WLW 500 KW Transmitter - The Nation’s Station (Brian Belanger)

Radio & Television Museum News December 2006 Page 1

Vol. 12, No. 5 www.radiohistory.org December 2006

Introduction

Cincinnatis radio station WLW deserves high billing inanyones list of noteworthy U.S. radio stations. For a timein the 1930s it operated at a power level of half a millionwatts the most powerful AM radio broadcast station ever licensed by the federal government. Even without itsgargantuan transmitter, WLW would be a pioneer stationworthy of note, but its record-setting power level tends toovershadow all of its other achievements.

Powel Crosley, Jr. Creates WLW

Cincinnati businessman Powel Crosley, Jr. is best knownas a radio manufacturer. His station WLW and his manu-facturing business are closely intertwined. The WLW

story begins when Crosley first became interested inradio.

During the World WarI era Crosleys Ameri-c a n Au t o mo b i l eAccessories Companymade a variety ofsmall products andsold them mail-order.A best seller was aradiator cap flag-holder. His acces-sories business earnedhim a comfortableliving. He also owneda small printing com-pany and a wood-working shop.

In 1921 Crosleysnine-year old son,Powel III, begged tohave a radio, the new-est fad at the time. Hisdad was shocked tolearn that most fac-tory-built radios soldfor $100 or more(>$1000 in todaysdollars). Dad and sondecided instead tobuild a crystal set

Radio & Television

Museum

NewsThe Radio & Television Museum

2608 Mitchellville RoadBowie, MD 20716

(301) 390-1020

WLW: The Nations Stationby Brian Belanger

[This article is part of an ongoing series about early well-known radio stations.]

A Special Event for RHS Members

Reception for the New ExhibitRadio Enters the Home

at theLibrary of American Broadcasting

Monday, December 18

See page 10 for details. 1930s WLW promotionalbooklet cover


using plans from a then-popular radio book The ABCs of Radio.

When they connected the earphones to theirhome-made set and heard music coming throughthe air, the wow experience got PowelCrosley, Jr. hooked on radio. Before long heupgraded to a $200 factory-built radio ($2,070 in2006 dollars), still aghast at how much radioscost. In spite of those prices, radios were sellingwell. As an experienced manufacturer, Crosleyprobably thought, Ill bet I could make radios,sell them for less than that, and still make ahealthy profit! He resolved to pursue that lineof business, soon buying out a small Cincinnatiradio manufacturer, Precision Equipment, whichsold radios under the Ace trade name.Crosleys business plan was to go after the low-end radio market. He thought he might do forradio what Henry Ford had done for theautomobile.

Crosleys business strategy proved successful.By 1924 The Crosley Radio Corp. was booming.Crosley hired a young engineer named DormanIsrael (later Emerson Radio & Phonographschief technical designer), who proved innovativeat designing radios that could be manufactured atlow cost. Crosleys Harko crystal set, introduced in 1921,priced at around $10, and the one-tube Harko Senior,priced at $16 (less tube), sold as fast as the factory couldturn them out. These simple radios were crudely made,but they worked. Soon Crosley was also offering moreexpensive sets in fancy console cabinets such as theModel XX for $100, intended for well-to-do families.

Meanwhile, Crosley applied for and received an experi-mental transmitter license later in 1921. His own laterwritings recalled that its call sign was 8CR, but scholarswho have searched Department of Commerce records say

it was 8XY and later 8XAA. Perhaps he had requested8CR, for Crosley Radio, but that call might have alreadybeen in use. It is also possible that he used the 8CR calleven though it had not been assigned to him. Early in the1920s regulation of radio was lax compared to today andviolators were rarely prosecuted. Besides, no one outsideCincinnati would likely have heard the low power station.

