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Radio & Television Museum News September 2007

Vol. 13, No. 3 www.radiohistory.org September 2007

The BC-14A was a rugged receiver manu-factured for the U.S. Army Signal Corps

by de Forest, Liberty Electric, WirelessSpecialty Apparatus, General Radio, andMarconi Wireless Manufacturing.1 (Themuseum’s BC-14A was made by Marconi.) Itwas part of the SCR-54A artillery spotteroutfit.2 Intended for use on the Western Frontwhere “Trench warfare created an endlessdemand for men, munitions and supplies…”,3

they were made in great numbers.

On the Western Front, each side had cons-tructed a line of defensive trenches, separatedby a no-man’s-land that stretched diagonallyacross northern France from the Atlantic coastto the Swiss border. To wage offensive cam-paigns under these conditions, the followingstrategy was used:

“To overcome a well-entrenched enemywas something that could be achieved,if at all, only by tremendous concen-trations of heavy artillery. Directed byforward observers and from balloonsand aircraft overlooking the battlefield,artillery fired high explosive, gas, orＦideally, since the two called for dif-

Radio & Television

Museum

NewsThe Radio & Television Museum

2608 Mitchellville RoadBowie, MD 20716

(301) 390-1020

The BC-14A Artillery Spotter ReceiverBy Daniel Sohn

[Otto Wildenstein recently donated a rare World War I-era BC-14A portablecrystal radio to the museum. Itwill be on display soon. RHS member Dan Sohn is knowledgeable about such topics and offered to writenewsletter articles, so I invited him to tell us how the BC-14A was used.Thanks, Dan! – Editor]

This sturdily constructed 1918-vintage BC-14A crystal setwas donated to the museum recently. It may have seenaction at the very end of World War I. (The right-handcompartment is for headphones.)


ferent and even contradictory responsesＦ a combination of both. . . ”4

A period source describes in more detail howartillery spotting worked. “If the aeronaut can becalled the eyes of the army, the wireless man is itsears. Naturally their work is made to dovetail.”

“One of the main duties of an aviator, as youprobably know, is to reconnoiter for thearmy, and to report on the accuracy of theartillery fire and on the location of theenemy batteries. But he does not have todescend to report his discoveries. For he isequipped with a wireless set . . . with whichhe transmits his information to the manbelow. This man is stowed away always in adug-out, at a little distance from the battery.It is in accordance with the information hereceives…that the artillery fire is directed.”5

As one-way, limited range, air-to-ground commun-ication was required for spotting duty, small sparktransmitters were installed on the observation planes.Correspondingly, the “man below” with the artillerybattery needed only a receiver and antenna. Thewireless equipment operated on wavelengthsbetween 200 and 600 meters (approximately today’sAM broadcast band), and the Continental telegraphiccode was employed (as opposed to American Morsecode).

The use of wireless-equipped spotting aircraft wasestablished early in the war and the BC-14A wasbased on the French A-1 design:6

“When the U.S. entered the war in [April]1917, it was unprepared for the type ofwarfare it encountered. The concept ofspending days or weeks in a 'trench' was notour way of fighting. The British, French andother allies, however, had been at it forseveral years and by that time had developeda large number of field proven radio devicessuited to that environment. America's onlynear term hope of producing large quantitiesof acceptable devices to support our troopswould be to copy, with minor modifications,this field proven equipment. In the mean-time, the AEF [American ExpeditionaryForces] would use the existing 'foreign'equipment.”7

The first modified French A-1 receiver was theAmerican AR-4, soon labeled the BC-14.8 Anexperimental model that tried to meld French andAmerican practices, it was built for the Signal Corpsin limited numbers by Western Electric and LibertyElectric. Adopting the electrical and mechanicalchanges recommended by Capt. Edwin H.Armstrong of the Signal Corps’ Division of Researchand Inspection in Paris, the BC-14A went into fullproduction.9 Although no one knew it at the time, theArmistice was just months away. The receiversarrived on the battlefields of France just in time forthe final Allied offensive.10 Disposed of as surplusafter the war, many were bought by Americanamateurs.

