"Carter, K8VT" wrote:

Interesting response Jeff and reminds me of a few stories...

Jeff, WB8NHV wrote:

I'm not in the business of
commercial broadcasting,

Well, I'm currently not in broadcasting, but that's how I started my
engineering career. I worked at WTPS (1560 kHz, 1 kW daytimer) in
Portage, MI, WKMI-AM/WSEO-FM in Kalamazoo, WLIN-FM, Detroit and was
Chief Engineer at WQRS and WGPR, both small FMers in Detroit; however,
the most fun I had was working at WJBK-TV, Channel 2 in Detroit, the CBS
outlet back then. Did lots of neat stuff like studio camera, board audio
and filmsound man on a newsreel crew (back when it was actually 16mm
film, not tape). Lots of stories and lots of adventures, like going
through the '67 Detroit riots on a news crew from 6 in the evening until
9 or 10 the next morning for every night of the riot (and seeing more
dead bodies than a 22 year old should ever have to), meeting Earl Ruby,
brother of Jack Ruby (yeah, *that* Jack Ruby) and even getting to zip up
the dress (not as bad as it sounds) of Marilyn Turner , the weather lady
of the day. However, the reason I'm writing this is because of your
statement below and WLW comments:

...and since I
understand a lot about the technical end of commercial broadcasting,
it interests me immensely as well

...you need look no further than Cincinnati's WLW on 700 kHz. This
station
began in the 1930s or so, IIRC, as a 500kW powerhouse that even lit up
light bulbs in farmhouses near its towers when it was on the air--even
if the bulbs were not in sockets or were installed in lamps that were
not turned on or plugged in!

WJBK-TV was owned by old man Storer and his Storer Broadcasting. He also
had an AM and FM outlet in Detroit. Well, he got it in his head that he
wanted to compete with WJR and boost the power of his AM station (1500
kHz)to 50 kW. However, to avoid co-channel interference, he had to go
directional---boy, did he have to go directional! It took a twelve
(12!!!) tower array, the first in the country at the time and maybe it
was the only one in the country to this day. A map of the pattern was a
sight to behold. It looked like a banana, about 15 degrees wide,
pointing to the northeast, right at Hudson Bay in Canada. (and we did
have a *powerful* signal into Hudson Bay and yet we were virtually
un-listenable a little past Toledo). It was *extremely* directional, as
you would expect with 12 towers.

BTW, the transmitter was an RCA "Ampliphase", two 25 kW transmitters
phased together to emulate a 50 kW plate modulated rig and thus save the
expense (and electric bill) of needing a 25 kW plate modulator. Even
though it did (barely?) meet FCC Proof-of-Performance, the radio guys
laughingly referred to it as "Ampli-Fuzz".

The transmitter and antenna farm were in Lincoln Park in a residential
neighborhood. If you lived in roughly the 345 degree null of the
pattern, you were OK, but if your house was in the main lobe, heaven
help you!

First, as you mentioned, there were numerous cases of switched off
incandescent house lighting flashing in time with the modulation. Next,
there was the problem of TV set "rabbit ears" antennas, quite common in
those pre-cable days. The home owners would get RF burns every time they
tried to adjust their antenna. A similar complaint was offered by the
telephone company. Every time their craftsmen worked on the aerial
distribution plant or the aerial drop, they would get an RF poke.

The most unusual trouble I heard about was that there was signal
rectification (due to dis-similar metals) in the forced air heating
ducts and that the homeowner could actually hear the station through the
ducts!

With 12 towers, it was a real nightmare to maintain the pattern. The
radio engineers hated to see it rain because they then had to spin the
antenna phasor controls like the wheels on a slot machine to keep the
antenna base current readings in limits. BTW, that 50 kW antenna phasor
was quite an impressive piece of equipment.

The other problem they had was that any large metallic structures nearby
would put holes or bumps in the pattern. If you drive around Lincoln
Park to this very day and look at the Edison high voltage transmission
towers to the northeast of the transmitter, you will notice that each
tower has a 25 or 30 foot wire mounted alongside a tower leg on
stand-off insulators and terminating in a metal box with a variable
capacitor inside. This was so the engineers could adjust out any bumps
or holes in the pattern caused by the high tension tower.

It cost them millions to install this station and to maintain the
pattern. It was said (only semi-jokingly) that it would have been way
cheaper for Storer to buy WJR and be done with it!

So, not quite the 500 kW of WLW, but an interesting piece of radio
history none the less...

73,
Carter K8VT


At one time I was offered several of the 16 mm newsreel cameras and
16 mm color film processing equipment from a TV news department in
California, but the cost of shipping it across the country was just too
high. I wonder how many of those cameras and 16 mm color film processing
systems still exist?

--
?

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

I want to buy me a new or older (I have never owned a camcorder
before,but every once in a while,I see them big old camcorders at the
Goodwill store dirt cheap) camcorder that works ok with one of them
X-Ray lenses that www.advanced-intelligence.com sells.
cuhulin

In "Michael A. Terrell" writes:

At one time I was offered several of the 16 mm newsreel cameras and
16 mm color film processing equipment from a TV news department in
California, but the cost of shipping it across the country was just too
high. I wonder how many of those cameras and 16 mm color film processing
systems still exist?

I don't know anything about the newsreel systems, but 16mm itself is
alive and well. Modern stocks can look pretty damn good. "Sex and the
City" was shot on super 16.

--
Tim Mullen
------------------------------------------------------------------
Am I in your basement? Looking for antique televisions, fans, etc.
------ finger this account or call anytime: (212)-463-0552 -------

Movie camera and film,set up properly in front of a Radio tv set,,, and
they would never know you are stealing their movies.I have a device here
that can convert filmed movies directly to DVD movies,high quality too.
cuhulin