TV tower St. Chrischona

The St. Chrischona television tower , also known as the St. Chrischona transmitter , is a 250-meter-high television tower owned by the Swisscom operating company in the municipality of Bettingen, northeast of Basel . The topographically favorable location on Basel's local mountain St. Chrischona makes the tower the most important component in the broadcasting coverage of north-western Switzerland . The location has been used for transmission systems since the mid-1950s.

The tower, visible from afar, with a striking tripod construction and a shaft with a polygonal floor plan, was built from 1980 to 1983 and is the tallest free-standing structure in Switzerland , and within this state the second tallest structure after the Grande Dixence dam . In 1984, when it went into operation, it was considered to be the most modern television tower in Europe due to many special technical solutions. In addition to regular broadcasting for radio and television, it also serves as a water tower and has measuring instruments, for example for weather services . Apart from limited guided tours for groups of visitors, the broadcast tower is not open to the public.

history

Previous transmission systems

St. Chrischona had been the location of a broadcast tower since April 23, 1954, which at that time broadcast the Swiss television program and introduced it in the Basel region. This means that the St. Chrischona broadcasting site, together with the Uetliberg site (since 1953) and the Bern-Bantiger site (since 1954), are one of the three oldest sites for television and VHF broadcasting in Switzerland.

This first 30 meter high steel lattice mast had only two antennas and was experimental in nature; he broadcast the program for a few hours every day. In 1954 there were 76 televisions in the Basel area. In 1956 the first broadcasts of Radio DRS were broadcast over the VHF broadcasting station. The transmission equipment was then housed in a wooden house at the foot of the transmission mast. After just a few years, new communication requirements made it necessary to expand the system. This first transmission mast was in operation until December 28, 1959.

Aerial view of St. Chrischona and the old transmission mast (right)

From June 29, 1961, a used steel radio tower, 136 meters high, served as the transmission tower on St. Chrischona as an antenna mast. It was a tower dismantled in Beromünster and rebuilt in St. Chrischona. He previously carried a T-antenna together with the Beromünster reserve transmission tower , which previously broadcast on medium wave for the Beromünster regional transmitter . Since 1968 the station has broadcast according to the PAL color television system .

Project planning

Because the old Beromünster tower could no longer meet the needs, the PTT, as the forerunner of the Swiss Post and Swisscom, launched an architectural competition in 1973/1974 for a television tower that would supply the region with three television and two VHF programs should. At the same time, the question was discussed whether the tower should also accommodate a water reservoir and serve as a tower restaurant with a public visitor platform.

Five project groups presented their models. The Basel office Aegerter & Bosshardt was awarded the contract, the design of which deviated from the otherwise usual "pipe scheme" and provided for a hexagonal cross-section. It was - without the technical installations - the cheapest at the time, at 15.2 million Swiss francs. A French restaurant and a self-service restaurant for 200 people each were planned at the middle height of the tower cage at 94 m. An additional viewing platform at a height of 145 m was to be built for the public. The individual rooms should have been distributed over different tower baskets. Such a solution would have increased the tower shaft by 14 meters.

Those responsible for building the tower decided back then to consciously refrain from public traffic. The jury justified it as follows:

“The jury came to the conclusion that an additional burden from a public attraction such as a viewing terrace or even a restaurant contradicts the meaning and purpose of a recreational landscape. Cars should be kept as far away as possible and crowds avoided. Mixing the purely technical system with the public brings operational disadvantages. These considerations require the renouncement of the installation of a restaurant and a public viewing terrace [...] "

In order not to have to realign private receiving antennas or to set up new directional beam opposing stations, the decision was made to keep the location, so that the new one was placed just 85 meters northwest of the old temporary tower.

In addition to being used as a transmission tower, the St. Chrischona television tower was also designed as a water tower since 1972 . The need arose from the shortage of supplies in the parish of St. Chrischona, whose supply was guaranteed by a water tank in the 21 meter high church tower of the Reformed Chrischona Church until the television tower was built. The available capacity of 38 cubic meters of the water reservoir was insufficient to meet the increased demand of the residents and the rehabilitation clinic of the Basel Citizens Hospital for drinking water. At the same time, fire protection in the St. Chrischona area was to be improved. For this reason, the Grand Council of the Canton of Basel-Stadt decided at the beginning of the 1980s to approve a total of 1.43 million Swiss francs as a loan from the investment capital of Industrielle Werke Basel .

Construction of the St. Chrischona TV tower (1980–1983)

During exploratory excavations in 1979 for the foundation , a fragment of a mammoth tusk was uncovered. After the PTT board of directors approved the building loan of CHF 27.3 million in the same year, work could begin in July 1980 after the building permit had been obtained.

For the foundation of the foundation at a depth of 17 meters, embankments were excavated at a 60-degree angle, which were protected by a cover made of shotcrete . In addition, underpalling - as a lining between the ground and the sole construction is called - with anchors in the ground was necessary for the three foundations. The construction of the base itself was conventional.

However, the three inclined support pillars posed a structural challenge. The meeting of the vertical bars of the central column with the bars of the support pillars and the horizontal tensioning bar required a very precise procedure. For the construction of the supporting pillars, a cantilevered scaffold was used, which was divided into eight segments, each 2.90 meters high. In order to shorten the construction time, the shaft and the three supporting pillars were erected at the same time. In November 1981 they merged. The tower shaft was raised over a mechanically growing concrete formwork. A total of 51 lifts from 2.90 meters to 3.05 meters were necessary to pour the entire shaft. It took a construction team of ten to twelve workers about a year to erect the shaft.

The construction of the tower shaft, which was erected with climbing formwork, lasted until December 1983. The Basel company Aegerter & Bosshardt took over the structural planning . The Vischer und Weber office was responsible for the architectural design . For the construction work, a consortium formed from the companies Stamm AG , Stehlin + Vischer AG , Ed. Züblin + Cie AG and the BBG Basler Baugenossenschaft . The concrete structure, like the tubular mast for the antennas, was built using a climbing crane (Richier-Weitz GT 1184) that grew with the child .