While the surviving receiver speaks for itself as arelic of the past, the operators who once served themin battle can no longer speak at all. Nevertheless,using period references, it is possible to catch a

The Radio & Television Museum:A cooperative venture between the City of

Bowie and the Radio History Society

Top view of the museum’s BC-14A. A previousowner has wired a Carborundum detector in place ofthe original galena crystal and cat’s whiskerdetector. (The Carborundum detector is thecylindrical object hanging into the earphonecompartment on the right.) The sidebar tells moreabout such detectors.


glimpse into the life of a BC-14A operator:

“To the public at large there is little that isromantic in the performance of the wirelessman in warfare. He does not charge withbayonet fixed to rush an enemy trench. Hedoes not kill or conquer. And the popularimagination finds it hard to see a hero in aman whose duty is the mere recording ofothers' exploits. Yet technical and unheroicas his task may seem, it calls for gallantryequal to that of any. Not only does he sharein all the risks run by [his fellow soldiers],he lacks all their means of defense. Thoughhe stands side by side with them in the frontline, ready to join in the attack, his soleweapon is his wireless apparatus. He carriesneither rifle nor bayonet.”11

The field outfit containing the BC-14A radio wasdesignated Type RC-1, and it was available from thesupply sergeant of the artillery battery to which thewireless man was assigned. It consisted of:

The radio itself 1 ST-5 carrying strap 2 P-11 headphones 4 DC-1 crystals (3 as spares) 3 M-14 crystal springs (2 as spares) 1 hank W-20 stranded wire 2 BA-4 batteries to power the tuning buzzer 1 TL-2 screwdriver set to put everything

together12

All in all, it was a neat and efficient outfit.

On the other hand, the 150-foot, inverted L aerialwas a serious headache for the operator. For the

Carborundum DetectorsBy Brian Belanger

A full explanation of how a radio detector oper-ates is too involved for this brief sidebar, so letme just say that the crystal detector, which waspopular in the World War I era, is a device that,by mean of rectification (changing the alternatingcurrent of the incoming signal to a pulsating directcurrent), converts the radio signal into an audiofrequency signal that can be heard in the ear-phones. The most common crystal detectorutilized a chunk of galena (lead-sulfide) clampedin a holder, with a fine wire called a cat’s whiskerpoked onto its surface. This constituted arectifying junction, functionally not unlike thesemiconductor diodes of today.

Many materials other than galena were tried asdetectors. Some worked fairly well. Carborundumdetectors, utilizing a form of silicon carbide,constituted one alternative to galena detectors. Fora more complete history of the CarborundumCompany and its materials and devices, see thearticle “Carbordum Detectors” by Brian Belanger,April 1999 Radio Age(Newsletter of the Mid-Atlantic Antique Radio Club), page 1.

The Carborundum detector was invented by H. H.Dunwoody, a colleague of Audion tube inventor,Lee de Forest. Key patents were filed in the 1906-08 period. De Forest and others used Carbor-undum for detectors in the World War I era,buying raw material from the CarboruundumCompany. But during the 1920s when radio reallytook off, the Carborundum Company began tomanufacture and sell complete detectors of itsown. We can speculate that a 1920s amateur radiooperator bought the BC-14A from an Army warsurplus dealer and found that the Carborundumdetector worked better than the original crystaldetector. Crystal set users had to be careful not tojar the crystal detector and knock the cat’swhisker off the sensitive spot. The sealedCarborundum detector was more robust.

Since a number of 1920s radio fans believed theCarborundum detector to be superior to galena,the detector modification seen in this BC-14Awould not have been unusual during the 1920s.

