Hi:
Just checking as part of working on the WGSF web sites.

Been working on moving the WGSF blog into  a new location on the
server. Updated the software running the blog to a later release.
Moving shortens the URL - mostly a tech thing. Still a lot to
move/change. Sometimes frustrating, maddening, but always 'educational' !

I am concerned that people may have problems accessing the web sites,
or that there have been issues that I am not aware of (SPAM, etc.)
And I have no way of knowing if messages reach the addressee  . . .
Could be ending up in a junk mail folder.  So, in a sense, this is
sort of a "Roll Call."

(If I DON'T get a response - tells me nothing, of course. Maddening,
isn't it??)

PLEASE take a moment to help check this out, even if you have nothing
to say other than "Hi"

I have been having problems getting the contact function working right
on the  blog. You will see a menu on the page.
      Please go to:
http://oldgleaner.com/blogs/
There is a line of words in a menu at the upper left of the page:

     * Home
     * Announcements
     * How To Register
     * Contact
     * Log in
Click on the word  'Contact'  - you should (?) get an e-mail form  to
fill out to send a message to 'Admin' (me)
If you get an error page  - click 'back button on browser - then try
again.  Still doesn't work?
Send an email to me at   lhhubbell@...     and let me know.

  Listserver for group e-mail:
e-mail sent to the WGSF Listserver address automatically goes to
everyone on the list.
wgsftelevision@...
BUT you have to be a member of the list to post - as a protection
against SPAM

This mailing list information is located at:
http://wgsf.oldgleaner.com/mailman/listinfo/wgsftelevision_wgsf.oldgleaner.com
You can subscribe, unsubscribe, change your password, etc.

Can you send an email to the list? Problems? Don't know your password?
Don't want to be bothered and want to Opt out?
Again, please let me know.

The old blog is at:
http://oldgleaner.com/gleaner_b2evolution/blogs/blog2.php

The old Yahoo site remains in place, as well:
http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/WGSF_TV/

The newer one at

http://wgsf.oldgleaner.com/

allows more people access  to the site.

If there are issues, problems, things that could be made better  . . .
please let me know.

Mr H
I can still be reached at the old email:
lhhubbell@...
leek8mzh@...
WGSF.sites@...

Yes, WGSF Television is still at the Yahoo! Groups location. Not much
is happening here. But the site is still running.
So - just to let those of you who still maintain an active Yahoo address:


In the spirit of a new year, may I wish you,
  Lang may yer lum reek.

     Yes, that is not a phrase you hear every day. In fact (admit it!)
you may not even be sure that you like the sound of it. "What's a
lum?," you might ask. And doesn't `reek' mean  `smell bad?"
     Well, to the Scots, a `lum' is a chimney. Their meaning of `reek'
is simply - `smoke.'
     So they say, "Long may your chimney smoke." Meaning - "May you
have a long life!"

More Scottish Words:
     "In days of auld Lang Syne."

`Syne" means `since';
     therefore, "Old Long Since."
     So when we look to the coming year, we sing to the remembrance of
times past.

  "Fear less, hope more;
Whine less breathe more;
Talk less, say more;
Hate less, love more;
And all good things are yours. "
Anon

Mr. H.

The 2008 Early Television Convention will be telecast live on the
internet from 10 AM to 5 PM Eastern Standard Time. There will be a link
on www.earlytelevision.org to allow you access.

Larry & Shelley Wilson wrote:
> For anyone who remembers David E. Smith from late 60's to early 70's,
> Dave passed away Wednesday, April 16, at Riverside Hospital in
> Columbus.  His funeral is tomorrow, Monday, April 21, at 11:00 A.M. at
> Bruckler & Kishler Funeral Home at 985 N. 21st St. in Newark.  Dave's
> picture was on the front of the Columbus Sunday Dispatch Magazine that
> is posted under the photo section.  He is the one on camera standing
> next to Denny Edwards.  His obituary is in the Newark Advocate, Friday,
> April 18.  May he rest in peace.
>
> God bless,
> Larry Wilson
>
>
Thanks, Larry
I saw that, but didn't make the connection.

I have set up a new e-mail list distribution account which will replace
this Yahoo! Groups account.
More information will be sent out Monday.
To sign up for the new e-mail service, go to

http://wgsf.oldgleaner.com/mailman/listinfo/wgsftelevision_wgsf.oldgleaner.com

and subscribe. You will use your primary e-mail name and address, and
receive e-mails on that mail account. No need for anyone to be excluded
because they don't want a Yahoo account.
Watch for a new WGSF Home Page.

Leland Hubbell

Leland Hubbell

For anyone who remembers David E. Smith from late 60's to early 70's,
Dave passed away Wednesday, April 16, at Riverside Hospital in
Columbus.  His funeral is tomorrow, Monday, April 21, at 11:00 A.M. at
Bruckler & Kishler Funeral Home at 985 N. 21st St. in Newark.  Dave's
picture was on the front of the Columbus Sunday Dispatch Magazine that
is posted under the photo section.  He is the one on camera standing
next to Denny Edwards.  His obituary is in the Newark Advocate, Friday,
April 18.  May he rest in peace.

God bless,
Larry Wilson

Funeral services for Robert Michael McDaniel, 87, will be at 10 a.m.
Saturday at Trinity Episcopal Church, 76 E. Main St., Newark, with the
Rev. Kathryn Clausen and the Rev. Steven Carroll officiating. Burial
will be in Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Robert passed away April 4, 2008, at the Selma Markowitz Care Centre,
operated by Hospice of Central Ohio.

Mr. McDaniel taught the WGSF Television summer school course for several
years, and continued to send students to WGSF from his classes at
Granville High School.

