Radio Towers: Did You Hear That? Quiz

Answer: Hawaii, USA

The Lualualei VLF radio tower in Hawaii USA is a little different. The signals it transmits are "very low frequency" (VLF). It sits near a US Navy military base. In 2025 it was the fifth tallest radio tower in the world.

The description "guyed mast" means a radio tower uses strong cables called "guy lines" fastened to the top parts of the tower or to the base, sometimes both, then spread away from the structure and securely put into the ground. The guy wires keep the tower secure in a variety of weather and ground conditions.

Since some tower guy wires are conducive regarding radio signals, adding to and sometimes distorting signals, some metal elements in guy wires are coated to prevent that.

Various kinds of guy wires are used on boats, telephone poles, wind turbines, tents and even trees.

Answer: Submarines

This tower reaches quite high in the sky in order to reach very low in depth. It's used to reach submarines. It seems rather "hush-hush" doesn't it? Presumably officials in the US Navy know, but they have not told me!

Answer: Moscow, Russia

The Ostankino Tower in Moscow is used by a group called the Russian TV and Radio Broadcasting Network, which encompasses a number of stations, mainly for TV and also radio. It opened on the 50th anniversary of the "October Revolution", though the tower was incomplete at that time.

"Freestanding" means the tower does not have the 'guy wires' described in the added info on question one.

In 2025 it was the fourth tallest radio tower in the world.

Answer: Moscow, parts Vladimir/Kaluga, Russia

It is said that the Ostankino Tower stands so tall it can be seen by residents in many other smaller Russian cities, depending on weather conditions.

This tower, in the large city of Moscow, broadcasts farther than the city limits, although some information about exactly where and what it broadcasts can change due to both the weather and politics.

Answer: Blanchard, North Dakota, USA

The KVLY/TV mast tower mainly transmits TV signals that reach beyond its remote location in North Dakota to other northern states, and is often transmitted still farther by smaller radio towers.

In 2025 it was the third tallest radio tower in the world. It seems there was once some 'tallest' competition with another North Dakota TV mast tower, called KXJB-TV, in Galesburg, North Dakota. That tower fell a couple of times but was rebuilt, with a tall flagpole on top in order to be a few feet taller than KVLY/TV. The Galesburg tower still stands, but the flagpole was removed and it remains shorter. It's amusing because of the rather pointless aspirations seen here.

Answer: Fargo, North Dakota, NBC/CBS, USA

This tower's television transmissions continue over a considerably larger area of the US than North Dakota, per its operations through the Fargo NBC and CBS main offices. NBC and CBS are seen across almost the entire continental USA. (Sorry, but I can't say if these signals are also seen in southern parts of Canada.)

Fargo is the largest city by population in North Dakota, US, with 136,284 people counted in 2024. It's not a very large city, but achieved wider fame through the 1996 film (and subsequent TV series) set in and around the city.

Answer: Walnut Grove, California, USA

The KXTV/KOVR guyed mast radio tower, which is also called a communications tower, broadcasts several TV stations and some radio over the air. Its quasi-remote location is excellent for its purposes. It is also known as the Walnut Grove Tower. In 2025 it was the second tallest radio tower in the world.

Answer: Northern/Central Valley, California, USA

The KXTV/KOVR tower has omnidirectional antennas, besides considerable height, that provide communication stations for a very large populated area. The tower signals can reach over 19 California counties, and the fact that there are only 58 counties in the state, a state spreading across 163,696 square miles (423,979 kmē), shows that the tower reaches an impressive distance. It's also noted that California has approximately 40 million residents.

This tower can and does broadcast "over-the-air" (OTA) and "line-of-sight" (LOS) signals that spread out over 60 miles, initially from an area called Sacramento/Stockton/Modesto, which is much of the Central Valley, to parts of the San Francisco Bay Area and also to the Sierra Nevada foothills.

The tower is also called The Sacramento Joint Venture Tower.

For film lovers, the movie "Fall" was based on this radio tower.

Answer: Sumida, Tokyo, Japan

The Tokyo Skytree, Japan, is in a densely populated area, and was developed for radio and TV transmission.

It includes many fascinating seismic-safety features. Several "dampers" called oil dampers are like giant oil-filled pillows around its reinforced concrete base.

The tower also contains a 'turned mass damper' (a TMD, also called 'an added mass control mechanism').

This TMD, with the fine descriptive name 'harmonic damper', works by being out of step with the tower when the tower moves in an earthquake.
The TMD will move in the opposite direction than the tower would move during seismic activity, keeping the core of the tower balanced.

Personally, I picture an odd but graceful dance between the Skytree tower and the turned mass damper during an earthquake. I'd *almost* like to see that.

The seismic-safety measures absorb 50% of earthquake tremors.

(info from Wiki and tokyo-skytree.jp)

Answer: Kantō region/Tokyo, Japan

Since the Tokyo Skytree was completed in 2012, it has been surrounded by high-rise buildings, yet it still broadcasts TV and radio to the areas mentioned above. It's a very noteworthy communications center and interesting feat of construction, called "neo-futurism". Yes, visitors are made welcome in several areas. Hope to see you there!