1926 ad for a Carborundum detector like the onefound in the museum’s BC-14A crystal set.


standard A-2 antenna field installation the followinggear was required:

2 MS-1 and 8 MS-2 mast sections 6 GY-1 43-foot guys 6 GY-2 22-foot guys 4 reels RL-3 antenna and guy wire 6 GP-1 stakes 2 MP-1 plates w/insulators for antenna wire 2 MP-2 plates for upper guys 2 MP-3 plates for lower guys 2 GD-1 ground connectors (one spare) 1 ball of TW-1 twine with 1 MR-1 marker

to locate the guys wires 1 RP-10 rope 1 HM-1 two-pound hammer to beat

the thing into submission12

Unfortunately for the well-being of many operators,demolishing these fragile receiving antennas becamea lively sport among enemy artillerymen: “As theaerials have to be erected over the trenches, thepoles being stuck on the parapet, they were naturallyattractive targets.”

“He was adjusting one of the stays of hisaerial pole which had been disturbed by thefalling of a shell close by. As he was doingso, over came a second shell…which gavehim a direct hit, tearing his arm cleanaway…”13

Unlike the magnificent men in their flying machines,who captured the wartime headlines, the equallyheroic “man below” toiled anonymously in thetrenches. Although in combat for just five months,many were among the casualties.

References

1. http://users.erols.com/oldradio/eha8.htm

2. http://www.gordon.army.mil/OCOS/Museum/ScrComponents/scrPart1.asp#SCR-54*

3. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1998/10/98/world_war_i/198172.stm

4. EncyclopediaBritannica 2001 StandardEdition CD-ROM; “Tactics: The power of the

defense.”

5.http://earlyradiohistory.us/1917trn.htm



8. http://www.gordon.army.mil/OCOS/Museum/ScrComponents/scrPart1.asp#SCR-54*


10. http://www.richthofen.com/ww1sum/

11. http://earlyradiohistory.us/1917trn.htm

12. http://www.gordon.army.mil/OCOS/Museum/ScrComponents/scrPart1.asp#SCR-54* andOldTimers Bulletin, May ’92, p 7

13. http://earlyradiohistory.us/1917trn.htmﾐ


2007 Board of Directors Election

Forty two valid ballots were received. Congratu-lations to the following candidates, who were dulyelected to three year terms:

Bill Goodwin Robert Huddleston Bill McMahon Tony Young

At the August board meeting, the board unanimouslyelected President Ken Mellgren and Vice PresidentChris Sterling to another term each.

Passing the Baton to a New Treasurer

Michael Rubin has served with distinction astreasurer for the museum for approximately a decade.The board will always be grateful to Mike for hisintegrity and dedication to this absolutely critical jobduring this period of rapid growth in RHS. Mike hasbeen highly conscientious about keeping themuseum’s finances straight (depositing checks,paying bills, etc.), submitting reports to the Marylandsecretary of state and the IRS as required by law, andproviding sound advice to the board on fiscalmatters.

Mike soon will be retiring from his managementposition as an attorney with the U.S. Department ofCommerce, and informed the board earlier this yearthat he wished to step down as RHS treasurer so thathe and his wife will be able to travel and otherwiseenjoy the freedom of retirement. (Fortunately, Mikehas agreed to remain on the board so we still canhave the benefit of his advice and counsel.)

The board was successful in recruiting a newtreasurer who comes to the job with enthusiasm andhighly relevant skills. Following the processprovided in the RHS bylaws for filling boardvacancies, Justin Godell was appointed to fill theboard position vacated by Dwight Heasty. Followingthat appointment, the board elected Justin treasurer ofRHS.

Justin majored in radio/TV/film at SyracuseUniversity and for a time worked for mediaproduction companies. He was a maintenance officerin the U.S. Air Force, responsible for keepingsquadrons of jet aircraft flying. More recently, hehas been working for H&R Block in the tax field,and is conversant with the IRS Form 990 that non-profit organizations must complete each year.Moreover, he loves the museum and looks forwardto helping us get to the next level.

Museum Assessment Program

The American Association of Museums (AAM) hasnotified the Radio & Television Museum that itsapplication to participate in a Museum AssessmentProgram (MAP) Institutional Assessment has beenapproved. This is a very important step for themuseum. MAP is a rigorous program involvingseveral steps:

1. Step one is an extensive self-study period,typically lasting nearly a year. During this period astudy team of museum staff and board membersproceeds through a workbook, examining multipleaspects of the museum’s operation. A lengthy ques-tionnaire is completed and documents describing themuseum’s operation are prepared or gathered andsent to AAM.

