W2XMN Alpine, New Jersey

This historic site is where Edwin Armstrong continued developing FM radio starting in 1936 after his fallout with David Sarnoff of RCA. There is an active experimental station on 42.8 MHz, WA2XMN. It is usually on the air to commemorate Armstrong’s FM demonstration to the FCC, which happened on 17 June 1936.

Last Thursday, June 19th, I had a very enjoyable afternoon at SBE Chapter 15’s annual summer barbecue. Over the years, I have probably passed by hundreds of times, often thinking, someday I’d love to see what is there. I can say, I was not disappointed.

The site was constructed in 1936, after Edwin Armstrong was asked to remove his FM equipment from the Empire State Building by RCA. At that time, RCA was more interested in TV development and thought that FM had little place in broadcasting. Boy, were they wrong.

Armstrong had this 400 foot tower built and used this building as his test bed. Broadcasting on two frequencies; W2XMN on 42.8 (later 44.1) and W2XEA on 92.1 MHz (later KE2XCC on 93.1 MHz) with power of 50 KW.

Today, the WA2XMN broadcasts are produced by a replica GE BT-1-B phastron transmitter built by Steve Hemphill, with a power output of 250 watts. Unfortunately, there is a large hill between that site and my house, so I cannot hear it very well from my radio room. However, during the broadcast, there were several reception reports from around the area, including out on the eastern end of Long Island.

The story of FM and Edwin Armstrong is a mixed tale. He was a professor of Electrical Engineering at Columbia University in New York. A creative engineer, having several patents to his name including regenerative receiver, super hetrodyne receiver, wide band FM, and early FM radar, he had a close relationship with David Sarnoff, the president of RCA. Unfortunately, that relationship soured over patent infringement lawsuits and Armstrong eventually committed suicide in 1954.

After which, the site ownership went to Columbia University. It sat, mostly unused, until it was purchased by the current owner (K2 Communications) for use as a land mobile transmitter site. Thankfully, they knew what they had and preserved the historical features. They are currently working on turning the W2XMN building into a museum.

Columbia University has an extensive archive of information about Edwin Armstrong. More information can be found here: Alpine NJ, Alpine, NJ Part II, Closing of Station KE2XCC

There is also this excellent article in the Short Wave Listening Post: WA2XMN revives Armstrong’s Legacy with 90th Anniversary Broadcast

If you have the time, This Week In Radio Tech (TWiRT) has a Youtube Video: Armstrong FM at Alpine (it is about an hour long).

I always recommend, for those interested in the history of FM broadcasting; Empire of the Air by Tom Lewis.

And a final thought; there is nothing in this job that is worth your life. Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Most engineers I know (myself included) are introverts. We tend to take responsibility for things which do not really belong to us. One of the things that I learned, over time, is to enforce boundaries. It can be difficult to do with the electronic connectivity today; the ability for people to interrupt your life via text, email or phone call. Sometimes those things are important, but too often, not. When this happens, use your words. Respectfully tell the other person that you will deal with it during business hours. If that doesn’t work, remember; there are many, many open positions for broadcast engineers these days.