Crosleys earliest broadcasts with a 20-watt transmitter inhis home were music from phonograph records. When hepurchased Precision Equipment, their even smaller station,WMH, came along with it. WMHs equipment wassurprisingly crude, even for that era. It was a cobbledtogether 10-watt transmitter with an antenna consisting ofa short vertical steel rod resting in an empty wine bottleserving as the tower base insulator. The only advantage ofacquiring WMH was getting its time allocation. Thatmeant Crosleys station could be on the air more nightsper week during a period when most broadcasting stations

The Radio & Television Museum:A cooperative venture between the City of

Bowie and the Radio History Society

Powel Crosley, Jr. began broadcasting in 1921 froman experimental station in his home. Here he isholding a microphone in front of the phonograph.

By 1922 Crosleys station had obtained the call letters WLWand had the 500-watt transmitter shown here. The hornspeaker on the desk appears to be a Western Electric model.The radio receiver on the desk was probably used to monitordistress calls from ships. In the early 1920s stations wererequired to listen for SOS calls and to cease broadcasting ifand when such an emergency arose.


shared the same 360-meter wavelength (833 kHz), andtime sharing was common.

But soon, since major radio manufacturers, like GeneralElectric, Westinghouse, and Grebe were operating well-received radio broadcasting stations, Powel Crosley, Jr.felt a need to do likewise and upgrade his small amateurstation to something more professional. By March 1922he had obtained a license for a larger station that wasassigned the call letters WLW. When WLW came on theair, there were about 60 to 70 other entertainment stationsaround the nation.

In the 1920s receiving a radio program from a distant citywas such a thrill that people would stay up late to pull infar away stations. As Dick Perry says in his WLWhistory (p. 21), Back in the early days of radio, part ofthe fun was seeing how many stations you could hear. Ifthe man next door got Kansas City last night and youdidnt, chances are you went around brooding for severaldays. When WLW began its broadcasts, letters fromexcited listeners poured in from states such as Colorado,Maine, and Connecticut. In January 1923 the stationoffered a free box of candy to the first person from eachstate to send a telegram documenting reception. Entrieswere received from 42 states, three Canadian provinces,and the District of Columbia. And that was with atransmitter output of only a couple hundred watts.

Crosley understood marketing. He published a freenewsletter called the Crosley Radio Weekly (laterrenamed Crosley Radio Broadcaster and still later, theCrosley Broadcaster). In 1923 there were 25,000subscribers. WLWs 10,000-member fan club was calledThe Lightning Bugs. The station sponsored specialnights, such as Hoosier Night when messages weredirected at Indiana residents, and Radio Party Nightwhen listeners were supposed to invite friends over todance to radio music. In 1924 WLW began calling itselfThe Station with a Soul.

Early 1920s daytime programs were produced byWLWs staff, but evening talent tended to be anyonewho strayed into the studio. There were plenty of willingvolunteers who played musical instruments or sang andwere delighted to have the opportunity to be on the radio.Initially, no one thought of asking for reimbursement forperforming. There were no paid commercials until 1926,so there was no revenue to pay for talent. The Crosleyname was mentioned frequently of course, so that couldbe considered commercials.

Among the more difficult to envision WLW programswas eight weeks of swimming lessons by YMCAinstructor Stanley Brauninger. WLW was not the firststation to air drama, but it was an early adopter. WLWs

term for short dramatic excerpts was radarios.

Crosley recognized that transmitter power equated tostation prestige during this era, and he upgraded histransmitters each time the state of the art advanced. WLWquickly progressed from 200 watts (in August 1922) to500 watts, to 1000 watts (in early 1924), and then inJanuary 1925 to 5,000 watts. At that time elegant newstudios were constructed in the Crosley factory building.

In 1925 WLW ordered a 50-kW type 7-A transmitter fromWestern Electricthe maximum power permitted at the time (and even today, the highest power level for AMstations). The new transmitter went on the air in October1928 (on a frequency of 700 kHz), and may have been thefirst to use 50,000 watts regularly. Later that year onlyfour other stations were operating at the 50 kW level(WEAF, New York City; WGY, Schenectady; WBAP,Fort Worth; and KDKA, Pittsburgh). WLWs signals wereso strong in the Eastern United States that Newark stationWOR on 710 kHz complained about co-channelinterference.

