George Wesley Ing – Television and Beyond

George was constantly involved with many KONO studio changes, expansion, and even FM radio, but suddenly television came into the picture. Channel 12 was the only assignment left for the San Antonio market. KMAC and KTSA both wanted the remaining channel. George spent long hours in research and much time in many Federal Communications Commission (FCC) hearings. Everyone waited for many months before KONO was finally granted the last television channel for San Antonio at that time.

Before building began on the Channel 12 facilities, George and Gene Roth traveled all over the country to visit operating television stations, taking notes on what worked well and what didn’t. With help from an architect George laid out the television-station building plans, which he insisted included an extra large master control area. Meanwhile, George received a promotion – Director of Engineering for Mission Broadcasting.

Using dirt excavated from the construction site of the new National Bank of Commerce building (currently the Adams Mark Hotel), the H. B. Zachary Company filled in the San Antonio River surrounding the Arden Grove property. This cleared the way for the Austin Company to begin construction of the KONO-TV building.

Channels 4 and 5, both with downtown transmitting towers entered into a partnership to build a much-taller tower near Elmendorf, just south of Calaveras Lake. Channel 12 was asked to be part of that tall-tower partnership–which would reduce the cost for each individual station. The catch for KONO-TV? Joining the partnership would stall the Channel 12 initial airdate for at least six months. So the Channel 12 transmitting tower was erected on the Arden Grove property.

Channel 12 began broadcasting in February 1957. At first, Channel 4 and Channel 5 moving to their tall tower-transmitting site, provided Channel 12 a definite advantage–all the San Antonio-area TV antennas were still pointed downtown. They soon lost this advantage as the viewing population gradually redirected their antennas to pick up all three stations. Later, the problem for Channel 12 became the big-viewer population advantage that 4 and 5 gained from outlying coverage areas.

To rectify the problem, Channel 12 obtained 235 acres of land near the Channel 4 and Channel 5 transmitting site–now the Federal Aviation Administration approved “antenna farm” location. The firm of Wally Thomas and Associates helped George design a building to house a new General Electric transmitter located next to the 1500-foot tall tower. What made the building unique was a 10-inch steel reinforced roof–insurance against falling ice from the tower. It served its purpose many times.

With equal coverage for all San Antonio television stations, the next challenge George faced was the move to color television.

In the late 60s, the Roth Family, along with the six other Mission Broadcasting Company stockholders, decided to sell KONO-TV to the Outlet Company for 10.5 million dollars. With his share of the proceeds from the sale, Jack Roth, the youngest son, bought out the other stockholders and became sole owner of Mission Broadcasting.

George was about to face another challenge. Jack bought an undeveloped radio station construction site east of Miami and south of Miami Beach in the Atlantic Ocean. It was just a series of pilings in water 4 to 10-feet deep.

Two buildings were built–one for the transmitter and one for the diesel generators (yes, transmitters require electricity to actually transmit). Four towers had to be erected and the directional system had to be designed. George loved doing the directional antenna design work. However, going to and from the site by motor launch wasn't always pleasant.

Shortly after it was placed on the air, Jack Roth sold WRIZ 1550 KHz because it was a daytime-only station. He then bought WAME, located in the Everglades, which also had an FM license (WJOK).

Jack wanted to give WAME a complete makeover, so he swapped call letters with his station in Charlotte, North Carolina–WWOK. George's new task was to improve coverage for both WWOK and WJOK. WWOK coverage was improved by making changes to the directional antenna system. The WJOK-FM transmitting antenna was part of the AM-transmitting tower array. In order to improve FM coverage, a WWOK-transmitting tower needed a height increase, which complicated the directional AM-tower array design.

When the WWOK/WJOK upgrade work was completed, as customary, an FCC inspector came to check it out. The story goes...George took the inspector, by Jeep, down a levee, stopped and handed him some rubber wading boots. As the inspector put on the boots, he asked where the monitor point was located. George, with a straight face, pointed to an outcropping of land about seventy feet away. Seeing an alligator slip into the nearby water, as he was about to enter the swamp to wade to the monitor point, the inspector quickly said, "I'll take your word for it," and the inspection was over.

Since the sale of Channel 12 meant the television building was no longer available to KONO/KITY, as Hemisfair 68 approached, Jack decided to contruct a two-story addition to the original KONO facilities. This addition provided room for additional offices and much needed space for the KITY-FM transmitter.

For the rest of his career at Mission Broadcasting, the building expansion provided George a nice second-story office where he could spread out his work and still have room for his books and computer.

Bill Kiley

WRIZ 1550 KHz

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