These are images of the Floyd's Knobs tower site shortly after construction. We now have every television station in Louisville except WAVE-TV as neighbors. In 1960, WHAS was the only TV station up there.
These are images of the Floyd's Knobs
tower site shortly after construction. We now have every television
station in Louisville except WAVE-TV as neighbors. In 1960, WHAS
was the only TV station up there.
This is the maze of plumbing it takes
to get the visual and audio signal to the antenna. This plumbing
does not carry water, it carries the TV signal. In a TV transmitter,
there are actually two amplifiers. One for the picture and one for
the sound. Since there's only one antenna, they have to be combined
to one signal. Since there is also a spare transmitter, it has to share
that single line going up. The video signal also has to go through
a filter so it can fit in it's space on the channel. Now, that filtering
is done before the signal is amplified. Then it wasn't. Modern
technology!
This was when the studios, control rooms
and transmitter were all in the Courier-Journal building on Broadway.
The man at the transmitter was the chief engineer, Orin Towner. It,
too, was a GE. I believe these were publicity photos for a GE brochure
These photos are from Churchill Downs
during the Kentucky Derby. Quite primitive compared to the way we
do it now. Even if it was only 40 years ago. For example, for the
1999 Derby, we had a 40 foot, expando production truck from YES Productions
out of New Orleans. 16 videotape machines and 14 cameras and a crew
of about 45 both freelance and full-time.
I have pictures of our new Harris solid state transmitter. I also have pictures of the facilities on Chestnut Street. Soon as I get them scanned, I'll post them here.