The Roumoules transmitter is the main broadcasting facility for longwave and mediumwave broadcasting of Radio Monte Carlo near Roumoules, France [1] 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 longwave transmitter at Roumoules, which was inaugurated in 1974, transmits at 216 kHz (until 1988: 218 kHz) with a transmission power of 1400 kW (until 1976: 2000 kW). It consists of two 1000 kW transmitters switched in parallel, which are however run with 700 kW output power. A third 1000 kW unit has been available since 1983. Although this unit is only used as backup unit, it is possible to switch all three units in parallel, which would allow an operation with a transmission power of 3000 kW. Since 31 March 2020 the transmitter has ceased transmitting the French programme of Radio Monte Carlo but remains available for contract use.
The longwave transmitter uses a directional aerial with a maximum strength pointing northwest (azimuth: 309°). It consists of three 300-metre (980 ft)-high guyed masts, which are insulated against ground and ground-fed. As a backup a 330-metre (1,080 ft)-high guyed, ground-fed lattice steel mast radiator is available on the site, which only allows an omnidirectional radiation pattern.
The grounding system of the long wave transmitter is very large. The total length of all wires of the grounding system is 200 kilometres (100 mi), covering an area of 150 hectares (370 acres). Because the area around the mast is used for agriculture, the ground wires are laid to a depth of 80 centimetres (31 in).
In 1987 a switchable directional antenna consisting of five ground-fed guyed masts was built nearby for the 1467 kHz medium wave frequency, which was previously transmitted from a transmitter at La Madonne. This antenna allows a switchable directional radiation in the following directions:
Destination | Azimuth |
---|---|
Scandinavia | 25° |
Eastern Europe | 85° |
Italy and Greece | 150° |
Spain, Portugal, Northern Africa | 241° |
UK | 325° |
Changing the signal direction takes only 5 seconds. There are no matching network buildings at the bottom of the masts used for medium wave transmission – the devices for tuning the masts to the transmission line are placed in the open air, similar to those in the longwave antenna system.
The medium wave Roumoules transmitter has an output power of 1000 kW. It is also used for transmitting the religious programmes of Trans World Radio. In comparison to the longwave transmitter, which can be received well both at day and night in Southern France, Northern Italy, Switzerland and Southern Germany, this transmitter cannot be normally received well more than 100 kilometres (60 mi) from Roumoules. However at night its transmissions may have at least the same range as those of the longwave system due to its skywave propagation.
The Roumoules Transmitter consumes significant amounts of power, supplied by two transformers each capable of providing 5000 kW. The power is delivered to the transformers by a 150 kV and a 220 kV power line. The transmitter's power supply is larger than required (an equivalent supply would provide a community of 5000 with its own substation to the 150 kV grid supply). This redundant supply ensures reliable power for the transmitter. There is a backup generating set of 2,500 kW on the site and a possibility to supply the station at reduced power from the local 20 kV grid.
Sender Zehlendorf or Zehlendorf (radio) transmission facility was a radio transmission facility which was in service since 1936, when a short wave transmitter was built on the occasion of the Berlin 1936 Summer Olympics in Zehlendorf as part of the establishment of permanent radio services. This Zehlendorf site, which until the end of World War II was referred to as the Rehmate Radio Transmission Centre, had 26 different antennas at the time.
The Longwave transmitter Solec Kujawski is a longwave broadcasting facility of Polskie Radio on a frequency of 225 kHz frequency. Its construction was necessitated by the collapse of the Warsaw radio mast on 8 August 1991 and the resistance of the local population to its reconstruction. The height above sea level of the station is 67 metres (220 ft).
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 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 Mühlacker Broadcasting Transmission Facility is a radio transmission facility near Mühlacker, Germany, first put into service on November 21, 1930. It uses two guyed steel tube masts as aerials and one guyed steel framework mast, which are insulated against ground. It has two transmission aerials for shortwave and one free standing steel framework tower for directional radio services. The shortwave transmitter was shut off on October 19, 2004. The medium wave transmitter was switched off in January 2012.
The AM transmitter in Burg, near Magdeburg, Germany, is a huge facility for longwave and mediumwave broadcasting. Its most dominant constructions are a 324-metre guyed radio mast and two 210 metre guyed steel tube masts.
The Langenberg transmission tower is a broadcasting station for analog FM Radio and Digital-TV signals. It is located in Langenberg, Velbert, Germany and owned and operated by Westdeutscher Rundfunk, WDR.
The Rheinsender is an FM radio transmission site for the German Südwestrundfunk regional public broadcasting system. The Rheinsender is located near Wolfsheim, southwest of Mainz.
The Heusweiler transmitter was a facility for medium wave broadcasting north of Heusweiler, Germany. It originally went into service on 23 December 1935. On 19 June 1946 transmitter Heusweiler went in service again.
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.
The Wavre radio transmitter is a facility for Fm, Dab+ and TV broadcasting near Wavre in Belgium. Formerly the mediumwave transmissions used a grounded 250-metre-high guyed mast. Furthermore, there was a backup mast for medium wave transmissions, which was 90 metres high. For shortwave broadcasting there were several directional antennas and a curtain antenna.
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 Vakarel Transmitter was a large broadcasting facility for long- and medium wave near Vakarel, Bulgaria. The Vakarel Transmitter was inaugurated in 1937. It had one directional antenna consisting of three guyed masts and another consisting of two masts.
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 Topolná transmitter was the central longwave broadcasting facility of the Czech Republic situated in the municipality of Topolná near the Morava River. Constructed in the early 1950s, it was used for broadcasting until the end of 2021, and its masts were blasted down in 2022.
The Wiederau transmitter is the oldest broadcasting facility in Saxony. It is located near Wiederau, a village which is part of the municipality of Pegau, and is used for medium-wave, FM and Television broadcasting.
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-tall (350 ft) 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.
Dillberg transmitter is a transmitting facility of the Bavarian Broadcasting Company on the 595-metre-high Dillberg mountain west of Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz, Bavaria, Germany. Dillberg transmitter went into service in 1955 for serving the area of Nuremberg with TV and FM radio programmes from a 198-metre-tall guyed mast.
Weiskirchen transmitter, is a mediumwave broadcasting tower in Weiskirchen, Germany. It is the property of Hessischer Rundfunk. It was built in 1967
Berlin-Köpenick transmitter was a transmission facility for broadcasting on medium wave, short wave, and VHF in Berlin-Köpenick, Germany, near the suburb of Uhlenhorst, after which it was occasionally named.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of December 2024 (link)