What Do All These Antennas Do 1900ft Above Sea Level? 

They are CB 27/81 antennas. God. You radio amateurs really don't know anything. That's why you can't get a job as a radio professional like me. Please give up your hobby.

Have you done a video on what the various antennas are called, how they work and the reason for their shape?

That's certainly immense, and with a lot of history. Be great to get an active amateur radio repeater back on it.

Great video as always, Lewis! The Heart dipoles at around 3:18 - it's good to see the two tiers are now pointing in the same direction! The last set of photos of Moel-Y-Parc on MB21 showed one pair had moved around in the wind. I pointed it out to a friendly Arqiva engineer from the site when I was talking to him about something else. He wasn't aware of the issue, despite being based there, and promised to go outside and look upwards immediately after getting off the phone! Looks like he did, as the fault has been subsequently fixed. I believe the 106.9 radiation pattern from that site has to be very tight to prevent interference to other stations on the same frequency - most notably Silk FM in Macclesfield - so a set of wayward dipoles might have been a significant problem. As for the possible marine VHF dipole you referenced at around 5:49 - whatever it *did*, it clearly isn't doing it any more - look at the feeder (or lack of it!) 😀

Love these enumerations of all the antennas on a tower. Thanks.

As a kid living in Widnes I always found it easier to pick bedroom analogue TV up off this rather than Winter Hill. Only problem is back then HTV and S4C having a jumbled up programming schedule to Granada and CH4. Then I finally got a roof antenna. I feel old now 🤣

The trough on Winter Hill was probably also used for BBC RBS (Re-broadcast Standby) if the line feed from Cardiff was ever lost. There used to be annual tests of this on analogue during the middle of the night. (Some have put videos of the last few instances on RU-vid.)

Your last image of an annotated tower should be posters, Tees - merch!

That 1969 trough is interesting to see. The engineers who lifted that into place are now pensioners or pushing up daisies. Just when I was thinking I'd like to see all these bits of equipment in context on the mast, you went and did it! Your videos are always so well thought out and presented. Thanks for all your hard work, it's really enjoyable to watch. 👍

Some of the Andrews radomes still there at MP were probably for BBC 7ghz OB links trucks that operated out of BBC Oxford Rd in the 80s and 90s. These were superseded by Ku Band sat trucks. There was an accompanying UHF IFB transmitter/antenna on the MP mast for studio to truck comms and programme feed. ITV regional news had a 2ghz truck with a 40ft pump up mast. Not sure if they worked into MP. The BBC trucks worked into Holme Moss, Winter Hill and Moely Park depending on line of sight from the OB location. Sometimes the closest TV mast was not available LOS and MP was the only one visible even though it was furthest away. The dishes at MP could be steered a limited amount to the bearing of the OB links truck. They used a very old piece of terrain plotting software before heading out to site so see if a LOS existed. If not a mid point truck was used as a relay.

Wow, another great video! I am impressed that the trough has been on the mast since 1969 and has survived 50+ years of environmental abuse at that altitude! Quick question for suitably minded people.... I notice that some of the microwave dishes are contained within a drum shaped housing (not really a radome). Others are contained within a more conical arrangement. Is there a reason for choosing one over the other? All I can think is that the drum provides easier coverage of a horn type assembly at the cost of increased wind loading. The conical arrangement perhaps needs a simpler feed arrangement buts more aerodynamic with lower wind loading. Is this thinking in the right direction or is there a totally different explanation?

"You've probably driven or walked by this tower in Wales." Me living in Texas: Oh yeah everyday.

Those folded dipoles toward the wirral, could be AIS antennas

Have you ever done something similar for aircraft communication systems locations? It would be interesting to see the coastal ATC setups that use HF radio for over ocean flights.

Sometimes, when I can't sleep at night, I play around with an online shortwave receiver website, instead of vegging out to RU-vid. I have to use headphones, or the sounds that come out of the speakers end up freaking out my sleeping wife. Sometimes, she probably thinks I'm a tad demented. But I think it's fun. 🤣🤣🤣

So how does one carry a TV/microwave antenna up it to be mounted? Can they be progressively added to? Do decommissioned pieces stay up there?

When it comes to what is where on the tower is usually based on staying away from high power FM bays and/or rental fees of the tower. Different places usually higher up might cost more to rent. Tower space is usually given out based on height. Say the wifi company on my towers are only allowed to use 200 through 250ft out of a 450ft tower. That and I think some types of antennas perform best at x ft off the ground. I am not really an antenna guy yet it's a lot of voodoo

Fuck, I love these videos. I was a weirdo child - I used to listen to odd noises and mysterious voices on my old radio during the 80s and 90s...so Alien. Still only listen to AM radio in the car, can't do digital or FM

first time being early to one of your videos :o

I really like the detail on these videos Lewis, imagine how much we could of appreciated information like this on early BI and BIII infrastructure that has long since been removed from broadcast masts. I'd like to think at some point in the distant future someone and lets face it, an anorak is really going to thank you for documenting the details of long lost VHF/UHF broadcasting arrays.

