Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-08-13
NEW ALLEGATION
PLAN ADVANCED
La Fount to Present Idea
Calling for Equality Among
Five Zones.
BY MARTIN CODEL.

wave lengths ana powers W ILIC wv
broadcasting stations OF the Unlted
states will be presented 10 the feueldI
Radio Commission when 1t reconVeneS
tomorrow after its recess of two weeks.
The plan in general is the conception
of Commissioner Harold A. La Fount'
representing the fifth zone OIL Fat
Western States, the only member OF
the commission who remained at MS
desk during all of the vacation period:
The details were worked out in col.
liberation with DR.. j. H. Dellinger Oh
the Bureau of Standards, recently APP
pointed chief technical adviser OF tne
commission, Capt. Guy Hill OF the
Army Signal Corps, technical ADVISER
Louis @. Caldwell. the commissions
chief counsel, and Laurens Whittemore,
radio expert of the Bell Telephone
laboratories and secretary of the Amer
lean delegation to the international
Photograph Conference.
The basic provision is equality among
the five zones in the division and the
use of wave lengths Common power
denominators are established for each
class of wave length. The plan is ex-
tremely flexible regarding both fire.
quency and power assignments. however,
and complies strictly with the stringent
requirements of the Davis equalization
equal broadcasting facilities to each
zone.
Engineering Pattern.
The plan in general follows an engi-
neering pattern. But unlike the pro-
posal of the radio committee of the
American Engineering Council, it does
not contemplate set-up that is either
practically or theoretically ideal 1t is
essentially a compromise between the
theoretical ideals pursued by Commits
sioner Caldwell of New York and the
many makeShiftS that have been Sug
gested in order to meet peculiar condi-
tons existing in the different zones
Briefly summarized the plan involves
a skiold classification of the 90 avail
able channels. with assignments as fol-
lows.
/. Twenty-Five channels to be cleared
for the exclusive operation of one SUI
perpower station on each This will
give five such stations to each zone,
The maximum power allotment for each
zone on these channels would be an
aggregate 100 900 watts The amount
of power for the stations would vary
from 5000 to $4,000 watts or more
depending on the desired range of
service
q Twenty channels with two sta
tions on EACH their power to be 5000
watts apiece. There would thus be a
total OF 40 such stations, or eight in
each zone.
3. Fifteen channels with three sta
tons on each, their power to be 1000
watts apiece There would be as such
stations, or nine in each zone.
f. Twenty-Five channels with four
stations on each their power to be $50
to 500 watts apiece. There would thus
be 100 such stations. or 20 in each zone.
S. Five channels with IS stations on
each. their power to be 100 watts or
less apiece. There would thus be l25
such stations. or IS in each zone.
6. Some of the foregoing channels
TO be used for daytime operation by l25
stations. or IS in each zone.
$50 on Full Time.
The plan clearly makes provision for
only 400 stations operating full time.
The rest of the country's $50 stations
would be fitted into the scheme through
regional time divisions or possibly by
raising the capacity of each channel.
The plan does not go into the detail of
finding places for particular stations.
That is left to the discretion of the
commission and the commissioners from
the respective zones.
Commissioner La Fount candidly adj
mitS that the plan has many defects.
but he says he will press for action on
it as "modus vivendi" offered as a
compromise in a situation which finds
the commission fioundering, 1t is plain
that it does not offer the listener relief
from the whistles and howls of hetero-
dyning, for it is obvious that two 5000
watt stations on the same wave length,
three l000-watt stations on the same
u,o f0t
on the same wave length must inevita-
bly, interfere with each other. no matter
how far apart they are situated
Commissioner La Fount, however.
thinks that standardization of fire.
quencies and inventive advances to
prevent such heterodynes will be en-
couraged There have been some con-
vincing experiments with synchroniza- |
ton Moreover, he believes that the |
stations on the same wave length will |
compete with each other in program
quality In order to deserve retention of |