AGC Did You Know

The Voice of America Bethany Relay Station, located in Butler County, Ohio and
adjacent to the transmitter site of WLW, was built in 1944 under the direction of
broadcasting pioneer Powel Crosley.   The Voice of America Bethany Relay Station
would be used to deliver U.S. news in a total of 52 different languages throughout the
world from 1944 to 1994.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was determined to
broadcast radio messages overseas. Powel Crosley committed his innovative team of
engineers in Cincinnati, Ohio to building transmitters and antennae system capable
of this on shortwave frequencies to be used on a wartime basis.

The top secret technology used to transmit broadcasts perplexed Hitler and others as
America’s Voice continued to permeate Europe and South America. Frustrated by
the inability to block this powerful voice, Hitler referred to the facility as “those
Cincinnati Liars”.

At its peak the facility had three transmitters broadcasting with 250 kW, three
broadcasting with 175 kW, and two transmitting with 50 kW. The station remained
in service to the U.S. government for 50 years and stopped transmitting in 1994.

The Bethany Station is now the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting,
a museum dedicated to preserving the rich history of VOA, wireless radio and
Cincinnati broadcast history. The 1940's art-deco building is being restored and the
Museum features the collections of Media Heritage, Inc. and Gray History of
Wireless, as well as an operating amateur radio station.

Source (data):       http://www.voamuseum.org           http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
Source (photo):     http://www.voamuseum.org

AGC Did You Know?

Posted June 2013