WMH (1921–1923)
former radio station in Cincinnati
WMH was an AM radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio, which was licensed to the Precision Equipment Company from December 30, 1921, to December 11, 1923, although it ceased broadcasting in early January 1923. It was one of the first formally authorized broadcasting stations in the United States, and also the first licensed in the state of Ohio.
Prior to WMH's debut, Precision had made regular broadcasts while operating under an experimental radio station authorization. These began shortly after the World War I ban on civilian radio stations was lifted, and started as early as the fall of 1919 according to some accounts.
8XB
As is true with most early radio stations, information about the Precision Equipment Company's earliest activities is limited. The company was founded in Cincinnati in late 1918 by Thomas E. New as the Precision Engineering Association, with the name changed to the Precision Equipment Company a short time later. The company operated a store at 2437 Gilbert Avenue, in the Peebles Corner, Walnut Hills section of Cincinnati. It sold radio parts plus a line of receivers under the "Ace" brand name, originally to a small market of amateur radio enthusiasts.
In late 1919 or early 1920 Precision received a license to operate an experimental radio station with the call sign 8XB. (In 1961 New wrote 8XB's first license had been issued in September 1919, however this was a month before the U.S. government lifted the ban on civilian radio stations in place during World War I. An account by Harry F. Breckel stated that the station initially operated with the call sign "PC", prior to the issuance of the license for 8XB.) The station's vacuum-tube transmitter was constructed by New along with chief engineer Breckel, who had served as a Navy Lieutenant on the armed yacht Corsair during World War I. In November 1919 two-way voice communication was established with the government's Curtiss NC-4 airplane during its flight to Louisville, Kentucky.
Breckel later reported that the inspiration for making entertainment broadcasts come from those made in the summer of 1919 during the transatlantic voyage of the SS George Washington.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “WMH (1921–1923)” as former radio station in Cincinnati. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as former radio station in Cincinnati. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q56275502. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1921, 1923, 1919 and 1918.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “WMH (1921–1923)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow WMH (1921–1923) primary sources, WMH (1921–1923) archive and former research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “WMH (1921–1923)”?
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- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
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This entry incorporates text from “WMH (1921–1923)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.