Long wave broadcasting
The term long-wave broadcasting refers to the round or radio in the long-wave band . The frequency range between 148.5 kHz and 283.5 kHz is provided for this. Today it is mainly used for terrestrial broadcasting of national radio programs beyond national borders, as well as shortwave broadcastingto distribute foreign language programs to listeners in other countries. Radio programs from Germany, Austria and Switzerland are no longer broadcast in the long-wave band. At the turn of the year 2014/2015, apart from the French-speaking Europe 1 , which was only switched off on December 31, 2019 , the last channels were switched off.
Characteristics
One advantage of the long wave is the long range of the bump (up to over 1000 km), so that a single transmitter can supply large areas with a stable signal. Very powerful transmitters are often used here (up to 2000 kW). Space wave propagation is of less importance than at higher frequencies, so that disturbances due to near-range fading (superimposition of ground and space waves at night) hardly occur. The disadvantage is the small number of available channels (15).
In the long-wave range, the natural (from thunderstorms etc.) and artificial noise levels (see EMC exposure) are very high. This forces the transmission to be too high. In addition, the long wavelength requires very large antenna systems (see transmitter descriptions below). Accordingly, the operating costs of a long wave transmitter are very high.
The broadcast long-wave range is only used by broadcasters in Europe, the CIS countries, Mongolia, the Middle East and North Africa - also known as Zone 1. The longwave band is not available for broadcasts on the American continent, Southeast Asia, Australia and Oceania.
The long wave frequencies for broadcasting are assigned in a 9 kHz grid (↑ see channel grid ). Due to the small number of available transmission channels for broadcasting in the long wave range (15 channels), each frequency can be assigned to several transmitters. Due to the large range of the sky waves occurring at night ( diurnal phase shift ), many powerful stations have to reduce their transmission power and / or work with a directional antenna in order to reduce mutual interference , according to the rules laid down in the Geneva Wave Plan . Some stations have to stop operating during the night. Nevertheless, it is possible that several stations can be heard on one frequency during the night - as in the medium wave range. With a direction-sensitive receiving antenna, such as a ferrite or loop antenna , you can remedy this by rotating the antenna , provided that both transmitters are not in one direction.
The long wave range is also used for other services. The best known are the time signal transmitters such as DCF77 in Mainflingen. The amateur radio service also uses the area for LowFER, for example .
Broadcasting station in the long wave range
In some countries of Europe powerful transmitters exist. The public broadcaster BBC Radio 4 is very easy to receive on the 198 kHz frequency.
Other private broadcasters such as RTL also use long wave to broadcast their programs on a large scale.
Long-wave transmitters are only active in Europe, North Africa, the successor states of the USSR and Mongolia. There used to be long-wave transmitters in Asia Minor and the Arabian Peninsula.
| frequency | Station name | country | location | Type of transmitting antenna | Transmission power | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 153 kHz | Antena Satelor | Romania | Braşov | T antenna on two guyed transmission masts 250 meters high | 200 kW | |
| NRK P1 | Norway | Ingøy | Omnidirectional antenna, top fed 362 meter high, guyed steel truss mast | 100 kW | ||
| 162 kHz | (Time signal in phase modulation) | France | Allouis | two 350 meter high guyed steel truss masts fed from the top | 1100 kW | Shutdown of modulation from France Inter on December 31, 2016 23:59 (CET) |
| Ulaanbaatar Radio | Mongolia | Ulaanbaatar | 500 kW | 164 kHz | ||
| 171 kHz | Radio Mediteranée Internationale (Médi 1) |
Morocco | Nador | Directional antenna , three 380 meter high guyed steel truss masts | 2000 kW | |
| 189 kHz | Rás 1 / Rás 2 | Iceland | Gufuskálar | Omnidirectional antenna, 412 meter high, guyed transmission mast isolated from earth | 300 kW | |
| Sveriges radio | Sweden | Motala | T antenna on two transmission masts 120 meters high | only rarely active and with very little power | ||
