Swansea

Page last updated: 9/3/2022

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Site CodeEstablishedClosedNGRMap LinksGeograph
YSXR1976SS646972Google Maps Bing Maps Old OS MapPhotos

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History

Swansea did not form part of the original Post Office microwave network west of Cardiff but was added during 1976, apparently providing a spur for telephony purposes. There is no line-of-sight possible from the main exchange in cenral Swansea to other sites in South Wales so a separate site was established on high ground to the north. An article in the Post Office Electrical Engineers' Journal, January 1977, notes that Swansea was the first site where a "Type 5A" tower was assembled by Post Office personnel (rather than by contractors) and that the tower then carried a single 3.66 m dish operating at 4 GHz - assumed to face Werfa. The building appears to be of the standard type.

A later POEEJ article, October 1981 shows a fibre link planned between Swansea and "Swansea Radio" by 1985. This suggests the SHF link(s) were migrated to digital systems in the same era. (The article also refers to a short fibre link at Aberystwyth, perhaps associated with the Blaen Plwyf SHF site.)

Google Street View from 2008 shows two dishes facing approximately east and three to the north west, believed to link with Werfa and Llanllawddog respectively. The main dishes were removed some time between 2008 and 2011 but the site continues to be used for local links.

Photos

2008

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