These cellular antennas all seem to have unused ports. I looked up the tower in CellMapper, here‘s what bands it has (not in order). O2 UK: LTE B20 only, no GSM Vodafone UK: LTE B8/20, unknown GSM band EE: LTE B3/7/20, no GSM Three: LTE B3/20, possibly UMTS B1 The upper antennas maybe are/were in use for Three 3G as the Vodafone cell should be SRAN or they are doing similar stuff like in Germany and are trying to get anything useful out of old panels (in Germany I’ve heard they sometimes use 1x1 SISO on 5G n1).

Brilliant info and high quality images. You're a legend mate!🍻🤠

Top Shelf video, Lewis. From a recently converted antenna nerd to Master Antenna Nerd, have a coffee. Maybe you could turn your detective skills to my axolotl antenna and let me know what signals I can pick up. I hope they're log periodics. I like log periodics. :)

How appropriate that Heart FM uses a cardioid radiation pattern!

I was lucky enough to see the Redruth transmitter have the UHF transmitter aerials installed by Venn Bros in the early 70’s. They went up in a powered cradle on the guy wires to the top with the gear needed to do the job. It took about 3 months because of the notoriously bad weather that location used to get. We lived in clear sight of the mast as it was known. All you had to do was stick a 6" piece of wire in the aerial socket for perfect reception. Good old analogue.

Can you explain a Yagi antenna in more detail (for some reason they sound interesting) They look smaller than the TV aerial on my roof. I came across a thing with my fight radar SDR system where I had to shorten the aerial to get a better signal and I think old CB you used to snip the aerial down to tune it. Great Videos Thank You

Great video Lewis. It would be nice one day to see what's inside those UHF panels!

Ringway Manchester, your content is always fascinating - not that I understand any of it. 😀

Next time you are over our way, give me a shout & I will put the kettle on 😁

Always wondered what type and brand of coax cable these and other types of commercial aerials use, i'm guessing not RG58.

That was neat. Very informative for this Ol' Goat. I'm always wondering what's hanging off towers. Stumbled on your channel, and now I'm learning. I'm in the states, BTW.

DAB 10D is just about receivable in the Greater Manchester area as it carries numerous DAB+ as I'm a regular listener to one of the few really independent 'local' radio stations, the former London pirate 883. Hardly local being broadcast here but welcome diversion from the monopoly stations.

I wish I could remember where but someone had painted the various arrays to look like sunflowers, corn cobs etc. The microwave units were painted like the KC offroad lights with a smiley face wearing shades.

I think the device at 8:04 is not a Log. It looks to be an 18 element yagi, probably by Jaybeam. They are usually fairly narrowband by design.

The large microwave dishes look like 13ghz dual polarised trunk / backhaul links probably carrying higher order BT/OLO access to the DAB/DTV transmitters,.

1972 spring I had a chance. be fore moving on. I had a chance to set in. On a spook station. Near a border in the south west , and saw a lot. Learned a lot. Vhf/uhf needs height to be effective. So all "that" is needed to be a working nest. .

BTW the amateur radio 2 meter repeater ( GB3MP ) is now located up on a mast overlooking Prestatyn ( worth a visit )

I still remember the two morons who filmed themselves climbing the mast to the top whilst it was fully powered in 2016. I think it should go without saying that no-one should do this for many, many reasons.

Over in the US small yagi antennas are often used by municipalities, used for data/telemetry for local utilities like water

Antenna at 8:04 doesn't look like log periodic to me. Could be a J-Beam Yagi with that style of driven element.

Apologies if you covered this in another video, but do the engineers need to perform weight analysis when things get added to the transmitter, to make so it's not tipped over.

Love your videos well done i worked in radio broadcasting one time love this stuff well done ❤

_"But to keep this video under the 50-hour mark..."_ 🤭🤭🤭

That is a LOT of weight on that tower. I've never seen one with that many antennas. All that coax has got to put a strain on the tower.

Would absolutely take a 50hr microwave video

It'd be really cool if you could do these analyses on Winter Hill and Llanddona (the transmitter that (to my knowledge) serves Holyhead and the Isle of Anglesey (which another tower "Arfon' relays from). And I think Heart North Wales is actually on 88.0MHz, but I could be wrong because where I am, 106.9MHz is Cheshire Silk106.9

Another quality video Lewis thank you.

3:19 2 element Yagi's are HB9CV's to be exact

The huge masts at rugby used to be a wonderful sight at night I miss them.

