Grimeton Radio Station

Grimeton was built between 1922 and 1924 to carry telegraph traffic to the United States on longwave, and its transmitter is an Alexanderson alternator - a rotating machine that generates the radio wave mechanically rather than electronically, a technology superseded within a decade. This is the only one left anywhere in working order. Six 127-metre steel towers carry the antenna across the fields. The station operated commercially until 1996 and is now a World Heritage site, kept operational: it is switched on for a transmission on Alexanderson Day in summer and around Christmas, and radio amateurs listen for it worldwide.

Background

Construction began on 2 November 1922 on a site bought that autumn, and the station started work on 1 December 1924 under the callsign SAQ, sending to a receiving station run by RCA at Riverhead, New York. From the start it handled 95% of Sweden's telegrams to the United States. Two 200 kilowatt alternators, invented by the Swedish-American Ernst Alexanderson and built by General Electric, were installed so that one could be serviced while the other kept running. The flattop antenna is 2.2 km long, first strung with twelve wires and later with eight. The wavelength, about 18000 metres at first, was later changed to 17440 metres. The World Heritage site covers 109.09 hectares.

Source: Wikipedia, "Grimeton Radio Station"

The main sights

• The Alexanderson alternator - the only working one left.
• Six towers of 127 metres - carrying the antenna across the fields.
• A 1924 machine hall - switchgear and instruments in place.
• Scheduled transmissions - in summer and at Christmas.

When to go

May to September; the transmission days draw crowds. Two hours.

Before you go

Entry is by guided tour and the season is short. The machine is not running on ordinary days. It is a technical site and dry without interest in the subject. A car is needed.

Nearby

Varberg and its fortress are west; the Halland coast is beyond.

Key facts