|ch=66}}

|66

|250

|Channel 4

  • Aerial group: E
  • Polarisation: horizontal

External links

  • [http://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/hannington/index.php Hannington Transmitter at MB21]
  • [https://www.aerialsandtv.com/knowledge/transmitters/hannington-transmitter Info and pictures of Hannington transmitter including historical power/frequency changes and present co-receivable transmitters]
  • [http://www.thebigtower.com/live/Hannington/Index.htm Hannington Transmitter at thebigtower.com]

References

{{Reflist}}

{{Television transmitters in the UK}}

Category:Basingstoke and Deane

Category:Transmitter sites in England