The Carmel transmitting station, located half a mile (0.8km) SSW of the village of
Carmel
Carmel may refer to:
* Carmel (biblical settlement), an ancient Israelite town in Judea
* Mount Carmel, a coastal mountain range in Israel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea
* Carmelites, a Roman Catholic mendicant religious order
Carmel may also ...
in
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...
, has been broadcasting terrestrial TV and radio services since the mid-1970s. The TV coverage area for the Carmel transmission station includes most of Carmarthenshire, the southern and eastern parts of
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...
; the southern fringes of
Powys
Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...
and
Ceredigion
Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...
; the northern part of
Swansea
Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe).
The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...
. The Carmel signal is also receivable in parts of
Neath Port Talbot
Neath Port Talbot ( cy, Castell-nedd Port Talbot) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county borough in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. Its principal towns are Neath, Port Talbot, Briton Ferry and Pontardawe. The county bor ...
,
Bridgend
Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge ...
and
Rhondda Cynon Taff
Rhondda Cynon Taf (; RCT; also spelt as Rhondda Cynon Taff) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It consists of five valleys: the Rhondda Fawr, Rhondda Fach, Cynon, Taff (Welsh: ''Taf'') and Ely valleys, plus a number of towns and vil ...
. Places as far away as
Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...
and the north
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
coast are also able to receive signals from Carmel.
Carmel started to switch over to digital terrestrial TV broadcast services on 26 August 2009.
Services available
Analogue television
21 May 1973 - 1 November 1982
Carmel never did broadcast VHF television, and went live with the UK's three national UHF television services.
1 November 1982 - 15 November 1998
The UK's fourth national television service joined the set transmitted from the site. Being in Wales, the
S4C variant was broadcast.
Analogue and digital television
15 November 1998 - 26 August 2009
The initial rollout of digital television in the UK involved radiating the signals at low power in between the existing analogue channels.
26 August 2009 - 23 September 2009
The UK's
digital switchover
The digital television transition, also called the digital switchover (DSO), the analogue switch/sign-off (ASO), the digital migration, or the analogue shutdown, is the process in which older analogue television broadcasting technology is conv ...
commenced at this site. Analogue BBC Two Wales closed on channel 63 and ITV1 Wales took over on that frequency for what would be its final 3 weeks of service, vacating channel 60 as it did so. The new BBC A multiplex started up at full power in 64-QAM mode on channel 60, and Mux 1 on channel 55 closed.
Digital television
23 September 2009 - present
All the analogue television services closed and the new digital multiplexes took over their frequencies (and two new ones) with name-changes, power increases and a shift to 64-QAM.
May 2013
As a side-effect of frequency-changes elsewhere in the region to do with clearance of the 800 MHz band for
4G mobile phone use, Carmel's "Arqiva B" multiplex will have to be moved from channel 61 to channel 49 and the "BBC A" multiplex will get a negative offset.
Analogue radio (VHF FM)
† Relays the signal from
Kilvey Hill
Kilvey Hill ( Welsh: ''Mynydd Cilfái'' or ''Y Bigwrn'') is a hill in South Wales, to the east of Swansea. Kilvey Hill is high and is classed as a Sub Marilyn. The top of Kilvey Hill enjoys panoramic views of Swansea city centre, Swansea Do ...
to cover Swansea
Digital radio (DAB)
References
External links
Pictures of Carmel transmitter masts on GeographFreeview transmission details
{{Carmel UHF DVB Transmitter Group
Transmitter sites in Wales