Editing 2UE (section)

====2UE====
2UE opened on 26 January 1925. The founder of Electrical Utilities and 2EU/2UE was Cecil "Pa" Stevenson, who was also 2UE's chief engineer, and one of the most prominent personalities in Australia's early broadcasting history. Prior to opening 2UE, he had operated experimental station 2IY, as well as working alongside a couple of other early experimenters.<ref name="Carty, Bruce 2011">Carty, Bruce, ''On the Air: Australian Radio History'', privately published, 2011, Gosford, N.S.W.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://radioinfo.com.au/news/son-2eu-passes/|title=Son of 2EU passes on|date=14 March 2008|website=Radioinfo.com.au|access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>

Pa Stevenson was assisted at 2UE by his family, and in particular by his eldest son, Murray. Murray Stevenson claimed that he was chiefly responsible for the technical side of the station. Pa Stevenson was the first announcer.<ref name="Williams, Neville 1994"/>

The original studio was in the dining room of the Stevenson [[Maroubra, New South Wales|Maroubra]] home; and an 80 feet (24.384 metres) transmitting tower was installed in his back yard. All the equipment was homemade; the studio and equipment costing £750 ($1,500) to build, and £9 ($18) per week to operate. Within a short time the studios were moved to Stevenson's radio store in [[George Street, Sydney]].<ref name="Carty, Bruce 2011"/>

Most programming was provided by [[78 rpm]] recordings or [[player piano]] rolls. It is reputed that whilst changing records or rolls, Stevenson would whistle so as to prevent dead air.<ref name="Carty, Bruce 2011"/> 2UE was originally on the air daily from 8.00&nbsp;pm to 10.00&nbsp;pm.<ref name="Walker, R.R. 1973">Walker, R.R., ''The Magic Spark: 50 Years of Radio in Australia'', 1973, The Hawthorn Press, Melbourne</ref> The station is reputed to have broadcast Australia's first radio advertisement. A local butcher was so disconcerted with the sounds between recordings and piano rolls that he paid Stevenson one shilling (10¢) to substitute his whistling with short talks about the quality of the butcher's meat. One shilling then became the station's standard advertising rate.<ref name="Griffen-Foley, Bridget 2009">[[Griffen-Foley, Bridget]], ''Changing Stations: The Story of Australian Commercial Radio'', UNSW Press, 2009, Sydney</ref> Another early advertiser was ''Youth-O-Form'' slimming tablets. A spokesperson for the manufacturer claimed: "each morning after we aired the spots there would be long queues outside the shop at Roseberry.<ref name="Williams, Neville 1994"/>

There are records of early 2UE broadcasts being picked up in the US and New Zealand.<ref name="Carty, Bruce 2011"/>

2UE is the oldest current commercial radio station in Australia.<ref name="Carty, Bruce 2011"/><ref>2UE was not the first B Class or commercial station in Australia. This honour goes to either [[2CM]] or [[2BE (Sydney)|2BE]], according to one's definition of a B Class station. They both broadcast out of Sydney, and both of these stations were short-lived. Bruce Carty claims that the first B Class station was 2CM, whilst R.R. Walker plumps for 2BE. The second-oldest current commercial radio station on the air is [[2HD]] Newcastle, which made its first broadcast just one day after 2UE.</ref>

In 1929, through Cecil Stevenson, 2UE experimented with sending pictures by radio using radiovision or [[Television|mechanical television]]. The [[television in Australia|experiments]] were short-lived due to the lack of receivers to pick up
the transmissions.<ref name="Carty, Bruce 2011"/> (Melbourne stations [[3UZ]] and [[3DB (Melbourne)|3DB]] also both conducted similar experimental transmissions in 1929.)