2. A carefully selected experienced museumprofessional is named as the assessor. He or she willdigest the materials prepared in step one and thenpay a one- or two-day visit to the museum to viewthe facilities and meet with the team.

3. The assessor will prepare a written report withfindings and recommendations.

4. The study team then digests the assessor’s reportand prepares an action plan to implement therecommendations deemed appropriate.

It is generally recognized within the museumcommunity that a MAP is an excellent way to get abetter understanding of a museum’s strengths andweaknesses. By involving an outside professional,the museum hopefully will gain much understanding

Museum News


the Hindenburgdisaster, and clips of the start ofWorld War II. In the 1920s room the push of abutton will bring a recreation of KDKA’sNovember 1920 broadcast of the Harding-Coxpresidential election returns, a clip of the 1927 JackDempsey/Gene Tunney boxing match, 1920s musicfrom Vaughn de Leath (“The First Lady of Radio”),the Coon-Sanders Nighthawks orchestra as broad-cast on Kansas City station WDAF in the early1920s, part of the Scopes evolution trial, and WillRogers humor. Visitor reaction has been favorable,and more such devices will be added.

If you are one of those members who donatedmoney to make this possible, please give yourself abig pat on the back! Your generosity made thedifference. Do come for a visit to the museum soonso you can see the improvements for yourself.

One of the interesting new exhibits is a display oflarge console radios of the 1930s, and included inthat display is the 1939 Crosley Reado radiofacsimile device used to receive newspaperstransmitted to the home via radio in the late 1930s.

Attendance has been way up this year. PeterEldridge, who is responsible for publicity, has donemuch to keep the museum’s name in the public eye.The museum is now listed in the AAA Tour Bookfor the Mid-Atlantic states, and that has helped tobring in visitors from distant states and even severalforeign countries. Friday attendance recently hasaveraged more than 20.

Museum Volunteers Needed

Here are some specific needs:

Weekend or weekday docents:give an afternoon amonth to guiding visitors through the museum anddemonstrating the equipment. It is fun! We willtrain you.

Newsletter index:Someone handy with MicrosoftWord to prepare an index of back issues of thenewsletters. You do not have to come to themuseum to do this− it can be done at home on yourown computer on your own schedule.

Fundraising:A person(s) with experience in fund-raising willing to investigate foundations that might

(Continued on page 12)

of how improvements can be made.

We will keep you posted as this process continues. Itpromises to be an important step in the museum’squest for excellence.

Filming at the Museum

Since the last newsletter, three film crews have spenttime at the museum. The Bowie Cable TV Channelfilmed an hour-long program about the museum’scollections that has been shown several times. ADVD of the show, which has received praise fromviewers, is available for viewing at the museum.

On July 24 a film crew from Media and ImageConsulting Services, Inc. spent a long day filmingfor a DVD on radio/TV history to accompany a newcollege textbook on communications calledMassMedia for the Digital Millennium. The company willprovide the museum with footage that can be usedfor our own purposes (e.g., video clips on ourWebsite).

Finally, on August 10 a film crew from theUniversity of Maryland was at the museum filming ashow that will appear on the university’s cable TVchannel soon. Given this high level of media interestin the museum, the board is working on a compre-hensive policy to cover filming at the museum.

Exhibit Upgrades

Late last year we asked our members to contribute tofunds needed to match the state grant awarded to themuseum for exhibit upgrades. Thanks to many ofyou who have been very generous, that goal wasachieved and even slightly surpassed. Now theresulting upgrades are taking shape at the museum.

Some very old wood display cases that werepurchased when the museum first opened are beingreplaced by snazzy new lighted glass cases that willshow the artifacts to better advantage. Six new caseshave been delivered to date.

Audio clip devices are now in service. In the 1930sroom, visitors can press buttons and hear the openingof The Lone Rangeror The Shadow. They can hearan excerpt from anAmos ‘N Andyshow, a RudyVallee program, a Tommy Dorsey big bandbroadcast, Herb Morrison’s famous description of


the time, NBC was also just a fledgling radionetwork.)

