Paradise Man Is County's Vanguard in the Field of Television
Like the first man in the neighborhood to own a crystal set, Gunrad G. Anderson is receiving many visitors these nights.
He has the first television receiver in Paradise.
Because it works most of the time, it is something of a prodigy. Anderson receives programs telecast over KPIX, San Francisco, as clearly as good as the photographer's print nearly every night. The wonder is that, Anderson says, the crow-flying distance between Paradise and the bay city is 125 miles and the range of television is ordinarily considered to be 50 straight-line miles at the maximum. There are no booster stations between the two points.
Last night's reception was the poorest since he bought the receiver, he explained to a group of Enterprise-Record reporters. The image was fairly perceptible while the reporters watched, although the screen became blurred at times with what Anderson termed as “snow.” The word may soon become a common one in your vocabulary . ...
Anderson doesn't know for sure why “snow” flutters across the screen at times, but he is constantly experimenting and studying . ...
Technique of the telecast ... is similar to that of moving picture news-reel shows. The telecast from San Francisco is “on the air” between 6:10 p.m. and 9:10 p.m., and the station is still in the experimental stage. Consequently, there are no live telecasts which are broadcast “on the spot.” KPIX now shows pictures taken by newsreel firms, but future plans include baseball game telecasts, and probably when the station is on the air for longer periods, “on the spot” news may be broadcast.
In the not-too-distant future, Anderson hopes there will be more than one station casting. KGO San Francisco, now has a “test pattern” on the air in the afternoon . ... Another station has planned to enter the San Francisco field, and Anderson says there are rumors that two others, one in Sacramento and one in Stockton, may soon be telecasting.
Paradise is able to receive the telecasts because the community is located at an altitude which permits a direct line-of-sight to San Francisco. Chico and the valley area will probably have to wait until relay stations can be constructed between here and the transmitters before they can have television in their homes.
Most people will have to wait anyway. Anderson figures the present cost of a set, and installation, in Paradise would be about $400.
— Enterprise-Record,
April 14, 1949