Television digest with electronics reports (Jan-Dec 1955)
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9
WFRV-TV, GREEN BAY, WIS. (Ch. 5), bringing on-air total to 430, starts with ABC & DuMont shows over the week-end, following FCC approval May 19 of stock transfer to owners of off-air WNAM-TV, Neenah (Ch.42). WNAM’s S. N. Pickard now controls over 50%, only others with more than 5% being original WFRV-TV stockholders Clayton Ewing & George Nau Burridge, each with 10.9%. Station has been ready to go for about 4 weeks (Vol. 11:17), but had to wait for FCC to take second look at alreadyapproved transfer because of objections raised by WMBV-TV, Marinette (Ch. 11). It has 25-kw DuMont transmitter & 5-bay RCA antenna on 463-ft. tower of defunct WJPG-FM, located adjacent to that of WBAY-TV (Ch. 2). Neenah studios of WNAM-TV will supplement Green Bay facilities. Don C. Wirth is v.p.gen. mgr.; Ed Murphy, ex-KSTM-TV, St. Louis, operations director; John Schulz, ex-Chicago NBC-TV Spot Sales, station mgr.; Harry Hill, chief engineer. Base hour is $300. Rep is Headley-Reed.
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In our continuing survey of upcoming stations, these are latest reports received:
KHAS-TV, Hastings, Neb. (Ch. 5) has ordered RCA transmitter & 12-bay antenna, plans fall start, reports gen. mgr. Duane L. Watts, ex-KHOL-TV, Kearney, Neb. It will use 767-ft. tower. Studio-transmitter house will be built 3 ml. N of city on Hwy. 281. KHAS-TV will be operated by new Nebraska TV Corp., now being set up by grantee Seaton Publishing Co., publisher of Hastings Tribune. Seaton Publishing principals also control Alliance (Neb.) Times-Herald and newspapers in Kan., S. D., & Wyo., as well as radio stations KHAS, Hastings; KGGF, Coffeyville Kan.; KMAN, Manhattan, Kan. Duane B. Allison, chief engineer of KHAS, will also be TV chief engineer. Rep not reported.
WCTV, Thomasville, Ga. (Ch. 6) has Aug. 1 target for test patterns, Sept. 1 for programming, reports John H. Phipps, who recently acquired CP from E. D. Rivers Sr. for $88,700, along with Thomasville radio WKTG from Fred Scott Jr. family for $100,000 (Vol. 11:20). GE transmitter and 5-bay antenna are on order, with latter due for installation on 600-ft. tower in June. Studiotransmitter building is under construction at new site halfway between Thomasville and Tallahassee, where Phipps operates radio WTAL. He also owns WTYS, Marianna, Fla. Rep not yet chosen.
WHIS-TV, Bluefield, W. Va. (Ch. 6) hopes to get on air about Aug., reports pres.-gen. mgr. Hugh I. Shott Jr., for family-owned grantee Bluefield Daily Telegraph. RCA 10-kw transmitter is ready for testing. RCA 6-bay antenna & 100-ft. Ideco tower are on hand and tower construction begins next week. It has agreement with NBC, is negotiating for interconnection facilities. Base hour will be $200. Rep will be Katz.
KCOR-TV, San Antonio (Ch. 41) has set June 1 test pattern target, now that it’s installing 1-kw RCA transmitter, reports chief engineer Marvin L. Fiedler. RCA pylon antenna is scheduled for installation on 658-ft. Truscon tower week of May 23. It will be 90% Spanish language outlet, using Latin-American films and kines. Base rate will be $180. Rep will be Richard O’Connell.
Experimental vhf booster for Hawaii was granted this week to Iresco Inc., 2221 Warwick Ave., Santa Monica, Cal., which plans to test re-transmission of Ch. 4 & 9 at 6 points in the Islands.
SIMPLIFIED & CHEAPER “megawatt” transmitter is being shown for first time by RCA at NARTB convention in Washington. It delivers 25-kw, can be used with supergain antenna to produce 1000-kw ERP, is expected to sell for approximately 25% less than RCA’s previous 25-kw equipment, which basically consisted of two 12%-kw transmitters arranged in parallel. Slated for commercial availability later this year, new TTU-25B utilizes single standard tetrode in each final output stage, with savings of up to 50% in operating costs claimed.
As enumerated by RCA broadcast equipment marketing mgr. A. R. Hopkins, new transmitter has these advantages: requires no more space than 121^-kw equipment, % reduction in visual amplifier tube requirements, 50% reduction in cabinetry and “average annual savings up to $20,000 in overall operating costs.” Also due for availability this year is package for converting RCA 12%-kw transmitters to the new 25-kw circuit.
Next station scheduled to increase power to 1-megawatt is Portland’s KPTV (Ch. 27), nation’s first uhf station, now owned by Storer, due to boost to full permitted output June 11, date of Portland’s Rose Parade. Most of RCA transmitter equipment for increase to 25-kw power has been delivered, and supergain antenna is due to arrive before end of month. KPTV is expected to be nation’s 3rd station to reach 1,000,000 watts, and RCA’s second such installation.
Experimental satellite in Manson, Wash. (Vol. 11:3, 14), which is unique in that it “translates” received Ch. 4 signals of KXLY-TV to uhf Ch. 16, was inspected this week by Ben Adler, whose Adler Communications Labs supplied equipment. He reports excellent coverage in Manson area 1-3 mi. from satellite. Some 160 sets have been equipped to receive Ch. 16, owners paying $67.50 for year’s service. New sets being sold have that fee added to price; it’s then turned over to a town committee. Adler said no one fears that viewers will “bootleg” signal without paying, adding that “the community spirit appears to be at a terrifically high level.” Community antenna operators are naturally concerned about such satellites, and NCTA exec. secy. E. Stratford Smith, who also visited Manson last week, is dubious about their economics. He reports that construction cost was $16,000 excluding engineering costs; that it would take $10,000 more for each additional channel ; that operating costs are unknown ; that support must rely on “honor system” because nonpayers can use signal. Most of all, he says, satellite offers only one channel whereas community systems usually offer 3 or more.
Two new vhf applications were filed with FCC this week: For Las Vegas, Nev., Ch. 13, by Moritz Zenoff, owner of radio KBMI, Henderson, Nev., and publisher of newspapers in Henderson & Boulder City; for Carlsbad, N. M., Ch. 6, by KAVE, whose pres. Val Lawrence is gen. mgr. of KROD-TV, El Paso. Applications pending FCC action now total 155 (including 15 uhf). [For details, see TV Addenda 20-S herewith ; for complete listings of all grants, new stations, applications, etc., see TV Factbook No. 20 with Addenda to date.]
Less expensive off-air microwave service proposed by AT&T (Vol. 11 :18) is fine, RETMA and NARTB told FCC in comments filed at May 20 deadline, but they recommended that stations be permitted considerable leeway in deciding whether to build own off-air microwave or buy service from AT&T.
Comments on uhf boosters, which FCC calls “cochannel amplifying transmitters” in its rule-making proceeding (Vol. 11:14), may be filed until July 21, deadline being moved from May 20 at request of RETMA.