Radio Masts and Towers - Unique Photos and Videos.

Radio masts and towers are, typically, tall structures designed to support antennas (also known as aerials) for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. There are two main types: guyed and self-supporting structures. They are among the tallest man-made structures.

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Radio Masts and TV Towers

Funkmasten und Fernsehtürme

Mástiles de Radio y Torres de Televisión

无线电桅杆和电视塔

Masts are often named after the broadcasting organizations that originally built them or currently use them. In the case of a mast radiator or radiating tower, the whole mast or tower is itself the transmitting antenna. he terms “mast” and “tower” are often used interchangeably. However, in structural engineering terms, a tower is a self-supporting or cantilevered structure, while a mast is held up by stays or guys. Broadcast engineers in the UK use the same terminology. A mast is a ground-based or rooftop structure that supports antennas at a height where they can satisfactorily send or receive radio waves. Typical masts are of steel lattice or tubular steel construction.

الصواري اللاسلكية وأبراج التلفزيون

Mâts de Radio et Tours de Télévision

радиомачты и телевизионные башни

Masts themselves play no part in the transmission of mobile telecommunications. Masts (to use the civil engineering terminology) tend to be cheaper to build but require an extended area surrounding them to accommodate the guy wires. Towers are more commonly used in cities where land is in short supply.

There are a few borderline designs that are partly free-standing and partly guyed, called additionally guyed towers. For example:

The Gerbrandy tower consists of a self-supporting tower with a guyed mast on top.
The few remaining Blaw-Knox towers do the opposite: they have a guyed lower section surmounted by a freestanding part.
Zendstation Smilde, a tall tower with a guyed mast on top (guys go to ground)
Torre de Collserola, a guyed tower with a guyed mast on top (tower portion is not free-standing)

Experimental radio broadcasting began in 1905, and commercial radio broke through in the 1920s.