Humber Coastguard

[G4RMT]

ACL - I've not yet discovered where the channel 23 Lowestoft transmission comes from. There's nothing very high in the area, yet it is very strong. Maybe one day I'll try to track it down.

[ACL]

Yes I will attempt to find out as well.

[G4RMT]

Next to the coastguard lookout at Ness Point - the most easterly part of the UK, there is a 10m mast with a 4 element cubical quad on a rotator. I've never seen it move, but that's pretty well it apart from the short range verticals on the lookout. If you can find out anything - I'll take a look and listen.

[ACL]

I'll try and find out a bit about it.

[Neil57uk]

In Norfolk Ch.23 comes from Trimmingham 52'55'N 01'20'E, and Lowestoft 52'28'N 01'45'E.
That should help.

[ACL]

Thanks that does help. So any local Ch 23 transmission will only come from one of those two sites.

[Neil57uk]

Humber CG have 11 mast sites from the Scottish border to the south of East Anglia. They alternate between Ch.23 and Ch.86 for MSIB's. All of course use the usual CG channels 0, 10, 16, 67, 73 etc. Dont forget airband 132.650.

Humber tend to use 23 and 86 for only for MSIB's but other stations such as Liverpool/Holyhead use 10, 23, 84 and 86 for general coms also.

Plenty of info in the public domain on tinterweb.

[G4RMT]

Sadly, that's just the general port area, and not quite accurate enough to get the location down much below a kilometre size box. I shall have to just wait till I'm free and try to track it down by driving to the likely spots during a transmission. They last long enough. Coastguard lookout, Lowestoft bridge control room, and the Norfolk and Suffolk hatch club all fall in that box, but none are very high at all. For info as of yesterday, haven bridge house in Yarmouth where the old Yarmouth coastguard lived still have five VHF verticals on the roof. Nothing remotely that high near the Lowestoft Lat/long so range would be much more limited. A minor mystery.

[Chris P]

Just had a look on the various aerial map sites street view and there is a tall WT mast with several VHF antennae plus at least one other multiple vertical dipole array ( df or dme type ) showing on streetview of google earth with an OS grid ref of TM55492 93178 just south of ness point on the sea front in the north corner of Hamilton dock. it also shows as a mast on OS 1:25000maps and is just to the north of the dock complex which also appear to have antennae but on shorter masts

[G4RMT]

That I've not even noticed before - it's actually right next to the Bond Helicopter site. The streetview image does show the DF aerials, doesn't it. Maybe this was installed when Haven Bridge House in Yarmouth closed? I've actually driven down that road - it's mainly used by SLP who are building the windfarms off the coast. The majority of our marine business is now this - as fishing got abandoned.

I shall go and have a look and investigate.
P