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The Old-Time Radio Digest!
Volume 2015 : Issue 24
A Part of the [removed]!
[removed]
ISSN: 1533-9289
Today's Topics:
RE: Studio Clocks [ "scherago" <scherago@[removed]; ]
Re: studio clocks [ Michael Shoshani <[removed]@ ]
KDKA "First Commercial Broadcast" [ listmaster@[removed] ]
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Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2015 09:32:55 -0400
From: "scherago" <scherago@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject: RE: Studio Clocks
Speaking of studio clocks, when I first started as an engineer in radio,
I worked at WGLI/WTFM in Babylon, NY. We had a Western Union clock,
which was self-winding with an electric motor powered by two batteries.
A pulse from Western Union would correct the clock each hour. So on the
hour, the clock might have been off by two or three or more seconds, but
the pulse would come in, a red light would light, and the minute hand
would jump to straight up.
In the same town there was another radio station, WBAB-AM and FM. (The
FM station still exists.) They also used the Western Union clocks, but
used the pulse to sound a time signal on the hour, in addition to
synching the clocks.
The interesting thing about the Western Union circuit was that our
clocks, and both stations were in series, like old Christmas tree
lights, so if the circuit were broken at one station, the pulse would
not get to the other station. Knowing that, one morning we disconnected
the circuit at our station just before 8:00. Then we listened to our
competition; the announcer at WBAB said "At the tone, the time will be
8:00." Silence. More silence. We watched our clocks pass 8:00, and go
for several more seconds. Their announcer finally said something like
"we were waiting for a time tone there."
We didn't make much money, but we did have fun.
Bob Scherago
Former broadcast engineer and webmaster
[removed]
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Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2015 09:33:41 -0400
From: Michael Shoshani <[removed]@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: Re: studio clocks
On 3/11/2015 23:18, Bob C wrote:
I had ordered several atomic
clock kits from
[removed];order=pop&show=12&page=2
and substituted my dials for the ones that came with the
kit. I have three of these around the house ... keeping
super accurate time as the old Western Union clocks did --
and I don't have to fool with adjusting them for daylight
and standard time.
Actually, the old Western Union clocks were notorious for keeping pretty
lousy time. More than one radio veteran has told of starting to promote
the next hour's program ahead of the hourly news, and watching as the
clock suddenly sped up at :59:30 when it received the sync pulses,
racing to get to the top of the hour to make up for the 20 or so seconds
lost since its last sync the hour before.
Michael Shoshani
Chicago
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Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2015 10:54:44 -0400
From: listmaster@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject: KDKA "First Commercial Broadcast"
Folks;
Was listening to the reruns of The Bob Edwards Show this morning and the
2007 interview with Marc Fisher about his book, Something in the Air: Radio,
Rock and the Revolution that Shaped a Generation. During the hour, they
played a segment of the KDKA Harding/Cox election results.
I know it was a re-creation many years later, but can't remember the
circumstances surrounding the re-creation. Can anyone refresh my memory?
Charlie
[removed] Received many responses on my clock-face [removed] next
week I'll summarize some of the info provided in private responses.
Me
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End of [removed] Digest V2015 Issue #24
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