Redundancy in case one becomes dislodged?
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Yes they are for 7, 9 & 10 Sydney receive, there’s 2 receive antennas for diversity.
All the TXA translator sites (well almost all), have 2 receive antennas, we use diversity receivers with them, the diversity receivers monitor inputs from both antennas packet by packet, & can switch between the 2 antennas seamlessly at any point, & then output the best quality signal to the input of the transmitters.
At the B class sites (which this one is) there’s 2 x transmitters for each service, they also have a receiver built into them, transmitter “A” is fed off the top antenna & transmitter “B” is fed off the bottom antenna, each transmitter will normally use the output of the diversity receiver as it’s feed, but can seamlessly switch to it’s internal receiver if something happens with the diversity receivers.
Not all sites have diversity receivers though, some just use 2 x transmitters connected to separate antennas & if the the receive input fails on one, the transmitters will auto switch to the other one.
It’s done like this, because the signal strength & quality can vary so much, even just with a couple of meters difference in separation, that in some circumstances (mostly weather related), 1 antenna can have no useable signal, & the other can have perfect receive signal, (not always the top one is best either, even in perfect conditions).
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Great reply as always, knew you’d know the answer.
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Here’s a video of Merrick & Rosso in the Foxtel control room: Merrick and Rosso in the Control Room - YouTube
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Brisbane’s three commercial channels are.
Seven Tasmania (ex-TNT9) I think is still at its original site in Launceston, as is WIN (ex-BTV6) in Ballarat
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WIN Ballarat are still in the original BTV6 studios and I believe WIN Mildura are in the STV8 building.
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I think they moved after the production of the bulletins were moved to Wollongong.
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White Pages still has WIN Ballarat listed at Walker Street, Ballarat.
Another one that I think might still be at its original site is WIN (ex-DDQ) Toowoomba.
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WIN’s HQ is still in its original location at Mt St Thomas in Wollongong.
Keep in mind most TV studio’s are just an office with a couple of sales reps, camo’s and journo’s now. Only a handful have a news presentation studio and a full newsroom in them and they are an endangered species.
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Still there for the time being although a move is likely. Land value alone would be worth it.
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We’re still in our original Port Pirie, Whyalla and Broken Hill studios.
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Every time someone posts a photo of an unloved TV studio it has a sad looking satellite dish. Guess the days of satellites being used for program transfer are long gone due to optical fibre. I can add satellite to my other unless skills such a 1" and 2" videotape, Betacam, telecine and PABX.
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NBN’s Tamworth office is still in its original location
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NRN11/WIN in Coffs Harbour are in their original studios.
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There’s actually a lot more than you’d think. I can’t speak for any moves that may have happened in the 60s/70s/80s, but the following are still (at least for sales) based at studio sites:
All the Brisbane stations
SCA Launceston
SCA Bendigo
SCA Port Pirie
SCA Whyalla
WIN Ballarat
WIN Mildura
WIN Wollongong
WIN Lismore
WIN Toowoomba
Prime7 Canberra
Seven Maroochydore
NBN Tambworth
The original TNQ-7 Townsville (now Southern Cross) studio was at the transmitter site on the top of Mount Stuart. The building still exists and houses most of the TV and Radio transmitters.
SCA Broken Hill is still at it’s original location at the transmitter site, but I don’t think there was ever a studio there.
WIN’s building in Hervey Bay is a warehouse style building that could have been a studio, but I can’t find any reference to there ever being a studio there.
WIN’s Mackay building was previous the home of Southern Cross Ten Mackay.
WIN have now moved to a small office in town, but the TV studios are still used by SCA for the radio stations.
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I am sure that was the plan when news production moved to Wollongong around six years ago, they were going to downsize.
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Except for ABC (ex-ABQ2) which was at Toowong and now based at South Bank.
The original ATV0/10 building in Nunawading has long not been a TV station (ATV moved out of there in the early 1990s) but is still a production facility for Fremantle, e.g. Neighbours.
And the old (though, not original AFAIK) HSV7 studios on Coventry Street, South Melbourne, is now a production facility for NEP Studios.
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And microwave links operated by the WIN-owned DDA company feed a lot of the east coast regional transmitters.
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