The Holywell Hill transmission site is located on a 260 metre hill[1] near Killea in County Donegal, Ireland, and is owned and operated by 2RN (formerly RTÉ NL).
 | |
  Holywell Hill in Ireland | |
| Location | Killea, County Donegal |
|---|---|
| Mast height | 60 metres (197 ft) |
| Coordinates | 54°59′56″N 7°23′59″W / 54.998994°N 7.399838°W |
| Built | 1981 |
History
editThe site which is close to the border with Northern Ireland has a 60 metre self-supporting tower and was opened in 1981 to provide UHF television coverage to parts of County Donegal as well as Derry City and County. It originally carried the two Irish analogue channels, RTÉ One (Ch 23), and RTÉ Two (Ch 26), in later years, both TV3 (Ch 29), and TG4 (Ch 33) were added, all were horizontally polarised and with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 20 kw. Digital terrestrial television (DTT) was first broadcast from the site in 2008 in preparation for the national switchover to digital television on 24 October 2012.[2]
Today the Irish digital television service Saorview, and five national radio stations on FM, are broadcast from the Holywell Hill site to a large area of North West Ireland including Derry city.[3] The transmitter also services a number of relay transmitters in County Donegal to help improve coverage in the difficult terrain.
Current transmissions
editDigital television
edit| Frequency | UHF | ERP | Multiplex | Pol |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 482 MHz | 22 | 20 kw | Saorview 1 | H |
| 506 MHz | 25 | 20 kw | Saorview 2 | H |
FM radio
edit| Frequency | ERP | Service |
|---|---|---|
| 89.2 MHz | 6 kw | RTÉ Radio 1 |
| 91.4 MHz | 6 kw | RTÉ 2fm |
| 93.6 MHz | 6 kw | RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta |
| 98.8 MHz | 6 kw | RTÉ lyric fm |
| 101.0 MHz | 6 kw | Today FM |
Holywell Hill relay transmitters
edit| DTT Relay | County | Mux 1 | Mux 2 | ERP | Pol |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballybofey | Donegal | 47 | 44 | 0.1 kw | V |
| Clonmany | Donegal | 39 | 42 | 0.02 kw | V |
| Fanad | Donegal | 43 | 46 | 1.5 kw | V |
| Letterkenny | Donegal | 39 | 42 | 2 kw | V |
| Magheraroarty | Donegal | 22 | 27 | 0.5 kw | V |
| Malin | Donegal | 28 | 26 | 2 kw | H |
| Moville | Donegal | 32 | 34 | 2 kw | H |
Gallery
edit-
The approach road to the site -
Top of the transmitter mast -
Holywell Hill seen from Heather Road in Derry
References
edit- ^ Mountain views Ireland. "Holywell Hill". Mountain view Ireland. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
- ^ "Analogue consigned to broadcasting history". The Irish Times. 25 October 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
- ^ UK FreeTV. "Holywell Hill transmitter". Retrieved 31 October 2012.