 The tallest tower ever built!, Former Mast of RCN Konstantynow |
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 Jan 13 2006, 10:46 AM
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#1
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Newbie  Group: Members Posts: 9 Joined: 13-January 06 Member No.: 857  |
The mast of the Radiowe Centrum Nadawcze was the tallest construction ever built.
It was used as aerial of half-wave length for a longwave broadcasting transmitter on 227 kHz (later 225 kHz) with a transmitter output power of 2000 kilowatt and was therefore insulated against ground for a voltage of 120 kV and stood on a 2 metre high insulator. The radio mast of the Radiowe Centrum Nadawcze (at Konstantynow) was guyed in 5 levels with steel ropes with 50 milimetres diametre which were subdivided by special insulators. It was a steeltube framework construction with triangular cross section and consisted of 86 sections each with a length of 7.5 metres. The side length of the triangle was 4.8 metres for each side. The tubes forming the edge of the triangle had a diametre of 0.245 metres with a wall thickness between 8 and 34 milimetres depending on the height. Pictures:   http://community.webshots.com/photo/58788977/58789054lxUZuc http://community.webshots.com/photo/58788977/58789117tbnXfK  The radio mast at Konstantynow was built between 1972 and 1974 and went in service on July 22th, 1974. On August 8th, 1991 it collapsed because of mistakes done at exchanging guy-wires of the uppermost guy level. Here are some pictures of the debris after its collapse. These picture seem to be made several month after the collapse on August 8th, 1991, because there is snow on the ground!    At first it was planned to rebuild this mast. Due to protests by local residents this was impossible and a new transmitter site had to be found for this facility. This was found on a former military area near Solec Kujawski, where in 1998/1999 a new transmission site with a 330 metre and a 289 metre high guyed radio mast, which are both grounded and fed by special ropes in the upper guys, was built and which went in service on September 4th, 1999 ( http://forum.poland.com/index.php?showtopic=1531 ). Further articles: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warszawa_Radio_Mast http://members.aon.at/wabweb/radio/lw2.htm http://www.radioam.net/content/view/52/40/ http://www.structurae.net/en/structures/da...00672/index.cfm http://jerzyjedrzejkiewicz.webpark.pl/str01/gabin-rcn.html http://jerzyjedrzejkiewicz.webpark.pl/str0...obat/rcn_01.pdf |
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Jan 13 2006, 12:06 PM
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#2
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Newbie Group: Members Posts: 9 Joined: 13-January 06 Member No.: 857 |
How were the guys of this mast insulated?
Radio masts for longwave and mediumwave insulated against ground require of course also an insulation of their anchor ropes against ground. In most cases guys have to be divided by several insulators in multiple sections shorter than a fifth length of radiated wavelength. However at each insulator an overvoltage arrestor is necessary, which requires maintenances with are difficult on high masts. Furthermore there are problems with static electricity on high masts, requiring very large insulators, if guys for high masts are insulated in this way (an interesting article about the insulation problems of longwave-/mediumwave radio masts can be found in German language on http://www.waniewski.de/id19.htm ). An other method for the realization of the insulation of anchor ropes of radio masts is just to insulate them against the mast and the anchor basement and ground the rope via a coil putting out the rope in tune to the transmitted frequency. This method is used e.g. at the mast of the medium wave transmitter Lopik in the Netherlands ( http://www.waniewski.de/id112_m.htm )  Grounding of anchor rope of radio mast in Lopik via a coil near the anchor basement The most natural method for insulation of anchor ropes, the use of ropes of electric non-conductive materials, is impractical, because ropes of such materials loose their strength in the sunlight. Because the radio mast in Gabin was not only the tallest radio mast insulated against ground ever built (and with a height of 646 metres much higher than any other insulated masts!) and also used as antenna of a 2000 kilowatt transmitter and therefore requiring an insulation of 120000 volts against ground, the implementation of the insulation of its anchor ropes was surely a big problem. Which kind of insulation design was used for its anchor ropes? I suppose that according to the following picture, the anchor ropes were grounded via coils near the basements of the anchor ropes and that there were insulators in the ropes only at the mast and an other in the ropes in the close vicinity of the mast. But perhaps, I am wrong and there were further insulators in the ropes or the ropes were grounded directly at their anchor basements, which is possible if the length of ropes distune them to the transmitted frequency If someone knows more, about the way how the anchor ropes of the radio mast in Gabin were insulated, feel so free and post the answer here in this forum! |
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Aug 29 2006, 11:49 AM
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#4
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Newbie Group: Members Posts: 5 Joined: 10-August 06 Member No.: 2.158 |
By using http://212.244.179.188/website/Orto/viewer.htm , it is possible to find out the nowadays state of the RCN Konstantynow. It is estonishing, that except of the mast and the radio frequency transmission line running from the transmitter building to the mast, still nearly all installations are still there!
From the mast itsself, the basement and the blocks, which were used or its anchoring, are still present on the site!  Former transmission site Gabin-Konstantynow (RCN Konstantynow), low resoluted  Former transmission site Gabin-Konstantynow (RCN Konstantynow), close view up  Basement of former mast (over the 'b' of 'Gabin'), the building above is the former helix building  Second close up-view of the former helix building and the former mast basement, which is the round concrete plate under the helix building  Southwest edge of transmitter area, the markings in the row are the anchor blocks, used for its anchoring  Former transmitter building and substation. The transmitter station had its own 110kV-subsation on its site, to which run two 110kV-powerlines!  Close up view of former transmitter building. Note the lattice tower, used for directional radio services  Close up view of the 110kV-substation used for power supply. |
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Sep 28 2006, 01:20 PM
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#5
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Newbie Group: Members Posts: 3 Joined: 28-September 06 Member No.: 2.832 |
Here are some pictures of the relicts of the former 646 metre mast and the former transmitter building:
 http://www.fotosik.pl/showFullSize.php?id=c8283eb1c5d9099f  http://www.fotosik.pl/showFullSize.php?id=aff22c564098cec1  http://www.fotosik.pl/showFullSize.php?id=f93a80ab00b2667e  http://www.fotosik.pl/showFullSize.php?id=a159336d22a163b2  http://www.fotosik.pl/showFullSize.php?id=94cbb6d8455c5ce5  http://www.fotosik.pl/showFullSize.php?id=37825658e35f59cd |
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Aug 20 2007, 06:19 PM
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#7
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Newbie Group: Members Posts: 3 Joined: 28-September 06 Member No.: 2.832 |
Very interesting ###### of RCN Konstantynow can be downloaded on Youtube. The links are
http://pl.youtube.com/watch?v=sz80mlpqTT0&...ted&search= http://pl.youtube.com/watch?v=P7HdcDCSTME&...ted&search= http://pl.youtube.com/watch?v=hpzYufJA6uQ&...ted&search= http://pl.youtube.com/watch?v=2lBXPOeGVqI&...ted&search= http://pl.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZrTa9dMXmE&...ted&search= |
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