Swisscom-Sendeturm St. Chrischona
Encyclopedia
Swisscom-Sendeturm St. Chrischona is a communications tower
built in 1980-1984 near Basel
, Switzerland
. It is located at 47°34′18"N 7°41′13"E near the St. Chrischona peak, on the territory of the municipality Bettingen
, Basel-Stadt.
It was built as replacement for a 136 metre tall lattice tower, which was erected at the site in 1962. This lattice tower was once a part of famous Beromünster transmitter.
The tower is 250 m (820 ft) tall - a 98 m steel antenna on a 152 m concrete base - and not generally accessible for the public, although guided visits can be booked. Apart from television
, FM Radio
and DAB
transmitters, and microwave relays, the tower also contains meteorological instruments, two 100 m3 drinking water reservoirs, and a meeting/conference room near the top of the concrete structure.
On the north side is a construction similar to “backpack” which has a height of 103 meters; two drinking water tanks that are 100 meters high that contain water supplies for the municipality of Bettingen. During the construction, the weight of the water had to be included in the tension of the tower, which is why it stood southwardly inclined before the completion.
The tower stands on a base construction which includes three basements which accommodate company / technical equipment. Because the location of the tower lies in the seismic zone of Basel – Erdbebengebiet in the Upper Rhine district, this has been built especially securely about the base. The tower should remain stable in an earthquake up to 8 on the Richter scale
.
The television tower was in construction from July 1980 until December 1983, was put into operation on 2 August 1984. It replaced a 136 meter high steel radio tower that was built in 1962. This tower that was built in 1962 in Beromünster where it carried an antenna together with the today's reserve final tower for middle wave transmission. Saint Chrischona was already in use since 1954, a broadcasting tower that was 30 meters high at that time which transferred the Swiss television program to his time. Today's tower of Saint Chrischona carries broadcasting antennas for Swiss Radio (DRS) and the “Southwest German Radio” (SWR). Because of this unique construction, it is said that the tower could remain standing during the high winds of a hurricane, where wind speeds appear up to 220 km/h, with an oscillation of only 40 centimeters.
* for the programs on: SF1, SF2, TSI1, TSR1
Tower
A tower is a tall structure, usually taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires....
built in 1980-1984 near Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. It is located at 47°34′18"N 7°41′13"E near the St. Chrischona peak, on the territory of the municipality Bettingen
Bettingen
Bettingen is a municipality in the canton of Basel-Stadt in Switzerland.-Geography:Bettingen has an area, , of . Of this area, or 34.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 44.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 18.8% is settled .Of the built up area, housing and buildings made...
, Basel-Stadt.
It was built as replacement for a 136 metre tall lattice tower, which was erected at the site in 1962. This lattice tower was once a part of famous Beromünster transmitter.
The tower is 250 m (820 ft) tall - a 98 m steel antenna on a 152 m concrete base - and not generally accessible for the public, although guided visits can be booked. Apart from television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, FM Radio
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
and DAB
Digital audio broadcasting
Digital Audio Broadcasting is a digital radio technology for broadcasting radio stations, used in several countries, particularly in Europe. As of 2006, approximately 1,000 stations worldwide broadcast in the DAB format....
transmitters, and microwave relays, the tower also contains meteorological instruments, two 100 m3 drinking water reservoirs, and a meeting/conference room near the top of the concrete structure.
Architecture
The television tower Saint Chrischona shows some architecturally specific features. It is remarkable that it is carried by a striking "3-leg-construction," in contrast to most other television towers nearby. It has an aerodynamic shape; with a round shaft, the wind from both sides splits and causes at the rear an effect that keeps the tower from swaying too strongly. The lower part is built star-like, the tower at the apex sways even with strong winds only just up to 30 cm. The “Anntennenspitze” (round construction method), can sway up to 2.5 meters. The microwave radio relay antenna are of a height between 98 meters and 131 meters. VHF antennas are 152 meters high.On the north side is a construction similar to “backpack” which has a height of 103 meters; two drinking water tanks that are 100 meters high that contain water supplies for the municipality of Bettingen. During the construction, the weight of the water had to be included in the tension of the tower, which is why it stood southwardly inclined before the completion.
The tower stands on a base construction which includes three basements which accommodate company / technical equipment. Because the location of the tower lies in the seismic zone of Basel – Erdbebengebiet in the Upper Rhine district, this has been built especially securely about the base. The tower should remain stable in an earthquake up to 8 on the Richter scale
Richter magnitude scale
The expression Richter magnitude scale refers to a number of ways to assign a single number to quantify the energy contained in an earthquake....
.
The television tower was in construction from July 1980 until December 1983, was put into operation on 2 August 1984. It replaced a 136 meter high steel radio tower that was built in 1962. This tower that was built in 1962 in Beromünster where it carried an antenna together with the today's reserve final tower for middle wave transmission. Saint Chrischona was already in use since 1954, a broadcasting tower that was 30 meters high at that time which transferred the Swiss television program to his time. Today's tower of Saint Chrischona carries broadcasting antennas for Swiss Radio (DRS) and the “Southwest German Radio” (SWR). Because of this unique construction, it is said that the tower could remain standing during the high winds of a hurricane, where wind speeds appear up to 220 km/h, with an oscillation of only 40 centimeters.
Technical Data
- The entire height of 250 meters is divided into a 152 m high shaft with a tower basket and a 98 m high antenna
- Architects: Aegerter & Bosshardt
- Civil Engineer work: Vischer & Weber
- Building cost: 50 million Swiss francs
- Concrete volume: 10,000 cubic meters
- Total weight: 23,000 metric tons, of that; 13,500 metric tons in the foundation and 9,500 metric tons in the tower
- Armouring weight; 1,300 metric tons, steel pipe tower, 135 metric tons
- Steel for the antenna terraces: 120 metric tons, introduction steel: 90 metric tons
- Uses
- Transmitter, for the among other things, television programs SF 1 and SF two, the radioprograms DRS 1, DRS 2, DRS 3, Baden-Wurttemberg SWR1, SWR2, SWR 3, Baden-Wurttemberg SWR4, radio Basel 1 and radio basilisk.
- In addition, the tower serves for the radio and phone transference and for the water supply communications. Measuring instruments are, in addition, used for weather forecasting and aerial coordination. In an emergency the tower can be likewise used as a transmitter.
Broadcast television channels
| Program | Channel |
| SF 1 | 46 |
| SF 2 | 49 |
| TeleRegio | 68 |
| DVB-T DVB-T DVB-T is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial; it is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in the UK in 1998... (*) |
31 |
* for the programs on: SF1, SF2, TSI1, TSR1
Broadcast radio stations
| Sender name | Frequency |
| DRS 1 BS | 90,6 MHz |
| DRS 2 | 99,0 MHz |
| DRS 3 | 103,6 MHz |
| Radio Basilisk | 107,6 MHz |
| Radio Basel | 101,7 MHz |
| Radio X | 94,5 MHz |
| SWR1 Baden-Württemberg | 87,9 MHz |
| SWR2 | 92,0 MHz |
| SWR3 | 98,3 MHz |
| SWR4 Hochrheinradio | 89,5 MHz |