W2XB/X2B/WGY/WRGB Schenectady

W2XB was General Electric's television station in Schenectady, New York. In charge of GE's television program was Dr. Ernst Alexanderson, who first demonstrated his television system in late 1927. In January of 1928, GE began broadcasting as 2XB, on 790 kHz using a 24 line mechanical standard. Soon afterward the station switched to 48 lines. The country's first television drama, The Queen's Messenger, was broadcast by W2XB in September of 1928. In 1939 W2XB began broadcasting electronic television. One of the first television networks interconnected W2XBS, the NBC station in New York City,with W2XB. Except for a short period in 1941, the station continued a regular schedule of television programming. After the war, W2XB became WRGB.

Scientific American, March 1928

Washington Post, May 17, 1928

(Courtesy of John Pinckney)

Radio World, Oct. 11 1930

Radio & Television, Aug. 1939

Radio & Television, July 1940

Popular Science, December 1940

Test pattern, August 1939

1943 article