(WLW was not the only Crosley-owned station. In 1927Crosley purchased another Cincinnati station, WSAI. Thislow-power local station was sold to the Marshall FieldCompany in 1944.)

WLWs huge antenna tower erected when the stationwent to 500,000 watts.


Super Power for WLW

Never satisfied with the status quo, Powel Crosley, Jr.approached RCAs engineers in 1932 to inquire aboutwhether a 500,000-watt transmitter might be feasible.RCA was willing to consider it, and called upon engineersat Westinghouse and GE to help design this monstertransmitter.

It did not take long for RCAs team to conclude that theycould do it, and Crosley lost no time in signing a contractwith RCA for a cost of approximately $400,000. Ofcourse the station would need the federal governmentspermission for such a daring experiment. I suspect thatFederal Radio Commission officials might have beenhesitant about authorizing this high power experimentalstation, but there are suggestions that Crosley was wellconnected politically, and that probably helped grease theskids. Permission to begin construction came in June1932.

At the transmitter site near Mason, Ohio, the companyerected an 831-foot Blaw-Knox double-diamond-shapedantenna tower that cost $46,000 (more than half a milliondollars today). It flared out in the middle to a distance of35 feet, both for structural reasons and because the radiofrequency currents were predicted to be highest at thatpoint. The tower rested on a massive insulator that had towithstand the weight of the tower and guys. (One sourcesays 200 tons, another says 450. In either case, a lot of

weight.) The transmitter fed 72 amperesof RF current to the antenna through arigid ten-inch diameter (!) coaxial feedline, complete with expansion joints,mounted on concrete pilings. Later, fortechnical reasons having to do with thecoverage footprint, the tower wasshortened to just over 700 feet.

Lightning struck the high towerfrequently, passing to ground through agap near the towers base. Thetransmitters power was sufficientlyhigh that whenever lightning caused thegap to flash over, the resulting arcwould not extinguish on its own. Thetransmitter had to be turned offmomentarily until the flashoverstopped, and then turned back on again.A photocell was mounted near thelightning gap so that it would detect asustained arc and automatically switchoff the transmitter to clear the fault.Listeners would be aware only of amomentary lapse in transmission.

The tower was robust. In 1935 a smallairplane crashed into it at the 600-foot level, killing thepilot and causing great damage to the plane, but almost nodamage to the tower.

Providing electric power to run the transmitter requiredconstruction of a special utility substation at the site. Forredundancy, Cincinnati Gas and Electric ran two 33-kVtransmission lines to the site from opposite directions,each of which could power the station should the other beout of service.

The stations existing 50-kW Western Electric transmitterwas used as the exciter to drive the new transmitter. Thefinal amplifier consisted of three modules, each employingfour RCA type 862 tubes (100-kW rating) connected inpush-pull parallel. Later the 862 tubes were replaced bythe more modern type 898A tubes.

The modules could be operated separately for reducedpower output, or all turned on when the full 500 kW wasdesired. The modulator unit also employed 862 tubes. Thetwo PCB-filled 12-foot tall modulation transformersweighed 50 tons each. This was no ordinary radio station!

Since the transmitters water-cooled final output tubesoperated at high voltages, non-conducting Pyrex glasstubing was used to carry the distilled cooling water thatkept them from melting. Each tube required 30 gallons perminute. The distilled water circulated through a massiveheat exchanger in which the heat was transferred to a

Studio A, WLWs largest, on the top floor of Crosleys main factorybuilding. This air conditioned studio could accommodate an orchestraas well as a sizeable audience. For a time jazz great Fats Wallerplayed the organ at the left.


separate circulating tap water loop that dumped the hotwater into an outdoor cooling pond near the transmitterbuilding, where fountain sprays cooled it before it waspumped back into the building at the rate of 1500 gallonsper minute.

There was a lengthy period of testing and de-buggingbefore regular broadcasting began (during the middle ofthe night). The experimental call sign W8XO was usedduring these tests and later experiments, as noted below.

