Sao Tome transmitter
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Sao Tome transmitter
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| Basic data | ||||
| Place: | Cantagalo | |||
| Province: | Sao Tome | |||
| Country: | Sao Tome and Principe | |||
| Coordinates: 0 ° 17 ′ 34.8 " N , 6 ° 45 ′ 10.8" E | ||||
| Use: | Broadcasting station | |||
| Accessibility: | Transmission system not accessible to the public | |||
| Owner : | International Broadcasting Bureau | |||
| Data on the transmission system | ||||
| Number of towers / masts: | 20th | |||
| Last modification (antenna) : | 2003 | |||
| Wavebands : | MW transmitter , SW transmitter | |||
| Radio : | MW broadcasting , KW broadcasting | |||
| Position map | ||||
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The São Tomé transmitter is a large-scale broadcasting facility of the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) in the Cantagalo district on the east coast of the island of São Tomé , which is part of the island state of São Tomé and Príncipe .
history
The transmitter was built by the Portuguese colonialists during colonial times. After the island state gained independence from the colonial power of Portugal in 1975, the system fell into disrepair due to a lack of maintenance and a short time later it finally ceased broadcasting.
The restart is a consequence of the beginning of the civil war in Liberia in 1990. There the IBB had been operating a large-scale broadcasting facility for a long time to supply large parts of Africa with the Voice of America program , which was completely destroyed as a result of the civil war. In the search for a replacement location, the authorities came across the old transmitter in São Tomé and decided to reactivate it and use it from now on. After only a provisional medium-wave transmitter could initially be put into operation, four short-wave transmitters and a completely renewed medium-wave transmission system were built by 1996. The old medium wave antenna collapsed in 2003 due to corrosion from the salty air.
Today's operation
The Voice of America program for West Africa is broadcast on medium wave in English, Hausa and French on the frequency 1530 kHz with an output of 600 kW. Two guyed self-radiating transmission masts are used, which ensure a pronounced directional effect to the northeast; For this reason, this station can also be heard in Europe at night if the conditions are good.
A system of 18 masts is used for the shortwave transmission. Programs for Africa are broadcast on different frequencies.