Leicester Peak Transmitting Station
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The Leicester Peak transmitting station is a broadcast transmitting station and communications relay station located near
Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...
,
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...
. The site is owned by the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation the country's state broadcaster. It is now the primary (for SLBC) transmitting station providing broadcast services for the Western Area of
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...
. Previously the SLBC operated a shortwave transmitting station in Waterloo and a shortwave/mediumwave station in Goderich. The Leicester Peak site is located on top of the mountain of the same name which is 564m above sea level. The closest settlement is Leicester village to the south-west of the mountain. Because of its height, coverage extends as far as
Makeni Makeni is the largest city in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The city is the capital of Bombali District, and is the economic center of the Northern Province. Makeni is the fifth largest city in Sierra Leone by population. The city of ...
and Bo to the east. Signals can be received in
Conakry Conakry ( , ; ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its population as of the 2014 Guinea census was 1,660,973. The current population of C ...
in neighboring
Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...
. Apart from the SLBC's own services, the site is leased to other broadcast stations and operators of communications systems such as the state run Sierratel, mobile telephone operators and Internet Service Providers.


History

The site was originally constructed by the British Marconi company. At that time it provided a new VHF colour television service, replacing the original monochrome service which launched in 1963. An access road was built from the Regent Road near Leicester village. The building also included its own power generating room since there was no public supply on the mountain at that time. A Francis & Lewis self-supporting triangular tower was used for the antenna systems. The site was inaugurated by President
Siaka Stevens Siaka Probyn Stevens (24 August 1905 – 29 May 1988) was the leader of Sierra Leone from 1967 to 1985, serving as Prime Minister from 1967 to 1971 and as President from 1971 to 1985. Stevens' leadership was often characterized by patrimonial ...
on 22 February 1978. The station was never directly attacked by rebels during the countries civil war which started in the early 1990s. However as a result of the conflict, the condition of the site deteriorated. Because of a misunderstanding the Nigerian air-force attacked the site, believing it to be under rebel control. Damage was limited to one of the upper legs of the transmission tower which was hit by a shell. By the end of the war the VHF television service had been replaced with a lower power
UHF Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter ...
transmitter. A low power FM
transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...
was also installed for the radio service. However, the site was in very poor condition at this time. Meanwhile,
Radio France International Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the State media, state-owned international radio news network of France. With 59.5 million listeners in 2022, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world ...
had installed a transmitter to cover
Conakry Conakry ( , ; ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its population as of the 2014 Guinea census was 1,660,973. The current population of C ...
with a highly directional antenna system. Even with Sierra Leones war, RFI found it easier to operate there than in
Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...
. In 1999, the British
Department for International Development The Department for International Development (DFID) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom, from 1997 to 2020. It was responsible for administering foreign aid ...
had started a project to re-equip and train the
Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service The Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) is the national radio and television broadcasting, broadcaster in Sierra Leone. It is owned by the government of Sierra Leone and is a branch of the Sierra Leone Ministry of Information and Commun ...
as it was then known. This project included the reconstruction of the radio broadcast systems at the site. British companies Sound Broadcast Services (now part of Eddystone Broadcast) and Alan Dick & Co were given the contract to build the radio services. SBS provided the transmitters, radio links and initial technical expertise, whilst Alan Dick & Co provided the antenna systems. The war briefly delayed the project which was eventually completed during 2001. The damaged tower leg was replaced by Alan Dick & Co. The tower was also shortened since it was not structurally safe. SBS installed a 2 kW FM transmitter for SLBS and also a 2 kW transmitter for the
BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...
. Both were combined into the new panel antenna system installed by Alan Dick & Co. The SLBS service was sent to the site by UHF link and the BBC service was received by satellite. In the following years other operators installed towers and systems at the site under rental agreements with SLBS. The UN was also allowed to install a large tower and buildings for its own communications systems and UN radio station. Eventually the UN Radio was absorbed into SLBS which was renamed SLBC. The UN's technical facilities were handed over to SLBC. In July 2006,
Capital Radio Sierra Leone Capital Radio is a Sierra Leone radio station based at the Mammy Yoko Business Park in Aberdeen, Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is locate ...
started broadcasting from Leicester Peak again under a rental agreement with SLBS, also combining into the existing SLBC/BBC antenna system. SLBS had considerable difficulties providing power for the site. They struggled with maintenance and providing fuel for the station with Capital Radio providing fuel for some time. Despite the site being about 30 years old, it had never received a utility power supply. Because of the problems, Capital Radio started a project to install a medium voltage power line to the site. With the assistance of the National Power Authority and with materials provided by the Japanese the power line was completed in September 2010. The original low power UHF television transmitter was replaced with a pair of transmitters, allowing SLBC to launch a second general entertainment channel.


Site facilities


Services available

The following broadcast services are transmitted from SLBCs Leicester Peak facilities:


References

{{reflist * * * * Buildings and structures in Freetown