Brecon VHF-FM transmitting station
The Brecon VHF FM transmitting station in Powys, Wales was originally built by the BBC in 1965[1] as a relay for VHF FM radio. It consists of a pair of 15 m wooden telegraph poles - one carrying the transmitting antennas, and the other carrying receiving aerials pointed at Wenvoe transmitting station near Cardiff. These stand on land at Pencrug Farm, about 244 m above sea level.
  Brecon VHF-FM transmitting station (Powys) | |
| Mast height | 15 metres (48 ft) |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51.959551°N 3.412355°W |
| Grid reference | SO030299 |
| Built | 1966 |
| Relay of | Wenvoe |
The station does not radiate television, and never did. TV for the area comes from a different site at Brecon transmitting station a few km to the east.
Channels listed by frequency
20 December 1965 - January 1977
As built, the transmitter re-radiated Wenvoe's three original FM transmissions with horizontal polarisation and with a radiation pattern favouring the town of Brecon.
| Frequency | kW | Service |
|---|---|---|
| 88.9 MHz | 0.01 | BBC Light Programme |
| 91.1 MHz | 0.01 | BBC Third Programme |
| 93.3 MHz | 0.01 | BBC Welsh Home Service |
January 1977 - 1989
The launch of Radio Cymru saw the replacement across Wales of the English-language Radio 4 Wales service.
| Frequency | kW | Service |
|---|---|---|
| 88.9 MHz | 0.01 | BBC Radio 1 & 2 |
| 91.1 MHz | 0.01 | BBC Radio 3 |
| 93.3 MHz | 0.01 | BBC Radio Cymru |
1989 - present
Bandplan changes allowed more frequencies in Band II, Radio 1 gained its own frequency and National Radio 4 could be transmitted. About this time, the transmitting aerials were changed to the present configuration, radiating a slant-polarisation signal in a fairly omnidirectional pattern using a Lindenblad Array[2]
| Frequency | kW | Service |
|---|---|---|
| 88.9 MHz | 0.01 | BBC Radio 2 |
| 91.1 MHz | 0.01 | BBC Radio Wales |
| 93.3 MHz | 0.01 | BBC Radio Cymru |
| 98.5 MHz | 0.01 | BBC Radio 1 |
| 104.7 MHz | 0.01 | BBC Radio 4 |