On May 2, 1934, around 9 p.m., President Roosevelt in theWhite House pressed a key the same gold key thatWoodrow Wilson had used to open the Panama Canal and via telephone links, officially switched on the platevoltage of the transmitter. In a message to the station, thePresident said I feel certain that WLW will give thepeople of our country and those of our neighboring nationsa service managed and conducted for the greater good ofus all.

After a huge banquet for 200, the festivities continued intothe wee hours.

Congratulatory telegrams were received from luminariessuch as Albert Einstein, William S. Paley of CBS, VicePresident John Nance Garner, and even from GuglielmoMarconi. The Vice Chairman of the Federal Radio Com-mission, Thad Brown, was present for the ceremonies.

The engineer at the operating console is dwarfed by the half-million watt transmitter final output modules,which occupy the entire far wall of the building (54 feet wide). It must have been hot in the room given allthose large glowing tubes visible behind the glass panels.

Powel Crosley, Jr. in front of one of the 19-ton oil-filled modulation transformers for the 500,000transmitter. In his right hand is a tiny modulationtransformer used in one of his earliest transmitters.


By the time the big transmitterwas inaugurated, WLW had aclear channel. No otherstations occupied its 700 kHzslot. Reports of strong receptionbegan to pour in from all overthe United States and someforeign countries. To some, thestations call letters suggested W h a t t a L o t t a W a t t s . Unfortunately, complaints fromstations that claimed WLWinterfered with their coveragealso began to arrive. The mostinsistent were from station WORin Newark (710 kHz) that hadcomplained even when WLWwas at the 50,000-watt level, andToronto station CFRB (690 kHz, 10-kilowatts). WLW cutits nighttime power level back to 50,000 watts while itsearched for a better long-term solution. By building twoadditional towers and feeding them signals of the rightphase, WLW was able to control its signal pattern so as toreduce interference with those two stations. WLWs wasone of the first phased array AM directional antennas to beused by a broadcasting station. (Actually, as Stingerexplains, by controlling both the vertical and horizontalradiation pattern, the antenna system was designed toreduce the signal in a given geographical area rather thanjust in one compass direction.) Still, one could pick upWLW coming in strong almost anywhere in the easternhalf of the country. With the new tower system in place tominimize interference, WLW resumed 500,000-wattoperation in May 1935.

Constructing the supplementary antenna towers was tricky,because the induced radio frequency currents in the metaltower sections from the main tower nearby were sufficientto be a hazard to workers. Each tower section had to havea ground strap attached to it as it was lifted into place.

In 1938 WLW adopted the motto The Nations Stationto call attention to its extensive coverage area.

Super Power Ends

The 500-kW transmitter was in service until February1939. It operated now and then after that date, andespecially early in World War II when as W8XO it wasoccasionally fired up late at night, after WLWs regularbroadcasting hours ended, to transmit special codedmessages long distances for the Office of WarInformation. Dick Perrys book says the transmitter wassometimes cranked up to about 700,000 watts. Stingersarticle says peak power could reach 2 million watts. Perryalso says that at one point the military considered shippingthe transmitter overseas. Parts were crated, but never

shipped.

During WW II the government was concerned aboutsabotage at major radio stations. Fences were erected anda guard tower overlooking the site was staffed with armedguards.

There are numerous stories about how the incredibly highpower caused bizarre effects near the station. A fluor-escent tube held in the hand even at considerable distancefrom the transmitter site would light up without wires, justfrom the strong electric field in the air, so nearby residentswith fluorescent lighting could leave the switches off andsave on their electric bills, but might have troublesleeping at night. People who lived near the transmitterreported hearing WLW programs coming out of theirrefrigerators, milking machines, and furnaces. Initiallydismissed as exaggeration, such stories are actually quitecredible, because in the presence of such an abnormallyhigh radio-frequency field strength (said to be at least 6volts per meter a mile from the tower), even a short lengthof wire connected to anything that might act as arectifying junction constitutes an antenna and a crystalradio. Such effects could be minimized by groundingmetal objects properly and no doubt station engineerswere called out frequently by nearby residentscomplaining about hearing WLW when they did not wantto. Some farms actually had to be rewired to minimizeproblems.

