Re: WGY now non-directional but not always?

[mwaters@mail.wesleyan.edu (Martin J. Waters)]

        According to a radio history chronology at Jeff Miller's very
excellent website, WGY made the first broadcast with 50 kW, at least in the
U.S., if not the world, on May 13, 1924. Being owned by GE (and wasn't
Schenectady its HQ?), WGY was involved in many technical firsts and
experiments. In that same chronology, under July 25, 1925, there's a
possibly conflicting entry saying that the first station to operate with 50
kW was GE's experimental 2XAG, which was in Schenectady, at the WGY site,
and operated on the same frequency when WGY was off. In other words, it was
the same station, using an experimental license, which was how the
paperwork was done then.
        WGY began regularly licensed operation with 50 kW in 1926, but I've
seen conflicting mentions on whether it was officially the first to get
that or not. It certainly was one of the very first and since it already
was doing it experimentally, if some other station got its formal
authorization stamped a couple weeks sooner, it doesn't really matter.
        Also, a lot of folks know about WLW being authorized to run 500 kW
in the 1930s, but WGY was actually the first station to have any
authorization for more than 50 kW. According to a Broadcasting magazine
article of 1962 that is posted on Mr. Miller's site, WGY received
authorization to experiment with 100 kW in 1927 and with 200 kW in 1930.
        Mr. Miller's main page is at <http://members.aol.com/jeff560/jeff.html>.