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any signals ever on the Chrysler

I was just curious, were/are there any FM or TV signals on the Chrysler Building. I was in the area the other day and noticed it has a nice mast, height and location. I could not see any bays or antennas on the top. Did any signals move there after 911.

Chrysler.jpg
 
I've read that the mast on the Chrysler building was designed as a dirigible mooring place. I'd really like to know whether any radio or TV stations mounted their transmitting antennas on the mast.
 
From Wikipedia - I guess my memory is pretty good :)

Television station WCBS-TV (Channel 2) originally transmitted from the top of the Chrysler in the 1940s and early 1950s, before moving to the Empire State Building.[14] For many years, WPAT-FM and WTFM (now WKTU) also used the Chrysler Building as a transmission site, but they also moved to the Empire State Building by the 1970s. There are currently no commercial broadcast stations located at the Chrysler Building.
 
I guess I won't be taking things too far astray, now that Hangman has his question essentially answered.

And I don't want to take up room for a new thread. So on this one perhaps someone will know when the aforementioned WTFM stopped broadcasting from that tower on the Horace Harding / L.I.E. service road ?

103.5 is still listed as having Lake Success as its COL, just as WTFM did. I recall WTFM being listed as a Long Island-licensed station in the old Arbitron books -- where it often finished at the top, irrespective of where their stick was. To my knowledge they never had a studio, or tower, or even a milkbox within Lake Success itself. I heard that the Long Island Beautiful Music stations hated having to 'share' their overall audience that way. WVNJ, WPAT and WRFM would be listed for sponsors in those books as New York City signals. Yet, right there for every Long Island sponsor to see was WTFM 'Long Island' blowing away WCTO, WLIX, and any other Long Island B/Ms that would show up every so often.
 
WTFM was the first station in NYC (I believe) that broadcast in FM Stereo full time. It was originally owned by the 'Friendly Frost' appliance chain and was started as a way to sell stereos. Live announcers (even with fake accents) and full time stereo made it my station of choice until the Am/FM split in the late 60's.
 
radio towers

From Wikipedia - I guess my memory is pretty good :)

Television station WCBS-TV (Channel 2) originally transmitted from the top of the Chrysler in the 1940s and early 1950s, before moving to the Empire State Building.[14] For many years, WPAT-FM and WTFM (now WKTU) also used the Chrysler Building as a transmission site, but they also moved to the Empire State Building by the 1970s. There are currently no commercial broadcast stations located at the Chrysler Building
They Were on the World Trade Center tower until the twin towers were destroyed and then moved on the building on 42st st and then moved to ESB
 
I just saw a rerun of Maude on Antenna TV and in the first few frames of the show they show the NYC skyline and the Chrysler Building and sure enough you can make out the large mast and you can see a few bays on it, but you have to look real fast. This show was from 1972 so someone must of been using it at that time.
 
I'm no expert on antennas, but I can point out that it was the Empire State building that had the airship dock.
 
I guess nobody here has heard of Wikipedia...

Television station WCBS-TV (Channel 2) originally transmitted from the top of the Chrysler in the 1940s and early 1950s, before moving to the Empire State Building.[14] For many years, WPAT-FM and WTFM (now WKTU) also used the Chrysler Building as a transmission site, but they also moved to the Empire State Building by the 1970s. There are currently no commercial broadcast stations located at the Chrysler Building.

The Empire State Building became the world's tallest building in 1931. The Chrysler Building held the title for only 11 months. This was before TV and FM and by the time either began broadcasting, the Chrysler Building would not have been first choice for an antenna site - except for WCBS-TV, which had studios across Lexington Ave in Grand Central Terminal.
 
I guess nobody here has heard of Wikipedia...

... which is a source that is notoriously wrong on historical data about radio and TV, particularly at the individual station level.
 


... which is a source that is notoriously wrong on historical data about radio and TV, particularly at the individual station level.

That gives Wikipeda something in common with this board.

I also have heard of Google.

The section of the Wikipedia article is lifted from
http://www.nyc-architecture.com/MID/MID021.htm

The footnote attributes the information to an article from the journal of the University of Wisconsin school of engineering. Wisconsin is one of the licensees claiming the first radio station.

Also
http://www.earlytelevision.org/w2xab.html
Article from Radio World
 
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I'm no expert on antennas, but I can point out that it was the Empire State building that had the airship dock.

Proposed airship mooring mast (never was on Chrysler) It was built at ESB but it was NEVER used (who wanted to walk from a blimp to EMP at over 1100 AGL on a thin wobbly walkway hanging from the blimp and the building?? Nope nope nope!)..and later was removed for more antenna space.

I seem to recall reading something about one or two FMs on Chrysler (not on Wikipedia!)...but no TV...and surely nothing today.
 
I guess I won't be taking things too far astray, now that Hangman has his question essentially answered.

And I don't want to take up room for a new thread. So on this one perhaps someone will know when the aforementioned WTFM stopped broadcasting from that tower on the Horace Harding / L.I.E. service road ?

103.5 is still listed as having Lake Success as its COL, just as WTFM did. I recall WTFM being listed as a Long Island-licensed station in the old Arbitron books -- where it often finished at the top, irrespective of where their stick was. To my knowledge they never had a studio, or tower, or even a milkbox within Lake Success itself. I heard that the Long Island Beautiful Music stations hated having to 'share' their overall audience that way. WVNJ, WPAT and WRFM would be listed for sponsors in those books as New York City signals. Yet, right there for every Long Island sponsor to see was WTFM 'Long Island' blowing away WCTO, WLIX, and any other Long Island B/Ms that would show up every so often.
WTFM FM began transmitting from the Chrysler Tower in 1965 or '66, which they did until moving to one of the World Trade Center towers in November 1978. Which would have been, if memory serves, right after they changed from Beautiful Music to AC.
 
WTFM FM began transmitting from the Chrysler Tower in 1965 or '66, which they did until moving to one of the World Trade Center towers in November 1978. Which would have been, if memory serves, right after they changed from Beautiful Music to AC.
Yes, and the next year, 1979, they began trying to sell the station.
 
Proposed airship mooring mast (never was on Chrysler) It was built at ESB but it was NEVER used (who wanted to walk from a blimp to EMP at over 1100 AGL on a thin wobbly walkway hanging from the blimp and the building?? Nope nope nope!)..and later was removed for more antenna space.
The mooring mast was never used for airship passengers as intended, but there were a few known attempts at docking a blimp to the ESB within the first few months of its opening:

 
I thought was tower in fresh meows on lie exit 25
When I did due diligence ahead of a purchase of that station in 1979, it was already at the World Trades on its own "little" mast.

We did a preliminary engineering study regarding the possibility of a mover the the ESB at the time, also, as I did not like the idea of being at the southern tip of Manhattan.
 
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