There’s Some SERIOUS Radio INSIDE Liverpool’s Radio City Tower!

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[@dougtaylor7724]

If case someone has not pointed this out yet, you are a genius and a true treasure to have on KZbin. Thank you for all your efforts!

[@RingwayManchester]

Wow, thank you!

[@basshorseman998]

Ditto

[@DanielAndrews-wc7vo]

Ditto

[@alexwatson-smith411]

I agree with you about hits radio eating up local stations. They did the same in Staffordshire. I no longer listen to them.

[@chesterwilliams69420]

They also did that in Bournemouth a few years ago

[@tommac8742]

@@chesterwilliams69420 In Australia one of the biggest stations is triple J. Created as A platform for more Australian music. plays mainly Aussie artists. Owned and created by the government but edited independently. Its considered an Indie station. its nice to tune out to the mainstream.

[@jakedillingham]

They did it to spirit FM in Chichester too

[@CJT80]

Bauer Radio (or Devour Radio as I prefer to call them) along with Global (Snowball) have ruined the radio industry in the UK. However it was already on a slippery slope when people started listening to streaming platforms instead of their local stations

[@TheSpotify95]

Greatest Hits Radio has done the same thing in the area near me. In Leicestershire, Gem 106's FM frequency became Greatest Hits and their DAB allocation became Hits Radio. More saddening to me was the conversion of KISS FM UK to Greatest Hits Radio in the East Anglia region.

[@CityRadioServices]

FYI the microwave antenna fitted by NTL receive the DAB mux from Billinge and relay it on to Hope Mountain. When Radio City first moved in, the only RF kit was a business radio network (linked via microwave link to Blackpool Tower with the microwave antenna sited directly above the roof access hatch!), Granada TV vision link and the UHF radio links for Radio City/Magic 1548. One was the backup UHF link to the Bromborough MW TX and the other was a receiver for the Wood & Douglas OB kit plus VHF talkback. Besides the studio and office levels, there is also another level containing plant/power below the studios. The steel structure is for advertising billboards (the original idea was to have large TV screens but the added weight was of concern (and not calculated in the original stress tests). The signage was originally neon tubes but because of the way they were connected, it only took on tube to fail and the whole letter/number would fail. These were later changed to fluorescent tubes. PW

[@craft-o-matic399]

I love the mid century modern architecture of this tower! Thank you Lewis! Lisa

[@andrewbennett7756]

My beautiful city I 💕💕 my city

[@richintalent]

Re the death of AM radio: Tom Petty recorded a track called "There Goes the Last DJ" that sums up the death of independent radio.

[@odius94]

RIP Jim Ladd, the inspiration for that song. Used to listen to him in Los Angeles years ago.

[@stalker9fdx]

yet another great video. very informative. i agree about local radio. what puts me off more than anything is the amount of adverts, that in my opinion ruins the listening experience.

[@thomassecurename3152]

Love “dazzle camouflage“ as a descriptor. Jolly good!

[@UKRO404]

FYI, Snowdrop’s colour scheme is the work of Sir Peter Blake.

[@G0RXA]

Brilliant video Lewis and I for one agree with your comments re local radio loosing its identity. Not sure there is any way back other than the resurgence of the pirates.

[@markssmith77]

St John Ambulance have a VHF/UHF repeater on the tower for event radio coverage around the city. Was very useful when covering the Rock and Roll Marathon as a rolling cover vehicle...

[@RikAindow]

Evening! Nice to see you over this way.

[@AlexGSi2000]

Never knew about the Allerton transmitter, I live less than a mile away! Great video, thanks.

[@UKRO404]

Views from the gallery are OK but somewhat impaired by the thick, grubby windows. Anyone seeking the best views of Liverpool and surrounding area should go to the top of the tower of the Anglican cathedral. That’s slightly more elevated and there’s nothing to block your view. I’ve no idea about radio antennas on it though. Maybe you could do a follow-up video Lewis?

[@Bond2025]

Quite a few aerials up there, well worth a look.

[@RingwayManchester]

Working on it ;)

[@G7OEA]

@@RingwayManchester I look after one-off the transmitters on top of the cathedral.

