From Newsgroup: uk.tech.broadcast

Op 1-12-2025 om 11:03 schreef Scott:

On Mon, 1 Dec 2025 02:26:21 +0100, Rink
<rink.hof.haalditmaarweg@planet.nl> wrote:

Op 1-12-2025 om 0:08 schreef Scott:

I know when Capital Radio started, the AM service was on a temporary
frequency of 539 metres (557 kHz). I am wondering where this frequency
came from. Was it a previous BBC frequency? Was it an international
(non-exclusive) allocation that could be used at low power? Or - as
rumour has it - was it simply to block the pirate station Veronica?
Was it used after it was vacated by Capital?

557 was not mentioned for the UK in the 1948 Plan
and it was not an international low-power frequency.
As far as I know only 1493 and 1594 were such low-power frequencies.

557 kHz was used by:
Helsinki Finland 100kW
Monte Ceneri Switzerland 50 kW
Greifswald DDR 10 kW
Craiova Rumania 20 kW
Radio Veronica
and some stations in Portugal, USSR and Egypt.
Source: Wireless World Guide to Broadcasting Stations 17th edition (1973)

Only the Helsinki, the Monte Ceneri and the transmitter in
Cairo Egypt were according to the 1948 Kopenhagen plan.
The others were out of plan, maybe illegal !
But not Veronica, because the 1948 plan did not apply outside
territorial waters.

Radio Veronica started 30 september 1972 at 13:00 Dutch time on 557.
You can read everything about choosing the frequency
and testing before 30 september here:
https://www.norderney192.nl/historie/h-1972.html

After a few months on 557 Veronica received information
that a local transmitter was going to start in London.
At the Norderney site you can find an audio recording of the IBA
announcing that a local station will start on 557 kHz/539 metres.

Some administrations consulted the countries with the plan transmitters
before using the frequency.
This is what NL did with Ireland and Hungary
before starting Hilversum 3 on 1250 kHz in october 1965.
Condition was that NL should use 1250 only at daytime.
So Hilversum 3 stopped at 18:00 Dutch time on MW.

I guess that the IBA did this too.

Interesting but if it was as easy as this why did Northern Ireland
wait until 1962 (?) for is own frequency? Why did they not just find a frequency and keep the power down and this would be unlikely to affect central Europe much.

I do not understand your question.
Do you say that Northern Ireland did not have a frequency before 1962?

I searched for old transmitter lists and found a few with N.I. transmitters.


World Radio Station List 1949-1951 <https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Logs-Lists-Directories/Archive-Radio-Logbooks/Archive-Stevenson-Burgess-Others/World%20Radio%20Station%20List%201949-51.pdf>
If this link is broken go to it via <https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Logs-Lists-Directories/Radio_Log_Master_Page.htm>

This list mentions:
1050 kHz 100 kW Lisnagarvey
1050 kHz 1 kW Londonderry
1149 kHz 10 kW Lisnagarvey
1149 kHz 1 kW Londonderry

From page 13 the Copenhagen Plan ("after March 1950") mentions:
1151 kHz 100 kW Lisnagarvey
1151 kHz 5 kW Londonderry
1214 kHz 10 kW Lisnagarvey
1214 kHz 1 kW Londonderry
1546 kHz 5 kW Belfast


I also found on the same website a 1961 list from the UK.
Wireless World Guide to Broadcasting Stations 1961 <https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Logs-Lists-Directories/Archive-Radio-Logbooks/Wireless-World-Guide-to-Broadcasting-Stations-1961.pdf>

This list mentions on page 25:
Belfast 1546 kHz
Lisnagarvey 1151 & 1214
Londonderry 1151 & 1214
1151 has 2 transmitters Northern Ireland + 2 other TXs in UK
1214 has a lot of transmitters all over the UK.


Rink
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From Newsgroup: uk.tech.broadcast

On Sun, 4 Jan 2026 15:41:21 +0100, Rink
<rink.hof.haalditmaarweg@planet.nl> wrote:

Op 1-12-2025 om 11:03 schreef Scott:

On Mon, 1 Dec 2025 02:26:21 +0100, Rink
<rink.hof.haalditmaarweg@planet.nl> wrote:

Op 1-12-2025 om 0:08 schreef Scott:

I know when Capital Radio started, the AM service was on a temporary
frequency of 539 metres (557 kHz). I am wondering where this frequency >>>> came from. Was it a previous BBC frequency? Was it an international
(non-exclusive) allocation that could be used at low power? Or - as
rumour has it - was it simply to block the pirate station Veronica?
Was it used after it was vacated by Capital?

557 was not mentioned for the UK in the 1948 Plan
and it was not an international low-power frequency.
As far as I know only 1493 and 1594 were such low-power frequencies.

557 kHz was used by:
Helsinki Finland 100kW
Monte Ceneri Switzerland 50 kW
Greifswald DDR 10 kW
Craiova Rumania 20 kW
Radio Veronica
and some stations in Portugal, USSR and Egypt.
Source: Wireless World Guide to Broadcasting Stations 17th edition (1973) >>>
Only the Helsinki, the Monte Ceneri and the transmitter in
Cairo Egypt were according to the 1948 Kopenhagen plan.
The others were out of plan, maybe illegal !
But not Veronica, because the 1948 plan did not apply outside
territorial waters.

Radio Veronica started 30 september 1972 at 13:00 Dutch time on 557.
You can read everything about choosing the frequency
and testing before 30 september here:
https://www.norderney192.nl/historie/h-1972.html

After a few months on 557 Veronica received information
that a local transmitter was going to start in London.
At the Norderney site you can find an audio recording of the IBA
announcing that a local station will start on 557 kHz/539 metres.

Some administrations consulted the countries with the plan transmitters
before using the frequency.
This is what NL did with Ireland and Hungary
before starting Hilversum 3 on 1250 kHz in october 1965.
Condition was that NL should use 1250 only at daytime.
So Hilversum 3 stopped at 18:00 Dutch time on MW.

I guess that the IBA did this too.

Interesting but if it was as easy as this why did Northern Ireland
wait until 1962 (?) for is own frequency? Why did they not just find a
frequency and keep the power down and this would be unlikely to affect
central Europe much.

I do not understand your question.
Do you say that Northern Ireland did not have a frequency before 1962?

My understanding is that NI Region shared 261m with Northern Region,
meaning that NI could not have its own programming after dark. 224m
was used by the European Service. Again in my understanding, 224m was reallocated to NI in 1962 to allow it to have its own dedicated
wavelength.
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