By the late 1920s, stations in other Californiatowns, (e.g., Fresno, Stockton, and Sacramento) hadjoined the Don Lee Network, and it became a trueregional radio network.4 In 1929 the networkaffiliated with CBS, and in the 1930s, with theMutual Broadcasting System. Reference 2 says thatby 1939 the Don Lee network had 31 affiliates, fourof which were directly owned by the DLBS. In1953 Don Lee Broadcasting included nearly 50stations in California, Washington, Oregon, andIdaho. The network lasted until 1967.

When Don Lee died in 1934, his son Thomas tookover management of the radio empire. After the twoLees met Harry Lubcke in 1930, they becameconvinced that television had a great future. Lubckemust have wowed them with the potential of thisnew medium and talked them into committingsubstantial funds to develop television broadcastingin Southern California.

Introduction

Thanks to the Don Lee Broadcasting System (DLBS)and a man named Harry Lubcke, electronic tele-vision came to Southern California long before itbecame available in most other parts of the country.U.S. history books sometimes state that electronictelevision began in 1939 at the World’s Fair in NewYork when David Sarnoff and NBC kicked offregular broadcasting. Certainly that was a majormilestone in the history of television, but regularexperimental electronic television broadcasts in theU.S. predated the World’s Fair by roughly a decade.(Regular electronic television broadcasts began inEurope in the mid-1930s.) As noted in this article,during the 1930s, a small number of viewers in LosAngeles had access to electronic television.

Very little has been written about televisionentrepreneur Lubcke and how during TV’s infancyhe promoted it in the Los Angeles area. The variousbooks and Internet postings that mention Lubcke andthe Don Lee television activities sometimes disagreeon details, which makes it difficult to ensure that thestory told here is completely accurate. The two bestoverall sources of information on this topic that Ihave found are:

The Internet posting of the Early TelevisionMuseum.1 (Thanks to museum director SteveMcVoy for granting permission to use imagesfrom that Website.)

Michael Ritchie’s book on early television,Please Stand By.2

The Don Lee Broadcasting System

Before getting into radio in the 1920s, Don Leebecame wealthy by cornering the market inCalifornia for Cadillac dealerships. In 1926 Leebought station KFRC in San Francisco, and in 1927,station KHJ in Los Angeles.3 Soon the stations wereconnected by telephone lines, sharing programs. (At

Television in Los Angeles:W6XAO, the Don Lee System, and Harry Lubcke

By Brian Belanger

W6XAO’s test pattern. (From the Early TelevisionMuseum Web site.)


(80 lines, 20 frames per second).1

By December 1931 Lubcke had received anexperimental VHF station license (W6XAO), andwas on the air on a frequency of 44.5 MHz and apower of 150 watts. The station broadcast daily foran hour, Monday through Saturday. The scanningdisc transmissions on W6XS were discontinued inthe mid-1930s so that Lubcke could concentrate onall electronic television and station W6XAO.

By December 1932 Lubcke was broadcastingtelevision signals every night, with synchronizedsound being broadcast by Lee’s radio station KHJ.Lubcke built prototype TV receivers that apparentlyworked satisfactorily, using parts purchased fromSouthern California radio manufacturer GilfillanBrothers and picture tubes that he purchased fromRCA and Manfred von Ardenne in Germany.Lubcke also built some pictures tubes in his ownlab. He provided detailed set construction plans toanyone who requested them.

Lubcke estimated that in the early 1930s, there wereabout 300 TV sets in the Los Angeles area.Probably many were in department stores, appliancestores, or bars rather than in private homes.

The station’s early programming consisted ofParamount shorts and Pathe newsreels, plus inter-views with movie stars. W6XAO probably was thefirst TV station to show a full-length Hollywoodmovie (The Crooked Circle2).

