Special thanks to Ray Robinson and Jeff White for sharing Part 4 from the AWR Wavescan program.
Jeff: If you’re a regular listener, you’ll know that we have been serializing the history of the Zenith Radio Corporation, from its earliest beginnings before the First World War, and have so far reached the mid-1930s. Today Ray Robinson brings us the remainder of the story, from the mid-30’s to the mid-50’s.
Ray: Thanks, Jeff. Throughout the 1920’s and even through the Depression Years of the early 1930’s, Zenith Radio Corporation had been a very progressive and inventive company, that always maintained the highest quality in its products. Their drive for innovation helped them weather the financial storm, and indeed helped them recover much quicker than many of their competitors.
A New Look
A further innovation, in 1935, was as simple and obvious as the eraser on a pencil, but it had been completely overlooked by the entire industry. Prior to 1935, the dials on all makes of radio receivers were small and difficult to read. Zenith changed all this by adding to its 1935 line a large, black dial, with figures so distinct that they were easily read even without glasses by most people. This dial became a tremendous sales feature, and was widely copied by other manufacturers.
Even during the emphasis on low priced receivers in the depression years, Zenith had not forgotten its devotion to quality. Consequently, it found a ready market for its 1935 line of feature-laden receivers. One model, selling at $750, incorporated Zenith’s largest chassis in a massive cabinet, with 50 watt audio output, variable selectivity, 3 speakers, and other exceptional features.
By 1937, Zenith had completely outgrown its Iron Street factory, so they purchased a large building at 6001 West Dickens Avenue, Chicago, with over 390,000 square feet of floor space, and another 225,000 square feet of unoccupied land. The factory was completely renovated and equipped with the most modern production equipment available, to make it one of the most efficient production units in the radio industry.
Pre-War Developments
That year, 1937, the radio industry as a whole showed a 15% drop in sales, but Zenith sales increased. New developments prior to American entry into World War II included a new radiogram, a baby room monitor, and a new line of portable radios.
A Radio Headliner
An outstanding feature of the new Zenith portables was the detachable Wavemagnet® antenna that could be attached to the windows of planes, trains, or steel buildings to give good reception in these difficult locations.
Headline star of the portable radio field was the Trans- Oceanic® shortwave and longwave portable which was put into mass production some months before the factory converted 100% to war production. This set had been several years in the making before it went into production, and had been thoroughly field tested in every type of climate from the Arctic to the Tropics.
When civilian production stopped, Zenith had unfilled orders on hand for more than 100,000 Trans-Oceanic portables. It was unable to fill these, but tens of thousands had already been produced and shipped. These sets were carried to every war theater by American soldiers and officials, and earned a reputation for outstanding performance and rugged durability that was never approached by any other portable radio receiver.
Demand for the Trans-Oceanic portable became enormous, and sets commanded fantastic prices on the black market, because none was to be had through regular commercial channels. Zenith, of course, sold none, but the management had kept a small inventory. These sets were presented, from time to time, to American ambassadors, and to other officials who had urgent need for them. It was a favorite saying around the plant that there were two things at Zenith money could not buy: Zenith friendship and Trans-Oceanic portables.
Zenith Enters FM and TV Broadcasting
Shortly after establishment of radio networks in 1926, Zenith concluded that there were enough broadcast programs on the air to satisfy public need, and accordingly disposed of station WJAZ. However, the development of television and FM in the late 1930’s made it advisable from an engineering standpoint for the company to re-enter the broadcasting field.
On February 2, 1939, Zenith went on the air with W9XZV, the nation’s first all-electronic television station built to then-current standards. For nearly three years this was the only television station operating in Chicago.
The station operated three nights, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, from 7 until 10 P.M. and from 12:00 Noon to 1:00 P.M. Monday through Friday. One of the purposes of the noon programs was to project a picture which Zenith and other Chicago manufacturers could use to test their receiver designs. In those days there was no other broadcast or test signal which could be used to determine whether a receiver would work when installed or repaired.
