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Area covered: East coast of Ireland
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Site: Kippure Mountain, Co. Dublin VHF Aerial: Band III UHF Aerial Group C/D (Green) RTÉ One: E; RTÉ Two H; TV3 62; TG4 59 Polarisation: Horizontal Nominal Max ERP Vision: 160 kW (VHF); 500 kW (UHF) Site Height: 2475 ft A.S.L. Mast Height: 350 ft |
Kippure is the oldest television transmission site in the Republic, having come on the air in 1961. Originally Kippure transmitted Telefis Eireann using the 405 line standard on channel 7. A 625 line service on Band III channel H was added in 1962. Kippure's service area duplicates the Three Rock and Clermont Carn service areas. Today, however, most Kippure viewers are in Co. Wicklow, where no other transmitter provides coverage. RTE One is now on channel E, with Net2 on channel H. TV3 is on channel 62, and TG4 is transmitted on channel 59. 405 line transmissions of RTE One ceased from Kippure in 1978. Dermot Nolan has some more information about fringe reception of Kippure:
Kippure is to this day received all along the East Down coast , and is especially popular around Strangford where they cannnot get a good Clermont Carn signal because of the Mournes. On most days reception is EBU grade 4. Kippure can also be picked up in Dumfries and Galloway, IOM, North Wales, parts of the Lake District and, at times, in Liverpool.
In fact the Kippure signal travels pretty far from its intended service area. Philip Striplin in Worcestershire can get RTE1 and Network 2 from Kippure thanks to a 10 element Band III aerial and his altitude, 800 ft above sea level. Phillip reports that the picture is watchable on most days although tropospheric ducting improves the signal on high pressure days.
According to Philip, RTE was in fact rebroadcast by Rediffusion Cable in Worcester in the 1960's. I suspect that it was the old 405 line service on Channel 7.
Phil Reynolds has picked up both RTE 1 and Network 2 on a portable with nothing more than the portable's own telescopic aerial, though Phil tells me that on Sporadic E skip days RTE 1 from Maghera on Band I Channel B was better!
Thanks to Northern Correspondent of the ICDG Board for the excellent coverage map. The one above shows the projected coverage of the RTÉ One channel E signal.
See below for some pictures of the Kippure mast, taken by Mike Pratt.
| Hi Mike These are some pictures of Mt Kippure which is sited in the Wicklow Mountains in the Irish Republic. Although outside the UK this site is of interest to UK residents because it's signals on VHF radio (RTE Radio 1, 2FM etc), and VHF TV (RTE1 and RTE2) are easily received along the UK west coast, such as in North Wales. The UHF TV signals are directional with reduced gain towards the east and the UK. As far as I'm aware the VHF signals are omni-directional. The western reaches of Dublin are visible from the mountain, however the city centre is shielded by the northern line of the Wicklow Mountains, and is served by a different transmitter (Three Rock) located on that northern line. Although there is much over-spill in the coverage areas of the two. Kippure also covers rural parts of County Wicklow and County Carlow. It's Ireland's oldest transmitter site I believe, dating back to 1961. In the photos you can see parts of Dublin, plus diesel tanks presumably for on-site generators, Sky dishes which are a backup feed for the RTE microwave backhaul ring around Ireland. Presumably the connections to this ring are the large dish antennas at the top and base of the mast. Presumably the skirt is to protect the lower microwave dish from falling ice! There was lots of cloud when I visited and I had to wait for the right moments to get photos of a clear mast. From the top, UHF TV, VHF TV (band 3 H pol), VHF radio (mixed pol), various mobile and third party users. Best wishes Mike Pratt |
I've added a photo taken in 1999 when RTÉ replaced the original mast on the left with the new one on the right.
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