Television digest with electronics reports (Jan-Dec 1953)
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9
ette, Cal., TV advisor to grain dealer John Steventon, grantee. Present plans are to test by November, begin commercial operation in December. No rep has yet been chosen.
Television Services of Knoxville (Ch. 26), only TV grantee in Knoxville following merger of competing applicants (Vol. 9:12), expects delivery of RCA transmitter by Sept, and aims at early fall debut, according to W. R. Tuley, 80% owner. Call letters and rep not yet designated. * * ❖ *
On the vhf front, RCA reported this week it is shipping 2-kw interim transmitter to KTVH, Hutchinson, Kan. (Ch. 12) week of April 27, so that it is entirely likely to meet its June 10 target date for tests (Vol. 9:15). Other reports on upcoming vhf stations:
KCNA-TV, Tucson, Ariz. (Ch. 9) granted CP last December, has nearly completed construction plans, will order equipment after NARTB convention and plans Dec. 18 debut, according to mgr. Wayne Sanders. Hollingbery will be rep.
KFEQ-TV, St. Joseph, Mo. (Ch. 2) now reports July target date, with RCA transmitter and 810-ft. Lehigh tower ordered. Construction of studio building is well along, and about 45% of equipment has been received, reports mgr. Barton Pitts. Headley-Reed will be rep.
KGVO-TV, Missoula, Mont. (Ch. 13) hasn’t ordered equipment yet, is amending to ask for 6800-ft. mountain-top site so as to cover all western Montana, so doesn’t expect to begin tests before June 15, 1954, according to report from owner A. J. Mosby. Gill-Perna will be rep.
KFXD-TV, Nampa, Ida. (Ch. 6) got STA from FCC this week to operate from temporary site, using 500-watt Gates transmitter and composite antenna comprising folded dipole and reflector atop a wooden pole only 8 ft. above ground. Site is 6558-ft. above sea level, however. Station has run into trouble with state over proposed transmitter site on Deer Point Peak.
KRBC-TV, Abilene, Tex. (Ch. 9) hasn’t decided yet between 2-kw RCA transmitter or 5-kw DuMont, reports gen. mgr. Howard Barrett, but hopes to get on air by Aug. 1. It plans 400-ft. tower 11 mi. south of Abilene, will be represented by Pearson.
WJDM-TV, Panama City, Fla. (Ch. 7) has ordered RCA equipment for July delivery, expects to begin testing by Sept., reports owner J. D. Manly, Pensacola contractor. Hollingbery will be rep.
Commercialization of boosters was urged this week by Rep. Pat Sutton (D-Tenn.), who comes from Lawrenceburg where Nashville’s WSM-TV has operated experimental booster repeating WSM-TV programs 3 days weekly (Vol. 9:15). In long statement inserted in April 20 Congressional Record, he said that Lawrenceburg is too small to support regular station; that WSM-TV’s experiments have pi'oved practicality of boosters; that it’s time for FCC to act now. Rep. Sutton told us pictures from boosters in Lawrenceburg “are as good as those in Nashville — 70 mi. away,” and said great advantage over community antenna systems is that booster-served viewers won’t have to pay installation and monthly fees.
GE makes pitch for small-market TV aspirants at NARTB convention in Los Angeles with new “one-man” station, permitting single operator to control transmitter, slide and film projectors, audio and transcription facilities and network programs. Heart of setup is newly developed switching system. GE says all, equipment would be grouped at transmitter building where operator sets up whole day’s slide and film programs in advance, then controls them from single point. GE revealed no prices in advance, said setup is available for vhf or uhf, in various powers.
FiWEK CEILINGS for TV stations in each group of channels, as set by FCC, are constantly misconstrued by advertisers and agencies who tend to assume automatically that “the higher the power, the greater the coverage.” Though it’s only natural for operators to promote fact they have greater power than competitors, it should be remembered that FCC set different power ceilings for sole purpose of trying to equalize coverage of all TV stations and place them on same competitive footing. The power maxima are: 100 kw for Ch. 2-6, 316 kw for Ch. 7-13, 1000 kw for all uhf channels.
FCC and everyone else has a lot to learn about coverage, but foregoing figures are best anyone has come up with so far in attempting to equalize stations’ potential coverage. The 1000-kw uhf maximum is out of fairly thin air, since no one had ever approached that output when FCC chose it. In any event, no one has yet seriously challenged FCC’s limits.
Location and height of antenna are frequently much more important than channel number or power — a factor all too often overlooked.
* * * *
Regardless of channel, any power boost is good, and this week brings reports of another crop: WNAC-TV, Boston, to 220 kw April 26; WDAF-TV, Kansas City, to 100 kw April 10; WSB-TV, Atlanta, aiming for 100 kw JuneJuly. RCA reports 25-kw amplifier already shipped to WFBG-TV, Altoona; two more going to WAGA-TV, Atlanta, and WLWT, Cincinnati, next week; another scheduled for WLWC, Columbus, following week. WNBT, New York, gets 10-kw driver week of May 4, 25-kw amplifier to follow. “Channel moving day” for Crosley’s 3 Ohio stations, all of which must change channels under FCC rules, is May 1 for WLWD, Dayton, shifting from Ch. 5 to 2; June 1 for WLWT, Cincinnati, from Ch. 4 to 5; July 1 for WLWC, Columbus, from Ch. 3 to 4. All are getting new RCA equipment. WOR-TV, last of New York’s 7 stations to seek move to Empire State Bldg., was given permission to do so by FCC this week. Both WOR-TV and WATV, Newark, await fabrication and installation of new antennas — though there’s possibility they may use temporary antennas in order to move sooner.
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First Mexican TV “notifications” of CPs awarded within 250 miles of U. S. border were submitted to State Dept, this week under terms of agreement concluded last year. Mexican Govt, doesn’t indicate status of construction, but agreement specifies that notification must be given 30 days before or after CP is granted. All are listed with 5-kw ERP, height above average terrain not given. Following are CPs listed (for longitudes and latitudes, see TV Addenda 16-P herewith) : On air — Matamoros, XELDTV, Ch. 7 ; Tijuana, XETV, Ch. 6. Grantees — Reynosa, XERA-TV, Ch. 12 & XERO-TV, Ch. 9; Juarez, XECZ-TV, Ch. 2, XEDI-TV, Ch. 11 & XECJ-TV, Ch. 5; Nuevo Laredo, XELN-TV, Ch. 3; Nogales, XENS-TV, Ch. 2; Mexicali, XEBC-TV, Ch. 3; Piedras Negras, XEPN-TV, Ch. 2; Tijuana, XETC-TV, Ch. 12.
Amendments of TV technical rules, proposed Jan. 8 (Vol. 9:2) and covering methods of computing height above average terrain, designation of city to be served, transmitter attenuation, etc., were finalized by FCC this week with minor changes. Details of changes are in Notice 53-448, Mimeo 88537, may be obtained from Commission—or we’ll get copy for you.
Zenith filed court appeal in District of Columbia Court of Appeals April 21, asking for reversal of FCC decision denying Zenith comparative hearing for Chicago’s Ch. 2 (Vol. 9:15). It also requested injunction to keep WBBM-TV from moving from Ch. 4 to Ch. 2 while appeal is pending.