Pre-war live transatlantic radio coverage?

[BMR]

While Marconi's morse 'S' is well known, and the first transatlantic TV broadcast even better documented, but I can't find when the first live broadcast radio coverage across the atlantic was.

The BBC covered the Louis-Farr fight in 1937 http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/walesonair/database/farr.shtml

The 1936 Olympics was covered in 40 countries via shortwave http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=...c radio coverage&pg=PA164#v=onepage&q&f=false of which some were presumably transatlantic?


But that's it. That's as much as I can find. Any suggestions? Any others to try googling?

 

[MattParker]

Hard to say which was first but it was common for networks to relay short-wave broadcasts from Europe in the 30s. I would not be surprised if US stations picking up short-wave broadcasts pre-dates the start of NBC.

 

[BMR]

Hard to say which was first but it was common for networks to relay short-wave broadcasts from Europe in the 30s. I would not be surprised if US stations picking up short-wave broadcasts pre-dates the start of NBC.

Yeah, it doesn't seem very clear who was first either way across the pond. I'm surprised that a big deal wasn't made of the first broadcast.

 

[MattParker]

RADIO LISTEN FOR ENGLAND TONIGHT
AT 10 o'clock tonight, Eastern Standard time, broadcasting stations in the British Isles will send special programs for the benefit of American listeners. It will be 3 o'clock in the morning in England, and efforts are being made to have the Prince of Wales.

RADIO; CRYSTAL SETS IN ENGLAND HEAR PITTSBURGH
MUSIC broadcast by Station KDKA, Pittsburgh, Pa., on low wave lengths has been received in England, amplified and rebroadcast on higher wave lengths, enabling British listeners using crystal sets to hear the Pittsburgh programs.

PITTSBURGH PROGRAMS RELAYED TO ENGLAND ON SHORT WAVES; Transatlantic Concert Will Be Radiated from KDKA Once Every Two Weeks -- British Stations Rebroadcast American Programs.
ARANGEMENTS have been completed to enable the British broadcast listeners to hear a program transmitted from the United States once every two weeks. Nothing in all the surprising advances made in radio telephony has touched the popular imagination more than the fact that it is now possible for an auditor in England to receive with efficiency on an inexpensive set speech and music from America.

TWO AMERICAN RADIO STATIONS SEND SHORT WAVES TO ENGLAND; Pittsburgh and Schenectady Have Special Transmitters Which Radiate Programs Overseas -Eight British Stations Rebroadcast American Concerts.
TWO powerful American broadcasting stations are entertaining 600,000 listeners in England. Simultaneous with their regular broadcasts KDKA, Pittsburgh, and WGY, Schenectady, often radiate the same program on short-wave lengths. The destination of the short waves is England, where an ultra-sensitive receiving set at Manchester detects and amplifies the American concerts.

SHORT WAVES TO ]

INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING TESTS START TOMORROW NIGHT; American Stations to Send From 10-11 P.M. and Foreign Broadcasters From 11 P.M.-Midnight -- Tests to Continue Throughout the Week
INTERNATIONAL broadcasting tests will start tomorrow night and continue throughout the week. American broadcasters scattered across the country from Boston to Los Angeles will "go on the air" daily at 10 FY. Fastern Standard Time, and will continue to broadcast for an hour.

AMERICA TO HEAR BRITISH WAVES RELAYED NIGHTLY NEXT WINTER; Success of Big Ben Time Signals and Jazz in Crossing the Sea Last Week Opened an Era of International Broadcasting -- New English Station to Transmit.
THOUSANDS of broadcast listeners within range of WJZ, New York; WGY, Schenectady, and WRC, Washington, enjoyed dinner music radiated from London a week ago last night. The time signals of Big Ben, the great clock on the houses of Parliament, boomed out clearly in America, and at midnight the twelve strokes revealed that it was five hours later in London than in New York.

RADIO OVER SEA AND BACK.; WGY, Rebroadcasting London Music, Is Heard In England.

RADIO FANS TO HEAR BRITISH PROGRAMS; Arrangements Completed With English Company for an Exchange of Broadcasting. NEW STATIONS PLANNED General Harbord Explains Details of Project for Next Winter -- World Programs to Follow.
General J.G. Harbord, President of the Radio Corporation of America, announced yesterday that arrangements had been made with the British Broadcasting company for an exchange of British and American programs this Winter.