| 198 kHz | BBC Radio 4 | Great Britain | Droitwich | T antenna on two guyed transmission masts, insulated from earth, 213 meters high | 500 kW | BBC World Service at night |
| BBC Radio 4 | Great Britain | Burghead | Omnidirectional antenna, guyed transmission mast | 50 kW | ||
| BBC Radio 4 | Great Britain | Westerglen | Omnidirectional antenna, guyed transmission mast 152 meters high | 50 kW | ||
| 207 kHz | RTM A | Morocco | Azilal | 400 kW | ||
| Rás 1 / Rás 2 | Iceland | Eiðar | Omnidirectional antenna, 220 meter high steel truss mast insulated from the ground | 100 kW | ||
| 225 kHz | Polskie Radio 1 | Poland | Solec Kujawski | Directional antenna , two guyed transmission masts fed above , 330 m and 289 m high | 1000 kW | formerly the transmitter location Konstantynów |
| Ulaanbaatar Radio | Mongolia | Altai | 75 kW | 227 kHz | ||
| 234 kHz | RTL | Luxembourg | Beidweiler | Directional antenna , three 290 meter high guyed, grounded steel truss masts with vertical traps | 1,500 kW | Reserve transmitter location Junglinster ; French program |
| Voice of Armenia | Armenia | Gawar | 500 kW | |||
| 243 kHz | Danmarks Radio | Denmark | Kalundborg | Alexanderson antenna direction 153/333 degrees, two 118 m high grounded steel tower radiators connected with top capacitance wires | 50 kW | only in operation for a few hours a day |
| 252 kHz | Chaîne 3 | Algeria | Tipaza | Omnidirectional antenna, guyed 355 meter high steel truss mast | 1,500 kW | French program; at night at half power |
| RTÉ Radio 1 | Ireland | Summerhill | Omnidirectional antenna, guyed steel truss mast, 248 meters high, insulated from earth | 300 kW | formerly a transmitter from Atlantic 252 , at night with 100 kW power; Shutdown originally planned for October 27, 2014 and January 19, 2015. Postponed to 2017. From 2016, reduction in transmission time. | |
| 270 kHz | Český Rozhlas 1 (Radiožurnál) | Czech Republic | Topolná | Directional antenna (radiation maximum in east-west direction), trap antennas on 2 earthed guyed steel truss masts 270 meters high | 50 kW (until the beginning of 2014 650 kW) | |
| 279 kHz | Radio Ashgabat 1 | Turkmenistan | Ashgabat | 150 kW |
Historic long wave transmitters
In the last few decades there has been an international trend towards the gradual switch-off of long-wave transmitters (↑ see also analog switch-off ). Following this trend, the broadcasting of the programs of Deutschlandfunk on 153 kHz ( Donebach transmitter ) and 207 kHz ( Aholming transmitter ) as well as Deutschlandradio Kultur on 177 kHz ( Zehlendorf transmitter ) was discontinued on December 31, 2014.
At this point there is a list of formerly important long-wave transmitters, as they are often still printed on the scale of older radio receivers:
| frequency | Station name | country | location | Type of transmitting antenna | Transmission power | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 153 kHz | Deutschlandfunk | Germany | Donebach | Directional antenna , two 363 meter high guyed steel truss masts fed from above | 500 kW | shut down as of December 31, 2014 |
| Radio Mayak | Turkmenistan | Ashgabat | 650 kW | |||
| Radio Junost | Russia | Taldom | 300/150 kW | |||
| 162 kHz | TRT Radyo-4 | Turkey | Ağrı | two guyed steel truss masts, height: 250 meters | 1000 kW | |
| Radio Bashkortostan | Russia | Ufa | 150 kW | |||
| Radio Tashkent 1 | Uzbekistan | Tashkent | 150 kW | |||
| Radio Taimyr / Radio Rossii | Russia | Norilsk | 150 kW | |||
| 171 kHz | Radio Rossii | Russia | Bolshakovo | 150/75 kW | ||
| Radio Chechnya Svobodnaya | Russia | Krasnodar - Tbilisskaya | 1200 kW | |||
| Radio Belarus | Belarus | Minsk | 1000 kW | |||
| Radio Sacha / Radio Rossii | Russia | Yakutsk | 150 kW | Shut down in 2014 | ||
| Radio Tomsk / Radio Rossii | Russia | Oyash | 250 kW | Shut down at the end of 2013 | ||
| 177 kHz | Deutschlandradio Kultur | Germany | Zehlendorf | Omnidirectional antenna, trap antenna on 359.7 meter high guyed, grounded steel truss mast. | 500 kW | shut down as of December 31, 2014 |
| 180 kHz | TRT Radyo-2 | Turkey | Polatlı | Guyed steel framework mast, height: 250 meters | 1,200 kW | |
| Radio Kamchatka / Radio Rossii | Russia | Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky | 150 kW | |||
| Radio Kazakhstan 1 | Kazakhstan | Almaty | 500 kW | |||
| Radio Mayak | Kazakhstan | Aktobe | ||||
| 183 kHz | Europe 1 | Germany | Felsberg-Berus | Directional antenna , four braced steel truss masts insulated from earth, 270 m, 276 m, 280 m and 282 m high, reserve antenna two 234 meter high steel truss masts isolated from earth (switched off on December 31, 2019) | 2000 kW | French program, the strongest radio station in Germany, but broadcast mainly to the southwest. |