[@bobsmith3291]

There’s loads blocking your view on the cathedral actually

[@maliceinpunderland5869]

Top of the liver building is good for views too!

[@SarahJane148]

Totally agree Lewis local radio is dead where i live in north Essex the only station i can pick up is Radio Caroline

[@gregchapman3519]

Bauer media are the reason ive not listened to Radio City for about 15 years. Absolutely demolished local radio in the area.

[@thomasstone1363]

Great video, thank you!

[@barryellison1272]

We spent last weekend in Liverpool and loved the city centre and the docks. Amogst the places we went to were St John's Beacon and the ferry. The views from the top are well worth seeing. We had to wait for the window cleaners to finish work first thought.

[@alzeNL]

Fantastic views, as soon as I saw the docks, I remembered the excellent series 'boys from the blackstuff' seeing that view of them - a brilliant series. I really enjoy how you are mixing up all these radio video's with fantastic tourist things as well, never thought of stopping in Liverpool, but for sure I will see when I can squeeze it in either en-route or returning from Bangor.

[@erikmutthersbough6508]

Great video Lewis ❤. It was the first thing I watched while recovering from my surgery today 👍.

[@Bloke-in-Stoke]

Excellent work. Thanks

[@chrissmith7655]

Hi Lewis, many thanks, once again super interesting info.

[@jack_2000]

How you can just look at a set of radio equipment and tell us what it is, is still insane to me. I'm sure there's a hell of a lot of research behind it, but it's so impressive.

[@martinconnelly1473]

Form follows function. The orientation, sizes and spacing of elements can give an indication of wavelengths which are all carefully controlled.

[@petersmith5199]

Another superb video Lewis, your standards never drop!

[@kellingc]

What a cool facility.

[@tgheretford]

I know MuxCo DAB ensembles tend to extend outside of their coverage area in order to make the ensembles more financially viable. For example, Lincolnshire also extends to East Yorkshire, Doncaster and Nottinghamshire. The NE Wales and West Cheshire one's overspill effectively makes it an unofficial Liverpool 2 ensemble.

[@jgcracknell]

And Suffolk MuxCo doesn't even cover the county nor Lowestoft. Even having ITU clearance.

[@TheSpotify95]

@@jgcracknell And although not MuxCo, the Leicestershire multiplex has the antennae so low down on its main transmitter site, that it barely covers the county and needs a repeater antenna just to cover Leicester itself. I was picking up Northamptonshire better than I was Leicestershire well into Leicestershire itself...

[@Milcom34]

Thanks RM. Now That is a Serious Radio Tower**** Really Cool. Take Care****

[@G7OEA]

I hope you popped over to the Anglican cathedral while you were there to look at the antennas on the roof.

[@RingwayManchester]

;)

[@triplexdread]

i remember as a young child going up there to the cafe in the 70's for a cup of tea and to eat a sandwich. Back then it still revolved. It was ace. Additionally my Grandad used to work on the ferries. Some weekends we used to go visit and he would take us down into the staff quarters to play cards while he was working..Back then it was only 40p - 50p to cross from woodside to liverpool. Ahh the good ole days

[@davidsradioroom9678]

There is a lot of antennas up there. Unfortunately, local radio in the US is mostly satellite fed from central locations. We are losing AM stations here, but at a slower rate. Many AM stations are religious stations . They have funds to continue, but I wonder about other stations.

[@ElliottVeares]

How about FM stations in the US, where are they broadcast from?

[@davidsradioroom9678]

@@ElliottVeares Depends on what company owns the station

[@davidspencer5668]

As always Lewis, your full work and information is Pinnacle to everyone , well done mate, well done from us the folks in Manchester

[@RingwayManchester]

Thanks so much David

[@dave1secondago]

what a cracking vid loved this / subbed

[@lukeypat]

0:56 you legend!!