The technical installations were completed from January 1983 to July 1984, so that the tower could be put into operation on August 2, 1984, replacing the disused steel radio tower from 1962. The construction costs totaled around 50 million francs .

Since commissioning in 1984

Aerial view of the St. Chrischona TV tower (1996)

After the commissioning of the new television tower - at the time officially called the St. Chrischona multi-purpose facility - the two-week demolition of the 136 m high steel tower began on September 16, 1985. With a height of 250 meters, the building is still the highest television tower in Switzerland to this day (2020) . Since August 29, 1984, based on an agreement between the German Federal Post Office and the Swiss Postal Administration, it has also broadcast the 1st and 3rd radio programs of the then Südwestfunk (SWF) in order to close the supply gap in the Upper Rhine region . The tower now broadcasts all four programs of Südwestrundfunk , the successor to SWF. Due to many special technical solutions, the transmission tower was considered the most modern in Europe at the time it was put into operation.

In 1996, repair work was carried out on the tower's steel terrace anchor plates. In 2006, the St. Chrischona television tower was converted to broadcast digital television and the broadcasting of analogue programs was discontinued on November 26, 2007.

Open house in September 2014

Swisscom Broadcast celebrated the 30th anniversary of the St. Chrischona transmission tower on September 27, 2014 with an open day at the foot of the television tower. In addition to a festive supporting program, around 700 visitors were able to view the viewing platform and broadcasting rooms, which are otherwise only open as part of special tours.

The first tower running for professional firefighters took place on March 22, 2014 . March 2019 marked the sixth anniversary of the event, when the 46 floors and 799 steps of the television tower were climbed by firefighters wearing fire protection equipment. In 2020 the event did not take place due to the COVID-19 pandemic .

Since the location of the television tower is characterized by an above-average number of hours of sunshine , the operator decided to install 435 photovoltaic modules along the south-facing segments of the tower shaft from August 2017 . The system, which has a total area of 710 square meters, is vertically suspended over 75 meters. The annual production of the plant can be around 118,000 kilowatt hours, depending on the number of hours of sunshine. This makes the St. Chrischona broadcasting location one of 17 that Swisscom Broadcast has equipped with its own photovoltaic systems. The cost of this upgrade was estimated at around 450,000 francs.

description

Location and surroundings

Aerial photo from the east with the community of St. Chrischona, the rehabilitation clinic just sticking out of the forest at the bottom left

View from the tower to the parish of St. Chrischona

The St. Chrischona TV tower is located in the north-western corner of Switzerland in a bay-shaped area called the Wyhlener Basin. It stands on the eastern edge of the canton of Basel-Stadt, almost 7 km as the crow flies northeast of Basel city center and is visible from afar for the region on the St. Chrischona mountain (522 m above sea level ), which is used as a recreational area and belongs to the Swiss community of Bettingen heard, at 492 m altitude a little below the mountain top. The Bettinger district of St. Chrischona is located near the tower on the east edge of a forest. It is around 150 meters as the crow flies or 200 meters on foot to the German-Swiss border to Wyhlen - Rührberg . The rehab clinic of the Basel Citizens' Hospital is located southwest of the television tower .

To the west of the television tower, an asphalt road (Hohe Strasse) leads steeply up from Bettingen to St. Chrischona. About 300 meters from the tower there are parking spaces and the St. Chrischona bus stop of bus line 32, which leads to the rehabilitation clinic.

At the foot of the tower, a so-called generation course was opened on September 21, 2013, which is intended to invite cross-generational experiences, games and sports in ten stations. Next to the park is a house from 1914, in which a restaurant was operated until 2018.

Southeast view
View from the southwest
View from the north
View from the viewing platform in northern direction

Special features of architecture and construction technology

Windbreaking surface corrugation on the concrete shaft

The TV tower St. Chrischona has some architectural features and differs considerably from comparable tower structures from the 1970s and 1980s. It is striking that he is supported by a striking three-legged design and unlike most television towers not round, but, like the CN Tower in Toronto , a cross-sectionally hexagonal shaped tower shaft has. The three stilts support the tower shaft up to a height of 24 meters and statically bear the weight of the tower structure. The architect Florian Vischer played a key role in this construction principle .

Tripod construction of the tower

A three-legged construction was already implemented in the mid-1960s for the first Avala television tower and when it was rebuilt in 2009. Due to the tear-off edge effect , it is aerodynamically more favorable and enables asymmetrical extensions. The three stilts also have other advantages: The tower construction significantly increases the overall rigidity , which is important for the transmission quality with directional radio. This also simplifies the routing of the thick and sensitive transmission cables from the transmitter rooms in the base construction through the stilts to the antenna. In addition, the load-bearing shaft walls allow an economical flat foundation for transferring vertical structural loads . Since the total mass of 25,000 tons is only slightly higher than the excavated material, the result is a higher soil pressure with a lower settlement of around three centimeters.

In addition to the practical considerations, this design takes up the peripheral location on the border with Germany, and its silhouette can be seen as an oversized signpost to Switzerland. In addition, the design makes the tower look slimmer and more finely scaled. This results from the sharply drawn light and shadow areas, which result from the angular shape. The slightly higher wind load is hardly significant due to the other parts of the tower. To reduce the wind load, the outside of the concrete shaft has windbreaking surface strips.

Detailed views

Main structural data

The total mass of the 250.57 meter high structure is 23,000 tons, of which 13,500 tons are attributable to the substructure and 9,500 tons to the tower itself. The material used for the concrete amounts to a total of 10,000 cubic meters. The cubage of the entire structure of 35,000 cubic meters is divided into the base construction with 23,000 cubic meters and 12,000 cubic meters for the tower and its extensions.

The reinforcement steel of the tower comes to 1,330 tons, and 135 tons for the tubular steel tower. The antenna terraces consist of 120 tons of steel and 90 tons of prestressing steel.

