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Old June 6th 05, 11:42 PM
Mike Terry
 
Posts: n/a
Default 70th anniversary of FM

via the dxld yahoo group...

From Bill Leal VE3ES & the ARRL letter....


SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE BROADCAST TO MARK DEBUT OF FM

Broadcasting history buffs mark your calendars! A special
commemorative FM broadcast Saturday, June 11, at noon EDT will mark
the 70th anniversary of Maj Edwin H. Armstrong's first public
demonstration of wide band frequency modulation (FM).

The broadcast will emanate from Armstrong's 400-foot-tall experimental
tower in Alpine, New Jersey, (http://www.cscmgt.com/images/alpine.htm)
http://www.cscmgt.com/images/alpine.htm%29
overlooking the Hudson River. An area landmark that also served
several New York City broadcasters in the wake of the September 11,
2001, terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center, the
gigantic structure now is owned by CSC Management Inc, headed by
Charles Sackerman Jr. He and Steve Hemphill, WA3ZAE, owner of Solid
Electronics Laboratories--a Pennsylvania broadcast equipment
manufacturer--have secured a Special Temporary Authority (STA) from
the FCC to conduct the FM broadcast on Armstrong's original frequency
of 42.8 MHz at a power of 250 W ERP. They'll use the experimental/STA
call sign WA2XMN, reminiscent of Armstrong's W2XMN call sign.

The program itself will consist of David Ossman's dramatic production
of "Empire of the Air," based on the book by Tom Lewis. They also
plan to air excerpts from a 1941 test broadcast between member
stations of the original New England Yankee Network, featuring actual
voice recordings of Armstrong, Yankee Network Chief Engineer Paul
deMars and others. They'll also rebroadcast the final sign off of
Armstrong's pioneer FM station W2XMN/KE2XCC. The station went silent
February 25, 1954, following Armstrong's death by suicide.

For those lacking an FM radio that can tune to 42.8 MHz, the broadcast
will be simulcast via WFDU(FM) 89.1 MHz, which also will provide a
streaming web cast http://alpha.fdu.edu/wfdu/wfdufm/index2.html.
The entire program will be rebroadcast on the Web at 7 PM EDT on June
14 and 16. A recording of the complete broadcast will be available
for download at http://www.cscmgt.com. Additional information
about the commemorative broadcast and the Alpine tower site is
available on the CSC Management Web site
http://www.cscmgt.com/index.html.

ARRL Letter