[@tomclyne3320]

Really interesting video, thank you! Former USAF comms for 8 years so a video about radio antennas gets a thumbs up

[@RikAindow]

I hate Bauer for what they did to local radio with the ever increasing reach of "networking". Its just so generic now and even the breakfast stuff is too far removed from the local areas for my liking. As tor small scale DAB, it's a solution for a problem which OFCOM created by allowing the networking in the first place. Also, there are so many duplicate stations on DAB at the minute. DAB+ on national mux, DAB on local, plus regional versions which seem to exist only to serve local ads IMO.

[@jgcracknell]

Not just them but Capital and Heart too.

[@TheSpotify95]

@@jgcracknell I thought FM was bad, but I can pick up: D1: Heart UK, Heart 70s, Heart 80s, Heart 90s, Heart 00s, Heart 10s, Heart Dance Northamptonshire: Heart Northamptonshire HBB: Heart Home Counties Plus occasional overspill from Peterborough, Leicester, and whatever other multiplexes I can get. What a waste of capacity! These are stations I will never listen to!

[@Mitch-Hendren]

Ah but did you know its primary purpose ,when built was as a flue for the district heating system of the adjoining St Johns shopping precinct and market. It Had to be higher than the hills to the east of the city centre . The post office tower had just opened in London Liverpool being a forward looking city copied the concept

[@martinconnelly1473]

I saw smoke coming out of it in the mid 70's. I thought it was rubbish from the market being burned as it was very dirty smoke.

[@Mitch-Hendren]

@@martinconnelly1473 it was coal fired until 1979 when Liverpool became a smoke control area. Then switched to gas. So you're right about smoke. My da was caretaker of the building. Market rubbish was sent down a chute into a compactor in the basement.

[@loftlegacy]

I read that it was built as a ventilation shaft for the market & shopping centre below. However they changed the regs not long after construction meaning it was not needed.

[@petechongy]

Nice 1 Lewis first time seeing lpool ssdab antenna a cardioid type which makes sense as south area has a shitty signal off another 40w erp tx

[@jakedillingham]

Excellent I agree with everything you say.

[@ravingdavid69]

Thanks so much for this was in liverpool in November last year rember looking up at the building wondering what was on the roof well now I no thansks

[@PlanetRuncorn]

Lewis, i believe the stations does not transmit from the tower but its in a place called Allerton, called Allerton park, there is information out there .. radio mersey had been using this Allerton park transmitter since i was a kid back to the mid 70s .. hope the info helps

[@andw2638]

Living on the Fylde coast, Centreforce Radio 88.3 on DAB channel 10D from Moelyparc / Liverpool St John is now my usual commuting listening. I find it incredible the transmitter powers are so low. given the generally solid signal along the M55 apart from in the occasional cutting.

[@scouse1967]

My amazing and beautiful home city, in my childhood it was awesome to board the ferry from the Pier Head and sail across the river Mersey to Wallasey and either walk along the sea front or catch a bus into New Brighton. I did once go up to the Tower Restaurant with my late grand mother and as a child i found it breath taking and also scary lol. By the way you can also see Everton's ground (Goodison Park) which you forgot to mention.

[@melodycybergal7605]

I remember listening to the Great Eastern Express on 96.7 back in the late 70s whilst studying for my O levels. Sad to see it's all gone now.

[@stevetucker8630]

I also remember evenings listening to the Great Eastern Express when I was at Liverpool Uni ... wasn't it Phil something or other ?

[@martinconnelly1473]

@@stevetucker8630 Yes, Phil. I used to listen to it when I worked behind a bar a couple of weekday evenings a week. I think he ran from 6pm to 9pm so I switched it off as the bar got busier.

[@HamRadioDX]

Top job Lewis, although 7:47 gave me shudders haha!

[@RingwayManchester]

Thanks rog

[@paulhallas4661]

I think they have to keep the radio city sign after the rebrand as hits radio

[@borntoclimb7116]

This tower is Impressive

[@Boodieman72]

I've been to a revolving restaurant a few times and it was a wonderful experience. I wonder if there are any ADS-B antennas on there.

[@andyc3088]

GPO (BT) Tower in London used to have a restaurant as well and was open to the public, as a kid I went up it with my Dad. But after a bomb going off in the tower in 1971 it was closed to the public.

