West Midlands & Warwickshire Coverage Area Maps

BBC RADIO WM (95.6 MHz v.h.f.):

The BBC map showing coverage for BBC Radio WM
from the main 11 kW transmitter at Sutton Coldfield
(The coverage for the Regional Independent Stations 105.7 100.7 and 105.2 will possibly be quite similar)

BBC RADIO COVENRTY AND WARWICKSHIRE (94.8 MHz + 103.7 MHz + 104.0 MHz v.h.f.):

BBC map showing the coverage area for BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire
from the main transmitters at Lark Stoke and Meriden together with a
low power relay at Nuneaton

ILR STRATFORD upon AVON - 102.0 MHz v.h.f. (FM 102 The Bear / TOUCH FM etc):

The above pixel plot shows the predicted coverage for the ILR station for Stratford upon Avon
and Warwickshire from the 3.0 kW transmitter at Lark Stoke on 102.0 MHz
(Orginally 'The Bear' and now called 'TOUCH FM' )

ILR BIRMINGHAM 96.4 MHz v.h.f. (formerly 94.8 MHz) (B.R.M.B):

IBA map showing coverage of ILR Birmingham (BRMB etc)
VHF contour is for the Lichfield 2kW transmitter which has since been changed
to a 10 kW transmitter at Sutton Coldfield (shown below)

IBA map showing the predicted coverage of the Sutton Coldfield transmitter
for ILR Birmingham (BRMB etc) compared to Lichfield

ILR WOLVERHAMPTON AND BLACK COUNTRY (97.2 MHz v.h.f.) (Beacon Radio):

IBA map showing the coverage of ILR Wolverhampton and Black Country
(Beacon Radio / Beacon FM etc)
VHF contour is for the 1kW transmitter at Turners Hill (Now 2 kW)

ILR COVENTRY (97.0 MHz v.h.f.- formerly 95.9 MHz v.h.f.) (Mercia Sound / Mercia FM):

IBA Map from the 1980 Handbook showing the predicted VHF contour for the 0.25 kW FM transmitter
at Shilton NGR: SP410836. The original frequency in 1980 was 95.9 MHz.
The A.M. coverage is not shown on the above map, but covered a significantly wider area and was on
220 meters medium wave, 1359 KHz, with 0.17 kW e.m.r.p. - later increased to 0.27 kW e.m.r.p.
The v.h.f. coverage was later measured by the IBA, showing the actual coverage to be a little wider,
and this map is shown immediately below:

IBA map showing the coverage of ILR Coventry
(Mercia Sound / Mercia FM etc)
VHF contour is the measured coverage from the 0.25kW transmitter at Shilton (Now increased to 1.8 kW)
The general TSA (Total Survey Area) is shown by the radiating lines and is typically the
area where satisfactory medium wave (AM) reception is available during daylight

IBA map showing the coverage of ILR Coventry in 1989
(Mercia Sound / Mercia FM etc)
VHF contours are for the 0.5kW transmitter at Shilton - measured coverage - 97.0 MHz (Now increased to 1.8 kW)
and the 0.05 kW relay at Leamington Spa

Map of the Shilton transmitter coverage area

The pixel plot above shows the coverage area from Shiton produced by the RadioMobile programme.
The Dark Green area is for the original 250 Watt e.r.p.
The Lighter Green area is for the 500 Watt e.r.p.
The Yellow area is for 1.8 kW e.r.p; which is the power being radiated in 2004 and is according to the directional
characteristics detailed in Ofcom's transmitter parameters.

ILR WOLVERHAMPTON (107.7 MHz v.h.f.) (The Wolf)

Pixel plot showing the expected coverage for ILR Wolverhampton 107.7 MHz v.h.f. f.m.
(107.7 The Wolf etc)
Transmitter is 0.17 kW at Mander House in the centre of Wolverhampton
Green area is the predicted 54 dB uV/m area where good reception should be possible
Yellow area is predicted 48 dB uV/m where reasonable reception may be possible with a
good radio and/or a good f.m. aerial.