Substructure, foundation and base

Vertical section through the base and the tower base

Cable duct and stairwell

The tower stands on a monolithic base structure with three basement floors, which house technical facilities for power supply, ventilation, air raid shelter, heat recovery, staff rooms, broadcasting rooms, service rooms and workshops. The building also has a loading ramp with truck access and three parking spaces. The upper two levels have a floor area of 1,600 m² each. The third basement is partially used as a diesel fuel tank farm for two power generation units (→ power supply and emergency systems ) with 270 kW each. The floor plan of the base building is an equilateral triangle with an edge length of 54.40 m. In order to increase the stability, parts of the base have been built in a honeycomb shape . The first basement of the base building is directly accessible via a ramp for operating staff and authorized persons with vehicles.

Because two clods of the earthquake area of the Upper Rhine Plain meet at the location of the tower , it also had to be dimensioned for earthquake loads. The tower should remain stable in the event of an earthquake up to magnitude 8 on the Richter scale . In addition, the subsoil consists partly of Keuper marl . An excavation of 25,000 m³ was necessary for the foundation , which is more than the weight of the tower due to the poor subsoil. The hollow foundations extend up to 13 m in depth. The structure is based on three flat foundations of 225 m² each.

The connection between the base substructure and the Y-shaped tower shaft is made with a passenger and goods lift, an emergency staircase and a cable duct. The inner shaft cross-section remains constant along its entire length, while the outer walls taper from 1.75 m to 0.4 m; is vertically prestressed between 12 m and 152.21 m - the total height of the concrete shaft - the tower shaft .

At wind speeds of up to 100 km / h, there are no significant impairments, since the fluctuation of the tower is hardly measurable. On the viewing platform, even in strong winds (160 km / h), the tower only sways up to 30 cm, which is half as much as with conventionally built towers. The Swiss civil engineer Bruno Thürlimann worked as a consultant on the measurements in the wind tunnel test . The antenna tip in a round design, on the other hand, can fluctuate up to 2.5 m. During hurricane Lothar in 1999, when wind speeds of up to 220 km / h occurred, the tower shaft had deflections of only 40 cm.

Tower cage

Tower cage with transmitter rooms, equipment and antenna supports as a photograph (left) and vertical section

The tower cage consists of two floors, which can be reached via a staircase with 799 steps and two lifts. The floor plan of the basket has an irregular, hexagonal shape that is oriented to the south. The lower floor of the tower cage is at a height of 137.63 m. At the beginning it was used for temporary and reportage beam connections. For this reason, the windows on this floor are made of high frequency permeable plastic. The upper, 47th floor at a height of 140.88 m is rented out as a meeting and event room. The radio equipment is housed on this floor between mobile and fixed intercom stations. While the lower floor in the tower cage is equipped with a continuous ribbon of windows slightly inclined towards the outside in all directions, the second floor only has large windows on the south side. An open-air maintenance platform is located above this floor.

A 2-tonne hoist is attached to the roof of the tower cage , which is used for cleaning and maintenance work as well as for installing the directional antennae. The antenna crane can be moved on a circular track around the tower and every point on the antenna terrace can be controlled. The crane can either be operated from the terrace on which it stands or from a control station on the ground floor.

The last two floors of the tower shaft also protrude from the roof. The machine room for the goods elevator is located in the upper half of the 48th floor - a mezzanine floor, while the machine room for the passenger elevator is located on the 49th floor. On the 50th and last floor there is the conical anchorage of the antenna support and the staircase leading to it.

Aerial views from the southwest

Water storage tanks, antenna supports and installations

The directional radio antennas of the St. Chrischona TV tower are located on five terraces that are between 98 m and 131 m high. Most of them face south towards Switzerland. A rucksack-like construction juts out on its north side, which contains two 6-meter high drinking water chambers of 100 m³ each at a height of 103.45 m for the St. Chrischona district of Betting. During construction, the weight of the water had to be included in the tension of the tower, which is why it was slightly inclined to the south before filling. In addition, other special features had to be taken into account when designing the reservoir. The wall was made of steel after the thermal insulation was applied and then used as formwork for the subsequent concreting of the supporting walls. Since the inlet and outlet pipes with a diameter of 200 millimeters run through the unheated tower shaft, they also had to be thermally insulated. In an adjoining room, a pressure booster system ensures that higher service rooms can also be supplied with drinking water. In order to transport the water to this height, another vertical pump was installed during construction. The existing installations including the old water reservoir in the church tower were left as an emergency reserve.

Another south-facing directional radio terrace is located on a level below the water reservoir. The around 50 directional radio antennas on St. Chrischona transmit between 2 GHz and 13 GHz, which corresponds to wavelengths between 15 cm and 2 cm. Because of the strong bundling of the signals, the mechanical stability of the antenna supports is of great importance. The diameter of the parabolic and shell antennas vary between 1.50 m and 4.30 m. The radio equipment is located on the 39th floor (116 meters) in the windowless equipment room (the "backpack") above the water reservoir, which is completely lined with sheet metal to act as a Faraday cage to shield the equipment from the electromagnetic fields of the antenna mast.

A 98.36 m high antenna mast is placed on the tower shaft . Its diameter is 2.60 m at the base and tapers to 1.60 m towards the tip. For air traffic control reasons, the antenna support is painted white and red and has a flashing ring at a height of 245.50 m, from 229.55 m there are neon obstacle lights and a rotating beacon at the top. The antenna mast was screwed together from 20 individual steel tubes, the top end of which consists of a 14 m high glass fiber reinforced plastic cylinder that is used as a UHF omnidirectional antenna. The entire mast can be accessed on the inside via a vertical ladder and there are three places where you can exit to the outside. There are platforms and an outside ladder for maintenance work. To reduce weather-related fluctuations, the almost 100-meter-high mast has a Scruton coil , a screw -like coil that acts as a flow breaker, instead of a vibration damper in the upper area .

