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Mendip transmitting station

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94-826: The Mendip transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility on the summit of Pen Hill , part of the Mendip Hills range in Somerset, England, at 305 metres (1,001 ft) above sea level. The station is in St Cuthbert Out civil parish , approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) north-east of Wells . Its mast, 293 m (961 ft) high, was built in 1967 and is the tallest structure in South West England . The mast broadcasts digital television, FM analogue radio and DAB digital radio, and had broadcast analogue colour television from 1967 until 2010. The station

188-424: A cable converter box with decoding equipment in homes , the latter also enables subscription -based channels, pay-tv and pay-per-view services. In his essay, John Durham Peters wrote that communication is a tool used for dissemination. Peters stated, " Dissemination is a lens—sometimes a usefully distorting one—that helps us tackle basic issues such as interaction, presence, and space and time ... on

282-482: A dish antenna . The term broadcast television can refer to the television programs of such networks. The sequencing of content in a broadcast is called a schedule . As with all technological endeavors, a number of technical terms and slang have developed. A list of these terms can be found at List of broadcasting terms . Television and radio programs are distributed through radio broadcasting or cable , often both simultaneously. By coding signals and having

376-461: A middle school categorised as a middle-deemed-secondary school, has 510 pupils between 9 and 13. Fairlands takes children moving up from Cheddar First School as well as other first schools in the Cheddar Valley. The Kings of Wessex Academy , a coeducational comprehensive school , has been rated as "good" by Ofsted . It has 1,176 students aged 13 to 18, including 333 in the sixth form . Kings

470-423: A tower testing station . During the 1970s and 1980s it was also used to test the ability of containers of radioactive material to withstand impacts and other accidents. Along with the rest of South West England , Cheddar has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature is approximately 10 °C (50.0 °F). Seasonal temperature variation

564-570: A 14th-century chapel dedicated to St. Columbanus . Roman remains have also been uncovered at the site. Cheddar was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Ceder , meaning "Shear Water", from the Old English scear and Old Welsh dŵr . An alternative spelling in earlier documents, common through the 1850s is Chedder . As early as 1130 AD, the Cheddar Gorge was recognised as one of

658-677: A C/D group aerial may have difficulty in receiving all multiplexes. Mendip's population coverage is around 1.5 million, although some homes in the immediate vicinity, such as those in Cheddar , are unable to receive a signal due to being in the shadow of the Mendip Hills and therefore depend on local relays. Mendip broadcasts FM (analogue VHF) radio for BBC Radio Somerset and the Severn Estuary regional service Kiss 101 . Mendip also transmits high power Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) signals for

752-590: A C/D group transmitter at digital switchover . The mast broadcasts digital television over a large area of the west of England, including Somerset , Wiltshire , Bristol , southern Gloucestershire , and northern Dorset . Northern Gloucestershire – such as most of Cheltenham and Tewkesbury – is outside the coverage area, instead receiving signals from the Ridge Hill transmitter in Herefordshire. Cardiff and other parts of southeast Wales were also able to receive

846-479: A central octagonal pier, a socket raised on four steps, a hexagonal shelter with six arched four-centred openings, shallow two-stage buttresses at each angle, and an embattled parapet. The shaft is crowned by an abacus with figures in niches, probably from the late 19th century, although the cross is now missing. It was rebuilt by Thomas, Marquess of Bath . It is a scheduled monument (Somerset County No 21) and Grade II* listed building . In January 2000,

940-486: A children's entertainment walk known as the "Crystal Quest". Cheddar Gorge, including Cox's Cave, Gough's Cave and other attractions, has become a tourist destination, attracting about 500,000 visitors per year. In a 2005 poll of Radio Times readers, following its appearance on the 2005 television programme Seven Natural Wonders , Cheddar Gorge was named as the second greatest natural wonder in Britain, surpassed only by

1034-563: A complex mosaic of calcareous grassland and acidic dry dwarf-shrub heath. Cheddar Wood is one of only a few English stations for starved wood-sedge ( Carex depauperata ). Purple gromwell ( Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum ), a nationally rare plant, also grows in the wood. Butterflies include silver-washed fritillary ( Argynnis paphia ), dark green fritillary ( Argynnis aglaja ), pearl-bordered fritillary ( Boloria euphrosyne ), holly blue ( Celastrina argiolus ) and brown argus ( Aricia agestis ). The slug Arion fasciatus , which has