I have made a couple of posts on the WGSF Blog, so will not duplicate
them here.
To read them, please go to the WGSF web page:

http://wgsf.oldgleaner.com/

To read the WGSF Blog pages, click on the BLOG menu, or use the URL below.
      To add comments, simply register to the blog.
(Note: This is not the old Yahoo Group account. You can use your regular
email account name)

There is a link named Contact if you wish to use regular email.

http://oldgleaner.com/gleaner_b2evolution/blogs/blog1.php

Summaries of all posts will be maintained at the regular web pages:

http://wgsf.oldgleaner.com/


Leland Hubbell

This is the latest feature of the WGSF Television website:

http://oldgleaner.com/gleaner_b2evolution/blogs/blog1.php

     * *WGSF Blog *: This Blog will provide a means for information
       exchange and discussion on selected topics. Here are a few:
     * Blue Truck
       <http://oldgleaner.com/gleaner_b2evolution/blogs/blog1.php/blue/>
     * Hartford Fair
       <http://oldgleaner.com/gleaner_b2evolution/blogs/blog1.php/fair/>
     * Mobile TV Truck
       <http://oldgleaner.com/gleaner_b2evolution/blogs/blog1.php/truck/>
     * News <http://oldgleaner.com/gleaner_b2evolution/blogs/blog1.php/news/>
     * Sports Coverage
       <http://oldgleaner.com/gleaner_b2evolution/blogs/blog1.php/sports/>
     * Summer Festival
       <http://oldgleaner.com/gleaner_b2evolution/blogs/blog1.php/festival/>
     * Welcome
       <http://oldgleaner.com/gleaner_b2evolution/blogs/blog1.php/welcome/>
     * Wildcat Den
       <http://oldgleaner.com/gleaner_b2evolution/blogs/blog1.php/wildcat/>

     * *Status*: This is a "learning experience" for the 'admin' (Leland
       Hubbell. Expect changes as the system is developed. There are
       still some links to the company that developed the software.
     * A Blog is not as open as the Yahoo! Groups web site, I am finding.
       Topics seem to be limited to the  subject of the post made by the
       administrator (or selected others. - Stay tuned! I am still
       learning the all of the features.)
     *

     * *Feedback*: Your suggestions are welcomed. Simply use the CONTACT
       menu to send an email directly to me.

Note that any email posted to me will go to
         lhhubbell@...
Please enable a listing in your address books so the spam blocker will
not block it.

I may also set up a list server to open up the discussion to topics of
your choosing.

Please share the existence of the WGSF web site with others who were
connected with WGSF as Student Staff, Volunteers, Administrators,
Employees, or Community Support..

Leland Hubbell

This is the latest feature of the WGSF Television website:

http://oldgleaner.com/gleaner_b2evolution/blogs/blog1.php

     * *WGSF Blog *: This Blog will provide a means for information
       exchange and discussion on selected topics. Here are a few:
     * Blue Truck
       <http://oldgleaner.com/gleaner_b2evolution/blogs/blog1.php/blue/>
     * Hartford Fair
       <http://oldgleaner.com/gleaner_b2evolution/blogs/blog1.php/fair/>
     * Mobile TV Truck
       <http://oldgleaner.com/gleaner_b2evolution/blogs/blog1.php/truck/>
     * News <http://oldgleaner.com/gleaner_b2evolution/blogs/blog1.php/news/>
     * Sports Coverage
       <http://oldgleaner.com/gleaner_b2evolution/blogs/blog1.php/sports/>
     * Summer Festival
       <http://oldgleaner.com/gleaner_b2evolution/blogs/blog1.php/festival/>
     * Welcome
       <http://oldgleaner.com/gleaner_b2evolution/blogs/blog1.php/welcome/>
     * Wildcat Den
       <http://oldgleaner.com/gleaner_b2evolution/blogs/blog1.php/wildcat/>

     * *Status*: This is a "learning experience" for the 'admin' (Leland
       Hubbell. Expect changes as the system is developed. There are
       still some links to the company that developed the software.
     * A Blog is not as open as the Yahoo! Groups web site, I am finding.
       Topics seem to be limited to the  subject of the post made by the
       administrator (or selected others. - Stay tuned! I am still
       learning the all of the features.)
     *

     * *Feedback*: Your suggestions are welcomed. Simply use the CONTACT
       menu to send an email directly to me.

Note that any email posted to me will go to
         lhhubbell@...
Please enable a listing in your address books so the spam blocker will
not block it.

I may also set up a list server to open up the discussion to topics of
your choosing.

Please share the existence of the WGSF web site with others who were
connected with WGSF as Student Staff, Volunteers, Administrators,
Employees, or Community Support..

Leland Hubbell

Hey, Bill! How ya doin'! Check out www.dtv.gov for answers. Time Warner can also help you. If you are hooked up already to digital tv, via cable or satellite, you don't need to do anything. If you receive by air, then you need a converter. The federal government is issuing $40 certificates (2 of them) to help with that purchase if you need one.
Looking forward to seeing you at the next WGSF reunion.
Larry Wilson
---- Bill Clifford <clifford1950@...> wrote: 

LELAND: CAN YOU OR ANYONE ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS ON HDTV? I HAVE AN RCA COLOR SET, ABOUT 10 YEARS OLD, WORKS FINE. I AM HOOKED TO TIME-WARNER CABLE INCLUDING DIGITAL CHANNELS AND MY ROAD RUNNER SERVICE. DO I NEED TO BUY SOME OTHER CONVERTOR BOX OR A NEW HDTV WHEN THIS CHANGE OVER HAPPENES NEXT FEBRUARY? I HAVE BEEN TOLD BY DIFFERENT PEOPLE I DON'T NEED TO MAKE ANY CHANGES. OTHERS TELL ME A NEW HDTV. AND STILL OTHERS A NEW HDTV AND CONVERTOR BOX.
DOES THE CONVERTOR BOX FOR MY DIGITAL CHANNELS COVER EVERYTHING?
ANY HELP OR GUIDANCE IS APPRECIATED.
BILL CLIFFORD

Hey, Bill!  How ya doin'!  Check out www.dtv.gov for answers.  Time Warner can
also help you.  If you are hooked up already to digital tv, via cable or
satellite, you don't need to do anything.  If you receive by air, then you need
a converter.  The federal government is issuing $40 certificates (2 of them) to
help with that purchase if you need one.