Operation and technology

Operation and infrastructure

Information point of the operator Swisscom

The St. Chrischona multi-purpose facility is generally monitored and controlled remotely. On-site operating personnel are only required for maintenance work and for troubleshooting. When employees are in the tower, two alarm centers in the building provide an overview of the switching and operating status. Otherwise, the information on the radio and television service will be sent to a control center of the Basel-St. Alban transferred. A passenger and goods lift operate within the tower shaft. The passenger elevator for up to eight people moves at a speed of 4 m / s and overcomes the 150 m difference in height in around 40 seconds. The goods elevator for up to 2 tons of freight takes 94 seconds for the same distance.

Around 60% of the electrical energy supplied to the power transmitters is generated as waste heat. Thanks to the heat recovery, there was no need to install an oil or gas heater. The exhaust air from the VHF and TV transmitters, which is around 55 degrees Celsius, is used to heat the room in the plinth. The other rooms in the base building are heated by a heat exchanger that uses the waste heat. The floors in the tower cage are only heated electrically if necessary because of excessive heat loss from the shaft. The water supply in the building is guaranteed by its own reservoir.

Exhaust pipes

The infrastructure of the transmission system includes two systems for ventilation of the rooms and transmission systems. The room ventilation maintains the temperature within specified limits, whereas the transmitter ventilation is connected directly to the system and has to dissipate the various amounts of heat. For reasons of optimization, the transmitter ventilation is installed below the transmitter systems in the 2nd basement. The remaining rooms in the basement receive outside air or the exhaust air is used again for air renewal before the emission. There are three red ventilation pipes for the ventilation system outside on the base .

Since structures of this height, and in such an exposed location, are exposed to multiple lightning strikes every year , a special lightning protection concept is necessary. Since the tower was built from reinforced concrete, it automatically diverts electricity in the event of an impact. With welded concrete reinforcements and a flawless earth network, it would have been sufficient for personal protection. However, highly sensitive systems also had to be protected from lightning strikes. Without further protective measures, a voltage between the lower and upper floors of between 5 kV and 10 kV would be induced in the event of an impact , which would damage the equipment. For this reason, a number of protection concepts were implemented. This includes a corresponding metal sheathing of the cable ducts and rooms. The effectiveness of the measures taken was already determined during the construction phase and finally after commissioning through simulation and also with current and voltage measurements of lightning strikes in the tower and their effects. In addition, the system also served to optimize and calibrate the lightning detection system co-developed and operated by PTT between 1989 and 1998.

Power supply and emergency systems

The television tower is supplied with two 6 kV lines via the public power grid. Two transformers of 630 kVA each convert the voltage to 400 V or 230 V. The total output of all transmitters and auxiliary equipment is around 550 kW.

In the event of a power failure , two 270 kW emergency diesel generators take over the power supply. As they require a few seconds to be ready, in parallel to bridge two make accumulator batteries of 800 Ah capacity and a 48 volt rectifier system for the complete maintenance of the power supply. The security of supply for broadcasting operations is also ensured by the fact that all transmitters are available twice.

The safety precautions also include structural measures in the event of a disaster. In the event of extreme wind pressure or violent earth tremors, a predetermined breaking point is calculated at a defined point on the tower shaft , which causes the structure to break off above this point. Emergency antennas for radio coverage are located below the point so that this can also be ensured in such a case. The tower is designed to withstand pressure waves caused by an atomic bomb falling five kilometers away ; However, nothing was said about the strength of the bomb.

use

overview

Broadcasting room with facilities for digital television and radio programs

The tower at sunset

The St. Chrischona television tower and its transmitter systems are used to broadcast radio programs and to transmit radio and telephone waves. The broadcasting of television programs ceased on June 3, 2019. The voice of the cantonal police Basel Country is handled by the sender of the tower as well as the international Rhein radio. The St. Chrischona transmission tower thus provides the operating area for inland waterway communications between Breisach and Rheinfelden .

Measuring instruments for weather forecast and air hygiene are also attached to the top of the tower . In the event of a disaster, the tower can be used as an emergency call transmitter. It also serves as a water tower for the community of Bettingen as part of the water supply by the IWB . The tower on St. Chrischona is one of a total of 14 pumping stations and reservoirs in the canton of Basel-Stadt.

The approximately 100 m long red and white antenna is divided into four sections. From bottom to top, there are the sections for the transmission of VHF from 152.21 m height, radio service , digital television from 174.75 m height. The analog television was broadcast from a height of 213.05 m.

Initially, the transmission tower also served as a switching station for long-distance calls , which were relayed via radio relay. Connections for this existed via the Jungfraujoch to Zurich , via the Chasseral to Bern , via the Feldberg transmitter to the Waldenbuch telecommunications tower near Stuttgart and via the Hochrhein transmitter to St. Blasien , to the Donaueschingen transmitter and to the Mulhouse-Belvédère transmitter in France. There are currently radio link connections to the city of Basel (9 km), Liestal (12 km), Nods Chasseral transmitter (68 km), Les Ordons (41 km), Mettau (34 km), Jungfraujoch (116 km), Titlis (105 km) , Säntis (130 km), Rodersdorf (20 km), Ziefen (16 km), Zeiningen (14 km) as well as to the transmitter Blauen (23 km) and Feldberg (41 km) in Germany.

