Allouis longwave transmitter

Last updated

The Allouis longwave transmitter has been France's central longwave broadcast transmitter since 1939. It is located near the village of Allouis.

Allouis transmitter Emetteur-allouis3.jpg
Allouis transmitter

It broadcast the France Inter public radio station from October 1952 [1] until 31 December 2016. Since 2017, it broadcasts only the TDF time signal, which has been renamed ALS162 since 2017.

The first transmitter, built in 1939 during the Phoney War, used an aerial with four masts and a transmitter rated at 500 kilowatts. [1] It was destroyed in 1944 during the scorched earth retreat by German forces.

On 19 October 1952 a new 250 kW transmitter came into service. This used a special cage aerial, mounted on a 308 m (1,010 ft) high earthed mast. In 1957 the transmission power was increased to 600 kW, in 1974 to 1,000 kW, and in 1981 to 2,000 kW. Transmission power was reduced to 1,000 kW during the hours of darkness. In 2011 the transmission power was reduced to 1,500 kW for cost savings. For the same reason the transmission power was reduced to 1,100 kW in 2017 and subsequently in February 2020 to 800 kW. [2] [3] [4]

In 1974 the aerial was renewed. The cage aerials were removed and the mast height was increased to 350 m (1,148 ft). A second mast of the same height was constructed at the same time.

In 1977, the current phase modulated time signal was added to the transmissions. The broadcast frequency, formerly 164 kHz, was changed to 163.840 kHz (the 5th harmonic of the common 32,768 Hz timekeeping frequency used by most quartz clocks) to be a more convenient frequency standard. [5]

In 1980, the first atomic clock was installed to regulate the carrier frequency. [5]

On 1 February 1986, the frequency was changed to its current value of 162 kHz (still an accurately controlled frequency standard) to bring it to a multiple of 9 kHz in accordance with the Geneva Frequency Plan of 1975.

The radio channel France Inter announced during 2016 that the channel would discontinue transmitting on the 162 kHz frequency on 31 December 2016, seeking cost savings of approximately 6 million Euros per year. The transmission of the ALS162 time signal was and will be continued after this date, as this time signal is critical for over 300,000 devices, which are deployed within French enterprises and state entities, like the French railways SNCF, the electricity distributor ENEDIS, airports, hospitals, municipalities, et cetera. [6] [7] The transmitter is owned by TéléDiffusion de France and the dissemination of the Metropolitan French national legal time to the public is a joint responsibility of ANFR (state body for radio frequencies), the trade body France Horlogerie and the LNE-SYRTE and LNE-LTFB time laboratories. [8]

Related Research Articles

Low frequency (LF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies (RF) in the range of 30–300 kHz. Since its wavelengths range from 10–1 km, respectively, it is also known as the kilometre band or kilometre wave.

Longwave Radio transmission using wavelengths above 1000 m

In radio, longwave, long wave or long-wave, and commonly abbreviated LW, refers to parts of the radio spectrum with wavelengths longer than what was originally called the medium-wave broadcasting band. The term is historic, dating from the early 20th century, when the radio spectrum was considered to consist of longwave (LW), medium-wave (MW), and short-wave (SW) radio bands. Most modern radio systems and devices use wavelengths which would then have been considered 'ultra-short'.

Raszyn radio transmitter Place

The longwave transmitter Raszyn is a longwave broadcasting transmitter near Raszyn, Poland. It was built in 1949. The designer of the mast is unknown. It has been claimed that it was built of sections from radio mast of former Deutschlandsender Herzberg/Elster; however, there is no proof of this theory. The mast of the Raszyn longwave transmitter was, at inauguration, the second-tallest man-made structure on earth and until 1962, with a height of 335 metres, the tallest structure in Europe. Tower Height is 1099 feet/335 meters tall.

Longwave transmitter Europe 1 Architectural structure

The Longwave transmitter Europe 1 is the oldest privately owned radio station in Germany, situated between Felsberg and Berus/Saar, Germany. It transmitted on 183 kHz with a power of 2,000 kilowatts a French speaking programme, Europe 1 toward France. It was the highest power radio broadcasting transmitter in Germany. Longwave transmissions stopped on 31 December 2019.

Roumoules radio transmitter

The Roumoules transmitter is the main broadcasting facility for longwave and mediumwave broadcasting of Radio Monte Carlo near Roumoules, France and is owned by Monaco Media Diffusion. The 1000 and 2000kW transmitters installed are among the most powerful in the world and can be received well at nighttime throughout Europe.

Junglinster Longwave Transmitter

The Junglinster Longwave Transmitter is a longwave broadcasting facility used by RTL near Junglinster, Luxembourg, which went into service in 1932. Its aerial consists of three free-standing steel-framework towers, which are ground fed radiators. These towers formed a directional aerial for the frequency 234 kHz and until 1980 were 250 metres high. Since 1980 their height has been 215 metres.

