Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-27
REQUEST ENTERED
FOR CALL LETTERS
Old Issue on Frequency of
Giving Identification
Again Arises.

! The old question as to how often a
/ radio announcer should give the call
| letters of his station has come up
, again. 1t has been debated repeatedly
ever since radio passed from the crys-
tai set stage, until the station mana
gers must certainly know by this
time that the listeners, especially
! those who spend most of their time
dialing for the out-of-town stations,
! want the call signals announced fire.
qUently. Yet in rare instances are
the calls given more than . or times
an hour.
Fans who are listening in on their
local stations probably resent the cen
slant repetition of the identifying call
/ letters, but those who are at the far
end of the ether feel that they are be-
! ing cheated if the announcer fails to
tell them what distant station their set
has hooked. So far as the DIX en-
thusiast goes, broadcasting might just
as well be series of call letters. And
| why not? Why not repeat the call
| letters more frequently for the bene-
fit of the late Corners? In vaudeville
theaters the name of the act is IL
Illuminated to the right and left of the
stage. ftdCilO might IOliOW Win SOIIlc-
thing appropriate.
While on this subject it will not be
amiss, perhaps, to extract few eX-
pressions contained in recent letter
to The Star from l.. N. Steley.
II wish 1 could invent some method
whereby / could charge the chair the
radio announcers sit on with about
500 volts, and press a button occa-
siOnally so as to wake them up" he
wrote. lit seems like pulling a tooth
to get them to announce their stations.
"On Thursday evening, January IS,
/ was trying out a new receiving set,
and wanted to see how many stations
/ could tune in and how far l could
reach out. At o'clock heard a sta
ton broadcasting. Occasionally the
announcer would wake up and say
West Fifty-seventh street, New York,
but he was afraid apparently to give
the call letters. OF course, l thought
1 had New York station direct, but
after waiting a half an hour the an.
nouncer revealed that 1 was listening
to WRC. I had waited a half hour to
get this startling bit of information.
II tried again, and at $40 picked
up another station. A half an hour
later the announcer gave out the sig
nails KDKA. had lost one hour log
ging two stations. Maybe these an
nouncers go out to lunch while the
programs are on the air."
A special "radio night program,
arranged by the District department
of the American Legion, win be broad
cast tonight by WRC. 1t is made up
of selections by the United States
Army Band and speeches by Assist.
ant Secretary of War McNider, Gen.
Amos A. Fries and John Thomas
Taylor, chairman of the legislative
committee of the legion.
WRC's entire program will be local
in origin. In addition to the Legion's
broadcast there will be another Kit
Hour, with Raul da Costa, violinist,
and Benjamin Rather, pianist, as the
artists; a supper program by the
Better ole Orchestra and a large
dance program by the LIE Paradis
Band.
wMAL has scheduled as it's chief
feature the meeting at the Washing
ton Auditorium. at which Joseph Scott
of Los Angeles will speak on Mex.
ico-the Facts" Prior to the lecture
there will be short organ recital by
Mary Louise Sullivan.
Again last night reception conditions
could be rated at par. Signals from
every section came in with clarity and
good volume, but there seemed to be
an unusual amount of interference
from static, considering the frigidity
Of the atmosphere. Static. however.
had it's most pronounced effect on the
carrier waves of the stations in the
South.
PWx, Havana, Cuba, came through
with exceptional strength, but the
atmospherics marred it's program,
which consisted of a concert by the
general staff band of the Cuban army,