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| History oftelevision in the United States |
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| Histories |
This is a list ofpre-World War II television stations of the 1920s and 1930s. Most of these experimental stations were located inEurope (notably in theUnited Kingdom,France,Germany,Italy,Poland, theNetherlands, andRussia),Australia,Canada, and theUnited States. Some present-day broadcasters trace their origins to these early stations.
All television licenses in the United States were officially "experimental" before July 1941, as theNTSC television standard had yet to be developed. Some American television broadcasters continued operating under experimental licenses as late as 1947, although by then they were using the same technical standards as their commercial brethren.
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| Call sign (original) | Call sign (current) | Frequency* | Channel (current) | Location (city) | On air | Owner (original) | Original broadcast system | Current broadcast system |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baird Television Development Company Ltd[1] viaBBC transmitter2LO[citation needed] | 361 meters 831 kHz [2] |  London,England,United Kingdom | 1926–1935 [citation needed] | British Broadcasting Company | Mechanical television 30 lines 25 frame/s | [dubious –discuss] | ||
| W2XB (also branded as WGY-TV from itssister radio station) | WRGB | 2.15 MHz | 6 |  SchenectadyNew York, United States | May 10, 1928 – present | General Electric Co. | Mechanical television 24 (later 48) lines/21 frame/s | NTSC-M from 1942–2009; now ATSC digital. |
| W1XAY (also branded as WLEX from its sister radio station) | 3.5 MHz | Lexington,Massachusetts, United States | June 14, 1928– March 1930 | The Boston Post | Mechanical television 48 lines/18 frame/s | |||
| W3XK | 1.605 MHz & 6.42 MHz, later 2.00–2.10 MHz | Wheaton Washington, D.C., United States | July 2, 1928– 1932 | Charles Jenkins Laboratories | Mechanical television 48 lines | |||
| W2XAL (also branded asWRNY from its sister radio station) | New York City, New York, United States | August 13, 1928– 1929 | Experimenter Publishing | Mechanical television 48 lines | ||||
| W1WX (later becameW1XAV) | 2.12 MHz | Boston, Massachusetts, United States | Spring 1929–1931 | Shortwave and Television Laboratory | Mechanical television 48 & 60 lines/15 frame/s | |||
| W2XBS | WNBC | 2.75–2.85 MHz | FormerlyChannel 1; moved toVHF Channel 4 from 1946–2009 (remainsPSIP virtual channel); allocated to digital channel 28 from 1999–2018; moved to channel share withWNJU on channel 36 from 2018–present | New York City, New York, United States | 1929–1932, 1936–present | National Broadcasting Company | Mechanical television 60 lines/20 frame/s | 1941–2009,NTSC-M; now ATSC digital |
| 3UZ. Experiments carried out on the radio station after it had officially closed down for the night.[3] | 930 kHz |  Melbourne,Victoria, Australia | 1929 | Oliver John Nilsen | Mechanical television | |||
| 3DB. Experiments carried out on the radio station after it had officially closed down for the night.[3] | 1180 kHz | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 1929 | The Herald and Weekly Times | Mechanical television | |||
| W9XAP | WNBQ-TV (1948–1964)[4] nowWMAQ-TV | VHF Channel 5 | Chicago,Illinois, United States | August 27, 1930– August 1933. 1948-present. [5][6][7][8][9] | National Broadcasting Company | Mechanical television | 1948–2009NTSC-M; now ATSC digital | |
| VE9EC | 41 MHz |  Montreal,Quebec, Canada | 1931–1935 | La Presse andCKAC radio | Mechanical television 60–150 lines | |||
| W6XAO | KCBS-TV | Formerly onChannel 1, nowVHF Channel 2 | Los Angeles, California, United States | June 1931– 1933, 1937–1948 as experimental Don Lee station; May 6, 1948– present | Don Lee | Mechanical television, film only, 80 lines/20 frame/s | 1948–2009,NTSC-M; now ATSC digital | |
