Talk:WBKV

HD radio?
The website does not mention hd radio or any additional channels.1archie99 (talk) 20:12, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

March 1934 On-Air Date Confirmed
Please refer to the link below (paper page 3, or PDF page 5) for the informative article WBEN Continues To Pioneer in Ultra-Short Wave Broadcasting by Ernest H. Roy, WBEN Technical Staff. It's about the W8XH radio station from October, 1935 in a Radio Log published by the Buffalo Evening News.

No evidence that W8XH was an antecedent for WBEN-FM / WTSS, because it ended operations in 1939
I have removed the statement that WTSS descended from "Apex" station W8XH, which supposedly had continued operations until 1946 and then was converted to an FM station. There actually is no evidence that W8XH operated later than July 1939, or that the Buffalo Evening News had any radio stations, other than AM station WBEN (AM), between January 1941 and WBEN-FM's debut in November 1946.

W8XH does have a solid claim for being the first Apex broadcasting station, so I have created a separate page for it. However, although there were a small number of Apex stations that eventually upgraded to FM, W8XH was not one of them.

The Buffalo Evening News first became involved with radio broadcasting in 1930, when it took over local radio station WMAK, which it renamed WBEN.("Alterations and Corrections", Radio Service Bulletin, June 30, 1930, page 15.) The newspaper actually operated two different experimental "ultra-high short-wave" broadcasting stations prior to World War II: W8HX from 1934-1939, and a facsimile station, W8XA, from 1939-1940:

Experimental audio broadcasting station W8XH (1934-1939)
In mid-1932 WBEN was issued licenses for two low-power transmitters, W8XD on 60.0 MHz (5 meters), and W8XH on 51.4 MHz (5.8 meters),("General and special experimental stations", Radio Service Bulletin, June 30, 1932, page 7) which were 10-watt portable units,("One of WBEN's Two New Short-Wave Transmitters", Buffalo Evening News, July 23, 1932, page 7.) capable of being "strapped across the shoulders of one of WBEN's engineers".("Portable Transmitter to Aid WBEN in Covering Centennial", Buffalo Evening News, July 1, 1932, page 16.) At this time W8XD and W8XH were both used for remote pickups to relay programming for broadcasting by WBEN.

W8XH's experimental license was later upgraded to a broadcasting station, and regular broadcasts under this new configuration were begun on March 18, 1934, initially at 51.4 MHz.("WBEN Short-Wave Station To Begin Broadcasts Sunday", Buffalo Evening News, March 17, 1934, page 4.) In May it was reassigned to 41.0 MHz (7.3 meters), which it would use for the remainder of its broadcasts.("W8XH to Change Wave Length Soon", Buffalo Evening News, May 19, 1934, page 5.)

There apparently was no formal announcement when W8XH ultimately ended operations. The July 3, 1939 issue of the Buffalo Evening News listed it as relaying the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) Red Network programming carried by WBEN from 1:00 to 5:00 and 5:45 to 9:00 p.m.("Monday Evening Programs: Other Local and Nearby Stations: W8XH", Buffalo Evening News, July 3, 1939, page 13.) However, two days later references to the station ceased.("Other Local and Nearby Stations", Buffalo Evening News, July 5, 1939, page 19.) I did not find any further references to W8XH being an active station after this date, although there was a query about its missing status in the November 1, 1940 issue of Radex magazine: "Can anyone tell Willis Richardson, R1489, 80 W. South St., Painesville, Ohio if W8XH [in] Buffalo is still on the air?" ("High Frequency Globe Trotting" by Ray La Rocque, Radex, November 1, 1940, page 9).

W8XH's disappearance was also reflected in the newspaper's weekly "Short Wave Listener" column, written by Earnest H. Roy, whose byline of "Short Wave Technician, WBEN-W8XH" in the July 8, 1939 column ("Short Wave Listener" by Earnest H. Roy, Buffalo Evening News, July 8, 1939, page 5) was shortened to just "WBEN" beginning in the July 15, 1939 issue: ("Short Wave Listener" by Earnest H. Roy, Buffalo Evening News, July 15, 1939, page 5.) (By December 1939 it was changed to "WBEN-W8XA": ("Short Wave Listener" by Earnest H. Roy, Buffalo Evening News, December 16, 1939, page 5))

W8XH's closing in 1939 is also documented by the Broadcasting Yearbook annual Apex station lists. W8XH is included in the 1938 ("High Frequency (Apex) Broadcast Stations in the United States" (Authorized by FCC as of January 1, 1938), Broadcasting Yearbook (1938), page 290) and 1939 ("High Frequency (Apex) Broadcast Stations in the United States" (Authorized by FCC as of January 1, 1939), Broadcasting Yearbook (1939), page 367) editions. However, it does not appear in the 1940 edition ("High Frequency Broadcasting Stations in the United States" (Authorized by FCC as of January 15, 1940), Broadcasting Yearbook (1940), page 374).

