Beidweiler Longwave Transmitter
The Beidweiler longwave transmitter is a high-power broadcasting transmission site owned by RTL Group and operated by RTL company Broadcasting Center Europe. It was used to transmit the French-speaking programme of RTL on longwave frequency 234 kHz until 1 January 2023. Based in Beidweiler, Luxembourg, the transmission site is situated at 49°43'58" N and 6°19'08" E and went into service in 1972 as replacement of the old Junglinster Longwave Transmitter. Junglinster remained in use as a backup site and for additional broadcast services.
Construction
[edit | edit source]The facility uses a directional antenna consisting of three 290-meter (950 ft) tall guyed masts, each equipped with a cage antenna. The output of this array is mostly directed toward Paris. When the site was inaugurated in 1972 it operated with a transmission power of 1400 kilowatts, which was pushed up to 2000 kW in 1974, making it one of the most powerful broadcasting stations in the world at the time.[1]
History
[edit | edit source]In 1994, the facility's transmitters were replaced with Thomson-Csf TRE 2175 units, which in turn were replaced by a new Transradio TRAM/P 1500 LS solid-state transmitter in 2011 that could support DRM digital radio broadcasting.[2] The maximum power of the site is 1500 kW (reduced to 1000 kW at night);[3] since 2020, the output power has been set to 750 kW daytime or 375 kW at night.[4]
In 2019, RTL Group and Luxembourgish energy company Enovos began work on an extensive solar generation facility at Beidweiler.[5] The first phase of the project, consisting of 16,100 photovoltaic solar panels, was connected to the national energy grid in 2020. A second group of panels went online in 2021. Together with a similar solar generation facility at Junglinster, the transmission sites make up the largest solar facility in Luxembourg, generating almost 10.5 gigawatt-hours of energy per year.[6]
In October 2022, RTL parent company Groupe M6 announced plans to cease broadcasting from the site, citing the need to reduce electricity consumption.[7] Transmissions from Beidweiler stopped on 2 January 2023, with listeners advised to switch to FM, DAB+, or streams delivered via digital TV and mobile apps.[8]
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
External links
[edit | edit source]
- http://www.skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?b7751
- Langwellensender Beidweiler at StructuraeLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- https://theantennasite.com/countries/luxembourg/beidweiler-ruedelastation.html
Lua error in Module:Authority_control at line 153: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 489: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).