Analog radio (VHF)

Frequency (MHz)	program	RDS PS	RDS PI	Regionalization	ERP (kW)	Antenna pattern round (ND) / directional (D)	Polarization horizontal (H) / vertical (V)
90.6	Radio SRF 1	SRF_1_BS _SRF_1__	47B1 (regional), 43B1	Basel	33	D (90–260 °)	H
99.0	Radio SRF 2 culture	_SRF_2__	43B2	-	33	D (90–260 °)	H
103.6	Radio SRF 3	_SRF_3__	43B3	-	33	D (90–260 °)	H
94.5	Radio X	Radio_X_	40FF	-	0.9	D (190–260 °)	V
101.7	Energy Basel	ENERGY__	4F0E	-	4th	D (100–250 °)	V
107.6	Radio Basilisk	BASILISK	4F05	-	4th	D (100–250 °)	V
87.9	SWR1 Baden-Württemberg	SWR1_BW_	D301	-	5	D (20–110 °)	H
92.0	SWR2	__SWR2__	D3A2	-	5	D (20–110 °)	H
98.3	SWR3	__SWR3__	D3A3	-	5	D (20–110 °)	H
89.5	SWR4 Baden-Württemberg	SWR4_FR_	DB04	Radio South Baden	5	D (20–110 °)	H

Digital radio (digital audio broadcasting)

DAB is broadcast in vertical polarization and in single-frequency mode with other transmitters.

