The independent. [volume] (Elizabeth City, N.C.) 1908-1936, 1922-03-17
ELIZABETH CITY SHOULD
HAVE THIS RADIO SERVICE
The Independent Takes Up Matter of Radio Mar
ket and Weather Report With U. S. De-,
partment of Agriculture

How to make the radio tele-
phone weather and crop report
ing service of the y. S. Depart
ment of Agriculture available to
the farmers of Northeastern
North Carolina is a question
which this newspaper has tal,en
up with the Bureau of Markets
and Crop Estimates at Washing
ton. This wonderful service
which is hardly year old is as
yet practically available only to
a strip of country between the
Atlantic and Pacific Coasts and
the South has not become far1i-
liar with it.
But it will only be a question of
months or. at the most, few years be-
fore radio telephones will be almost as
common as the commercial telephone
and a farmer and his family in their
home in Salem. Newland. Aoyock. Pop
lar Branch. Powells Point. Durants
Neck Fairfield, Manteo. Hatteras or
anywhere else in Northeastern North
Carolina may take down the receiver
of a radio telephone and get reports on
the fruit and vegetable markets of New
York, the live stock markets of st.
Louis and Chicago, cotton quotations in
Wall Street and weather information
from Washington. The radio telephone
will eventually rot only bring this prac-
ticable information TO the farmer. but
Ill of us may have or inexpensive in
dividual radio sets thru which may be
bands and orchestrGs in Philadelphia,
New York. Boston and Pittsburgh and
the speeches of prominent men de!iv-
cred anywhere in the country. 1t all
sounds like a dream, but it is a fact
nevertheless. 1t was recently given a
few people right here in Elizabeth City
to hear q band concert in Pittsburgh,
Pa. over a radiophone on a small pri-
vate yacht which stopped at the Eliza
beth City Ship Yard for repairs.
A Comparatively New Thing.
In December, 1920, the first market
report by radio telegraph was broad
cast from the laboratory of the Bureau
of Standards, Washington, d. c. Cop
les of this report as received at a dis
tance of more than 100 miles were
made and compared with the original
and found substantially correct. On APP
ril Is, 1921, the Air Mail Radio Ser
vice of the Post Office Department took
over the broadcasting of market reports
for the Bureau of Markets and Crop
Estimates of the Department of Agri:
culture, at its stations in Washington,
d. c., Belfonte, Pennsylvania, Cincin-
natl, Ohio, st. Louis Missouri, and
Omaha, Nebraska. This constituted
chain of broadcasting stations from
practically the Atlantic Coast to the
Missouri River, about midway between
the northern and southern boundaries
of the country. These stations began
the broadcasting of the reports on wave
lengths ranging from 800 meters to l,
500 meters by spark transmission. La
ter in the year this chain of stations
was extended westward from Omaha to
the Pacific Coast by the addition of re-
layed broadcasting from North Platte,
Ncb.; Rock Spring, Wyo., and Elko,
New. Also during the year the trans
mitting equipment in the Air Mail Ra-
dio Stations was changed from quench-
ed, spark type to undamped arc, and
the broadcasts were sent out on wave
lengths varying from $500 to 1000 me-
ters.
During the latter part of 1921 the
development in transmission of radio
telephone and the establishment of
broadcasting stations sending out en-
tertainment by radiophone brought
about great demand on the part of
the public for receiving equipment
which would enable them to hear these
StENlCtS. bpODIc VI thC iui SSh ieufV
manufacturing companies in the country
established high power radiophone sta
tions at several points in the east and
middle west, and the technical depart
ments of some of the universities also
began to send out broadcasts of enter
tainment at various times.
The possibilities of radiophone broad
casting from the standpoint of the av-
erage layman and the farmer appea,ed
Immediately to a number of those who
were interested in the development uf
efficient means of disseminating essen
tial agricultural information, and az
rangements have been made recently
with a number of stations to handle
the reports of both the Weather Bu-
Concluded on Page 10.)