Hannington
Transmission Mast, Cottington Hill
Hannington transmitting station (Hampshire)
Mast height	151.9 metres (498 ft)
Coordinates	51°18′29″N 1°14′41″W / 51.3080°N 1.2447°W / 51.3080; -1.2447
Built	1970
BBC region	BBC South
ITV region	ITV Meridian (Thames Valley)
Local TV service	That's Thames Valley

Hannington transmitting station is a television and radio transmitting station located on Cottington Hill near the village of Hannington, Hampshire. The transmitter is actually in the parish of Kingsclere. The station provides broadcast services to Berkshire, north Hampshire and parts of Surrey and Wiltshire, and includes a 131.4-metre (431 ft) guyed steel lattice mast. Surmounting the mast is a GRP aerial cylinder, which contains the UHF television transmitting antennas, which brings the overall height of the mast to 151.9 metres (498 ft).

Hannington's digital broadcasts were severely attenuated to the east before the digital switchover (DSO) so as not to cause co-channel interference with Guildford transmitter. Those restrictions were removed soon after DSO in 2012.

Broadcast interruptions

1977 Ashtar Galactic Command message

Main article: Southern Television broadcast interruption

On Saturday 26 November 1977 at around 5:10 pm, the Southern ITV broadcast from this transmitter had its UHF sound transmission hi-jacked by unknown agents. At that time Hannington re-broadcast off-air UHF transmissions from Rowridge on the Isle of Wight. The UHF audio signal from Rowridge was swamped by a signal presumably from a location much closer to the Hannington transmitter, overriding the sound of the local ITV station Southern Television and broadcast their own audio message purporting to be from Vrillon, an alien from an institution calling itself the Ashtar Galactic Command. The message, transmitted over an ITN News bulletin and a subsequent Merrie Melodies cartoon, lasted six minutes.

Despite extensive investigations by Hampshire Police, the Independent Broadcasting Authority and Southern Television, those responsible have never been identified, and the potential culprits have ranged from students to university professors to disgruntled television technicians.

1994 World Cup Final blackout

On 17 July 1994 vandals sabotaged the mast's power supply during the 1994 FIFA World Cup Final, meaning that hundreds of thousands of viewers missed about an hour of the match.^[1]

Services available

Analogue radio

Frequency	kW^[2]	Service
102.9 MHz	4	Heart South
104.1 MHz	3	BBC Radio Berkshire

Digital radio

Frequency	Block	kW	Operator
222.064 MHz	11D	4.8	Digital One
225.648 MHz	12B	5	BBC National DAB
229.072 MHz	12D	1	NOW Berkshire & North Hampshire

Digital television[edit]

Frequency	UHF	kW	Operator	System
618.000 MHz	39	50	BBC B	DVB-T2
626.000 MHz	40	25	SDN	DVB-T
642.000 MHz	42	50	Digital 3&4	DVB-T
650.000 MHz	43	25	Arqiva A	DVB-T
666.000 MHz	45	50	BBC A	DVB-T
674.000 MHz	46	25	Arqiva B	DVB-T
746.000 MHz	55	36.7	COM7	DVB-T2

Before switchover[edit]

Frequency	UHF	kW	Operator
626.166 MHz	40+	20	SDN (Mux A)
634.166 MHz	41+	10	Arqiva (Mux D)
650.166 MHz	43+	20	Digital 3&4 (Mux 2)
658.166 MHz	44+	10	Arqiva (Mux C)
674.166 MHz	46+	20	BBC (Mux B)
706.000 MHz	50	20	BBC (Mux 1)

Analogue television[edit]

Analogue television transmissions ceased from Hannington during February 2012; BBC2 analogue closed on UHF 45 on 8 February 2012 and all other analogue services closed on 22 February 2012.

Frequency	UHF	kW	Service
583.25 MHz	35	60	Channel 5
615.25 MHz	39	250	BBC1 South
639.25 MHz	42	250	Meridian
663.25 MHz	45	250	BBC2 South
831.25 MHz	66	250	Channel 4

Aerial group: E
Polarisation: horizontal

External links[edit]

References[edit]

^ Graham Moorby (18 July 1994). "Vandals black out World Cup". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 May 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
^ Radio Listeners Guide 2010

Television transmitter and major relay sites in the United Kingdom

England

East	Mendlesham Sandy Heath Sudbury Tacolneston
East Midlands	Belmont Waltham
Greater London	Alexandra Palace Croydon Crystal Palace
North East	Burnhope Chatton Pontop Pike
North West	Caldbeck Sandale Storeton Winter Hill
South East	Bluebell Hill Chillerton Down Dover Hannington Heathfield Membury Midhurst Oxford Rowridge Whitehawk Hill Wrotham
South West	Beacon Hill Caradon Hill Huntshaw Cross Mendip North Hessary Tor Redruth Stockland Hill Washford
West Midlands	Lichfield Ridge Hill Sutton Coldfield The Wrekin
Yorkshire and the Humber	Bilsdale Emley Moor Holme Moss Oliver's Mount Sheffield

Scotland

Wales

Northern Ireland

Channel Islands

Isle of Man

Douglas

Italics denotes a transmitter no longer used for transmitting television signals