Woofferton transmitting station
Encyclopedia
The Woofferton transmitting station is a shortwave
broadcasting site at Woofferton
, south of Ludlow
, Shropshire
, England
.
The station was originally built by the BBC
during World War II
to house additional shortwave (HF
) broadcasting transmitters. It had six 50 kW
RCA
transmitters, obtained by lend-lease
.
During the Cold War
, the station was equipped with six Marconi
BD272 250 kW shortwave transmitters. Much of the capacity was leased by the BBC to the Voice of America
(VoA) in order to enhance the latter’s coverage in the Eastern bloc
. It provided a stronger shortwave broadcast signal into the Eastern Bloc than any other western shortwave broadcast transmitter during the years of Soviet jamming.
It was VoA’s custom to name the transmission site at the beginning of each broadcast. Visitors to this isolated rural site were amused to hear broadcasts begin with the words, “This is the Voice of America, from Woofferton”.
All the BBC’s transmitting facilities were privatised in the 1990s. The shortwave sites were sold to Merlin Communications, which was acquired by VT Group
plc trading under the name VT Communications
until acquired by Babcock International Group
in March 2010.
The station currently has ten 300 kW HF transmitters.
It also has a 300-watt mediumwave
(MF) transmitter for BBC Hereford and Worcester
(formerly used by BBC Radio Shropshire
).
Shortwave
Shortwave radio refers to the upper MF and all of the HF portion of the radio spectrum, between 1,800–30,000 kHz. Shortwave radio received its name because the wavelengths in this band are shorter than 200 m which marked the original upper limit of the medium frequency band first used...
broadcasting site at Woofferton
Woofferton
Woofferton is a village to the south of Ludlow, Shropshire, England. It is one of Shropshire's most southerly villages and lies on the border with Herefordshire. The public house there - the "Salwey Arms" - is the most southerly in the county...
, south of Ludlow
Ludlow
Ludlow is a market town in Shropshire, England close to the Welsh border and in the Welsh Marches. It lies within a bend of the River Teme, on its eastern bank, forming an area of and centred on a small hill. Atop this hill is the site of Ludlow Castle and the market place...
, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
The station was originally built by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
to house additional shortwave (HF
High frequency
High frequency radio frequencies are between 3 and 30 MHz. Also known as the decameter band or decameter wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decameters . Frequencies immediately below HF are denoted Medium-frequency , and the next higher frequencies are known as Very high frequency...
) broadcasting transmitters. It had six 50 kW
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
transmitters, obtained by lend-lease
Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in...
.
During the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, the station was equipped with six Marconi
Marconi Company
The Marconi Company Ltd. was founded by Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 as The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company...
BD272 250 kW shortwave transmitters. Much of the capacity was leased by the BBC to the Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
(VoA) in order to enhance the latter’s coverage in the Eastern bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
. It provided a stronger shortwave broadcast signal into the Eastern Bloc than any other western shortwave broadcast transmitter during the years of Soviet jamming.
It was VoA’s custom to name the transmission site at the beginning of each broadcast. Visitors to this isolated rural site were amused to hear broadcasts begin with the words, “This is the Voice of America, from Woofferton”.
All the BBC’s transmitting facilities were privatised in the 1990s. The shortwave sites were sold to Merlin Communications, which was acquired by VT Group
VT Group
VT Group plc was a British defence and services company, formerly known as Vosper Thornycroft. The Company had diversified from shipbuilding into various engineering and support services, becoming involved in many areas of provision through five main operating groups: VT Communications, VT...
plc trading under the name VT Communications
VT Communications
VT Communications was a part of VT Group plc. VT Communications was essentially the company formed from the privatisation of the BBC World Service transmitter sites. It was initially named Merlin Communications, then, after acquisition by VT, VT Merlin Communications...
until acquired by Babcock International Group
Babcock International Group
Babcock International Group plc is a British-based support services company specialising in managing complex assets and infrastructure in safety-critical and mission-critical environments. Although the company has civil contracts, its main business is with public bodies, particularly the UK...
in March 2010.
The station currently has ten 300 kW HF transmitters.
It also has a 300-watt mediumwave
Mediumwave
Medium wave is the part of the medium frequency radio band used mainly for AM radio broadcasting. For Europe the MW band ranges from 526.5 kHz to 1606.5 kHz...
(MF) transmitter for BBC Hereford and Worcester
BBC Hereford and Worcester
BBC Hereford and Worcester is the BBC Local Radio service for the English counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire. It broadcasts from its studios in both Worcester and Hereford on 104 , 104.4 104.6 and 94.7 FM; as well as 738 and 1584 MW on AM...
(formerly used by BBC Radio Shropshire
BBC Radio Shropshire
BBC Radio Shropshire is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Shropshire. Launched on 23 April 1985 it broadcasts from its studios in Shrewsbury on 96 , 90 , 95 , 104.1 FM and DAB...
).