Looking forward to seeing you at the next WGSF reunion.

Larry Wilson

---- Bill Clifford <clifford1950@...> wrote:
> LELAND: CAN YOU OR ANYONE ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS ON HDTV? I HAVE AN RCA
> COLOR SET, ABOUT 10 YEARS OLD, WORKS FINE. I AM HOOKED TO TIME-WARNER CABLE
> INCLUDING DIGITAL CHANNELS AND MY ROAD RUNNER SERVICE. DO I NEED TO BUY SOME
> OTHER CONVERTOR BOX OR A NEW HDTV WHEN THIS CHANGE OVER HAPPENES NEXT
> FEBRUARY? I HAVE BEEN TOLD BY DIFFERENT PEOPLE I DON'T NEED TO MAKE ANY
> CHANGES. OTHERS TELL ME A NEW HDTV. AND STILL OTHERS A NEW HDTV AND
> CONVERTOR BOX.
>
> DOES THE CONVERTOR BOX FOR MY DIGITAL CHANNELS COVER EVERYTHING?
>
> ANY HELP OR GUIDANCE IS APPRECIATED.
>
> BILL CLIFFORD
>

LELAND: CAN YOU OR ANYONE ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS ON HDTV? I HAVE AN RCA
COLOR SET, ABOUT 10 YEARS OLD, WORKS FINE. I AM HOOKED TO TIME-WARNER CABLE
INCLUDING DIGITAL CHANNELS AND MY ROAD RUNNER SERVICE. DO I NEED TO BUY SOME
OTHER CONVERTOR BOX OR A NEW HDTV WHEN THIS CHANGE OVER HAPPENES NEXT
FEBRUARY? I HAVE BEEN TOLD BY DIFFERENT PEOPLE I DON'T NEED TO MAKE ANY
CHANGES. OTHERS TELL ME A NEW HDTV. AND STILL OTHERS A NEW HDTV AND
CONVERTOR BOX.

DOES THE CONVERTOR BOX FOR MY DIGITAL CHANNELS COVER EVERYTHING?

ANY HELP OR GUIDANCE IS APPRECIATED.

BILL CLIFFORD

Hey there Mitch.  Sorry I haven't gotten a reply sooner, but I've
been busy with a lot of things.  Yeah, I do still enjoy many things
KISS, but I am not happy with the way Gene and Paul usceremoniously
blew out Peter and Ace this time around, after their "farewell tour.
What iritates me is the fact they still use Space Ace and Cat makeup
with replacement players, and tried intially to fool fans by doing it
silently until Ace spoke up to say that ain't me...when the band
toured with Aerosmith a couple years ago.  Of course I already had
tickets, but hey, Aerosmith made up for the ruse.  I do occasionally
watch the Gene Simmons reality show as a time killer, and I have to
say the Kissology DVD set is awsome for a complete history of the
band with tons of concert footage.  Worth every cent I spent on it.

Sorry you couldn't get a good deal with WHIZ, but they are infamous
for not paying up.  If Cathy wasn't working a good job, I wouldn't be
able to afford staying there myself.  I love being able to stay this
close to home, and not have to mess in the coroporate radio world of
Clear Channel, etc.

I had wondered what happened, because I was told you were being
contacted with an offer, so now I know, and it really is not a
surprise.  Take care.

--- In WGSF_TV@yahoogroups.com, Mitchell Morrison <wgsftv@...> wrote:
>
> Hello Alan. It seems the last stations standing will be those with
newcasts to sell. I did get an offer to do production, promotions and
direct the 6 & 10 news in your area. The money was just not there, so
I will see what the new job brings my way. Are you still a KISS fan?
I bought a KISS song book, and I am learning the songs on my guitar.
The cats all run and hide, so I must be doing something right!
>
>   Mitch
>
> Alan Tangey <atangey@...> wrote:
>   Hey there Mitch. The one thing we can always count on in life is
> change. Hope the new job works out good for you. Still plugging
away
> at WHIZ. I wish there were more locally owned and operated
facilities
> out there, but you know, it's not just broadcasting. Coroporations
are
> ruling the business world and the mom & pop companies are
struggling
> while slowly disapearing. Take care my friend.
>
> --- In WGSF_TV@yahoogroups.com, "Mitchell Morrison" wrote:
> >
> > Just a note that I have changed jobs again. After almost 10 years
at
> > one station, under going 3 changes of ownership, and finally the
> > station being moved to another city, I decided it was time to go.
The
> > drive of 40 miles each way, and rising cost of gas, convinced me
to
> > apply at the local NBC affiliate. So, the CW/FOX gig is over, and
I'm
> > now producing and directing at WAND-TV in Decatur, Illinois. My
> > wgsftv@ email is still good. mmorrison@ also will
> > reach me. This is the first time since the late 80's that I am
with a
> > station which has a news department. Happy Easter to all.
> >
>
>
>
>
> WGSF Television, Newark, Ohio - 1963 to 1976
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile.
Try it now.
>

FOR THE FIRST TIME, IN 65 YEARS, THE WILDCATS WON STATE BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

FINAL SCORE 65-52.

AS THE LATE CHUCK BEADLE WOULD SAY...GO WILDCATS GO!!!!!!!!


BILL CLIFFORD

Hey there Mitch. The one thing we can always count on in life is
change. Hope the new job works out good for you. Still plugging away
at WHIZ. I wish there were more locally owned and operated facilities
out there, but you know, it's not just broadcasting. Coroporations are
ruling the business world and the mom & pop companies are struggling
while slowly disapearing. Take care my friend.

