Speaking of Beeps (was: WBZ Delay)

[Bill O'Neill]

Todd Glickman wrote:
> but shouldn't the time tone be in the airchain after the delay, to 
> mark the exact top-of-the-hour?
Can someone point out where one can get a top o' hour tone system that 
doesn't resemble a Heathkit project?

<harp sfx in> Love the tone.  One of the way-back tones at WCAP was this 
big, ancient master control studio clock. Under the "12" Ike Cohen had 
rigged-up some sort of "U" shaped set of contacts, with a contact at the 
tip of the second hand. When the second hand swept the first contact it 
opened the line from the tone oscillator in rack (that was always on) 
and as it swept the second contact, it closed the switch. The swipe time 
was about 2 seconds. (It actually worked!)   The next generation was 
that very same tube-job tone oscillator but it was opened and closed by 
ABC's "00" cue for Information Net.  The twin tone was about 2 seconds 
apart. Even though WCAP didn't air Information (it delayed Direction at 
:50) it was a solution that worked for many years. The station has been 
tone-less for sometime now. When Ike passed away, so did most of the 
secrets of "the museum of broadcasting."  <harp sfx out>

Bill (Don't use that tone with me, young man) O'Neill