Clermont Carn
Clermont Carn, variously spelt as "Clermont Cairn", "Clairmont Carn/Cairn" and Carnán Mhaighréid Náir in Irish is a 510m (1673')[1] high peak in the Cooley Mountains in County Louth, Ireland, which is also home to a main 2RN transmission site.[2]
| Clermont Carn | |
|---|---|
| Carnán Mhaighréid Nái | |
 Clermont Carn transmission site. | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 510 m (1,670 ft) [1] |
| Prominence | 312 m (1,024 ft) [1] |
| Coordinates | 54.080057°N 6.321564°W |
| Naming | |
| Language of name | Irish |
| Geography | |
  Clermont Carn Location in Ireland | |
| Location | Louth, Ireland |
| Parent range | Cooley Mountains |
Transmission site
This transmission site in County Louth, was opened in 1981 to provide UHF television coverage for the North East of the Republic of Ireland, counties Louth, Meath, and North county Dublin. However, with the site being less than 1 km (1000yds) from the border it was clear that this transmitter would be used to provide RTÉ services into Northern Ireland. Initially the two channels RTÉ 1 and RTÉ 2 were carried on Ch52 and Ch56 with TV3 (Ch66) and TG4 (Ch68) following later. In 1982, a 2M Amateur Radio Repeater was installed.[3] FM radio transmission was also added providing coverage of the five national channels to a wide area.
In 2002 a new cable-stayed mast 120m (400') tall was erected, this greatly improved coverage into Northern Ireland. The existing self-supporting tower was truncated, and is now only used for microwave links and the Amateur Radio Repeater.
DAB, digital radio broadcasting from Clermont Carn began in 2006 and Digital terrestrial television (DTT) trials started in 2008.
In common with all 2RN transmitters in Ireland, analogue television transmissions from this site ended on 24 October 2012,[4] but uniquely, Clermont Carn is the only main television transmitter in Ireland that is vertically polarised, and does not service any relay transmitters. Today the Irish digital television service Saorview is broadcast from here to a sizeable area including a large tract of Northern Ireland, with a good signal being received in Belfast and beyond. This overspill has been welcomed by the UK's Ofcom who have provided information for viewers in Northern Ireland about receiving TG4 and the RTÉ channels, both from within Northern Ireland on the UK's Freeview service, and via the Saorview overspill.[5]
Current transmissions
Digital Television
| Frequency | UHF | kW | Multiplex | Pol |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 642 MHz | 42 | 160 | Saorview 1 | V |
| 666 MHz | 45 | 160 | Saorview 2 | V |
Digital Radio
| Frequency | Block | kW | Multiplex |
|---|---|---|---|
| 227.36 MHz | 12C | 5 | DAB Ireland Mux 1 |
Analogue FM radio
| Frequency | kW | Service |
|---|---|---|
| 87.8 MHz | 40 | RTÉ Radio 1 |
| 95.2 MHz | 40 | RTÉ lyric fm |
| 97.0 MHz | 40 | RTÉ 2fm |
| 102.7 MHz | 40 | RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta |
| 105.5 MHz | 40 | Today FM |
| 107.9 MHz | 0.3 | Newstalk |
Amateur Radio
| Frequency | W | Service |
|---|---|---|
| 145.675 MHz (Output) 145.075 MHz (Input) CTCSS 110.9 Hz | 15 | EI2CCR 2m 12.5 kHz Repeater (Dundalk Amateur Radio Society www.ei7dar.com) |
Gallery
View of site from the R132 road
Clermont mast and tower
Mast seen from the N1 road
Clermont links tower and new mast
References
- "Cooley Area - Clermont Carn". MountainViews.ie. Retrieved 23 July 2008.
- "RTÉ, Ireland's National Radio Broadcaster". Archived from the original on 26 May 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2008.
- Dundalk Amateur Radio Society. "EI2CCR Repeater". www.ei7dar.com. Archived from the original on 27 August 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
- "Analogue consigned to broadcasting history". The Irish Times. 25 October 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
- Ofcom. "Digital Terrestrial TV Coverage Map of TG4 and RTÉ in Northern Ireland" (PDF). Ofcom. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
