YOU KNOW YOU'VE BEEN AROUND...

[Bob E. Nelson]

...for a long time when you can fill in this blank from the end of Double-Double newscast:

``That's a 2 on the ______ Scale.''

Anyone else remember this distinctive exit from the 970 newscasts back in the day?

 

[hypwr]

On the Beaufort Scale.

 

[Bob E. Nelson]

On the Beaufort Scale.

Right! The old WWSW was eccentric (in the best sense of that word) when other Pittsburgh stations had become more mainstream by the mid-60's:

1). They were still running a nightly classical music program - ``The Golden Hour''.
2). A midday Polka show was still airing - ``Polka Hits''.
3). Jingles recorded in the 40's were still in use, notably the ``Sounds in the Night'' for the all night ``970 Club'', previously the ``1490 Club'' and ``1500 Club'' for its old frequencies.
4). The jingles and spots were still aired via transcription turntables for years, long after other facilities were using carts.

In short, it has real character and the use of the ``Beaufort Scale'' for wind readings was but one example of Double-Double's individuality.

 

[MsMusicRadio]

How did they do in the ratings?

 

[Pratte4Life]

What is a transcription turntable?

 

[Savage]

A big record player. For big records. Or was your tongue firmly planted in-cheek when you asked?

 

[Bob E. Nelson]

How did they do in the ratings?

As I recall from a Pulse survey circa 1966, WWSW was second to KDKA in the adult breakout.

WTAE has just emerged from WRYT and had not yet established itself. Meanwhile WJAS was still not 24 hours and was dayparted with chicken rock from 5 AM-7 PM and country from 7 PM until sign off until 1 AM. KQV, of course, was not an in-format competitor to WWSW. And FM was not yet on the radar in that era.

 

[Savage]

At the risk of sounding pedantic: a brief explanation for younger posters and readers who never encountered a transcription turntable.

Tape recording was developed by the Germans in World War 2. The only practical, widely-used recording system prior to that was recording directly onto large-size phonograph discs, 16 inches in diameter, which revolved at 78 rpm for music and at 33 1/3 rpm for network shows and for lower-quality demand programming. They were played back on turntables which looked like typical ones except on steroids, with platters of 20 inches or bigger.

Even though tape was adopted quite rapidly in broadcasting, "electrical transcriptions" were still in widespread use in radio as late as the late 1960s. When I started in radio in '67 about 60 percent of our recorded spots at the New York State daytimer where I worked were still on ETs. We had cart machines (two) but carts were mostly used for station elements, jingles, intros etc. Spots were either live-read or on disc or small open-reel tapes. Carts of the earlier era weren't particularly reliable, nor did they sound as good as other sources.

 

[hypwr]

When WCNG (The Station With You In Mind) in Canonsburg signed on in 1957, we subscribed to the World Transcription Library. The ETs were 16 inch, VERTICLE CUT, and played from the inside out. We had 2 tone arms for each turntable.

When I started in radio in 1953, WJAS-FM was the local Storecast Station. They used the Lang-Worth Library, but with 7 inch ETs.

 

[hypwr]

How did they do in the ratings?

Actually, before Cordic, Pallin and Jim Williams left Double Double for KD, the 970 station actually beat out KD in the ratings. In fact, they beat them during some day parts when they were on 1490. One of their former staff announcers told me that the fear at WWSW was that "those idiots at Westinghouse will wake up some day and realize what they have and will beat us".

WWSW had only 250 watts on 1490. Therefore, KD got out 14 times as far with their signal, and were still beaten.

 

[Bob E. Nelson]

Actually, before Cordic, Pallin and Jim Williams left Double Double for KD, the 970 station actually beat out KD in the ratings. In fact, they beat them during some day parts when they were on 1490. One of their former staff announcers told me that the fear at WWSW was that "those idiots at Westinghouse will wake up some day and realize what they have and will beat us".

WWSW had only 250 watts on 1490. Therefore, KD got out 14 times as far with their signal, and were still beaten.

Please correct me if I'm wrong on any of these points about WWSW:

1). They were Pittsburgh's first 24 hour station.

2). The original owner was William S. Walker, hence the call letters.

3). Before moving to Pittsburgh, they were licensed to Wilkinsburg (the same suburb where Dr. Conrad started 8XK which, of course, became KDKA and is where WTAE-TV currently has its studio site).

