A - Haverfordwest, West Wales.
Approx 230 kms from Cork.
This is probably the most consistent transmitter to be heard in Cork
under enhanced conditions. Even though it does not have as much power
as say Blaenplwyf or Wenvoe, the shorter sea path makes a big
difference. A good example of this is BBC Radio 4 on 104.9 MHz.
Whenever there is high pressure, this station is often heard in Cork.
It is one of the best indicators here of whether there are enhanced
conditions or not. In fact, when conditions are good, it can be often
heard while driving around Cork City and County.
B
- Blaenplwyf, West Wales.
Approx 300 kms from Cork.
At 250 kw, this is one of the main transmission sites for FM in Wales.
With the sea path to Cork and it's high power, this transmitter is
often heard in Cork.
C
- Wenvoe, Cardiff, South Wales.
Approx 350 kms from Cork.
At 250 kw, this is the main transmitter for South Wales. Although it
has a sea path to Cork, it is not heard as often as the Blaenplwyf or
Haverfordwest transmitters. This may be due to the fact that at 350
kms, it is further away.
D
- Carmel, near Camarthen, South
Wales. Approx 300 kms from Cork.
The fact that it is only 3kw, it is 70 kms inland from the West coast
of
Wales and it is over 300 kms away means that this relay is not heard
very often. Conditions have to be good for this one to be heard.
E - Llanddona,
Anglesey, NW Wales. Approx 320 kms from Cork.
Heard occasionally in Cork when conditions are good.
F- North
Hessary Tor, Devon. Approx 330 kms.
At 160 kw, this is one of the main transmitters for the South-West of
England. Not heard as often as Haverfordwest or Blaenplwyf from Wales.
G - Redruth, Cornwall. Approx
280 kms.
Not heard very often in Cork.
H
- Clermont Carn, North West County
Louth. Approx
280 kms from Cork.
This is one of the few transmitters in the Republic which uses ' Mixed
'
rather than the more usual ' Vertical ' polarization. The Lyric FM
signal
can be heard because it is just below 88 MHz and away from where most
of the other stations are.
I
- Slieve Bawn, Roscommon.
Approx 200 kms from Cork.
Makes an occasional appearance in Cork. Again, it is never very strong
probably due to the overland path.
J
- Baltinglass, West Wicklow.
Approx 140 kms from Cork.
Rarely heard in Cork. Possibly, the Comeragh and Knockmealdown
mountains are blocking the signal most of the time.
K
- Abbeyknockmoy Hill, South East of Tuam, Co. Galway. Approx 170
kms from Cork.
Whenever there are good conditions North-South, this one makes an
appearance. These openings are not as consistent or as strong as the
East-West openings over the coast and sea path. At times during times
of high pressure, it is possible to hear 96FM from Youghal in East
Cork, Galway Bay FM from Abbeyknockmoyhill in Co. Galway and BBC Cymru
from Wenvoe in South Wales all on 96.8 MHz in the space of 30 minutes.
L - Forth Mountain, South Wexford.
Approx 130 kms.
This one is not heard under flat conditions due to it's low power of
200 watts. Any slight enhancement makes it appear out of the noise
although the signal is never that strong.
M - Templetown,
E side of Waterford harbour. Approx 110 kms.
This low powered relay is usually very weak and buried in the noise.
This one was heard one particular morning when there was some coastal
fog and this was no doubt responsible for the enhancement in the signal.
N - Slieve Glah, Co. Cavan.
Approx 250 kms. An very unusual one to hear in Cork. Signal weak,
probably
due to overland path and modest power.
O - Arfon, Gwyness, NW Wales.
Approx 300 kms. Not heard very often. Conditions have to be really good
for this one to show up.
P
- Llandrindod Wells, Powys, Mid Wales. Approx 340 kms. Only
heard once (Jan 2008). Reception of this station is unusual because it
would seem that the transmitter is screened to the West by local
mountains in mid-Wales.
Q
- St.Hilary, Cardiff, South Wales. Approx 350 kms. Heard
occasionally. Conditions must be very good.
R - Llangollen, Wrexham, NE Wales. Approx 370 kms. This one was found by
accident. The Llangollen is blocked from Ireland by the high mountains
in the centre of Wales. The signals that I heard sounded like aircraft
scatter, that is, weak, plenty of flutter on the signal and only lasted
for 20 to 30 seconds at a time. I assume that commercial aircraft
flying over Wales were responsible for these signals. These signals
were heard on a directional Log-Periodic aerial as they were way too
weak to hear with the simple dipole. Also heard direct when conditions
were very good.
S - Lescaouidic,
Brest, Brittany, France. Approx 480 kms. Heard Jan 2008 when
there was a good opening accross the sea to France. What made this one
stand out was that the signals are vertically polarized and were heard
with a vertical dipole. This transmitter seems to be the first to
appear when conditions accross the sea path to France open up.
T - Guipavas, Brest, Brittany,
France. Approx 470 kms. Heard
Jan 2008 when there was a good opening accross the sea to France. What
made this one stand out was that the signals are vertically polarized
and were heard with a vertical dipole. Not heard as often as the other
transmitter in Brest above.
U - St.Pern, Rennes, Brittany,
France. Approx 600 kms. Heard Jan
2008 when there was a very good opening accross the sea to France.
Despite
the fact that it well inland, it's high power meant that this
particular transmission site could be heard.
V - ???La Roche-sur-Yon, La
Rochelle, West France. Approx 770
kms??? Heard during a very good opening in Jan 2008. My list shows 3
France Bleu stations on this frequency and this happens to be the site
of the closest one. It might have been the 1.5 kw transmitter in
Oloron-Ste.Marie near Pau in the South of France but that distance is
1130 kms. The 3rd one listed was near Paris but was only 0.2 kw. So
overall, no definite ID for now.
W - Monte Oiz, Bilboa, N
Spain. Approx 1050 kms. Heard Jan
2008 when I
heard a weak Spanish voice. Positive ID thanks to a live stream over
the net. Heard during an exceptional opening when there were plenty of
French stations on the band.
X - Cairn Hill, Longford.
Approx 210 kms. Heard in Feb 2008 soon after launch of the station.
There are not so many openings over this 200 km land path.
Additional notes...
1) It is, in fact, pretty difficult to hear any distant radio stations
in Cork. With so many transmitters filling the FM band, there are very
few gaps in which to listen. Look at the Cork
Bandscan page to see how many stations can be heard from an
elevated site near Cork City. Often, it is the strenght of the local
stations which determines what distant stations you can hear.
2) Most of the UK stations were heard using a horizontal aerial. By
using a horizontal aerial, most of the local Irish stations get weaker
while
the UK stations stay the same strenght. Otherwise, it can be very
difficult to hear the weaker signals.
3) The signals listed here were heard by using one of the following
aerials...a) a Vertical Dipole b) a Horizontal Dipole and c) a
Log-Periodic directional aerial.
4) It is also possible to sometimes hear European stations on the FM
band from May until August by 'Sporadic-E'. When it occurs, it is
possible to hear stations that
are between 1,200 to 2,300 kms away. However, I do not list them here
because
as the name suggests, it is
sporadic and random in nature. The stations listed above were heard
during times of high atmospheric pressure. They are more predictable
and appear
more often.
Last Updated Feb 2008
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