The Start Point transmitting station is a

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...

facility at

Start Point, Devon Start Point is a promontory in the South Hams district in Devon, England, . Close to the most southerly point in the county, it marks the southern limit of Start Bay, which extends northwards to the estuary of the River Dart. The rocks of the p ...

, 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 ...

. The site is just north-west of the Start Point

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

. The station currently transmits a single broadcast:

BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...

on 693

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...

History

1930s

In 1935 the BBC started looking for transmitter sites to improve radio coverage in Devon, Dorset and Cornwall. After investigating 23 sites and carrying out extensive tests, two sites were selected: Start Point and

Clevedon Clevedon (, ) is an English seaside town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, part of the ceremonial county of Somerset. It recorded a parish population of 21,281 in the United Kingdom Census 2011, estimated at 21,442 i ...

in Somerset. Start Point came on air on 14 June 1939 using an ST&C type C100 100 kW transmitter on 1050 kHz, and broadcast the West of England regional programme. A directional aerial array was used to avoid wasting power over the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

and to enhance the signal to the east and west. It consisted of two stayed lattice masts, one being a

mast radiator Mast, MAST or MASt may refer to: Engineering * Mast (sailing), a vertical spar on a sailing ship * Flagmast, a pole for flying a flag * Guyed mast, a structure supported by guy-wires * Mooring mast, a structure for docking an airship * Radio mas ...

and the other a parasitic reflector. Both masts had a break at to allow for the insertion of a

loading coil A loading coil or load coil is an inductor that is inserted into an electronic circuit to increase its inductance. The term originated in the 19th century for inductors used to prevent signal distortion in long-distance telegraph transmission c ...

.Pawley, Edward (1972), ''BBC Engineering 1922-1972'', London, BBC, pp. 97-8, 106, 238-9, 254, 257, 326, 348. Shacklady, Norman and Ellen, Martin (2003), ''On Air - A History of BBC Transmission'', Wavechange Books, pp. 6, 10, 13, 28. Frost, Stuart (2004), ''Start Point’s special role following D Day''
Prospero magazine, July 2004. The station obtained power from two 11 kV mains feeders and a 400 kW diesel alternator. The building design followed L. Rome Guthrie's earlier work at the

Brookmans Park transmitting station The Brookmans Park transmitting station is a facility for medium wave (MW) broadcasting at Brookmans Park, Hertfordshire, north of London (). The station was built in the 1920s by the BBC as the first of a network of regional dual ("twin wave" w ...

. By agreement, the BBC obtained copyright in the Brookmans Park elevation drawings and was able to follow them, with changes to allow for building size, for several other sites. The station closed on 1 September 1939, in anticipation of the outbreak of war between Britain and Germany two days later.

World War II

In October 1939

BBC Research BBC Research & Development is the technical research department of the BBC. Function It has responsibility for researching and developing advanced and emerging media technologies for the benefit of the corporation, and wider UK and European m ...

engineers experimented with horizontally-polarised transmissions at Start Point. The idea was to see if broadcasts could be made without providing enemy aircraft with a navigational radio beacon. A horizontal dipole antenna was suspended between the two masts. The test was reasonably successful and between 18 February and 15 September 1940 regular transmission were carried in the evenings, on 877 kHz, of what became the "Forces' Programme". A Marconi SWB18 short wave transmitter (Sender 22) was added to the station to carry the Home Service on 6075 kHz, from 20 January 1940. This was intended to provide coverage where the

mediumwave Medium wave (MW) is the part of the medium frequency (MF) radio band used mainly for AM radio broadcasting. The spectrum provides about 120 channels with more limited sound quality than FM stations on the FM broadcast band. During the daytime ...

signals were poor, and to provide an emergency backup to the landline distribution network in case of major disruption. This transmitter also carried the European Service (Norwegian) at certain times. In October 1940, the station began to transmit the European Service on 1050 kHz. This also used a horizontally-polarised antenna. The transmitter's power was increased to 180 kW, with a consequent increase in audio distortion.

Post-1945

The station carried the West of England Home Service on 977 kHz from 29 July 1945. In 1967 the Home Service became Radio 4. By 1978, Start Point had moved to 1052 kHz. On 23 November 1978 there was a major reorganisation of the medium wave band in Europe, and from that date the station transmitted Radio 1 on 1053 kHz.Television and Radio Stations 1978. BBC Engineering Information booklet.

Mast Stay Failure

On 12 January 2016 one of the top stays of the northern mast at Start Point snapped, the point of failure being the highest in-line insulator on the stay. This caused the mast to lean towards the south. On 21 January 2016, the damaged northern mast was demolished. A new mast has been built to replace the demolished. Until the new mast had been finished, the West Prawle transmitter has been used.

Services available

Analogue radio (AM medium wave)

References

{{Reflist

External links

The Transmission Gallery: Start Point
Buildings and structures in Devon Stokenham Telecommunications in World War II Transmitter sites in England