engineering

Woofferton transmitting station

Woofferton transmitting station is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Woofferton transmitting station rather than just read about it. In short: The Woofferton transmitting station is owned and operated by Encompass Digital Media, as one of the BBC's assets which were handed over as part of the privatization of World Service distribution and transmission in 1997. It is the last remaining UK shortwave broadcasting site, located at Woofferton, south of Ludlow, Shropshire, England.

Key takeaways

Woofferton transmitting station belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Woofferton transmitting station to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Woofferton transmitting station from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Woofferton transmitting station is owned and operated by Encompass Digital Media, as one of the BBC's assets which were handed over as part of the privatization of World Service distribution and transmission in 1997. It is the last remaining UK shortwave broadcasting site, located at Woofferton, south of Ludlow, Shropshire, England. The large site spreads across into neighbouring Herefordshire. The station was originally built by the BBC during World War II to house additional shortwave (HF) broadcasting transmitters. When it officially started broadcasting on 17 October 1943 it had six 50 kW RCA transmitters, obtained by lend-lease. The site has been modernised many times over the years and is now DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) capable providing daily digital radio programmes. Woofferton is used to broadcast shortwave radio programmes on HF 4 MHz – 26 MHz to Europe, Russia, Africa, the Middle East and South Asia for BBC World Service, KBS World Radio, Radio Farda, among other international broadcasters. The site is also used for satellite communications and monitoring.

Construction The site was built by J. L. Eve Construction during the Second World War, for short-wave transmissions across Europe.

Cold War era 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.

Privatisation 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. Subsequently, Babcock's Media Services was acquired by global technology services company Encompass Digital Media in September 2018.

Transmitters Woofferton Transmitting Station currently has ten HF transmitters. There are 3 × Riz 250 kW (installed 2007–2008), 1 × Riz 500 kW (installed 2006), 4 × 300 kW Marconi B6124s (installed 1980) and 2 × 250 kW Marconi BD272s (installed 1963). The Riz transmitters are Digital Radio Mondiale capable and transmit digital programmes on a daily basis for BBC World Service, Voice of America, and KBS. It also had a 300-watt mediumwave (MW) transmitter for BBC Hereford and Worcester (formerly used by BBC Radio Shropshire), as well as a 1 kW VHF FM transmitter for local Ludlow commercial station Sunshine Radio.

Services available Analogue radio (FM VHF)

Analogue radio (AM medium wave)

References

Campbell, D., 1983. War Plan UK, p. 251. Paladin edition. ISBN 0-586-08479-7. Pawley, E., 1972. BBC Engineering 1922–1972, pp. 259–60, 348, 458. BBC. ISBN 0-563-12127-0. Shacklady, N., and Ellen, M, 2003. On Air: A History of BBC Transmission, pp. 29–32. Wavechange Books. ISBN 0-9544077-0-9.

External links

Encompass Digital Media Services Woofferton Transmitting Station Introduction to Woofferton Transmitting Station Part 1 Cant, J. Fifty years of transmitting at BBC Woofferton 1943–1993: A social and technical history of a Short Wave Station (3.7MB PDF) Woofferton's entry at mb21 Archived 11 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine BBC Woofferton 60 years on Archived 9 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Woofferton transmitting station

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Woofferton transmitting station claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Woofferton transmitting station before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Woofferton transmitting station ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Woofferton transmitting station

In research: Woofferton transmitting station appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Woofferton transmitting station in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Woofferton transmitting station is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Buildings and structures in Shropshire, Cold War sites in the United Kingdom, History of Shropshire, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Woofferton transmitting station outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Woofferton transmitting station in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Woofferton transmitting station means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Woofferton transmitting station out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Woofferton transmitting station in simple terms?

Why does Woofferton transmitting station matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Woofferton transmitting station?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Woofferton transmitting station.