--- In WGSF_TV@yahoogroups.com, "Mitchell Morrison" wrote:
>
> Just a note that I have changed jobs again. After almost 10 years at
> one station, under going 3 changes of ownership, and finally the
> station being moved to another city, I decided it was time to go. The
> drive of 40 miles each way, and rising cost of gas, convinced me to
> apply at the local NBC affiliate. So, the CW/FOX gig is over, and I'm
> now producing and directing at WAND-TV in Decatur, Illinois. My
> wgsftv@... email is still good. mmorrison@... also will
> reach me. This is the first time since the late 80's that I am with a
> station which has a news department. Happy Easter to all.
>




WGSF Television, Newark, Ohio - 1963 to 1976
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WGSF_TV/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WGSF_TV/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:WGSF_TV-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:WGSF_TV-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
WGSF_TV-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Hey there Mitch.  The one thing we can always count on in life is
change.  Hope the new job works out good for you.  Still plugging away
at WHIZ. I wish there were more locally owned and operated facilities
out there, but you know, it's not just broadcasting.  Coroporations are
ruling the business world and the mom & pop companies are struggling
while slowly disapearing.  Take care my friend.

--- In WGSF_TV@yahoogroups.com, "Mitchell Morrison" <wgsftv@...> wrote:
>
> Just a note that I have changed jobs again. After almost 10 years at
> one station, under going 3 changes of ownership, and finally the
> station being moved to another city, I decided it was time to go. The
> drive of 40 miles each way, and rising cost of gas, convinced me to
> apply at the local NBC affiliate. So, the CW/FOX gig is over, and I'm
> now producing and directing at WAND-TV in Decatur, Illinois. My
> wgsftv@... email is still good. mmorrison@... also will
> reach me. This is the first time since the late 80's that I am with a
> station which has a news department. Happy Easter to all.
>

Just a note that I have changed jobs again. After almost 10 years at
one station, under going 3 changes of ownership, and finally the
station being moved to another city, I decided it was time to go. The
drive of 40 miles each way, and rising cost of gas, convinced me to
apply at the local NBC affiliate. So, the CW/FOX gig is over, and I'm
now producing and directing at WAND-TV in Decatur, Illinois. My
wgsftv@... email is still good. mmorrison@... also will
reach me. This is the first time since the late 80's that I am with a
station which has a news department. Happy Easter to all.

The 2008 Early Television Convention will be held on May 2-4 at the
Early Television Museum in Hilliard, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus.
Details are here:

http://www.earlytelevision.org/2008_convention.html

• 
  
• Move to digital in '09 might hurt low-power TV stations

• Local stations hope to convert once FCC OKs it

----- Original Message -----

From: Daniel Black

To: WGSF_TV@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Saturday, January 05, 2008 9:09 AM

Subject: [WGSF_TV] Re: The WGSF transmitter - Part 2

You are right about the iconoscope, it was Rio de Janeiro.
I'm in Newark right now.

---

No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.17.13/1210 - Release Date: 1/5/2008 11:46 AM

You are right about the iconoscope, it was Rio de Janeiro.
I'm in Newark right now.

The HP 335 modulation monitor provided the visual and aural carrier
frequency monitoring. I don't think I visited a transmitter that
didn't have one for many, many years. Even if they had a later unit,
most places kept the HP also.
Actually we did have the Marconi sideband analyzer that was provided
by the State after the colorization. I know Jeff felt he never did
quite master the unit, though it apparently had some advantages over a
general purpose spectrum analyzer and a sweep generator. It was at the
bottom of the left hand rack that we added for the color conversion.
The scope used to monitor the visual modulation was the Tektronix 529.
The important thing was learning to use the zero carrier pulse to
generate a reference point and then remember that we actually looked
at the modulation upside down: the higher the waveform got the less
the modulation.
We had one color monitor, a Ball-Miratel 12 inch unit, to see how we
looked in color.
The Tektronix 144 and 147 test generators the State provided made us
the envy of a lot of stations that were still using first and second
generation test generators. Even when I got to WBNS, they were still
using a Riker solid state test generator at the transmitter and a tube
type test generator down in master. There was a Tek 144 making bars
into the router.
When we got the direct PBS microwave feed the color certainly started
looking better. The color programming that we got off air from WOSU
was somewhat impaired. The other piece of modern test gear we had was a Tek 453 oscilloscope
that we used in place of the 524 and even took on remotes and
minimotes when necessary. The odd thing about that scope was that one
channel occasionally acted up. If you banged on it, it would be fine
for a while. I accidentally found the problem a year or so after we
got the scope. One end of the resistor connecting the input connector
to the circuit board had never been soldered at the factory.
The Hickok tube tester with the built in roll chart listing the tubes
was actually a lot of fun for the first 20-25 tubes. After that it got
tedious. You mentioned the GE engineer, Sabeff, who disliked the modulator so
much. Do you remember his comment one evening when he got disgusted
with the progress he was making? And do you remember asking WCLT to
shut down their transmitter long enough to confirm that the birdie he
was chasing wasn't an external signal?
He was amazed when he walked in and saw the iconoscope still
operating. Do you remember where he'd last seen one working?
You didn't mention the pretty blue glow of the mercury rectifier
tubes. Imagine the EPA permits you'd need today to run those tubes.
Daniel
--- In WGSF_TV@yahoogroups.com, Leland & Dorothy Hubbell
<lhhubbell@...> wrote:

I will send this in two parts - it is long.
Additional comments and corrections are welcome.
What are your memories of the transmitter?
Those of you who moved out into the greater universe of radio and/or television broadcasting -
please lend your thoughts as you encountered the world away from our cozy little 'planet' on Horn's Hill.
I am still hoping to get input from everyone who had a part in the history of the station.
The WGSF transmitter - Part 2
The transmitter operator or engineer maintained a record, or log, of

the 

various operating parameters, according to FCC rules and regulations. All of those meters told the operator something about how the transmitter was performing, for better or for worse. The settings that kept the transmissions at the proper channel frequencies and output power were captiously observed, accordingly noted on the log, and adjustments were made if needed.
Initially, the station had one oscilloscope to display the video

signal, 

a Tektronix model 524 AD on a Scopemobile. It doubled as test equipment for any video signal work. Eventually, a dedicated oscilloscope monitor for the transmitter was obtained. Colorization

also 

provided a video signal generator, which helped tremendously, but still did not provide the essential services of a sweep generator for

aligning 

the visual channel, or chain.
Another required monitor displayed the operating frequency of the aural and visual transmitters. Those readings were also logged by the operator, noting any deviation above or below the assigned channel.

