History of KGO -
Altadena Radio Laboratory
(Not to be Confused with the
better-known KGO in Oakland/San Francisco)
By Jim
Hilliker
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History of KGO -
Altadena Radio Laboratory (Not to be Confused with the
better-known KGO in Oakland/San Francisco) By Jim
Hilliker |
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www.theradiohistorian.org Copyright 2023 - John F. Schneider & Associates, LLC (Click on photos to enlarge)
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First Broadcast: July 1922 (exact date unknown) Last Broadcast: ?? Deleted: August 21, 1923 Paul Johnson: Paul Franklin Johnson (1874-1946) Paul F. Johnson was the first son of Warren Johnson, founder of Johnson Controls. Paul graduated in 1898 from M.I.T. with a degree in mechanical engineering. His father had invented thermostat heat control and Paul later earned a patent for developing the means to adjust thermostats. He also helped his father with wireless telegraphy experiments around 1900. Paul also worked at one time with Lee deForest on his early wireless telegraphy and radio experiments. His 1946 obituary said that Johnson was a yachtsman and world traveler and added that Johnson at one time had “owned and operated one of the pioneer radio stations on the Coast, a small station in Altadena. He continued experiments in radio at his own laboratory there.” Paul Johnson got his amateur radio license in 1919. His experimental ham call sign was 6XR. He was also owner of the Altadena Radio Laboratory at his home at 2940 Maiden Lane in Altadena, where he set up the broadcasting studio for KGO. (His 1946 obituary gave his home address as 3100 Maiden Lane). KGO: KGO was licensed on March 15, 1922 with 50-watts of power and shared time with other Los Angeles area stations on 360 meters. However, this broadcasting station didn’t get on the air until sometime in July of that year. Mr. Johnson also owned and operated a popular radio store in nearby Pasadena at 562 E. Colorado Street. Program schedules for KGO, also known as the "Altadena Radiophone", listed the address as 560 East Colorado St., next door to “The 100% Radio Store.” His radio store had previously been located at 90 N. Los Robles Ave. in Pasadena. The KGO broadcasting equipment was in Johnson's Altadena home, which he called “Sagemont.” It was on 14 acres of land at the corner of Maiden Lane and Rubio Canyon Rd. The house is no longer standing. The elevation was 1,570 feet above sea level, near Mt. Lowe and the foothills of Mt. Wilson. Radio Journal magazine did a brief story on Johnson and KGO in 1922 and described the station. The equipment for KGO included an Edison Phonograph, 4 microphones made by Federal, Magnavox, Kellogg and Acoustian; and a 10 and 50-watt transmitter. Power to run the station came from a 300-Watt, 1,000-Volt motor generator. The article also described the transmitting antenna: “The two masts are 60 feet high and 150 feet apart. The aerial is a four-wire inverted L, and the counterpoise six wires 20 feet above the ground, leaving an effective height of less than 40 feet, but it is intended to raise the masts by 20 or 30 feet at an early date. The photograph, which shows the counterpoise and one of the masts, is taken from a balcony just outside of the broadcasting room, which is also shown in another of the photographs.” The page of photos includes a picture of the exterior of Paul Johnson’s house. Programs: KGO's programs were made up of Agriculture Department reports, Edison phonograph records, Morse Code practice for radio buffs, lectures on radio subjects, and instrumental and vocal music concerts. Schedules varied from month to month, but KGO's broadcasts usually lasted from 40 minutes to one hour. A November 1922 schedule shows KGO operating on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons. Edison records were loaned by Wyckoff-Verrinder, the Edison Phonograph agents in Pasadena. The station also did special programs, such as dance music for a supper dance, with advance notice. Church music was on the air on Sundays. At that time, crystal set owners in Southern California regularly sent questions to technical editors of radio columns in the newspapers. Several times, the radio fans asked if they could get KGO from a certain distance from downtown Los Angeles. During July of 1922, the Long Beach Telegram radio station schedule usually had a brief mention of KGO presenting news and a concert, and that the station could be heard “under 360 meters.” In the June 1923 issue of “Radio Journal,” a crystal set owner in Alhambra wrote to the magazine. The boy said he was able to hear broadcast stations 25 to 30 miles away on a horn speaker. This included all the Los Angeles stations, Catalina and KGO-Altadena. “Radio Digest” printed KGO’s schedule each month from July 1922 through February of 1923. From March to July of 1923, the magazine reported “no regular schedule” for Altadena’s KGO. A story in the May 1923 issue of Wireless Age magazine entitled “Trying to Please the Public,” included comments from several broadcasting stations, including KGO on page 26. Owner Paul Franklin Johnson had this to say about his radio station: “When
we started broadcasting last July (1922), the local broadcasting (in
the Los Angeles area) was too jazzy and of poor quality. So, we
put on old time songs and classical music with Edison records, giving
better results than the personal artists. Now the complaint is
Class B stations (KHJ and KFI) are too highbrow and listeners have
turned to us for lighter music. The old jazzy stations have
practically all quit. In our opinion, people do not want
education, lectures, etc. by radio, and when other stations are giving
lectures, they tune us in for dance.”
The comments about KGO ended with the article stating, “KGO now divides its time equally between dance music and classical music and uses its phonograph practically exclusively.” KGO Ceases Broadcasting: This small pioneer broadcaster was on the air regularly for a few hours each week for about eight months, and then continued on an irregular basis from March of 1923 to August 1923. For unknown reasons, Mr. Johnson took the station off the air for good, and the KGO license was deleted on August 21, 1923. In 1924, the call letters KGO were picked up by General Electric for their new radio station in Oakland, California. Paul Franklin Johnson's son Seymour followed in his father’s footsteps and became an engineer for KFI radio some years later. As for Paul Johnson, he eventually sold his Colorado Street radio store to a new owner and it isn’t clear how long he continued his radio experiments. The Johnson Controls website says, “His affiliation with the business his father founded had continued until his death at age 71, at which time he served as both company treasurer and as a member of the board of directors.” Paul Franklin Johnson died on March 20, 1946.
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