block	Programs	ERP (in kW)	Antenna pattern round (ND), directional (D)	Single frequency network (SFN)
12C SRG SSR D01 (SUI0001A)	DAB block of SRG SSR idée suisse: Radio SRF 1 AG SO + (64 kbit / s DAB +) Radio SRF 1 BE FR VS + (64 kbit / s DAB +) Radio SRF 1 BS + (64 kbit / s DAB +) Radio SRF 1 GR + (64 kbit / s DAB +) Radio SRF 1 LU + (64 kbit / s DAB +) Radio SRF 1 SG + (64 kbit / s DAB +) Radio SRF 1 ZH SH + (64 kbit / s DAB +) Radio SRF 2 Kultur + (96 kbit / s DAB +) Radio SRF 3+ (72 kbit / s DAB +) Radio SRF 4 News + (56 kbit / s DAB +) Radio SRF Musikwelle + (72 kbit / s DAB +) Radio SRF Virus + (72 kbit / s DAB +) RSI Rete Uno + (72 kbit / s DAB +) RTS La Première + (72 kbit / s DAB +) Radio Rumantsch + (72 kbit / s DAB +) Radio Swiss Pop + (64 kbit / s DAB +)	10	D.	Aargau: Baden-Freienwil (Hörndli), Frick (Frickberg), Hellikon, Möriken-Wildegg (Chestenberg), Reuenthal (Ried), Rietheim, Villigen (Geissberg), Wasserfluh Appenzell Ausserrhoden: Herisau (Ramsen), Wildhaus (Säntis) Basel-Land: Langenbruck, Läufelfingen, Nenzlingen (Eggflue), Sissach (Metzenholden), Waldenburg (Richtiflu), Ziefen (Chöpfli) Basel-Stadt: Basel (St. Chrischona) Bern: Adelboden (Wintertal), Bern (Bantiger) , Biel-Magglingen (Evilard Hohmatt), Boltigen (Jaunpass chline baths), Brienz (Wellenberg), Burgdorf-Oberburg (Rothöchi), Chasseral, Diemtigen, (Zwischenflüh), Dornegg (Rütschelen ), Eggiwil (Hinterer Girsgrat), Gadmen-Hopflauenen (Hopflauiwald), Heimenschwand (Buchholterberg Schafegg), Höfen (Beisseren), Ins (Schaltrain princely graves), Kandersteg (Büel), Köniz (Ulmizberg), Langnau im Emmental (Hirschmatt), Lauterbrunnen (Männlichen), Lenk-Metschstand (Hahnenmoos), Niederhorn, Saanen (Hornfluh), Wyssachen (Mösli), Zweisimmen (Heimersberg-Hüppiweid) Freiburg: Guggisberg (Gusteren Zollhaus), Gurmels (Cordast) Glarus: Engi (Lindenbodenberg), Glarus (Bergli), Linthal-Braunwald (Nussbüel-Schleimen) Graubünden: Valzeina (lunch plate) Lucerne: Escholzmatt (Wiggen Mittlist Äbnit), Geuensee (Höchweidwald), Schüpfheim (Vöglisbergegg), Sörenberg (Rischli), Willisau (Aegerten), Wolhusen Nidwalden: Engelberg-Wolfenschiessen (Stöck) Obwalden: Sarnen-Obstalden (Moosacher) Schaffhausen: Schaffhausen (Cholfirst) , Schleitheim (Mattenhof-Birbiste) Schwyz: Einsiedeln (Chummerweid), Oberiberg (Gadenstatt), Rigi (Kulm) Solothurn: Balsthal (Erzmatt), Grindel (Moretchopf), Mümliswil (Regenrain), Olten (Engelberg) , Rodersdorf (Grundacker), Solothurn-Oberdorf (Nesselboden) St. Gallen: Rüthi (Bismer) , St. Gallen (Chirchli Peter and Paul), Wattwil (Chapf), Ziegelbrücke (Biberlichopf) Thurgau: Elgg (Schneitberg), Mammern (Seehalde), Ottenberg, Sirnach (Sirnachberg Bärgholz), Weiningen (Haslibuck) Uri: Andermatt (Bäzberg), Attinghausen (Schiltwald) Valais: Binn (Giesse), Ferden (Färdaried), Feschel (Wilerzälg) , Leukerbad (Bodmen), Saas-Fee (Plattjen), Visperterminen (Gebidem) , Zermatt (Riffelalp), Zwischenbergen-Simplon (Feerberg) Zurich: Bachtel Kulm, Bülach (Eschenmosen), Steg-Fischenthal (Waldsberg), Wildberg (Egg Drifurri), Winterthur (Brüelberg) , Zurich (Uetliberg) , Zurich (Zürichberg) Germany: Bad Säckingen (Eggberg) , Konstanz (telecommunications office) , Hohentengen (Wannenberg) Austria: Bregenz (Pfänder)
7A SMC D03 N-CH SUI0002B	DAB block of SwissMediaCast: Color 3 (64 kbit / s DAB +) Musique option (64 kbit / s DAB +) Swiss Classic (64 kbit / s DAB +) Swiss Jazz (64 kbit / s DAB +) Radio 1 (64 kbit / s DAB +) Sunshine Radio (64 kbit / s DAB +) Radio 105 (64 kbit / s DAB +) Basilisk (64 kbit / s DAB +) Radio Gloria (64 kbit / s DAB +) Friends service (64 kbit / s DAB +) Energy hits (64 kbit / s DAB +) Vintage radio (64 kbit / s DAB +) Rockit Radio (64 kbit / s DAB +) RSO (64 kbit / s DAB +) Virgin Hits (64 kbit / s DAB +) Virgin Rock (64 kbit / s DAB +) Lucerne Pop (64 kbit / s DAB +) Central2 (64 kbit / s DAB +)	4.7	ND	Aargau: Baden-Freienwil (Hörndli), Frick (Frickberg) Basel-Land: Läufelfingen, Nenzlingen (Eggflue), Sissach (Metzenholden), Waldenburg (Richtiflu), Ziefen (Chöpfli) Basel-Stadt: Basel (St. Chrischona) Glarus: Linthal-Braunwald, Sool (Trogsite) Graubünden: Valzeina (lunch platter) Lucerne: Escholzmatt-Wiggen (Mittlist Äbnit), Geuensee (Höchweidwald), Schüpfheim (Vöglisbergegg), Sörenberg (Rischli) Obwalden: Engelberg-Wolfenschiessen (Stöck) Schaffhausen: Osterfingen (Rossberg) Schwyz: Einsiedeln (Chummerweid), Oberiberg (Gadenstatt), Rigi (Kulm) Solothurn: Olten (Engelberg) St. Gallen: Engi (Lindenbodenberg), Wasserfluh, Ziegelbrücke (Biberlichopf) Uri: Amsteg-Gurtnellen (Unter Axeli), Andermatt (Bäzberg), Attinghausen (Schiltwald) Zurich: Bachtel-Kulm, Bülach (Eschenmosen), Steg-Fischenthal (Waldsberg), Winterthur (Brüelberg) , Zurich (Uetliberg) , Zurich (Zürichberg) Germany [bwü]: Eggberg , Waldshut (Aarberg) , Wannenberg
7D SMC_D02 (SUI0001F)	DAB block of SwissMediaCast: Rete Tre (64 kbit / s DAB +) Radio Eviva (64 kbit / s DAB +) Radio Top Two (64 kbit / s DAB +) Radio Life Channel (64 kbit / s DAB +) Energy Zurich (64 kbit / s DAB +) Energy Basel (64 kbit / s DAB +) Energy Bern (64 kbit / s DAB +) Radio Inside (64 kbit / s DAB +) Radio Maria (64 kbit / s DAB +) Radio Argovia (64 kbit / s DAB +) Radio Top (64 kbit / s DAB +) Radio Central (64 kbit / s DAB +) Radio 24 (64 kbit / s DAB +) Radio FM1 (64 kbit / s DAB +) ERF Plus (64 kbit / s DAB +) Radio Zürisee (64 kbit / s DAB +) Radio Pilatus (64 kbit / s DAB +) Schlager Radio (64 kbit / s DAB +)	4.6	D.	Aargau: Baden-Freienwil (Hörndli), Frick (Frickberg), Wasserfluh Appenzell Ausserrhoden: Herisau (Ramsen), Wildhaus (Säntis) Bern: Adelboden (Wintertal), Adlemsried, Bern (Bantiger) , Biel (Bözingenberg), Diemtigen (ufem Chrütz), Burgdorf-Oberburg (Rothöchi), Geissholz, Höfen (Beisseren), Huttwil (Hohfuren), Kandersteg (Büel), Langnau iE (Hirschmatt), Lauterbrunnen (Männlichen), Lenk-Metschstand (Hahnenmoos), Matten (Chlyne Ruuge), Saanen (Hornfluh), Zweisimmen (Heimersberg-Hüppiweid) Basel-Land: Nenzlingen (Eggflue), Sissach (Metzenholden) Basel-Stadt: Basel (St. Chrischona) Freiburg: Friborg (Hôpital) Glarus: Engi (Lindenbodenberg), Linthal-Braunwald (Nussbüel-Schleimen), Sool (Trogsite) Graubünden: Medel-Curaglia (Vergera), Morissen (San Carli), Trun (Axenstein 411), Valzeina (lunch plate) , Versam (Uaul Scardanal) Lucerne: Geuensee (Höchweidwald), Schüpfheim (Vöglisbergegg), Sörenberg (Rischli) Nidwalden: Engelberg-Wolfenschiessen (Stöck) St. Gallen: Rüthi (Bismer) , St. Gallen (Chirchli Peter and Paul), Strichboden, Wattwil (Chapf), Ziegelbrücke (Biberlichopf) Schaffhausen: Altdorf (Ried), Osterfingen (Rossberg), Schaffhausen (Cholfirst) , Schleitheim (Mattenhof-Birbiste) Solothurn: Balsthal (Erzmatt), Olten (Engelberg) , Solothurn-Oberdorf (Nesselboden) Schwyz: Einsiedeln (Chummerweid), Oberiberg (Gadenstatt), Rigi (Kulm) Thurgau: Bischofszell Sitterdorf (Pierchäller), Mammern (Seehalde), Sirnach (Sirnachberg Bärgholz), Weiningen (Haslibuck) Uri: Amsteg-Gurtnellen (Unter Axeli), Andermatt (Bäzberg), Attinghausen (Schiltwald) Zurich: Bülach (Eschenmosen), Bachtel Kulm, Steg-Fischenthal (Waldsberg), Winterthur (Brüelberg) , Zurich (Uetliberg) , Zurich (Zürichberg) Germany: Bad Säckingen (Eggberg) , Konstanz (telecommunications office) , Waldshut (Aarberg) , Hohentengen (Wannenberg) Austria: Bregenz (Pfänder)

Digital television (DVB-T)

Coaxial cable in the St. Chrischona television tower for data transmission, in comparison: left for digital television, right for analog television

