The CBS BONG

[radiorob2.0]

When did the CBS television network discontinue the top of the hour BONG?

 

[oldiesfan6479]

Google "CBS Bong" and two results indicate it was during
the 1980s--one states early 80s, one mid-80s.

 

[radiorob2.0]

Thanks! The Google is a wonderful thing.

 

[RicoGregg]

Bong!

I miss the Mutual Radio "bee-doop"!

 

[radiorob2.0]

Bong!

I miss the Mutual Radio "bee-doop"!

I still hear it from time to time. Westwood One, or whoever they are today, dissolved the Mutual network but kept the "bee-doop".

Another "noise" no longer heard, the DTMF sequence used by early cable channels to activate local origination.

 

[KML0224]

Perhaps you mean the tone on the hour thing? WCBS-AM 880 of New York still uses it, but due to the digital delay, you hear it at XX:00:09 or so. Then there's the much-heralded Victory tone you hear on the hour for WTIC-AM 1080 of Hartford. Just for the asking, where was this on the television end?

 

[oldiesfan6479]

Bong!
I miss the Mutual Radio "bee-doop"!

I also miss the ABC/C news sounder.

"...right now 60 degrees and raining--world news next--this is Bob Hardt."
(sounder, then under)
"This is news from American Contemporary Radio, I'm Joe Templeton in Washington..."

 

[oldiesfan6479]

Just for the asking, where was this on the television end?

TOH, in black, followed immediately by the start of the program.

On rare occasions due to a glitch in the switching routers, you
would see a flash frame of the WCBS-TV ID just before, or on
top of, the bong.

Generally, the network was silent/in black for at least the last part
of the station break until the bong (sometimes there was an affiliate
advisory message or other closed-circuit material during the break),
one exception to that was the second feed (7:00 ET) of Cronkite
where they'd bring up the teletype sound at about 6:59:55 over
black, then the bong at 7:00:00. As I recall, the same thing would
occur at 6:29:55 going into the first (live) feed, but of course with
no bong at 6:30:00.

 

[wbhist]

For those interested - and I measured it - the CBS bong appears to be 433 Hz, with 866 Hz modulation.

NBC's top-of-the-hour tones which used to start prior to NBC TV programs up to the early to mid 1970's appeared to be around 730 Hz, while on their hourly news updates on the radio it seemed more to be 750 Hz.

As for Mutual's "be-doops," they are heard on the hourly "CNN Radio" news updates. There used to be stuff on the Web as to what number code signified what audio frequency (Hz), and which sequence of what was code for which.

 

[Prais]

Bong?
To my recollection, CBS radio used to have a top of the hour "STRING PLUCK." It sounded like a violin string.

I can "hear" the 6 note news sounder following that.

I was thinking about the early 60's on WBBM radio, w/a local show that had an orchestra - (I think it was Ralph Marterie) sponsored by McLothlin's Manor House Coffee. This may have been against the "Breakfast Cub" on wls.

WBBM then had Garry Moore, Arthur Godfrey, Crosby/Clooney, Art Linkletter's House Party (on radio at 11:30 and TV at 1:30) and (was it?) Guiding Light on mornings on WBBM radio, with Paul Gibson and Lee Phillip in there somewhere, and news featuring "big" John Harrington.

Ultima, how old were you in (say) 1961? I was 11. Anybody else remember any of this?

 

[Ultimajock]

I was thinking about the early 60's on WBBM radio, w/a local show that had an orchestra - (I think it was Ralph Marterie) sponsored by McLothlin's Manor House Coffee. This may have been against the "Breakfast Cub" on wls.

WBBM then had Garry Moore, Arthur Godfrey, Crosby/Clooney, Art Linkletter's House Party (on radio at 11:30 and TV at 1:30) and (was it?) Guiding Light on mornings on WBBM radio, with Paul Gibson and Lee Phillip in there somewhere, and news featuring "big" John Harrington.

Ultima, how old were you in (say) 1961? I was 11. Anybody else remember any of this?

...I was born that February. I'm only familiar with the pre-all-news WBBM through airchecks, of which I have a batch of Paul Gibsons and a bunch of wartime "World Today" from when they called themselves "The WBBM Air Theater, Wrigley Building, Chicago." Blame Chuck Schaden at WDCB for those. ;-) ...

 

[RicoGregg]

Bong?
To my recollection, CBS radio used to have a top of the hour "STRING PLUCK." It sounded like a violin string.

I can "hear" the 6 note news sounder following that.

I was thinking about the early 60's on WBBM radio, w/a local show that had an orchestra - (I think it was Ralph Marterie) sponsored by McLothlin's Manor House Coffee. This may have been against the "Breakfast Cub" on wls.

Maybe it was more like a "Boong" than a "Bong".

I do seem to remember reading somewhere that the tone was a certain piano key being struck. If I can find that info, I'll post it.

I'm also an aging Baby Boomer, and I can remember Don McNeil's Breakfast Club still being on the radio. That was on Mutual, am I right? Arthur Godfrey's show was also run into the late 60s or so. I remember hearing it on KNX in Los Angeles.

 

[Prais]

Thanks to both f you.

Breakfast Cub was certainly on ABC - abd WLS, in Chicago. I was there for maybe 3 broadcasts.

(Announcer; Chuck Bill
"Live from the Cloud Room, high atop the Allerton Hotel on Chicago's Magnificent Mile, the ABC Radio Network presents Don McNeil's Breakfast Club."

