New AFN mediumwave transmitter goes live in Germany

A new American Forces Network transmitter in Vilseck, Germany, went live on 28 August, replacing an older transmitter in Grafenwöhr that was interfering with house-hold electronics.

The old transmitter, located in the Grafenwöhr housing area, hampered some on-base residents’ ability to connect to the Internet, according to an AFN technician.

Damage to an underground portion of an antenna, caused by construction, distorted the old transmitter’s signal, and was partly to blame for the problem.

The new AM 1107 transmitter, which broadcast’s AFN’s Power Network, was built following a $100,000 study aimed at remedying the problem and providing better service to listeners in the Grafenwöhr and Vilseck communities.

In all the project will cost the Grafenwöhr community $1.4 million, including the cost of demolishing the old transmitter building and deconstructing its antenna. The old transmitter will be transferred to the new transmission site and serve as a backup to the newly installed transmitter.

The new transmitter is located in a remote corner of Rose Barracks, far from housing areas, while the former site was roughly 100 meters from on-base housing.

Source: Media Network, Stars & Stripes