Programs broadcast until June 3, 2019:

channel	Frequency (MHz)	Program package	Programs	ERP (kW)
31	554	SRG D1	SRF 1 , SRF two , SRF info , RTS Un , RSI LA 1	0.6

Analog television (PAL)

Before the switch to DVB-T, the broadcasting location was still used for analog television. Since November 26, 2007, no more analog television programs have been broadcast from the St. Chrischona TV tower.

channel	Frequency (MHz)	program	ERP (kW)	Transmission diagram round (ND) / directional (D)	Polarization horizontal (H) / vertical (V)
11	217.25	SF 1	38	ND	H
46	671.25	TSR 1	105	ND	H
49	695.25	SF two	105	ND	H

The Italian television program of Switzerland TSI 1 came from the German location Obertüllingen in Lörrach.

literature

Overview articles

Project for the TV tower St. Chrischona, Basel . In: Werk - Archithese , Volume 62, No. 9, Bund Schweizer Architekten 1975, p. 797 ( online here ).
Anton Haldemann: The multi-purpose facility St. Chrischona = L'installation à usages multiples de St-Chrischona , technical communications PTT. Bern. 59 (1981) 9, pp. 340-342, 369.
Georg-Ludwig Radke: Freshly sparked in St. Chrischona: Tower of Basel in: Funkschau , magazine for entertainment electronics and communication technology. Munich 1984, 23, pp. 78-80.
Anton Haldemann: PTT multi-purpose system St. Chrischona = installation à usages multiples of the PTT de St-Crischona , PTT technical communications. Bern. 62 (1984) 8, pp. 272-284.
Armin de Toffol: The most elegant giant in Switzerland = Le géant le plus élégant de Suisse = Il colosso più elegant di tutta la Svizzera , PTT magazine. Bern, 57 (1984) 8, pp. 20-24.
Hans Rudolf Riner: Multi-purpose facility St. Chrischona , in-house newspaper Fernmeldekreisdirektion Zürich, 16 (1985-09), pp. 3–7.
R. Egloff, J. Frei, J. Kalak: Telecommunication tower St. Chrischona, Basel (Switzerland) . In: IABSE PERIODICA , 2/1985, p. 36.
Erwin Heinle , Fritz Leonhardt : Towers of all times - of all cultures. 3rd edition. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-421-02931-8 , p. 249.

Individual aspects

Eric Montandon: Lightning protection concept for the PTT multipurpose building St. Chrischona = Mesures de protection contre la foudre pour le bâtiment à usages multiples des PTT de St-Chrischona , PTT technical information. Bern, 59 (1981) 9, pp. 343-356.
Advice on creating a water reservoir in the St. Chrischona TV tower and the necessary supplementary work to improve the water supply in the St. Chrischona area , Basel 1981.
Johannes Maier, Markus Baumann, Bruno Thürlimann : Measurements on the St. Chrischona telecommunications tower. Birkhäuser 1989, Basel, ISBN 3-7643-2404-X .
Eric Montandon: Measurement and location of lightning strikes and their effects on the telecommunications tower "St. Chrischona" near Basel of the Swiss Telecom PTT in: Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik , OeVE association magazine, 112th year, issue 6/1995 Blitzforschung, pp. 283–289.

Web links

Commons : TV tower St. Chrischona - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Telecommunication tower St. Chrischona. In: Structurae
Pictures of the construction work on the St. Chrischona television tower
Facts and figures about the St. Chrischona broadcasting station (PDF) ( Memento from November 17, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) - brochure from the operator swisscom
TV tower St. Chrischona - project description page of the participating architect Oplatek

Individual evidence

^ Basler Stadtbuch, events on April 23, 1954 , last accessed on May 28, 2020

↑ ^a ^b Haldemann: PTT multi-purpose system St. Chrischona , p. 272

^ Haldemann: The multi-purpose facility St. Chrischona , p. 340

↑ RADIOJournal 8/1994: 10 years of the Sankt Chrischona transmission tower ( Memento from March 31, 2016 in the Internet Archive )

^ First transmission mast on St. Chrischona , accessed on June 28, 2013

^ First television tower on St. Chrischona , accessed on June 28, 2013

↑ ^a ^b Project for the St. Chrischona TV tower, Basel . In: Werk - Archithese , Volume 62 No. 9, Bund Schweizer Architekten 1975, p. 797

↑ Günther Kühne: No tube, A TV tower for Basel in: Bauwelt 43 , 65th year (November 18, 1974), p. 1401

↑ ^a ^b Riner: Multi-Purpose Plant St. Chrischona , p. 5

↑ ^a ^b Haldemann: PTT multi-purpose system St. Chrischona , p. 273

↑ Advice on creating a water reservoir in the St. Chrischona TV tower [...] , pp. 3–4.

↑ Advice on creating a water reservoir in the St. Chrischona TV tower [...] , pp. 8–9.

^ Historical and Antiquarian Society of Basel (ed.): Basler Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Altertumskunde , Basel 1980, Volume 80

↑ Joseph Kalak: Telecommunications tower of St. Chrioschona, Switzerland, IABSE proceedings, 2/1986, p 84/85

^ Haldemann: PTT multi-purpose system St. Chrischona , p. 276

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Riner: Multi-purpose facility St. Chrischona , p. 6

↑ Entry in the Basler Stadtchronik on September 16, 1985 , accessed on May 28, 2020

↑ ^a ^b ^c Radke: Freshly sparked in St. Chrischona. Tower of Basel , p. 79

↑ ^a ^b Radke: Freshly sparked in St. Chrischona. Tower of Basel , p. 78

↑ bzbasel.ch: The best view is from Basel's landmark , accessed on September 29, 2014

↑ swisscom.ch: Open House on the St. Chrischona transmission tower , accessed on September 29, 2014