That 

monitor was itself subject to changes over time, and both the transmitter and the monitor had to be adjusted periodically to stay within legal specifications. The station subscribed to a monitoring service called Woodward Labs in Mt. Vernon. The monthly report was noted in the transmitting log, and kept on file. Adjustments were made if needed - and they usually were.
All of the original equipment at the station used vacuum tubes -

lots of 

vacuum tubes. Vacuum tubes wear out: their performance drops over time, or they even short out entirely. Most of the test equipment owned by

the 

station when it initially went on the air was from a radio/TV repair shop that was bought out. The device used to test vacuum tubes was essentially for home type electronics, but covered most of the common tubes used in the WGSF equipment, but still mostly go/no go readings. The purchase of a more industrial oriented model made the task of preventative maintenance both easier and more accurate. Every tube was checked on a periodic basis, and the readings kept in a database.
Most tubes used at the station could be purchased locally from an electronics supply store, the same place the radio and TV repair shops bought theirs. The major transmitting tubes had to be obtained from a dealer of industrial tubes in Columbus. The power amplifiers, or finals, were made only by General Electric, and cost over a thousand dollars. We babied those beasties, and kept a special card under a serial number on file for each one.
We followed a special turn-on routine for the transmitter, starting at reduced power, and gradually increasing to the normal operating power. The transmitter also had special circuitry designed to ease the tube up to normal parameters, so as not to damage the heater or filament in the tube. Still, most tubes didnt just wear out; they would die of an open filament, burning out like a light bulb, their distant cousins. They could also sustain an internal short between elements, no matter how carefully we watched over them.
Still, some of the specialized transmitting tubes could not be checked, except by the operating readings monitored and indicated by the meters on the transmitter itself. Thus the chore of taking and recording an hourly set of readings had a practical aspect besides meeting FCC rules and regulations. The maintenance technicians could note the performance of those tubes, and replace them when necessary.
Changing any tube in the radio frequency chain that generated the broadcast signal necessitated retuning the amplifier stage, simple in the case of the aural channel, but an often laborious process in the visual channel.
Broadcast signals must conform to very stringent standards. Meeting those standards was always a challenge at WGSF. The aural transmitter was fairly straightforward, and generally required only a minimum of attention. The visual section was literally a nightmare!
The visual transmitter required a tuning process called broadbanding. That meant that more than a dozen adjustment points had an impact on

the 

proper overall performance. Further, WGSF never had the proper test equipment, a sweep generator that would trace a picture of the bandpass on an oscilloscope screen. We could only stand, look over

their 

shoulders, and drool at the test equipment technicians brought in on

the 

two occasions that we had modifications supplied, once by Nationwide at the channel change from 28 to 31, and when the state network paid for the colorization.
Picture a partially filled tube of tooth paste: Squeeze it here, you

get 

a dip. Squeeze another place, that dip changes, but you get another

dip. 

Pretty soon you no longer have the nice, smooth tube that you started with. Now multiply that to the square of 12 - or more. Thats what it was like to tune the visual transmitter. Pretty much by guess and by golly!
Add to that the device that put the picture information on the radio frequency carrier. The modulator was maddening. It never worked as desired, ever. It nearly drove GEs own engineer to total despair

during 

the conversion from channel 28 to channel 31. He would get on the telephone to the guys in the engineering department back at GE,

mumbling 

things uncomplimentary about the modulator.
He came to hate a particular, though essential, piece of test

equipment. 

It would simulate a picture change from total white to total black. The meters on the transmitter would flip wildly, the protective circuitry would kick in with a klunk, and kick the whole box off the air. Over and over! Yes, he despised both the modulator and the standards that it would not - could not - attain.
There were certain vacuum tubes in the modulator that could be pulled from their supposedly normal locations and placed in sockets labeled Emergency Operation.  Every transmission at WGSF was an Emergency Operation.
The transmitter was turned off for the last time on June 30, 1976. The transmission line, the 3 1/2 inch copper pipe leading up to the

antenna, 

was switched over to the new translator that was installed and operated by the Ohio ETV Network Commission.
The new box operated on the same channel as WGSF, Channel 31, and at

the 

same power. The station, however, was quiet, except for the hum of the new unit as it automatically turned on when WOSU-TV, Channel 34 in Columbus, began their broadcast day on July 1. The Federal Communications Commission was accordingly notified, the license to broadcast was canceled. The WGSF transmitter sat dark and cold,

never to 

be turned on again.
The school district, owner of the station, had one query with intent to purchase the transmitter, but no further response occurred once the technical information was sent to them.
The city and county used the WGSF tower for their two-way radio

antennas,

and the equipment was housed in a room in the south east corner of the building. They requested permission to utilize the now unneeded space, stripped of all but the old transmitter, to install additional

equipment 

for their communication services. Permission was granted to the local amateur radio club, who had moved their amateur repeater equipment into the former WGSF audio production room, to dismantle the transmitter. None of the former WGSF staff was there to witness that final phase of the history of WGSF.

WGSF Television, Newark, Ohio - 1963 to 1976 Yahoo! Groups Links
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I invite all of you to take a moment to visit the files on the WGSF Group site.

In addition to the archives of all previous messages, there are a number of text
files that I
posted in 2005, including another take on the WGSF transmitter.

http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/WGSF_TV/files/

One file lists several WGSF reglulars and members of the first TV class who were
recognized at an awards ceremony at Newark High School in 1967.

The database lists all persons who had a card in the WGSF activity file.
There are also lists of programs compiled from the WGSF logs.

What we need most is your personal memories of your experiences at WGSF. There
have
been previous complaints that comments have been about technical things. That is
only
because the technicalyl oriented people have responded!
Production people - gofers - pilots   . . . your input is needed.


