Editing Mount Washington (section)

==Transmission facilities==
[[File:WMTW Mount Washington, New Hamphire transmitter site (1944).jpg|right|thumb|300px|FM broadcasting station WMTW's ice-covered Mount Washington transmitter site in 1944.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/broadcasting26unse#page/n1406/mode/1up "Radio Engineering Labs, Inc. (WMTW photograph)"] (advertisement), ''Broadcasting'', May 15, 1944, page 49.</ref>]]

Due to its status as the highest elevation in the northeast United States, the top of the mountain is a popular site for stations that require transmission ranges over a broad territory, but which operate on frequencies that are generally limited to line-of-sight coverage. In 2003, it was reported that the summit was the site used "for three commercial radio stations and dozens of state, federal and private agencies, including the state police".<ref>[https://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20030216/News/302169958 "Mt. Washington blaze disrupts communications"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208124706/https://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20030216/News/302169958 |date=February 8, 2021 }} by Richard Fabizio, February 16, 2003 (seacoastonline.com)</ref>

Use of the mountain summit as a transmitter site dates to the 1930s. At this time investigations were begun into establishing radio stations broadcasting on "Very High Frequency" (VHF) assignments above 30&nbsp;MHz. Reception of stations operating on these frequencies tended to be limited to line-of-sight distances, so operating from the top of Mount Washington was ideal for providing maximum coverage. As of 1938 it was reported that at least five experimental stations were located on the mountain.<ref>[https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Wave-Radio/All-Wave-1938-04.pdf#page=27 "Ultra-High"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307234256/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Wave-Radio/All-Wave-1938-04.pdf#page=27 |date=March 7, 2021 }} by Perry Ferrell, Jr., ''All-Wave Radio'', April 1938, page 195. The five reported experimental stations were W1XER, W1XR, W1XW, W1XOY and W1XMX.</ref>

The most prominent of the early experimental stations was [[WMNE (Portland, Maine)|W1XER]], originally an [[Apex (radio band)|"Apex"]] radio station licensed to the [[Yankee Network]], that was moved from Boston to the mountain in 1937, and initially used to relay meteorological information from the  weather observatory. With the aid of [[Edwin Howard Armstrong|Edwin H. Armstrong]], the station was converted from an AM transmitter into an FM broadcasting station, although the conversion process turned out to be an arduous undertaking,<ref>[https://text-message.blogs.archives.gov/2019/02/12/building-a-radio-tower-atop-mount-washington/ "Building a Radio Tower atop Mount Washington"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116215941/https://text-message.blogs.archives.gov/2019/02/12/building-a-radio-tower-atop-mount-washington/ |date=January 16, 2021 }}, by Daniel Dancis, February 12, 2019.</ref> and W1XER did not start broadcast programming on a regular schedule until December 19, 1940.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/broadcasting20unse#page/n28/mode/1up "Yankee Starts Operation of FM Atop Mountain"], ''Broadcasting'', January 1, 1941, page 18-C.</ref> This station's facilities included construction of the original broadcast tower, the Yankee Building housing the crew and transmitter equipment, and the first power house building. Commercial broadcasting commenced on April 5, 1941,<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/broadcasting20unse#page/n947/mode/1up "Boston Games on FM"], ''Broadcasting'', April 14, 1941, page 42.</ref> initially with the call sign W39B.{{efn|The initial policy for commercial FM station call signs included an initial "W" for stations located east of the Mississippi River, followed by the last two digits of a station's frequency assignment, "39" corresponding with 43.9 MHz in this case, and closing with a one or two character city identifier, which for stations serving the Boston, Massachusetts region was "B".}} Effective November 1, 1943 the station call sign was changed to WMTW,<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/broadcasting25unse#page/n882/mode/1up "New Calls Named For FM Stations"], ''Broadcasting'', October 4, 1943, page 49.</ref> and in late 1946 the call letters were changed again, to WMNE. WMNE ceased operations in late 1948, due to excessive maintenance costs, and concern that a mandatory frequency change to the new FM "high band" would cause an unacceptable decrease in transmission range.<ref>[https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1948/1948-10-04-BC.pdf#page=85 "WMNE, KSTL-FM Are Relinquished"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208123138/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1948/1948-10-04-BC.pdf#page=85 |date=February 8, 2021 }} ''Broadcasting'', October 4, 1948, page 85.</ref>

