Armstrong Tower

Armstrong Tower, Alpine, New Jersey

The Armstrong Tower, also known as Alpine Tower, is a distinctive 129.5 meter (425 foot) tall lattice tower featuring three large cross-arms, located atop the Alpine, New Jersey palisades overlooking the Hudson River a few kilometers north of New York City at 40°57'39.0" N and 73°55'21.0" W (40.9607 -73.9225). It is owned by Alpine Tower Company and managed by CSC Management, LLC,[1] both owned by Charles E. Sackermann, Jr.[2]

The tower is the permanent transmitter site for locally based experimental station WA2XMN and Fairleigh Dickinson University's educational FM station WFDU, in additional to numerous directional radio services (including as a cell site). It is clearly visible from across the Hudson River and is used as a Visual flight rules waypoint[3] by aircraft flying within the New York City Special flight rules area.[4]

The tower was originally constructed by inventor Edwin Howard Armstrong in 1938 for developmental activities that led to modern FM radio. The original transmissions (W2XMN) occurred at 42.8 MHz.[5][6] At the tower base is a building originally used for research by Armstrong, which still has the W2XMN call sign engraved above its main entrance. This building currently houses the Armstrong Field Laboratory, and serves as a museum containing artifacts from the development of FM radio technology.[7]

The structure was also used as a temporary transmitter site for some of New York City's television stations after the collapse of the World Trade Center, including its transmitting antenna, following the September 11, 2001 attacks.[8][9]

  1. ^ "Tower history". CSC Management. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  2. ^ "Our Team". CSC Management. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  3. ^ FAA New York Sectional Aeronautical Chart Legend
  4. ^ "New York Special Flight Rules Area" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved 2017-04-10.
  5. ^ "At Long Last---Static-free Radio!", Radio Craft, April 1939, pages 588, 618-619.
  6. ^ Fybush, Scott (2005-05-10). "The Birthplace of FM Broadcasting, Alpine, N.J." Tower Site of the Week. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  7. ^ "Armstrong Tower Field Trip". New Providence Amateur Radio Club. 2010. Retrieved 2011-08-22.
  8. ^ "A Nation Challenged: A Tower in Alpine Keeps New York TV On the Air Now" by Robert Strauss, New York Times, October 14, 2001.
  9. ^ Fybush, Scott (2002-09-10). "9/11 Plus One". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved 2017-04-10.