Alot of stuff on that mast! Thanks for the breakdown!

Time to come down my neck of the woods Lewis and do a video on Rowridge

OH so nice. To think of all the design and construction that went into the of the tower. I could have sat looking at that tower and had breakfast, lunch and dinner and never learned as much as I did from your video...Thanks...73 Leo.

That's a gorgeous view from the site.

MFM used to have has two stations, 103.4mhz for Chester & Wrexham and 97.1mhz for Wirral. The Wirral Station later became rebranded 'Wirrals Buzz / Buzz FM" and ran from a studio in Birkenhead. Although in its last few years it was not running from the Wirral but from the Marcher Studios in Gwersyllt, Wrexham before Global changed all of the Marcher Radio stations to Capital. Marcher Radio group in its final days gas Multiple stations. MFM, Wirral's Buzz, North Wales Coast, Champion and Marcher Gold. As far as I can remember from working there, Wirral's Buzz(MFM 97.1) was transmitted from Moel-y-Parc facing towards to wirral, and MFM 103.4 for Chester & Wrexham was transmitted from Storton Hill, Wirral but facing toward Chester & Wrexham. I believe the other 2 Welsh Ststions, North Wales Coast and Champion where at Moel-y-Parc too. Marcher Gold was on AM, and I have no idea where Its TX site was. P.s. Pretty sure your correct on that being GB3MP's old antenna before it moved to the Shooting Range in Prestatyn

Always wondered what all that different stuff is, and what it's for; how on earth did you learn what all those things are and their purpose?

How do you know all this shit?

There is a ladder at the top for the truly insane!!

I find it funny that after decades of being told circular/mixed polarisation is soooo much better for FM radio (I've never believed that) it must be used, but even here in Australia, like it seems in the UK too, they have reverted back to vertical polarisation requirements for DAB, kinda vindicates my opinion all along, that mixed is not the magic pill they thought it was, views likely skewed by commercial manufacturers. RF doesnt say "oh your in 88-107, we are gonna treat you different than every other band"... Thanks again Lewis for another top video.

They got their money's worth on this mast..

How would you like the engineer that?

Have you done a video about the wrekin and/or oakley mind transmitters yet? Oakley mind is the transmitter for bishops castle and i would like to know where it gets its DTV feed from. Is it the wrekin or another main transmitter.

It's a fair trek to get up to MYP, even in a car. I did it about 15 years ago trying to get photos for MB21. And then you find the last little bit is a private road.

another fantastic video lewis im still waiting for a video on brookmans park my local land epping green lol love to know more about them keep up the good work 👍👍

I assume you were referring to the flanges where the tower bolts together? To answer how the sections of tower stay on, i think it’s mostly gravity, considering the guyes resist all and any lateral forces from wind. The bolts are more of an aesthetic compared to the massive normal force of the weight above

I was going to ask about MP, obviously not tried accessing for many years. MP used to have a huge coverage, there were several areas east of the Pennines even back in the 70’s.

It would be good if you found a contact with the companies that maintain these masts who could give you more information. Love these videos thank you for taking the time for us.

Beautiful location! Do they need someone to live at the transmitter and keep the grass cut? I'll volunteer!

Great video again bud!! Just a thought, but how would you go about installing an amateur radio repeater or antenna on one of these masts?

Great video, as always. Especially enjoyed this one as I used to live just across the valley from it. Fascinating to actually know what these mysterious constructions do! Just FYI, although the summit of Moel y Parc hill is in Denbighshire, the mast is in Flintshire.

Could you do a tour of wenove transmission tower always wanted to know what was on that

Total noob question: What is "cardioid" about the cardioid antennas? Is it something related to their geometry, or to do with reception or radiation patterns, or the like? Cheers :)

Antenna lights seen 56 miles away? *gasp*....the world must be flat. [haha]

Love these videos Lewis, especially interesting as all these masts are “local” to me so I know the locations. Do that long video on the microwave PtP please 😂

How do you find out the user of every antenna? Wild! Love your videos man!

antennas are rad...great video.

Always interesting!

Curious, (IT guy) but dang you know a lot !!

Amazing stuff. I look forward every day to your great videos 👌

Ever done winter hill ?

amazing video

Very thorough, as usual. I appreciate your research.

Nice footage

Love these videos man. Keep it up for sure..

Cool stuff!!

fascinating

Wow!

This is really great!

They are getting high.

Good job mate

is that the one near Nebo???

same hi

Great video Lewis there is no way I would go up that ladder

I'd like to have a chat with you about these PCM radios. I'm not sure what you mean by PCM radio. Usually these radios carry G703 and G732, G732 being standard 30 channel 2.048 meg PCM frames, where ad G703 is simply a 2.048meg open port data stream.