Langenberg transmission tower Radio tower in Langenberg, Germany

The Langenberg transmission tower is a broadcasting station that transmits MW, FM and TV signals. It is located in Langenberg, Velbert, Germany and has had a very turbulent history since its inauguration. The transmitter first went into service in 1927 with 60 kilowatts (kW) of power and a T-aerial hanging on two 100-metre freestanding steel-frame towers insulated against ground.

Kalundborg Transmitter

Kalundborg Radio is a major transmission facility for long- and mediumwave at the harbour of Kalundborg in Denmark.

Mainflingen transmitter

The Mainflingen mediumwave transmitter is a mediumwave transmission facility south of the A3 motorway near Mainflingen, Hesse, Germany. Mainflingen was the first mediumwave transmitter for the radio station Deutschlandfunk. It went into service in 1962 with a transmission power of 50 kW, on a frequency of 1538 kHz, at the upper end of the mediumwave band. This frequency has a bad groundwave propagation and therefore a low range at daytime, but an excellent skywave propagation with a long range at night.

Orlunda radio transmitter

The Orlunda longwave transmitter was a longwave broadcast facility in central Sweden which broadcast Sveriges Radio Programme 1 from 1962 to 1991. The facility is currently in use as a museum.

Allouis Commune in Centre-Val de Loire, France

Allouis is a commune in the Cher department of the Centre-Val de Loire region of France.

Taldom transmitter is a large facility for longwave and shortwave broadcasting located near Taldom, Russia. It transmits on two longwave frequencies, on 153 kHz with 300 kW and on 261 kHz with a power of 2500 kW, the latter is, according to the World Radio TV Handbook's listings, the most powerful broadcasting station in the world. There are two longwave transmissions aerial systems: a single 257 metres tall mast radiator for 153 kHz and a ring antenna system consisting of five masts arranged in a circle around a 275 metre high guyed mast for 261 kHz. The latter antenna delivers good skywave suppression. The shortwave antenna system consists of several masts arranged in a row which are interconnected by cables at various heights.

France Inter Radio station

France Inter is a major French public radio channel and part of Radio France. It is a "generalist" station, aiming to provide a wide national audience with a full service of news and spoken-word programming, both serious and entertaining, liberally punctuated with an eclectic mix of music. It is broadcast on FM from a nationwide network of transmitters, as well as via the internet.

A broadcast transmitter is an electronic device which radiates radio waves modulated with information content intended to be received by the general public. Examples are a radio broadcasting transmitter which transmits audio (sound) to broadcast radio receivers (radios) owned by the public, or a television transmitter, which transmits moving images (video) to television receivers (televisions). The term often includes the antenna which radiates the radio waves, and the building and facilities associated with the transmitter. A broadcasting station consists of a broadcast transmitter along with the production studio which originates the broadcasts. Broadcast transmitters must be licensed by governments, and are restricted to specific frequencies and power levels. Each transmitter is assigned a unique identifier consisting of a string of letters and numbers called a callsign, which must be used in all broadcasts.

ALS162 time signal French longwave time signal radio station

ALS162 is a French longwave time signal and standard-frequency radio station and is used for the dissemination of the Metropolitan French national legal time to the public. TéléDiffusion de France broadcast the ALS162 time signal, provided by LNE-SYRTE and LNE-LTFB time laboratories under ANFR responsibility, from the Allouis longwave transmitter at 162 kHz, with a power of 800 kW.

Beidweiler Longwave Transmitter

The Beidweiler Longwave Transmitter is a high-power broadcasting transmitter for the French-speaking programme of RTL radio on the longwave frequency 234 kHz. The Beidweiler longwave transmitter, situated at 49°43'58" N and 6°19'08" E, at Beidweiler in Luxembourg, went in service in 1972 as replacement of the old Junglinster Longwave Transmitter.

Topolná transmitter

The Topolná transmitter is the central longwave broadcasting facility of the Czech Republic situated in the municipality of Topolná near the Morava River.

Marnach transmitter

Marnach transmitter was a broadcasting facility of RTL near Marnach in the commune of Munshausen, in northern Luxembourg. The Marnach transmitter was built in 1955 for improving the transmission of the English-speaking program on 1439 kHz, which was transmitted from 1951 with an omnidirectional antenna from Junglinster, to the British Isles and for a better transmission on this frequency to Germany at daytime. Therefore, it was given a directional antenna with a switchable directional characteristic pointing North-northeast towards the Rhine-Ruhr area, Germany's most populated area, and West-northwest in the direction of the UK. This antenna was implemented in form of a directional antenna consisting of three ground-fed 105-metre tall guyed mast antennas arranged in the form of an isosceles triangle with a 90 degree angle. As transmitters, two 100 kW units switched in parallel were used when it went in service in December 1955.

Nador transmitter Radio infrastructure in Morocco

Nador transmitter is the main transmission facility for longwave and shortwave of Medi 1 Radio, a privately owned broadcasting company of Morocco. It is situated approximately 18 kilometres south of the city of Nador and a few kilometres south of Selouane at 35°2'29"N and 2°55'7"W.

The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 162 kHz:

References

Coordinates: 47°10′10.5″N2°12′16.5″E / 47.169583°N 2.204583°E / 47.169583; 2.204583