Mr H

The HP 335 modulation monitor provided the visual and aural carrier
frequency monitoring. I don't think I visited a transmitter that
didn't have one for many, many years. Even if they had a later unit,
most places kept the HP also.
Actually we did have the Marconi sideband analyzer that was provided
by the State after the colorization.  I know Jeff felt he never did
quite master the unit, though it apparently had some advantages over a
general purpose spectrum analyzer and a sweep generator. It was at the
bottom of the left hand rack that we added for the color conversion.
The scope used to monitor the visual modulation was the Tektronix 529.
The important thing was learning to use the zero carrier pulse to
generate  a reference point and then remember that we actually looked
at the modulation upside down: the higher the waveform got the less
the modulation.
We had one color monitor, a Ball-Miratel 12 inch unit, to see how we
looked in color.
The Tektronix 144 and 147 test generators the State provided made us
the envy of a lot of stations that were still using first and second
generation test generators. Even when I got to WBNS, they were still
using a Riker solid state test generator at the transmitter and a tube
type test generator down in master. There was a Tek 144 making bars
into the router.
When we got the direct PBS microwave feed the color certainly started
looking better. The color programming that we got off air from WOSU
was somewhat impaired.
The other piece of modern test gear we had was a Tek 453 oscilloscope
that we used in place of the 524 and even took on remotes and
minimotes when necessary. The odd thing about that scope was that one
channel occasionally acted up. If you banged on it, it would be fine
for a while. I accidentally found the problem a year or so after we
got the scope. One end of the resistor connecting the input connector
to the circuit board had never been soldered at the factory.
The Hickok tube tester with the built in roll chart listing the tubes
was actually a lot of fun for the first 20-25 tubes. After that it got
tedious.
You mentioned the GE engineer, Sabeff, who disliked the modulator so
much. Do you remember his comment one evening when he got disgusted
with the progress he was making? And do you remember asking WCLT to
shut down their transmitter long enough to confirm that the birdie he
was chasing wasn't an external signal?
He was amazed when he walked in and saw the iconoscope still
operating. Do you remember where he'd last seen one working?
You didn't mention the pretty blue glow of the mercury rectifier
tubes. Imagine the EPA permits you'd need today to run those tubes.

Daniel

--- In WGSF_TV@yahoogroups.com, Leland & Dorothy Hubbell
<lhhubbell@...> wrote:
>
> I will send this in two parts - it is long.
> Additional comments and corrections are welcome.
> What are your memories of the transmitter?
> Those of you who moved out into the greater universe of radio and/or
> television broadcasting -
> please lend your thoughts as you encountered the world away from our
> cozy little 'planet' on Horn's Hill.
>
> I am still hoping to get input from everyone who had a part in the
> history of the station.
>
> The WGSF transmitter - Part 2
>
> The transmitter operator or engineer maintained a record, or log, of
the
> various operating parameters, according to FCC rules and regulations.
> All of those meters told the operator something about how the
> transmitter was performing, for better or for worse. The settings that
> kept the transmissions at the proper channel frequencies and output
> power were captiously observed, accordingly noted on the log, and
> adjustments were made if needed.
> Initially, the station had one oscilloscope to display the video
signal,
> a Tektronix model 524 AD on a Scopemobile. It doubled as test
> equipment for any video signal work. Eventually, a dedicated
> oscilloscope monitor for the transmitter was obtained. Colorization
also
> provided a video signal generator, which helped tremendously, but still
> did not provide the essential services of a sweep generator for
aligning
> the visual channel, or chain.
> Another required monitor displayed the operating frequency of the aural
> and visual transmitters. Those readings were also logged by the
> operator, noting any deviation above or below the assigned channel.
That
> monitor was itself subject to changes over time, and both the
> transmitter and the monitor had to be adjusted periodically to stay
> within legal specifications. The station subscribed to a monitoring
> service called Woodward Labs in Mt. Vernon. The monthly report was
> noted in the transmitting log, and kept on file. Adjustments were made
> if needed - and they usually were.
> All of the original equipment at the station used vacuum tubes -
lots of
> vacuum tubes. Vacuum tubes wear out: their performance drops over time,
> or they even short out entirely. Most of the test equipment owned by
the
> station when it initially went on the air was from a radio/TV repair
> shop that was bought out. The device used to test vacuum tubes was
> essentially for home type electronics, but covered most of the common
> tubes used in the WGSF equipment, but still mostly go/no go readings.
> The purchase of a more industrial oriented model made the task of
> preventative maintenance both easier and more accurate. Every tube was
> checked on a periodic basis, and the readings kept in a database.
> Most tubes used at the station could be purchased locally from an
> electronics supply store, the same place the radio and TV repair shops
> bought theirs. The major transmitting tubes had to be obtained from a
> dealer of industrial tubes in Columbus. The power amplifiers, or
> finals, were made only by General Electric, and cost over a thousand
> dollars. We babied those beasties, and kept a special card under a
> serial number on file for each one.
> We followed a special turn-on routine for the transmitter, starting at
> reduced power, and gradually increasing to the normal operating power.
> The transmitter also had special circuitry designed to ease the tube up
> to normal parameters, so as not to damage the heater or filament in
> the tube. Still, most tubes didnt just wear out; they would die of an
> open filament, burning out like a light bulb, their distant cousins.
> They could also sustain an internal short between elements, no matter
> how carefully we watched over them.
>
> Still, some of the specialized transmitting tubes could not be checked,
> except by the operating readings monitored and indicated by the meters
> on the transmitter itself. Thus the chore of taking and recording an
> hourly set of readings had a practical aspect besides meeting FCC rules
> and regulations. The maintenance technicians could note the performance
> of those tubes, and replace them when necessary.
> Changing any tube in the radio frequency chain that generated the
> broadcast signal necessitated retuning the amplifier stage, simple in
> the case of the aural channel, but an often laborious process in the
> visual channel.
> Broadcast signals must conform to very stringent standards. Meeting
> those standards was always a challenge at WGSF. The aural transmitter
> was fairly straightforward, and generally required only a minimum of
> attention. The visual section was literally a nightmare!
> The visual transmitter required a tuning process called broadbanding.
> That meant that more than a dozen adjustment points had an impact on
the
> proper overall performance. Further, WGSF never had the proper test
> equipment, a sweep generator that would trace a picture of the
> bandpass on an oscilloscope screen. We could only stand, look over
their
> shoulders, and drool at the test equipment technicians brought in on
the
> two occasions that we had modifications supplied, once by Nationwide at
> the channel change from 28 to 31, and when the state network paid for
> the colorization.
> Picture a partially filled tube of tooth paste: Squeeze it here, you
get
> a dip. Squeeze another place, that dip changes, but you get another
dip.
> Pretty soon you no longer have the nice, smooth tube that you started
> with. Now multiply that to the square of 12 - or more. Thats what it
> was like to tune the visual transmitter. Pretty much by guess and by
> golly!
> Add to that the device that put the picture information on the radio
> frequency carrier. The modulator was maddening. It never worked as
> desired, ever. It nearly drove GEs own engineer to total despair
during
> the conversion from channel 28 to channel 31. He would get on the
> telephone to the guys in the engineering department back at GE,
mumbling
> things uncomplimentary about the modulator.
> He came to hate a particular, though essential, piece of test
equipment.
> It would simulate a picture change from total white to total black. The
> meters on the transmitter would flip wildly, the protective circuitry
> would kick in with a klunk, and kick the whole box off the air. Over
> and over! Yes, he despised both the modulator and the standards that it
> would not - could not - attain.
> There were certain vacuum tubes in the modulator that could be pulled
> from their supposedly normal locations and placed in sockets labeled
> Emergency Operation.  Every transmission at WGSF was an Emergency
> Operation.
> The transmitter was turned off for the last time on June 30, 1976. The
> transmission line, the 3 1/2 inch copper pipe leading up to the
antenna,
> was switched over to the new translator that was installed and operated
> by the Ohio ETV Network Commission.
> The new box operated on the same channel as WGSF, Channel 31, and at
the
> same power. The station, however, was quiet, except for the hum of the
> new unit as it automatically turned on when WOSU-TV, Channel 34 in
> Columbus, began their broadcast day on July 1. The Federal
> Communications Commission was accordingly notified, the license to
> broadcast was canceled. The WGSF transmitter sat dark and cold,
never to
> be turned on again.
> The school district, owner of the station, had one query with intent to
> purchase the transmitter, but no further response occurred once the
> technical information was sent to them.
> The city and county used the WGSF tower for their two-way radio
antennas,
> and the equipment was housed in a room in the south east corner of the
> building. They requested permission to utilize the now unneeded space,
> stripped of all but the old transmitter, to install additional
equipment
> for their communication services. Permission was granted to the local
> amateur radio club, who had moved their amateur repeater equipment into
> the former WGSF audio production room, to dismantle the transmitter.
> None of the former WGSF staff was there to witness that final phase of
> the history of WGSF.
>

