WVP (initially WYCB) was a longwave radio station, operated by the U.S. Army Signal Corps at Fort Wood on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor. Although primarily used for official communication, in 1922 it provided nightly one-hour informational and entertainment broadcasts in conjunction with local civilian amateur radio enthusiasts.
Its operation inspired Madison Square Garden's Julius Hopp to approach the Radio Corporation of America for the establishment of a station to broadcast the "Fight of the Century" between Jack Dempsey and Georges Carpentier on July 2, 1921. It also featured, on April 4, 1922, the radio debut of commentator H. V. Kaltenborn.
WVP's public broadcasts were short-lived, and ceased by October 1922.
History The station was originally established to provide distant communication for the military. After the end of World War I, and dealing with budgetary constraints, a civilian Amateur Radio Reserve was formed by local amateur radio operators, using their stations to provide communication. In addition, this group started to use the Fort Wood station for nightly broadcasts."This is Station WVP" by Homer Croy, Popular Radio, February 1923, pages 76-81.
In March 1921 Julius Hopp, manager of Madison Square Garden concerts, attended the amateur Second District Convention."Voice-Broadcasting the Stirring Progress of the 'Battle of the Century' ", The Wireless Age, August 1921, pages 11-21. One feature of this convention was that "music sent from the Bedloe Island Signal Corps Station via radiofone was heard almost continuously"."First Annual Amateur Radio Show and Convention", Radio News, April 1921, page 687. This led to a joint effort with the Radio Corporation of America, which established temporary station WJY, used to broadcast, on July 2, 1921, the "Fight of the Century", Jack Dempsey vs. Georges Carpentier.
In February 1922, it was announced that the station, then known as WYCB, had inaugurated a nightly one-hour broadcast. The official statement read:
According to the amateur radio publication QST, the purpose of the cooperative venture was: "The development of interest among amateurs and the establishment of contact with them by this and other means, will, it is hoped, result among other things in making practicable the building up of a complete radio net of qualified amateur stations who can and will be willing to assist the regular Army radio net in the transmission of official business during emergency or otherwise.""With Our Radiophone Listeners", QST, May 1922, page 53.
The station's call sign was changed from WYCB to WVP "at 1:00 A.M." on March 17, 1922."Change in Call Letter" (correspondence from C. J. McBrearty), Radio World, April 1, 1922, page 28. On April 4, 1922, WVP featured the radio debut of the associate editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, H. V. Kaltenborn, reviewing "The Big News of the Week"."To-day's Radio Program" ("Station WVP" entry), New York Herald, April 4, 1922, page 24. In the April 1922 issue of Wireless Age, it was listed as one of the featured stations, with a schedule of "Evenings 9 to 9.55 o'clock, except Sundays and Holidays.""Broadcasting Stations", Wireless Age, April 1922, page 46.
WVP was described as part of "The radiophone service of the future"."Here is WVP, Bedloe Island's Big Radio Station", Radio World, September 30, 1922, page 1. However, effective December 1, 1921, the Department of Commerce had formally established a civilian entertainment broadcasting service, for stations operating on a wavelength of 360 meters (833 kHz)."Amendments to Regulations", Radio Service Bulletin, January 3, 1922, page 10. The following year saw a tremendous increase in the number of stations, exceeding 500 by the end of 1922, with the New York City region becoming a major center. In the March 1922 issue of Radio News, Armstrong Perry noted that "A list of all that can be heard with a radio receiver anywhere within three hundred miles of Greater New York would fill a book.""What Anyone Can Hear" by Armstrong Perry, Radio News, March 1922, page 888. By June, there were local stations providing almost continuous broadcasts every day on 360 meters, from 9:00 A.M. to midnight."Make First Co-operative Effort to Equalize Air Usage", The Radio Dealer, June 1922, page 12.
WVP had a major disadvantage, as listeners using their homemade sets encountered difficulties in switching from 360 meters, where most broadcasting stations existed, to WVP's longwave wavelength of 1450 meters. In addition, performers now found plenty of stations that welcomed them without requiring a boat trip to an isolated studio. The WVP entertainment broadcasts ended, and starting in October 1922, daily schedule reports in local newspapers now listed the station as "closed"."Daily Radio Program", New York Tribune, October 10, 1922, page 24.
References
Further reading "WVP" and "WYCB" entries, The Airwaves of New York: Illustrated Histories of 156 AM Stations in the Metropolitan Area, 1921-1996 by Bill Jaker, Frank Sulek and Peter Kanze, 1998, pages 186, 191-192.