Today as you pass along the streets of Randolph one can see through the large picture windows, the blue flicker of the light of the television picture, one of the great achievements of this day.
In November of 1954 a cable system was constructed known as the Norris Community T.V. Two 80 ft. towers with quad antenna arrays were mounted to pick up channel 2 and channel 4 from Salt Lake City. This was piped through a cable to town. Another 100 foot tower was located in the back yard of the Gerald Norris home where channel 5 was picked up. The signals from these three channels were then mixed and amplified and distributed to 27 blocks of the town. Some fifty-eight sets operated on this system. The pictures were fair, but more could be desired in quality.
In the fall of 1957 the Norris TV finished a new power line and TV transmission lines to the top of Crawford Mountain, five miles east of Randolph, where TV signals of excellent quality were found. That winter TV signals from the mountain provided good reception to all subscribers. In June 1958 at Woodruff, Utah, he built three transmitters and the first television booster in northern Utah was in operation and the picture quality was excellent.
Transmitters were built on the Crawford mountain and on October 18, 1958, the home built transmitters went on the air replacing the long cable system. Now the reception could be picked up in the whole valley as far as Cokeville.
On December 5, 1968, the Federal Communications Commission in Washington D. C. ordered all TV boosters and repeater stations off the air. In March, 1961, the FCC reversed their decision and the TV boosters were given a stay on permit. New standards had to be met and new transmitters built. In June, 1961, Norris TV received a construction permit for three television stations to serve the people of Randolph and Cokeville areas. These stations were constructed and the first licensed TV service in Rich County was established, with the new service came the first color picture. The first colored picture transmitted was the world series, bringing into the homes one of the most wonderful marvels of the modern time and ushering in a new era.
G. H. NORRIS (from Rich Memories)
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