The Beidweiler longwave transmitter is a high-power broadcasting transmission site owned by RTL Group and operated by RTL company Broadcasting Center Europe. It was used to transmit the French-speaking programme of RTL on longwave frequency 234kHz until 1 January 2023. Based in Beidweiler, Luxembourg, the transmission site is situated at 49°43'58" N and 6°19'08" E and went into service in 1972 as replacement of the old Junglinster Longwave Transmitter. Junglinster remained in use as a backup site and for additional broadcast services.
The facility uses a directional antenna consisting of three 290-meter (950 ft) tall guyed masts, each equipped with a cage antenna. The output of this array is mostly directed toward Paris. When the site was inaugurated in 1972 it operated with a transmission power of 1400 kilowatts, which was pushed up to 2000 kW in 1974, making it one of the most powerful broadcasting stations in the world at the time. [1]
In 1994, the facility's transmitters were replaced with Thomson-Csf TRE 2175 units, which in turn were replaced by a new Transradio TRAM/P 1500 LS solid-state transmitter in 2011 that could support DRM digital radio broadcasting. [2] The maximum power of the site is 1500 kW (reduced to 1000 kW at night); [3] since 2020, the output power has been set to 750 kW daytime or 375 kW at night. [4]
In 2019, RTL Group and Luxembourgish energy company Enovos began work on an extensive solar generation facility at Beidweiler. [5] The first phase of the project, consisting of 16,100 photovoltaic solar panels, was connected to the national energy grid in 2020. A second group of panels went online in 2021. Together with a similar solar generation facility at Junglinster, the transmission sites make up the largest solar facility in Luxembourg, generating almost 10.5 gigawatt-hours of energy per year. [6]
In October 2022, RTL parent company Groupe M6 announced plans to cease broadcasting from the site, citing the need to reduce electricity consumption. [7] Transmissions from Beidweiler stopped on 2 January 2023, with listeners advised to switch to FM, DAB+, or streams delivered via digital TV and mobile apps. [8]
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.
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'.
JJY is the call sign of a low frequency time signal radio station located in Japan.
RTL is a French commercial radio network owned by the RTL Group. Founded in 1933 as Radio Luxembourg, it broadcast from outside France until 1981 because only public stations had been allowed until then. It is a general-interest, news, talk and music station, broadcasting nationally in France, Francophone Belgium, and Luxembourg. Until 2022, RTL was also broadcast on long wave frequency 234 kHz from Beidweiler which could be picked up in large parts of the continent. It has a sister station called Bel RTL tailored for the French Community of Belgium. As of 2018, RTL is France's most popular radio station with an average of 6.4 million daily listeners that year.
The Longwave transmitter Europe 1 was 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.
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.
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.
The Clarkstown radio transmitter was a longwave radio transmitter in County Meath, Ireland. The mast was located approximately 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) east of the village of Summerhill, in a field south of the R156 regional road at Clarkstown. At 248 metres high, it was more than double the height of the Spire in Dublin.
Kalundborg Radio was a major transmission facility for long- and mediumwave at the harbour of Kalundborg in Denmark. Longwave broadcasts on 243 kHz began on 27 August 1927 and ceased on 31 December 2023. Mediumwave broadcasts on 1062 kHz began on 1 October 1951 and ceased in June 2011.
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.
Junglinster is a commune in central Luxembourg, which draws its name from its principal town, Junglinster. It is one of six communes in the Luxembourg canton of Grevenmacher. The 18th-century St Martin's church is a national monument.
Beidweiler is a village in the commune of Junglinster, in central Luxembourg. As of 2018, the village has a population of 243 inhabitants.
Deutschlandfunk is a public-broadcasting radio station in Germany, concentrating on news and current affairs. It is one of the four national radio channels produced by Deutschlandradio.
The Bod Transmitter is the name of the transmitter facility for the central longwave radio station near Bod, Romania.
A tower array is an arrangement of multiple radio towers which are mast radiators in a phased array. They were originally developed as ground-based tracking radars. Tower arrays can consist of free-standing or guyed towers or a mix of them. Tower arrays are used to constitute a directional antenna of a mediumwave or longwave radio station.
The Eiðar longwave transmitter was a facility previously used by RÚV for longwave radio broadcasting on 207 kHz with a power of 100 kW. The transmitter was situated at Eiðar near Egilsstaðir in East Iceland. It was demolished in March 2023. At the time of its closure, it used an omnidirectional aerial in the form of a 221-metre (725 ft) tall steel lattice mast radiator insulated against the ground. The transmission site was in use from 1938 until its closure in 2023.
The Topolná transmitter was the central longwave broadcasting facility of the Czech Republic situated in the municipality of Topolná near the Morava River. Constructed in early 1950's, it was used for broadcasting until the end 2021 and its masts were blasted down in 2022.
Marnach transmitter was a broadcasting facility of RTL near Marnach in the commune of Clervaux, 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 (350') 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.
Radom longwave transmitter is a facility for commercial longwave transmission west of Radom in Poland. Radom longwave transmitter, situated at 51°25'N and 21°07' E is the only transmission facility for frequencies under 100 kHz in Poland. It uses an antenna system carried by 1 150 metre and 3 100 metre tall guyed masts. Radom longwave transmitter worked on the following frequencies with the following callsigns:
Rás 1 is an Icelandic radio station belonging to and operated by Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV), Iceland's national public service broadcaster. Broadcast throughout Iceland on FM, via satellite, DVB and also 189 kHz longwave, it is currently among the country's most listened-to radio stations.
49°43′49″N6°19′14″E / 49.73033°N 6.32058°E