Stadelheim Transmitter was a

medium wave Medium wave (MW) is a part of the medium frequency (MF) radio band used mainly for AM radio broadcasting. The spectrum provides about 120 channels with more limited sound quality than FM stations on the FM broadcast band. During the daytim ...

broadcast transmitter A broadcast transmitter is an electronic device that radiates radio waves modulated with information content intended to be received by the general public. Examples are a transmitter, radio broadcasting transmitter which transmits Sound, audio (s ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

-Stadelheim, built in 1926 in the neighbourhood of the famous

Stadelheim Prison Stadelheim Prison (), in Munich's Giesing district, is one of the largest Prisons in Germany, prisons in Germany. Founded in 1894, it was the site of many executions, particularly by guillotine during the Nazi period. Notable inmates *Ludwig Thom ...

. It took up experimental operation on March 1, 1926, and full operation on April 1, 1926. As antenna, this transmitter used a

t-antenna A ‘T’-antenna, ‘T’-aerial, or flat-top antenna is a monopole antenna, monopole antenna (radio), radio antenna consisting of one or more horizontal wires suspended between two supporting radio masts and towers, radio masts or buildings and ...

hung up on two freestanding steel framework towers. The transmitter used a tube transmitter and a machine transmitter from the company C Lorenz AG, the company which made the

Lorenz cipher The Lorenz SZ40, SZ42a and SZ42b were German Rotor machine, rotor stream cipher machines used by the German Army (Wehrmacht), German Army during World War II. They were developed by C. Lorenz AG in Berlin. The model name ''SZ'' is derived from ' ...

machine. However, the machine transmitter had numerous technical problems.

Antenna problems

In addition, the transmitting antenna did not work well and was replaced in the autumn of 1926 by a T-antenna hung on two wood framework towers, which were built by the company Kuebler, located in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

. In the night of 22–23 November 1930 a storm bent both towers at a height of 25 metres; some buildings were also damaged. Transmitting was restarted later that day with an emergency antenna, which was stretched between the tower stumps. The destroyed towers were replaced with two new wood towers with T-antennas, placed farther from the buildings. These were built at the turn of the year 1930/31. After the inauguration of the transmitter Ismaning on December 3, 1932 the transmitter Stadelheim was used as a spare transmitter for the Ismaning facility. It might have been used for the last time in November and December 1933, when the transmitter Ismaning was shut down because of maintenance work.

Antenna problems

References

See also