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1128-529: A cost of £60,000. Hannah More , a philanthropist and educator, founded a school in the village in the late 18th century for the children of miners. Her first school was located in a 17th-century house. Now named "Hannah More's Cottage", the Grade II-listed building is used by the local community as a meeting place. The village is situated on the A371 road which runs from Wincanton , to Weston-super-Mare . It

1222-586: A friendship link with Ocho Rios in Saint Ann Parish , Jamaica. It is also twinned with the commune of Descartes in the Indre-et-Loire department. The area is underlain by Black Rock slate, Burrington Oolite and Clifton Down Limestone of the Carboniferous Limestone Series, which contain ooliths and fossil debris on top of Old Red Sandstone , and by Dolomitic Conglomerate of

1316-482: A part of the Wessex Learning Trust which incorporates eight academies from the surrounding area. The Church of St Andrew dates from the 14th century. It was restored in 1873 by William Butterfield . It is a Grade I listed building and contains some 15th-century stained glass and an altar table of 1631. The chest tomb in the chancel is believed to contain the remains of Sir Thomas Cheddar and

1410-536: A restricted distribution in the south of England, and the soldier beetle Cantharis fusca also occur. By far the largest of the SSSIs is called Cheddar Complex and covers 441.3 hectares (1,090.5 acres) of the gorge, caves and the surrounding area. It is important because of both biological and geological features. It includes four SSSIs, formerly known as Cheddar Gorge SSSI, August Hole/Longwood Swallet SSSI, GB Cavern Charterhouse SSSI and Charterhouse on-Mendip SSSI. It

1504-442: A signal that will reach the target audience . Broadcasters typically arrange audiences into entire assemblies. In terms of media broadcasting, a radio show can gather a large number of followers who tune in every day to specifically listen to that specific disc jockey . The disc jockey follows the script for their radio show and just talks into the microphone . They do not expect immediate feedback from any listeners. The message

1598-722: A single station or television station , it is sent through the studio/transmitter link to the transmitter and hence from the television antenna located on the radio masts and towers out to the world. Programming may also come through a communications satellite , played either live or recorded for later transmission. Networks of stations may simulcast the same programming at the same time, originally via microwave link, now usually by satellite. Distribution to stations or networks may also be through physical media, such as magnetic tape , compact disc (CD), DVD , and sometimes other formats. Usually these are included in another broadcast, such as when electronic news gathering (ENG) returns

1692-476: A story to the station for inclusion on a news programme . The final leg of broadcast distribution is how the signal gets to the listener or viewer. It may come over the air as with a radio station or television station to an antenna and radio receiver , or may come through cable television or cable radio (or wireless cable ) via the station or directly from a network. The Internet may also bring either internet radio or streaming media television to

1786-620: A variety of community groups including religious, sporting and cultural organisations. Several of these are based on the site of the Kings of Wessex Academy , which is the largest educational establishment. The name Cheddar comes from the Old English word ceodor , meaning deep dark cavity or pouch. There is evidence of occupation from the Neolithic period in Cheddar. Britain's oldest complete human skeleton, Cheddar Man , estimated to be 9,000 years old,

1880-564: A wireless communication using the then-newly discovered phenomenon of radio waves , showing by 1901 that they could be transmitted across the Atlantic Ocean. This was the start of wireless telegraphy by radio. Audio radio broadcasting began experimentally in the first decade of the 20th century. On 17 December 1902, a transmission from the Marconi station in Glace Bay , Nova Scotia, Canada, became

1974-580: Is a faith school linked to the Church of England . It was awarded the specialist status of Technology College in 2001, enabling it to develop its Information Technology (IT) facilities and improve courses in science, mathematics and design technology. In 2007 it became a foundation school , giving it more control over its own finances. The academy owns and runs a sports centre and swimming pool, Kings Fitness & Leisure, with facilities that are used by students as well as residents. It has since November 2016 been

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2068-491: Is a significant source of employment. Around 15 percent of employment in Sedgemoor is provided by tourism, but within Cheddar it is estimated to employ as many as 1,000 people. The village also has a youth hostel , and a number of camping and caravan sites. Cheddar has a number of active service clubs including Cheddar Vale Lions Club , Mendip Rotary and Mendip Inner Wheel Club . The clubs raise money for projects in

2162-533: Is a tributary of the River Axe . The inlet grate for the 54-inch (1.4 m) water pipe that is used to transport the water can be seen next to the sensory garden in Cheddar Gorge. It has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) due to its wintering waterfowl populations. Cheddar Wood and the smaller Macall's Wood form a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest from what remains of

