Radio 2XG
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Radio station 2XG, also known as the "Highbridge Station", was an experimental
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 ...
located in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and licensed to the De Forest Radio Telephone and Telegraph Company from 1915–1917 and 1920–1924. In 1916, it became the first radio station employing a
vacuum-tube A vacuum tube, electron tube, valve (British usage), or tube (North America), is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric potential difference has been applied. The type known as a ...
transmitter to make news and entertainment
broadcasts Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began wi ...
on a regular schedule, and, on November 7, 1916, became the first to broadcast U.S. presidential election returns by spoken word instead of by
Morse code Morse code is a method used in telecommunication to encode text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one of ...
.


Pre-World War I history

Initially all radio stations used spark transmitters, which could only transmit Morse code messages. In 1904,
Valdemar Poulsen Valdemar Poulsen (23 November 1869 – 23 July 1942) was a Danish engineer who made significant contributions to early radio technology. He developed a magnetic wire recorder called the telegraphone in 1898 and the first continuous wave rad ...
invented an "arc-transmitter" capable of transmitting full audio, and in late 1906
Lee de Forest Lee de Forest (August 26, 1873 – June 30, 1961) was an American inventor and a fundamentally important early pioneer in electronics. He invented the first electronic device for controlling current flow; the three-element "Audion" triode va ...
founded the Radio Telephone Company and began producing his own "sparkless" arc-transmitters. Between 1907 and 1910, de Forest made a number of demonstration entertainment broadcasts, and even spoke about developing news and entertainment broadcasting stations, but did not establish a regular service at this time. In 1914, de Forest established a laboratory at 1391
Sedgwick Avenue Sedgwick Avenue is a major street in the Bronx, New York City. It runs roughly parallel to Jerome Avenue, the Major Deegan Expressway, and University Avenue. Sedgwick Avenue is one of the longest streets in the western part of the Bronx, run ...
in the Highbridge section of the
Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
in New York City.
Vacuum-tube A vacuum tube, electron tube, valve (British usage), or tube (North America), is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric potential difference has been applied. The type known as a ...
transmitters had recently been developed and were found to be superior to arc-transmitters for audio transmissions. The company now concentrated on developing vacuum-tube equipment, including "Oscillion" transmitter tubes. In the summer of 1915, the company received a license for an experimental station located at the Highbridge laboratory, with the callsign 2XG. De Forest had suspended broadcasting demonstrations in 1910, yet decided to showcase the capabilities of the new vacuum-tube transmitters by introducing a "wireless newspaper" making regular broadcasts of concerts and
news bulletin Breaking news, interchangeably termed late-breaking news and also known as a special report or special coverage or news flash, is a news, current issue that broadcasters feel warrants the interruption of scheduled programming or current news in ...
s. There were no formal government regulations restricting broadcasting at this time, so the company was free to transmit these programs over 2XG. Arrangements were made with the
Columbia Graphophone Columbia Graphophone Co. Ltd. was one of the earliest gramophone companies in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1917 as an offshoot of the American Columbia Phonograph Company, it became an independent British-owned company in 1922 in a manageme ...
record company to broadcast
phonograph A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
records from their offices at 102 West 38th Street in New York City—the phonograph company supplied records in exchange for the station "announcing the title and 'Columbia Gramophone Company' with each playing". The debut program was aired on October 26, 1916, and it was announced that nightly transmissions of news interspersed with Columbia recordings would be sent from the Highbridge laboratory beginning November 1. 2XG's original audience was mostly
amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communic ...
operators."DeForest Wireless Telephone"
''QST'', April 1917, page 72.
An early report stated that 2XG was broadcasting on "a wave length of approximately 800 meters" (375 kilohertz).
Carl Dreher Carl Dreher (February 16, 1896 – July 13, 1976) was an American electrical engineer, two-time Academy Award-nominated sound engineer, and an author who primarily dealt with technical and scientific topics. Directly involved with two techno ...
would later recall: "The quality was quite good, and I used to listen to the station for hours at a time". De Forest initially used these broadcasts to advertise "the products of the De Forest Radio Co., mostly the radio parts, with all the zeal of our catalogue and price list", until comments by
Western Electric The Western Electric Company was an American electrical engineering and manufacturing company officially founded in 1869. A wholly owned subsidiary of American Telephone & Telegraph for most of its lifespan, it served as the primary equipment ma ...
engineers caused him to eliminate the sales messages.


