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Mechanical TV Stations in the U.S. and Canada 1928 - 1939

 

Mechanical TV broadcast in the AM radio band (550-1600 kHz) in 1928 and 29. With 24 and 30 line systems, only about 10 kHz of bandwidth was needed, so standard radio channels could be used. Some stations also broadcast in the shortwave band. Beginning in 1930, the 2-3 mHz band was used for television, with 100 kHz channel width. 60 line systems required about 40 kHz of bandwidth. TV broadcasts could be identified by their distinctive sound.

This is a list of stations broadcasting mechanical television

Call Sign

City

Operated by

On Air

 

Off Air

Lines 

Frames/

Second

Freq.

VE9AK Montreal, Canada Peck Television 1935 ?

60-150

?

41 mHz

W1WX, W1XAV

Boston, MA

SW and Television (Hollis Baird)

1929

1930

48

15

2120 kHz

1931

1934

60

20

2.1-2.2 mHz
W1XAY Lexington, MA Boston Post, WLEX 1928 1930

48

18

3500 kHz

4.7-4.9 mHz

W2XB, WGY, W2XAD, W2XAF

Schenectady, NY

General Electric

1928

1928

24

20

790 kHz
      1928 1930 48 20  
      1930 1939 48 20 2.1-2.2 mHz
W2XAB New York, NY CBS

1931

1933

60

20

2.1-2.2 mHz
W2XCD Passaic, NJ Lee DeForest 1931 1933

60

20

2.0-2.1 mHz

W2XCR

Jersey City, NJ

Jenkins

1930

1931

48

15

2.1-2.2 mHz
New York, NY Jenkins/WGBS

1931

1933

60

20

2.75-2.85 mHz

W2XBS

New York, NY

RCA

1928

1929

?

?

2.0-2.1 mHz

1929

1932

60

20

2.75-2.85 mHz
WRNY New York, NY Hugo Gernsback 1928 1929 36/48 10

919, 1010 kHz

W2XR

Long Island City, NY

Hogan's Radio Pictures

1929

1934

60

20

2.1-2.2 mHz

W3XK

Silver Spring, MD

Jenkins

1928

1931

48

15

 

1931

1934

60

20

2.0-2.1 mHz
W5AGO Ft. Worth, TX Truett Kimzey 1934 ? ? ?  
W5XA Shreveport, LA Paul L. Carriger 1929 1934

45

15

 

W6XAH

Bakersfield, CA

Pioneer Mercantile Co.

1932

1932

96

20

 

W6XS

Los Angeles, CA

Don Lee Broadcasting

1931

1935

80

20

2.1-2.2 mHz
W6XAO Los Angeles, CA Don Lee Broadcasting 1931 1936 80 20

44-50 mHz

W6KQ* Los Angeles, CA Amiee Semple McPherson 1931 ? ? ?  
W7XAO Portland, OR Wilbur Jerman 1929 1930    

2.75-2.85 mHz

W9XAA, WCFL Chicago, IL Chicago Federation of Labor 1928 ? 45 15

2.0-2.1 mHz

W9XAK Manhattan, KS Kansas State College

1932

1936

60

20

2.1-2.2 mHz
W9XAL Kansas City, MO First National Television

1933

1935

45

15

2.1-2.2 mHz
W9XAO Chicago, IL Western Television (Sanabria)

1930

1933

45

15

2.0-2.1 mHz

W9XAP

Chicago, IL

Chicago Daily News

1930

1933

45

15

2.1-2.2 mHz

W9XAT

Minneapolis, MN George Young, radio station WDGY 1933 1938

125

?

42-50 mHz 60-86 mHz

W9XD

Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee Journal

1931

1933

45

15

 
W9XG West Lafayette, IN Purdue University

1931

1939

60

20

2.1-2.2 mHz
W9XK Iowa City, IA State University of Iowa

1932

1939

45

15

2.0-2.1 mHz

* Station may never have gone on the air

 

TV Stations On Air December, 1928

Another list of 1928 stations

Stations as of December, 1935

From Short Wave Craft, December 1935