Here's what I found. Take your pick as to what's the first trans-Atlantic broadcast. To read the full article, you need to pay for access or visit a library that has the Times on microfilm or in the bound volume.

 

[BMR]

Many thanks for that very comprehensive answer.

 

[KyDXIn]

Radios were the state-of-the-art technology of the day. It's sad the FCC doesn't do more to promote and enhance the capabilities of the medium today. HD radio is a disaster and they should promote the good enhanced sounds of AM stereo. I can listen to 1630 KCJJ Iowa City, Iowa regularly in stereo in Louisville, KY.

 

[MattParker]

Radios were the state-of-the-art technology of the day. It's sad the FCC doesn't do more to promote and enhance the capabilities of the medium today. HD radio is a disaster and they should promote the good enhanced sounds of AM stereo. I can listen to 1630 KCJJ Iowa City, Iowa regularly in stereo in Louisville, KY.

I used enjoy AM or medium wave DXing. It's interesting those articles from the early 20s how medium wave signals apparently crossed oceans routinely - and this was before 50kw stations and when everybody was at 833 Mhz (360 meters).

It's been a while since I bothered with listening to AM at night. I have a C Crane with an AM twin coil antenna. They work well but I tune across what was once known as "the standard broadcast band" and I keep hearing the same thing over and over. Except for the occasional ballgame, it's all the same small group of syndicated talk shows. Local AM radio seems about dead. And if I don't hear anything different, if I don't get a sense of "visiting" someplace else, what's the point in DXing?

 

[BMR]

It's been a while since I bothered with listening to AM at night. I have a C Crane with an AM twin coil antenna. They work well but I tune across what was once known as "the standard broadcast band" and I keep hearing the same thing over and over. Except for the occasional ballgame, it's all the same small group of syndicated talk shows. Local AM radio seems about dead. And if I don't hear anything different, if I don't get a sense of "visiting" someplace else, what's the point in DXing?

A somewhat similar picture in the UK, although it's oldies rather than talk, soccer matches rather than ballgames. Most AMers in the UK (in England at least) are now owned by either the 'Gold' or 'Magic' Networks and all play the same mixture of 60s/70s oldies. I think Gold has dropped local programming entirely now, apart from adverts of course. Gold is actually quite good, but why would I DX gold from 200 miles away when I have a strong local signal?

If your language skills are up to it, though, mainland Europe is still your DX Oyster after dark.


Just as a final point, the rise of FM and the (slow) takeup of DAB might kill AM entirely in Europe. If it does, I'm up for one final golden age of DX, where it's possible to hear US AM stations on regular radios in the UK, just as it was in the 1920s

 

[KyDXIn]

Just as a final point, the rise of FM and the (slow) takeup of DAB might kill AM entirely in Europe. If it does, I'm up for one final golden age of DX, where it's possible to hear US AM stations on regular radios in the UK, just as it was in the 1920s

Thank you for your perspective from the UK. I think you have a point. If some of the true clear channel stations were restored by the elimination of the excess of AM signals then true DX could happen.

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

There was extensive coverage of the second Louis-Schmeling heavyweight boxing match from Yankee Stadium on June 22, 1938. In addition to extensive coverage by network radio in the United States, a blow-by-blow description of the fight was shortwaved from the stadium back to Germany where it was heard at 3 A.M. I have seen a docmentary where a man described being awakened in the early-morning hours to listen to it with his father. He even noted how the transmission broke up into static a time or two. Schmeling lost by a technical knockout (TKO) in 2:04 of the first round and there are reports that German radio terminated the transmission when it became obvious he was going to lose. I don't have specific information, but based on the political significance of this fight, it was probably heard in many parts of the world.

 

[FreddyE1977]

I used enjoy AM or medium wave DXing. It's interesting those articles from the early 20s how medium wave signals apparently crossed oceans routinely - and this was before 50kw stations and when everybody was at 833 Mhz (360 meters).

A lot of that had to do with having less interference in the spectrum. If you recall back in the mid-90's when the
Extended Band was just opening up, 1 kilowatt stations from many miles away were a regular catch.