Harry Lubcke

Harry Lubcke was born in 1905 and died in 1991. Hereceived a B.S. in electrical engineering from theUniversity of California, and apparently was keenlyinterested in radio technology. While still in histeens, he wrote an article about new developmentsfor Radio News, a major national magazine at thetime.5

In an oral history interview,6 Lubcke described howhe got his start in television:

“In 1928, I gave a talk at the Institute of RadioEngineers in San Francisco. When I finishedspeaking, Philo Farnsworth approached me andasked if I would be interested in working for him.While I was at Farnsworth, I heard Don Lee wasinterested in television. He had a network of radiostations. I went to see him, and the next day I washired.”

Other sources say it was 1929 when Lubcke beganworking in Farnsworth’s laboratory.7 Perhaps it waslate in 1928 when he gave the IRE talk, and early in1929 when he actually joined Farnsworth. In anycase, Lubcke stayed with Farnsworth long enough toabsorb his latest technology for electronic television.

Some sources say that it was Don Lee’s son Thomaswho was actually the one pushing for television.Probably both Don and Thomas Lee concluded thattelevision was worth pursuing when they hiredLubcke as director of television in 1930. The DLBShad sufficient funds to bankroll research efforts tomake it happen. By November 1930 Lubcke had adevelopment program under way, and by May 1931images were being transmitted and received in thelab. Given the embryonic nature of camera tech-nology at the time, live telecasting was not theemphasis; instead, the focus was on obtaining imagesfrom movie film. Several different approaches toscanning movie film were tried.8

The Don Lee System Experiments with BothMechanical and Electronic Television

According to Joseph Udelson, the Don Lee Networkexperimented with both mechanical television andelectronic television in the early 1930s.9 StationW6XS began broadcasting to scanning disc setowners in 1931 using a 2100 to 2200 kHz channel

Harry Lubcke adjusting W6XAO’s TV transmitter.(From the Web site of the Early Television Museum.)


tubes and picture tubes left much to be desired, asdid the performance of vacuum tubes at the highfrequencies needed for television. Until about 1938,when television cameras for live broadcasts hadbeen developed to a suitable level, W6XAO’s trans-missions were from scanned film only.

In 1933 an earthquake struck Long Beach,California. Very quickly W6XAO obtained andaired film footage of the damage for its viewers.Today we take rapid TV coverage of disasters forgranted, but in 1933, this must have beenconsidered rather remarkable by those SouthernCalifornians lucky enough to own televisionreceivers. This may have been the first televisioncoverage of a natural disaster.

The Don Lee Television System is Upgraded

By 1936 Lubcke had upgraded his system to a 300-line, 24-frame-per-second sequential system andwas giving public demonstrations of the new “high-definition” television.11 (Yes, in 1933, 300-line TVwas actually called “high-definition television.”) Bythen the broadcasts included both audio and video(from scanned film) in what was then called channel1 (44 to 50 MHz, with the video carrier centered at45 MHz and the sound at 49.75 MHz.).

In 1938 RCA found it necessary to purchase patentsfrom Farnsworth in the area of synchronization.12

Apparently at least some of these inventions hadbeen made by Lubcke while he worked forFarnsworth, and presumably when Lubcke leftFarnsworth, he obtained a license from him to usethe technology for the Don Lee System. RCA hadbeen striving to own all key television patents ratherthan purchase licenses, so it must have been painfulfor that company to admit that it needed Lubcke’stechnology.

When the industry adopted the Radio ManufacturersAssociation (RMA) recommendation of 441 lines in1939, W6XAO had to shut down briefly to recon-figure its transmitting equipment, returning to theair in November 1939.13 RCA, General Electric,Gilfillan Brothers, and Stewart-Warner were said tobe selling TV sets in Los Angeles, but it is doubtfulthat very many were sold, given the sparseprogramming available at the time and the highprices of factory-built sets.

At the time, getting receivers to synchronize properlywith transmitters was one of the most difficultchallenges. Some homes in Southern California had50-Hz AC power but others had 60-Hz power, sousing the utility power line to synchronize TVreceivers was not an option.

In May 1932 Lubcke actually demonstratedtelevision reception in an airplane flying overSouthern California to prove that synchronizationwithout resort to utility power lines was feasible.

