John Walson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Walson Sr., from Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, is recognized by the U.S. Congress and the National Cable Television Association as having invented cable television industry invented cable TV in the spring of 1948.[1] The community was surrounded by mountains which blocked nearby the nearby TV stations' transmissions. Walson, a local appliance store owner, placed an antenna on a utility pole on a nearby mountain top, amplified and modified the signal, and delivered it to his store so his display TVs would have good reception. He also delivered the signal to the homes of several customers, creating the first cable TV network.[2]

His descendants now own Service Electric, which is a family owned cable TV provider in Pennsylvania.[3]

To fund the project, Walson went door to door to find investors. He told everyone that this was the future of television, and if they invested $100.00, he would pay them back when it became successful. Cable TV took off and he & his family have yet to pay these people back. There were also other people who helped invent Cable TV from Mahanoy City, and they have yet to be recognized for their contributions. However, Service Electric steadfastly maintains that only Walson deserves that title.[2]

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Cable Television History (English). Inventors. About.com. Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
  2. ^ a b Moss, Linda. "In the Keystone State, Service Electric Thrives", Multichannel News, 8/1/2005. Retrieved on 2008-06-04. (English) 
  3. ^ Cable Television History (English). Inventors. About.com. Retrieved on 2008-06-04.