There were people who strayed near the station and heardWLW in their heads. Fillings in ones teeth can also actlike a crystal detector, and the bones of the skull and jawcan vibrate at audio frequencies, allowing one to hear AMsignals. A long wire fence near the site could pick upsubstantial induced voltages and provide unexpectedshocks. A technician at one of CG&Es nearby powerplants said that when the 500-kW transmitter was on theair and a radio was turned on, he could see the system-

WLWs transmitter site. Water from the transmitter heat exchanger waspumped to this outdoor pond. Fountain sprays cooled it before it was pumpedback into the building.


voltage meter needle dancing slightly in sync with thestations program.

Crosley also built a high-power shortwave station,WLWO, which the government made good use of early inWorld War II. When the Voice of America, which wascreated early in the war, wanted to have stations of itsown, it turned to Crosleys engineers, who knew how tooperate such stations. The Voice of Americas hugeshortwave complex at Bethany, Ohio was operated byCrosley people until the VOA developed sufficient in-house expertise.

WLWs Programs

WLW joined the NBC Blue Network in September 1927.Over the years WLW had sufficient clout to be able to getprogram material from both the NBC Red and Bluenetworks as well as from Mutual. It originated a fewnetwork programs, for example, The Crosley Hour. Thefamous soap opera, Ma Perkins, was a WLW creation.Another network program that originated at WLW wasRed Sketons Avalon Hour,

WLWs late-night program, Moon River, attractedloyal listeners by the millions. The Clooney family Rosemary, Betty, and Nick, appeared on WLW regularly.Sports-casters Red Barber and Al Helfer were on WLWbefore becoming nationally known.

WLWs huge studio A contained an extensively usedpipe organ that jazz great Fats Waller played for a time.Every chance he got Waller switched to jazz, but PowelCrosley, Jr. hated jazz and eventually kicked him out.

In 1945 Crosley decided to abandon radio and concentrateon automobiles and other non-radio products. (Anyonedriving an antique Crosley auto today?) He sold his radioholdings to Avco, but Avco never made the success of the

business that Crosley did. The replica Crosley radiosone can buy today that are made in China have norelationship to the original Crosley firm.

WLW in the Modern Era

In the 1950s WLW upgraded its AM transmitter forhigher fidelity. Like most major stations, WLW also gotinto television rather early, and also FM. Its televisionstation W8XCT came on the air in 1946, and in 1948became WLWT. It was said to be the first TV station toformally become an NBC-TV affiliate. However, therewere no coax cable or microwave links at the time, sokinescopes (essentially filmed recordings of programs)had be used to air network programs.

Our museum library has a wonderful promotionalvideotape about WLW, stressing to potential advertisersthe large audiences for WLWs radio and TV trans-missions. Presumably the station did well financially.

Today WLW has a modern 50,000-watt solid-statetransmitter (Harris DX-50), but the old Western Electric7-A built in 1927 is still there as a backup. On NewYears Eve 1999, the engineer on duty, cognizant of Y2Kconcerns that might affect computer controls on the new

WLWs audio control panel (1930s).

Powel Crosley, Jr. in front of one of the transmittermodules, holding an 862 tube.


Current Museum Hours:Fridays 10 to 5

Saturdays and Sundays 1 to 5Other times by appointment

transmitter, fired up the old Western Electric and broughtWLW into the 21st century using a 70-year-old vacuumtube transmitter. Warms the cockles of our radio historianhearts, doesnt it?

Today 50,000-watt WLW is a successful AM station,featuring news, weather, sports, talk, and country music,and it is still at 700 on the AM dial. Much of the half-million watt transmitter is still there. It deserves to bepreserved as an industrial heritage site.

Bibliography:

Crosley Radio Corp., A Trip Through WLW.Promotional booklet, 1935; reprinted 2000.

Douglas, Alan, Radio Manufacturers of the 1920s, Vol. 1.Vestal, NY: The Vestal Press, 1988.