Don McCroskey described Lubcke’s technicalcontributions thusly:6

“His [Lubcke’s] main project [while working forFarnsworth] was to develop an all-electronicscanning generator system. This was the first systemusing an electronic sawtooth generator producing alinear scan, blanking to eliminate retrace scan, andpulses to synchronize both transmitter and receiver.The patent (U.S. 2,059,219) also included a meansfor suppression of the DC component (the blacklevel) at the transmitter and reestablishing at thereceiver.”

By 1933 W6XAO was one of the few U.S.experimental television stations still on the air.10

Most other television promoters had fallen victim tothose early Depression years when businesses of alltypes were filing for bankruptcy at an alarming rate.Also, the technical barriers to a successful systemremained daunting. The performance of both camera

W6XAO broadcast this movie at a time when doingso represented a remarkable achievement. (Fromthe Early Television Museum Web site.)


During the mid-1930s, it seemslikely that most of the people inLos Angeles who watchedW6XAO built their own sets,since commercial receivers werenot generally available.RadioNews magazine for May 1937featured a cover story titled“Bui ld this “Don Lee”Television Receiver.14 It said,“Here is the first chancepresented to the televisionexperimenter and amateur tobuild a really modern cathode-ray television receiver from acarefully tested and authorizeddesign and from plans that arecomplete, so that the builder canmake one and know that it isactually workable.” The articledescribed the 14-tube receiver indetail and provided hints forsuccessful construction andoperation. The set used a 5-inchCRT, type 905. The back coverof that Radio News issuefeatured an ad from Allied Radiooffering to provide all the partsneeded to build the televisionreceiver.

The same article mentioned thatthe W6XAO transmitter waslocated at 7th and Bixel Streets indowntown Los Angeles andoperated at 45 MHz. Programswere broadcast according to thefollowing schedule:

Monday – 9 to 10 a.m.Tuesday – 10 to 11 a.m.Wednesday – 11 a.m. to NoonThursday – Noon to 1 p.m.Friday – 1 to 2 p.m.Saturday – 2 to 3 p.m.Monday through Saturday− 6:30 to 7:15 p.m.

Video power was 1 kW; audio power, 150 W

W6XAO may have created the first soap operashown on electronic television when in April 1938,it began a 52-episode serial drama called “Vine

Street.” In 1939 the station offered a charades gameshow.2

W6XAO in the 1940s

Around 1940 a new transmitter site for W6XAOwas built in the Hollywood Hills atop a hill thatThomas Lee named “Mt. Lee.” The stationbroadcast on channel 2 from that site until the early1950s.

On New Year’s Day 1940, W6XAO broadcast theRose Bowl Parade live, with iconoscope cameraspurchased from RCA. By May of that year the

The May 1937 Radio News cover featured the Don Lee television receiver.


Harry Lubcke was one of the founders of theSociety of Television Engineers.16 In 1949-50 heserved as president of the National Academy ofTelevision Arts and Sciences. He was the personwho came up with the name “Emmy” for theacademy’s top award. (Supposedly, it derived fromthe nickname for the image orthicon camera tube.)

Sadly, Lubcke died with little or no publicrecognition, and his papers were thrown out. What aloss!

References

1. http://www.earlytelevision.org/w6xao.html.

2. Michael Ritchie,Please Stand By: A Prehistoryof Television,(Woodstock, NY: The OverlookPress, 1994).

3. http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist5/donlee.html.

4. Christopher Sterling and John Kittross,StayTuned, 2nd Ed. (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1990), p.156.

5. Harry Lubcke, “Radio Telephone Developmentin the West,”Radio News, February 1922, p. 702.

6. Jeff Kisseloff,The Box: An Oral History ofTelevision, 1920-1961, (New York: Viking, 1995),p. 145.

7. http://www.tech-notes.tv/Biographies/Harry%20L/harry_lubcke_page.htm.

8. Albert Abramson,The History of Television,1990 to 1941(Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland &Company, 1987), p. 180-181.

