Photo courtesy John Boyers, W8OM
Photo courtesy John
Boyers, W8OM
This is the earliest known photograph of station 9YC (erroneously labeled "WBKY 1919").
The station became licensed in February, 1919 so this photograph must have been taken sometime within the first year of the station's existence. According to notes on the back, the photograph was at one time a part of The Kentucky Kernel photo archives. Someone had incorrectly attributed the photo (perhaps in some later attempt to catalog photographs) to WBKY, UK's first FM broadcast station, but WBKY did not come into existence until the late 1930s. Based on the equipment (circa 1919) and its location (Pence Hall) Boyers is certain this is station 9YC.
The tall, black box on the left is the transmitter (spark-gap). The shorter box to the right with three knobs was the receiver. Both appear to be "homebrew" (Baulch built some of the station's equipment as his undergraduate thesis project). Other pieces may be military surplus gear left behind by the Army Signal Corps.
The station was located on the top floor of the Physics and Civil Engineering Building (Pence Hall) at the North end of the hallway. As a boy, Boyers recalls seeing antennas strung from the ceiling, running the length of the hallway.
Copyright © 1997 Harold
G. Peach, Jr. All rights reserved.