WSM antenna tower

WSM antenna tower, Nashville, TN. 650 kHz - 50 kW.

WSM's unusual diamond-shaped antenna was manufactured by Blaw-Knox and is one of the area's landmarks. When the 878 ft tower was built in 1932, it was the tallest antenna in North America. Its height was reduced to 808 ft in 1939 when it was discovered that the taller tower was causing self-cancellation in the "fringe" areas of reception of the station. It is now known that 195 electrical degrees, about 810 feet, is the optimum height for a Class A station on 650 kHz.

For a period during World War II this tower was designated to provide transmissions to submarines in the event that ship-to-shore communications were lost. It is now one of the oldest operating broadcast towers in the United States.