Allouis longwave transmitter
The Allouis longwave transmitter has been France's central longwave broadcast transmitter since 1939. It is located near the village of Allouis. It broadcast the France Inter public radio station from October 1952 until 31 December 2016. Since 2017, it broadcasts only the TDF time signal, which has been renamed ALS162 since 2017. The first transmitter, built in 1939 during the Phoney War, used an aerial with four masts and a transmitter rated at 500 kilowatts. It was destroyed in 1944 during the scorched earth retreat by German forces. On 19 October 1952 a new 250 kW transmitter came into service. This used a special cage aerial, mounted on a high earthed mast. In 1957 the transmission power was increased to 600 kW, in 1974 to 1,000 kW, and in 1981 to 2,000 kW. Transmission power was reduced to 1,000 kW during the hours of darkness. In 2011 the transmission power was reduced to 1,500 kW for cost savings. For the same reason the transmission power was reduced to 1,100 kW in 2017 and subsequently in February 2020 to 800 kW. In 1974 the aerial was renewed. The cage aerials were removed and the mast height was increased to . A