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More towers than trees: VOA transmitter site in CA in the 70's

davideduardo

davideduardo

Moderator/Administrator
Staff member
When the Voice of America had mutiple transmitter sites across the USA. This one is in Dixon, CA, and had all 10 of these transmitter in use:

DX-1 RCA/Federal 200 KW
DX-2 , DX-3 RCA/Federal 50 KW
DX4 , DX-5 General Electric 100 KW
DX-6, DX-7, DX-8 Collins 250 KW
DX-9, DX-10 Continental 20 K

Note that there were three 250,000 watt transmitters!

1702171779541.jpeg

See more about the VOA site in Dixon, VA at Voice of America, Dixon Relay Station
 
I wonder if the site was visible from Interstate 80. I ask because that part of the drive between San Francisco and Sacramento is boorr-ing, even if Davis is a nice college town. But Dixon...eh, not so much.

The terrain in that area is flat and featureless, perfect for something like this.
 
DavidEduardo said:
When the Voice of America had mutiple transmitter sites across the USA. This one is in Dixon, CA, and had all 10 of these transmitter in use:
Click to expand...

I visited that site back, I think in the 80's, maybe early 90's ??? It was no longer in operation when I was there but there was a person at the site, he said they were gradually stripping the transmitters for parts as needed at the site in Greenville, NC.

Mark Roberts said:
I wonder if the site was visible from Interstate 80. I ask because that part of the drive between San Francisco and Sacramento is boorr-ing, even if Davis is a nice college town. But Dixon...eh, not so much.

The terrain in that area is flat and featureless, perfect for something like this.
Click to expand...

It was visible from I-80, traveling eastbound, but you had to look really hard to see it.

radio128 said:
Driving from Fresno to LA this summer, I made a stop at the VOA facility in Delano. The antennas are still standing. I took a few pictures through the fence.
Click to expand...

I been by the Deleno site back in the early 2000's, it was no longer in operation, back when it was in operation, I was in area often but never tried to get a tour.
 
In 1943, both NBC and CBS agreed to build new shortwave plants in California for the O.W.I. The facilities would be built by the networks under contract to the O.W.I., financed by a government loan, and leased to the O.W.I., who would provide all program services. CBS chose a location at Delano and put stations KCBA, KCBF and KCBR on the air in November, 1944. NBC selected a 160 acre site on what is now called Radio Station Road in Dixon.

NBC engineer Carl Deitsch supervised the design and construction of the million dollar project. Deitsch was NBC’s shortwave broadcast expert, having done the same job previously for its shortwave stations in Bound Brook, New Jersey. He was assisted by others from the crack NBC engineering team, including key men from the NBC broadcast stations KPO and KGO in San Francisco. Construction began in 1943 with the installation of two 50 kW Federal Telegraph Co. transmitters. Rhombic antennas targeted Japan, Australia and the Philippines. Broadcasting commenced on December 27, 1944, with the call signs KNBA and KNBC. The next year, two more RCA transmitters were added, using the call signs KNBI and KNBX.

The original Federal transmitters were radio telegraph (CW) systems, and were fed by separate Federal modulators. One modulator fed two transmitters, which was possible because they shared common programs. Federal later built a 200 kW transmitter for Dixon.
Click to expand...

Directional Antennas

Voice of America - Dixon California
www.theradiohistorian.org


The Dixon shortwave radio facilities was originally started by NBC Radio and the call letters that was assigned to NBC Shortwave in Dixon are KNBC, KNBA, KNBI and KNBX when they started in 1944.

Note this is the earliest known case of a call letter named after their network and it's from Dixon, CA.

KNBC was later used for 680-AM San Francisco and now it's TV affiliate in Los Angeles.
 
michael hagerty said:
Another cool Northern California site:

coastview.org

KFS High-Frequency Receiver, Half Moon Bay - CoastView

KFS WebSDR is co-located with the KFS Kiwi high-frequency radio receiver station near the mouth of Lobitos Creek, about 5.5 miles (9 km) south of Half Moon Bay and 0.8 miles (1.3 km) west of Lobitos, California.
coastview.org coastview.org
Click to expand...
I visited this site (KFS) too back in the 80's when sites like this were "easy to visit", the people there gave a nice tour.
 
Delano was in operation during the early-mid '00s, but for other networks - I recall Radio Thailand operated an early-evening service (1/2 hour English, 1/2 hour Thai) from Delano, and their signal on 5890 nearly fried the S-meter each night from western WA.
 