[@jameshalligan8775]

You can also see,Everton ground& the new one at the bramley Moore Dock.

[@WOFFY-qc9te]

I remember when Radio City first started, it was a big deal and was played on the old Huggins Coach on the way to Carlet Park college. ONE NINE FOUR RADIO CITY.... The demise of AM radio stations I think is driven more by than the lack advertisers audience the more choice our society is given the less money is available for each provider. This is happening in the US where the 200kW + AM stations are being swallowed up so new Digital stations can use an existing AM frequency and infrastructure. Then the Digital gets multiplexed into sub channel taking the AM audience. Then the station drops AM power and maintenance. Shango66 mentions it frequently.

[@garethhughes-tu4pu]

Huggins coach’s that’s a blast from the past thanks

[@WOFFY-qc9te]

@@garethhughes-tu4pu The Huggins coach was so old it had a petrol engine and efficiently dispersed hydrocarbons inside as well as out, ahhhh those were the days before Gretta spoilt it.

[@26chan]

It's so sad to see the slow death of local radio. I grew up in Stoke-on-Trent and used to do a lot of band II dx'ing. Radio city used to boom in and used to be a regular listen for me.

[@Technician4444]

Some years ago a pal of mine went up to the top of a Radio Tower for a peek around. He took a Video Camera with him and the Radiation was so strong it killed his Camera ! Personally and speaking as a ex RF Engineer myself I wouldn't go near that stack if you offered me a sackful of money. I do wonder if all those unfortunate people who worked up there in the offices lived to tell the tale.....

[@johncamp2567]

A Buck Rogers-themed restaurant???? Hard to believe it didn’t make it!!! A very cool building!!

[@jhonsiders6077]

Oh BTW they used the dazzle camouflage in WW 2 too was very effective at confusing the German U boats to set torpedoes on the right path .

[@peterking2794]

Great video, as ever! I've often wondered about the large triangular 'cage' below the antennas. What do you reckon it is? Cheers!

[@martinconnelly1473]

As well as giving access to the hardware I suspect it may be a microwave/radio wave shield to protect the people below it. Some of those transmitters are high power so even a small leak into the area below would result in a large dose for people spending their working day there. I worked Saturdays (and school holidays) in Lewis's department store when I was still at school and later at the Polytechnic on Byrom Street as it was before becoming John Moores University. I remember going in one Saturday and seeing black smoke coming out of the tower as it was also a tall chimney, probably for a waste incinerator connected to the market. My dad worked in Langton Dock office and knew some of the ferry captains, as a result when I was small I steered (supervised of course) one of the Mersey Ferries standing on a wooden box so I could reach the wheel. I always wondered which one it was.

[@KarlWilton]

It's an advertisement board.

[@langdalepass]

very interesting video thank you . What is the drone you used please , its fantastic quality

[@radiotowers1159]

Our local MW transmitter station changed to G Hits Radio also and now the MW towers have went silent as they closed the MW service....sad

[@theweekthatis]

What a great video.

[@RingwayManchester]

Glad you enjoyed it and thanks!

[@5mxg]

Can you hang a tiny frequency meter under your drone? When you go close to emitting antenna you can get reading of strongest signal at the point. Should be light and handy enough to help with identification of vhf/uhf/lower GHzs

[@nessymon]

great vid

[@joerhorton]

I grew up in the lates 70's and Early 80's in Liverpool constantly asking my Dad if I could go up the tower, however he wasn't up for it due to the price to eat up there!

[@luc122c]

It would be great if you could do one of these for the equipment atop Blackpool Tower! :)

[@stephenjones9153]

I'm pretty sure Lewis already did one about Blackpool Tower or maybe it was just testing Boefung,s up there.😊

[@luc122c]

@@stephenjones9153 I had a look back through his videos but I couldn’t see one :)

[@Landie_Man]

Interesting the refurb happened in 1999. If you watch “Firefighters” a 1997 BBC fly on the wall; it looks lit up and in use in the distance as they drive past it in a number of scenes.

[@richcolour]

sorry if this has been asked before. What drone do you use, and how much does it cost to get these fantastic shots?

