[Spooks] Shortwave transmitter sites in Greater Frankfurt am Main area

[Chris Smolinski]

I am sending the entire article to the Spooks list; it isn't that long, and
is quite interesting reading, due to the information on Numbers Stations.

Hello List
This is such an exciting article that it is worthy of being shared
now.[All thanks to Andreas Erbe and Wolfgang Bueschel]
Enjoy!
73
SW

Shortwave transmitter sites in Greater Frankfurt am Main area
by Andreas Erbe and Wolfgang Bueschel

The city of Frankfurt is world wide knows as a city of bankers. With
its about 650,000 inhabitants, it  attracts a lot of tourist visitors
each year, though there is nothing particular to visit - in contrast
to many other towns in Germany. The radio history of this part of
Germany is not well documented, therefore a part of it, namely the
chapter of short wave transmitters, will be discussed here.
The AM-transmitter sites other than short wave will be mentioned only,
and the history before 1945 will not be dealt with at all.
Why can this be of interest to the number station enthusiast? On the
one hand, famous DFC37 and DFD21 originated from that area. And also
E5 sent out some transmissions there.

Historic Background

It all started with the American occupation of a big part of what is
today South Germany after World War II ended in 1945. And of course at
this time, there was a need for every power present in Germany to
communicate with the homeland. Since the main transmitter sites of
Germany where located around Berlin, associated with the names Koenigs
Wusterhausen and Nauen, the Western powers had less chances to take
over old transmitter equipment.

The British zone in North Germany had the transmitters in Elmshorn
near Hamburg. So there was a base for short wave communication. On the
other hand, in the American zone only around Munich a few broadcast
transmitters were left. And to communicate with the American mainland,
short wave communication sites were urgently needed.
Being an economic centre for a long time, Frankfurt and the
surrounding area was well-suited to house these new sites. And
=46rankfurt was a broadcasting centre, too.

Transmitter sites of Hessischer Rundfunk

The regional public broadcaster for the state Hessen is Hessischer
Rundfunk (HR). HR was set up in 1948 as part of the new federal radio
system in West Germany. It was the successor of Radio Frankfurt, which
started operating in 1945 under US American control [1]. All over West
Germany, the newly formed regional broadcasters took over control of
their transmission facilities from the German Post.
In those days, HR operated an own short wave transmitter. This one
started broadcasting in late 1947. The 1-kW-unit made by Lorenz
operated only until 1954, when it was dismantled [2]. The frequency
was 6190 kHz (48.47 m) which was later used by Radio Bremen till 1996
and at present is used by Deutschlandfunk from the site at
Berlin-Britz.
The transmitter was located at the site Heiligenstock in North
=46rankfurt, Friedberger Landstrasse 525 at 08E43, 50N09. This facility
housed also a medium wave transmitter of HR. The original transmitter
(synchronised network on 1195 kHz with 25 kW) from 1935 was severely
damaged in March 1945. A provisional repaired facility served for
Radio Frankfurt after the war was over. AFN also used the
Heiligenstock site for radio programmes. This part of the story will
be presented later.
August 23rd saw the launch of the Lorenz-reconstructed original
transmitter with a power output of now 100 kW serving until October
15th, 1967, when the Heiligenstock site was closed.
The MW antenna installation consisted of four 121 m pipe masts. The
site operated on a synchronised network with other sites in Hessen.
In those days, Radio Frankfurt and later Hessischer Rundfunk used 1439
kHz, while AFN was on 593 kHz until the Copenhagen HF plan became
effective March 15th 1950. The HR moved from 1439 to 593 kHz while AFN
left 593 kHz for the new 935 kHz with 10 kW.
=46or the close-down of transmissions from the Heiligenstock site, the
official reason was that the city of Frankfurt wanted to build flats
on the ground where the facility was located, and therefore asked HR
to look for a new site in the late 1950s. But up to now, no new
building can be seen on the ground of the former transmitter facility.
Another reason was the old transmitter having problems operating 24 h
a day - so a new transmitter to be planned anyway.
October 16th, 1967 saw the start of transmissions from the newly
erected site in Weiskirchen-Rodgau, located 15 km south-west to
=46rankfurt. Two masts, each of which 126 m high, were erected there.
This site still operates on 594 kHz. Some pictures and historical
information in German can be found on Hansjoerg Biener=B4s web site [3].