Experimental facsimile broadcasting station W8XA (1939-1940)
In December 1938, the News began a regular facsimile broadcast service, initially transmitted by WBEN during overnight hours ("Real Newspaper Delivered Through Ether", Buffalo Evening News, December 18, 1938, page 18.) from 1 to 6 a.m.("F. C. C. Extends Permit For WBEN Facsimile Tests", Buffalo Evening News, February 21, 1939, page 21.) using the RCA system.("Facsimile Device is Like Tiny Press" by Earnest H. Roy, Buffalo Evening News, January 28, 1939, page 3.)

In early 1939 the newspaper announced that it had applied for a license for a dedicated facsimile station: ("WBEN Asks Permit For New Facsimile Station", Buffalo Evening News, February 22, 1939, page 19.) An April 1939 report stated that it had received a license to transfer the service from WBEN to a new "experimental facsimile broadcasting station", W8XA,("Short Wave Listener: W8XA, WBEN's New High-Frequency Transmitter Is to Be Used for Facsimile Broadcasting" by Earnest H. Roy, Buffalo Evening News, April 8, 1939, page 5.) which employed much of the equipment originally used by W8XH.("WBEN Gets License", Buffalo Evening News, March 7, 1939, page 17.) The new station's FCC application stated that it was for a "License for a new Facsimile (Experimental) broadcast station, utilizing the equipment of high frequency broadcast station W8XH, on frequencies 31600, 35600, 38600, 41000 kilocycles, 100 watts power, A-4 emission."(Report of Applications Received For Broadcast Services (Federal Communications Commission), February 21, 1939, page 1.) In August W8XA was reported to be operating on 43.7 MHz.("Short Wave Listener" by Earnest H. Roy, Buffalo Evening News, August 12, 1939, page 5.)

Both W8XH and W8XA employed Amplitude Modulation (AM) transmissions. But by the late 1930s the FCC determined that for most purposes FM transmissions were superior, and began to shut down the existing experimental AM stations. Its May 18, 1940 "Order No. 67" allocated, effective January 1, 1941, the frequencies being used in the range of 42.0 to 50.0 MHz to a new commercial FM station band. ("FCC Order No. 67", Federal Register, May 25, 1940, page 2011) "Order No. 67"]) Its subsequent "Order No. 69" included W8XA in a list of stations to be deleted by January 1, 1941. ("FCC Order No. 69" (Federal Communications Commission), May 22, 1940) The December 21, 1940 Buffalo Evening News announced that the W8XA facsimile transmissions had ended.("Short Wave Listener" by Earnest H. Roy, Buffalo Evening News, December 21, 1940, page 5.) This report stated that they were looking into a conversion to an FM transmission, but facsimile had not proven to be economically viable, and no further work was done. (By January 1, 1945 there were only three remaining U.S. facsimile stations: W9XWT in Louisville, W8XUM in Columbus and W2XWE in Albany.("Facsimile Broadcasting Stations", Independent Office Appropriation Bill Hearings (1946), page 1086)).

So, in conclusion, overall the best evidence is that WBEN-FM's November 11, 1946 debut was as a new station, unrelated to either W8XH or W8HA, that had by now been off the air for between six and seven years.--Thomas H. White (talk) 18:04, 27 April 2020 (UTC)

Page name of "WBKV(FM)" should be "WBKV (FM)", with space before "(FM)"?
I believe a space before "(FM)" was left out of the standard naming convention when this page was renamed.--Thomas H. White (talk) 11:28, 19 June 2023 (UTC)


 * I just tried to correct it, but it is currently technically blocked by the "WBKV (FM)" redirect created from the move of the article about 89.9 FM to WBWA (FM). (For now I've retargeted that redirect to this article.) — stickguy (:^›)— &#124;&#124; talk &#124;&#124; 12:58, 19 June 2023 (UTC)