Transmitter Projects - Reminiscences

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UHF TV Relay installations

By Tony Smith

(Click the pictures to enlarge them)

Brookmans Park during the 1970`s.
John Feeley and Dick Bills getting ready to test an antenna.
The Barn Assembly area at Brookmans Park was the birth place of many of the UHF relays that were installed by T.C.P.D. during the 1970`s and 1980`s. With most of them being constructed by Dick Bills using steelwork designed by both A.C.E.D and W F P Smith of T.C.P.D.
T.C.P.D.`s Antenna Section would supply Dick with all of the complicated bearings spacing's and phase lengths for a particular site then once the antenna was complete the antenna section engineer would carry out tests.

Brookmans Park.
This picture comes from a set of photographs taken by Harry Warwick of T.C.P.D.
This is one of the trailers that were designed to transport the smaller Phase 1 antennas to site.
 

Crossing The Boarder.
I took this picture back in the 1970`s when you could drive along using a Western light metre and a 35mm camera without anybody batting an eyelid.
One of the Phase 1 antennas being taken into Wales to bring a bit of colour into their lives.

LLangeinor UHF Relay Installation April 1974.
These show a heaver Phase 1 antenna being installed onto the 45m tower at LLangeinor.

LLangeinor: brothers John and Bill Bishop de-rigging the derrick after bolting down the antenna.
 

The Glen Urquhart UHF Relay Lorry, taken June 1979
The Barn Assembly area became very busy once the phase 2 set of relays started to be installed and this picture shows a complete phase 2 UHF relay loaded onto the transport ready for delivery. Complete meant the wired out cubicle, the 25m lattice tower complete with the antenna system installed onto the top section along with all of the cables connectors and cleats to complete the first part of the installation.
Also shown are Terry Topping and Frank Hawes discussing who was going to drive the Land Rover first.

Glen Urquhart UHF Relay June 1979.
They show how a UHF relay installation in Scotland can go if you kept your fingers crossed.
 

This happened on a Welsh Relay station but I am not sure which or when.
This is what happens if you do not keep your fingers crossed!!
In this case the Lorry was delivering two UHF cubicles to two different sites in Wales. He had just delivered the cubicle to the site that I was working on when as he was leaving we were struck by a freak wind storm.
John Bishop is shown on top of the cubicle as we assisted the rescue crane driver rig things up for lifting. We were lucky here again as the lorry driver was not hurt in the incident and was more worried about the loss of his newspaper which we had stolen earlier.

Barton House UHF Relay November 1980.
A lot of UHF relays were installed in some very awkward places such as the one shown here on Barton House Bristol.
There was a great deal of trouble with the inhabitants regarding the racket our Kango Drill made and on how it kept waking up babies or old grannies who always had their afternoon kip about then.
The picture shows John Thatcher having been hauled up to do some more drilling trying to remember if he had upset any of his mates on the roof below recently as it could be a long cold night if he had.

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