Station Announcements of
Radio Station
WLCR-AM Carrier Current
Lewisburg/White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia U.S.A.

New 1973 radio studio of Camper-operated AM radio station WLCR.

The following station announcements were used on Radio Station WLCR-AM Carrier Current, broadcasting in the Lewisburg/White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia U.S.A. area, during the Summers of 1971 through 1977:

Station Identification Announcement

As provided by the rules and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission, the following station announcement was given at the beginning of each hour(betweeen :58 and :02) and on the half-hour(between :28 and :32). Usually, at least a minimum station identification(i.e. call letters and location: "WLCR-AM Carrier Current, Lewisburg, West Virginia") was given around :15 and :45. Often the time(Eastern Daylight Saving Time), and current temperature(degrees Fahrenheit) with sky condition, was broadcast along with the station identification announcement. In the case of the announcement on the hour, this usually preceded the hourly time-tone and the national network news, both provided by the CBS Radio Network.

This is WLCR-AM Carrier Current, Lewisburg, West Virginia,
broadcasting on a crystal-controlled frequency of 640 KiloHertz.

This station operates in accordance with the
Federal Communications Commission Rules and Regulations Part 15.

Station Sign-On and Sign-Off Announcement

The following is the sign-on and sign-off announcement given by WLCR-AM Carrier Current. The radio station usually did not broadcast during scheduled meal-times(breakfast, lunch, and dinner) of Camp Shaw-Mi-Del-Eca. Hence, sign-on and sign-off announcements were aired throughout the broadcast day. The first sign-on announcement of the morning (usually at 7:00 a.m.) was preceded by a recording of the United States National Anthem. The National Anthem followed the last sign-off announcement of the evening(usually at 10:30 p.m.). Usually, the time(Eastern Daylight Saving Time), and current temperature(degrees Fahrenheit) with sky condition, was broadcast along with the station sign-on and sign-off announcements.

This is WLCR-AM Carrier Current, Lewisburg, West Virginia,
broadcasting on a crystal-controlled frequency of 640 KiloHertz.

This station operates in accordance with the Federal Communications Commission Rules and Regulations Part 15, regarding low power broadcasting and carrier current radio techniques.

This station broadcasts for educational, non-commercial purposes utilizing an RC-6A AM Broadcast Transmitter, manufactured and approved by Mr. Richard H. Crompton, President of Low Power Broadcast Company, 520 Lincoln Highway, Frazer, Pennsylvania, zip code 19355.

This station is operated by Camp Shaw-Mi-Del Eca, Incorporated. We would like to hear how far this station is transmitting. You may write us at WLCR-AM Carrier Current, in care of Camp Shaw-Mi-Del-Eca, Post Office Box 747, Lewisburg, West Virginia, zip code 24901.

Time and Weather Announcements

In the mid-1970s, the author obtained surplus government weather equipment, and a weather station shelter, which was installed just outside of the radio studio, on the end of the fence of the tennis courts. The radio station became an official Weather Substation of the National Weather Service(administratively supervised by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Pittsburgh). Current weather readings were logged and broadcast throughout the day on WLCR-AM Carrier Current.

Prior to installation of the Weather Substation, two thermometers provided the temperature for broadcast in the new broadcast studio; one thermometer was in the east studio window, while the other was in one of the south studio windows. The radio station on-air staff would use the temperature of whichever thermometer was in the shade, at that time. Usually the sky conditions and the current time[the radio station's clock was corrected each day with time transmitted by the National Bureau of Standards' (now known as the National Institute of Standards and Technology) short-wave radio station, WWV-SW] were also broadcast with the temperature; these time--temperature--sky condition reports were announced frequently on WLCR-AM Carrier Current. The Radio Group members (students in the Radio-Science Educational Program) were instructed to often broadcast time and temperature checks, along with the current sky conditions; whenever a weather forecast was broadcast, it always included time and temperature checks with the current sky conditions.

Weather forecasts were obtained from the National Weather Service for broadcast.

In addition to the standard time announcements, WLCR-AM Carrier Current broadcast a time-tone designating the beginning of the hour, from the CBS Radio Network, prior to the hourly CBS Radio News.

Although the NBC and ABC Radio Networks also had exact time-tomes, indicating the beginning of the hour, the CBS Radio Network is the only network which continues this practice, today. However, there are many local radio stations that now have their own hourly time-tones, such as KDKA-AM in Pittsburgh(as the nation's first commercial radio station, begun 1920 November 2, KDKA pioneered the broadcast of time signals with the daily broadcast of the "Anderson Time Signals").

KYW-AM, Philadelphia's all-news radio station, has its own time-tone which indicates the beginning of every half-hour! And, at one time back in the 1960s, WSM-AM, the well-known Country music station( particularly known for the Saturday evening broadcast of the Grand Ole Opry) in Nashville, actually had a time-tone every 15 minutes(i.e. :00, :15, :30, and :45)!

