NOF (radio station)

NOF was one of the call signs used in the 1920s by a radio station located at the Naval Air Station in Anacostia, D.C. This call sign was used when the station was making general and experimental broadcasts, while the call sign NSF was generally used when the station was conducting regular business. From 1920 to 1922 the Anacostia station was the primary radio outlet employed by the U.S. government for making public broadcasts. However, in early 1923 responsibility for these programs was transferred to station NAA in Arlington, Virginia, and the Anacostia station returned to generally being used for research, thus primarily using the NSF call sign. However, a few public demonstrations, most notably Charles Jenkins' mid-1920s television experiments, were later conducted under the NOF call sign.

On May 18, 1922, NOF broadcast the first U.S. presidential radio appearance, when it carried a speech given by Warren Harding to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C.^[1] On May 30, 1922, NOF broadcast the dedication ceremonies of the Lincoln Memorial jointly with NAA, which was the first time that two stations simultaneously carried the same program. In addition, NOF's December 8, 1922 broadcast of President Harding's speech to a joint assembly of the House of Representatives and Senate was the first presidential address to the U.S. Congress carried by radio.