Fernmeldeturm Berlin
The Fernmeldeturm Berlin (Telecommunication Tower Berlin) is a telecommunication tower on the Schaefer mountain in Berlin-Wannsee. The Fernmeldeturm Berlin was built between 1961 and 1964 and is normally not open for visitors.
The Fernmeldeturm Berlin is 212 metres high, from which the shaft has a height of 187 metres. In a height of 101.6 metres and 132.44 metres the tower has floors for technical equipment. In these floors are mainly devices for directional radio services. From 1964 to the early nineties, the tower was used for the realisation of an overhorizon-directional radio link toward the old federal republic of Germany (Counterparts at Torfaus and Clenze). Therefore the tower was equipped with two parabolic dishes with a diameter of 30 metres, which were mounted on the shaft of the tower. These aerials were removed in 1996.
Because of these aerials, the Fernmeldeturm Berlin had to be designed to stand a much higher wind pressure than the TV towers at Dortmund and Stuttgart, which are of similar height. The Fernmeldeturm Berlin was also used for broadcasting FM radio and TV programs.
Close to the Fernmeldeturm Berlin there is a free standing steel framework tower, which also carried parabolic aerials for the overhorizon-link to former Western Germany.
Since 2001 the Fernmeldeturm Berlin is also used for transmissions in the medium wave range on 1485 kHz in DRM mode. Because there are no transmission aerials for this frequency range on the site of the Fernmeldeturm Berlin, a long wire aerial was installed for this purpose.