| Amateur radio station4CM[10] | 136 metres | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | 1934 | DrVal McDowall | Early experiments withelectronic television | |||
| W6XYZ | KTLA | Formerly onChannel 4, nowVHF Channel 5 | Los Angeles, California, United States | June 1942– 1946 experimental, Jan. 22, 1947– present | Paramount | 1947–2009,NTSC-M, now ATSC digital | ||
| W2XAB | WCBS-TV | 2.1–2.2 MHz | NowVHF Channel 2 | New York City, New York, United States | July 31, 1931– February 1933, 1939–present | Columbia Broadcasting System | Mechanical television 60 lines/20 frame/s | 1941–2009,NTSC-M, now ATSC digital |
| W2XWV | WNYW | Channel 4 (1938–1944), Channel 5 (1944 – present) | New York City, New York, United States | 1938– present | Allen B. DuMont | Unknown | 1944–2009NTSC-M, now ATSC digital | |
| W3XE | WPTZ (nowKYW-TV) | – | VHF Channel 3 | Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, United States | 1932–present | Philco Corporation | Mechanical television | 1941–2009,NTSC-M, now ATSC digital |
| W9XBK | WBKB (nowWBBM-TV) | Formerly onChannel 4, then onVHF Channel 2, Now on VHF Channel 12 | Chicago,Illinois, United States | 1940–present | Balaban & Katz | 1944–2009,NTSC-M, now ATSC digital | ||
| W9XZV | Later KS2XBS (Phonevision experimental on Channel 2) | VHF Channel 1 | Chicago,Illinois, United States | 1939–1953 | ||||
| 2LO (BBC Television Service) | BBC One | 361 meters 831 kHz [2] | UHF (Channels 21–68, throughout UK) | London,England,United Kingdom | August 22, 1932– September 11, 1935 | British Broadcasting Corporation | Mechanical television 30 lines/12.5 frame/s | NowDVB |
| BBC Television Service (Alexandra Palace) | BBC One | 45 MHz [11] | UHF (Channels 21–68, throughout UK and onAstra 2D satellite) | London,England,United Kingdom | November 1936– September 3, 1939, June 7, 1946 – present | British Broadcasting Corporation | Mechanical television 240 lines (Baird system) andelectronic television405 line (Marconi-EMI system)/25 frame/s | NowDVB |
| EIAR – Stazione sperimentale radiovisione diMonte Mario | RAI – Radiotelevisione Italiana | 40.54 MHz (audio), 44.12 MHz (video) | VHF (channel 9) and UHF (channels 25, 26, 30 and 40) |  Rome,Italy | July 22, 1939– May 10, 1940 | Electronic television441 lines / 21 to 42 frame/s. | NowDVB | |
| EIAR – Stazione sperimentale radiovisione Torre Littoria (nowTorre Branca) | 40.50 MHz (audio), 44.00 MHz (video) | Milan, Italy | April 12–28, 1940 | Electronic television441 lines / 21 to 42 frame/s. | ||||
| Radiovision PTT (1935) later Paris Television (1943) thenRTF (1946) (Eiffel Tower) | TF1 | 37 MHz (180 & 455 lines) later 42–46 MHz (441 lines) | UHF Channels 21–69 (System L + DVB throughout France and FTA on AB3 satellite) |  Paris,France | November 1935 – 1937 (60 lines, then 180 lines) later 1938–1939 (455 lines) then 1943–1956 (441 lines) | Ministry of Information | Mechanical television 60 then180 line laterelectronic television455 then441 line/25 frame/s | NowDVB |
| Fernsehsender Paul Nipkow |  BerlinPotsdam, Germany | 1935–1944 (tests started in 1929) | Deutscher Fernseh-Rundfunk | Electronic television180 lines/25 frame/s/50 fields/sec (started broadcasting in441 lines in mid-1937) | ||||
| Moscow test broadcasting stationМТЦ (from Shukhov tower) | LW band |  Moscow,Soviet Union, now  Russia | 1931–1941 | Mechanical television | ||||
| USSR TV (ТВ СССР) | Первый канал | 49.75 MHz (video) 56.25 MHz (audio) | TV channels:R1 (441 lines 25 fps) |  Moscow,USSR, now Russia | 1938–1941, 1945-1949 | Ministry of Culture | Electronic television | NowSECAM,PAL alsoDVB |
| Doświadczalna Stacja Telewizyjna | Telewizja Polska | TVP channels:TVP1,TVP2, etc. |  Warsaw,Poland | 1935–1939 (test broadcasting: 1937–38) | Mechanical television | NowPAL andDVB | ||
| Call sign (original) | Call sign (current) | Frequency* | Channel (current) | Location (city) | On air | Owner (original) | Original broadcast system | Current broadcast system |
London (2LO), Nov 1922, 361m
A high power transmitter at 45 MHz with a bandwidth of some 3 MHz was edge of technology in the 1930's
