Radio Kootwijk

The radio station Radio Kootwijk is located in the middle of the Central Veluwe Massif and was established by the then PTT in the 1920s. Nearby large residential centers are Barneveld (to the west) and Apeldoorn (to the east). Additionally, smaller places are in the immediate vicinity or, in straight line, close to the radio station.

At the time, the transmitter served a public interest, namely maintaining the radio connection with what was then Dutch East Indies. Later, the radio station was used for intercontinental telegraph and telephone traffic. The tallest masts were 212 meters high, and the low power of the transmitter did not pose, as far as could be determined at that time, any problem for the surrounding area. During the war, the six tall masts were destroyed; two of them were rebuilt after 1945 and were finally demolished in the early 1980s. A piece of horizon pollution had been removed. Everyone was glad about it.

What now remains of the masts at Radio Kootwijk is only a fraction of what once stood there. With the advent of satellite connections, the radio station became a declining matter. Nevertheless, the Royal PTT Netherlands (KPN) wants to preserve the site - with its specific telecommunications purpose - for possible future applications (nature area with the main function of "communication"). Contacts between KPN and Delta Radio 171 have led since 1996 to the announcement of a plan, which could secure this objective of KPN.

amulder