Frequencies and Relays - any info?

netwhizkid

I have searched RTE's website from head to toe and can't find even a reference to receptions or coverage etc.

www.rtenl.ie is like fort knox with passwords on everything. I wonder is there anywhere online where I could find a list of the main transmitters eg. Mullaghanish and the smaller relays and the tuning frequencies (analogue).

I remember vaguely downloading a file before that had the info I was looking for but can't find it now. My own parish has a grand total of three relays and one deflector; some of there are satellite fed with an internal RTE FTV card and more are rebroadcasting Mullaghanish.

Much of the parish (pop. 999) still has a crap reception which is being interfered with by Turbines see here. RTE have made a dogs dinner of the whole thing and many people are still without reception. RTE erected a new relay to address the problem and a new deflector to extend that relays reception further; however if a group of engineers were sent specifically to find the worst location possible they could not have outdone RTE in that regard as the transmitter is in a bad spot, it was a quick fix and RTE were allowed erect the mast for free by a generous landowner. It serves only a handful of the people affected (I was one of those lucky few).

TV3 was added to this relay last week and this is what has put me in search of the aforementioned frequencies and a list of all the transmitters big and small.

any help with this would be great.

DMC

http://www.geocities.com/corkradio/ has the best list. Dunno how recent it is though.

5h4mr0(k

Try http://www.irish-tv.com/irishtrans.asp

lucernarian

There are some inaccuracies on this and many of those deflectors on the list are actually rebroadcasting Divis, Brougher Mountain, Kilkeel and probably others. But here you go: http://www.wolfbane.com/articles/eitv.htm. As far as I know, no relay is using VHF anymore so I presume you use the UHF allocations mentioned alongside. Also, many or mabye even the vast majority of relays are not broadcasting TV3.

Ulsterman 1690

As far as I know, no relay is using VHF anymore

Monaghan definitely is

Not sure if Spur hill (Cork) are as well

many of those deflectors on the list are actually rebroadcasting Divis, Brougher Mountain, Kilkeel and probably others.

Some are rebroadcasting off the Astra 2 satellite, Welsh terrestrial transmitters or other deflectors (some towns get their UK channels via a "chain" of three or more deflectors)

5h4mr0(k

To_be_confirmed wrote:

As far as I know, no relay is using VHF anymore s.

Maghera is.

DMC

Maghera is a main transmitter, not a relay.

Antenna

To_be_confirmed wrote:

http://www.wolfbane.com/articles/eitv.htm

The Wolfbane list lists a number of non-existant national sites.
I see a few in Co. Cork there that simply do not exist.

lucernarian

Is there any way of finding out the answer to the OP's question? NWK, try emailing RTE NL to see what they can offer. I'd say you've already been in corrospondence with them:p

watty

If you simply ring ordinary RTE number and tell them you install aerials nationwide they will send out an info pack. I think they are obliged to.

As to why they have never done a public web site with this info I don't know.

They have a commercial password protected site, but it does have sensitive information.

byte

Yeah, it is indeed a pity they don't have it available publically. The BBC website lists all the UK Transmitters and relays etc.

rlogue

Long ago when I was setting up the Irish TV website I rang up RTE Reception Investigation to ask them for details of their transmitter sites. I was asked why did I want the information, so when I told them I ran a website on Irish TV they told me that they did not want the information published on the Internet and any info I already had published should be removed.

So I ignored them and got my brother Propellerhead to call instead, he got the information sent out and I used that anyway. Sod 'em!

rlogue

Much later on I was in contact with one of the original team who were testing out DVB-T at Three Rock in 1999. The team member was quite happy to send me info on the proposed frequencies and sites for DVB-T and naturally this ended up on the digital page on the website.

The person concerned wasn't an RTE staffer so presumably they weren't part of the secrecy culture...

Ulsterman 1690

Why the obsessive secrecy ?

Do RTE not want people to be able to tune into their services ?

Were talking about broadcasting stations here not the command frequencies for the Russian nuclear submarine fleet or KGB agents :rolleyes:

JHMEG

Ulsterman 1690 wrote:

Why the obsessive secrecy ?

Do RTE not want people to be able to tune into their services ?

