NBC transmitter (Oct-Dec 1944)

POWERFUL NEW WLW SHORT WAVE AFFILIATES GO NBC Transmitter ON AIR IN OHIO ROW ERFUL “f' OICES”—The attractive new transmitter building near Cincinnati , housing Short W ave Stations W Lit R, WLWS and W'LW L, believed to be world’s most powerful. CINCINNATI. — In the pleasant rolling countryside of Southwestern Ohio, about 20 miles from here, there are now nearing completion the world’s most powerful short wave radio stations. These stations are important links in the world-wide short wave system which is being used by the Office of War Information and the Office of Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs in their work. They are vital weapons of psychological warfare, as well as for the dissemination of information and entertainment. Known as the Bethany Transmitters, there lies behind the closely-guarded, high barbed-wire fence surrounding the square m ile of farm land, a great achievement in this nation’s efforts to present the facts of the American way of life and the truth about the Allied war activities to those millions of listeners in the many countries now emerging from the darkness of German tyranny. Aptly designated by the OWI as “The Voice of America,” the Bethany Transmitters already are beaming factual news and top American radio entertainment to several European, African and South American countries, and soon will he ready to expand this important service to many other areas on these and other continents, over Short Wave Stations WLWL. WLWR and WLWS. Working in close cooperation with officials of the Office of War Information and other interested government agencies, executives and engineers of Station WLW in Cincinnati developed the plans and directed the construction of the Bethany Transmitters. Innumerable engineering problems were met and solved before the first broadcast went on the air on July 1. Just one of these problems was that of amplifier tubes. Top commercial radio stations in this country are rated at 50 kilowatts, hut. to do an adequate job of projecting “The Voice of America" across thousands of miles, it was necessary to devise and build amplifiers capable of handling 200 or more kilowatts. That this and the many other problems were solved is evidenced by the fact that on August 4 one of the six transmitters at Bethany began broadcasting with 100.000 watts of power, stepped up recently to 200.000 watts, and the other five are expected to be in operation on the highpower basis by the end of this year. Everything at the Bethany Transmitters is on a “super" scale. Housed in an attractive, modernistic building near the center of the mile square tract is the highly complicated transmitter equipment, the master control hoard, machine shop, where much of the equipment has been built to exacting specifications, and comfortable living quarters for the engineers. At the rear of the main building is the most complex antenna switch gear yet constructed anywhere. Here, mounted on a forest of 20-foot poles, are 216 sw itches, which can he manually operated from the ground, to connect any of the six transmitters with any of the antennas atop more than 800 poles, each 165 feet high. These antennas, hooked up to the transmitters with heavy copper wires, are located in a circle around the transmitter, each beamed to a fixed area overseas. The world’s three most powerful shortwave radio stations— WLWL. WLWR and WLWS— carrying “The Voice of America to many distant lands, were impressivelv dedicated September 23. DEDICATION— Speakers on the NBC coast-to-coast broadcast dedicating the Bethany Transmitters on September 23, pose with .lames D. Shouse, vice-president of The Crosley Corporation in charge of broadcasting, who served as host for the W ashington ceremonies at the Willard Hotel. Seated, left to right: Clifford J. Durr, member of the FCC, and Robert Sherivood, former director of the Overseas Branch of the OWI. Standing: Shouse: Elmer Davis, director of the Office of War Information, and Nelson Rockefeller, Coordinator of InterAmerican Affairs. The Bethany Transmitters, located 20 miles from Cincinnati, were built by the Crosley Corporation and are operated for the OWI and the CIAA.