Bernie Moore to throw the switch for DTV

When WBTW moves from analog to digital broadcasting Friday night, Bernie Moore will play a familiar role.

Moore helped turn the station on in 1954 and Friday night, he’ll turn off the analog signal.

“I went to work on August 8, 1954,” Moore said.  “We tested the transmitter in early October.  Almost a week before we went on the air, we threw up a test pattern and we had hundreds of people sitting around and watching the test pattern.  They couldn’t believe they could get television out there.  We signed on the same day Hurricane Hazel hit.  That was a double whammy.“

That’s because just as the station went on, the hurricane knocked a lot of power off.

Moore has seen a lot of changes at WBTW.

He was there when the station switched from Channel 8 to 13 in 1962.

A few years later, he was there when the station made the switch to color.

In fact, he says that was about the only thing that can rival the switch to digital.

“Going color was a major thing,” he said.  “We had probably just as many problems then as you’re having now with digital.  Things like antennas and other reception problems.  People who could get black-and-white couldn’t get color.  It’s a process you have to work through.  But I’m sure people have a pretty good knowledge of this change, so it won’t be much of a problem.“

Moore retired from WBTW as chief engineer in 1991.

But he’s always kept up with the business and, again, at 11:59 Friday night, he’ll throw the same switch off that he threw on nearly 55 years ago.

“I think it’s remarkable,” Moore said.  “Of the eight original engineers who started the station and put it on the air, I think I’m the only one surviving.  I may be the only engineer who turned it on, who will also turn it off.”

And come late Friday night, he’ll turn off the analog signal and move WBTW totally into the digital age.