Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-12-24
PROGRAMS
ON CHRISTMAS DAY.
N. B. C. Will Attempt to Relay
BroadcaStS and Transmit
Twice Abroad.

S1lOTL W assure the SUCCESS OF the QOCa-
BILE Christmas day experiment in which
the National Broadcasting Co. will at
tempt to relay in one day three foreign
broadcasts from Holland, Germany and
England and transmit twice abroad.
only the forces of nature" said c..
| w. Horn, engineer in charge of foreign
rebroadcasts, can upset the carefully
/ Synchronized network of invisible radio
waves which will link America with
three European nations on Christmas
day"
THE planned attempt on such an
unheard of scale may be compared with
flyers hop-off into the unknown. For
weeks and days before the start
mechanicians and ground experts must
check and recheck the reliability of
every detail of his plane. Then at the
last moment this complex organism is
flung to the winds of chance, hoping
that no unforeseen cataclysm will rem
der all their preparations useless. But
such is science. 1t knows that under
favorable circumstances such fore
thought practically assures success.
Myriad Of Details Under Way.
"And so a myriad details of technical
| equipment and working out of running
schedules are now under way, not only
at Riverhead, Long Island, the pickup
! point whence the foreign programs will
be piped to N. B. c. headquarters for
/ the networks here. but also in Holland,
Germany and England
| Every day and night radio engineers
are bent over telltale charts and graphs
which represent the fiuctuating atmo-
spheric conditions over the Atlantic
Ocean, and so indicate the probable
success or failure of the Forthcoming
experiment. These are being compared
with the reports of the United States
Coast and Geodetic Survey on this side
and with the findings of the Chelten-
ham Magnetic Observatory, in the hope
that comparison of these Unconditional
figures will give the final hint as to just
which wave lengths will be best for
| transatlantic communication on the day
appointed.
Every circuit here and abroad is be-
| ing tested and retested for maximum
efficiency, so that radio listeners
throughout the United States may hear
| the programs from abroad with the
! same clearness which marks their local
network broadcasts such as the morn
| ing setting-up exercises.
In small buildings surrounded by
myriads of wires forming extensive ra-
] dio antennae, skilled men are manipu-
| lating especially developed apparatus
designed to overcome difficulties, such
! as fading, static and other natural OBJ
stacles which radio science must over
! come.
DIR. Goldsmith Plays Leading Role.
"Dr. Alfred N. Goldsmith vice presi-
| dent and general engineer of the Radio
Corporation Of America, is responsible
| for many of the .refinementS in equip
ment which has helped to make posi-
BILE the exchange of programs between
continents. He has played leading
role in the scientific drama behind
laboratory doors, results of which have
led to advancement and improvement
of methods and design.
| Thousands of miles of wire in coils,
in loops, in meshes and straight lines
must be absolutely flawless at the last
moment. Only under such conditions
! is an experiment truly scientific, so that
every contingency is provided for ex-
! cept the interference of forces beyond
/ the control of man.
Schedules must be worked out with
clocklike precision, At exactly IL
tional Broadcasting Co. announcer IN
his customary studio will flip the switch
| from the point marked studio to the
| point marked memo used for any out
| side pickup such as hotel orchestras
and banquets-but this time, what a
difference!
when the lights beneath his fingers
! flash on and off, the inter continental
system must click soundlessly into oper-
alton, and bring clearly to our ears the
! friendly words of greeting from Find
hoven, Holland, scheduled to begin at
precisely that second
AT 12:45 noon, not one second before
or after, another announcer in a differ
ent studio will make the same casual
| gesture at his announcer's control box
but this time he will link the American
audience with radio studies in Berlin,
where another holiday program de-
signed especially for American listeners
will be relayed by short wave from
Koenigswusterhausen across the sea to
Riverhead, and so to National Broad
casting Co. headquarters and thence out
over Nationwide network.
Third Program From England.
by 2 pm. third announcer may
even yawn slightly when it comes his
| turn to flip the switch to memo for
| the rebroadcast from England. He
probably will not grant a thought to
the dozens of hollow-eyed engineers
guarding the lines from National Broad
casting Co. control rooms out to the
edge OF the ocean, and again beyond
| the sea from the. German coast to
Berlin, hollow-eyed and gaunt with
sleepless nights of preparation. and so
too tired to yawn. This is their way of
contributing to holiday goodwill and
| cheer.
Equal care is being shown in pre-
liminary work for the American pro-
grams to be sent to Europe on Christ
mas day and the day after, in exchange
for their contributions to holiday pro-
| grams here" Horn explained
The first Christmas greeting by radio
from America to Europe will be heard
i throughout England and Holland at IL
o'clock Christmas morning, If atmos-
pheric conditions permit. Letting a
coast-to-coast American audience listen
In on what is being sent abroad is the
easiest part, but precise work Is feces-
sary at Schenectady and Pittsburgh,
where the voices and music Of famous
| American radio stars must be trans
mitted on short waves and projected
through space to the opposite coast of
the Atlantic.
Again on the following day, at HAS
| am, American eaves-dropperS will hear
broadcast designed especially for Ger
man listeners, with announcements In
both English and German. Here again
/ the clearness of reception abroad de-
/ pends upon the perfection of technical
| details at the short-wave relay points
rs we'll as upon the success of foreign
engineers with their similar prepara-