Pontop Pike transmitting station
Pontop Pike mast, left, with dish aerial array to the right
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| Mast height | 149 metres (489 ft) |
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| Coordinates | 54°52′08″N 1°46′16″W / 54.8689°N 1.7711°WCoordinates: 54°52′08″N 1°46′16″W / 54.8689°N 1.7711°W |
| Grid reference | NZ148526 |
| Built | 1953 |
| BBC region | BBC North East and Cumbria |
| ITV region | ITV Tyne Tees |
| Local TV service | Made in Tyne and Wear |
The Pontop Pike transmitting station is a facility for telecommunications and broadcasting situated on a 312-metre (1,024-ft) high hill of the same name between Stanley and Consett, County Durham, near the village of Dipton, England. The mast is 149 metres (489 ft) high, giving an average antenna height of 461 metres (1,512 ft) above sea level. It is owned and operated by Arqiva.
The mast was built in 1953 and its construction was brought forward by the BBC so that people in North East England could watch the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II live on the 405-line television system VHF then in use in the UK. Test transmissions from a low-power temporary aerial began on Monday, 20 April 1953, and the first programmes were transmitted on Friday, 1 May 1953, in plenty of time for the Coronation on 2 June. UHF transmissions (625 line colour) began in 1966 and the VHF television signal was switched off in 1985.
The Pontop Pike transmitter provides digital television transmissions to Tyne and Wear, County Durham, Tees Valley, most of Northumberland and parts of North Yorkshire. It also carries the national BBC Radio FM signals, covering the whole North East, as well as 95.4FM Radio Newcastle. It was one of the first national FM transmitters in December 1955. All of its television output is within the C/D aerial group.
Analogue TV transmissions from this mast began to close from 12 September and completely ceased on 26 September 2012, making Pontop Pike, as well as Bilsdale and Chatton, the last-but-one transmitter group in the United Kingdom to complete digital switchover (DSO) with Northern Ireland being the last area to switch. In July 2007 it was confirmed by Ofcom that Pontop Pike would remain a C/D group after DSO.
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