Re: The Colonial Network

[dan.strassberg@att.net]

If construction started in 1929, the first antenna was almost certainly a long 
wire. I don't know when the first vertical radiator was built or which station 
used it, but my guess is that such antennas were very few and far between until 
sometime in the 30s. Maybe the early 30s, but still the 30s. I recall that the 
first directional antenna in the US (at WFLA/WSUN 620 in Tampa/St Petersburg) 
took to the air in 1931. An AM DA uses vertical radiators and can't be built 
with long wires, so some vertical radiators existed in 1931, but not many--I 
daresay. WBZ's antenna in Millis was a long wire and so was WHAM's original 
antenna in Victor NY, southeast of Rochester. If I recall correctly, WBZ didn't 
move to Hull until 1939, so WBZ used a long wire until then and WBZA did so 
until the day it left the air.
--
dan.strassberg@att.net
617-558-4205
eFax 707-215-6367
> Dan S. wrote:
> >I've read that WNAC and WAAB diplexed from a tower in Quincy. As a Quincy
> >resident, Donna might know where it was. This probably wasn't the very first
> >example of an AM diplex, but it certainly must have been an early one.
> 
> The building of the transmitter began in April of 1929 in the part of 
> Quincy called Squantum, and created a giant controversy, with the stations' 
> signals interfering with everything else Quincy residents were trying to 
> receive on their radios.  To this day, long after the stations moved out, 
> there are still pieces of that transmitter embedded in people's yards or 
> driveways-- I have scanned photos if anyone wants to see.
> 
>