KGEI was a

shortwave Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave (SW) radio frequencies. There is no official definition of the band, but the range always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (100 to 10 me ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

founded by

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

in 1939. It was purchased by the

Far East Broadcasting Company Far East Broadcasting Company is an international Christian radio network. From 1960 to 1994, FEBC owned and operated shortwave radio station KGEI in San Francisco, California. Philippines The Philippines is where FEBC began its initial broa ...

in 1960.

History

KGEI was founded by GE in 1939 at the

Golden Gate International Exposition The Golden Gate International Exposition (GGIE) (1939 and 1940), held at San Francisco's Treasure Island, was a World's Fair celebrating, among other things, the city's two newly built bridges. The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge opened in 1936 ...

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...

with the call sign W6XBE, before changing to KGEI in August 1939. The station at this time had a 50 kW GE transmitter. In 1941, the station was relocated to

Redwood City, California Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a ...

, following the end of exposition, right next door to today's

KNBR KNBR may refer to: * KNBR (AM), a radio station (680 AM) licensed to serve San Francisco, California, United States * KNBR-FM KNBR-FM (104.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to San Francisco, California, serving the greater San ...

. The transmitter building was built with reinforced concrete construction designed to withstand bombs. Prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the station aired isolationist programs such as those of

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

along with

International News Service The International News Service (INS) was a U.S.-based news agency (newswire) founded by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909.

bulletins. During World War II, General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

's "I have returned" speech was aired by WGEI. During the years of 1954 and 1955, the station was used to air

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

's International University of the Air program. In 1960, the station was purchased by the

. In 1962, during the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...

, the station served as a temporary relay of the

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

. During the 1970s, a Missions Engineering 250 kW transmitter was added to the station along with log periodic antennas. FEBC closed the station down in July 1994. The 50 kW transmitter was donated to the Christian missionary organization SIM for use in

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

. However, it was destroyed during an attack on the facility shortly after its installation there. The 250 kW transmitter was also donated to a Christian organization, Project Aurora and was moved to Alaska. The transmitter building was sold to Fully Alive Church, who eventually sold the building to Silicon Valley Clean Water, a wastewater treatment plant, on adjacent property.

References

Shortwave radio stations in the United States Defunct radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1939 Defunct religious radio stations in the United States Radio stations disestablished in 1994 {{Christian-radio-station-stub