Michael that is funny, I know exactly what you're saying with the locked gate, I lucked out the day I went there, the gate was open, so I drove in and knocked on the door.

The best (well maybe not best) was when my wife & I were in the Florida Key's and I decided to find the station on 1180 that broadcast to Cuba . . . I found it, three towers in-line (if I recall correctly there were 3) directional to the island (protects WHAM 1180 beside sending its signal where it is intended for) . . . the gate was closed and a voice came on a speaker mounted up high saying - STATE YOUR BUSINESS PLEASE!
Oh- Oh I thought . . . I told them I worked in broadcasting and would like a tour . . .
the voice from the speaker said NO, THIS SITE IS REMOTE CONTROLLED . . . WE ARE LOCATED IN WASHINGTON, DC
I was kind of on a public street, where there was the gate and a long driveway went to the site.

I walked back to my car, got in it, turned around and left, that was a first.
 
Last edited:
alok said:
I told them I worked in broadcasting and would like a tour . . .
the voice from the speaker said NO, THIS SITE IS REMOTE CONTROLLED . . . WE ARE LOCATED IN WASHINGTON, DC
I was kind of on a public street, where there was the gate and a long driveway went to the site.

I walked back to my car, got in it, turned around and left, that was a first.
Click to expand...
They're right, that it is all controlled by D.C. Maintenance crews are working limited shifts, but since 9/11, none are allowed to just give people tours that just stop by.
 
Kelly A said:
They're right, that it is all controlled by D.C. Maintenance crews are working limited shifts, but since 9/11, none are allowed to just give people tours that just stop by.
Click to expand...

You are correct about 9/11, but this visit was before 9/11. Being what the site was, the turn away did not surprise me.
 
Kelly A said:
They're right, that it is all controlled by D.C. Maintenance crews are working limited shifts, but since 9/11, none are allowed to just give people tours that just stop by.
Click to expand...
On two occasions I did the annual review of The Radio Martí Program mandated by Congress. The first time was convenient to a stay in Miami and I requested that the scope include a review of the studios and transmitter facilities. The amount of additional paperwork was so extensive that I skipped the transmitter visit. Like many, I combined a trip to Marathon for "real" Key Lime Pie with a drive to the gate of the transmitter site, whereby claiming the "I've Been There" award.
 
alok said:
The best (well maybe not best) was when my wife & I were in the Florida Key's and I decided to find the station on 1180 that broadcast to Cuba . . . I found it, three towers in-line (if I recall correctly there were 3) directional to the island (protects WHAM 1180 beside sending its signal where it is intended for) . . .
Click to expand...

If the Marathon site had three towers, that would have been prior to about 1988 or so.

My history notes on Marathon indicate that Marathon - Sister Creek location - was upgraded from the original three tower array to the current four tower array in the late 1980s. In rebuilding the Marathon site in that time period, it appears there was a four tower array built in the Saddlebunch Keys area, while the Marathon site was upgraded. Operations were shifted back to Marathon at some point in 1988.

I've tried to see if I could find the Saddlebunch Keys location, using Google Earth, but could not find anything.

I had visited Marathon in the early 1980s, and it was three towers, and I am thinking the site had one, for sure, and maybe two Continental 317s installed. If my memory serves me correctly, the Continentals have been replaced with a Harris 3DX100.
 
RadioFan2J3 said:
If the Marathon site had three towers, that would have been prior to about 1988 or so.
Click to expand...

The site I went to was the Marathon site. Again, it was in a residential area. It had to be the late 90's.

As I said I thought it was 3 tower's but your info indicates it was 4 by the 90's, Thanks.
 

KLCQ-FM Davis in Dixon, CA 95620 -

KLCQ-FM Davis located at , Dixon, CA 95620 - reviews, ratings, hours, phone number, directions, and more.
www.chamberofcommerce.com www.chamberofcommerce.com


Apparently there's a KLCQ-FM Sacramento listed and it's transmitter is also in Dixon. But when I tried to look for this station it's really licensed to Durango, Colorado. Yes this is the one antenna seen on I-80 outside of UC Davis. But when I looked at the location of the former VOA and NBC Shortwave transmitters you would have to take the Pedrick exit in Dixon and head to Radio Station Road to the former site of the VOA.

www.klove.com

Durango

Station Page for Durango 88.5 FM : KLCQ
www.klove.com www.klove.com
 

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