Sites of Deutsche Bundespost (DBP)/Telekom

In West Germany, the broadcast transmitters where handed over from the
post to the regional broadcasters in 1946/1947. Later almost all
broadcast transmitters were operated by the broadcasters. Exceptions
where Deutsche Welle and Deutschlandfunk later. Both used transmitters
operated by the West German Post, Deutsche Bundespost (DBP).
All utility service transmitters where operated by DBP. As the British
and US zone of Germany united to a unified economic 'bizone' in 1946,
there was also only one headquarter of the Post, which was located in
=46rankfurt.
This was one reason why new communication capabilities where needed in
the Frankfurt area.
Subsequently, three communication facilities where build in the end of
the 1940s in Hessen. One was located at Mainflingen. This one only
operated on long wave and later housed broadcasting MW transmitters.
The other two facilities at Frankfurt-Bonames and Usingen-Merzhausen
were intended for short wave communication.
One transmitter site was needed to improve reception of news agency
transmissions from the coast station Norddeich Radio (North Sea coast)
in South Germany. So a place near Mainflingen, 25 km south-east to
=46rankfurt was chosen to set up a new long wave transmitter. The first
transmission hall was erected in 1950. The first user was the press
agency, and over the years, the meteorological service was the main
user of this facility. Today the site today is more famous for the
time signal station DCF77 on 77 kHz. Also broadcasters Deutschlandfunk
and Evangeliumsrundfunk used and still use the facility [4]. The
Mainflingen site never housed short wave transmitters.
The building-up of the transmitter facility at Frankfurt-Bonames in
the north of Frankfurt started in late 1947. The first transmitter
hall was set up in a former casino building. It housed 11 Lorenz-made
short wave transmitters. Six 20-kW-units served as telegraphy
transmitters, four 20-kW-units were used for single-side band
-(voice)-transmissions. An additional 5-kW-transmitter was also
installed.
>From 1950 till 1952, a power supply backup was erected, and the second
transmitter hall was build up. This hall was equipped with 6
Telefunken-made 20-kW-transmitters, four 5-kW-Lorenz-transmitters and
in addition with 11 small 1.2...1.5-kW-units made by Lorenz. Two of
these transmitters were long wave transmitters, whose purpose remains
unclear.
In the mid 1960s, the small transmitters and two of the 5-kW-units
were dismantled and replaced by 9 modern automatic Telefunken
transmitters with a power output of 20 kW.
Most aerials on the Bonames site were rhombic ones, carried by 20 to
30 m high masts. Most of them beamed their signals to North America.
There were also some non-directional vertical antennae, quadratic
dipoles and two log-periodics.
The area of the Bonames site was located in densely populated area,
and with the city of Frankfurt growing it was impossible to expand the
site. Therefore it was decided to close this facility. Transmitter
hall 1 ceased operation in 1968. Most of the transmitters were
scrapped and a few moved to North Germany to the site of
Elbe-Weser-Radio. The modern Telefunken transmitters installed at the
beginning of the 1960s in hall 2 were moved to Usingen. The faith of
the antennae was the same as the transmitters - most of them were
scrapped, some moved to Usingen. Others were transferred to Elmshorn
near Hamburg. In 1972 all the site Bonames was silenced forever. Only
administrational tasks remained there [4].
The third site of DBP to be mentioned here is in Usingen-Merzhausen.
The town of Usingen is located in the Taunus mountains 25 km north to
the inner city of Frankfurt. More information can be found at
Usingen=B4s internet site [5]. A communications facility was erected at
a former army airfield. The West German post leased the area for 30
years beginning 1953 for this purpose. The first task was to clear the
airfield from the remaining bombs of World War II. This took around 2
years. In late 1955 the set-up of the transmitters started as they
should be operational by Christmas 1956. In 1958, fourteen 20 kW and
four 100-kW-transmitters where operational, and the first transmitter
hall was fully equipped. Most antennae where rhombic antennae at that
time.
With the growing traffic on short wave, an expansion of the station in
Usingen was planned, and the building of a second transmitter hall
started in 1965. Between 1967 and 1968 ten remote-controlled
transmitters with a power output of 20 to 30 kW were installed. With
the closure of of the Bonames site 9 modern remote-controlled
automatic transmitters came to Usingen in 1970. In May 1976, 37
transmitters and 43 arials operated in Usingen at its high.
The new era of satellite communications started for West Germany in
1965 with the set-up of the earth station in Raisting near Munich. The
closure of the short wave facility in Bonames must be seen in this
context too. The decline of shortwave activity lead to the dismantling
of short wave transmitters beginning in 1976. The last hand-operated
transmitters were removed in 1982, and  only 3 large rhombic antennae
of the original 26 remained. By the end of 1989 all short wave
services were carried on by the site Elmshorn near Hamburg.
Usingen became a famous satellite earth station instead. The first
parabolic antenna as uplink transmitter was inaugurated in 1979. The
building up of this antenna took about two years. Nowadays, more than
15 satellite antennae are operational at the Usingen site - and no
short wave transmitters are left [7]. Information about the satellite
earth station can be found on the internet pages of Deutsche Telekom
[6]. So with the political changes in Europe in those days also the
last commercial short wave transmitter site in the Frankfurt region
was closed.