[@geoff37s57]

I watched the Beacon being constructed from my office window. I always thought it was a quite ugly construction with a bare concrete and unfinished look. I have not been back to Liverpool for many years so hopefully weathering has softened the look and the original unfinished sawn-off look of the top now shows some purpose with the antenna array.

[@JamesHalfHorse]

I rarely listen anymore and I work for the stations. Everything now music and half the commercials are all sat feeds in our case WestWood 1. I got some that don't even have studios anymore. Just a rack of equipment at the tower now. Was talking to my engineering mentor the other day about how I wish I had been there for the hayday 80s and early 90s I grew up with where the radio stations were the social hubs of the town. When the DJs weren't on the air they were out doing remotes and at events. The soul is gone. Sadly as one of the people that replaced the DJs with PCs I had no say in it it but feel like I am partly to blame. For the sake of asking have you thought about reaching out to some of the engineering contacts for these sites and see if you can get a tour of the insides? I think most of us like to geek out when we find an enthusiast who wants to see what we work on.

[@MI7DJT]

Every teacher should watch this channel and LEARN how to captivate an audience (instead of boring them to death). They'd do well to research like you do too Lewis and teach our kids to think critically, use THEIR OWN eyes and ears, just like you do Lewis. Hat-tip to you pal. I also love how you remind us that you're a human and prone to make mistakes, and how you invite healthy discourse on any disputed matters. You'd be a great role model for kids mate. Much better than most of their "teachers". If you're a parent reading this, I reckon you'd agree. Buy this guy a coffee ;)

[@UFODave69]

The amalgamtion of radio broadcasts is becoming more and more a problem in Canada too. To the point that only a few stations in my area still have local broadcasts. Which is a pain if you want some local news, weather and traffic updates during your daily commute

[@iwontlagback7236]

Hey ! Awesome video. Just wondering, are you not worried you might mess up microwave links flying in front of them with the drone? Also how legal is it to be flying in these areas? Im not asking to be a pain im genuinely curious.

[@andylinton2798]

That DAB stack might have more than one tx combined into it. Oh, I went up the tower a few years ago, before it had public access as I'm a broadcast engineer and had work to do in the studios. It's a real pity it's rarely used now - the studios had a great view, and I can confirm it sways! While there one of the large panes of glass was removed and being worked on - it was quite disconcerting walking past the open frame!

[@RingwayManchester]

Hey Andy that’s what I’m thinking, it’s the only logical possibility.

[@WilliamAshleyOnline]

Very cool... having a radio studio in there is ULTIMA... bravo on that move. 6:18 looks like a standard microwave link.. just follow its line of sight until you hit another microwave relay point. Microwave links are often used in radio communication to go to secondary transmitter sites or get direct feeds from others for remote control. Maybe there is a secondary transmitter or office location that feeds or there is a TV or radio station that broadcasts off of the tower that is remote to the site. The roof houses the local 10C Digital Audio Broadcasting multiplex for Liverpool. Hits Radio Liverpool and Greatest Hits Radio do not directly broadcast from the roof. Their FM signal is transmitted by the Allerton Park Transmitter, along with BBC Radio Merseyside on 95.8FM. ?? Liverpool DAB operates the new DAB multiplex in the city of Liverpool. Launched in November 2023, it provides a platform for new and interesting radio stations and has increased listener choice across Merseyside where more than 981,000 people live, travel, work, study and play. If you have a radio station you want to get on air, get in touch now using the form below.

[@emsservices6090]

do you reference the sites to the ofcom database ?. Loads of info on sites for technically assigned licences to see what repeaters are up there

[@joehynes1746]

I can confirm, with the buidling being Grade II listed... (and the Radio City 96.7 signage being protected under this) the signage isn't going anywhere, unless Bauer want to go to court with it

[@johnpinckney4979]

I remember the "original" Radio City...

[@pjohnwilliams6941]

City FM back in the day

[@lifechooser]

Did you use a film camera for the stills?