2256-555: Is also the site of several limestone quarries . The village gave its name to Cheddar cheese and has been a centre for strawberry growing. The crop was formerly transported on the Cheddar Valley rail line , which closed in the late 1960s and is now a cycle path. The village is now a major tourist destination with several cultural and community facilities, including the Cheddar Show Caves Museum. The village supports

2350-500: Is approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) from the route of the M5 motorway with around a 10 miles (16 km) drive to junction 22. It was on the Cheddar Valley line , a railway line that was opened in 1869 and closed in 1963. It became known as The Strawberry Line because of the large volume of locally-grown strawberries that it carried. It ran from Yatton railway station through Cheddar to Wells (Tucker Street) railway station and joined

2444-593: Is based on his time at The Kings of Wessex School , where his father Keith was the headmaster. The final performance of this show was held at the school in November 2009. He also visited the school in March 2010 to perform his show Hitler Moustache . In May 2013, a community radio station called Pulse was launched. The market cross in Bath Street dates from the 15th century, with the shelter having been rebuilt in 1834. It has

2538-726: Is broadcast across airwaves throughout the community, but the listeners cannot always respond immediately, especially since many radio shows are recorded prior to the actual air time. Conversely, receivers can select opt-in or opt-out of getting broadcast messages using an Excel file, offering them control over the information they receive Broadcast engineering is the field of electrical engineering , and now to some extent computer engineering and information technology , which deals with radio and television broadcasting. Audio engineering and RF engineering are also essential parts of broadcast engineering, being their own subsets of electrical engineering. Broadcast engineering involves both

2632-518: Is dated 1442. The tower, which rises to 100 feet (30 m), contains a bell dating from 1759 made by Thomas Bilbie of the Bilbie family . The graveyard contains the grave of the hymn writer William Chatterton Dix . There are also churches for Roman Catholic , Methodist and other denominations, including Cheddar Valley Community Church, who not only meet at the Kings of Wessex School on Sunday, but also have their own site on Tweentown for meeting during

2726-555: Is less extreme than most of the United Kingdom because of the adjacent sea, which moderates temperature. The summer months of July and August are the warmest with mean daily maxima of approximately 21 °C (69.8 °F). In winter mean minimum temperatures of 1 or 2 °C (33.8 or 35.6 °F) are common. In the summer the Azores high-pressure system affects the south-west of England. Convective cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing

2820-399: Is owned and operated by Arqiva (which acquired National Grid Wireless, previously Crown Castle). Until 2008 a GRP aerial cylinder, containing the analogue television transmitting antennas , was mounted at the top of the mast, bringing the total height of the structure to 305 metres (1,001 ft). With a mean height of 596 metres (1,955 ft) above sea level, these antennas were among

2914-401: Is particularly true of performances of musical artists on radio when they visit for an in-studio concert performance. Similar situations have occurred in television production (" The Cosby Show is recorded in front of a live television studio audience ") and news broadcasting . A broadcast may be distributed through several physical means. If coming directly from the radio studio at

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3008-528: Is partly owned by the National Trust who acquired it in 1910 and partly managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust . Close to the village and gorge are Batts Combe quarry and Callow Rock quarry , two of the active Quarries of the Mendip Hills where limestone is still extracted. Operating since the early 20th century, Batts Combe is owned and operated by Hanson Aggregates . The output in 2005

3102-593: Is referred to as over the air (OTA) or terrestrial broadcasting and in most countries requires a broadcasting license . Transmissions using a wire or cable, like cable television (which also retransmits OTA stations with their consent ), are also considered broadcasts but do not necessarily require a license (though in some countries, a license is required). In the 2000s, transmissions of television and radio programs via streaming digital technology have increasingly been referred to as broadcasting as well. In 1894, Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi began developing

3196-405: Is situated on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills , 9 miles (14 km) north-west of Wells , 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Weston-super-Mare and 18 miles (29 km) south-west of Bristol . The civil parish includes the hamlets of Nyland and Bradley Cross . The parish had a population of 5,755 in 2011 and an acreage of 8,592 acres (3,477 ha) as of 1961. Cheddar Gorge , on

3290-476: Is that the public may learn the outcome of an event before the recording is broadcast, which may be a spoiler . Prerecording may be used to prevent announcers from deviating from an officially approved script during a live radio broadcast, as occurred with propaganda broadcasts from Germany in the 1940s and with Radio Moscow in the 1980s. Many events are advertised as being live, although they are often recorded live (sometimes called " live -to- tape "). This