I will send this in two parts - it is long.
Additional comments and corrections are welcome.
What are your memories of the transmitter?
Those of you who moved out into the greater universe of radio and/or
television broadcasting -
please lend your thoughts as you encountered the world away from our
cozy little 'planet' on Horn's Hill.

I am still hoping to get input from everyone who had a part in the
history of the station.

The WGSF transmitter - Part 2

The transmitter operator or engineer maintained a record, or log, of the
various operating parameters, according to FCC rules and regulations.
All of those meters told the operator something about how the
transmitter was performing, for better or for worse. The settings that
kept the transmissions at the proper channel frequencies and output
power were captiously observed, accordingly noted on the log, and
adjustments were made if needed.
Initially, the station had one oscilloscope to display the video signal,
a Tektronix model 524 AD on a Scopemobile. It doubled as test
equipment for any video signal work. Eventually, a dedicated
oscilloscope monitor for the transmitter was obtained. Colorization also
provided a video signal generator, which helped tremendously, but still
did not provide the essential services of a sweep generator for aligning
the visual channel, or chain.
Another required monitor displayed the operating frequency of the aural
and visual transmitters. Those readings were also logged by the
operator, noting any deviation above or below the assigned channel. That
monitor was itself subject to changes over time, and both the
transmitter and the monitor had to be adjusted periodically to stay
within legal specifications. The station subscribed to a monitoring
service called Woodward Labs in Mt. Vernon. The monthly report was
noted in the transmitting log, and kept on file. Adjustments were made
if needed - and they usually were.
All of the original equipment at the station used vacuum tubes - lots of
vacuum tubes. Vacuum tubes wear out: their performance drops over time,
or they even short out entirely. Most of the test equipment owned by the
station when it initially went on the air was from a radio/TV repair
shop that was bought out. The device used to test vacuum tubes was
essentially for home type electronics, but covered most of the common
tubes used in the WGSF equipment, but still mostly go/no go readings.
The purchase of a more industrial oriented model made the task of
preventative maintenance both easier and more accurate. Every tube was
checked on a periodic basis, and the readings kept in a database.
Most tubes used at the station could be purchased locally from an
electronics supply store, the same place the radio and TV repair shops
bought theirs. The major transmitting tubes had to be obtained from a
dealer of industrial tubes in Columbus. The power amplifiers, or
finals, were made only by General Electric, and cost over a thousand
dollars. We babied those beasties, and kept a special card under a
serial number on file for each one.
We followed a special turn-on routine for the transmitter, starting at
reduced power, and gradually increasing to the normal operating power.
The transmitter also had special circuitry designed to ease the tube up
to normal parameters, so as not to damage the heater or filament in
the tube. Still, most tubes didnt just wear out; they would die of an
open filament, burning out like a light bulb, their distant cousins.
They could also sustain an internal short between elements, no matter
how carefully we watched over them.

