Television digest with electronic reports (Jan-Dec 1954)

10-kw RCA transmitter, 360-ft. Fisher tower with 40-ft. 6-bay antenna. Robert Booth and C.H. Fisher (KUGN) head group owning station. S.W. McCready is gen. mgr. ; A.H. Barnard, chief engineer. Base hour rate is $175. Rep is Hollingbery. WHA-IV, Madison, Wis. (Ch. 21), for which Wisconsin U regents in 1952 allocated $105,750 and which then got another $100,000 grant from Ford Foundation, put out first test signals March 26 from 1-kw RCA transmitter and Gabriel antenna on WHA-FM tower. It begins program tests April 5, suspends for spring vacation April 19-24, then starts 2-3 hours of daily programming from May 3. Its 5th educational non-commercial outlet on air. Studios in Radio Hall of university's WHA ("oldest station in the nation") are equipped with 3 GPL camera chains, projector and kine recording equipment. Educational radio pioneer H.B. McCarty is executive director. CHSJ-TV, St. John, New Brunswick (Ch. 4), first TV in the Maritimes and the easternmost in North America, began testing March 22 and 2 hours later went on program schedule with CBC and U.S. network kinescopes and films. It's Canada's 9th outlet, 4th privately-owned. It uses Canadian GE transmitter and 40-ft. Ajax tower on 1200-ft. Mt. Champlain, 18 mi. from city. Transmitter house was built under same sort of rugged conditions that faced CBUT, Vancouver, and in addition required 2)^-mi. of new mountain road. Integrated with radio operation, its owned by group headed by Thomas A. Brummie, with George A. Cromwell as gen. mgr., Earl McCarron, program director. Base hour rate is $165. Rep is All-Canada Television, none in U.S. yet. FEW CPs. MULTIPLE & UHF HEARINGS SOON: FCC gave out 2 CPs this week , took one back from grantee who failed to build after prodding, got rather roughly handled Itself when House Appropriations Committee cut its budget from $7,664,400 to $6,544,400. The week's grants: Montgomery, Ala. , WSFA, Ch. 12; Charleston, S. C. . WUSN, Ch. 2. The CP revoked was for oilman Tom Potter's WTVT, Chattanooga (Ch. 43). Though still leaning towards its multiple ownership proposal, which would permit owners of 5 vhfs to acquire 2 uhfs (Vol. 10:4,6), Commission has decided to withhold further action until Potter communications subcommittee of Senate holds hearings on iihf — now scheduled April 27-29, with FCC providing first witnesses. Sen. Johnson's multiple ownership bill (Vol. 10:11) will get airing at same time, since its stated purpose is to help uhf. Uhf operators and grantees are expected to be out in full force to present their ideas. One operator, Leon Green, secy, of Houston's KNUZ-TV, is inviting all grantees to meetings in Washington April 25-26 to discuss proposals to put before subcommittee. Among his ideas is govt, loans to TV stations. * ♦ * ♦ The "protest" section of Communications Act brought its most unusual result to date this week when owners of Clarksburg, W.Va. newspapers Exponent and Telegram filed protest to Ch. 12 grant to WBLK-TV, alleging "economic injury." It's first time anyone not a TV or radio grantee or applicant has ever protested a grant. Complaint states that grant of WBLK-TV increases "dominating position" of its owners — Stubblefield family — who control newspapers in 9 West Virginia cities plus 34% of WTRF-TV, Wheeling, plus AMs WBLK, Clarksburg and WPAR, Parkersburg. Owners of WBLK-TV replied that protest was "based upon a fear of competition" and that "the protestant sees TV, not as a force for public good, but as a threat to its long enjoyed monopoly in the newspaper field." Commission hasn't indicated its decision yet, but it generally hasn't been too eager to grant protests and hold hearings on them. Million-waft uhf station may be possible within a year, spokesmen for tubemaker Eitel-McCollough Inc. believe. At IRE engineering show this week the San Carlos (Cal.) manufacturer showed full-scale model of huge 50-60-kw klystron which will power tomorrow’s maximum-power uhf outlets. An official of the company which supplies DuMont, Fedeial and others, said the new tube should be in production in about 6 months, or at least by end of yeai-. Task of designing transmitter around the tube shouldn’t pose difficult problem, he added, because of its similarity to current 12-kw models. New and far bigger power supply will be largest obstacle. Rival klystron-maker, Varian Associates, Palo Alto, Cal. — which designed 12-kw tube now being made by GE — wouldn’t be pinned down on plans for to])-power uhf tubes. Pres. Russell Varian told us his plans are now uncertain, inasmuch as demand seems to have tapered off' somewhat and it may not be feasible to go ahead now in view of uhf’s economic situation.