HarrisburgRadioTV.com

Important moments in broadcasting

1897 - Building on the theories of Hertz, Tesla and others, Guglielmo Marconi demonstrates the practical use of wireless telegraphy for the British government

1906 - Lee DeForest invents the Audion amplifier tube, making radio reception more practical

December 24, 1906 - Reginald Fessenden celebrates Christmas Eve with a historic audio broadcast from Brant Rock, Mass.

1914-1922 - E. Howard Armstrong invents numerous important radio receiver improvements based on DeForest's Audion tube (which results in long patent suits with DeForest and others)

1919 - General Electric forms Radio Corporation of America (RCA) with David Sarnoff at the helm

November 2, 1920 - KDKA in Pittsburgh, PA becomes the first widely recognized commercial radio station

1926 - RCA forms the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), ushering in the "golden age" of radio with shows like "Amos and Andy", and "Fibber McGee and Molly", and performers such as Bob Hope, Edgar Bergen, Jack Benny, Milton Berle and many others

1927 - Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) is formed

1933 - E. Howard Armstrong patents a new radio signaling system called "frequency modulation"

1934 - The US Congress passes the Communications Act of 1934, creating the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

August 25, 1934 - Philo Farnsworth demonstrates the first fully-electronic television system in Philadelphia

1937 - E. Howard Armstrong builds the first FM radio station in Alpine, NJ (42.8 mhz)

May 6, 1937 - WLS reporter Herb Morrison records his famous description of the Hindenburg disaster in New Jersey

October 30, 1938 - CBS broadcasts Orson Welles' "War of the Worlds"

1939 - RCA chief David Sarnoff demonstrates television at the New York World's Fair

June 15, 1945 - The NBC "Blue Network" officially becomes ABC

1946 - The DuMont television network is formed, lasting only 9 years

July 10, 1962 - AT&T ushers in the age of commercial satellite communications with Telstar

AM (Harrisburg metro only)
Call letters	WHP	WKBO	WTCY	WTKT	WWII
Frequency (khz)	580	1230	1400	1460	720
City of license	Harrisburg	Harrisburg	Harrisburg	Harrisburg	Shiremanstown
Prior call letters	WHBG, WMBS	WPRC, WCOD	WHGB, WFEC, WNNK-AM	WCMB, WIMX, WWKL-AM	None
Prior frequencies (khz)	833, 1300, 1280, 1430, 1460	1430, 1200	None	960	None
First broadcast	1925 ¹	1927 ¹	1946 ⁴	Feb 19, 1948 ²	June 17, 1987 ²

FM (Harrisburg metro only)
Call letters	WRVV	WRBT	WNNK	WHKF	WITF-FM	WTPA
Frequency (mhz)	97.3	94.9	104.1	99.3	89.5	93.5
City of license	Harrisburg	Harrisburg	Harrisburg	Harrisburg	Harrisburg	Mechanicsburg
Prior call letters	WHP-FM, WXBB	WMSP, WHKS, WWKL, WYMJ	WTPA-FM	WCMB-FM, WSFM, WHIT, WIMX, WWKL	None	WQVE, WKCD
First broadcast	1946 ²	Sept 30, 1962 ²	Aug 15, 1963 ³	July 8, 1965 ³	April 1, 1971 ⁶	Dec 1978 ⁴

TV (Harrisburg / Lancaster / Lebanon / York)
Call letters	WGAL	WHP-TV	WHTM	WITF-TV
Channel	8	21	27	33
City of license	Lancaster	Harrisburg	Harrisburg	Harrisburg
Prior call letters	None	None	WTPA-TV	None
Prior channel	4	55	71	None
First broadcast	March 18, 1949 ²	April 15, 1953 ²	July 6, 1953 ²	November 22, 1964 ²

Dark stations
Call letters	WBAK	WABB	WABX	WCMB-TV
Frequency or channel	300, 400, 600 m, 1090 khz	266 meters, 1130, 1470 khz	100.9 mhz	Channel 27
City of license	Harrisburg	Harrisburg	Harrisburg	Harrisburg
First broadcast	1922 ²	1923 ²	1948 (or earlier)⁵	September 8, 1954 ²
Last broadcast	1930's	Possibly 1926	TBD	April 9, 1957

Not documented
Call letters	WIOO	WHYL	WHYL-FM	WMHX	WWKL	WPMT	WLYH	WGCB
Frequency	1000 khz	960 khz	102.3 mhz	106.7 mhz	92.1 mhz	Channel 43	Channel 15	Channel 49
City of license	Carlisle	Carlisle	Carlisle	Hershey	Palmyra	York	Lebanon	Red Lion