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58-515: The transmitter site is on Bunkam Road in Jerseyville, Illinois , near Interstate 64 . WEW is licensed to broadcast during daytime hours only with 1,000 watts using a non-directional antenna . At night, it must protect clear-channel station WABC in New York City , the dominant Class A station on 770 AM , from interference, so WEW stays off the air until sunrise. The station features

116-457: A broadcast transmitter , a transmitter used in broadcasting , as in FM radio transmitter or television transmitter . This usage typically includes both the transmitter proper, the antenna, and often the building it is housed in. A transmitter can be a separate piece of electronic equipment, or an electrical circuit within another electronic device. A transmitter and a receiver combined in one unit

174-437: A brokered programming radio format . WEW's daily schedule consists entirely of programming provided by Overcomer Ministry featuring sermons from Brother Stair. WEW was first licensed as a broadcasting station to St. Louis University (SLU) on March 23, 1922. However, previous radio experimentation at SLU dated back to 1912. In February 1915, SLU was issued a license to operate a "Technical and Training School" station with

232-472: A frequency modulation (FM) transmitter, it is added by varying the radio signal's frequency slightly. Many other types of modulation are also used. The radio signal from the transmitter is applied to the antenna , which radiates the energy as radio waves. The antenna may be enclosed inside the case or attached to the outside of the transmitter, as in portable devices such as cell phones, walkie-talkies, and garage door openers . In more powerful transmitters,

290-429: A radio frequency signal which when applied to the antenna produces the radio waves, called the carrier signal . It combines the carrier with the modulation signal, a process called modulation . The information can be added to the carrier in several different ways, in different types of transmitters. In an amplitude modulation (AM) transmitter, the information is added to the radio signal by varying its amplitude . In

348-823: A radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna with the purpose of signal transmission up to a radio receiver . The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current , which is applied to the antenna . When excited by this alternating current, the antenna radiates radio waves. Transmitters are necessary component parts of all electronic devices that communicate by radio , such as radio (audio) and television broadcasting stations, cell phones , walkie-talkies , wireless computer networks , Bluetooth enabled devices, garage door openers , two-way radios in aircraft, ships, spacecraft, radar sets and navigational beacons. The term transmitter

406-501: A 500-word Weather Bureau bulletin. 9YK was the second radio station authorized by the Weather Bureau to make audio weather forecast broadcasts, and the first to include river reports. On August 22 livestock, grain and provision market reports were added to the broadcast schedule at 2 p.m. daily at 350 meters (857 kHz). Weather reports aired at 10 a.m. Initially there were no specific standards for stations making broadcasts intended for

464-876: A directional antenna became feasible and KGO's power could be raised to 50,000 watts. KGO is the General Order 40 station on 790/810 kHz, not WGY. Zone 2 Clear Channel frequency 1020 kHz was initially used by a high-powered station in Zone 4, KYW in Chicago, Illinois. This discrepancy was resolved when KYW moved to Philadelphia in 1934, and the Philadelphia station previously on 1020, WRAX , moved to regional frequency 920 kHz, sharing time with WPEN . Forty-four frequencies, later known as "Regional", were designated to be used concurrently by stations in multiple zones. Forty of these frequencies had power limits of 1,000 watts, while

522-518: A high voltage spark between two conductors. Beginning in 1895, Guglielmo Marconi developed the first practical radio communication systems using these transmitters, and radio began to be used commercially around 1900. Spark transmitters could not transmit audio (sound) and instead transmitted information by radiotelegraphy : the operator tapped on a telegraph key which turned the transmitter on-and-off to produce radio wave pulses spelling out text messages in telegraphic code, usually Morse code . At

580-526: A lack of Clear Channel frequencies, in several cases two stations were assigned the same frequency and required to share time on them: Zone 5 Clear Channel frequency 790 kHz was assigned to General Electric 's (GE) KGO in Oakland, California. Because of the separation between the stations, GE's WGY in Schenectady, New York was also assigned this frequency, but with KGO's power limited to 7,500 watts, until

638-568: A new transmitter site. That would be coupled with an increase in daytime power to 10,000 watts and the addition of nighttime operation with 200 watts. Birach Broadcasting has not yet built the new facilities. Station publicity has commonly claimed that WEW is "the second oldest radio station in the United States." It credits KDKA in Pittsburgh as the first commercial station, which began regular broadcasts as 8ZZ on November 2, 1920. This in turn