Haehnle, Clyde and Ed Dooley. The WLW 500 kWTransmitter. The Antique Radio Gazette, Part 1 (Fall1991): 40-43; Part 2 (Winter 1991): 8-12.

Matzen, Ted. More on WLW. Antique Radio Classified(June 1993): 13.

Price, John. The Nations Station. (A photocopy of thisarticle was given to me years ago without provenance.)

Perry, Dick. Not Just a Sound: The Story of WLW.Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1971.

Schecter, Dorothy. WLWThe Nations Station. AntiqueRadio Classified (November 1992): 4-6.

Schwesinger, W. L. Brief History of Super-Power StationWLW. Old Timers Bulletin (September 1983): 6-8.

Stinger, Charles. The Eminent Years of Powel Crosley,Jr., His Transmitters, Receivers, Products, and BroadcastStation WLW, 1921-1940. AWA Review Vol. 16, (2003):7-95.

Web Pages:

http://hawkins.pair.com/wlw.shtmlhttp://members.aol.com/jeff1070/wlw.htmlwww.wlw.com.

Dwight Heasty Departs for Richmond

The Radio & Television Museum has no morededicated volunteer than Dwight Heasty, whoannounced recently that he and his wife Gwen willbe leaving the area to move to Richmond, Va.

Dwight is a radio interference and electromagneticcompatibility expert, who enjoyed a long careerwith RCA, and later, a smaller consulting company.Upon his retirement a peer described him as theNavys foremost expert on radiation protection.

Dwight has worked tirelessly to make the museum asuccess. Early on, he realized that we neededinteractive exhibits, especially ones for kids. Hecreated, for example, the Wimshurst machine, theJacobs Ladder, the human battery demonstrator, thecrystal radio and Atwater Kent Model 20C display.He made the Plexiglass boxes to enclose theMarconi induction coil unit, the Audion tube, andthe donation box; he constructed the magnificentstained glass Nipper dog window, the stand to holdthe visitor book, the authentic tables in the firstroom, and even small items such as the aluminumsheet and the coconut shells for the sound effectsdisplay. If complex electronics needed to bedesigned from scratch, Dwight did it. The museumsscanning disc television demonstrator took dozens ifnot hundreds of hours to design and build. Dwightalmost never needed to be askedhe just saw aneed and took the initiative.

Dwight served as our volunteer coordinator for mostof the life of the museum scheduling docents andscrambling to reschedule people when there wereconflicts, filling in himself if no one else wasavailable. Dwight arranged special tours, of whichthere were many, and most of the time, Dwight wasone of the docents doing the special tours.

Dwight has donated dozens of valuable items to themuseum, ranging from rare early RCA receivers tothe Hallicrafters 7-inch and the Philco Safari TVsets, and even the big Nipper dog. He has restoredsets to operating condition, e.g., the Belmont 7-inchTV set that we demonstrate frequently.

On November 18 the Board of Directors held afarewell dinner for Dwight. He has been designatedan honorary life member of the Radio HistorySociety. A plaque reminding people of hisremarkable contributions will hang in the museum.

Dwight, we can never thank you enough!


Anthony AbierraWashington, D.C.Westinghouse WR-366 console

Evrith AndrewsPotomac, Md.Radio books, parts, ham gear,

much more

Michael BeaghenAlexandria, Va.Radio Engineers Handbook

Victoria BergmannEdgewater, Md.TV parts

Jay BlassBowie, Md.RCA Model C-9-4 console

Frank BoydCrofton, Md.Tubes

Barry CheslockArlington, Va.Book about the history of WSB

Ronald DelfendahlLanham, Md.Philco 48-1262 radio/phono

John DrydenGermantown, Md.RCA RT-21 tape unit

Peter EldridgeAlexandria, Va.Book - Thunderstruck

Bob ElliotSuitland, Md.Tubes, test gear

Sam FolleyRockville, Md.Tubes

Robert GrayOdenton, Md.Hammarlund HQ-100A,

RCA Model 262

David GreenLaurel, Md.Realistic DX-160 radio, tubes,

speakers, etc.

