Swingate (Kent, England) DAB transmitter
 | Google map |  | Bing map |  | Google Earth |  | 51.138,1.335 or 51°8'16"N 1°20'6"E |
Are there any planned engineering works or unexpected transmitter faults on the Swingate (Kent, England) mast?
No problems on any service. 
UK Free TV shows the coverage area for a radio transmitter as a coloured overlay (orange for FM, other colours for DAB) on the grey map. We have computed the coverage by combining the terrain with the official radiation pattern. A single click will select the transmitter to view the coverage for a single site, and a double click goes to a page showing full details. Click on the buttons in the right-hand corner of the map to choose from different frequencies (or multiplexes for DAB).
Local transmitter maps
SWINGATE DABMonday, 6 January 2025
J
John Terry1:13 PM
Good afternoon,
There are some DAB+ stations that are intermittent in East Kent, namely BOOM and at times Smooth. Both can cut out in very fine or very bad weather. are there any improvements planned for this are?
Kind regards
John
| link to this comment |
S
Steve Donaldson3:14 PM
John Terry: Boom Radio is carried on the Sound Digital national multiplex on 11A. Sound Digital is the second national commercial multiplex which launched in 2016. Its coverage isn't as extensive the other national commercial digital multiplex, Digital One.
It is unlikely that Kent will get any improvement in coverage of Sound Digital. This is because of international constraints where neighbouring countries have multiplexes on the same channel. In the advertisement for the licence published in July 2014 it says that almost all of Kent will be affected. A multiplex covering Flanders is on 11A.
---
This is the advertisement for the licence. See paragraph 4.4 where it says that Kent will be affected by the international constraints:
https://web.archive.org/web/20150203172527/http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/radio/digital/nationalradio/advert.pdf
| link to this comment |
C
Chris.SE3:21 PM
John Terry:
Information about the location of commercial DAB transmitters whose multiplexes D1 and SDL carry most of these commercial stations is not easy to track down which can make it difficult to decide on a good location for a receiver in weaker signal areas, or in which direction to point an aerial when a receiver has a capability of an external aerial! It is a lot easier for BBC services!
What I can say is that not all sites with a commercial transmitter have the SDL multiplex which is the one that carries Boom! And AFAIK there are no plans to expand this network in the near future, and yet another site that helped locate commercial transmitters has disappeared in recent months!!
AFAIK and can check the only sites in SE England with the SDL multiplex are at Wrotham (nr London), Bluebell Hill (NE Kent), Ashford Wye and Dunkirk.
If I uncover any further information that maybe of use, I'll post back. One of the other regulars here may be able to add further comment.
| link to this comment |
S
Steve Donaldson3:29 PM
John Terry: In answer to the question of whether there may be coverage improvements for Smooth, then I do not know. There are two "Smooth" stations available in Kent: "Smooth UK" on the Digital One national commercial multiplex on 11D and "Smooth Kent" on the Kent local multiplex on 11C.
| link to this comment |
Tuesday, 7 January 2025
S
Steve Donaldson8:53 PM
Chris.SE: Ofcom publishes Technical parameters for broadcast radio transmitters:
Technical parameters for broadcast radio transmitters - Ofcom
This covers transmitters of AM, FM and DAB radio. With respect to the most latter, the stations on each multiplex are given.
| link to this comment |
C
Chris.SE10:21 PM
Steve Donaldson:
Thanks, yes I know I have copies. That doesn't make it any easier to find transmitters near a specific area, transmitting a specific mux. it's still a tedious search.
This site no longer exists but was useful as you could look on a map or by list.
https:// www.ukdigitalradio.com /coverage/currenttransmitters/default.asp
(I've deliberately put spaces in the url so it's not clickable as it's a 404).
I prefer using wohnort as a starting point https://www.wohnort.org/dab/uknat.html
| link to this comment |
S
Steve Donaldson10:59 PM
Chris.SE: mb21 allows you to view a map of transmitters by radio station or DAB multiplex, as well as TV transmitters:
mb21 - Transmitter Information - Google Transmitter Marker Maps
| link to this comment |
Wednesday, 8 January 2025
C
Chris.SE1:25 AM
Steve Donaldson:
Well thank you for that, I had not come across those pages, very useful indeed. Thanks.
(I note they've got a link to the dead site I mentioned earlier!)
| link to this comment |