Were talking about broadcasting stations here not the command frequencies for the Russian nuclear submarine fleet or KGB agents :rolleyes:

It's a case of stick up an aerial and keep turning it till you get some sort of a picture. And don't forget to pay your TV licence.

In addition, I'd say no one person in RTE knows where all the relays are. And probably only one person knows where they keep the list of relays, and he only works 2 days a week.

Sponge Bob

JHMEG wrote:

In addition, I'd say no one person in RTE knows where all the relays are.

not quite true but nearly

And probably only one person knows where they keep the list of relays, and he only works 2 days a week.

Also not quite true but RTE has "nationalised" a few small deflectors out in the wilds where they try to keep them running but have no formal lease on the place or ownership of the land, merely an understanding with a local farmer whose land it is and who gets his service off it himself .

I feel that were certain field personnel to retire then those deflectors may stop working ...possibly forever. At that point the new lad would likely appear with a fishtful of sat dishes for the 4 households in the valley and would quietly install them for them .

SPDUB

Ulsterman 1690 wrote:

Why the obsessive secrecy ?

Do RTE not want people to be able to tune into their services ?

Were talking about broadcasting stations here not the command frequencies for the Russian nuclear submarine fleet or KGB agents :rolleyes:

Presumably for the same type of reason that the Post Office tower ( as was ) wasn't listed on maps until a few years ago.

watty

JHMEG wrote:

It's a case of stick up an aerial and keep turning it till you get some sort of a picture. And don't forget to pay your TV licence.

In addition, I'd say no one person in RTE knows where all the relays are. And probably only one person knows where they keep the list of relays, and he only works 2 days a week.

I don't think that is true.

I think the password protected web site is very complete. With of course a lot of info that shouldn't be public.

watty

SPDUB wrote:

Presumably for the same type of reason that the Post Office tower ( as was ) wasn't listed on maps until a few years ago.

That baffles me too

rlogue

I fully concur that certain information should not be in the public domain, but surely the location, frequencies, power and polarisation of a transmitter or transposer site should be?

At the very least RTÉ should put the full transmitter list up on their website with that basic information.

lucernarian

There shouldn't be any issues with operating a webpage similar to www.bbc.co.uk/reception. I cannot comprehend why the most basic tv information for the entire country has to be hosted on a voluntary website, irish-tv.com. Are RTÉ not a little embarassed about this?

And yet they have mentioned outages of the DTT trial on aertel2 page 530. If they can report on a trial not open to the public, then they can also give information about the TV we are meant to receive, beyond major service outages.

DMC

The transmitters in the UK are all privately owned (used to be BBC and IBA, now owned by National Grid Wireless and Arqiva) so, for the UK, its common knowledge.

There hasn't been this openness within RTÉ or RTÉ NL, because they are not a private company.

Comreg have a website which lists every mobile phone base station.

byte

Did RTE at some stage in the past, show frequencies on Aertel? I seem to have a vague memory that they did, though not sure.

Ulsterman 1690

RTE only show frequencies for new/changed transmitters on Aertel

There is/was a document on the ODTR/Comreg site which listed most/all their sites with frequencies and wotnot but it took a bit of digging to find

Cant remember where exatly it was though

Even when the UK sites were publically owned it was easy to get info on them

Presumably for the same type of reason that the Post Office tower ( as was ) wasn't listed on maps until a few years ago.

Would it be a breach of the official secrets act if I said "its in London" :rolleyes:

byte

The Comreg site isn't working at the moment.

rlogue

tobeconfirmed wrote:

I cannot comprehend why the most basic tv information for the entire country has to be hosted on a voluntary website, irish-tv.com. Are RTÉ not a little embarassed about this?

Should I then apply for my cut of the Television Licence to pay for it??

Foggy43

Any of you remember before the days of AERTEL a weekly programme I think it was, giving technical information aimed at the 'trade'. I'm sure it was broadcast at around 10am or 11am. What sticks in my mind was the building and testing of a relay for Cahir, Co. Tipperary.

Must be 25 years ago now and it stopped as soon as Aertel went live.

Ulsterman 1690

I remember that It was Tuesdays and Thursdays at 15:30

Also IIRC before Aertel started RTE had at least two "experimental" teletext trials (only the later one was generally publicised) a couple of years apart.

RTE were quite late in providing a full teletext service -probabaly because the organisation was pretty cash strapped for much of the 1980's