History

This page has been created to document local television links provided for TVS (later Meridian) in the Medway/Maidstone area. The details are from BT network diagrams in the 1980s and broadcast history sources.

TVS took over the south east ITV franchise from Southern Television on 1 January 1982. Southern's main studios were at Southampton with a local facility in Dover. The Post Office/BT operated links, via London, allowing both studios to feed the main transmitters at Rowridge (previously Chillerton Down) on the Isle of Wight and at Dover. Southern had planned to develop new studios at Maidstone and this site was inherited by TVS and operational from late 1982. The Dover studio was closed in 1983. As a temporary measure, TVS acquired a former cinema in Gillingham. This was available for use as a studio early in 1982.

In this era, live broadcasting from a permanent site required the provision of a BT "vision circuit". For short distances coaxial cable was normally used. Although fibre might have been an option it seems this was possibly still regarded as "experimental" for analogue broadcast purposes. It is unlikely suitable cable links existed between Gillingham, Maidstone and the existing Southern/TVS vision circuits which ran over microwave links between London and Tolsford Hill. The solution was to add short microwave links to Fairseat where a remotely-controlled Television Network Switching Centre was installed. This TVNSC was most likely simple switching so Gillingham and Maidstone studios could share existing circuits between London and Dover until permanent arrangements were in place.

At Gillingham a dish was installed on the roof of the studio, possibly on a temporary basis pending a planning application in 1983. At Maidstone a more elaborate arrangement was used - new cables were provided between the main telephone exchange and the studio complex and an SHF dish on the exchange roof. Two antennas were added at Fairseat - somewhat smaller in size than those used over the main link via Flimwell to Tolsford Hill.

Once the Dover studio closed and TVS withdrew from Gillingham it's likely the circuits were re-arranged with Maidstone permanently connected to London and the Fairseat TVNSC taken out of use.