YUSA Program Schedule & Guide
(Complimentary Copy)

Stop, please read this first!   What follows is a complete explanation of how Yesterday USA operates and for information on how to read the Program Tape Grid.  The Program Tape Grid listed herein is  a Complimentary Copy, which only lists the air times for Tape #1  (the informational tape that names only the titles of all Old Time Radio Shows airing during the current  two-week period.  It also tells how the Station operates).   Click Here, to obtain information on how contribute money to YUSA.  In return for a monetary contribution;  you will receive a complete Program Tape Grid  listing the exact air times for  all YUSA Programs.  As a YUSA Contributing Member, you will also receive many other great benefits.  Click Here, for more information!

You may continue to scroll down for a quick overview of how Yesterday USA operates, or you can skip to the bottom to view the complimentary Program Tape Grid.

About Yesterday USA Radio

Bill Bragg (the man with a million friends) founded The National Museum Of Communications in 1979 and Yesterday USA in 1983. The purpose of YUSA is to preserve the history of radio broadcasting and to tell the world about the museum. YUSA is the official worldwide voice of the non-profit, tax exempt museum, and is on the air via satellite, cable TV and on the Internet. The station broadcasts public domain Old Time Radio shows and vintage music 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The service is available free of charge to all. YUSA is operated by an all volunteer staff; no one receives a salary of any kind. The station is funded entirely by contributions from listeners and anonymous donors. In order to receive YUSA you must have either a C-Band backyard satellite system (not the new RCA DSS system), be served by a cable TV system that carries YUSA or have access to the Internet via a computer equipped with a modem and sound card. But please, do not contribute if you do not think what we do here is worthwhile or just for the free "thank you gifts".

How And Where To Tune In

C-Band Backyard Satellite Dish Owners: Tune to the audio sub-carrier of WGN. (Do not confuse C-Band with the new RCA DSS 18 inch dishes.)

• WGN: G5, Tr. 7, 6.8 narrowband

Cable Television Subscribers: YUSA is offered as an audio service on public access Channel 13B of TCI Cablevision in Dallas, TX, and on many other cable systems throughout North America. Yesterday USA is free to cable TV companies, so if your system does not carry YUSA, send us $1.20 in postage to receive our free guide "How to Get Old Time Radio Shows on Cable TV". Then, contact your local cable TV system.

INTERNET USERS: YUSA program audio is also available live on the internet any where in the world. Using a computer, equipped with a modem and a sound card, YUSA can be heard 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our web page also features a live Members Only OTR chat room, and has links to many other OTR web sites around the world. The YUSA home page and internet audio address is: yesterdayusa.com

Please Click Here for Yesterday USA Contact Information!

How The Station Works

YUSA founder, Bill Bragg and "The YUSA Zoo"  our famous talking Yellow Napped Amazon Parrot "Bigbird" , 1 sweetie pie dog named "Puppy" and 1 bad cat with an attitude named "Kitty Kat" produce 16 ninety minutes program cassettes every 2 weeks. These 16 tapes are loaded into our automation system, and a computer plays the tapes in the proper order per the program schedule grid. The station operates on Eastern time and the tapes play continuously in a different order daily, from 12:01 AM until 11:59 PM during each 2 week period. Then, the process begins again for another 2 week period. The 2 minute break at 11:59 PM Eastern time allows our equipment to re-cue and prepare for the next day of operation. The 16 ninety minute cassette tapes contain 24 hours of program material, and they air once each day in the Eastern time zone with the following exceptions:

• Monday thru Thursday: Only 15 tapes will air due to the Bill Bragg nightly live show.

• Friday: Only 15 tapes will air due to the Frank Bresee and Walden Hughes Show.

• Saturday: Only 13 tapes will air due to The Twilight Zone Radio Drama's, Duane Keilstrup's Classics & Curios, The James Drury Tumbleweed Theater", Red Steagall's Cowboy Corner Show and  Walden Hughes' Saturday Night Live Show.

• Sunday: Only 15 tapes will air due to Sunday night live show.

A normal broadcast day is from 12:01 AM to 11:59 PM Eastern time. The 52 weeks of the year are divided into "periods" of 2 weeks each. Therefore, each week of the year is either "Week One" or "Week Two". Since January 6th, 2003 was the beginning of a Week One and January 13th, 2003 was the beginning of a Week Two, you can count forward from these dates to determine if the current week is a "Week One" or a "Week Two". 16 new program tapes are loaded into our system at 9:00 AM Eastern time on each Monday of "Week One". The 16 tapes, plus all live shows and special presentations equal 68 hours of new program material in a typical 2 week period. The remaining 268 hours during a typical 2 week period contain repeats of the various 16 tapes, allowing the listener to re-listen and record their favorite shows. All live shows and special presentations air only once, so always listen in or record them! Due to the time differences, this format will vary slightly in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones. Listen to Tape #1 and the Sunday night live show for station information and the titles of the old radio shows contained on tapes #2 thru #16. Then, consult a copy of the program grid to determine a convenient time to listen to your favorite programs.