3384-563: Is the most popular type of cheese in the United Kingdom. The cheese is now made and consumed worldwide, and only one producer remains in the village. Since the 1880s, Cheddar's other main produce has been the strawberry , which is grown on the south-facing lower slopes of the Mendip hills. As a consequence of its use for transporting strawberries to market, the since-closed Cheddar Valley line became known as The Strawberry Line after it opened in 1869. The line ran from Yatton to Wells . When

3478-421: Is varied continuously with respect to the information) or digital (information is encoded as a set of discrete values). Historically, there have been several methods used for broadcasting electronic media audio and video to the general public: There are several means of providing financial support for continuous broadcasting: Broadcasters may rely on a combination of these business models . For example, in

3572-590: The Dan yr Ogof caves. There are several large and unique Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) around the village. Cheddar Reservoir is a near-circular artificial reservoir operated by Bristol Water . Dating from the 1930s, it has a capacity of 135 million gallons (614,000 cubic metres). The reservoir is supplied with water taken from the Cheddar Yeo , which rises in Gough's Cave in Cheddar Gorge and

3666-624: The Digital One , Sound Digital and BBC National DAB multiplexes. An additional DAB multiplex, MuxCo Somerset , was awarded a licence in 2008 to broadcast local and national services to Somerset, and began transmission in 2014. After the closure of the Severn Estuary digital radio multiplex, the equipment from Mendip was reused to improve coverage on the Welsh coastline for the Cardiff & Newport, now South East Wales, multiplex. Digital terrestrial television

3760-634: The East Somerset Railway to make a through route via Shepton Mallet (High Street) railway station to Witham . Sections of the now-disused railway have been opened as the Strawberry Line Trail, which currently runs from Yatton to Cheddar. The Cheddar Valley line survived until the " Beeching Axe ". Towards the end of its life there were so few passengers that diesel railcars were sometimes used. The Cheddar branch closed to passengers on 9 September 1963 and to goods in 1964. The line closed in

3854-708: The House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. Prior to Brexit in 2020, it was part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament . Cheddar is twinned with Felsberg , Germany and Vernouillet , France, and it has an active programme of exchange visits. Initially, Cheddar twinned with Felsberg in 1984. In 2000, Cheddar twinned with Vernouillet, which had also been twinned with Felsberg. Cheddar also has

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3948-514: The Keuper . Evidence for Variscan orogeny is seen in the sheared rock and cleaved shales. In many places weathering of these strata has resulted in the formation of immature calcareous soils. Cheddar Gorge , which is located on the edge of the village, is the largest gorge in the United Kingdom. The gorge is the site of the Cheddar Caves, where Cheddar Man was found in 1903. Older remains from

4042-757: The Nipkow disk and thus became known as the mechanical television . It formed the basis of experimental broadcasts done by the British Broadcasting Corporation beginning on 30 September 1929. However, for most of the 20th century, televisions depended on the cathode-ray tube invented by Karl Braun . The first version of such a television to show promise was produced by Philo Farnsworth and demonstrated to his family on 7 September 1927. After World War II , interrupted experiments resumed and television became an important home entertainment broadcast medium, using VHF and UHF spectrum. Satellite broadcasting

4136-649: The Tudor period and gained a charter from King John , Cheddar remained a more dispersed mining and dairy-farming village. Its population grew with the arrival of the railways in the Victorian era and the advent of tourism. The parish council , which has 15 members who are elected for four years, is responsible for local issues, including setting an annual precept (local rate) to cover the council's operating costs and producing annual accounts for public scrutiny. The parish council evaluates local planning applications and works with

4230-519: The Upper Late Palaeolithic era (12,000–13,000 years ago) have been found. The caves, produced by the activity of an underground river, contain stalactites and stalagmites . Gough's Cave , which was discovered in 1903, leads around 400 m (437 yd) into the rock-face, and contains a variety of large rock chambers and formations. Cox's Cave , discovered in 1837, is smaller but contains many intricate formations. A further cave houses

4324-475: The studio and transmitter aspects (the entire airchain ), as well as remote broadcasts . Every station has a broadcast engineer , though one may now serve an entire station group in a city. In small media markets the engineer may work on a contract basis for one or more stations as needed. Cheddar, Somerset Cheddar is a large village and civil parish in the English county of Somerset . It

