The Monte Ceneri transmitter was first established as the nationwide medium-wave radio transmission station for Italian-speaking Switzerland in 1933. Located on

Monte Ceneri Monte Ceneri is a mountain pass in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. It connects the Magadino Plain and the Vedeggio Valley across the Lugano Prealps at an elevation of above sea level. It provides the most direct route between the cities ...

Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

, it broadcast on a

frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from '' angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is ...

of 558 kHz.

1933 mast

The original transmission mast – a 120-metre-high free-standing

lattice tower A lattice tower or truss tower is a freestanding vertical framework tower. This construction is widely used in transmission towers carrying high voltage electric power lines, in radio masts and towers (a self-radiating tower or as a support f ...

insulated from the ground – was constructed in the

Monte Ceneri pass Monte Ceneri is a mountain pass in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. It connects the Magadino Plain and the Vedeggio Valley across the Lugano Prealps at an elevation of above sea level. It provides the most direct route between the cities ...

(at 46°8'26"N 8°54'56"E). Today this tower is used for DAB and

DVB-T DVB-T, short for Digital Video Broadcasting – Terrestrial, is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in Singapore in Feb ...

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...

, for which purposes a 15-metre-high antenna has been added at the top, so that the full height of the mast is now 135 metres.

1978 mast

In 1978 a new facility for the Monte Ceneri transmitter was built north of Isone (at 46°8'19"N 8°59'25"E). This uses as its main antenna a 220-metre

guyed A guy-wire, guy-line, guy-rope, or stay, also called simply a guy, is a tensioned cable designed to add stability to a free-standing structure. They are used commonly for ship masts, radio masts, wind turbines, utility poles, and tents. A thi ...

lattice-steel

mast Mast, MAST or MASt may refer to: Engineering * Mast (sailing), a vertical spar on a sailing ship * Flagmast, a pole for flying a flag * Guyed mast, a structure supported by guy-wires * Mooring mast, a structure for docking an airship * Radio mast ...

insulated from the ground and, as backup, a

T-antenna A T-antenna, T-aerial, flat-top antenna, or (capacitively) top-loaded antenna is a monopole radio antenna with transverse capacitive loading wires attached to its top. T-antennas are typically used in the VLF, LF, MF, and shortwave bands, a ...

, which is suspended between two guyed tubular-steel masts. The main mast – which is the only tall guyed mast in Switzerland, as well as being the country's second-tallest tower-type structure – is equipped with an

elevator An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They ar ...

, the machinery of which is installed in a compartment just above the basement insulator. Despite the location change, the old name of the transmitter was retained. On 30 June 2008 the transmitter was shut down. The Voice of Russia (VoR) subsequently expressed an interest in acquiring a licence to broadcast from the site using the 558 kHz frequency and on 9 February 2011 it received permission from the Swiss Federal Office of Communications to do so. VoR began transmissions from Monte Ceneri on 1 April 2011; it has been reported, however, that these will cease after 31 December 2012. In July 2016 the scheduled demolition of the nowadays unused mast has begun.

References

External links

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Transmitter data

Drawings of Sendemast Monte Ceneri - SkyscraperPage.com

Buildings and structures in Ticino Towers in Switzerland 1933 establishments in Switzerland Towers completed in 1933 {{Europe-mast-stub