↑ BFVOG Towerrunning 2014 - A Success , last accessed on April 21, 2020

↑ BFVOG Towerrunning 2019 , last accessed on April 21, 2020

↑ Tower running is not carried out! , accessed September 29, 2014

↑ Swisscom press release of October 19, 2017: Swisscom equips St. Chrischona transmitter with a solar system , last accessed on March 22, 2019

↑ Telebasel : Solar cells for the tallest freestanding Swiss building Chrischona Tower , article from April 10, 2017, last accessed on March 22, 2019

↑ Free start for the St. Chrischona Generational Course , accessed on November 5, 2014

↑ bzbasel.ch: Temporary end for popular excursion restaurant: The Waldrain must close , article from September 25, 2018, last accessed on March 22, 2019

↑ Joseph Kalak: Telecommunications tower of St. Chrioschona, Switzerland , IABSE proceedings, 2/1986, p 78

↑ Tec21: Florian Vischer to commemorate , Volume 127 (2001), Verlag AG of the academic technical associations

↑ ^a ^b ^c Egloff, Kalak: Telecommunication tower St. Chrischona, Basel (Switzerland) , IABSE structures, 2/1985, p. 36

↑ ^a ^b Haldemann: PTT multi-purpose system St. Chrischona , p. 274

↑ TV tower St.Chrischona, Bettingen ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.

↑ Oplatek Architects: St. Chrischona TV Tower , accessed on May 28, 2020

^ Haldemann: PTT multi-purpose system St. Chrischona , p. 272

↑ Swiss engineer and architect , Volume 108, year 1990, p. 11 , last accessed on October 13, 2012

↑ ^a ^b ^c Riner: Multi-Purpose Plant St. Chrischona , p. 7

↑ ^a ^b Facts and figures on the St. Chrischona station ( memento of the original from October 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (pdf; 583 kB) - Brochure from the operator swisscom , last accessed on October 12, 2012

↑ Joseph Kalak: Telecommunications tower of St. Chrioschona, Switzerland , IABSE proceedings, 2/1986, p 81

↑ Joseph Kalak: Telecommunications tower of St. Chrioschona, Switzerland , IABSE proceedings, 2/1986, p 85

↑ Willy A. Müller: Current problems in the community of Bettingen , in: Jahrbuch z'Rieche 1979 ( online )

↑ Egloff, free, Kalak: Telecommunications Tower St. Chrischona, Basel (Switzerland) , IABSE structures, 9/1985, p 36 , last accessed on October 13, 2012

↑ ^a ^b Haldemann: PTT multi-purpose system St. Chrischona , p. 280

^ Haldemann: PTT multi-purpose system St. Chrischona , p. 284

↑ Montandon: Lightning protection concept for the PTT multi-purpose building St. Chrischona , p. 345 (Fig. 2)

↑ Advice on creating a water reservoir in the St. Chrischona TV tower [...] , p. 6.

↑ Advice on creating a water reservoir in the St. Chrischona TV tower [...] , p. 7.

^ Haldemann: PTT multi-purpose system St. Chrischona , p. 278

^ ^A ^b Radke: Freshly sparked in St. Chrischona: Turmbau zu Basel , p. 80

^ Haldemann: PTT multi-purpose system St. Chrischona , p. 279

^ Haldemann: The multi-purpose facility St. Chrischona , p. 342

^ Haldemann: PTT multi-purpose system St. Chrischona , p. 283

↑ Montandon: Lightning protection concept for the PTT multi-purpose building in St. Chrischona , pp. 343–356

^ Haldemann: PTT multi-purpose system St. Chrischona , p. 282

↑ Data from the weather station on the St. Chrischona tower , last accessed on October 17, 2012

↑ The Basel drinking water pipeline network ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed October 3, 2012@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.iwb.ch

↑ Numbers and facts about the St. Chrischona station (PDF)

This article was added to the list of excellent articles on December 2, 2012 in this version .

[1] Basler Stadtbuch, events on April 23, 1954 , last accessed on May 28, 2020

[HaldemannS272-2] Haldemann: PTT multi-purpose system St. Chrischona , p. 272

[3] Haldemann: The multi-purpose facility St. Chrischona , p. 340

[4] RADIOJournal 8/1994: 10 years of the Sankt Chrischona transmission tower ( Memento from March 31, 2016 in the Internet Archive )

[5] First transmission mast on St. Chrischona , accessed on June 28, 2013

[6] First television tower on St. Chrischona , accessed on June 28, 2013

[Projekt_für_den_Fernsehturm_St._Chrischona-7] Project for the St. Chrischona TV tower, Basel . In: Werk - Archithese , Volume 62 No. 9, Bund Schweizer Architekten 1975, p. 797

[8] Günther Kühne: No tube, A TV tower for Basel in: Bauwelt 43 , 65th year (November 18, 1974), p. 1401

[Riner,_S5-9] Riner: Multi-Purpose Plant St. Chrischona , p. 5

[Haldemann,_S. 273-10] Haldemann: PTT multi-purpose system St. Chrischona , p. 273

[11] Advice on creating a water reservoir in the St. Chrischona TV tower [...] , pp. 3–4.

[12] Advice on creating a water reservoir in the St. Chrischona TV tower [...] , pp. 8–9.

[13] Historical and Antiquarian Society of Basel (ed.): Basler Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Altertumskunde , Basel 1980, Volume 80

[14] Joseph Kalak: Telecommunications tower of St. Chrioschona, Switzerland, IABSE proceedings, 2/1986, p 84/85

[15] Haldemann: PTT multi-purpose system St. Chrischona , p. 276

[RinerS6-16] Riner: Multi-purpose facility St. Chrischona , p. 6

[17] Entry in the Basler Stadtchronik on September 16, 1985 , accessed on May 28, 2020

[RadkeS79-18] Radke: Freshly sparked in St. Chrischona. Tower of Basel , p. 79

[RadkeS78-19] Radke: Freshly sparked in St. Chrischona. Tower of Basel , p. 78

[20] zbasel.ch: The best view is from Basel's landmark , accessed on September 29, 2014