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The 'AM death watch' thread...


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Old 04-01-2017, 07:05
hanssolo
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This is taken from mediumwave news:

TWR Europe has stopped using 1395 kHz Albania relay and the following replacing transmissions have been added via other sites:
Polish 2045-2115 mtwtf.s 1467 kHz Roumoules, France 25 degrees
Hungarian 2000-2045 Mon-Fri & 2000-2025 Sat/Sun 1548 kHz Grigoriopol, Moldova
Romanian 2030-2100 daily 999 kHz Grigoriopol, Moldova.

So it's more of a frequency change if anything, and it frees up the Dutch LPAM stations from having to go off air in the evening. I read the 1395 TX was in very bad condition.
Does look like they have decided not to upgrade the Albanian site.
TWRs English evening programmes to UK stopped on 1467 a while back and programmes are now on Freeview and internet. The German branch ERF replaced AM with DAB+.
TWR might be a possibility for 162 but as it is mostly listener supported with few supporters in France unlikely.
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Old 04-01-2017, 09:47
commseng
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Just looking at the transmitter building at Allouis in the photos linked to earlier, it seems to be far larger than normal.

I can't believe that a building of that size was required just for the transmitters, especially as it appears to be around 5 stories high.

Does anyone know what else was housed there?
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Old 04-01-2017, 14:41
martinwatkins
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I think it was just the way it was commseng. If you look at the (rather small) pics for Limoges

http://tvignaud.pagesperso-orange.fr.../87limoges.htm

that I submitted you'll see it's on the same scale. Of course as you know transmitters took up a lot more room then (ie pre war), but knowing the French there would also have been a couple of three-star Michelin chefs to accommodate, along with a restaurant staff of at least twenty, along with at least fifty administrators.

National stereo-typing, on se regale.....
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Old 04-01-2017, 14:48
MikeBr
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The first page of a 1947 article saying what is on each floor is here:

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/...4/?reload=true
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Old 04-01-2017, 16:09
commseng
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Thanks.
I note that it also housed some short wave equipment as well at one point.
Maybe I'm just used to the transmitter buildings with one floor, but this is quite different.

I do like the idea of Michelin stared chefs to sort out the catering for the engineers.
It's all gone downhill since then!
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Old 04-01-2017, 17:22
MikeBr
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Thanks.
I note that it also housed some short wave equipment as well at one point.
Maybe I'm just used to the transmitter buildings with one floor, but this is quite different.

I do like the idea of Michelin stared chefs to sort out the catering for the engineers.
It's all gone downhill since then!
Shortwave at Allouis was planned in 1937, started in 1939, interrupted by the Germans destroying the equipment as they also did for the longwave transmitter, restarted shortly after the war and ended in 1997. There was also a shortwave only site at Issoudon. There are ALLISS shortwave antennas named after the two sites.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALLISS

Allouis used to transmit France Inter to Europe on 3965 and 6175.

This page refers to the OC2 building being "decommissioned and sold by TDF" (currently used by a moving company)
http://tvignaud.pagesperso-orange.fr...s-issoudun.htm

so I'm wondering if there was another building up there with similar design/ floor usage for the longwave transmitter?
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Old 04-01-2017, 17:56
lundavra
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Thanks.
I note that it also housed some short wave equipment as well at one point.
Maybe I'm just used to the transmitter buildings with one floor, but this is quite different.

I do like the idea of Michelin stared chefs to sort out the catering for the engineers.
It's all gone downhill since then!
Even in this country the big transmitter sites had a crypt where there were pumps, DC machines etc and also I think there was an upper floor - used to have to go upstairs to open the doors of the air intakes.
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Old Yesterday, 07:07
hanssolo
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There's some detailed information on the time signal service here which google translates quite well

http://tvignaud.pagesperso-orange.fr...ouis-heure.htm

There's many more pages on the history of Allouis linked from here however the way it's set up on Chrome for translate to work on individual pages you have to click, copy link address and then paste it in another tab.

http://tvignaud.pagesperso-orange.fr...fr-allouis.htm

and some photos

http://tvignaud.pagesperso-orange.fr.../18allouis.htm
Thanks Mike.
Looking at these pages via google translate
The Allouis Longwave 162 site with the 2 story building was destroyed 1944, long wave moved to Strasburg at 20kw 1948. In 1952 the new multistory OC2 building with high power LW and SW opened (still unclear whats on top floors and how it could now be decommissoned and used by a moving company?).
In 1981 the 1 Megawatt LW transmitter installed (in OC1?). (Then after France Inter also rolled out on FM taking away LW listeners)
1997 SW removed.
So the current LW transmitter will be 35 years old, most probably end of life, and will need to be replaced if a new station takes over or the time signal continues.
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Old Yesterday, 14:35
MikeBr
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Thanks Mike.
Looking at these pages via google translate
The Allouis Longwave 162 site with the 2 story building was destroyed 1944, long wave moved to Strasburg at 20kw 1948. In 1952 the new multistory OC2 building with high power LW and SW opened (still unclear whats on top floors and how it could now be decommissoned and used by a moving company?).
In 1981 the 1 Megawatt LW transmitter installed (in OC1?). (Then after France Inter also rolled out on FM taking away LW listeners)
1997 SW removed.
So the current LW transmitter will be 35 years old, most probably end of life, and will need to be replaced if a new station takes over or the time signal continues.
Using a couple of translations services I think Allouis started with shortwave relaying Paris Inter on 6200 from 15 December 1947 from OC1 whilst the longwave transmitter and OC2 was being constructed and/or all the equipment for the longwave transmitter was being put in.

http://tvignaud.pagesperso-orange.fr...uis-chrono.htm

This 6200 relay of Paris Inter, as it was then called, is shown in my earliest WRTH in 1958.
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