The Chesterfield transmitting station is a television and radio transmitter which serves the town of

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

and surrounding areas. It transmits digital television which it is line fed from Sheffield (Crosspool) (also known as the

Tapton Hill transmitting station The Tapton Hill transmitting station (), more generally known as the Sheffield (Crosspool) transmitting station, is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility which serves Sheffield in South Yorkshire and is located on a hill in the suburb of ...

). The Chesterfield transmitter sits on a hillside to the north of the town and transmits digital television and radio services. Before the digital switchover, it was one of the few transmitters in the UK to transmit digital television, but not analogue channel Channel 5, and a number of its digital multiplexes were transmitted on the same channels as

Emley Moor The Emley Moor transmitting station is a telecommunications and broadcasting facility on Emley Moor, west of the village centre of Emley, in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It is made up of a concrete tower and apparatus that began ...

so it was not uncommon for co-channel interference to be an issue; similar problems still exist with Sutton Coldfield and Waltham (see external links). These co-channel issues with Emley meant that its output was attenuated to the North. The transmitter is vertically polarised as are most relays/repeaters. The altitude of the transmitting aerials is 231 metres, the actual tower being around in height and of a similar design to many of the repeaters around the UK. In the early 2000s, an extra smaller tower was added at the side of the larger tower possibly for mobile phone use. Digital radio is broadcast from this site and it is just possible to receive digital radio in Chesterfield from other transmitters, specifically Tapton Hill in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

. From 8 November 2007, the transmitter has broadcast the Digital One DAB Multiplex. Since then, the

BBC National DAB BBC National DAB is a digital audio broadcasting multiplex in the UK, for a number of radio stations which have UK wide coverage. The multiplex is owned and operated by the BBC and is transmitted from a number of transmitter sites across the cou ...

Multiplex and the Bauer South Yorkshire have been added. The Chesterfield transmitter is owned by

Arqiva Arqiva () is a British telecommunications company which provides infrastructure, broadcast transmission and smart meter facilities in the United Kingdom. The company is headquartered at the former Independent Broadcasting Authority headquarters ...

(previously NTL).

Transmitted services

Analogue radio

Digital radio

Digital television

In July 2007, it was confirmed by

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...

that Chesterfield would be remaining a wideband transmitter after DSO (Digital Switchover), although the first three of the six multiplexes will still be available within the original A group. The Chesterfield transmitter had its analogue services switched off on 10 & 24 August 2011. The frequencies for the digital multiplexes also changed, and the power for most multiplexes increased to 400W, apart from BBC B which increased to 800W. Arqiva A & B were restricted to 40W until 12 October 2011. On 5 February 2020, BBC A and Digital 3&4 moved to UHF 31 and UHF 37 respectively, with a power increase to 800W, in accordance with the 700MHz clearance programme.

Before switchover

Analogue television

Analogue television signals are no longer transmitted.

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

was switched off on 10 August 2011 and the remaining three on 24 August. *Aerial group: A *Polarisation: vertical

References

External links

Info and pictures of Chesterfield transmitter including co-receivable transmittersThe Transmission Gallery: Chesterfield Transmitter photographs and information

Chesterfield transmitter at UK Free TV
{{Television transmitters in the UK Buildings and structures in Chesterfield, Derbyshire Mass media in the East Midlands Transmitter sites in England