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| RIGA Radio and TV Tower, Latvia |
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Riga Radio and TV |
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Riga Radio and Television Tower, Latvia
(prof Anthony C Davies, May 2010)  View from Reval Hotel Latvija – on the right is ‘Stalin’s gift to the Lativan people’, now the Latvian Academy of Sciences building The tower is 368m high, standing on Rabbit
(or Hare) Island (Zaķu Sala) in the Daugava River. Construction
was started in 1979, and broadcasting from the tower began on
completion in 1986.
The tower was once one of the highest free-standing structure in the world. Later, higher TV towers were built in Moscow (Ostankino tower, 540m) and in Kiev (385m). Now the Riga tower is the highest in the EU, although only just higher than the Berlin TV tower in Alexanderplatz, known in the days of the GDR as ‘The Pope’s Revenge’ because reflected sunlight on it produce the impression of a cross.. For comparison, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, once the tallest in the world, is 325m. There are higher structures elsewhere: the CN tower in Toronto is 553m The Riga tower observation gallery, which once contained a restaurant, is reached via small elevators in the ‘legs’ which move sideways and upwards. This gallery is at about 100m height  Model of the Riga Radio and TV Tower  Foot of the Riga Radio and TV Tower  Control Room - Riga Radio and TV Tower  Transmitter Room - Riga Radio and TV Tower
 Antenna Section  Communication Links  Present transmitter room
equipment (from Japan)
The transmitter room is now mostly empty space, because of the smaller size of modern equipment and the change to digital TV transmission. The tower now transmits only one analogue TV channel, the rest are on a digital multiplex, and it is expected that the remaining analogue channel will soon be discontinued. Initially, Latvia TV used the SECAM system for colour, but changed to PAL in the late 1990s. TV studios, etc. are in a tall building at the other end of Rabbit Island Acknowledgement: thanks to Prof Leonids Ribickis, Dr. Armands Strazds and Prof. Ilmars Slaidins of Riga Technical University, for help in arranging our visit on 9th May 2010. Prof Tony Davies, 20 May 2010 With very grateful thanks to Professor Anthony C Davies for all material. www.tonydavies.org.uk |
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