In Part 1 of this article, Donna discussed the origins of call-in talk, the technological challenges early talk shows faced, and the gradual rule changes – such as getting rid of the annoying beep tone in 1972. The coming changes were just as great. Before I pick up where I left off in […]

When designing and building transmitters, it take a lot of cooperation and communication to make things work. Reid Brandon recalls what happened when some of that did not happen. The history of the Eimac 4CX40,000G broadcast tube is an interesting one, coming at one of the darkest chapters in the company’s past. That […]

Even as tube transmitters are disappearing, especially in television, the stories of how and why they were designed continue to be fascinating. Most of the tubes Eimac has developed over the years have had long product life cycles. The 4CX5000A, for example, was designed prior to 1960 and is still in production and […]

In the past century or so, the advance of technology has changed the way countries relate to one another, especially during wartime, both hot and cold. Reid Brandon offers some insight in one area of how tech changed things.. As we approach Independence Day 2017, let us remember a time when America came […]

It was June 2015. Margaret Bryant has been contracted to empty some 250,000 square feet of studios, offices, and technical gear before the end of the month – and shut down a facility she had designed and built 20 years before. Here is how it turned out. I was there for the design […]

A mainstay of radio stations across the country is the talk format. From the political to the do-it-yourself to telephone swap meets to all-night talkathons, call-in shows can be radio communication at its best – or enough to put someone to sleep. How and when the genre got started is the topic Donna […]

Some stations are in the same place they were 80 years ago. Others have moved, built, re-built, consolidated, moved again, or worse. Each has a story, about the work that went into construction and, occasionally, the deconstruction. From Dallas, Margaret Bryant has such a story to tell. In 1994 ABC Radio Networks began […]

We bring our look at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Telefarm and Shoreview sites to a conclusion as Steve Brown shares the rest of the story of how these sites developed. It was Winter 1991 and, it being pretty cold up here, most all outdoor work on the site came to a stop. Because of […]

Looking back at how broadcasters built their sites to serve the community is more than just a casual look at history. Often, we can learn important lessons, not only how to get the job done, but also how to avoid mistakes. Steve Brown continues his look at the tower farms at Minneapolis-St. Paul. […]

The road to signal improvements in a market can take some curious turns. At the same time, it offers a look into stations grew in the market and, in more recent years, how consolidation-driven chess moves brought about the radio dial to which we listen today. This is the second in a series […]