I noticed yesterday there appears to have been a shiny new mast erected here over the past few weeks.  This explains the contractors lorry I saw going up the road a few weeks ago.  I'll wait until they are finished and post a pic and info on the page.

Intriguing :)

Will be interesting see what sprouts on it - and if any signs go up around it.

Just to clarify, so I don't have the wrong spot in my mind after the wrong spotting by others ;)

This is the large Toward Taynuilt site up the hill at the big ground circles, and not the former mystery site down at the lighthouse?

No no, the one up the hill.

Yes I am waiting to see what is attached to it before I photograph it.

Thanks, I find it's sometimes too easy to assume that what is in one's mind as a preconception can lead one astray :)

I'm almost tempted to lay this one at the door of the latest mobile phone network, or even an expansion of the existing system. They seem to be breeding around me, as existing sites have another box and thinly disguised mast squeezed into place.

It is a reasonably tall lattice mast from what I can see from the road.   I have no idea if it is at its full height.

RTTY...Any readers of a certain US radio magazine will have noticed an entry in the utilities section by a chap or chapess by the name of Watson.This section is called "Utilities" and refers to voice or data comms heard by radio enthusiasts not exclusively but mainly in the US from worldwide. This chap frequently reports the mode RTTY from Faslane with no indication of  content quite rightly.No location from this person is given except Watson UK...Could the origin of the RTTY be recieving a makeover.

Who can afford to buy magazines nowadays?

I have huge paperbacks and hardback books that cost of a fraction of a magazine nowadays - I use the "library" magazine shelf of the local supermarkets if I want to see inside a magazine these days, until the security heavy starts watching me ::)

Fairly easy to find, but I don't have any RTTY kit, so won't be shuffling the long wire out the window.

The data is relatively harmless from the reports I can see, and comprise either encrypted bursts (so are secure), or reports about other communication systems. There won't be much info in them, as even clever systems can't shove any volume of data over HF.

As these arel on HF, as per our other items on Signal City, that structure suggests they would appear to fall into the category of general information for reception by many users.

Or, if I was being sneaky, for reception by only one or two, and hidden in plain sight ;)

I have been following this story with some interest as I was stationed at Toward Taynuilt for a year in the early 70s as a Radio Tech with the RN based at Faslane whilst I awaited a draft to a submarine. There was always a huge amount of speculation amongst the locals as to the function of this station. It really was quite innocous and was simply transmitting HF Ratt (teleprinter language) to the submarine fleet at sea and of course other naval vessels on the surface, skimmers as we called them. Now this was a long time ogo and I see they are still using HF. This would possibly be because to communicate with a submarine at periscope depth requires a huge amount of power at a relitivly low frequency as the lower it is the better it will penetrate water and submarines can only stick up a small antenna. Audio frequency travels for hundreds of miles through water and VLF RF as transmitted from the submarine transmitter at Rugby is only able to penetrate about 10 meters. This is ok for a sub towing an antenna float but these are not very user friendly and few attack subs would use them, not sure about the ballistic boats though as they would need to be listening all the time. So HF, strong powerful signal and how much info does one need to send anyway? not a lot and Toward Taynuilt still exists.
I see that the huge dipole aerial that used to sit in the middle of the big circle has gone and it was from memory uhf, but I may be wrong.
Jock, New Zealand

I don't know if it has been mentioned here but a new system for contacting submarines has been proposed.

DEEP SIREN

More than a proposal :)

Product Data Sheet

Rather nice solution too.

Only downside I can see is that it only works a finite number of times - in this realisation anyway ;)

Um... make that two downsides - if operating in hostile scenario - since the buoy to sub link is acoustic and presumably omnidirectional, it's not inconceivable that hydrophones could be used to track their operation, so could be used to track otherwise hidden subs.

From what I've read elsewhere, there is already an undersea network of hydrophones for research purposes, so it doesn't take the greatest leap of imagination to see how readings from these could be used to locate the operation of Deep Siren buoys.

The new mast, which is smaller than the existing one, still doesn't seem to have sprouted any antenae as far as can be seen from the road.

Welcome Jock.

Thanks for taking the time to drop in and pass on some information from the viewpoint of someone who was at the sharp end - it's something we value and appreciate.

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No hurry in getting stuff on the mast?

Is that a possible indication that it's not commercial then, and is an MoD contract happily ambling along? ;)

AS far as I can see from the road the lattice mast was erected ages ago and nothing has happened since so I would go along with your assumption.

I wonder if Jock has any further info on the transmitter building near the lighthouse?

Getting ready for digital television??

Quoted from Passerby

Getting ready for digital television??

In the vast majority of cases (I think there might be a couple of exceptions) the existing analogue UHF TV site is being used and I don't think there has been any broadcast TV on Toward since 405 line closed down.

The TV mast is further west then Taynuilt and from afar appears well maintained.  As far as I am aware it broadcasts all the usual analogue channels.  It was certainly live according to BBC Engineering a few years ago.  Our freeview comes from Rosneath.  

Before getting satellite I used to receive BBC1 on channel 51 and the nearest listed ch51 transmition was Girvan!

Quoted from The Fox

The TV mast is further west then Taynuilt and from afar appears well maintained.  As far as I am aware it broadcasts all the usual analogue channels.  It was certainly live according to BBC Engineering a few years ago.  Our freeview comes from Rosneath.  

Before getting satellite I used to receive BBC1 on channel 51 and the nearest listed ch51 transmition was Girvan!

That's the Rothesay transmitter at NS125690, I think the BBC 405 line was the one lower down the hill.  

MB