At the end of our holiday in Sweden this summer, we stayed in Haverdal, about 50 minutes driving of Grimeton Radiostation in Varberg. This one I did have to visit of course.
History
In 1895 the Italian physicist and later Nobel Prize winner Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937) had realized wireless telegraphy, i.e. the possibility of transmitting information with the help of radio waves.
Communication across the Atlantic did not function well during World War I and the need of telegram traffic with America was great. The Swedish Parliament therefore decided in 1920 that a Swedish long wave transmitting station and a receiving station should be built under the direction of the “Telegrafverket”.
Important for the location of the establishment was that the wave propagation path was run across open waters – south of Norway and north of Denmark and Scotland. In Grimeton, east of Varberg, the open landscape gave free way for the radio waves out towards the Western Sea and besides, the name was easy to pronounce for Americans. Grimeton Radiostation was built during the years 1922-1924.
UNESCO World Heritage
Grimeton Radiostation is the only long wave radiostation in the world left in it’s complete original state. Therefore in 2004 it got designated as UNESCO World Heritage List. The radiostation still has the worlds last Alexanderson alternator transmitter fully operational! The site got a beautiful visitors building with restaurant and souvenir shop.
100 years of radio
Also cool to see at Grimeton is the development of 100 years of short wave radio transmission. When the first HF-transmitters were introduced in the 1930’s, the Alexanderson alternator transmitter got replaced by more modern, more energy efficient HF-transmitters for radio communication. But Grimeton kept all its transmitters and place them in their transmitter building which is now a museum. So you can walk around and admire all these beautiful RF-species.
Antenna’s
First of all the 6 huge antenna masts of the original 17,2kHz VLF-transmitter stand out if you drive to the radiostation. But there are many cool antennas to see on site. Like the big HF-wide band antenna at the entrance, used with the last HF-transmitter from Rohde&Schwarz SK35/963.
SK6SAQ amateur station
Finally you can find on the premise a little glass building for the SK6SAQ amateur radiostation. Very well equipped, two seats, Yeasu rigs and two antennas; a log-per for HF and a horizontal delta-loop. It’s opened sporadically and was closed on our visit.
On air
Once a year, last weekend of July, Grimeton Radiostation starts up the old 17,2kHz CW Alexanderson VLF alternator transmitter and you will be able to receive it. Next year I’ll be listening!