Still, some of the specialized transmitting tubes could not be checked,
except by the operating readings monitored and indicated by the meters
on the transmitter itself. Thus the chore of taking and recording an
hourly set of readings had a practical aspect besides meeting FCC rules
and regulations. The maintenance technicians could note the performance
of those tubes, and replace them when necessary.
Changing any tube in the radio frequency chain that generated the
broadcast signal necessitated retuning the amplifier stage, simple in
the case of the aural channel, but an often laborious process in the
visual channel.
Broadcast signals must conform to very stringent standards. Meeting
those standards was always a challenge at WGSF. The aural transmitter
was fairly straightforward, and generally required only a minimum of
attention. The visual section was literally a nightmare!
The visual transmitter required a tuning process called broadbanding.
That meant that more than a dozen adjustment points had an impact on the
proper overall performance. Further, WGSF never had the proper test
equipment, a sweep generator that would trace a picture of the
bandpass on an oscilloscope screen. We could only stand, look over their
shoulders, and drool at the test equipment technicians brought in on the
two occasions that we had modifications supplied, once by Nationwide at
the channel change from 28 to 31, and when the state network paid for
the colorization.
Picture a partially filled tube of tooth paste: Squeeze it here, you get
a dip. Squeeze another place, that dip changes, but you get another dip.
Pretty soon you no longer have the nice, smooth tube that you started
with. Now multiply that to the square of 12 - or more. Thats what it
was like to tune the visual transmitter. Pretty much by guess and by
golly!
Add to that the device that put the picture information on the radio
frequency carrier. The modulator was maddening. It never worked as
desired, ever. It nearly drove GEs own engineer to total despair during
the conversion from channel 28 to channel 31. He would get on the
telephone to the guys in the engineering department back at GE, mumbling
things uncomplimentary about the modulator.
He came to hate a particular, though essential, piece of test equipment.
It would simulate a picture change from total white to total black. The
meters on the transmitter would flip wildly, the protective circuitry
would kick in with a klunk, and kick the whole box off the air. Over
and over! Yes, he despised both the modulator and the standards that it
would not - could not - attain.
There were certain vacuum tubes in the modulator that could be pulled
from their supposedly normal locations and placed in sockets labeled
Emergency Operation.  Every transmission at WGSF was an Emergency
Operation.
The transmitter was turned off for the last time on June 30, 1976. The
transmission line, the 3 1/2 inch copper pipe leading up to the antenna,
was switched over to the new translator that was installed and operated
by the Ohio ETV Network Commission.
The new box operated on the same channel as WGSF, Channel 31, and at the
same power. The station, however, was quiet, except for the hum of the
new unit as it automatically turned on when WOSU-TV, Channel 34 in
Columbus, began their broadcast day on July 1. The Federal
Communications Commission was accordingly notified, the license to
broadcast was canceled. The WGSF transmitter sat dark and cold, never to
be turned on again.
The school district, owner of the station, had one query with intent to
purchase the transmitter, but no further response occurred once the
technical information was sent to them.
The city and county used the WGSF tower for their two-way radio antennas,
and the equipment was housed in a room in the south east corner of the
building. They requested permission to utilize the now unneeded space,
stripped of all but the old transmitter, to install additional equipment
for their communication services. Permission was granted to the local
amateur radio club, who had moved their amateur repeater equipment into
the former WGSF audio production room, to dismantle the transmitter.
None of the former WGSF staff was there to witness that final phase of
the history of WGSF.

I will send this in two parts - it is long.
Additional comments and corrections are welcome.
What are your memories of the transmitter?
Those of you who moved out into the greater universe of radio and/or
television broadcasting -
please lend your thoughts as you encountered the world away from our
cozy little 'planet' on Horn's Hill.

I am still hoping to get input from everyone who had a part in the
history of the station.

The WGSF transmitter - Part 1


Most people never see the apparatus that constitutes the final link
between the television production system and the receiving audience. The
broadcast transmitter is usually housed in that mystical realm seen only
by the eyes of broadcast engineers and technicians, located in some
almost inaccessible back room, or on a remote hilltop.
The WGSF television station was therefore most unique, in that the
transmitter was essentially the heart and soul of the entire operation.
The production control room sat in front of the transmitter, sharing
controls in the same console. The announcer could look out from the
audio production booth and gaze upon the glowing electronic tubes in
that expansive box that occupied most of one wall of the control room.
One entry door into the studio took you right past the entire length of
the transmitter. The station office shared space with the maze of
plumbing behind the transmitter that connected it to the antenna located
410 feet above. Even the rest rooms were just a few steps from the
center of operations.
I dare say that no person in television broadcasting other than Leland
Hubbell has had the experience of leaving the hosts chair in the studio
in the middle of a live broadcast, replacing a failed audio final
transmitting tube, then returning to the studio to finish the broadcast.
Only at WGSF!
Built by the General Electric Company, the transmitter was designed in
the early days of UHF television broadcasting. The WGSF equipment
consisted of three cabinets. The larger, central portion contained the
main control circuitry, and generated both the picture (visual) and
sound (aural) elements of the broadcast signal. The visual circuitry,
the more complex part, was located on the left side of the cabinet, and
the aural to the right, viewed from the control position in front of the
transmitter. The low powered signals then went into a final amplifier
cabinet where they were boosted to licensed broadcast strength, one on
either side of the central unit. The plumbing behind the transmitter was
called a Filtrexer, a combination of filter and multiplexer, which
means that it combined the output of the two transmitters onto one
pipe that went up to the antenna.
Parts of the system, like the Filtrexer, were essentially overkill, as
they were designed for a much more powerful transmitter than that used
at WGSF. Most stations used transmitters that required as much as ten
times or more the ratings that we needed, but again, WGSF used whatever
was available.
Federal Communications Commission rules and regulations required that a
person with a First Class Radiotelephone broadcast license be in control
of the transmitter. Passing the required FCC exams, then posting the
crucial license at the transmitter is indeed a proud moment for all who
seek such status. Getting the box on the air, and keeping it there were
two different ball games, however.

Wanted to wish everyone a Merry CHRISTmas.

Greg, Jean and Gabrielle DeChant