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696-413: A radio wave. A radio transmitter is an electronic circuit which transforms electric power from a power source, a battery or mains power, into a radio frequency alternating current to apply to the antenna, and the antenna radiates the energy from this current as radio waves. The transmitter also encodes information such as an audio or video signal into the radio frequency current to be carried by

754-422: A single station. The maximum power for these stations was to be determined later, and in most cases was set at 50,000 watts. In some cases, secondary stations were assigned the same frequency, with provisions to avoid interference with the primary station's coverage by locating the secondary stations long distances from the primary stations, limiting their power, or restricting them to daytime-only operation. Due to

812-571: A variety of license classes depending on use such as broadcast , marine radio , Airband , Amateur and are restricted to certain frequencies and power levels. A body called the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) allocates the frequency bands in the radio spectrum to various classes of users. In some classes, each transmitter is given a unique call sign consisting of a string of letters and numbers which must be used as an identifier in transmissions. The operator of

870-515: Is based in Southfield, Michigan , outside Detroit . Through nearly its entire history, WEW has been a daytimer station, required to go off the air at night. That is rare for one of the earliest radio stations in the U.S. Management has been trying to give WEW nighttime authorization and more than just 1,000 watts of power in the daytime. On April 28, 2016, WEW was granted a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) construction permit to move to

928-425: Is called a transceiver . The purpose of most transmitters is radio communication of information over a distance. The information is provided to the transmitter in the form of an electronic signal called the modulation signal, such as an audio (sound) signal from a microphone, a video (TV) signal from a video camera, or in wireless networking devices, a digital signal from a computer. The transmitter generates

986-421: Is it can often transmit more information ( data rate ) in a given bandwidth than analog, using data compression algorithms. Other advantages of digital transmission are increased noise immunity , and greater flexibility and processing power of digital signal processing integrated circuits . General Order 40 The Federal Radio Commission 's (FRC) General Order 40 , dated August 30, 1928, described

1044-1332: Is said to make WEW the "oldest broadcast station west of the Mississippi River ". This assertion uses April 26, 1921, the date that 9YK made its first audio weather report broadcast, as the starting date for combined 9YK/WEW operations. However, numerous other stations, on both sides of the Mississippi River, have earlier establishment dates than WEW and even KDKA, when combined with their predecessor operations. They include WWJ in Detroit , which began regular broadcasts as 8MK in August 1920. WOC in Davenport, Iowa , traces its origin to station 9BY, which began regular broadcasts around September 1920. 9ZAF/KLZ in Denver had regular programs as 9ZAF beginning in October 1920. And 9XM/WHA in Madison, Wisconsin , began transmitting weather forecasts in January 1921. Transmitter In electronics and telecommunications ,

1102-411: Is usually limited to equipment that generates radio waves for communication purposes; or radiolocation , such as radar and navigational transmitters. Generators of radio waves for heating or industrial purposes, such as microwave ovens or diathermy equipment, are not usually called transmitters, even though they often have similar circuits. The term is popularly used more specifically to refer to

1160-637: The UHF and microwave ranges, using new active devices such as the magnetron , klystron , and traveling wave tube . The invention of the transistor allowed the development in the 1960s of small portable transmitters such as wireless microphones , garage door openers and walkie-talkies . The development of the integrated circuit (IC) in the 1970s made possible the current proliferation of wireless devices , such as cell phones and Wi-Fi networks, in which integrated digital transmitters and receivers ( wireless modems ) in portable devices operate automatically, in

1218-459: The call sign 9YR. In May 1916, this station's license was changed to an "Experimental" authorization, with a new call sign of 9XY. These early operations transmitted seismological and weather information by Morse code . With the entrance of the United States into World War I in April 1917, all civilian stations were ordered to cease operations, snd the university's radio station was shut down for

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1276-455: The "Science Series", "Farm School", the "Amateur Radio Forum" and the "Editorial Page of the Air". It has also been suggested that the "Question Box Hour", a feature from 1923 described as "the first Catholic inquiry forum of the air", may qualify as the first radio quiz show . Unlike most early radio stations licensed to educational institutions, WEW continued to be operated by the university, despite

