Medium wave (MW) is a part of the medium frequency (MF) radio band used mainly for AM radio broadcasting. The spectrum provides about 120 channels with more limited sound quality than FM stations on the FM broadcast band. During the daytime, reception is usually limited to more local stations, though this is dependent on the signal conditions and quality of radio receiver used. Improved signal propagation at night allows the reception of much longer distance signals. This can cause increased interference because on most channels multiple transmitters operate simultaneously worldwide. In addition, amplitude modulation (AM) is often more prone to interference by various electronic devices, especially power supplies and computers. Strong transmitters cover larger areas than on the FM broadcast band but require more energy and longer antennas. Digital modes are possible but have not reached momentum yet.
A radio clock or radio-controlled clock (RCC), and often colloquially referred to as an "atomic clock", is a type of quartz clock or watch that is automatically synchronized to a time code transmitted by a radio transmitter connected to a time standard such as an atomic clock. Such a clock may be synchronized to the time sent by a single transmitter, such as many national or regional time transmitters, or may use the multiple transmitters used by satellite navigation systems such as Global Positioning System. Such systems may be used to automatically set clocks or for any purpose where accurate time is needed. Radio clocks may include any feature available for a clock, such as alarm function, display of ambient temperature and humidity, broadcast radio reception, etc.
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'.
The Warsaw Radio Mast was a radio mast located near Gąbin, Poland, and was the world's tallest structure at 2,120 ft from 1974 until its collapse on 8 August 1991. The mast was designed for extreme height in order to broadcast Communist propaganda around the world, including to the remotest areas such as Antarctica. As of 2023, it was the third-tallest manmade structure ever built, after the Burj Khalifa tower in the United Arab Emirates in 2009, and Merdeka 118 tower in Malaysia in 2022.
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 Raszyn is a longwave broadcasting transmitter near Raszyn, Poland. It was built in 1931 and rebuilt in 1949. The designer of the mast is unknown. It has been claimed that the rebuilt tower consists of sections from the 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. The tower's height is 1,099 feet.
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 Droitwich transmitting station is a large broadcasting facility for long-wave and medium-wave transmissions, established in 1934 in the civil parish of Dodderhill, just outside the village of Wychbold, near Droitwich in Worcestershire, England. The site is the location of the British Broadcasting Corporation's most powerful long-wave transmitter, which together with the two Scottish long-wave transmitters at Burghead and Westerglen forms a network broadcasting on the same frequency. The masts can be seen to the east from the M5 motorway, between Droitwich and Bromsgrove, as well as to the west from the Herefordshire/Worcestershire border. At night, the two sets of aircraft warning lights are visible from a long distance. The station is owned and operated by Arqiva.
The Burghead transmitting station is a broadcasting facility near Burghead in Scotland for long wave and medium wave radio transmission that started service on 12 October 1936. The site is owned by Arqiva and houses a long wave radio transmitter on 198 kHz broadcasting BBC Radio 4 and two medium wave radio transmitters, broadcasting BBC Radio 5 Live on 693 kHz and BBC Radio Scotland on 810 kHz. The long wave transmitter is part of a network transmitting on the same frequency, the other transmitters being Droitwich and Westerglen.
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.
The Transmitter Ismaning was a large radio transmitting station near Ismaning, Bavaria, Germany. It was inaugurated in 1932. From 1932 to 1934 this transmitter used a T-antenna as transmitting antenna, which was spun between two 115-metre-high free-standing wooden lattice towers, which were 240 metres apart. As this antenna had an unfavourable vertical radiation pattern, which produced much skywave resulting in a too small fading-free reception area at night, in 1934 a new antenna was installed. Therefore, one of the towers was dismantled and rebuilt on a 39-metre-high (128 ft) wooden lattice base. While this work took place, an L-Antenna was used, which was spun between the other tower and a small auxiliary wooden tower. It became defunct in 1977 and was destroyed in 1983.
The Skelton Transmitting Station is a radio transmitter site at grid reference NY433376 near Skelton, Cumbria, England, about 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Penrith, run by Babcock International and owned by the Ministry of Defence. Shortwave broadcasts from this station ended on 30 March 2023, replaced by Woofferton. Another radio transmitting station in Cumbria is Anthorn Radio Station.
The Monte Ceneri transmitter was first established as the nationwide medium-wave radio transmission station for Italian-speaking Switzerland in 1933. Located on Monte Ceneri in Ticino, it broadcast on a frequency of 558 kHz.
The mediumwave transmitter Flevoland was a broadcasting facility for medium wave near Zeewolde in the province of Flevoland, Netherlands, situated at 5°25′ E and 52°23′ N. It has been used for broadcasting on 747 kHz and 1008 kHz with a nominal power of 400 kilowatts. As aerial two guyed steel framework masts with a height of 195 metres are used, which form an anti-fading aerial. These masts are grounded and carry a cage aerial, which is upperward the separation insulator, separating the masts in a height of 95 metres in two parts, connected toward the mast construction. The radiation diagram is directional, with a maximum gain of 4 dB in South-Eastern direction, to compensate for the variation in electrical admittance of terrain in the Netherlands.
The Orfordness transmitting station was a major radio broadcasting facility at Orford Ness on the Suffolk coast in the United Kingdom able to broadcast to much of Europe. It closed in May 2012 after more than 30 years of service. In 2017 Radio Caroline started broadcasting from the site, though not with the same intended coverage of an audience in Europe as the original station.
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 BBC National Programme was a radio service which was on the air from 9 March 1930 – replacing the earlier BBC's experimental station 5XX – until 1 September 1939 when it was subsumed into the BBC Home Service, two days before the outbreak of World War II.
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.
The Daventry transmitting station was a major broadcasting facility located on Borough Hill on the outskirts of Daventry, Northamptonshire. It operated from 1925 until 1992, carrying long-wave, medium-wave, and short-wave broadcasts at different times in its history. In its heyday the site had more than 40 masts and towers on an antenna field extending over hundreds of acres. Since 1992, only DAB services have been broadcast from the site using a single mast. All other antennas have been demolished.
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.