Ruth GruberDanbury, Conn.RCA-Victor Model 18T-244 TV set

Dwight HeastyOxon Hill, Md.Large donation, Radiola Models 17,

18, 25, and 28 (2), 104, AtwaterKent Model 49, test equipment,books magazines, parts, tubes,much more

Stanley IsmartBowie, Md.Majestic 90-B console,

Victor phonograph

Rowland JohnsonReston, Va.Test equipment, CB transceivers,

microphones, Halllicrafters SX-43,much more

Benita KaplanRockville, Md.Gramco table model

Elizabeth KoetherGlen Burnie, Md.Many boxes of old radio magazines

Roscoe LambSilver Spring, Md.Westinghouse WR-184,

Knight KN-140, tubes,Bogen RB-115, more

Peter LarsonAnnapolis, Md.Emerson Model 603 TV

Library of American BroadcastingCollege Park, Md.Three boxes of radio literature

Leonard LucciBowie, Md.Zenith X2391EQ radio/phono/TV

William MartinWeems, Va.Heathkit items, Philco 1929 lowboy

console, Zenith 8S563 radio,other items

Joseph MayhewNorth Port, Fl.1936 Kaydette Model 66 radio

George MayoAlexandria, Va.Tape recorders, camera tripod, VCR,

speakers, Group W broadcastingrecords

Ken MellgrenRockville, Md.WISZ banner, microphone radio,

other items

Marie MingoWashington, D.C.Sparton Model 25 console

Roger NaleOdenton, Md.Atwater Kent Model 60

William PainterHarwood, Md.Atwater Kent Model 55 cabinet

Charles PetruzzoBowie, Md.Philco Model 46-431

Ted RaitchLaurel, Md.Crosley radio/phono console

Richard RobertsonFairfax Station, Va.Many boxes of technical journals

(Proceedings of IRE, etc.)

Hebert SachsBowie, Md.Book, magazines, and manuals

David SaffermanOwings Mills, Md.Tubes, parts, test equipment, books

Donations Received Since the Last Newsletter Listing


Orlando SanidadMitchellville, Md.Zenith G-500 Trans-Oceanic radio

James SewardAlexandria, Va.Tubes, Fisher 220-T receiver, AtwaterKent speaker

Mac ShaweNew Carrollton, Md.Tubes, test equipment

Ernie SmithBroadway, Va.Hundreds of cassettes of old radioprograms

Norman SternBowie, Md.Crosley 127, Hallicrafters S 108,

Dyna hi-fi gear, books &magazines, tubes

Carl & Jacqueline StoverCollege Park, Md.Siemens RC-10, Grundig tape player

William and Deborah SwanAlexandria, Va.Test equipment, other radio items

Victor WagherBowie, Md.TV book

Alexis WebbGaithersburg, Md.Scott 382 C receiver, test equipment,

books, tubes, microphones,Seeburg Selectomatic 200 jukebox,much more

Harold WilsonRockville, Md.Heathkit gear, Vibroplex speed key,

Hallicrafters SX-100, parts, tubes,test equipment, ham gear

Robert WilsonHyattsville, Md.Philco 50T-1401 TV, tubes,

other items

Norman WinnermanDanbury, Conn.Zenith Model B-600 Trans-Oceanic

Cash Donationstowards the MatchingFunds needed for the

state grantAnonymousBrian BelangerPaul Bernhardt

John BerresfordMichael ByrnesWarren CarlsonJoe ColickPaul CoursonMike EdelsteinNoel ElliottStan FetterEarl FlowersEugene GardnerC. L. GephartTed HannahGreg HunoltDave KelleherClaire KluskinsPaul LewisBill McCloskyKen MellgrenMaurice MooreRon RoscoeCharles SakranRoy ShapiroRuss ShipleyBill Smith, Jr.Steve SnydermanDan SohnRuth St. JohnMary Ellen StroupTony YoungPaul Klein

(If we missed anyone, please let usknow.)