1334-676: The 1920s. All these early technologies were replaced by vacuum tube transmitters in the 1920s, which used the feedback oscillator invented by Edwin Armstrong and Alexander Meissner around 1912, based on the Audion ( triode ) vacuum tube invented by Lee De Forest in 1906. Vacuum tube transmitters were inexpensive and produced continuous waves , and could be easily modulated to transmit audio (sound) using amplitude modulation (AM). This made AM radio broadcasting possible, which began in about 1920. Practical frequency modulation (FM) transmission

1392-573: The Federal Radio Commission's implementation of General Order 40 , now limited to daytime-only operation. On March 29, 1941, all stations on 760 kHz were moved to 770 kHz, WEW's current dial position, under the provisions of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA). WEW introduced a number of innovative programs, featuring talks by the faculty. Other programs included "Parents' Forum",

1450-473: The Reverend Paul C. Reinert , S.J. announced that WEW-FM would be shut down. He said it was "because FM broadcasting has not been accepted by the general public". A few years later the university exited broadcasting altogether, with the exception of a student-run carrier current station, KBIL . The university sold WEW to a company headed by Aubrey D. Reid, a news director at KXOK (630 AM) . Reid went by

1508-466: The SLU Department of Science, received permission from federal authorities to air informational broadcasts. Twice each day, 9YK broadcast the official weather reports for Missouri and Illinois, in addition to giving the local river stages. This new service made its debut over 9YK at 10:05 a.m. on April 26, 1921. SLU president Reverend William Robison, S.J., made an introductory statement, then read

1566-547: The US, these fall under Part 15 of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations. Although they can be operated without a license, these devices still generally must be type-approved before sale. The first primitive radio transmitters (called spark gap transmitters ) were built by German physicist Heinrich Hertz in 1887 during his pioneering investigations of radio waves. These generated radio waves by

1624-619: The United States were originally regulated by the Department of Commerce , as authorized by the Radio Act of 1912 . The first formal regulations governing broadcasts intended for the general public were adopted effective December 1, 1921. This initially established just two transmitting wavelengths — 360 meters (833 kHz) for "entertainment" broadcasts, and 485 meters (619 kHz) for "market news and weather reports". The number of broadcasting stations grew dramatically in 1922, reaching over 500 by

1682-610: The antenna may be located on top of a building or on a separate tower, and connected to the transmitter by a feed line , that is a transmission line . Electromagnetic waves are radiated by electric charges when they are accelerated . Radio waves , electromagnetic waves of radio frequency , are generated by time-varying electric currents , consisting of electrons flowing through a metal conductor called an antenna which are changing their velocity and thus accelerating. An alternating current flowing back and forth in an antenna will create an oscillating magnetic field around

1740-461: The background, to exchange data with wireless networks . The need to conserve bandwidth in the increasingly congested radio spectrum is driving the development of new types of transmitters such as spread spectrum , trunked radio systems and cognitive radio . A related trend has been an ongoing transition from analog to digital radio transmission methods. Digital modulation can have greater spectral efficiency than analog modulation ; that

1798-542: The chaos that resulted from the earlier collapse of regulation. There was some controversy that the assignments had created groups of "have" and "have-not" stations—with the Clear Channel stations receiving a major economic boost, while many remaining stations, often with limited hours due to time-sharing, had constricted futures. Also, although the reorganization accounted for Canada, it did not include other nearby countries, most notably Mexico. Twelve years later this omission

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1856-419: The conductor. The alternating voltage will also charge the ends of the conductor alternately positive and negative, creating an oscillating electric field around the conductor. If the frequency of the oscillations is high enough, in the radio frequency range above about 20 kHz, the oscillating coupled electric and magnetic fields will radiate away from the antenna into space as an electromagnetic wave,

1914-508: The duration of the conflict. During the war, SLU trained over 300 radio operators for the United States Army . With the end of the war, civilian radio operations were re-established. In August 1920, the university was again issued a "Technical and Training School" license, now with the call sign of 9YK. George E. Rueppel, S.J. was a Catholic lay brother in the Jesuit religious order. He

1972-416: The end of the year, and the government began making available additional frequencies. By November 1924 a band of frequencies, from 550 to 1500 kHz, had been established, with higher-powered stations, known as "Class B", assigned to the frequencies from 550 to 1070, while lower-powered "Class A" stations were assigned to 1080 to 1500. In 1926, the government's regulatory authority under the 1912 Radio Act

