The Armstrong Tower, also known as Alpine Tower, is a distinctive (425 foot) tall

lattice tower A lattice tower or truss tower is a freestanding vertical latticework, framework tower. This construction is widely used in transmission towers carrying high-voltage electric power lines, in radio masts and towers (a self-radiating tower or as a ...

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 , both owned by Charles E. Sackermann, Jr. 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 A cell site, cell phone tower, cell base tower, or cellular base station is a cellular frequencies, cellular-enabled mobile device site where antenna (electronics), antennas and electronic communications equipment are placed (typically on a Rad ...

). It is clearly visible from across the Hudson River and is used as a

Visual flight rules In aviation, visual flight rules (VFR) is a set of regulations under which a pilot operates an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going. Specifically, the weather must be better tha ...

waypoint by aircraft flying within the New York City Special flight rules area. The tower was originally constructed by inventor

Edwin Howard Armstrong Edwin Howard Armstrong (December 18, 1890 – February 1, 1954) was an American electrical engineer and inventor who developed FM (frequency modulation) radio and the superheterodyne receiver system. He held 42 patents and received numerous awa ...

in 1938 for developmental activities that led to modern . The original transmissions ( W2XMN) occurred at . At the tower base is a building originally used for research by Armstrong, which still has the W2XMN

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

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. 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 The World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, New York City, was destroyed on September 11, 2001, as a result of al-Qaeda's terror attacks. Two commercial airliners hijacked by terrorists were deliberately flown into the Twin Towers of the com ...

, including its transmitting antenna, following the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

References

External links

*
Google Maps view of Armstrong Tower

- includes museum photos
Edwin H. Armstrong Plaque at the Armstrong Tower

FCC History Cards for experimental radio station W2XMN (1936-1950)
{{Coord, 40, 57, 39, N, 73, 55, 21, W, type:landmark, display=title Alpine, New Jersey History of radio in the United States Towers in New Jersey Buildings and structures in Bergen County, New Jersey Towers completed in 1938 1938 establishments in New Jersey 1938 in radio

See also

References

External links