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"Wavescan" is a weekly program for long distance radio hobbyists produced by Dr. Adrian M. Peterson, Coordinator of International Relations for Adventist World Radio. AWR carries the program over many of its stations (including shortwave). Adrian Peterson is a highly regarded DXer and radio historian, and often includes features on radio history in his program. We are reproducing those features below, with Dr. Peterson's permission and assistance.


Wavescan N610, November 1, 2020

The World Famous American Radio Station KDKA Celebrates 100 Years - The Story of the Original Mediumwave Station 8ZZ

Exactly 100 years tomorrow, November 2, 2020, the world famous American mediumwave radio station KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania honors the historic occasion of it first radio broadcast. It was at 8:00 o'clock on Tuesday evening, November 2, 1920 that the fledgling, and quite primitive, radio broadcasting station KDKA began the broadcast of information about the voting results in the nationwide presidential election.

Audio: KDKA reenacted opening announcement

All throughout the entire month of this November (2020), KDKA is presenting a series of radio programs that feature the historic and interesting background of this honorable mediumwave broadcasting station. It is true, KDKA was not the first radio broadcasting station in the United States, but its inauguration exactly one century ago gave a turning point impetus to the development of radio broadcasting, not only in the United States, but ultimately right throughout the world.

We here at Wavescan rightly honor the KDKA story, and over a period of time we are planning a brief series of programs acknowledging this memorable occasion that feature the story of this historic mediumwave and shortwave station. In our program today, we present the story of this high profile radio broadcasting station, under its original callsign 8ZZ, not under its better known callsign KDKA. We go back to the beginning.

During World War I, the Westinghouse factory at East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was permitted to carry out radio experimentation, even though the majority of stations throughout the United States were already closed at the time as a wartime security measure. The radio callsign at Westinghouse during the war years was 2WE. Interestingly, this callsign 2WE was a security coverup callsign; the prefix 2 belonged to nearby states, not Pennsylvania.

At the end of the war, Westinghouse already had two transmitters in operation, and these were an Alexanderson Alternator unit for use in Morse Code on 3200 metres (93 kHz) longwave, and a tube (valve) unit on 500 metres (600 kHz) mediumwave. With peace in the air, Westinghouse then turned their attention to the possible usage of radio for intercommunication between their network of factories and other facilities throughout the United States, though mainly in the east.

In September 1920, a newspaper item stated that Westinghouse in Pennsylvania already had a new transmitter under construction for this very purpose, to communicate with their network of factories. The location for this large multi-purpose factory was listed as near Turtle Creek, though these days the location is acknowledged more broadly as East Pittsburgh, half a dozen miles south east from downtown Pittsburgh.

Wikipedia accurately states that shortly after beginning the process of setting up the new radio station that would be used for point-to-point communication, a series of events occurred which resulted in it also becoming a broadcasting station, which would overshadow its original role. The transmitter for this new radio station was designed and constructed by Electrical Engineer Donald Little under the direction of Dr. Frank Conrad, and work began before a license was received.

Voting day for the nationwide 1920 Harding-Cox presidential elections was set for Tuesday, November 2. Initially, Frank Conrad had planned to broadcast the progressive voting results over his own amateur radio station, 8XK, in the same way as many other amateur radio operators were also planning.

However, Westinghouse management decided that they would inaugurate their own new radio station for that same purpose, and so they placed a request before the Radio Inspector in Detroit. Approval was granted as a Special Amateur Grant that permitted transmission on another frequency instead of the two standard and congested channels (360 m and/or 485 m, 833 kHz and/or 618 kHz). In view of the fact that the license was for an amateur station, then it was understood that the broadcast of music and information programming was automatically approved.

Due to the close proximity of the launching date, the Radio Inspector in Detroit phoned Westinghouse and gave his approval for the new radio station. He issued a temporary callsign, 8ZZ; the 8 signified the 8th Radio District in the United States, the first Z indicated a special issue amateur license, and the second Z was to ensure that there was no conflict with any other callsign already issued.

Somewhat simultaneously, the Department of Commerce in Washington, DC issued a license to Westinghouse for the operation of an inter-factory communication station, using the same locally-made 100 watt transmitter, under the sequential callsign KDKA, though this license was sent by postal mail.

This new Westinghouse transmitter was installed in a wooden shack that was erected on the western end of the flat roof of the eight story Building K at the Westinghouse factory in East Pittsburgh. The antenna system was a 190 feet long, 6-wire flat top, with 20-feet spreaders; one end of the antenna system was attached to the nearby Smoke Stack, and the other end was attached to a 100 feet long metal pipe. A counterpoise, an exact duplicate of the antenna, was spread across the open spaceway under the antenna itself, and just a little lower than the top of the building.

The first test broadcast from the new 100 watt 8ZZ began at 8:00 pm on Monday, October 25 (1920) on 550 metres (545 kHz) at the bottom end of what subsequently became the standard mediumwave band. Additional test broadcasts were carried out on several adjacent channels two days later, on (Wednesday, October 27). Similar transmitter tests were broadcast two days later again on the Friday. Monitoring reports from West Virginia and Ohio indicated good reception.

The Sunday edition of the Pittsburgh Gazette Times (October 31, 1920) stated that everything was ready at Westinghouse for the launching of their new radio station 8ZZ, with the election broadcasts on the coming Tuesday evening. All local amateur operators that would not be carrying election results were requested to remain silent beginning at 7:00 pm.

Yes, the inaugural broadcast from 8ZZ, with its spontaneous local banjo music and spoken announcements in the progressive count for the election voting was highly successful. The station was on the air all night, until noon next day. The same Pittsburgh Gazette Times stated a few days later that the inaugural broadcast from the new Westinghouse radio station was indeed, "highly successful."

Soon afterwards, the usage of the special temporary amateur-broadcast callsign 8ZZ expired, and in its place Westinghouse applied the communication callsign KDKA to its program broadcasts over the same transmitter. After several subsequent major changes in location, electronic equipment and frequencies, KDKA is still with us to this day, exactly 100 years later, with 50 kW on 1020 kHz.