4). Since WWSW was an independent in the days of network (Red, Blue, Columbia and Mutual) radio, they had to out-hustle the competitors. As a result, they had a lot of sports programming, notably the Pirates and possibly the pre-dynasty Steelers.

5). Before Cox bought it, WIIC and WWSW were under common ownership of the Block family (the P-G).

6). The old 1500/1490 site was at or near the WIIC (now WPXI) facility on Rising Main Avenue on the North Side. After WWII, WWSW was granted the current big 8-tower array and raised power to 5,000 on the 970 frequency -- albeit with a sharp null toward co-channel WREO in Ashtabula, OH and a fairly deep notch protecting adjacent-channel WDBJ/970 (now WFIR) in Roanoke, also affording protection for WFLA/970 in Tampa.

...someone needs to put up a tribute page for good old Double-Double. It seems to be the forgotten station of the region perhaps because it was rather stodgy (in the kindest sense of that word).

 

[Parttimer]

6). The old 1500/1490 site was at or near the WIIC (now WPXI) facility on Rising Main Avenue on the North Side. After WWII, WWSW was granted the current big 8-tower array and raised power to 5,000 on the 970 frequency -- albeit with a sharp null toward co-channel WREO in Ashtabula, OH and a fairly deep notch protecting adjacent-channel WDBJ/970 (now WFIR) in Roanoke, also affording protection for WFLA/970 in Tampa.

Sharp null is an understatement, it sounds like it's underwater on McKnight Road and barely gets past Cranberry to the north. Comes in fine in Uniontown, though.

 

[Bob E. Nelson]

[WWSW's] Sharp null is an understatement, it sounds like it's underwater on McKnight Road and barely gets past Cranberry to the north. Comes in fine in Uniontown, though.

The nighttime notch to the south played havoc even as close in as Whitehall. OTHO, the large lobe to the southeast made WWSW a regular in Virginia Beach where we used to spend the summer.

 

[hypwr]

Actually, before Cordic, Pallin and Jim Williams left Double Double for KD, the 970 station actually beat out KD in the ratings. In fact, they beat them during some day parts when they were on 1490. One of their former staff announcers told me that the fear at WWSW was that "those idiots at Westinghouse will wake up some day and realize what they have and will beat us".

WWSW had only 250 watts on 1490. Therefore, KD got out 14 times as far with their signal, and were still beaten.

Please correct me if I'm wrong on any of these points about WWSW:

1). They were Pittsburgh's first 24 hour station.

2). The original owner was William S. Walker, hence the call letters.

3). Before moving to Pittsburgh, they were licensed to Wilkinsburg (the same suburb where Dr. Conrad started 8XK which, of course, became KDKA and is where WTAE-TV currently has its studio site).

4). Since WWSW was an independent in the days of network (Red, Blue, Columbia and Mutual) radio, they had to out-hustle the competitors. As a result, they had a lot of sports programming, notably the Pirates and possibly the pre-dynasty Steelers.

5). Before Cox bought it, WIIC and WWSW were under common ownership of the Block family (the P-G).

6). The old 1500/1490 site was at or near the WIIC (now WPXI) facility on Rising Main Avenue on the North Side. After WWII, WWSW was granted the current big 8-tower array and raised power to 5,000 on the 970 frequency -- albeit with a sharp null toward co-channel WREO in Ashtabula, OH and a fairly deep notch protecting adjacent-channel WDBJ/970 (now WFIR) in Roanoke, also affording protection for WFLA/970 in Tampa.

...someone needs to put up a tribute page for good old Double-Double. It seems to be the forgotten station of the region perhaps because it was rather stodgy (in the kindest sense of that word).

You are right sir! However, for a while they were an outlet for the Victory Network during WWII and shortly thereafter.
I remember when Michael Marlowe, one of their staff announcers, was drafted. He sounded rather upset.

Do you remember when their FM was assigned 44.7 MC in the old FM band? Their call was W47P, later changed to WTNT. They didn't have the imagination to promote those dynamite call letters. Later, when they deserted the old band, they became WMOT. Bill Cullen was one of their announcers.

 

[Bob E. Nelson]

You are right sir! However, for a while they were an outlet for the Victory Network during WWII and shortly thereafter.

