Radio age research, manufacturing, communications, broadcasting, television (1941)

Record Details:

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NBC's East Coast transmitter building at Bound Brook, N. J., is surrounded by a forest of poles supporting the station's array of shortwave antennas. ^^ Voice of America ^^ Carried to Europe, Africa and South America by NBC Shortwave Station -L AK better known to radio listeners in foreign coun- tries than to radio fans in America, are the programs broadcast from the NBC-operated shortwave station WRCA at Bound Brook, New Jersey. Each day this station transmits 17 hours of information programs for the Voice of America to peoples in Europe, Africa, South America and to clandestine listeners behind the Iron Curtain. Although today, the Bound Brook station is dedi- cated to the broadcasting of America's message of free- dom in many languages, its history dates back to 1925. In that year. Station WJZ, then owned by RCA, trans- ferred operations from Aeolian Hall in New York City to its present site. The move to a less populated area was made necessary when the station began trans- missions on high power. The WJZ transmitter re- mained at Bound Brook as long as it served as the key station of the NBC Blue Network. After this network was sold to the American Broadcasting Company in 1943, the WJZ equipment was moved to another loca- tion. In 1930, the importance of Bound Brook increased when it was chosen as the location for experimental shortwave broadcasting by NBC. Under the call letters W3XL and W3XAL, regular programs of the Blue Network were sent abroad to many lands. As a result of the foreign audience which was immediately attracted to these broadcasts, NBC in the late 1930's established its International Division, a unit of the company de- voted to special shortwave programming. The major sponsor was the United Fruit Company, for whose pro- grams a so-called "banana" antenna was later erected to improve signals beamed at South America. With the outbreak of World War II, NBC turned over its Bound Brook shortwave facilities to the Office of War Information, primarily for European broadcasts. At that time, NBC built a new 50,000-watt transmitter which was added to tlie two already in operation. Seven new directional antennas and three additional RCA 50,000-watt shortwave transmitters were then installed by the OWI, giving the station the present complement of six transmitters. Because of the government's decision to provide international shortwave programming via the 'Voice of America, the NBC International Division was not re- established after the war. Today, while NBC continues as owner, the property and the services of NBC per- sonnel at Bound Brook are leased to the Voice of 72 RAD\0 AGE