9. Joseph Udelson,The Great Television Race(University, Alabama: Univ. of Alabama Press,1982), p. 76.

10. Abramson, p. 194.

11. Ibid, p. 230.

12. Ibid, p. 248.

13. Ibid, p. 254.

14. Don Lee Television Staff, “Build this Don LeeTelevision Receiver,”Radio News, May 1937, p.649.

15. Abramson, p. 262.

16. http://www.ste-ca.org/content.php?id=102.

NOTE: The books by Michael Ritchie and AlbertAbramson are now available for purchase at theMuseum.ﾐ

station had another setback because the FCC had justissued Order Number 67, reconfiguring FM radiochannels. W6XAO had to shut down its transmitteragain and move to a new frequency. By August 1940W6XAO had increased its resolution to 525 lines andwas on the air 14½ hours per week. The stationclaimed that there were approximately 500 televisionsets in the LA area that could receive its broadcasts.15

Live remote broadcasts of special events wereoffered to viewers, such as boxing matches and autoraces.

Also in 1940, the RMA established a committee,called the National Television Standards Committee(NTSC). The goal was to create standards that theentire television industry would embrace. The firstmeeting was held in July. The Don Lee BroadcastingSystem participated in these meetings.

In 1941 W6XAO got some serious competition whenParamount Pictures began station W6XYZ, whichlater morphed into station KTLA. Actually, MichaelRitchie notes that prior to WWII Los Angeles hadfive other experimental TV stations in addition toW6XAO.

In the late 1940s W6XAO switched from experi-mental status to a commercial TV station, with thecall letters KTSL-TV (for Thomas S. Lee’s initials).

Viewers watching W6XAO on a prototype set,probably similar to the one described in the RadioNews issue.


RHS Officers and Directors:

PresidentKen Mellgren (2009)13 Bitterroot Ct.Rockville, MD 20853(301) [email protected]

Vice President/SecretaryChris Sterling (2008)4507 Airlie WayAnnandale, VA 22003(703) [email protected]

Treasurer:Justin Godell (2008)3012 Cunningham DriveAlexandria, VA 22309(202) [email protected]

Executive Director andNewsletter Editor:Brian Belanger5730 Avery Park DriveRockville, MD 20855-1738(301) [email protected]

Membership Chair:Tony Young (2010)(301) [email protected]

Directors:

Paul Courson (2008)(202) 898-7653

Peter Eldridge (2009)(703) 765-1569

William Goodwin (2010)(410) 535-2952

Charles Grant (2009)(301) 871-0540

Robert Huddleston (2010)(301) 519-2835

Bill McMahon (2010)(304) 535-1610

Michael Rubin (2008)(301) 649-3722

Gerald Schneider (2008)(301) 929-8593

Ed Walker (2009)(301) 229-7060

Volunteer Coordinator:Michael Henry(301) [email protected]

Current Museum Hours:

Fridays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.Saturdays and Sundays 1 to 5 p.m.

Other times by appointment

Become a member of the museum!

Basic Membership: $25/yearSupporter: $50/yearBenefactor: $100/yearPatron: $250/yearCorporate: $1000+/year

Make your check payable to “Radio HistorySociety” and mail it to the museum at theaddress on page 1. All memberships are fullytax deductible if you itemize deductions.

Acknowledgements:

This newsletter was publishedwith support from the Georgeand May Shiers Memorial Fund.

The museum thanks theMaryland Historical Trust for itsgrant support to enhance themuseum’s operations.

Thanks to Steve McVoy, JamesO’Neal, Chris Sterling, BillMcMahon, and Don Ross forreading and critiquing the draftof this newsletter. Ŷ

provide support for the museum, and who can helpprepare grant applications.

Digitizing library materials:The museum has lots ofrare literature to be scanned and converted to digitalformat for posting on the Internet for people todownload. To take on this job, you would need tohave a high resolution color flatbed scanner and acomputer with image processing software such asAdobe Photoshop. Tedious, perhaps, but you get toread lots of interesting old radio or TV literature.

Donation pickup:A couple of people with strongbacks are needed to help with donation pickups.

If any of these opportunities interest you, contactBrian Belanger (see address below).ﾐ

(Continued from page 6)

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