Turn of transmission of Warsaw Radio

The Tour of transmission of Radio Warsaw was the highest structure ever built (646,38 meters - 380 tons). Built in 1973, the first emissions were officially launched on July 30th, 1974, and it collapsed in 1991. The mast was located at Konstantynów, in Poland, with longitude 19°48' 23 Is and the latitude 52°22' 14 North. The signal, of a power of about 2 MW, was emitted with the Wavelength of 227 Khz and could be collected through all Europe, North Africa and even North America.

Trivia

The Tower of transmission of Warsaw Radio was single in the following aspects:

Contrary to the hertzian masts comparable height, like KVLY-TV Mast in Fargo, in North Dakota, the mast of Warsaw was insulated against the ground. In the Western hemisphere, there was never a structure isolated against the ground with a comparable height.
It had never had there an architectural structure in Europe outside the territory of the old Soviet Union with a comparable height. The second greater structure in Europe outside the area of old Soviet Union ever built, the radio operator Tour of Hellisandur on Iceland has a 412 meters height. Even the Turn Ostankino in Moscow, the largest tower self-supporting in Europe, was exceeded by this mast of more than 100 meters.
Up to 2004, when the construction of the Burj Dubai started, it had there no test known in the whole world to start to build a greater architectural structure.

Construction

The radio tower of Warsaw was a construction out of frame of steel tubes, of triangular transverse section, sides of 4,8 meters. The principal steel tubes, forming the edges of construction had a diameter of 245 millimetres; their thickness varying according to the height (between 8 and of 34 millimetres). The mast was composed of 86 elements, of which each one had a 7,5 meters length.

It was stayed with 5 heights different with 3 cables 50 millimetres in diameter. Each cable was fixed on a separate anchor block. The problems arising from the static electricity had with the length of the cables, pushed to divide them by Isolants. The only weight of the stays, their anchorings and insulators various reached 80 tons.

Inside the mast was an elevator, which gave access to the material radio, like with the signal lights used for the air security. This elevator had a maximum speed of 0,35m/s, and the way between the base of the tower and its top took 30 minutes.

The Radio mast of Warsaw was him also insulated electrically, for a voltage of 120 Kv. It was drawn up on three columns, each one being composed of two insulators 2 height meters posed one of the other. Later, a tube was fixed with insulators inside even of the tower. This tube was used for the power supply broadcasting transmitter, lamps of safety of flight, elevator and possible future installations, and was located at middle height of the tower, which made maintenance much easier.

The transmission of the radio operator signals, since the building of the transmitting to the mast, was made by a line of special air transmission, approximately a 600 meters length. This building, which had a volume of 17.000 m ³, contained the transmitter, which was composed of two units of 1000 kilowatts built by Boveri Marron and Co . For the generation of the signal, which was of a standard frequency, a Atomic clock was used. The radio station, located on a ground of 65 hectares, had also a second tower in lattice, of section rectangulaire.

The power supply of the station was ensured by a power station of 110kV. Although the consumption of the station is enormous (estimated at approximately 6000 kw), this power supply was completely surmesurée, but justified, by the great importance of the station like the central transmitter of Poland.

Collapse

August 8th, 1991 at 4 p.m. UTC, the tower crumbled because of a fault during the replacement of the stays located at the top. Officially, the workmen had left the zone well before the mast does not crumble, nobody thus were not killed or were wounded. Certain not-documented sources affirm that 3 people were killed and 12 others wounded (), but it is possible that this assertion results from a confusion with the collapse of the Tour WLBT which, on October 23rd, 1997, killed 3 people.

Was the cause of collapse during the exchange of the stays confirmed in January (19??) by the principal manufacturer of the tower. The tower was initially bored, then broke appreciably with middle height. The high part fell to ground close to the base, followed by half basse. Collapse caused the destruction of a small mobile crane, which was the property of the company Mostostal Zabrze . Neither the building of transmission, nor the building of power supply were damaged.

A board of inquiry concluded that the responsibility for collapse was to be carried by Mostostal Zabrze , which had built and ensured the maintenance of the tower. The person in charge of construction and the chief of one of divisions of Mostostals were shown to have caused the catastrophe; first was condemned to 2 years and half of prison, the second at 2 years. It was sometimes known as that this building site was sabotaged by the Soviet special services; there is however no proof of these assertions. Since the collapse of the mast of radio of Warsaw, greatest construction in Poland is the mast of transmission for radio operator FM and the TV with Olsztyn-Pieczewo, with a 360 meters height (coordinated: 53°45' 13" NR, 20°30' 57" E).

After this collapse, the Mast of KVLY-TV close to Fargo, with the North Dakota (the United States), recovered the title of higher human structure in the world, with its 628,8 meters (2 063 feet). The record will be can be begun again in 2009 by the Burj Dubai, or by a turn of generation of energy, in Australia which should measure 1000 m (3280 ft).

Replacement

After the collapse of the radio operator mast, the organization of Polish broadcasting used old the Émetteur of Raszyn, high of 335 meters, close to Warsaw, which is used since 1978 for the emission of a program, in the range of the long Ondes (frequencies 198 or 225 Khz with a capacity of 500 kilowatts). This tower not being able to emit on 198 Khz and 225 Khz simultaneously, the transmissions on the frequency of 198 Khz had to be stopped, until one second tower of transmission is built in Poland, or which an equipment of different frequency is added. The last solution, simpler, would have decreased the effectiveness and the quality of the two transmissions, and was not retained.

As the emissions on long waves are of special importance for the Poles expatriates abroad, the Polish government projected to rebuild the mast of Konstantynów as of April 1992, and the decision of launching the project was made in September 1995. Although some pre work was carried out, like the restoration of the old foundations of the tower, which were to be re-used, the rebuilding had to be cancelled because of the violent protests of people living in the vicinity, because of possible risks on their health. Although these risks cannot be proven, a new site for the transmitter had to be required. It was found on a given up military field, in the south-east of Solec Kujawski, where between 1998 and 1999 a new equipment of transmission long waves (with a power of 1200 kw for the frequency 225 Khz) was built, and inaugurated on September 4th, 1999.

Current location of the old transmitter

Separately always there the mast and the line of transmission of the radio signal, almost all the components of the device are. The power station of 110kV and the directional radio operator pylon are always used.

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