Site of Deutsche Nachrichtenagentur (DENA)

Immediately after World War II in each zone of Germany new news
agencies were founded. The British zone got the DPD (Deutscher
Pressedienst), in the American zone DENA (Deutsche Nachrichtenagentur)
was founded and in the French zone the new S=DCDENA (S=FCddeutsche
Nachrichtenagentur) sprang into life. Those three joined to form the
West German =84Deutsche Presseagentur" (DPA).
The name of DENA, this time as Deutsche Nachrichten GmbH, remained
present in the DPA as a affiliate, that e.g. operated services for the
DPA. Deutsche Nachrichten GmbH was closed in 1997 and is now a company
in liquidation [8].
DENA operated a transmitter for DPA on a neighbouring area to the HR
site Heiligenstock, located half way between Frankfurt and the town of
Bad Vilbel north to Frankfurt at Friedberger Landstrasse 645. It had a
long wave transmitter to broadcast the DPA news service in German.
This service seemed to have operated since the end of the 40s until
the end of the 60s. Klingenfuss gives in his Old Freq-list a callsign
of DCF 39 for fax transmissions on 139 kHz [9]. But also some short
wave transmitters of 20 kW transmitted DPA=B4s English service world
wide in RTTY. It is reported that also the Japanese news agency
JIJI-Press was transmitted from DENA-transmitter Bad Vilbel. The site
operated until the mid-1980s. To date, no literature source has
appeared giving details of this facility. That=B4s why we have to rely
on the =84collective memory" of the hobbyists.
Today, the former transmitter hall seems to house a flat a family, and
one part of the area is used for the graveyard of Bad Vilbel. The name
=84DENA-Sender" however is still present on the city maps of Frankfurt.
It can e.g. be found in a map about the housing estates in Frankfurt
[10].

American transmitter sites

With the presence of US troops in the region also American transmitter
sites have been built. American Forces Notwork (AFN) started medium
wave transmissions via a 300 watt transmitter in April 1945, from
IG-Farben skyscrapper in the northern suburbs of Frankfurt/Main on 593
kHz. From June 1st, 1945 Radio Frankfurt Heiligenstock site was used
for the AFN Frankfurt program via a provisional transmitter. As
already mentioned, AFN changed to 935 kHz in 1950 with the new HF
plan. This channel was in use until the new site in Weisskirchen was
finished, some time between 1950 and 1952. Since then, AFN can be
heard in Greater Frankfurt on 873 kHz.
The transmitter site ist located north of Frankfurt in Weisskirchen,
part of the town Oberursel. The site just got a new 150-kW-transmitter
in 1994. In 2000 the site became famous as a lightning damaged the
set-up. More information including some pictures can be found at
Hansjoerg Biener=B4s web site [3].
But in addition also a military site exists south to Frankfurt which
was used for short wave communication maybe by the US Air Force. The
site is locates between Langen and M=F6rfelden-Walldorf, 15 km south to
=46rankfurt in a former forbidden zone. We do not know anything about
the transmitters there, but there are several logarithmic-periodic and
vertical antennae that are definitely intended for the use on short
wave. And there is a directional link connection to apparently the
military part of Frankfurt=B4s international airport. The real owner and
what is transmitted there is subject of speculations. One user may be
the US military - the site is not even listed on good maps.