About Our Live Shows And Special Presentations

The 16 ninety minute tapes air several times each, during every 2 week period. Each time a live show or special presentation airs, you will hear something new and different! These shows & specials are listed as letters of the alphabet, in the "grid" boxes. There are also numbers that are listed within the "grid" boxes that contain the letters. In the event of a technical difficulty with live shows or special presentations, a tape (per the number) will air instead. Remember, every live show or special presentation is unique, so listen to or record all of them! The descriptions of these shows & specials, along with a list of the alphabet letters that accompany them are contained in the next paragraph. Please note that the Complimentary Program Schedules (downloaded from the public section of our homepage) contain a "grid" listing the air times for Tape #1 only. Interested persons should follow the instructions in the "How to Support the Station" section to obtain a complete schedule and list of all 16 tapes.

B = The Nightly Live Show: YUSA founder Bill Bragg & Mike Handy comes your way with 90 minutes of vintage music & trivia. There are guest appearances from Frank Bresee in Hollywood, Bill Farrell from Palm Springs that was the singer on The Bob Hope Show and sound clips from the late Edward R. Murrow & Gordon McLendon, Bob & Ray, Chicken Man and more. Bill also plays OTR shows from the master disks, which allows the listener to hear and record a first generation copy of a rare recording from the past. Join us Live Monday thru Thursday. Sometimes Mike will stay up "till the cows come home" and play an extra radio show or two!!!

T = The Twilight Zone Radio Drama's

W = Duane Keilstrup's Classic's & Curios, The James Drury Tumbleweed Theater, Red Steagall's Cowboy Corner and Walden Hughes' Saturday Night Live Show.  

S = The Sunday Night Live Show: Postponed due to Bill Bragg's work schedule  Bill is your host for 3 hours of station information and fun. He announces  the contents of the 16 program tapes, read all fan mail and interview stars from the golden days of radio. Satellite & cable TV listeners can call in live on either 972/889-TALK or 972/889-BILL. Faxes are accepted via 972/889-2FAX and email can be sent in to bill@yesterdayusa.com. Internet listeners that are members can click on our live chat room and send messages while they listen in real time, via any 486 (or better) computer that is equipped with a modem and sound card.

L = Walden Hughes Sunday Night Live Show

How To Support The Station And Receive A Program Schedule

All pledgers will receive access to a password protected area of the Internet homepage which contains: a complete listing of titles & air dates of all programs currently on the air, quick links to most OTR related sites on the Internet, a monthly newsletter, and much more!

Tips For Using The "Program Grid"

1. Always use a program grid designed for the time zone in which you reside! Choose your zone below.

2. Listen to tape #1 to obtain the titles of the old radio shows on tapes #2 through #16, or choose a DJ from the "YUSA On Air Personalities" list at the bottom of this page.

3. Scan the program grid for your time zone and determine a convenient time to listen to and/or record your favorite tape, LIVE show, or special presentation.

4. Occasionally, the end of a tape will be cut off prematurely. This is the result of a variance in the cycles per second supplied by the power company, a variance in the accuracy of the motors in our tape machines, the amounts of tape that are installed on the cassettes by TDK and/or the nature of our automation system.

Program Grid

Select the appropriate time zone to view a program grid:

• Eastern Time Zone
• Central Time Zone
• Mountain Time Zone
• Pacific Time Zone

Why Air Times For Tapes #2 Through #16 Are Not Listed On The Program Grid

YUSA cannot provide program schedules free to the general public! Instead, we distribute schedules only to those persons who donate the time, service, or equipment that is necessary to keep the station on the air. Schedules are also available to all listeners who pledge monetary support to our efforts. Therefore, the program grid above contains the air times for tape #1 (the station information tape) only. Read over all of the information contained in this publication, and listen to tape #1 in its entirety. Then, we believe that you will like what we are doing so much...that you will want to support the work of our all volunteer staff! The additional benefits available to YUSA pledgers, along with complete instructions for sending contributions, are listed in the "How To Support The Station And Receive A Program Schedule" section of this guide. Please make your checks payable to Yesterday USA or use your favorite credit card and use the address at the top of this web page.

Yesterday USA On-Air Personalities

3/15/04