TNT-Limoges les Cars activated!

[Jako]

Inhabitants of Limousin area and north-east Dordogne ( Perigord)  are now able to get TNT from the powerful "Les Cars" transmitter.

[Martin963]

Yes and its 25 kW erp is even getting down into our valley where we get pretty grainy analogue pics.

FWIW this is the first high power site in France to be activated under the regime that certain analogue reception areas will definitely be DEGRADED by these new digital transmissions.   Hitherto great efforts have been made to change frequencies around so that existing analogue transmissions are not affected by the arrival of TNT. 

Here in Limousin the channel allocation jig-saw has finally become insoluble and several viewers of relays in 24/23/87/16/19 may find their analogue pics becoming noisier. 

The solution in most cases is now to "go digital" and this decision to deliberately risk degradations has been taken on the basis that viewers will have to act soon anyway.   75% of viewers likely to be affected can go digital now as their relay station carries TNT alongside analogue.

Other areas in the same boat and to be activated this summer include Privas (Crete de Blandine),  Gex (Mont Rond),  Aurillac (La Bastide du Haut Mont,  which already runs the public-service MUX unofficially),  Grenoble (Chamrousse),  Chambery (Mt des Cats) and Besancon (Lomont and Montfaucon),  and Avignon (where the highly directional horizontal radiation pattern at Mt Ventoux is likely to be relaxed).