The Armstrong Tower, also known as Alpine Tower, is a distinctive (425 foot) tall
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 for ...
featuring three large cross-arms, located atop the
Alpine, New Jersey palisades overlooking the Hudson River a few kilometers north of New York City at 40°57'39.0" N and 73°55'21.0" W (40.9607 -73.9225). It is owned by Alpine Tower Company and managed by , both owned by Charles E. Sackermann, Jr.
The tower is the permanent transmitter site for locally based experimental station
WA2XMN
WA2XMN is an experimental FM radio station which broadcasts sporadically from the Armstrong Tower in Alpine, New Jersey. The station commemorates the pioneering broadcasts of the world's first FM radio station, W2XMN, built by Edwin Howard Armst ...
and Fairleigh Dickinson University's educational FM station
WFDU, in additional to numerous directional radio services (including as a
cell site
A cell site, cell tower, or cellular base station is a cellular-enabled mobile device site where antennas and electronic communications equipment are placed (typically on a radio mast, tower, or other raised structure) to create a cell, or adj ...
). It is clearly visible from across the Hudson River and is used as a
Visual flight rules
In aviation, visual flight rules (VFR) are a set of regulations under which a pilot operates an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going. Specifically, the weather must be better ...
waypoint by aircraft flying within the New York City
Special flight rules area.
The tower was originally constructed by inventor
Edwin Howard Armstrong
Edwin Howard Armstrong (December 18, 1890 – February 1, 1954) was an American electrical engineer and inventor, who developed FM (frequency modulation) radio and the superheterodyne receiver system. He held 42 patents and received numerous awa ...
in 1938 for developmental activities that led to modern . The original transmissions (
W2XMN
W2XMN was an experimental FM radio station located in Alpine, New Jersey. It was constructed beginning in 1936 by Edwin Howard Armstrong in order to promote his invention of wide-band FM broadcasting. W2XMN was the first FM station to begin regula ...
) occurred at . At the tower base is a building originally used for research by Armstrong, which still has the W2XMN
call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally ass ...
engraved above its main entrance. This building currently houses the Armstrong Field Laboratory, and serves as a museum containing artifacts from the development of FM radio technology.
The structure was also used as a temporary transmitter site for some of New York City's television stations after the
collapse of the World Trade Center
The collapse of the World Trade Center occurred during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, after the Twin Towers were struck by two hijacked commercial airliners. One World Trade Center (WTC 1, or the North Tower) was hit at 8:46&nb ...
, including its transmitting antenna, during the
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
.
See also
*
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 for ...
*
List of towers
Several extant building fulfill the engineering definition of a tower: "a tall human structure, always taller than it is wide, for public or regular operational access by humans, but not for living in or office work, and are ''self-supporting' ...
*
List of famous transmission sites
In the following there are lists of sites of notable radio transmitters. During the early history of radio many countries had only a few high power radio stations, operated either by the government or large corporations, which broadcast to the po ...
References
External links
*
Google Maps view of Armstrong Tower- includes museum photos
Edwin H. Armstrong Plaque at the Armstrong TowerFCC History Cards for experimental radio station W2XMN (1936-1950)
{{Coord, 40, 57, 39, N, 73, 55, 21, W, type:landmark, display=title
Alpine, New Jersey
History of radio
Towers in New Jersey
Buildings and structures in Bergen County, New Jersey
Towers completed in 1938
1938 establishments in New Jersey
1938 in radio