Number stations

Up to know some information has been presented about the transmitter
sites in the Frankfurt area. What can the number station enthusiast do
with this? There were several West German number stations: then BND
family around Papa November and the Two-Letter-Stations as well as
DFC37 and DFD21. As the latter both have call-signs in the country,
they can be traced to a certain site. The ITU (1972) lists for both
DFD21 and DFC37 as well as for the famous DFD78 - Deutscher
Sportverlag the site Bonames [12].
So it is not surprising that the Bonames site is mentioned in
conjunction with number station transmissions. But it stopped
transmissions in 1972, so definitely afterwards transmissions of any
kind did not originate from Bonames. At the beginning of the 1970s
number station activity in Central Europe was at a peak level, and
DFC37 as well as DFD21 continued afterwards. Simon Mason dates back
their history starting at least at the beginning of the 1970s [13]. As
Usingen took over not only the transmitters, but also the services it
is likely that also the call-signs were transferred to Usingen.
Indeed, listener in the area report that Usingen definitely
transmitted the typical West German number station format with the Two
Letters. These transmissions were around there even at the beginning
of the 1960s, as Wolfgang Bueschel writes.
But not only German number stations were around in the Greater
=46rankfurt area. As the CIA had one head of its West German arm there
[14], the area is well suited to be a relay for E5=B4s transmissions.
There are reports that the site between Langen and Walldorf-M=F6rfelden
is used for this, though up to now, no reliable reports confirm this.

Acknowledgements

Thanks goes out to a lot of people for helping to collect the material
for this short article. We thank Michael Bethge of the WWDXC as well
as Gerd Klawitter and Karl-Michael Gierich for sharing their part of
the collective memory of the radio hobbyists, as well as supplying
articles and other material about the sites. The Museum of Post and
Telecommunications in Frankfurt helped in research of some material.
=46or the possibility of discussions about the technical material my
thank goes to Kai Ludwig and Hansjoerg Biener. And we thank the =84old"
ENIGMA for the lots of material about transmitter sites not only of
number stations it gave over the years of its existence.

Abbreviations
AFN - American Forces Network
DBP - Deutsche Bundespost, West German Post
DENA - Deutsche Nachrichtenagentur (news agency of the American zone
until 1949) and Deutsche Nachrichten GmbH (affiliate of DPA)
DLF - Deutschlandfunk
DPA - Deutsche Presseagentur, (West-)German Press Agency
DPD - Deutscher Pressedienst, news agency in the British zone until
1949
HR - Hessischer Rundfunk, public broadcaster for Hessen
kW - Kilowatt
MW - Mediumwave
s=FCdena - S=FCddeutsche Nachrichtenagentur, news agency in the French
zone until 1949
SW - Shortwave
WWDXC - Worldwide DX Club
 References
1: Hermann, S., Kahle, W., Kniestedt, J.: Der deutsche Rundfunk, R. v.
Decker=B4s Verlag, G. 	Schenck, Heidelberg 1994.
2: Maes, L.: Transmitter Documentation Project TDP-SW97, 1997.
3: http://www.asamnet.de/~bienerhj/rundfunk.html.
4: Brunswig, H., Archiv f=FCr das Post- und Fernmeldewesen 1979, 2,
166-186.
5: http://www.usingen.de.
6: http://www.telekom.de/dtag/ipl1/cda/level4s_a/0,3682,12287,00.html.
7: Fernmeldeamt Eschborn: Erdfunkstelle Usingen.
8: http://www.dpa.de.
9: Klingenfuss, J.: The 1999 Super Frequency List, Klingenfuss
Publications, Tuebingen 1999.
10: http://www.frankfurt.de/sixcms_upload/media/205/wohnlagen.pdf.
12: ITU Alphabetical Lists of Call Signs, 5th edition, March 1972.
13: Mason, S.: Secret Signals - The Euronumbers Mystery, Tiare
Publications 1991.
14: Eichner, K., Dobbert, A.: Headquaters Germany, edition ost, Berlin
1997.
15: World Radio TV Handbook, 1950 and 1952.




---
Chris Smolinski
Black Cat Systems
http://www.blackcatsystems.com
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