Grimeton Radio Station, Varberg

Grimeton Radio Station near Varberg is a preserved early 20th-century longwave radio transmitting station in Halland County, Sweden, featuring original rotary alternator equipment. It is one of the few intact sites worldwide with its original Alexanderson alternator still available for demonstration.

On site visitors can view the large transmitter hall and the layout of the antenna field that supported transatlantic and maritime communications in the 1920s and 1930s. The station is notable for its intact mechanical and electrical equipment dating from the interwar period and for periodic ceremonial broadcasts using the historic alternator.

Construction and installation took place in the early 1920s to provide longwave services; the station remained an important link in international wireless networks until newer technologies replaced longwave rotary transmitters. The site has been conserved to preserve early radio engineering and demonstration capability.

The station sits near the coast at Varberg in southwest Sweden, roughly 90 kilometres south of Gothenburg. The flat coastal landscape and open fields accommodate the large antenna field that defines the site.

• Operational demonstrations: Occasional ceremonial transmissions are made using the original Alexanderson alternator on very low frequency longwave, attracting radio enthusiasts.
• Technical focus: Site tours explain early radio technology and the role of longwave transmission in transatlantic communication before widespread vacuum-tube transmitters.

What to See #

• Transmitter building and alternator: A transmitter hall that still houses an original early 20th-century Alexanderson alternator and associated control equipment used for very low frequency longwave transmission.
• Antenna field: An extensive antenna field composed of masts and wiring laid out to support longwave broadcasts; the field is visible across the site and is integral to the original transmission system.