| 189 kHz | RAI Radio Uno | Italy | Caltanissetta | Omnidirectional antenna, guyed steel truss mast, height 282 meters | 10 kW | Operation ceased in August 2004 |
| Sakartvelos radio | Georgia | Tbilisi | guyed steel framework mast | 100 kW | meanwhile dismantled | |
| 198 kHz | Radio Up | Poland | Raszyn | Omnidirectional antenna, 335 meter high transmission mast isolated from earth | 200 kW | |
| TRT Radyo-1 | Turkey | Etimesgut | 120 kW | |||
| Radio Mayak | Russia | Moscow -Kurovskaya | 150 kW | |||
| Radio Mayak | Russia | Saint Petersburg - Olgino | Omnidirectional antenna, 205 meter high transmission mast | 150 kW | ||
| Radio Mayak | Russia | Ufa , Irkutsk | 150 kW | |||
| 207 kHz | Deutschlandfunk | Germany | Aholming | Directional antenna , 2 top-fed 265 meter high guyed steel truss masts | 500 kW | shut down as of December 31, 2014 |
| Radio Amman | Jordan | Al Karanah | 600 kW | |||
| Ukrainske Radio 1 | Ukraine | Brovary | two braced steel truss masts, 259.6 meters high, insulated from the ground, the lower part of which is equipped with a trap antenna | 500 kW | ||
| Radio Mayak | Russia | Tynda | 150 kW | |||
| 216 kHz | Radio Monte Carlo / Trans World Radio | France | Roumoules | Directional antenna , three 300-meter-high guyed steel truss masts, 330-meter-high transmitter mast as a reserve antenna | 1400/900 kW | switched off on March 28, 2020 |
| Radio Azerbaijan 1 | Azerbaijan | Baku | 500 kW | |||
| NRK P1 | Norway | Kløfta | T antenna on two 230 meter high guyed steel truss masts | 200 kW | shut down in January 1995 | |
| 225 kHz | TRT-GAP | Turkey | Van | Guyed steel framework mast, height: 250 meters | 600 kW | |
| Radio Rossii | Russia | Surgut | 500 kW | |||
| 234 kHz | Moscow 1 | Moldova | Grigoriopol | 1000 kW | ||
| Moscow 1 | Russia | Krasny Bor | Trap antenna on 271.5 meter high guyed steel truss mast | 2000 kW | ||
| 243 kHz | TRT Radyo-4 | Turkey | Erzurum | Guyed steel framework mast, height: 185 meters | 200 kW | |
| Radio Kazakhstan 1 | Kazakhstan | Karagandy | 1,200 kW | |||
| Radio Kazakhstan 2 | Kazakhstan | Almaty | 1,200 kW | |||
| 252 kHz | Yleisradio | Finland | Lahti | T antenna on two guyed transmission masts 150 meters high | 200 kW | since 1993 radio museum |
| Radio Liberty | Armenia | Yerevan | 150 kW | |||
| 261 kHz | Radioropa info | Germany | Castle | Omnidirectional antenna, fish trap antenna on a grounded steel truss mast of 324 meters, pipe mast insulated from earth, 210 meters in height | 50 kW | |
| Radio Rossii | Russia | Taldom | Omnidirectional antenna, circular group antenna, guyed central mast 275 meters high, surrounded by five guyed transmitter masts located in a circle around it | 250 kW | ||
| Radio horizon | Bulgaria | Vakarel | Cigar-shaped transmission mast, 215 meters high ( Blaw-Knox transmission tower ) | 75 kW | shut down as of December 31, 2014 | |
| 270 kHz | Moscow 1 | Russia | Khabarovsk | 150 kW | ||
| Radio Rossii | Russia | Orenburg | 50 kW | |||
| 279 kHz | Radio Mayak | Russia | Ekaterinburg | Omnidirectional antenna, top fed 256 meter high, guyed steel truss mast | 50 kW | |
| Radio Belarus 1 | Belarus | Sasnowy | 500 kW | shut down on March 31, 2016 |
literature
- Gerd Klawitter, Klaus Herold, Michael Oexner: Long-wave and long-wave broadcasting. 3rd edition, Siebel Verlag GmbH, Meckenheim 2000, ISBN 3-89632-043-2
See also
Web links
- Herman Boel: Transmitter table long wave (EMWG) - only available via web archives
- Wave network: Long wave in Europe 2015
- WabWeb: Development of radio long-wave transmitters in Europe, Asia and North Africa
- Long wave message board
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b France Inter no longer on long wave. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; accessed on March 15, 2017 . ( 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.
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated December 13, 2014 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.
- ↑ a b c d Deutschlandradio: Press release, switching off long wave: Deutschlandradio relies on modern distribution channels. November 28, 2014, accessed January 1, 2015 .
- ↑ Belarusian AM broadcasting ended. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on April 24, 2016 ; Retrieved April 10, 2016 . 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.
