New Zealand Masts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
New Zealand Masts and Towers range in size from short flagpoles to high radio transmitter antenna structures. The highest mast is in Titahi Bay, being the highest structure in the Southern Hemisphere at time of construction. Later it became the highest in New Zealand and then later second to the Sky Tower in Auckland.
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[edit] Height
- Skytower is 328 metres tall, as measured from ground level to the top of the mast, making it the tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere.
- AM radio transmitting antennas would be amongst the highest structures, due to their length being a function of wavelength (station frequency). The highest antenna is the first station at the low end of the medium wave broadcast band, 567 KHz. The antenna is a 'guyed support' type, broadcasting 250 kilowatts.
- 120 Metre Television masts were built in many strategic locations (such as Waiatarua) in the late 1950s / early 1960s. They were self supporting steel structures, manned with then NZBC New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation staff, and occasionally carrying NZPO New Zealand Post Office vhf and marine radio services. The primary purpose was 100 kW (ERP) vhf television.
- Varying height, 10M to 30M, a backbone of microwave steel self supporting structures were also built from the mid 1950's on. A network of 4 GHz STC vacuum tube based stations were built between Hamilton at the northern end and Palmerston North at the southern end. The path was via New Plymouth. Several networks of 6 GHz Lenkurt solid state based stations were built between Whangarei and Auckland via Waiatarua [1] and later a spur to Warkworth satellite station. Hamilton to Palmerston North via Rotorua, Taupo, Napier, with a spur to Tauranga from Kaimai station. A southern network of Wellington to Dunedin via Cook Strait was also built.
- 30M free standing wooden or steel masts are used for the other vhf and uhf commercial and infrastructure radio services.
[edit] Locations
[edit] History
The antenna mast at Titahi Bay currently carries the National Radio programme, previously having a call sign of 2YA.
