Dark Skies event - village hall

 

Bilsdale Transmitter

 

Several weeks since the fire at the mast they are finally starting the temporary replacement build.

Since it is much smaller than the original it's unclear how well it will actually work.

The Castleton relay has somehow been linked into a different source as a work around and a few people might be able to turn an aerial that way.

It's only a low power transmitter though, if you can't see it you probably won't get anything! 

Nice to see.

 

Fibre broadband update - Live!

 As of 30th June the cabinet in the village has finally been enabled so those whose line goes through that hub can go for a 'Fibre to the cabinet' (FTTC) package - that is more or less default for most domestic broadband in the UK.
Most of the village might expect download speeds of up to 50-70mb which will be a huge change from about 5mb on good days.
Upload speed could be about 20mb which is also useful.

Unfortunately as you go further away speeds will decline but in reality it will depend on condition of lines and which route they take rather than an exact distance so it's best to see what the BT line checker says here. It is only an estimate ao it may work better - or worse - than they are able to guess remotely.
https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL

Other line checkers are (probably) available.

If it still doesn't offer much improvement the best option for faster Broadband is probably Moorsweb wifi who have offered a service for several months now. Most users are pleased with it but note due to the nature of radio links, some locations are harder than others to reach.

Must add a note it is hard to believe it is practically a year since the cabinet was installed - ever step since then seems to proceed at snails pace for no obvious reason.
Once the trunking was installed (January - hardest part) and fibre threaded through (April) you would not have expected it would still be weeks before it could actually be connected!
Nonetheless for a relatively small number of users it is good they have finally got it done.

What do you need to connect?
A router capable of connecting with VDSL rather than (only) ADSL - some do both.
You can google the model number or it may state VDSL on the case.
If you have a recent router you may not need to change anything it will just switch over on it's own once you ask to update.
If you need to get a newer router, a simple one is typically supplied free or at modest cost though some will buy or already own a more capable model. 

Panorama from Westerdaleside

 June evening panorama

Another old view

 I'm not entirely sure if this is a poor quality early photograph or artistic impression (via facebook)
Around the bridge is much more open and that looks like gorse or heather growing.
Technically the common extends right down to the bridge as a narrow strip all the way down from the moor, as a kind of intake to take sheep through.

Broadband update March 2021

 In January local contractors installed ducting to the new cabinet but since then nothing more has happened.
It would seem likely that threading fibre through the ducting would only take a day or two but everything seems to take several months if Openreach are involved, it would not be surprising if it's a full year from the box being installed to actually up and running.

In the meantime Moorsweb local wifi is available and gives good speeds.
Several people are using it and it is usually possible to extend to anyone else wanting to give it ago - subject to survey.

Interesting old postcard

 Note the trod - still there under big hedge.
Unsurfaced road of course, and far less trees round the bridge.
The cricket ground is a normal field with sheep or possibly white cows grazing, there could be a ditch or hedge running across it.
At the ford looks a little odd - is it just gorse or similar growing, or could there be a wall or even remains of a structure?

Faster broadband latest ...

Not a great deal to report with any certainty.

The new fibre cabinet was installed in July - see earlier post - and it seemed reasonable to hope it might be live this year but early next year now looks more likely.
Speaking to an Openreach engineer working nearby, he said everyone's existing lines have been connected via the new box which is the most time consuming part.
He believes that several sections - but not all - of the existing underground cable towards Castleton is in ducts and it should progress quickly there, but some trenching and disruption is inevitable.
It should progress quite rapidly once they start.

Revival North Yorkshire

https://www.thescarboroughnews.co.uk/news/people/salt-earth-meet-amazing-volunteers-making-difference-esk-valley-2998636