In 1954 [[WMTW (TV)|WMTW]], channel&nbsp;8, [[city of license|licensed]] to [[Poland, Maine|Poland Spring, Maine]], constructed a [[radio masts and towers|TV tower]] and [[transmitter]] and began operations from the mountain, including local forecasts by then WMTW transmitter engineer [[Marty Engstrom]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Engstrom |first=Marty |title=Marty on the Mountain: 38 Years on Mt. Washington}}</ref>  In its first decades, WMTW served as the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] [[Network affiliate]] for the [[Portland, Maine|Portland]], [[Burlington, Vermont|Burlington]], [[Montreal]] and [[Sherbrooke, Quebec|Sherbrooke]] [[media market|television market]]s, thanks to its wide coverage area.  This station relocated its transmitter away from the mountain in 2002, due to concerns that a mandated switch from analog to digital transmissions would result in insufficient coverage if the transmitter remained at the mountaintop.<ref>[https://www.fybush.com/site-020206.html "Mount Washington, N.H.: The TV Years, 1954-2002"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210323225336/https://www.fybush.com/site-020206.html |date=March 23, 2021 }} by Scott Fybush, February 6–13, 2002 (fybush.com)</ref>

There are currently two FM stations located at the mountain. 1958 saw the construction of WMTW-FM 94.9&nbsp;MHz (now [[WHOM]]). A second station, WMOU (now [[WPKQ]]), moved to the summit in 1987, installing transmitters in the Yankee building and constructing a new broadcast tower behind the building, which is the tallest structure on the summit.

WHOM and WMTW-TV shared a transmitter building, which also housed the [[electric generator|generators]] used to supply electrical power to the various facilities atop the mountain. However, on February&nbsp;9, 2003, a major fire broke out in the generator room of the transmitter building, which had become the property of the state only a year earlier when WMTW left the summit. The fire destroyed the building, including WHOM's transmitters as well as the summit's main generators, and also spread to the adjacent Old Yankee Power House building, which housed the emergency generator, destroying that building also and disrupting all power to the summit. Temporary generators had to be transported up the mountain to restore power to the observatory and to the Yankee building, which houses important public safety communications equipment. A makeshift generator room was constructed underneath the canopy of the Sherman Adams building across from the public entrance to replace the destroyed buildings. The makeshift generator room was later made permanent when power cables were installed in 2009, delivering grid power to the summit for the first time.

The original Armstrong tower still stands today. The Yankee Building also remains and continues to serve as a communications facility, housing equipment for numerous tenants including cellular telephone providers and public safety agencies. The old sign from the destroyed Old Yankee Power House building was placed above the doorway to the new generator room. WHOM subsequently built a new transmitter building on the site of the old power building, and also installed a new standby [[antenna (radio)|antenna]] on the Armstrong tower. (For the first time since 1948, the Armstrong tower was used for broadcasts.)<ref>{{cite web |title=WMTW: fire on the mountain |publisher=GGN Information Systems |url=http://www.ggninfo.com/wmtw5.htm |access-date=October 13, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202043229/http://www.ggninfo.com/wmtw5.htm |archive-date=December 2, 2008}}</ref>

The National Weather Service (NWS) forecast office in [[Gray, Maine]], operates [[NOAA Weather Radio]] station KZZ41 on 162.5&nbsp;MHz from the summit of Mount Washington. The NWS coverage map indicates that it can be heard throughout most of New Hampshire, western Maine, northeast Vermont, and portions of southern Canada. During very clear conditions, KZZ41 has the potential to reach the majority of northern Massachusetts (including some northern areas of [[Greater Boston]] and much of the [[North Shore (Massachusetts)|North Shore]]) as well as the majority of Vermont and Maine.<ref>{{cite web |title=KZZ41 |department=National Weather Service |publisher=U.S. Department of Commerce/National Weather Service Gray, ME |url=http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/coverage/site2.php?State=NH&Site=KZZ41 |access-date=February 12, 2015 |archive-date=February 12, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150212142903/http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/coverage/site2.php?State=NH&Site=KZZ41 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In June 2008, the possibility of television returning to Mount Washington arose, with the filing by [[New Hampshire Public Television]] to move WLED-TV from its current location near [[Littleton, New Hampshire|Littleton]] to the old WMTW mast on top.<ref>{{cite web |title=Application for Construction Permit for Reserved Channel Noncommercial Educational Broadcast Station |date=June 20, 2008 |publisher=U.S. [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) |url=http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101249595&formid=340&fac_num=69328 |access-date=October 13, 2008 |archive-date=February 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206143510/https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101249595&formid=340&fac_num=69328 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2003-02-20 |title=Mount Washington, N.H.: A Look Back |work=Tower Site of the Week |publisher=fybush.com |url=http://www.fybush.com/site-030220.html |access-date=March 29, 2016 |df=mdy-all |archive-date=August 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120812192544/http://www.fybush.com/site-030220.html |url-status=live }}</ref>