WA2XMN is an experimental FM radio station which broadcasts sporadically from the Armstrong Tower in Alpine, New Jersey. The station commemorates the pioneering broadcasts of the world's first FM radio station, W2XMN, built by Edwin Howard Armstrong, which began experimental broadcasts from this tower in June 1938 followed by full power broadcasting beginning on July 18, 1939.[3] Armstrong's station signed off as KE2XCC on March 6, 1954.[4]
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | New York metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 42.8 MHz |
| Programming | |
| Format | Public Radio/Eclectic Music |
| History | |
First air date | June 11, 2005[1] |
Former call signs | WB9XXE (2005)[2] |
Call sign meaning | Referring to W2XMN, Edwin Armstrong's original station call-sign |
| Technical information | |
| ERP | 250 watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 40°57′39.00″N 73°55′23.00″W / 40.9608333°N 73.9230556°W (NAD27) |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
WA2XMN broadcasts at 42.8 MHz, one of the frequencies used by Armstrong's station on the original 42-50 MHz FM broadcast band. Transmitting from near the top of the 425-foot tall Armstrong Tower,[5] which sits on top of the 500-foot-tall Pallisades (for a total height of over 900 feet above mean sea level), WA2XMN has a listening range of roughly 60–100 miles. The building at the base of the tower still has the W2XMN call sign engraved above the entrance.[6]
The station signed on using a restored Phasitron transmitter[7] built by Steve Hemphill,[8][9][10] with technical assistance from WFDU 89.1, which has broadcast from the tower since its first sign on in 1971. The WA2XMN broadcasts have been simulcast on WFDU's FM signal and internet stream,[11][12] allowing listeners who lack a VHF receiver that can tune to 42.8 MHz to listen to the broadcasts.
References
edit- ^ Fybush, Scott (June 11, 2005). "70th Anniversary of FM Radio". archive.org. Scott Fybush. Retrieved 2018-01-01.
- ^ WA2XMN's initial license filing, dated March 3, 2005; retrieved December 6, 2018.
- ^ Lewis, Tom (1991). Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio. New York, NY: HarperCollins. p. 274. ISBN 0060182156.
- ^ Lewis, Tom (1991). Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio. New York, NY: HarperCollins. p. 331. ISBN 0060182156.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (June 15, 2015). "NERW 6/15/2015: Boston's Talk Mess Shakes Out". fybush.com. Scott Fybush. Retrieved 2018-01-01.
- ^ "Armstrong Tower Field Trip". New Providence Amateur Radio Club. 2010. Retrieved 2018-01-01.
- ^ Hershberger, Dave (December 2004). "The PHASITRON Web Page". w9gr.com. Retrieved 2018-01-01.
- ^ "Armstrong 70th Anniversary Commemeration of FM Radio Saturday June 11, 2005 (Page 1)". wa2fnq.com. June 11, 2005. Retrieved 2018-01-01.
- ^ "Armstrong 70th Anniversary Commemeration of FM Radio Saturday June 11, 2005 (Page 2)". wa2fnq.com. June 11, 2005. Retrieved 2018-01-01.
- ^ Hemphill, Steve. "Major Armstrong: Scientist, Technologist, Philosopher". columbia.edu. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (June 10, 2013). "NERW 6/10/2013: At Long Last, WKAJ!". fybush.com. Scott Fybush. Retrieved 2018-01-01.
- ^ "Alpine Tower to Be Site of Commemorative FM Broadcast". radioworld.com. Radio World. April 13, 2005. Retrieved 2018-01-02.