TheRheinsender ("Rhine transmitter") is an FM radio transmission site for the GermanSüdwestrundfunk regional public broadcasting system. The Rheinsender is located nearWolfsheim, southwest ofMainz.
Historically the Rhinesender was a largemedium-wave transmission facility near. The transmitter was established in 1950 and went on the air May 15, 1950. It belonged toSWR (until 1998 toSWF) and transmitted until the middle of the 1990s with 600kilowatts, later reduced to 100 kilowatts. In 2012 the medium-wave mast got demolished.
Today SWR is using the smaller mast for FM transmission.
From 1950 to 2003 two 150-metre-highguyed steel tube masts were used as the transmissionaerial, which areinsulated from ground and which were separated by an insulator in the mast construction electrically in two parts for double feeding as fade reducing aerial. By the usage of two masts a direction minimum toward thesoutheast was obtained according to international regulations when working with a transmission power of 600 kilowatts at nighttime.
Furthermore, there is a 114-metre-tall guyed steel tube mast, which is also insulated against ground. This mast, which is used as reserve antenna for medium wave broadcasting, has an FM-transmission antenna on its top. Furthermore, there is also a free-standing grounded lattice tower used for radio services in UHF/VHF-ranges.
After transmission power was reduced to 100 kilowatts a direction minimum toward the southeast was no longer necessary and running the transmitter withomnidirectional radiation was possible. Hence the second radio mast was obsolete and was demolished on February 26, 2003. On the remaining radio mast of the Rhine transmitter there are also aerials forFMbroadcasting forSWR4 on 94.9MHz with an output power of 5 kW.
At the site of the demolished radio mast, a further grounded free-standing lattice tower was built in 2003. On this tower in 2004 a cage antenna was installed, which was used for broadcasting the SWR programmesDasding andSWR cont.ra, in the DRM-mode on 1485 kHz with an output power on 0.42 kW from 2005 to 2008.
49°52′42″N8°03′04″E / 49.87833°N 8.05111°E /49.87833; 8.05111