[@Danmemer89]

radio is going the same direction here in the US, local sounding stations are being phased out for garbage sounding voice tracking from somewhere else in the US, which i agree, makes radio really unlistenable to me

[@cal-efc8062]

Get a all zone save away for £6 you can use that to get on the ferry also trains

[@wisteela]

I didn't know you could go up it.

[@stevethom4329]

Bloody hell, Baurer have taken over everything

[@jackbuff_I]

No way! I had no idea that was there! Very cool! Like you say, how was it just left to rot?! The fact that it was just shows how grim Liverpool got at one point! I've gotta visit it.. as a proud Stopfordian I'll probably start waxing lyrical that.. " _the Mersey starts in Stockport don'tchya know_ " 🤦‍♂️🙄

[@martinoneill5996]

What drone do you use for your videos?

[@GroovyVideo2]

Corporations are killing everything

[@jonathaneastwood2927]

and the damn internet

[@rogerlafrance6355]

One things for sure, they pay a packet to have antennas up there!

[@StalinTheMan0fSteel]

I was sure we'd get a shot of Paul McCartney from up there.... But oh well. 8-)

[@monkeysausageclub]

Is the structure under the antennas just an architectural feature? I really should go up, I'm like 20 minutes away from Liverpool. I could probably see my house from up there 😅

[@ozbolli]

Local radio died about 15 years ago in my eyes. The television stations went the same way. They restrict what you can see and listen to all day everyday.

[@TheSpotify95]

Local radio died when Global allowed Heart FM to swallow up the local stations.

[@ozbolli]

@@TheSpotify95 and no commercial t/os ever happened before that?

[@new_fone_who_dis]

Listened to this in 2x speed and it's perfectly legible haha

[@yardgrid]

I went to that revolving restaurant. I was onky a kid but it didnt strike me as 5 star and we werent a "5 star" family if you get me.

[@DilipDas]

Great video! Are the NTL microwave dishes now owned by Virgin Media?

[@MrTech626]

Reminds me of the CN tower in Ontario Canada

[@sparkyp3715]

second video asking for a video of the Fenton transmitter mast please and thank you

[@Subgunman]

AM radio? When I took delivery of my then new car in December of 2006 I sat outside for any days and nights trying to find an AM station that might be transmitting from the mainland but no luck. Way too much QRM from the National electrical grid from corona discharges along HV insulators nearby especially on really damp evenings and days. I remember listening to WLW out of Cincinnati Ohio while living in central Ohio, listening to now silent SWL stations from all over the world. I do miss those days of chasing the waves.

[@oliverw.douglas285]

It would be interesting to sit there for a time with a spectrum analyzer, & see what pops up.

[@billmilosz]

I would like to see some transmitters and not just antennae

[@jeffreyspeltie1961]

Be safe

[@andywilliams2020]

Hi, I have read somewhere that as it is a listed building they won't be able to take the Radio City 96.7 signage down due to this :)

[@RingwayManchester]

It doesn’t affect it. It’s not an original feature. Bauer confirmed it’s being removed

[@andywilliams2020]

@@RingwayManchester shame

[@lookitsahorner]

Wonder who'll get ahold of the sign after it is taken down

[@G7OEA]

There is some debate over the radio shitty sign.as it was installed before the grade 2 listing and it is an iconic part of the tower's identity it mught not be removed. Also the 96 is illuminated on Hillsborough memorial day.

[@stephenjones9153]

I wonder if they will change it to 97 as a mark of respect 🙏 😢

[@G7OEA]

@@stephenjones9153 I think they do by not illuminating the 6 and the decimal

[@stephenjones9153]

@G7OEA As a radio amateur looking at digital readouts for year's I should have thought of that great idea 👍 👍. YNWA 9 7 .

[@DavidPritt-xh7qq]

They have destroyed our local station in south Hampshire, R.I.P Wave 105. If I wanted to listen to a national radio I would choose that, but I liked the local element and presenters. Bauer seem to be able to gobble up everything to pay for their ex BBC presenter.

[@SRQmoviemaker]

Even the USA they're cutting back on live local radio and AM is dying too. Luckily theres an FM hot talk station on where I live. I'm a talk radio junky