Indianapolis Times, Volume 36, Number 242, Indianapolis, Marion County, 19 February 1925 — Page 19

COMMERCE'CHIEF TELLS VIEWS OF .1 RADIO FUTURE

oover Sees ‘Service to Listener’ as Point for Consideration —Aim to

BY HERBERT HOOVER Secretary of Commerce In view of the very rapid changes In radio technology within the last six jnonths and to give greater clarity to the departmental policies, it seems to me desirable to review the situation. There can le but one point of view in the consideration of radio regulation and development. That is to assure increasing service to the listener. The radio is steadily enriching our homes. More particularly to our fanner folks it is bringing more of those contacts that the town p opulations have alone er. joyed up to this time. The road of progress is to stimulate the development of the art; to prevent interference with and between broadcasting stations through maintained competition; to secure greater perfection of reception, increase in the number of alternative programs and better programs. There are today 563 broadcasting stations either in operation or under construction. Os these 455 are Class A (of 600 watts power or less) and 108 ar-j Class B (over 500 watts). It Is generally believed that Class A 4ftfcion3 have a radius of good pracreception of not more than 25 or 50 miles, while Class B stations with their larger and increasing power have a much wider radius. By practical reception I do not include the reception which radio listeners are able to secure by playing radio golf, but the effective, serviceable, reliable reception of programs which must be the real purpose of radio. The recent policy of the Departs ment of allowing the increase in power toward a possible maximum of 5,000 watts will mean that the radius of serviceable reception will be greatly increased and the reception itself within the present radius will become very much more reliable. This is of particular importance to our agricultural people especially in summer and during day time. Advance in Power The present plan In this particular is to permit advance in power use in stages of 500 watts,-rest-ing at each stage to determine what int f'.rence with other stations results. Probably twenty or thirty Class B stations are now increasing or planning to increase their power. It is quite possible that good serviceable reception will be obtained for a radius of several hundred miles from such stations, thus increasing the alternative programs to listeners. This advance toward watt stations has no relation the so-calleld "super power" watt stations. The most difficult problem in radio regulation and development is the distribution of wave length use so as to prevent Interference between stations. There are in all eighty-six different wave lengths available if we keep the stations ten kilocycles apart and stagger the assignment of wave lengths geoJ graphically so as to prevent overlap in the area of effective reception. The recent experiment of the department in attempting to increase the number of wave lengths by decreasing the difference to seven kilocycles proved unsuccessful with the present development of instruments. Class A stations (500 watts or less power) were assigned the wave length of 278 meters and below by recommendation of the radio conference, and there are in this area thirty-nine possible wave lengths. Owing to their limited radius and the irregular character of their program (largely churches, educational Institutions, etc.) Class A stations have not presented so many difficulties in wave length assignment and interference as Class. B stations, although there are 4F.5 of them. Serious Situation Class B stations present a far more perious situation because of their Wider radius and their regular performance. There are forty-seven Wave lengths to be divided over a ttal of 108 stations now operating * under construction. That la there now an average of less, than one wave length for each two stations, which means that they must divide their time of operation. The Class B stations are the ones which furnish most of the regular programs and from which the public receives its most effective service. Most of

them naturally desire and need to operate continuously as the cost of overhead is much Increased by dividing time. The department has saved for appropriations with which to carry out an investigation to determine accurately the effective service area of different stations and different degrees of power. Such an investigation may disclose possibilities of a better basis of wave length distribution. One of the great difficulties In the distribution of wave lengths arises from the tendency of stations to congest in large centers of population. The worse conditions are at Chicago and New York. At Chicago live wavo lengths are available for ten operating Class B stations and there are several others in course of construction. For New York there are six wave lengths available for eight Class B stations and more are under construction. It is practically impossible to increase the number of wave lengths available to these cities because they are all in use in other communities and because it is absolutely necessary to maintain a wide kilocycle separation between stations so close togeth®. Otherwise

BROADCASTING LOG

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THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

HOPES

J X.,

High hopes are entertained by Syd Chaplin, brother of the famous Charlie, and movie star himself. He foresees the day when radio broadcast entertainers will drag down a fee of $50,000 for a single “performance.”

they will destroy each other. Such multiplication as has already occurred in these centers gives no better service to the public, and if further division in time is forced it

win decrease the value and efficiency of the established stations. No limitation Neither under the present law nor under the provisions of the White bin was there any limitation of the number of stations. It is highly important that those who contemplate entering the broadcasting Held should clearly understand that there is no assurance that they can be allotted a Class B wave length, and Justice maintained to radio listeners. The department cannot give what it hasn’t got. One reason for delay in legislation has been the hope of determining whether or not it would be necessary to Include such Imitations. There is so far but little interference between broadcasting stations. There is considerable interference from telegraphic code transmission, although it does not destroy the listener's reception from nearby stations. The code transmission is a problem of harmonics from telegraphing in higher wave lengths, and is also a problem of foreign shipping. A good deal of such in-

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The Indianapolis Times Radio Department Please mail me a copy of The Times Radio Atlas. Name AddreSS . mow *•••*. m•a

tarference has already been removed and exhaustive studies are under way for its further elimination. The great body of radio listeners in the oountry today have good prao. tical reception of three or four different programs simultaneously, and with the gradual advance In powei in different parts of the oountry the number of effective alternative pro. grams should shortly Increase up to eight or ten. Everybody gets bumped now and then. It’s easy to be generous with other people's money. Responsibility develops some men and wilts others. Opportunities are like flowers—• they wilt when picked. Rich men and young boys seem to be equally adept at getting into mischief. Eat, drink and be merry—and tomorrow you’ll have to borrow lunch money.

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