This is the Broadcast History section of
The Broadcast Archive
Maintained by:
Barry Mishkind - The Eclectic Engineer
It would be a kindness if you'd just send a short note to let
me know who you are, and what your interests are. Thanks.
The story is how KYW went from Chicago to Philadelphia to Cleveland and then
back to Philadelphia. In 1934, with the government quota for stations in the
Chicago area full, Westinghouse was forced to move to Philadelphia in order to
keep the clear channel frequency.
Later, a swap between Westinghouse and NBC sent KYW to Cleveland for nine
years, but it returned to its original Philadelphia facility in June 1965 after
several court cases.
Another interesting story is how WTOP started its life in Brooklyn as WTRC,
changed calls to WTFF and moved to Virginia, then finally landing on 1500 in
Washington, DC.
We ought not forget the Portable Stations, a special class
that existed until 1928. Some were used as demonstration purposes by
manufacturers. C.L.Carrell had a half dozen or so portables, which he took to
different cities and state fairs in the midwest. The FRC finally ruled that all
portables had to become "fixed" in one location or lose their
licenses. Most ended up in midwestern towns.
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