Armstrong Tower

Armstrong Tower, Alpine, New Jersey

The Armstrong Tower, also known as Alpine Tower, is a 129.5 meter (425 foot) tall lattice tower built and used by Edwin Armstrong in 1938 at Alpine, New Jersey, United States, at 40°57'39.0" N and 73°55'21.0" W (40.9607 -73.9225) for his transmission experiments that led to modern FM radio. The original transmissions occurred at 42.8 MHz.[1][2] The tower is owned by Alpine Tower Company and is managed by CSC Management, LLC,[3] both owned by Charles E. Sackermann, Jr.[4]

The Armstrong Tower looks like a huge pylon with three crossbars and is now used for directional radio services (including as a cell site). It was also used as a temporary transmitter site for some of New York City's television stations and FM stations after the September 11, 2001 attacks and the collapse of the World Trade Center, including its transmitting antenna.[5] It is also the permanent transmitter site of WFDU.

The tower still stands today, still in use, and is clearly visible from across the Hudson River.

At the base of the tower is a building originally used by Armstrong for research. It now serves as a museum and contains artifacts from the development of FM radio technology. The building still has the call sign of the original station written above the entrance, W2XMN.[6]

The tower is used as a VFR waypoint[7] by aircraft flying the New York City Special Flight Rules Area.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "New York City FM Call Letter History". Archived from the original on 2007-01-27.
  2. ↑ Fybush, Scott (2005-05-10). "The Birthplace of FM Broadcasting, Alpine, N.J.". Tower Site of the Week. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
  3. ↑ "History". CSC Management. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
  4. ↑ "Our Team". CSC Management. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
  5. ↑ Fybush, Scott (2002-09-10). "9/11 Plus One". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
  6. ↑ "Armstrong Tower Field Trip". New Providence Amateur Radio Club. 2010. Retrieved 2011-08-22.
  7. ↑ FAA New York Sectional Aeronautical Chart Legend
  8. ↑ "New York Special Flight Rules Area" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration.

External links

Coordinates: 40°57′39″N 73°55′21″W / 40.96083°N 73.92250°W / 40.96083; -73.92250


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