I am the woman in the video, I am a technician in the engineering team. It was my job that night to walk Tony through the process of turning off the transmitter, to be on hand if problems arose and to ensure that transmitters were safely off and isolated. Lichfield is still used for a few services just not TV. It's possible to switch each transmitter off with one switch but it's safer to power down in stages and also this gives multiple isolation points to lock off the transmitter to stop it be

CH5 at Lichfield was actually a parrallel transmitter, A & B. This was the normal configuration of most CH5 Main transmitters. In normal operation both would be running to give full power but in a fault situation or for planned maintenance the service could be sustained with 1 transmitter, therefore on reduced power. So in the case of this shutdown it went from full power, to reduced power and then off.

Nice piece of Television history recorded for all generations to see. People in 100 years time will be fascinated by this old technology.

Great video, Gerald! Glad you had the thought to drive up there - you've captured something unique!

HD was transmitted from this site for freeview, it was switched off at the same time as channel 5 analogue. The HD is now broadcast from Sutton Coldfield.

Channel 5 had 2 Analogue Transmitters. The main and backup, so when the first was switched off the output would have been low power. Channel 5 did not go off until the second transmitter had been switched off, then the power supplies for each and finally the Isolator where switched off.

Pye designed and installed the original Band 3 transmitters in 1955 bring ITV to the Midlands. Happy days

R.I.P Analog tv, birth of Digital tv

That is correct, all TV for that region is now transmitter from Sutton Coldfield. However I expect the mast will remain for other uses such as FM and DAB use.

It is sad that the Lichfield Transmitter won't be used for TV again. I know that after 1985 the transmitter wasn't used for TV for some years because of the 405 Line switch off and didn't get used again until Channel 5 began,

Thanks for the info tvjockey

Greetings from the USA: I spent 15 years working on two different Harris Sigma IOT transmitters: a 3 tube analog (US channel 17) and a 3 tube ATSC 1.0 rig (US channel 45). What are the two "boxes" immediately to the left of the IOT cabinet? Line control cabinets? In the US we used beam supplies mounted outside, and a "line control cabinet" mounted to a wall (in the TX room), which interfaces the TX to the beam supplies @ 480 VAC 3 phase. I'm pretty certain those LCCs were US made; the beam supplies were also made in the US by a third party supplier (NWL in New Jersey).

Also BBC One, BBC Two, ITV1 and Channel 4 (not only Channel 5)

Should just have tripped the MI and blacked the whole site 😂

A colleague of mine and amember of Arqiva staff working out of Sutton Coldfield

bet the pratt couldn't stir his own tea

Don't forget the B side please 🤣

Who is the bloke doing the switching off? Somehow, he just doesn't seem like an 'engineering' type.

There seemed to be an awful lot of switches to turn off. I'd have thought it would be just one for the C5 analogue transmitter and one for the HD mux transmitter.

It should've not been shut off, now I can't pick up a single channel!!!

R.I.P.

Those transmitters look fairly new did they sell them I would of left fans on longer to cool then is with out damage

I Love Radio 😭

After analog tv shut down what has became of that transmitter?

Why would I like this video. I only disliked this video because it was very sad to see a analog transmitter being turned off.

Was BBC HD ever analogue?

Stop analog broadcast, and stay on digital broadcast.