4418-512: The "Four wonders of England". Historically, Cheddar's source of wealth was farming and cheese making for which it was famous as early as 1170 AD. The parish was part of the Winterstoke Hundred . The manor of Cheddar was deforested in 1337 and Bishop Ralph was granted a licence by the King to create a hunting forest. As early as 1527 there are records of watermills on the river. In

4512-523: The 17th and 18th centuries, there were several watermills which ground corn and made paper, with 13 mills on the Yeo at the peak, declining to seven by 1791 and just three by 1915. In the Victorian era it also became a centre for the production of clothing. The last mill, used as a shirt factory, closed in the early 1950s. William Wilberforce saw the poor conditions of the locals when he visited Cheddar in 1789. He inspired Hannah More in her work to improve

4606-691: The 1960s, when it became part of the Cheddar Valley Railway Nature Reserve, and part of the National Cycle Network route 26. The cycle route also intersects with the West Mendip Way and various other footpaths. The principal bus route is the hourly service 126 between Weston-super-Mare and Wells operated by First West of England . Other bus routes include the service 668 from Shipham to Street which runs every couple of hours operated by Libra Travel, as well as

4700-558: The 2001 census as white. According to the most recent 2021 census, the village had a total population of 6,263 with 51.1% female and 48.9% male. Over 6,101 people or 97.3% identified as white, 1% (61) Asian, 0.3% (17) Black and 1.3% (79) as mixed. The most common places of birth were: 94.1% or 5,900 born in the United Kingdom and 2.5% (156) born in the European Union, 81 Africa and 65 Middle East and Asia, 29 Americas and Caribbean. The village gave its name to Cheddar cheese , which

4794-681: The United States, National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS, television) supplement public membership subscriptions and grants with funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which is allocated bi-annually by Congress. US public broadcasting corporate and charitable grants are generally given in consideration of underwriting spots which differ from commercial advertisements in that they are governed by specific FCC restrictions, which prohibit

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4888-631: The West variations of BBC One, BBC Two, and ITV, and having Channel 4 (not S4C) as number 4 on the electronic programme guide. Power on analogue transmissions was 500 kW ( ERP ) for BBC 1, BBC2, HTV West, Channel 4, and 126 kW (ERP) for Channel 5. The latter was transmitted outside of the original C/D grouping of the transmitter but most homes in reasonable signal areas for the C/D group could receive it with their C/D group aerial. All six digital multiplexes were transmitted at 10 kW until switchover in 2010 when

4982-421: The advocacy of a product or a "call to action". The first regular television broadcasts started in 1937. Broadcasts can be classified as recorded or live . The former allows correcting errors, and removing superfluous or undesired material, rearranging it, applying slow-motion and repetitions, and other techniques to enhance the program. However, some live events like sports television can include some of

5076-405: The agenda of any future communication theory in general". Dissemination focuses on the message being relayed from one main source to one large audience without the exchange of dialogue in between. It is possible for the message to be changed or corrupted by government officials once the main source releases it. There is no way to predetermine how the larger population or audience will absorb

5170-659: The analogue TV transmissions from Mendip, and many households used it in preference to their more local Wenvoe transmitter which carries the Wales variations of BBC One, BBC Two, and ITV. This was originally because the Wenvoe transmitter broadcast S4C (with programmes in Welsh and some prime-time English programmes from Channel 4 scheduled at much later times) rather than Channel 4 itself. Even after digital switchover when transmitters in Wales also began to broadcast Channel 4 in addition to S4C, some households continued with their preference for

5264-521: The aspects including slow-motion clips of important goals/hits, etc., in between the live television telecast. American radio-network broadcasters habitually forbade prerecorded broadcasts in the 1930s and 1940s, requiring radio programs played for the Eastern and Central time zones to be repeated three hours later for the Pacific time zone (See: Effects of time on North American broadcasting ). This restriction

5358-439: The central high-powered broadcast tower transmits a high-frequency electromagnetic wave to numerous receivers. The high-frequency wave sent by the tower is modulated with a signal containing visual or audio information. The receiver is then tuned so as to pick up the high-frequency wave and a demodulator is used to retrieve the signal containing the visual or audio information. The broadcast signal can be either analog (signal

5452-405: The coastline and areas in the shadow of the Wenvoe mast. Broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium , but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves ), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began with AM radio , which came into popular use around 1920 with

