Evening star., 1927-09-10
OLD GLORY'S S
CALL GROUNDED
Dragging Antenna Halted
Transmission When it Hit
Water, Is Belief.

Dragging antenna which is grounded
the moment it hits the water accounts
for the apparent disability of the radio
apparatus aboard the airplane Old
Glory after it had flashed it's S S
message. Transmission from the New
York Rome plane was only possible
through the medium of it's 200 feet of
special antenna wire, which trailed as
it was in flight.
A temporary radio license for the
duration of the flight was granted by
the Federal Radio Commission to
Philip A. Payne. who was a passenger
aboard Old Glory, and it was assigned
to use the call letters WRHP on
its modified Hartley set. an interrupted
continuous wave transmitter which
worked automatically, using 100 watts
of power and broadcasting both on
the 600-meter O S channel and on
the S00-meter wave.
Call Is Interrupted.
Like Capt. Erwins Inflated Dallas
Spirit, which set out to the rescue of
the lost Dole flyers only to meet
tragic ending in the Pacific itself,
Old Glory sent out signals which were
readily heard up to the time the dis
tress call was flashed Then all was
SILENT it is probable the planes an
tenna dragged the water, rendering
the apparatus useless even if it re-
mained afloat.
The transoceanic flyers thus far
have obtained licenses for airplane
radio, and all employed antenna that
extended into the air from 200 to 800
feet from the plane. While some work
has been done on wiring the wings or
fuselage for broadcasting, Navy radio
officials say no system has been per-
fected as yet which will do away with
the trailing wires altogether.
Byrd Uses Navy Equipment.
Comdr. Richard E. Byrd used
standard United States Navy radio
equipment on the America, and
this is the kind of apparatus that
will be carried by the Vile de Paris,
the giant Sikorsky plane, which will
attempt transatlantic fight with
Lieut.. Lawrence A. Curtin, on leave
from the United States Navy, as pilot
and navigator, and Capt. Rene Fonck,
the French ace, as commander. 1t
has been licensed to use the call let
ters WOBW, transmitting with 100
watts on the 600-meter channel.
The Federal Radio Commission has
received an application from the Radio
Manufacturers Show Association,
which is leading participant in the
Forthcoming radio worlds fair at New
York, for a construction permit for
public experiments of broadcasting
with the use of a beam of light from
a searchlight as an antenna.
Details of the apparatus are lacking,
except that it is to be a portable set
mounted on a truck furnished by the
United States Army Signal Corps
which will also carry the searchlight
that will furnish the beam antenna."
The experiments are to take place the
evenings of September IA to 26. the
transmitter using the call letters
2XAY and broadcasting with so watts
of power on a wave length of 53.7
meters.
Deal Beach, a New Jersey shore
resort. will be the mythical scene of
the Week Enders' program which
WRC will broadcast this evening as
one of it's principal features. Bob
Tesseman again will serve in the role
of master of ceremonies. Those he
will call upon for entertainment in
clude the Giersdorf Sisters, now ap-
pearing in Broadway musical show;
Ivy Scott, soprano; the Stratford Four;
Justin Lawrie, tenor: the Piano Twins
and Harry Hayden. The musical back
ground for the frolic will be supplied
by the Cha anticleer Orchestra.
The keystone Duo, which WRC has
scheduled for o'clock, will present a
program of songs of the ballad type,
accompanied by the Balladeers. Steele
To mi nf he vui1 CT
four solos. Four solos also will be
sung by Darl Bethmann, baritone.
WRC's weekly Bible talk will be
given by James A. Bell. other fea-
lures will be the Mediterraneans, the
Park Central and Palais dor orches-
tras, and the Navy Band.
Concerts by the Bernheimer Trio
and students of the Army Music
School are the only musical attrac-
tons scheduled tonight by WMAL.
The remainder of its three-hour
program will be made up with a talk
by VIII p. Kennedy, political writer
for The Star. and scene from the
playlet, "An Idyl Of the Sea"
Signals from all directions roared
into the loud speakers last night with
unusual strength and clarity. Even
the weaker stations rarely heard in
Washington were tuned with salts
faction.
In other words, reception conditions
were better for long range dialing
than they have been for several
weeks. Static, of course, continued to
crackle and sputter, but the interfer.
ence it caused was virtually negli-
gible, due to the volume with which
the stations responded.