A Day at the Armstrong Tower to Celebrate FM

Like a kid in a candy store.

That’s how Keith Paglia of Sprite Media described the day he spent at the Alpine, N.J., Armstrong Tower. I felt the same. 

For many, including myself, the love of radio — especially FM — has been a lifelong passion. It was an honor on June 19 to make my first visit to this hallowed ground in the Palisades of Bergen County, where Edwin Armstrong conducted groundbreaking broadcasts and research nearly a century ago. 

As Steve Hemphill, the architect of the Armstrong Memorial 42.8 MHz WA2XMN station, expressed, “I owe everything to the Major.”

The day doubled as not only a successful broadcast for the experimental station for the first time in 10 years, but a summer picnic for the Society of Broadcast Engineers’ New York City Chapter 15.

The chapter’s chair, Bud Williamson, organized what turned out to be a very successful day — dodging thunderstorms by moving the picnic to earlier hours.

Persistence brings back the memorial station

Hemphill’s pristinely restored Phasitron transmitter, meanwhile, once again took to the airwaves, 20 years after he first fired it up from Alpine, with much support from Charles Sackermann’s K2 Communications, the company that owns the Armstrong Tower.

Bringing the station back online this time was no small feat.

“I’ll just show them what we have and we’ll tell them what this does,” Hemphill recalled saying of his Phasitron, unsure if the broadcast would even be a reality.

A new transmission line had to be installed to replace the old waterlogged one, which hadn’t been used since the 2015 broadcast. Hemphill, along with Brad and Brian Bliss of K2 Communications, spent much of June 13 preparing the new half-inch heliax and inch-and-a-quarter transmission line running up the 400-foot tower. When the transmitter was first energized, some residual moisture in the antenna base insulator had to be burned off.

Then there was the threat of thunderstorms Thursday. Lightning would have likely put the kibosh on the broadcast.

But despite a bevy of severe weather to the south, it largely held-off in the New York City tri-state area.

The antenna used for WA2XMN, typically for paging in the 42–50 MHz band, was chosen for its portability. As Hemphill noted, it wasn’t “broadcast-grade” but made it easier for a hand-install without an elevator. 

“We had to keep it simple,” Hemphill said.

And simple worked.

The 250 watts of output ultimately was achieved. I started picking up the 42.8 MHz signal just I got out of Fort Lee riding the Palisades Parkway with my PRO-60 scanner, an old Radio Shack favorite of mine that is capable of wide-band FM.

After initial tests, Hemphill measured the transmitter output to be within two watts of its last activation ten years prior.

“I knew it was perfect,” he said.

Other reports came in, too. Did you hear it? Let us know.

Picnic and networking

“Who here loves FM radio?” Williamson announced to begin the SBE Chapter 15 proceedings. He echoed the theme of the day and why the site was chosen by the society for its summer picnic.

 A food truck provided barbeque options for all in attendance.

George Kowal was recognized as the chapter’s engineer of the year. His years of experience include 12 years as chief engineer for Press Communications.

There was trivia with prizes and much networking to be had.

I had the pleasure of meeting and conversing with many, including Scott Fybush, a long-time influence. He even provided a little of his comedy routine. I got to share an enjoyable dinner with Fybush, daughter Ari, Lance Venta of RadioInsight, Sean Ross of Ross on Radio and engineer Tom Lawler.

So many in attendance made me feel welcome, including Sprite Media’s Jeff Schick, Chapter 15’s chair, and David Amundsen, the director of engineering with K2 Communications. It was a thrill getting to meet engineer Conrad Trautmann, who was in attendance. 

Conversations flowed with friends of Radio World like David Antoine of Broadcasters General Store, and engineers David Bialik and Fred Willard. 

Antoine had traveled all the way from South Carolina, joining attendees from Maine, Ohio, Illinois and Tennessee. 

I even shared my love of smooth jazz with Neal Newman, who has run sound for legendary artists in the genre, in addition to his engineering duties for Multicultural Radio.

Kirk Harnack’s “This Week in Radio Tech” podcast was on-hand, hosting a live show from inside the Armstrong’s original station building, with the W2XMN call letters still etched above its front door. Harnack’s drone provided some of the amazing photos you see in this article.

Lasting legacy

Hemphill was amazed at the response he received from the story we ran about the 42.8 MHz broadcast last month.

I’ve heard from a few different people about the broadcast and event.

Aldo Cugnini, president of AGC Systems, was moved by our original story on the Armstrong broadcast plans. His close friend, Ren McMann, attended the first Armstrong memorial event in 2005. McMann worked with Armstrong in the early years. They would end up working together at CBS. He provided a job reference for Cugnini that would end up relishing. 

“I will always cherish his private words to me about our relationship,” Cugnini said.

Directly or indirectly, the number of people that Armstrong’s discoveries had an effect on are immeasurable.

The efforts by K2 Communications to preserve the history of the tower — and keep its facilities in excellent shape — while also still taking advantage of its location, presciently chosen by Armstrong, should be applauded.

Williamson hopes to make the Juneteenth gathering a chapter tradition every year.

I, for one, know I will be there.

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