5546-676: The college bus service 66 which runs from Axbridge to the Bridgwater Campus of Bridgwater and Taunton College in the mornings and evenings of college term times, and is operated by Bakers Dolphin . The first school in Cheddar was set up by Hannah More during the 18th Century, however now Cheddar has three schools belonging to the Cheddar Valley Group of Schools, twelve schools that provide Cheddar Valley's three-tier education system. Cheddar First School has ten classes for children between 4 and 9 years. Fairlands Middle School ,

5640-657: The conditions of the Mendip miners and agricultural workers. In 1801, 4,400 acres (18 km ) of common land were enclosed under the Inclosure Acts . Tourism of the Cheddar gorge and caves began with the opening of the Cheddar Valley Railway in 1869. Cheddar, its surrounding villages and specifically the gorge has been subject to flooding. In the Chew Stoke flood of 1968 the flow of water washed large boulders down

5734-423: The cross was seriously damaged in a traffic accident. By 2002, the cross had been rebuilt and the area around it was redesigned to protect and enhance its appearance. The cross was badly damaged again in March 2012, when a taxi crashed into it late at night demolishing two sides. Repair work, which included the addition of wooden-clad steel posts to protect against future crashes, was completed in November 2012 at

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5828-502: The development of radio for the wartime purposes of aircraft and land communication, radio navigation, and radar. Development of stereo FM broadcasting of radio began in the 1930s in the United States and the 1970s in the United Kingdom, displacing AM as the dominant commercial standard. On 25 March 1925, John Logie Baird demonstrated the transmission of moving pictures at the London department store Selfridges . Baird's device relied upon

5922-461: The exception of Arqiva A. SDN increased to half its full power output (50 kW). On 28 March 2012 Arqiva A moved to its final channel allocation at UHF 56, after the completion of digital switchover at Salisbury. Arqiva A and B and SDN also increased to full power (100 kW) on this date. BBC A moved from UHF 61 to UHF 49 to allow for the clearance of the 800 MHz band for 4G LTE mobile services. Arqiva A has moved from UHF 56 to UHF 33 for

6016-505: The general public or a relatively small subset; the point is that anyone with the appropriate receiving technology and equipment (e.g., a radio or television set) can receive the signal. The field of broadcasting includes both government-managed services such as public radio , community radio and public television , and private commercial radio and commercial television . The U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, title 47, part 97 defines broadcasting as "transmissions intended for reception by

6110-423: The general public, either direct or relayed". Private or two-way telecommunications transmissions do not qualify under this definition. For example, amateur ("ham") and citizens band (CB) radio operators are not allowed to broadcast. As defined, transmitting and broadcasting are not the same. Transmission of radio and television programs from a radio or television station to home receivers by radio waves

6204-412: The general public: The world's technological capacity to receive information through one-way broadcast networks more than quadrupled during the two decades from 1986 to 2007, from 432 exabytes of (optimally compressed) information, to 1.9 zettabytes . This is the information equivalent of 55 newspapers per person per day in 1986, and 175 newspapers per person per day by 2007. In a broadcast system,

6298-419: The gorge, washed away cars, and damaged the cafe and the entrance to Gough's Cave. Cheddar is recognised as a village. The adjacent settlement of Axbridge , although only about a third the population of Cheddar, is a town. This apparently illogical situation is explained by the relative importance of the two places in historic times. While Axbridge grew in importance as a centre for cloth manufacturing in

6392-505: The ground leading to convection and to showers and thunderstorms. Average rainfall is around 700 mm (28 in). About 8–15 days of snowfall per year is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, and June to August have the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the south-west. The parish has a population in 2011 of 5,093, with a mean age of 43 years. Residents lived in 2,209 households. The vast majority of households (2,183) gave their ethnic status at

6486-548: The grounds of the current vicarage . The village of Cheddar had been important during the Roman and Saxon eras. There was a royal palace at Cheddar during the Saxon period, which was used on three occasions in the 10th century to host the Witenagemot . The ruins of the palace were excavated in the 1960s. They are located on the grounds of the Kings of Wessex Academy , together with

6580-452: The highest in the UK. They were removed in 2010, the antenna cylinder being replaced with a new antenna assembly, ready for digital switchover later that year. The present assembly is slightly shorter than the previous cylinder, causing the overall mast height to be reduced from 305 metres (1,001 ft) to 293 metres (961 ft). There are red aircraft warning lamps (six sets of two lights) on

