Successful trials with VHF (ultra-short wave) were carried out as early as 1925 in Jena in eastern Germany. VHF will therefore be exactly 100 years old in 2025.
At that time, it was quite complicated to receive these “new waves”. In 1933, the American Edwin H. Armstrong invented a new type of “superhet receiver” with which practically anyone could receive FM broadcasts very easily. This invention was the cornerstone for the later use of FM technology, which offered the public many more programs and radio stations new possibilities. Later, in the 1950s, after the transistor was invented, this receiver concept could easily be built into the new, portable “transistor radios” (popularly known as “transistors” at the time), which reduced prices and made FM technology increasingly popular.
In Europe, the first VHF transmitter in Europe (90.1 MHz) was not put into operation until after the Second World War – on February 28, 1949 by Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) in Munich.
The first stereo test broadcasts were broadcast in Germany as early as 1958.
After the war, a large number of frequencies were needed in Germany for the many new radio stations because radio was no longer centralized, but distributed among the federal states. These many frequencies did not exist with medium wave, but FM offered these possibilities. FM was therefore very important for the new media order in Germany after the war.
VHF was also introduced in Switzerland in 1956. This made it possible to broadcast a second radio station (DRS 2) per language region for the first time, as there was only room for one station on medium wave.
For a very long time, however, the population in Switzerland did not use the FM transmitter chains, despite the much clearer sound, and remained on the “good old medium wave Beromünster” 531 kHz (or Sottens in French-speaking Switzerland, or Monte Centeri in Ticino).
For this reason, SRG ran a switchover campaign “UKFee bringt UKW” with the then still young actress Birgit Steinegger, now known as “Frau Iseli”, among others.
On November 1, 1983, the first seven private “local radio stations” (Radio 24, Radio Z, Radio Sunshine*, Basilisk, extraBern, Zürisee, Raurach) and the third SRG station DRS3 were launched in Switzerland. Many other radios followed later. FM had finally become the standard in Switzerland.
*The founder of Sumatronic AG was also the main initiator of Radio Sunshine, find out more here more.
In the course of time, FM was continuously improved and expanded (RDS with station display, traffic information and automatic station change…). But FM reached its limits more and more. Only with DAB+ is a technology available that offers the public more choice, consistently high quality, lower costs for radio stations and less energy consumption for the environment.
With the planned final FM switch-off in Switzerland at the end of 2027, it will therefore be 70 years since the first FM stations were switched on in this country.
Background: Because FM uses so-called frequency modulation (FM) and medium wave uses so-called amplitude modulation (AM), many countries refer to FM frequencies as “FM” and medium wave as “AM”, although these modulation types are also used for other frequencies.