# Ochsenkopf Transmitter

The Ochsenkopf Transmitter (German: Sender Ochsenkopf) is a 163 metres (535 ft) radio and TV tower of reinforced concrete, which was built in 1958 on the summit of the 1,024 metres (3,360 ft) Ochsenkopf mountain, the second-highest mountain in the Fichtel Mountains in Northern Bavaria, Germany. The tower replaced a 50 metres (160 ft) guyed steel tube TV mast that collapsed in January 1958 as result of icing. The tower, which is not accessible to the public, has a hyperbolic-shaped basement with five floors for technical equipment. Above it, there are platforms for directional antennas. The antennas for FM-transmission are on the upper part of the concrete tower, those for TV transmission on a steel tube mast on the top.

## Transmitting to the former GDR

Ochsenkopf TV Tower played an important role in transmitting to the former GDR many West German FM and TV programs, notably ARD, West Germany's first – and between 1952 and 1963 only – television channel. Its signal could penetrate deep into the southern territory of East Germany due to its closeness to the border, its use of a low frequency (VHF Band I channel 4), and of vertical polarization. Under good conditions, its signal could be received as far away as Görlitz on the East German-Polish border, even though most aerials there were pointed at the West Berlin transmitters.
The transmitter required large and specifically mounted aerials nicknamed Ochsenkopf-Antenne, or Ochsenkopf for short, thus making the homes of viewers of western television easily recognizable. A campaign in the early 1960s by East Germany's state youth organisation FDJ aimed at turning away or removing such aerials exploited this fact.

## Similar towers

Many other TV towers of similar design were built after 1958 in Germany and other European countries, including:
* Święty Krzyż TV Tower in Poland
* Brotjacklriegel TV Tower in Germany
* Donnersberg TV Tower in Germany
* Ještěd Tower in Czech Republic
* Schladming TV Tower, Austria
* Kitzbüheler Horn transmitter, Austria
* Mugel TV Tower, Austria
* Slanchev Bryag TV Tower, Bulgaria
* Stramni Rid TV Tower, Bulgaria
* Ostankino Tower in Moscow, Russia

## Transmitted Programs
### FM Radio

| Program | Frequency | ERP |
| Bayern 1 | 90.7 MHz | 100 kW |
| Bayern 1 | 91.2 MHz | 20 kW |
| Bayern 2 Radio | 96.0 MHz | 100 kW |
| Bayern 3 | 99.4 MHz | 100 kW |
| DLF | 100.3 MHz | 100 kW |
| Bayern 4 Klassik | 102.3 MHz | 100 kW |
| Antenne Bayern | 103.2 MHz | 100 kW |
| B5 Aktuell | 107.1 MHz | 100 kW |

### Television (digital, DVB-T standard)

Launched on November 25, 2008.
| Channel | Frequency [MHz] | Multiplex | Programs in Multiplex | ERP [kW] | Antenna Type | Polarization horizontal (H) / vertical (V) | Modulation | FEC | Guard Interval | Bit Rate [MBit/s] |
| E23 | 490 | ZDFmobil-Bouquet | ZDF 3sat KI.KA (6 AM - 9 PM) ZDFneo (9 PM - 6 AM, since November 1, 2009) ZDFdokukanal (9 PM - 6 AM, until October 21, 2009) ZDFinfokanal | 50 | omni | H | 16-QAM | 2/3 | 1/4 | 13.47 |
| E29 | 538 | ARD Bouquet | Das Erste (BR Nord) arte Phoenix EinsPlus | 100 | omni | H | 16-QAM | 2/3 | 1/4 | 13.47 |
| E40 | 626 | BR-Bouquet | Bayerisches Fernsehen (Franconia) BR-alpha MDR Fernsehen (Thuringia) hr-fernsehen | 100 | omni | H | 16-QAM | 2/3 | 1/4 | 13.47 |

## Former Programs
### Television (analogue, PAL standard)

Shut down on November 30, 2008.
| Program | Frequency | ERP |
| ARD (BRF region) | Ch E4 vertical | 50 kW (used to be 100 kW) |
The public channels ZDF and Bayerisches Fernsehen for the region were previously transmitted from the nearby mountain Großer Waldstein.