(Gemini Lake)

(Gemini G Money Lake)
Address
16 Montage Mountain Road
Moosic, PA
18507
Phone
(570) 207-2496
Description
WNEP History
Television stations today are technological marvels. Computers, digital components, transmitters of unimagined power, and machines that can make anything we dream a reality. We thought it would be interesting to look back, and see how it all began.
Five Stations started it all
WILK-TV signs on. The Governor of Pennsylvania, the Mayor of Wilkes-Barre, and other dignitaries join WILK-TV owners Thomas Shelbourne and Dr. Roy Morgan.
Three months after that, on September 16th, 1953, WILK-TV hit the air. In January of 1954, WARM-TV owned by a group headed by Former Governor William Scranton began broadcasting.
Last, and as it turned out, least, was WVUE-TV from Scranton. WVUE-TV lasted only 9 months before it ceased operations and its license was bought by WDAU-TV. It would be 20 years before another station would be added to our market.
Typically, the stations in the market operated from 3pm until midnight. On the day that WILK-TV signed on, they were scheduled to begin the festivities at 2pm….getting the jump on the other two operating stations. But the whole thing almost never took place.
The engineers working on the transmitter had the signal up and running by noon of that day, so they went to lunch.
At lunch they asked the restaurant owner to turn on the TV, so they could see the test signal and how it looked….it looked good. About an hour before the ceremony, they looked up from their lunch and saw snow on the screen! Skipping lunch (and paying) they rushed back to the tower and managed to re-establish the signal at 1:50 pm.
Putting a station on the air was simple. Getting a network signal from New York to Scranton was hard. Back then you couldn’t just pick up the network signal off a satellite. The engineers of the station had to make it up as they went along. Often using hand-made equipment from old radio parts, the engineers came up with “hops”, or re-transmissions, from mountain top to mountain top.
They adapted microwaves to carry the network signal from the top of the Empire State Building to a reception tower in Effort, Pa., about 45 miles east of Wilkes-Barre. From there the signal was relayed to Penobscot Mountain, the site of our transmitter. It wasn’t the most reliable system in the world, and often the Effort tower had to be re-directed to accept a signal from Philadelphia. Ice and snow at both towers affected the signals and many times the engineer on duty had to climb up the tower and chip the ice off with hammers. Talk about hazardous duty!
Both WILK-TV out of Wilkes-Barre and WARM-TV out of Scranton, were ABC Network affiliates. Since the two stations used the same network signal, they would sometimes share their signal with each other when weather turned bad. But this was hardly a courtesy. Occasionally, the engineer on duty would flash his own station’s call letters on the signal sent to the other station. This would make it on the air and infuriate the opposing General Manager.
About TEGNA
WNEP is owned and operated by TEGNA Inc., an innovative media company that serves the greater good of its communities. Across platforms, TEGNA delivers relevant and trusted content by telling empowering stories, conducting impactful investigations and providing innovative and unparalleled solutions for advertisers through TEGNA Marketing Solutions. For more information, visit www.TEGNA.com.

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