(cue singers)
"Good Mornig Breakfast Clubers, godd morning to ya' (second and third lines forgotten) First call to breakfast for all of you out there. America's awake, the breakfast club is on the air."

(cue Don)

Chuck Bill was also Paul Harvey's announcer (from the abc studios a floor below wls that were always FREEZING cold) and did a program with Captain Stubby.

They were also often on WBKB-tv kid's shows, with "The Buccaneers" a music group. Chuk's line there was "Hello you little spelunkers." Chuck and Stubby are both now deceased, but funy, happy, genuine people.

Wow, WBBM; Paul Gibson, Mel Bellairs, Art Mercier (an outdoors show?), John Harrington, Lee Phillip (imagine a woman!), also Josh Brady, "The Over 30 Dance" on Saturday night, I also remember LIVE music in the early 60's - and all that cbs stuff (I listed above) o- and "The Amos and Andy Music Hall." I heard the last broadcast of that when I was in high school, probably about '65 - in the Summertime.

Just a few days after it turned all news, I believe the Fohrman Brothers were murdered in their car dealership (on Madison St.?). I think I heard that on wbbm (could have been McLendon WNUS though). The Fohrman's also were an early sponsor of Wrestling on Channel 26.

As a kid, after 'bbm went all news, I listened to WIND and WGN more often. I also remember wcfl pre-top 40 , as a "big band" station; Jazz overnight, then Dan Sorkin and News with Howie Roberts (wow - what pipes). WCFL was in the Furniture Mart, across from WBBM. They played 78 rpm records. Early music on wcfl was also from turntables.
WCFL looked like an old place (much like wind).

I never got in past the @#$% guard at WBBM. That too negatively affected my further listening to them.

 

[bpatrick]

CBS's tone sounded more like a piano note
than a violin pluck to me, but I liked it better
than NBC's "beep"-like tone. And I do remember
that the 7 PM feed of Cronkite had the tone, whereas
the 6:30 one didn't.

 

[BrigThomson]

Mutual also had what I always called the Fog Horn tone at their bottom of the hour newscasts. I remember that it would hit so hard that even if your pot was at normal level, the tone before the start of the cast would peg the needle. Another thing I remember about the CBS TV time tone was that back in the days when TV shows had opening themes it would sort of serve as the "downbeat" for the opening of the song. Also, IIRC, it only played at the 8pm(EST) opening of the night's primetime offerings. You didn't hear it at 9 or at 10. Just 8PM.

 

[bpatrick]

I seem to remember it at the top of the hour
during the day (for example, before "Password"
at 2 PM, "To Tell The Truth" at 3, and "Secret
Storm" at 4); I do remember it
before CBS Radio's hourly newscasts, and I think at
the top of the hour during television sportscasts.
I could be wrong.

 

[ercjncpr]

Bong?
To my recollection, CBS radio used to have a top of the hour "STRING PLUCK." It sounded like a violin string.

I can "hear" the 6 note news sounder following that.

I was thinking about the early 60's on WBBM radio, w/a local show that had an orchestra - (I think it was Ralph Marterie) sponsored by McLothlin's Manor House Coffee. This may have been against the "Breakfast Cub" on wls.

WBBM then had Garry Moore, Arthur Godfrey, Crosby/Clooney, Art Linkletter's House Party (on radio at 11:30 and TV at 1:30) and (was it?) Guiding Light on mornings on WBBM radio, with Paul Gibson and Lee Phillip in there somewhere, and news featuring "big" John Harrington.

Ultima, how old were you in (say) 1961? I was 11. Anybody else remember any of this?

Yes I was also a listener to CBS radio (KNX Los Angeles) at that time. Out here things started off from 6am to 10am with Bob Crane (later to become Colonel Hogan on Hogan's Heroes) followed by the CBS schedule you mentioned. Actually Guiding Light had left radio in '56. Until November 1960 CBS Radio had 4 soaps, Best Seller (dramatizations of novels) and the comedy serial The Couple Next Door. But since this is the classic TV board I will mention that Arthur Godfrey Time was on CBS TV until around '58 or '59 and Art Linkletter's radio show was the edited audio track of the TV series.

 

[radiorob2.0]

Mutual also had what I always called the Fog Horn tone at their bottom of the hour newscasts. I remember that it would hit so hard that even if your pot was at normal level, the tone before the start of the cast would peg the needle. Another thing I remember about the CBS TV time tone was that back in the days when TV shows had opening themes it would sort of serve as the "downbeat" for the opening of the song. Also, IIRC, it only played at the 8pm(EST) opening of the night's primetime offerings. You didn't hear it at 9 or at 10. Just 8PM.

ABC radio used to have a long tone ten seconds before programming such as TOH news. IIRC, the tone was above program level.

 

[Stanislav]

Questions for you engineer-type guys.....was there a reason why that specific basic tone (433 Hz) was chosen for the "bong," or was it more or less arbitrary? (BTW, for reference, 433 Hz is just slightly lower than the A below middle C on a piano.) I know it served as a time check mark and, perhaps, an auditory signal to affiliates or manual switcher/routers, but was it also used to trigger anything electronically?

 

[oldiesfan6479]

...but was it also used to trigger anything electronically?

CBS Radio has the "chirp" for electronic triggering. It is a lot less
obtrusive than the Mutual "bee-doop."

More background is at:
http://www.broadcasting101.ws/tones.htm