2030-465: The financial difficulties caused by the Great Depression . In 1928, the station was on the air for an average of only eight hours per week, but by 1937 its weekly broadcast schedule had expanded to 57 hours of "service, education, and entertainment" programming. Studios were housed on the top floor of SLU's Law School (currently O'Neil Hall). The transmitter tower, which would be torn down in 1954,

2088-516: The general public were now required to obtain a "Limited Commercial License" that included a broadcast service assignment. SLU was issued its first broadcasting station authorization, for 485 meters, on March 23, 1922, with the randomly assigned call letters WEW. WEW was the second Saint Louis station to receive a broadcasting authorization, following the Post-Dispatch's KSD (now KTRS), which had been licensed earlier that month. However, WEW includes

2146-412: The general public. Effective December 1, 1921, the Department of Commerce , which regulated radio at this time, adopted new guidelines that included a classification of "broadcasting stations". Two transmitting wavelengths were set aside for this service: 360 meters (833 kilohertz) for "entertainment" and 485 meters (619 kilohertz) for "market and weather reports". Stations providing programs intended for

2204-421: The output frequency. Older designs used an oscillator at a lower frequency, which was multiplied by frequency multipliers to get a signal at the desired frequency. Modern designs more commonly use an oscillator at the operating frequency which is stabilized by phase locking to a very stable lower frequency reference, usually a crystal oscillator. Two radio transmitters in the same area that attempt to transmit on

2262-427: The prior 9YK operations as part of its broadcasting history, so it has traditionally celebrated April 26, 1921 as its founding date. On May 31, 1922, the station was authorized to also broadcast on the 360 meter (833 kHz ) entertainment wavelength. Over the next few years WEW was shifted to a number of other transmitting frequencies. On November 11, 1928, it settled on 760 kHz as part of a nationwide reallocation, under

2320-490: The professional name of Bruce Barrington. Following the sale of the station, in June 1955, WEW's format was changed from non-commercial educational programs with classical music to a commercial operation broadcasting country and western music . WEW was sold again five years later. In 1964, the station was purchased by Charles Stanley, who moved the studios to various locations, including the original Busch Stadium upon completion of

2378-400: The radio waves. When they strike the antenna of a radio receiver , the waves excite similar (but less powerful) radio frequency currents in it. The radio receiver extracts the information from the received waves. A practical radio transmitter mainly consists of the following parts: In higher frequency transmitters, in the UHF and microwave range, free running oscillators are unstable at

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2436-486: The receiver, these pulses were sometimes directly recorded on paper tapes, but more common was audible reception. The pulses were audible as beeps in the receiver's earphones, which were translated back to text by an operator who knew Morse code. These spark-gap transmitters were used during the first three decades of radio (1887–1917), called the wireless telegraphy or "spark" era. Because they generated damped waves , spark transmitters were electrically "noisy". Their energy

2494-461: The remaining four, 1460-1490, referred to as "Super Regional", had 5,000-watt limits. In numerous cases up to four stations in a given location were assigned the same frequency, requiring them to establish time-sharing agreements. The remaining six frequencies—1200, 1210, 1310, 1370, 1420 and 1500—later known as "Local", were issued to stations in all five zones, with a power limit of 100 watts. The reorganization greatly reduced interference caused by

2552-475: The same frequency will interfere with each other, causing garbled reception, so neither transmission may be received clearly. Interference with radio transmissions can not only have a large economic cost, it can be life-threatening (for example, in the case of interference with emergency communications or air traffic control ). For this reason, in most countries, use of transmitters is strictly controlled by law. Transmitters must be licensed by governments, under

2610-470: The same nominal frequency would combine to make a high-pitched "heterodyne" tone that interfered with the reception of both stations. Secondly, directional antennas would not be developed until the early 1930s, so there was no effective method for limiting signals in a given direction. On August 30, 1928, the Commission issued General Order 40, which set new standards for radio broadcasting. A "broadcast band"

2668-500: The standards for a sweeping reorganization of radio broadcasting in the United States. This order grouped the AM radio band transmitting frequencies into three main categories, which became known as Clear Channel, Regional, and Local. It also included provisions for coordination with Canadian station assignments. The majority of the reassignments resulting from the plan's implementation went into effect on November 11, 1928. Radio transmissions in

