The Craigkelly transmitting station is a

broadcasting Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

and

telecommunications Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...

facility located at Craigkelly () north of the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate ...

above the town of

Burntisland Burntisland ( , ) is a former Royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland, on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. It was previously known as Wester Kinghorn or Little Kinghorn. The town has a population of 6,269 (2011). Burntisland is known ...

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It has a 125-metre tall free-standing lattice tower reassembled after being moved from its original location at Emley Moor, West Yorkshire, where it was used to broadcast the 405-line ITV service between 1956 and 1966. The station came into service in 1968 to improve coverage of

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...

to the

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

area, which has a number of hills blocking good reception from Black Hill. In September 1971 it also started broadcasting

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

and

Scottish Television Scottish Television (now legally known as STV Central Limited) is the ITV (TV network), ITV network franchisee for Central Belt, Central Scotland. The channel — the largest of the three ITV franchises in Scotland — has been in operation si ...

on 625 lines in colour and though considered a 'main' station, it actually rebroadcast the signal from the Black Hill transmitting station, like a relay. In March 1983

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

was added (five months after programmes began), however Channel 5 was available at its launch on 30 March 1997. Its tower now also carries antennas for many broadcasting and private radio organisations. Craigkelly is part of the STV Central TV region. The transmitter was originally an A group but has become a K group (or wideband) with the advent of Channel 5 and Digital. Craigkelly is one of the few main transmitters which did not return to its original group at Digital Switchover (DSO). However, when Craigkelly went through its 700 MHz clearance in October 2018 all of the main 6 muxes returned to the A group, the only two outside being muxes 7 and 8 (se
Craigkelly's graph
which were to be switched off between 2020 and 2022. The tower can be clearly seen from many parts of

across the Firth of Forth on its prominent position atop the hill known as The Binn.

Coverage

Television reception from Craigkelly includes a wide area stretching from Stirling and Falkirk in the central belt, eastwards to

Crail Crail (; ) is a former royal burgh, parish and Community council#Scotland, community council area (Royal Burgh of Crail and District) in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. The locality has an estimated population of 1,630 (2018). Etymology The ...

in Fife and

Dunbar Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the Anglo–Scottish border, English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and ...

in Lothian.

Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; ; ) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, making it Fife's second-largest s ...

and Glenrothes also receive a strong signal, as does most of the principal city of Edinburgh.

Transmitted services

Analogue radio

Digital radio

Digital television

Before switchover

Analogue television

Analogue television transmissions ceased from Craigkelly on 15 June 2011.

References

External links

Craigkelly's entry at mb21Info & pictures of Craigkelly including co-receivable transmittersMultimap link
*http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?buildingID=109492 {{Television transmitters in the UK Transmitter sites in Scotland