1916 election night broadcast

Some of the programming was oriented toward a more general audience. On the night of the November 7, 1916 Wilson-Hughes presidential election, 2XG, in conjunction with the ''
New York American :''Includes coverage of New York Journal-American and its predecessors New York Journal, The Journal, New York American and New York Evening Journal'' The ''New York Journal-American'' was a daily newspaper published in New York City from 1937 t ...
'', broadcast election returns that for the first time were transmitted in full audio instead of Morse code. This program featured telephoned bulletins supplied by the newspaper—which hailed the effort as "the first time the wireless telephone has been demonstrated as a practical, serviceable carrier of election news and comment"—and read over the air by "unassuming chap" Walter Schare. Also featured were Columbia recordings that included "'The Star Spangled Banner,' 'Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean,' 'Dixie,' 'America' and other airs long loved by Americans". Just before shutting down at 11:00 PM, the station incorrectly announced that Republican presidential candidate
Charles Evans Hughes Charles Evans Hughes Sr. (April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948) was an American statesman, politician and jurist who served as the 11th Chief Justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the ...
had won; however, the next day it was learned that late totals from California had tilted the election in Democratic candidate
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
's favor. It was estimated that 7,000 persons received the broadcast. The concerts continued, with listeners reported as far away at
Cape Hatteras, North Carolina Cape Hatteras is a cape located at a pronounced bend in Hatteras Island, one of the barrier islands of North Carolina. Long stretches of beach, sand dunes, marshes, and maritime forests create a unique environment where wind and waves shape ...
. A "radio dance" held in
Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...
, at the end of the year received widespread publicity. However, with the entry of the United States into
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
on April 6, 1917, all civilian radio stations were ordered shut down, and 2XG was silenced for the duration of the conflict.


Post-World War I reactivation

Effective October 1, 1919, the ban on civilian radio stations was ended, and the De Forest "Highbridge Station" soon renewed operation, once more with an experimental license and the callsign 2XG. For this revival Bob Gowen and
Bill Garity William E. Garity (April 2, 1899 – September 16, 1971) was an American inventor and audio engineer who attended the Pratt Institute before going to work for Lee De Forest around 1921. Garity worked with DeForest on the Phonofilm sound-on-film ...
worked as announcers, with Richard Klein acting as program director. Phonograph records were now supplied by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender company, again in exchange for promotional announcements. There were also live performances, including multiple appearances by
Vaughn De Leath Vaughn De Leath (September 26, 1894 – May 28, 1943) was an American female singer who gained popularity in the 1920s, earning the sobriquets "The Original Radio Girl" and the "First Lady of Radio." Although very popular in the 1920s, De Leath is ...
—for these broadcasts she earned the sobriquet "The Original Radio Girl". In early 1920, the 2XG transmitter was moved from the Bronx to
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
to take advantage of an offer by Emil J. Simon to use an antenna located atop the World's Tower building. This also brought the station's studio closer to artists in the theatrical district. However, the move had not been approved by government regulators, and the second district Radio Inspector, Arthur Batcheller, ordered the station to suspend operations. De Forest responded by moving to
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
in March, taking the 2XG transmitter with him, where he established a new station, 6XC, which operated as "The California Theater station", and developed an even more extensive program schedule. However, shortly thereafter, de Forest ceased involvement with radio work altogether, in order to concentrate on developing the
Phonofilm Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system developed by inventors Lee de Forest and Theodore Case in the early 1920s. Introduction In 1919 and 1920, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patents on a sound-on-film process, ...
sound-on-film system. The De Forest company eventually returned to the New York City airwaves on a more limited basis. In December 1920, Vaughn De Leath made a return engagement of weekly concerts, and the next month there was a report that the De Forest laboratories were broadcasting a nightly concert between 7:30 and 8:30. However, audio transmission and broadcasting experimentation by the company was now primarily conducted through experimental station 2XX, located at the home of De Forest's Chief Engineer, Robert Gowen, in
Ossining, New York Ossining may refer to: * Ossining (town), New York, a town in Westchester County, New York state *Ossining (village), New York, a village in the town of Ossining * Ossining High School, a comprehensive public high school in Ossining village * Ossi ...
. On October 13, 1921, the De Forest company was issued a broadcasting station authorization in the form of a Limited Commercial license with the randomly assigned call letters WJX, operating on 360 meters (833 kilohertz) at its Sedgwick Avenue facility. This was the first broadcasting license issued for a station in New York City proper; however, despite its heritage, there was minimal, if any, programming ever broadcast by WJX. Effective December 1, 1921, the 360-meter wavelength was designated as the common "entertainment" broadcasting wavelength, and stations within a region had to devise timesharing agreements to allocate the hours during which they could operate. A mid-1922 agreement covering the New York City area did not even list WJX as being active. WJX continued to be included in the official government lists of stations holding licenses through early 1924, but contemporary newspapers and magazines providing station programming information do not contain any evidence that the station was actually on the air. In June 1924, WJX (along with 2XG) was officially deleted by the government."Strike Out All Particulars"
''Radio Service Bulletin'', July 1, 1924, page 9.


Notes


References

{{coord, 40.8422, -73.9273, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-NY, display=title Radio stations in New York City Experimental radio Radio stations established in 1920 History of radio Highbridge, Bronx Defunct radio stations in the United States