Programs included both motion pictures and live productions. Many prominent entertainers of that era appeared on the station. During the war, at the request of the FCC, W9XZV broadcast the world premiere of the motion picture “Patrolling the Ether,” an MGM production. Post-war the station continued to operate from the factory location until it was moved to the Field Building in 1950. There, under new call letters, K2XBS, it became invaluable to the television industry during development of the NTSC system of color television.
In the late 1930’s, Major E.H. Armstrong perfected his static and interference free system of FM broadcasting to the point where the FCC set aside certain channels for its development. On February 2, 1940, Zenith’s FM station, W9XEN, went on the air from studios in the factory. It was the first FM station in the midwest, and second or third in the country.
The transmitter was moved to a location on top of the Field Building in Chicago’s Loop on February 27, 1941. It was assigned the new call letters of WEFM and its power was increased to 50 kW, making it the most powerful FM transmitter in the country. Programming was confined to music, predominantly symphonic in nature, but with semi-classical segments arranged to meet the desires of particular listener groups. In 1953, WEFM was the first station in the Chicago area to broadcast a high fidelity signal spanning the range between 20 and 20,000 Hz.
The War Years
During the war Zenith developed many short cuts in the production of war material. Zenith’s war production ranged from radar to communications equipment. Early in the war Zenith was asked to mass produce a frequency meter that had been developed as a hand-built instrument of fantastic accuracy and sensitivity. Its purpose was to insure identical, matching frequencies on the radio equipment of, for example, all the bombers that went on a particular raid. Because it would be used all over the world, it had to maintain its accuracy anywhere from the frigid Arctic to blistering deserts and sweltering tropic jungles.
UHF Broadcasting
As the peak period of war production passed in 1944, Zenith was looking toward the post-war development of television. Engineers realized there could never be sufficient VHF channels for national television operation, so all design work was based on the supposition that UHF reception must be available for all receivers.
In connection with this design work, Zenith engineers felt that it was essential to have a UHF transmitter, in addition to the VHF transmitter on Channel 2.
In 1944 Zenith applied for an experimental UHF transmitter license which was granted in 1945. All transmitter and other equipment for this station was built in the Zenith laboratory and went on the air at the main plant in June, 1946, operating under the call letters KS2XBR.
FM
Pre-war Zenith was one of the few radio manufacturers that had mastered the technical intricacies of FM receivers. During the war it was decided that, post-war, the frequency for FM stations should be changed from the 45 MHz band to the 100 MHz band. This move posed new problems for receiver manufacturers by requiring completely new circuit designs.
Zenith's First TV
In 1948, Zenith put its first line of television receivers on the market. With an eye to protecting its customers' investment in Zenith television sets, the company introduced an advanced type turret tuner which could be utilized for future UHF reception by the simple addition of tuning strips.
Color Television
The first organized work of Zenith engineers on color television started in 1940, at which time all necessary VHF transmitter, receiver and studio equipment, including direct pickup cameras, were constructed in the Zenith laboratories. Experimental work continued with this equipment until all experimentation ceased because of the war. The first color broadcasts in Chicago were transmitted over Zenith’s VHF station in 1940 and 1941.
In November, 1945, experimental work was resumed on the pre-war color equipment, and color broadcasting was resumed in 1946 on the new UHF transmitter equipment built in the Zenith laboratories.
In the fall of 1950 Zenith was transmitting the NTSC type color signals. By then it had become apparent that the CBS field sequential system was not practical and Zenith’s entire efforts were thereafter devoted to the multiplex system which was ultimately adopted by the NTSC and the Federal Communications Commission. By 1951 Zenith had established a regular schedule calling for color transmission one hour each day, Monday, Wednesday and Friday over both its VHF and UHF stations. This schedule continued with only minor interruptions until 1953. And finally, as the year 1953 neared its close, the Federal Communications Commission gave its approval to the NTSC system of color television, thanks largely to the experimentation and engineering efforts of the Zenith Radio Corporation.
This series of segments on the Zenith story has been mostly based on a brochure produced by the company in 1955, and this is as far it went with regard to their broadcasting activities. Our thanks once again to listener Vince Koepke for bringing this brochure to our attention.
Back to you, Jeff.
(Ray Robinson/AWR)