6674-448: The instantaneous signal voltage varies continuously with the pressure of the sound waves . In contrast, a digital signal represents the original time-varying quantity as a sampled sequence of quantized values which imposes some bandwidth and dynamic range constraints on the representation. In general usage, broadcasting most frequently refers to the transmission of information and entertainment programming from various sources to

6768-750: The local community and hold annual events such as a fireworks display, duck races in the Gorge, a dragon boat race on the reservoir and concerts on the grounds of the nearby St Michael's Cheshire Home . Several notable people have been born or lived in Cheddar. Musician Jack Bessant , the bass guitarist with the band Reef grew up on his parents' strawberry farm, and Matt Goss and Luke Goss , former members of Bros , lived in Cheddar for nine months as children. Trina Gulliver , ten-time World Professional Darts Champion, previously lived in Cheddar until 2017. The comedian Richard Herring grew up in Cheddar. His 2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe show, The Headmaster's Son

6862-554: The mast, and two lights on top. The mast can be seen from as far away as Puriton during the day, and the aircraft warning lights make it visible at night from most of the Somerset Levels and from areas of South Wales, such as the high ground near the Wenvoe transmitting station . Mendip was configured as a C/D group transmitter when it entered service with analogue PAL transmissions. In July 2007, Ofcom confirmed that it would remain

6956-405: The message. They can choose to listen, analyze, or ignore it. Dissemination in communication is widely used in the world of broadcasting. Broadcasting focuses on getting a message out and it is up to the general public to do what they wish with it. Peters also states that broadcasting is used to address an open-ended destination. There are many forms of broadcasting, but they all aim to distribute

7050-484: The northern edge of the village, is the largest gorge in the United Kingdom and includes several show caves , including Gough's Cave . The gorge has been a centre of human settlement since Neolithic times, including a Saxon palace. It has a temperate climate and provides a unique geological and biological environment that has been recognised by the designation of several Sites of Special Scientific Interest . It

7144-462: The number of hours of sunshine; annual sunshine rates are slightly less than the regional average of 1,600 hours. Most of the rainfall in the south-west is caused by Atlantic depressions or by convection . Most of the rainfall in autumn and winter is caused by the Atlantic depressions, which are most active during those seasons. In summer, a large proportion of the rainfall is caused by sun heating

7238-487: The police, district council officers, and neighbourhood watch groups on matters of crime, security, and traffic. The parish council's role also includes initiating projects for the maintenance and repair of parish facilities, as well as consulting with the district council on the maintenance, repair, and improvement of highways, drainage, footpaths, public transport, and street cleaning. Conservation matters (including trees and listed buildings) and environmental issues are also

7332-435: The power on the "BBC A", "BBC B/HD" and "D3&4" multiplexes was boosted to 100 kW. In 2011, SDN was boosted to 50 kW and in 2012 the remaining two Arqiva multiplexes were boosted to 50 kW too. In June 2019, as part of the 700MHz clearance programme, Mendip became K group (excluding muxes 7 and 8, which are due to be switched off between 2020 and 2022). This means that homes in poor signal areas which still have

7426-423: The recipient, especially with multicasting allowing the signal and bandwidth to be shared. The term broadcast network is often used to distinguish networks that broadcast over-the-air television signals that can be received using a tuner inside a television set with a television antenna from so-called networks that are broadcast only via cable television ( cablecast ) or satellite television that uses

7520-406: The responsibility of the council. The village is in the 'Cheddar and Shipham' electoral ward . After including Shipham the total population of the ward taken at the 2011 census is 6,842. For local government purposes, since 1 April 2023, the village comes under the unitary authority of Somerset Council . Prior to this, it was part of the non-metropolitan district of Sedgemoor , which

7614-498: The rest of the line was closed and all passenger services ceased, the section of the line between Cheddar and Yatton remained open for goods traffic. It provided a fast link with the main markets for the strawberries in Birmingham and London, but finally closed in 1964, becoming part of the Cheddar Valley Railway Nature Reserve. Cheddar Ales is a small brewery based in the village, producing beer for local public houses . Tourism

7708-410: The spread of vacuum tube radio transmitters and receivers . Before this, most implementations of electronic communication (early radio , telephone , and telegraph ) were one-to-one , with the message intended for a single recipient. The term broadcasting evolved from its use as the agricultural method of sowing seeds in a field by casting them broadly about. It was later adopted for describing