2726-512: The transmitter usually must hold a government license, such as a general radiotelephone operator license , which is obtained by passing a test demonstrating adequate technical and legal knowledge of safe radio operation. Exceptions to the above regulations allow the unlicensed use of low-power short-range transmitters in consumer products such as cell phones , cordless telephones , wireless microphones , walkie-talkies , Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices, garage door openers , and baby monitors . In

2784-581: The venue. WEW was the only radio station located in a major sports stadium. (Stanley was known for trading merchandise in exchange for commercial time.) Other studio locations included "The Hill" , Soulard , and Clayton . WEW was later owned by the Broadcast Center, then by Texas businessman Gary Acker. Acker's Metropolitan Radio Group transferred the station to the Birach Broadcasting Corporation on January 6, 2004. Birach Broadcasting

2842-460: The whole, the broadcasting situation has been much improved". The table below presents a general outline of the allocations made under the order. For "Clear" frequencies, the zone of that frequency's principal station is listed, followed by the principal station's call letters and location, then the frequency that had been previously used by the principal station, and any additional stations assigned to that frequency. Bolded stations' call signs are

2900-408: Was addressed by the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA), which took effect March 29, 1941. General Order 40's implementation took effect at 3 a.m. Eastern time on November 11, 1928, and required most U.S. radio stations to move to a new broadcast frequency. A survey conducted by Radio Retailing magazine concluded that, despite some continuing issues, the changes meant that "on

2958-559: Was assistant director of the Meteorological Observatory at SLU and had the primary responsibility for the university's experimental station. He resumed his duties with the establishment of 9YK. During the war, advances in vacuum tube design made audio transmissions practical, and 9YK was upgraded to take advantage of this new technology. In late March 1921, the United States Weather Bureau, in conjunction with

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3016-557: Was defined, consisting of 96 frequencies, spaced every 10 kilohertz, from 550 to 1500 kHz. Six of them—690, 730, 840, 910, 960, and 1030—were restricted for use only by Canadian stations, leaving 90 available for US assignment. The country was further divided into five zones, to coordinate the Davis Amendment directive of an equitable assignment of stations. Forty of the U.S. frequencies—eight in each zone—which came to be known as "Clear Channels", were generally limited nationally to

3074-575: Was initially authorized in 1941 with the call sign K51L, transmitting on 45.1 MHz. The call letters were later changed to WEW-FM. It began broadcasting on May 17, 1947, using a 542-foot (165 meter) tall transmission tower constructed on the university's campus. Because the AM station's license limited it to daytime hours, the FM signal provided the opportunity for nighttime programs. However, in December 1949, SLU president

3132-440: Was invented by Edwin Armstrong in 1933, who showed that it was less vulnerable to noise and static than AM. The first FM radio station was licensed in 1937. Experimental television transmission had been conducted by radio stations since the late 1920s, but practical television broadcasting didn't begin until the late 1930s. The development of radar during World War II motivated the evolution of high frequency transmitters in

3190-465: Was located roughly where Pius XII Memorial Library now stands. Brother George E. Rueppel continued active participation with the station until his death in 1947, serving at times as "engineer... station manager, program director, continuity writer, platter turner, announcer, talent scout, auditioner and star performer". The university was the first in the St. Louis area to receive a permit for an FM station. It

3248-492: Was spread over a broad band of frequencies , creating radio noise which interfered with other transmitters. Damped wave emissions were banned by international law in 1934. Two short-lived competing transmitter technologies came into use after the turn of the century, which were the first continuous wave transmitters: the arc converter ( Poulsen arc ) in 1904 and the Alexanderson alternator around 1910, which were used into

3306-637: Was successfully challenged, and, for a chaotic period that lasted until early 1927, radio stations were free to use any frequency and power they chose, while the number of stations increased to 732. The Radio Act of 1927 was passed to regain control of the situation. The Act established a Federal Radio Commission , which reduced the number of stations, primarily through its General Order 32 , in addition to eliminating "temporary" and "portable" stations. The Commission also reallocated frequency assignments to reduce interference and provide better service to smaller communities and underserved rural areas. A constraint

3364-563: Was the Davis Amendment , which specified that the station assignments had to be equitably made throughout the country. Two technical issues limited the number of stations that could operate without interfering with each other. These issues were especially important at night, when a change in the ionosphere meant that radio signals traveled much greater distances. Most transmitters at this time were unable to precisely control their output frequencies, thus, signals from two stations operating on

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