WTIC (AM) Technical

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WTIC (AM) Technical

    Please note: Researching radio broadcasting history can be a lot of fun but it is important to keep in mind that radio statons such as WTIC have extensive security procedures and equipment to protect their transmitter sites. The pictures below were taken on an authorized tour. People attempting to gain access to the site will be detained and subject to arrest for tresspassing.

    WTIC initially started broadcasting with a "T cage" antenna on top of the Grove St. studio building in downtown Hartford.
    In the late twenties they moved their transmitter to Avon Mountain in Avon. Their first antenna at that location was a wire "T" antenna strung between two, self-supporting towers each approximately 200' tall. The towers are long gone but the foundations and center tuning house remain and are shown in the pictures below.

RCA-50B transmitter at WTIC.

RF output section of original 50kw transmitter.

Rectifier section from original 50kw transmitter using six, mercury vapor tubes.

The tuning house for the original WTIC antenna can be seen in the foreground of this 2009 photo. In the background are the current WTIC antennas.

Close up of the original tuning house. The open-wire transmitter line from the transmitter building entered this house through the small, rectangular opening up high between the doors. The RF exited the builing through a bowl insulator at the apex of the roof (not shown). 2007 photo.

This is a close-up of the open-wire line feed through.

The pictures above show all that is left of the East support tower of the original WTIC Avon Mountain AM antenna system.

The pictures above show the remains of the foundation of the west WTIC AM antenna support system. This foundation, like the east foundation above, was the base of a 200' self-supporting, tower. Note the old spotlights which were used to illuminate the opposite tower. 2007 photo.

This shot of the back of the WTIC transmitter building shows the heavy steel window shutters. We had heard from several reputable sources that these shutters were added to the building at government expense immediately after the Cuban Missile Crisis in an effort to "harden" Conelrad stations such as WTIC from an atomic attack. However, Jeff Hugabone disproved these stories by producing photographs of the building being built in the late 20's. Sure enough, the shutters are clearly visible in these early photos. We surmise that they were installed to protect the facility from Hurricanes.

This shot shows the substantial size of the WTIC transmitter building which was originally built just to house the 50,000 watt AM transmitter plant. Now the builting hoses two radio stations and a TV station.

The entire building is shielded with copper to minimize interference.

This 1957 photo was take the same year that channel 3 went on the air. Their self-supporting tower can be seen to the left of the building. Also note the turnstyle-type antenna on the roof towards the rear of the building. Antennas of this type were often used for transmitting in the early days of FM broadcasting so perhaps this is one of the original W53H (WTIC-FM) antennas although there is some speculation that it might have also been used for an FAA beacon at the site.

In the basement of the WTIC building is this vault door which leads into the roof which is now WTIC's emergency studio. During World War II the FCC required that American broadcast stations keep a spare set of tubes and a spare transmitting crystal in a safe because there was a fear that Nazi "sappers" would attempt to vandalize radio stations. The tubes and the crystal were the most fragile components of a transmitter and often the hardest to replace.

Deep in the basement of the WTIC transmitter building is a bomb shelter which today contains back-up studios for WTIC AM and FM.

The shelter is equipped with equipment for measuring radiation.

Up through the early sevenites this was the bunk roof where engineers could spend the night during severe weather. In the seventies the bunks were removed to make room for one of the blowers for the Continental 50kw AM transmitter.

This hallway on the third floor of the transmitter building leads to the old engineering office. The door on the right is to the former bunk room, the door on the left is to a storage room.

This is the former engineering office today. It houses various emergency two-way radio services.

This instrument, basement wall, probably dates back to the thirties. We are not sure what it was used for.

Old 3-phase, 4,800 Volt switchgear in the basement. This equipment, now disconnected, was in a caged area.

This picture was part of the original application for an FM license dating from 1940. It was taken from the top of the East AM tower looking to the west. The other AM tower can be seen in the foreground.

The original WTIC AM transmitter was water cooled via well water. The watertower seen in this 2009 photo was used to maintain pressure.

There are many historical documents in the building. This is the operating manual from the original 50 Kw Am transmitter.

When WTIC AM first moved to the mountain dozens of engineers were required to keep the station on the air. The site was manned 24/7 by shifts of engineers. Some of them were trained to use this machine shop in the basement to repair and fabricate parts for the facility.

Even the pump house is classy looking!

This is the 1080 phasor, used to create the directional pattern used by WTIC AM at night.

A 1935 transmitter log book.

A log from 1925.

Tubes from the original 50,000 watt AM transmitter are stored in the attic.

The people who built the building evidently signed the attic ceiling. This is a close up of one of the signatures.

East AM Tower, 2009 photo.

Photo looking south. In the foreground are the two 1080 khz antennas. The self supported tower is used by WFSB and the tower on the far left is used by WTIC-FM and WWUH (FM).