The mast's location, which was finalised to be in Gąbin, was chosen because of its high
soil conductivity and the need for a position in the centre of
Poland. A large amount of research was used to decide where to build the mast, which included factors such as soil resistance, ownership of property, and the quality of infrastructure (especially roads). The mast was initially constructed to replace the
Raszyn radio transmitter, which had been constructed in 1931 and rebuilt in 1949. The Raszyn transmitter was designed to cover the
Eastern Borderlands, and so Polish authorities did not consider reception in the
Recovered Territories. When it became evident that Raszyn could not provide coverage to the entire country, the station received an increase of power to 500 kW, but this too failed. In the late 1960s it was decided to construct a new central transmitter at the geographical centre of Poland (post-WWII borders). Gąbin was chosen not only due to its central position, but also its high
soil conductivity. During storms, when the mast could not operate, the signal would be temporarily switched to Raszyn, a process that was eased thanks to direct phone lines from RCN Konstantynów to both Raszyn and the energy sector. An elevator and separate protected ladders were installed in the interior of the mast to facilitate access to the various mast components, including the
aircraft warning lamps. The elevator was designed by , a Swedish company, and took 45 minutes to reach the top. The lift was nicknamed "Alimak", as a nod to the company that designed it. Safety was a priority, so "Alimak" was provided with an emergency stop function, but no incidents occurred that might have required it. A maximum of 3 people could ride up the elevator, although sources claim 3 people would have felt crowded. The elevator was powered by an
internal combustion engine. An area for maintenance supplies was present, in order to transport materials such as
lightbulbs for the
aircraft warning lights. Inspection crews travelled up it once per month to replace light bulbs, and to watch for cracks in the steel. If a crack was found, the transmitters were turned off and the Raszyn radio mast took over the broadcast. Any cracks were then fixed by welders from Mostostal Zabrze by patching them with sheet metal. In the lower half of the mast, there was a vertical steel tube, attached to the mast's outer structure with large
insulators. This tube was grounded at the bottom, and connected electrically to the mast structure by an adjustable metal bar at a height of when the tower transmitted on 227
kHz longwave and at a height of when it
switched to 225
kHz on 1 February 1988. A long special
overhead radio frequency transmission line of 120
ohms was used to transfer the signal from the transmitter building to the mast. Featuring an
asymmetrical coaxial power supply, it consisted of the inner "hot" core of 24 copper wires connected to a small ring at each post, and each was connected by three insulated cables to the outer ring. The outer ring served as the support of another set of 24 wires, known as the "outer braid." The transmission line was monitored whenever the mast was in operation; at night the line was illuminated with street lights, to prevent trespassers from electrocuting themselves. The transmitter building had a volume of and was approximately from the mast. The transmitter consisted of two 1,000 kW units built by
Brown, Boveri & Cie. An
atomic clock was used to generate the transmission frequency in order to provide a very accurate, stable signal source which could be used as a frequency standard by anyone within signal range. The transmitters had the ability for each component to be turned on manually or all be started with one button. The transmitters were capable of receiving remote input, but the devices needed to use this were not implemented in Konstanynów. When high-voltage power was switched on, the transmitter was protected by two locked doors and crews were informed by way of illuminating a red lightbulb. This lightbulb was controlled by a
photodiode that would additionally flash the lightbulb if a short-circuit in the transmitter was detected. The station, which had an area of , also had a lattice tower of rectangular cross-section close to the transmitter building. This tower was used to provide a
radio link for programme feeds from the studio, which ran from the
Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw via a radio relay tower at
Wiejca. To supply power to the station, a 110 kV
substation was built. The substation was
over-engineered due to the strategic importance of the station as Poland's central transmitter: although the power consumption of the transmitting station was large at an estimated 6,000 kW, the substation was capable of supplying much more. Six small towers were erected around the periphery of the station's grounds in order to support
aircraft warning lamps where the guy ropes were located. ==Problems==