The Broadcasting transmission facility Muehlacker is a radio transmission facility near Mühlacker, Germany. It uses as aerials two guyed steel tube masts, one guyed steel framework mast, which are insulated against ground, 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.
Description
Since 1930 Muehlacker is a transmission site.
Until 1945 as aerial tower a 190 metre high freestanding tower of wood was used, in which an aerial wire was hung. This tower was perhaps the highest tower of wood ever built. Today the most important aerial mast in Muehlacker is a 273 metre high guyed steel tube mast with a diameter of 1.67 metres, located at . This mast, which was built in 1950, is used as a transmitter for the mediumwave frequency 576 kHz and is therefore insulated against ground. It is designed as an antifading aerial and is therefore double-feedable and insulated. This mast is topped with a butterfly aerial for FM-broadcasting transmitters.
There are two more radio mast with heights of 130 metres and 80 metres.
- The 130 metre high mast, situated at 48° 56′ 36″ N 8° 51′ 21″ E, is as the 273 metre high mast a steel tube mast, insulated against ground. It was used until the reduction of transmission power to 100 kilowatts in 1996 as a director during nighttime and a spare during daytime.
Since 1996 this is obsolete and this mast is only a spare aerial.
- The 80 metre high radio mast, located at 48° 56′ 29″ N 8° 51′ 10″ E, is an insulated guyed steel framework mast with triangular cross section. It was built in 1977 in order to enbetter the radiation toward South and is now also used to carry aerials for mobile phone services.
This mast, which seems to be little in comparision to the 273 metre high main radio mast, forms with this mast and the 130 metre high radio mast nearly a straight line. As aerials for shortwave there is an aerial of the "T" type fixed between two small guyed steel framework masts and a spare aerial in form of a small selfradiating mast.
The shortwave aerials on the radio facility Muehlacker seem small in comparision to the radio masts used for the mediumwave transmitters.
Short wave transmission was shutdown on October 19, 2004.
Until 1993 there was also a guyed steel framework mast at 48° 56′ 33″ N 8° 51′ 2″ E with a height of 110 metres, which served until 1963 as transmission aerial for American Forces Network (AFN). This mast, which was as radiator for AM also insulated against ground, was built in 1948 and served from 1963 until its demolition in November 1993 as part of the directional aerial of the mediumwave transmitter upper described.
It was also used as spare aerial for FM and therefore had a butterfly aerial on its top.
In 1993 it was demolished because it was in bad repair and not required any more.
A planned reconstruction has not been realized.
There also was, until 2004, at 48° 56′ 30″ N 8° 51′ 5″ E a grey steel-framework mast with a height of 50 metres, which was also insulated against ground. This mast was part of a directional aerial for the AFN transmitter, which consisted of this mast and the 110 metre high mast, demolished in 1993.
After 1963 it only served as aerial only for the internal mobile radio service of the transmission facility.
It was demolished in April 2004 and in the summer of 2004 a 95 metre high freestanding steel-framework tower for aerials of directional services was built.
Weblinks
List of masts