WOLVERHAMPTON CITY RADIO - WCR FM - 101.8 MHz

Wolverhampton's very own Community Radio station, licence by Ofcom, launched on 30th March 2007. As with most community radio stations broadcasting on f.m. (v.h.f.) the transmitter power is only 25 Watts (Vertically Polarised). WCR FM broadcasts on 101.8 MHz FM from a transmitter sited on the corner of the roof of the Adult Education College in Bilston Street, at the south east corner of the city centre. The broadcasts are in high quality Stereo and are encoded with RDS (Radio Data System) which displays the name of the station - WCR FM.

While the Bilston Street transmission site is quite high at 155 m above sea level (Wolverhampton city centre is on a hill overlooking surrounding districts), WCR's vertical transmitting aerial is only 20 meters above ground level, becuase the building is not especially tall, and its outlook is therefore somewhat blocked to the north and west by taller buildings. However the outlook is reasonably unobstructed to the east and south. Actual listening confirms that reception is quite poor in the western and northern parts of the city. I was pleasantly surprised to note that reception was just possible in the Edgbaston district of Birmingham on a good quality car radio, though extremely weak indeed, but reception continued and improved on a journey from Birmingham along the A4123 towards Wolverhampton.

Bilston Street transmitter Wolverhampton

Coverage map for WCR FM - Wolverhampton Community Radio

The map shown above is the predicted coverage produced by RadioMobile:

The Green (54 dB uV/m) area is where reasonable reception should be possible even on a portable radio in some cases.

The Yellow (48 dB uV/m) area is where reception will probably be difficult, but may be possible given a good quality (i.e. sensitive and selective) radio and very careful positioning of the radio and aerial. It is always best to fully extend a telescopic/whip aerial and a position near a window may improve reception. - In this yellow area the use of a good quality hi-fi tuner connected to an external vertically polarised band 2 v.h.f. f.m. aerial (antenna) mounted above roof-top height should provide quite acceptable reception in mono.

The Blue (38 dB uV/m) area is where reception may be possible, but could be especially difficult. A good car radio may yield some acceptable reception and a hi-fi tuner connected to an external, vertically polarised band 2 v.h.f. f.m. aerial (antenna) mounted above roof-top height may also provide some reception. Portable radios will probably have to be of very good quality and have the aerial fully extended and carefully positioned and may not provide acceptable reception unless placed near a window and/or in an upstairs room facing the direction of Bilston Street.

WOLVERHAMPTON COMMUNITY RADIO STATION DETAILS:
Station Address	WCR FM, Newhampton Centre, Newhampton Road East, Wolverhampton. WV1 4AP
Website	http://www.wcrfm.com
Frequency	101.8 MHz V.H.F. / F.M. (Stereo)
Transmitter Location	Bilston Street, Adult Education College, Wolverhampton
Transmitter Grid Reference	SO917984
Transmitter Power	25 Watts e.r.p.
Aerial Polarisation	Vertical
Transmitter Site Height	155 m a.o.d.
Transmitter Aerial Height	20 m a.o.d.
RDS code	CB91
RECEPTION ADVICE For best reception the use a high quality stereo FM hi-fi tuner connected via high quality coaxial cable to a VHF / FM radio aerial mounted externally and above roof-top height (or at least in the loft space) is recommended. For reception on a portable radio the use of good quality equipment is recommended - such as that from Panasonic, Sony, Roberts and Philips. The telescopic/whip aerial should be fully extended and carefully positioned until the best possible reception is obtained. In difficult reception circumstances positioning the radio near a window may improve signal strength considerably. Siting the radio on the side of the house that faces Bilston Street may help. Reception in an upstairs room is usually stronger than in downstairs rooms.

In contrast to WCR FM, Wolverhampton's licenced ILR station on 107.7 MHz (The Wolf) benefits from an aerial mounted at the top of Mander House, which is the city centre's tallest building and as such benefits from an unobstructed outlook in all directions. This is also a good deal more powerful at 170 Watts and benefits from mixed polarisation.

ILR BIRMINGHAM (102.2 MHz v.h.f.) (Galaxy)

Pixel plot showing the expected coverage for the ILR Birmingham (Galaxy 102.2 etc)
The transmitter is 1.0 kW and located on top of Metropolitan House, 1 Hagley Road, Five Ways, Birmingham
Red area is the predicted by RadioMobile to give reasonable stereo coverage
In 2004 a new Lindenblad mixed polarised transmitting aerial replaced the previous vertical dipole antennas, power increased from 500 watts vertical to 500 W V + 500 W H - totalling 1.0 kW mixed