405-Line VHF Aerials 2013 to the present day.

[G6Tanuki]

Fascinating. I have not seen a setup like that with both horizontal and vertical elements on the BI dipole.

From Oxford both Lichfield and Sutton Coldfield would be on similar beam heading so I suspect that the vertical BI elements would be for SC.

COuld the shorter horizontal elements be for BII FM broadcast reception?

[SteveCG]

Re post no. 939:

The Band III array is a Belling and Lee double 9. I think the Band I aerial is pointed to Crystal Palace / Ally Pally?? - but with only the lower part surviving it is hard to say with confidence - it is an old design. The horizontal 'twigs' (on what must be the Band I dipole) are typical of an early add-on Band II dipole. The Band II dipole looks to be for signals from Wrotham. The Band II signals shared the same downlead as the Band I.

[Dellpix]

Woodgate, North Worcestershire, September 2023
VHF TV aerials pointing north. The transmitters being worked would have been Band I Sutton Coldfield and Band III Lichfield.

[SteveCG]

The Band I 'H' looks like a 1950's Belling & Lee - not sure about the Band III Yagi - probably Belling & Lee as well.

[Panrock]

A nice 'X' with some of its friends, spotted in Neasden some time ago. I found this photo whilst rummaging about on my computer and don't know its provenance.

Steve

[Stuart R]

Looks like my regular spot from the North Circular Road, visible southbound on the bend by the 'Meccano' bridge approaching Ikea.

(Post 683!)

Regards,

SR

[Stuart R]

No longer an X. I noticed last week that one of the top elements has gone.

SR

[G6Tanuki]

Originally Posted by Stuart R

No longer an X. I noticed last week that one of the top elements has gone.

SR

Always sad to see these old antennas [which must be at least 40 years old given the timeline of VHF TV broadcasting - and possibly 70+ years old] decaying.

VHF-FM broadcast antennas are also now seemingly decaying into obsolescence - I can think of quite a few locally that are in a bit of a state [masts fatigued and bent/hanging by obviously-slack chimney-bracketry, folded-dipoles detached from the boom, directors/reflectors missing or twisted to odd angles, coax flailing in the wind] and a good winter gale will probably be their end.

[DrStrangelove]

Well my FM9S antenna got chopped up for pea sticks.

It cost £30 in 1977.

There's bits of a double H Ch5 antenna down there as well, though I didn't pay for that one.

[SteveCG]

Indeed it is always sad to see some of the aerials falling apart. Any Channel B1 aerial element mount had to contend with long elements with all the torques that meant (gravity and wind); and often these did not survive for long. In comparison a Channel B5 aerial with its much shorter elements is much more likely to have survived.

It is the number of UHF aerials in a poor state that surprises me - and some of these are not '70s "Contactor" ones either.

[Peter.N.]

There are still quite a few 'X. and 'H' aerials around in Devon only I keep forgetting to photograph them. Will try to do better.

Peter

[Nickthedentist]

Originally Posted by G6Tanuki

Always sad to see these old antennas [which must be at least 40 years old given the timeline of VHF TV broadcasting - and possibly 70+ years old] decaying.

Our village seems plagued by redundant aerial downleads, left dangling down the front wall with the unterminated end draped over the pavement. A bit of a trip hazard especially as some of the paths are only about 15" wide. I coil them up and tuck them out of the way behind a downpipe when nobody's looking!

[michamoo]

The Cobb Lyme Regis.

[Mr Hoover]

Originally Posted by michamoo

The Cobb Lyme Regis.

Presumably aiming for Stockland Hill Ch 9 in a
rather hilly direction though not very far away.
Just possible it's on Ch10 from South Wales or
Chillerton Down Ch11 from the IOW. These
were on air 2 to 3 years before Stockland.

[SteveCG]

The Cobb Lyme Regis aerial is what is left of a Belling & Lee double six...

[Peter.N.]

BBC originally came from North Hessary tor, at the far end of Dartmoor, channel 5 I seem to remember, how it got down into all the valleys was amazing, you could also pick up the 2M repeater on that mast in North Wales, GB3WD I think it was, very strong here.

When we first moved here in 1970 there was no UHF from Stockland Hill so we had to revert to 405 lines again, having just been through the change from Crystal Palace when we lived in Kent.

Peter

[Mr Hoover]

Originally Posted by Peter.N.

BBC originally came from North Hessary tor, at the far end of Dartmoor, channel 5 I seem to remember, how it got down into all the valleys

Peter

North Hessary Tor was on Ch2, Wenvoe was Ch5.
There was a low power Ch1, horizontally polarised relay at Weymouth which opened
right at the end of the 405 era, about 1968 ish.

[G6Tanuki]

Here's a Band-III ITV antenna spotted on the roof of "The Strand" Hotel in the centre of Calne. Apologies for the less-than-perfect photo, I only had my phone with me and not the rather better DSLR.

It points North-East-ish as far as I can work out.

[Herald1360]

Took a few pics around Leominster yesterday. There's one rather tatty BBC/ITV array, the rest look like Band 2 Radio arrays, of interest mainly because Leominster is in a bit of a Band 2 black 'ole, or at any rate was for early VHF receivers.

[Heatercathodeshort]

Love the multi directional one on the left of pic 1. J.