FM- and TV-mast Helsinki-Espoo
Encyclopedia
FM- and TV-mast Helsinki-Espoo is a mast located on Harmaakallio hill near Latokaski, Espoo
, Finland
. Its current height is 326 metres (1,069.6 ft).
When the mast was first built in 1971, its height was 303 metres. Its height was increased to 326 metres in 1988, when the station was expanded. At that time the present mast was erected. It is the third highest structure in Finland, after the Tiirismaa (in Hollola
), and Haapavesi
radio and TV masts. The radio mast in Kiiminki
has the same height.
technology, and since it also transmitted, unintentionally however, the Finnish TV broadcasts to TV sets in northern Estonia
, there was a suspicion in the Estonian SSR, and more specifically, within the Estonian Communist Party, that Americans
had something to do with this FM- and TV-mast, and that it was in their interests that Finnish television broadcasts could be seen in Estonia, and that they had perhaps funded the mast. However, Sakari Kiuru, who functioned as the CEO of the Finnish state broadcasting corporation YLE during 1980–1989, stated to the YLE TV news in February 2011, that this transmitter did not use excessive power and that the Americans had nothing to do with it: “We really needed this mast, we had to reach the interior of the country and long distances to the west and the east. It is located near the shoreline, there’s nothing more to it, and the talk that the Americans would have funded it … they had nothing to do with it, the mast was funded from the YLE budget.” Yrjö Länsipuro, who worked as the YLE correspondent in Moscow
during 1981–1978, said in the same broadcast on 24 February 2011, that as far as he could recall, the Soviet Union
tried to influence YLE concerning the use of the Espoo TV-mast, but the Finns had a clear answer to them: “This is what technology is like, we can’t do anything about it.”
Besides American TV series such as Dynasty
and Finnish TV commercials, the Soviet authorities were annoyed at the Eurovision Song Contest
being seen in Estonia. In a 2011 documentary on the song contest, an anonymous Estonian commentator said the following: “The Eurovision fan club in Estonia was secret, because Estonia was not part of the Eurovision network, the Soviet Union did not buy into Eurovision at all, so they watched Eurovision on Finnish television. It almost represented a symbol of resistance of the Soviet regime, it was almost like a window on the West. And they would have secret ‘Eurovision parties’, and it was very much seen as an illicit thing.”
Espoo
Espoo is the second largest city and municipality in Finland. The population of the city of Espoo is . It is part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area along with the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, and Kauniainen. Espoo shares its eastern border with Helsinki and Vantaa, while enclosing Kauniainen....
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. Its current height is 326 metres (1,069.6 ft).
When the mast was first built in 1971, its height was 303 metres. Its height was increased to 326 metres in 1988, when the station was expanded. At that time the present mast was erected. It is the third highest structure in Finland, after the Tiirismaa (in Hollola
Hollola
Hollola is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Päijänne Tavastia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water...
), and Haapavesi
Haapavesi
Haapavesi is a town and a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...
radio and TV masts. The radio mast in Kiiminki
Kiiminki
Kiiminki is a municipality of Finland.It is located about north-east from the Oulu city centre, in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .The municipality is...
has the same height.
The Controversy with Regard to the Estonian SSR in the 1980s
The Helsinki-Espoo FM- and TV-mast originally used AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
technology, and since it also transmitted, unintentionally however, the Finnish TV broadcasts to TV sets in northern Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, there was a suspicion in the Estonian SSR, and more specifically, within the Estonian Communist Party, that Americans
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
had something to do with this FM- and TV-mast, and that it was in their interests that Finnish television broadcasts could be seen in Estonia, and that they had perhaps funded the mast. However, Sakari Kiuru, who functioned as the CEO of the Finnish state broadcasting corporation YLE during 1980–1989, stated to the YLE TV news in February 2011, that this transmitter did not use excessive power and that the Americans had nothing to do with it: “We really needed this mast, we had to reach the interior of the country and long distances to the west and the east. It is located near the shoreline, there’s nothing more to it, and the talk that the Americans would have funded it … they had nothing to do with it, the mast was funded from the YLE budget.” Yrjö Länsipuro, who worked as the YLE correspondent in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
during 1981–1978, said in the same broadcast on 24 February 2011, that as far as he could recall, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
tried to influence YLE concerning the use of the Espoo TV-mast, but the Finns had a clear answer to them: “This is what technology is like, we can’t do anything about it.”
Besides American TV series such as Dynasty
Dynasty (TV series)
Dynasty is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. It was created by Richard & Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, and revolved around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil family living in Denver, Colorado...
and Finnish TV commercials, the Soviet authorities were annoyed at the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
being seen in Estonia. In a 2011 documentary on the song contest, an anonymous Estonian commentator said the following: “The Eurovision fan club in Estonia was secret, because Estonia was not part of the Eurovision network, the Soviet Union did not buy into Eurovision at all, so they watched Eurovision on Finnish television. It almost represented a symbol of resistance of the Soviet regime, it was almost like a window on the West. And they would have secret ‘Eurovision parties’, and it was very much seen as an illicit thing.”
The Radio Transmissions of the Helsinki-Espoo Mast
| Station | Frequency for “Main Programme” (now YLE Radio 1) |
Transmission power for “Main Programme” | Frequency for “Parallel Programme” | Transmission power for “Parallel Programme” | Frequency for “Swedish Language Programme” | Transmission power for “Swedish Language Programme” (now YLE Radio Vega YLE Radio Vega Radio Vega is a Finnish radio channel broadcasting in the Swedish language with headquarters in Helsinki. It is a wide-ranging national public service broadcaster with both speech and voice based programming operated by Yleisradio... ) |
Frequency for “Local programme” | Transmission power for “Local programme” |
Height of mast | Elevation of the location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Espoo | 94,0 MHz Stereophonic sound Stereophonic sound The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective... 91,9 MHz Stereophonic sound Stereophonic sound The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective... (1 June 1982) 106,2 MHz (1 Aug 2010) 92,5 MHz (1 Aug 2010) ) 96,2 MHz Regional, licensed (1 Aug 2010) |
60 000 W | 91,9 MHz Stereophonic sound Stereophonic sound The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective... 94,0 MHz Stereophonic sound Stereophonic sound The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective... (1 June 1982) |
60 000 W | 98,8 MHz Stereophonic sound Stereophonic sound The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective... |
60 000 W | 90,3 MHz Monophonic sound Monaural Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or channels are fed from a common signal path... and 97,5 MHz Monophonic sound Monaural Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or channels are fed from a common signal path... (1 June 1982) |
10 000 W with a directional antenna Directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna which radiates greater power in one or more directions allowing for increased performance on transmit and receive and reduced interference from unwanted sources.... |
303 m (1971) 326 m (1988) |
44 m |