Exhibit Reception at the Library of American Broadcasting6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday, December 18

The Library of American Broadcasting (LAB) at the University of Maryland and the Radio & TelevisionMuseum have a mutually beneficial ongoing collaboration. The LAB has given the museum surplusradio technical books, and the museum has given the LAB radio scripts. The museum has provided anumber of radios and TV sets for display in the LABs main reading room on the third floor of theHornbake Library, the main library building at the College Park campus of the University of Maryland.Recently the LAB developed a special exhibit called Radio Enters the Home in the exhibit gallery inthe ground floor main lobby of the Hornback Library. This well-done exhibit relies heavily on radiosloaned by the museum as well as terrific graphics from the LABs own extensive collections. RHSmembers are invited to attend an evening of radio history, good food and conversation to celebrate thissuccessful collaboration. Admission is free.

We guarantee you will enjoy this fine exhibit. For more information, check the LAB website atwww.lib.umd.edu/LAB, or call 301-405-9160. Parking is available in parking garages not far from thelibrary. Yall come!


RHS Officers and Directors:

President & WebmasterKen Mellgren (2009)13 Bitterroot Ct.Rockville, MD 20853(301) [email protected]

Vice PresidentChris Sterling (2008)4507 Airlie WayAnnandale, VA 22003(703) [email protected]

Treasurer:Michael Rubin (2008)1427 Woodman AvenueSilver Spring, MD 20902(301) [email protected]

Volunteer Coordinator:Dwight Heasty (2008)1830 Clayton DriveOxon Hill, MD 20745(301) [email protected]

Museum Curator andNewsletter Editor:Brian Belanger5730 Avery Park DriveRockville, MD 20855-1738(301) [email protected]

Membership Chair:Tony Young (2007)The Radio & Television

Museum2608 Mitchellville RoadBowie, MD 20716(301) [email protected]

Directors:

Paul Courson (2008)(202) 898-7653Peter Eldridge (2009)(703) 765-1569William Goodwin (2007)(410) 535-2952

Charles Grant (2009)(301) 871-0540Robert Huddleston (2007)(301) 519-2835Bill McMahon (2007)(304) 535-1610Don Ross (2009)(703) 569-5052Gerald Schneider (2008)(301) 929-8593Ed Walker (2009)

(301) 229-7060

Progress Towards the Challenge Grant

As you will recall from the good news in the lastnewsletter, the museum was the recipient of a $7500grant from the State of Maryland this year. Toqualify, we must match that amount. RHS President,Ken Mellgren, appealed to the members for supportin the previous newsletter, and to date we havenearly reached the half-way point towards thematching funds. We have until June 30, 2007 toreach the $7500 figure, and with your continuedsupport, it should be possible to achieve that goal.To those of you who have already contributed (seelist on pages 9-10), thank you very much! If youhave not already made a donation, please considerdoing so. Or, if you have, consider making anadditional donation after the first of the year so youcan get an income tax deduction for 2007.

The purpose of the grant is to upgrade the displays at

the museum. Getting new custom display cases tobetter show off the artifacts is the top priority. Someof the ancient wood display cases that werepurchased used when the museum first opened arefar from optimal for displaying adequately thetreasures in the museum collections.

Michael Henry Joins the Museum Team

Michael Henry is a Reference Assistant at theLibrary of American Broadcasting and is a long-timemember of the Metropolitan Washington Old TimeRadio Club. For some time now, the City of Bowiehas provided funding for a person to work at themuseum Saturday afternoon and another on Sundayafternoon to supplement our volunteer docents.Michael Henry has been hired to handle Sundayafternoons. As an individual very knowledgeableabout radio history, he is a terrific choice. Welcome,Michael!

Acknowledgements:This newsletter was publishedwith support from the Georgeand May Shiers Memorial Fund.

The Museum thanks theMaryland Historical Trust for itsgrant support to enhance themuseums operations.

Documents

WLW 500 KW Transmitter - The Nation’s Station (Brian Belanger)