7802-412: The start of the 700MHz clearance programme at Mendip. BBC A has moved from UHF 49 to UHF 32 as part of the 700MHz clearance programme at Mendip. Digital 3&4 has moved from UHF 54 to UHF 34, and BBC B have moved as well from UHF 58 to UHF 35 as part of the 700MHz clearance programme at Mendip. Many Welsh residents also prefer Mendip's service to the Wenvoe service as it provides a stronger signal to

7896-410: The week. The Baptist chapel was built in 1831. Kings Fitness & Leisure, situated on the grounds of the Kings of Wessex School , provides a venue for various sports and includes a 20-metre swimming pool, racket sport courts, a sports hall, dance studios and a gym. A youth sports festival was held on Sharpham Road Playing Fields in 2009. In 2010 a skatepark was built in the village, funded by

7990-452: The widespread distribution of information by printed materials or by telegraph. Examples applying it to "one-to-many" radio transmissions of an individual station to multiple listeners appeared as early as 1898. Over-the-air broadcasting is usually associated with radio and television , though more recently, both radio and television transmissions have begun to be distributed by cable ( cable television ). The receiving parties may include

8084-556: The wood of the Bishops of Bath and Wells in the 13th century and of King Edmund the Magnificent's wood in the 10th. During the 19th century, its lower fringes were grubbed out to make strawberry fields. Most of these have been allowed to revert to woodland. The wood was coppiced until 1917. This site compromises a wide range of habitats which include ancient and secondary semi-natural broadleaved woodland, unimproved neutral grassland, and

8178-482: The world's first radio message to cross the Atlantic from North America. In 1904, a commercial service was established to transmit nightly news summaries to subscribing ships, which incorporated them into their onboard newspapers. World War I accelerated the development of radio for military communications . After the war, commercial radio AM broadcasting began in the 1920s and became an important mass medium for entertainment and news. World War II again accelerated

8272-514: Was around 4,000 tonnes of limestone per day, one third of which was supplied to an on-site lime kiln, which closed in 2009; the remainder was sold as coated or dusted aggregates. The limestone at this site is close to 99 percent carbonate of calcium and magnesium ( dolomite ). The Chelmscombe Quarry finished its work as a limestone quarry in the 1950s and was then used by the Central Electricity Generating Board as

8366-450: Was dropped for special occasions, as in the case of the German dirigible airship Hindenburg disaster at Lakehurst, New Jersey , in 1937. During World War II , prerecorded broadcasts from war correspondents were allowed on U.S. radio. In addition, American radio programs were recorded for playback by Armed Forces Radio radio stations around the world. A disadvantage of recording first

8460-472: Was first transmitted from the Mendip mast from 15 November 1998 using the frequency gaps between the analogue TV broadcasts. To limit interference to the analogue transmissions, power output on the digital multiplexes was low. On 24 March 2010 BBC2 was switched off on UHF 64 and HTV West was switched from UHF 61 for its final weeks of service. Multiplex 1 on UHF 59+ was closed and replaced by BBC A on UHF 61 (which had just been vacated by analogue HTV West). BBC A

8554-655: Was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 , having previously been part of Axbridge Rural District . Fire, police and ambulance services are provided jointly with other authorities through the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service , Avon and Somerset Constabulary and the South Western Ambulance Service . It is also part of the Wells and Mendip Hills county constituency represented in

8648-513: Was found in Cheddar Gorge in 1903. Older remains from the Upper Late Palaeolithic era (12,000–13,000 years ago) have been found. There is some evidence of a Bronze Age field system at the Batts Combe quarry site. There is also evidence of Bronze Age barrows at the mound in the Longwood valley, which if man-made it is likely to be a field system. The remains of a Roman villa have been excavated in

8742-495: Was initiated in the 1960s and moved into general industry usage in the 1970s, with DBS (Direct Broadcast Satellites) emerging in the 1980s. Originally, all broadcasting was composed of analog signals using analog transmission techniques but in the 2000s, broadcasters switched to digital signals using digital transmission . An analog signal is any continuous signal representing some other quantity, i.e., analogous to another quantity. For example, in an analog audio signal ,

8836-457: Was transmitted at full power (100 kW) and in 64QAM, 8k carriers mode from the start. Following the completion of analogue TV shutdown on 7 April 2010, Mendip transmitted all of its higher powered multiplexes at 100 kW. From this date until the second-stage switchover of 28 September 2011 the frequency allocation was: With the completion of digital switchover at Oxford, all multiplexes could be moved to their final channel allocations with

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