Mexico City has an AM radio station which broadcasts a time-tone at the beginning of each minute; between these announcements, they squeeze-in as many mini-commercials as possible! Havana has a similar AM radio service, on 950 KiloHertz(same frequency as Detroit's all-news radio station, WWJ-AM, a CBS Radio affiliate which is considered the nation's second commercial radio station); news is broadcast between each announcement.

News and News Feature Programs

National news was broadcast on the hour, from the CBS Radio Network; each hourly newscast was six minutes(actually five minutes and fifty-five seconds) in duration(Today, CBS Radio newscasts are five minutes long, plus an additional radio commercial in the sixth minute which many stations do not carry.). Regular daily news features were also broadcast from CBS Radio. Each CBS Radio Network News broadcast was preceded by a precise hourly time-tone, indicating the beginning of the new hour.

During the Summer of 1976, WLCR-AM Carrier Current radio station (Lewisburg / Caldwell / White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia) broadcast frequent reports on the mission of the two Viking spacecraft, which orbited and landed on the Planet Mars. These pre-recorded reports came directly from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) via a toll-free telephone number specifically set-up for radio stations. A weekly five-minute NASA radio feature report (via transcription on vinyl record) was also broadcast.

Local Camp Shaw-Mi-Del-Eca news and news features were often broadcast on the radio station. And, from time-to-time, the campers also broadcast their own commentaries on WLCR-AM Carrier Current.

In 1967, the Camp radio station was known as WCDW. WCDW broadcast national news and features(including the popular weekend program, "Monitor") from the NBC Radio Network. As indicated earlier, NBC Radio broadcast a time-tone at the beginning of each hour, prior to their hourly newscast; each newscast was five minutes in length.

***

History of WLCR-AM Carrier Current: The Camp Radio Station

History of
Camp Shaw-Mi-Del-Eca
Lewisburg/White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia

Walsh, Glenn A. "The Historic Mission of Apollo 11
Man Walks on the Moon for the First Time
A Personal Remembrance From 40 Years Ago."

History of Buhl Planetarium Web Site 2009 July 20.
< http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/bio/Apolloremembrance.htm >.
Remembrance of watching first manned Moon landing at Camp Shaw-Mi-Del-Eca.

Facebook Page: Camp Shaw-Mi-Del-Eca Alumni

History of the Amateur Transmitters' Association of Western Pennsylvania,
which was the primary Pittsburgh-area amateur ("ham") radio club from 1926 through the late 1990s,
and which met for many years at Pittsburgh's original Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science.

The Saturday Light Brigade,
Weekly family/children's radio program, including periodic radio workshops for children,
aired on educational radio station WRCT-FM 88.3 of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh,
with studios in the Lower Level of Pittsburgh's historic Buhl Planetarium building.

National Radio Club
World's oldest and largest club of medium wave (AM Band) distance radio listeners; formed in 1933.

Levy, David H. "A 1967 Meteor Watch."
Sky and Telescope Magazine On-Line 2009 May 22.
Astronomy program at a boy’s summer camp near Honesdale, Pennsylvania.


Other Internet Web Sites of Interest

History of Astronomer, Educator, and Optician John A. Brashear

History of The Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science, Pittsburgh -
Including the Oldest Operable, Major Planetarium Projector in the World !

History of The Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, Chicago -
America's First Major Planetarium !

History of Andrew Carnegie and Carnegie Libraries

History of The Duquesne Incline, Pittsburgh -
Historic Cable Car Railway Serving Commuters and Tourists since 1877 !

Other History Links

Quick-Reference Pages(Valuable Library References)


Disclaimer Statement: This Internet Web Site is not affiliated with the Andrew Carnegie Free Library,
Ninth Pennsylvania Reserves Civil War Reenactment Group, Henry Buhl, Jr. Planetarium and Observatory,
The Carnegie Science Center, The Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh/Carnegie Institute, or The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.

This Internet, World Wide Web Site administered by Glenn A. Walsh.
Unless otherwise indicated, all pages in this web site are Copyright 2001, Glenn A. Walsh, All Rights Reserved.
The author thanks The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and the Three Rivers Free-Net for use of their digital scanner and
other computer equipment, and other assistance provided in the production of this web site.

Web address of this web page: < https://johnbrashear.tripod.com/wlcrid.html >
Web address of cover web page: < https://johnbrashear.tripod.com/wlcr.html >
Contact Web Site Administrator: wlcrid@planetarium.cc

This Internet web page was originally created 2001 August 12.
Last modified : Tuesday, 26-Apr-2022 22:26:48 EDT.
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