RocketNews 24 wrote:World’s Tallest Broadcast Tower Tokyo Sky Tree Experiences Unexpected Radio Interference, Tokyo Tower Still Chugging On
Tokyo’s Skytree was to be the answer to radio interference for broadcasting companies. Up until Skytree’s completion in May, Tokyo Tower was the tallest tower around, standing at 333 meters. Skytree, nearly double that height, stands at 634 meters.
The transfer of radio wave transmission from Tokyo Tower to Tokyo Skytree was originally planned for January of next year, but has been delayed due to an unexpected level of radio interference that will take time-consuming measures to be dealt with.
Some broadcasting companies, including NHK, have considered shutting down Tokyo Tower transmission during mid-day peak viewing periods in order to grasp the extent of the problem with transmission from Skytree. in which case, viewer confusion concerning broadcasting is to be anticipated.
TV companies broadcast from Tokyo Tower to a large area of the Kanto region. In the past 50 years since Tokyo Tower was first built, many high-rise buildings have sprung up around the tower, causing radio signal interference. To get rid of this problem and create a new and exciting tourist attraction, 65 billion yen, or $812 million US were spent on building the Skytree tower.
Skytree is over 200 meters taller than Tokyo Tower, a height that towers over the tallest buildings so that radio signal interference from surrounding buildings would, in theory, be greatly reduced. However, NHK and other private broadcasting companies cooperated in testing signals off of Skytree to get a sample of what areas could receive them. Because the radio waves were too strong, or because of antenna placement, some households received no signal, which had nothing to do with the direction or area they were in.
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