KC2XAK
| Company type | Broadcast translator |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television broadcasting |
| Founded | 1949-12-29 |
| Defunct | 1952-08-23 |
| Headquarters | Bridgeport , United States |
Area served | Bridgeport, Connecticut |
| Products | Television broadcasts (UHF) |
KC2XAK holds the distinction of being the inaugural UHF television broadcaster worldwide, commencing operations on December 29, 1949. Functioning as a broadcast translator, it relayed signals from New York City's WNBT (presently WNBC) on the 529–535 MHz frequency band, located in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
This initiative, designated "Operation Bridgeport", represented a collaborative experiment by RCA and NBC to assess the practicality of UHF frequencies for television transmission during the Federal Communications Commission's moratorium on new TV licenses from October 1948 until April 1952.
The station employed a transmitter rated at 1 kW paired with a 20-dB gain antenna mounted on a tower situated at Success Hill, elevated above the surrounding terrain. This configuration yielded an effective radiated power of 10 kW.
The success of Operation Bridgeport validated the potential of UHF broadcasting technology and played a significant role in shaping the FCC’s television licensing policies in the early 1950s. KC2XAK discontinued its broadcasts on August 23, 1952, shortly after the FCC lifted its freeze, remaining unique as the sole UHF station for several years thereafter.
Following its closure, Empire Coil purchased the station’s transmitter and related apparatus. Under RCA’s oversight, dismantling began in Bridgeport on August 25. The equipment was then transported to Portland, Oregon, where it was reinstalled on a tower atop Council Crest by September 9, 1952. This transmitter subsequently provided power to Portland’s KPTV, recognized as the first commercial full-power UHF station in the United States. KPTV operated on channel 27 for five years before transitioning to VHF channel 12 in 1957. Plans have been made for KPTV to resume transmission on UHF frequencies in 2022.
Currently, residents of Bridgeport receive over-the-air broadcasts from WNBC and various other stations based in New York City.
See also
- Early television stations
- History of television
- List of experimental television stations
- Narrow-bandwidth television
- Oldest television station
- Television systems before 1940
External links
- Mass media in Bridgeport, Connecticut
- History of television in the United States
- Experimental television stations
- Television stations in Connecticut
- History of Bridgeport, Connecticut
- Television channels and stations established in 1949
- Television channels and stations disestablished in 1952
- 1949 establishments in Connecticut
- 1952 disestablishments in Connecticut
- Defunct television stations in Connecticut