KC2XAK was the worlds first UHF television station. Its channel 24 signal from Bridgeport, CT simply carried New York Citys WNBT (NBC 4). It went on the air on December 29, 1949. Code-named Operation Bridgeport, it was a test by RCA and NBC to determine if the UHF spectrum was feasible to use for communications and broadcasting. The station used a 1 kW transmitter with an 20-dB gain antenna on a 210-foot (64 m) tower elevated 450 feet (140 m) above average terrain. This resulted in an Effective Radiated Power of 10 kW. Operation Bridgeport was apparently a success, but was shut down by RCA and NBC on August 23, 1952, after two and a half years of operation. Empire Coil purchased the KC2XAK transmitter, and the transmitter and support equipment was dismantled in Bridgeport under supervision of RCA. Dismantling began on August 25, and was shipped via truck and fast freight train to Portland, Oregon. It was re-assembled as a 250-foot (76 m) tower on Council Crest, more than 1,000 feet (300 m) above Portland on September 9, 1952. This became the very transmitter for Portlands KPTV as well being the first commercial UHF television station in the country. Although KC2XAK was the first UHF station on the air, it was an experimental station.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 17:16:59 +0000
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