Bygone Icons

CONELRAD
(1951-1963)
CONELRAD poster This stood for CONtrol of ELectromagnetic RADiation, and was a program developed by the FCC and the Federal Civil Defense Administration during the Cold War as a means of a) keeping the public informed during an emergency such as a bomber attack, and b) thwarting attempts by such bombers to locate our cities through radio direction finding. During an attack, TV, FM, and most AM stations would turn off their transmitters, and bulletins would be broadcast on AM frequencies 640 and 1240 kc (now kHz) by several radio stations in each area, taking turns. All radios manufactured between 1953 and 1963 had these frequencies marked on their dials, as shown below.
AM radio dial with CONELRAD markings
Another AM radio dial with CONELRAD markings

CONELRAD was replaced by the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS) in 1963, and subsequently by the Emergency Alert System in 1997.

Registered users can log in to post comments or submit items for the galleries.

Login Register

There is 1 comment for this item.

Posted by Bob Matthews at 10:48 pm (PDT) on Mon April 29, 2013   
In NY some AM radio stations still do occasional 15-30 second "This is a test.... this is only a test..... Had this been a real emergency..." breaks, a holdover from the Conelrad days I suppose.

Registered users can log in to post comments or submit items for the galleries.

Login Register