Transmitter

Not to be confused with the Trasmitter.

The piece of apparatus generally referred to as the transmitter is the box inside URY stores that converts sound input into radio output. As such, it is one of URY's (and Ofcom's) most cherished pieces of equipment, with sacred rites as to when it can be turned on and turned off.

Transmitter antenna

This is the thing that sticks out of the ground and beams URY to the campuses on 1350kHz medium-wave. It is also a favourite target of heavy plant whenever Vanbrugh is under construction, though usually they prefer to attack the underground power cables instead.

ATU

The box at the base of the aerial, known as the ATU, takes in a big thick cable from the transmitter, and puts out a tiny thin red wire, which connects to the big white metal tall thing. Touching this wire is dangerous and those who do so whilst the transmitter apparatus is running should seek medical attention. It is for this reason, among others, that this box is locked. With a key*.

Nobody knows where the key is, but the lock doesn't work. Just turn the handle.

Big thick cable

This cable carries the transmission signal from the transmitter in stores to the ATU. The cable runs approximately as follows:

• Out of the back of the transmitter box in stores
• Into some stores ducting
• Out of the back stores wall and into the Vanbrugh covered walkway
• Into Vanbrugh Nucleus
• Into the Vanbrugh JCR area
• Through the JCR area
• Into the Vanbrugh Dining Hall's Kitchens
• Through the kitchen and bar back office
• Through the old Vanbrugh Substation room (yes, really)
• Into an underground duct created just for the use of URY
• Out by the substation (underground), and to the ATU

There is a manhole access cover from where you can see the technically-URY-owned ducting carry most of the campus network fibre.

At some point during its journey, the cable runs parallel to (list may not be exhaustive):

• Inter-building power
• Vanbrugh-Grimston House-URY fire alarm cabling
• The ITS cross-lake fibre bundles (redirected from Central Hall around 2013) to use the ducting that runs directly to the ETU

The transmitter breaking incident

During some works around Vanbrugh, it was noted that some building contractors had identified the nice pole outside as a useful place against to lean metal fencing. We requested this not happen, but it didn't stop happening.

A short period of time later, it was noted that the transmitter appeared to no longer be "transmitting". A few attempts were made to turn it off and on again, to no avail - only some of the lights were turning on.

Some staring at the schematics for the transmitter (it's all in the manual!) later, and a potential cause was identified. We had a blown fuse. 13A? Alas, no. 5A? It was not to be. We're talking a short blow fuse with a rating in the milliamps. You can't just get those in your local home electrical shop. ITS and Estates did not have one either, so we went to our local electronics shop instead, in Leeds.

We bought some new fuses.

We put one of them into the transmitter and switched it on.

For the briefest moment, everything lit up as if it was operational. Then it returned to its previous state - only some of the lights on the front panel were illuminated. Hoping it was a duff fuse, a second attempt was decided as the next decision.

However, just as the fuse was inserted into the transmitter and we were preparing a power on, two burly-looking men in high vis jackets burst through the open stores door and demanded to know immediately where the fire was. The burst of power that was sent through the big thick cable before the fuse tripped emitted an electromagnetic pulse similar to what the fire alarm control cables running parallel to it would expect to be carrying if the current state of URY was "on fire". So all the control systems thought that our building thought it was on fire, but it didn't.

Anyway, the transmitter was sent off for repair and it took something like three months and quite a bit of money. So don't break it.