I remember when Michael Marlowe, one of their staff announcers, was drafted. He sounded rather upset.

Do you remember when their FM was assigned 44.7 MC in the old FM band? Their call was W47P, later changed to WTNT. They didn't have the imagination to promote those dynamite call letters. Later, when they deserted the old band, they became WMOT. Bill Cullen was one of their announcers.

Batting nearly 1000 eh [modulo the Victory Network]?

WWSW-FM on the old band predated me. Although I did work at what used to be W75P (if I'm not mistaken, those were KDKA-FM's old calls) when it was WPNT and WLTJ.

Because of your familiarity with WJAS, I have to ask this:

Back when they had the two-tower site on Crane Avenue, I recall that each structure was different looking. They didn't seem to be a matched pair to my eyes. Was WJAS non-DA back when it was on 1290 and operating with 1,000 watts at night? If so, I'd presume that the second (different looking) tower was added when the night power was bumped to 5 kW?

 

[fybush]

I don't believe KDKA-FM ever operated with the old number-letter calls. If it did, it would have been W75P, for the 47.5 mc frequency the station used - but by the time it went on in 1942, I'm pretty sure the FCC had switched over to issuing "standard" calls for FM stations.

KDKA-FM moved to 94.1 when FM was kicked upstairs in 1948, but a massive shuffling of assignments nationwide soon moved it to 92.9. I'm pretty sure Westinghouse took the station off the air for a time in the 1950s, as it's my understanding that the original KDKA-FM tower (at the current WQED site in Oakland, if memory serves) was dismantled and shipped to Boston to be used as a backup tower for WBZ-TV, where it still stands in the parking lot.

 

[hypwr]

I don't believe KDKA-FM ever operated with the old number-letter calls. If it did, it would have been W75P, for the 47.5 mc frequency the station used - but by the time it went on in 1942, I'm pretty sure the FCC had switched over to issuing "standard" calls for FM stations.

KDKA-FM moved to 94.1 when FM was kicked upstairs in 1948, but a massive shuffling of assignments nationwide soon moved it to 92.9. I'm pretty sure Westinghouse took the station off the air for a time in the 1950s, as it's my understanding that the original KDKA-FM tower (at the current WQED site in Oakland, if memory serves) was dismantled and shipped to Boston to be used as a backup tower for WBZ-TV, where it still stands in the parking lot.

They did operate as W75P when they went on the air in 1940. W47P signed on in 1939 and I believe they are the oldest FM in the US. There were earlier stations, but they were dumped during the early 50s when the short-sighted owners thought FM was a failure. KD-FM never signed off.

The Oakland tower (with the KDKA call letters lighted on the sides) was used by WQED-TV for quite a few years before they installed a new tower.

By the way, this was KD's Conelrad site. They had a 10KW Continental xmtr. shunt feeding the tower.

 

[hypwr]

You are right sir! However, for a while they were an outlet for the Victory Network during WWII and shortly thereafter.

I remember when Michael Marlowe, one of their staff announcers, was drafted. He sounded rather upset.

Do you remember when their FM was assigned 44.7 MC in the old FM band? Their call was W47P, later changed to WTNT. They didn't have the imagination to promote those dynamite call letters. Later, when they deserted the old band, they became WMOT. Bill Cullen was one of their announcers.

Batting nearly 1000 eh [modulo the Victory Network]?

WWSW-FM on the old band predated me. Although I did work at what used to be W75P (if I'm not mistaken, those were KDKA-FM's old calls) when it was WPNT and WLTJ.

Because of your familiarity with WJAS, I have to ask this:

Back when they had the two-tower site on Crane Avenue, I recall that each structure was different looking. They didn't seem to be a matched pair to my eyes. Was WJAS non-DA back when it was on 1290 and operating with 1,000 watts at night? If so, I'd presume that the second (different looking) tower was added when the night power was bumped to 5 kW?

WJAS and KQV were diplexed on a single tower during the daytime. At night, KQV used an additional tower. This was a thinner profile Blaw-Knox unit. In 1943, JAS was given permission by the War Dept. to construct a second tower so that they could operate with 5KW at night. I watched the construction from my bedroom window.

When the Brennans were forced to sell KQV, the new owners moved to the Holly Hills site with 5, 350 ft. towers. The Green Tree towers were only 175 feet high.