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Capital Radio (95.8 MHZ)
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Advert for radio in the parochial magazine of March 1925

Television
Hartley's television signal comes from the Crystal Palace transmitter.  This 313m tower dominates the skyline for miles in South London.  It is one of the most powerful in the country and first broadcast on 28 March 1956.  This explains why the Dartford area receives the London local news programmes, although those with satellite can receive the Kent local news.

The channels this mast broadcasts on are BBC1 (channel 26), BBC2 (33), ITV1 (23) and Channel 4 (30).

Poor quality pictures can also be received from the Sudbury transmitter in Suffolk: BBC1 (channel 51), BBC (44), ITV1 (41) and Channel 4 (47).  There is another mast at Bluebell Hill, but it is very difficult to receive any kind of picture from there, possibly partly due to the orientation of people's aerials.

High definition television (405 lines) began in the UK from Alexandra Palace on 2 November 1936.  Hartley would have been within its 35 mile radius, but it is unlikely that anyone here owned a television set before the war.

Originally Hartley only received its BBC signal from Crystal Palace.  ITV had a transmitter in Croydon.  But when 625 line television was introduced both companies used the Crystal Palace transmitter.  However Croydon is now the transmitter for Channel 5 to this area on channel 37.

Digital Television
At the moment the options are limited as Freeview is not available in most of Hartley, but Freesat from Sky is available.  You can check what digital services your postcode can receive at http://www.digitaluk.co.uk

At present television signals are mostly "analogue" which take up much more bandwidth than digital.  Changing to digital will mean many more channels can broadcast at the same time.  For the London area, the changeover is due to take place in 2012.  Once this occurs you will need to have a decoder box (like the Freeview ones today) for your existing analogue set and VCR, or purchase a digital TV.

Radio
The first radio broadcasts began from the 2LO studio in The Strand, London on 14 November 1922.  Radio was instantly popular, if very expensive.  H Myers of Church Road advertised radio sets between £5 and £50 in March 1924 (£5 then is the equivalent of about £170 today!).  One of the earliest Hartley people to appear on radio was June Worsley, who played piano on Children's Hour in October 1936.

Our area saw a notable first, when the nation's inaugural VHF transmitter opened at Wrotham on 2 May 1955.  And we continue to receive BBC and other radio programmes from this transmitter at the following frequencies:

• Radio 1 (98.8 MHZ)
• Radio 2 (89.1 MHZ)
• Radio 3 (91.3 MHZ)
• Radio 4 (93.5 MHZ)
• Radio Kent (96.7MHZ) Medium wave from Littlebourne (774 KHZ)
• Classic FM (100.9 MHZ)

Long wave and medium wave require far fewer transmitters.  Only 3 transmitters are needed to broadcast Radio 4 on 198 KHZ LW in the whole of the UK, the nearest being at Droitwich in the Midlands.