Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-01
ZEPPELIN FLIGHT
NEXT RADIO EVENT
Crossing of DirigibIe to Be
Broadcast Over Column
bia Chain.
BY MARTIN CoDEL.

Hot weather and the usual season OF
radio doldrums are now slowing up all
radio activities. Local reception con-
tinues good generally, with distance re-
ception fltful at night and almost i'm
possible during the daytime. Loud
speakers are blaring away louder than
ever, since windows are being kept open
IN most American homes.
Chains and the local broadcasterS are
doing their utmost to entertain and
mold the radio audiences during the
Summer. All insist that the season has
proved no deterrent to real effort on
their part.
Latest of the big features staged by
both the National BroadcaSting Co. and
the Columbia BroadcaSting System was
the account of the landing of the St.
Louis Robin, enduring record plane,
with talks by the two doughty adven-
turers who stayed aloft nearly 10 days.
Columbia comes now with a promise
that the short-Wave rebroadcast from
the Graf Zeppelin, called off last May
when the German dirigible was forced
down in Spain on its attempted voyage
to this country, will be attempted on
the new flight Of the ship this week.
Nicholson at Mike"
Frank E. Nicholson, author, will be
aboard the Zeppelin as ColumbiaS ra-
dio reporter, as originally planned. He
will send code messages by radio until
voice contact can be established from
the dirigible to the short-wave pickup
station on the Atlantic shore connected
by land line to station WABC. the key
of the Columbia chain. The Columbia
company hopes that Nicholson will be
a hi Tn HnenrStn lHn frtr tl,V 10 flaa
radio audience, beginning at about the
time the big airship crosses the fortieth
meridian in midatlantic.
If the Zeppelin gets off to its sched-
uled start. the effort to follow its cross
ing by radio and pick up Nicholson s
voice will begin probably Thursday
night, continuing until the voyage S
scheduled completion. some time Sum
day, at Lakehurst, N. j. The chain can
not schedule the feature, and so will
have to interrupt other programs at
propitiouS moments.
In the short-wave field the aeronaut-
ical radio interests are particularly &C
tive this Summer. They will set aside
their station building and plane INSTALL
ing tasks next week to attend a confer
ence with the Federal radio authorities
at Washington August 7. A major prob
lem is the assignment of wave lengths,
whether channels should be granted to
individual air lines or to routes for
mutual use.
There is also the probability Of q de-
nland for some OF the channels now
used Tor program broadcasting, mas
much as these seem to be among the
best suited for communication with
planes in flight. II such a demand is
made, II will doubtless be pressed on
the theory that aircraft radio has prior
ity along with maritime, because 1t in
wolves safety of life.
Extend Express Route.
The Western Air Express, air mail
and passenger carriers along the West
Coast and in Western States, revealed
an intention Of extending It's Los An
geles to Kansas City flying route, at
least as far East as Chicago, when a
license for a radio station at Chicago
was issued to it this week by the Fed
eral Radio Commission. The applica-
ton vas made through Herbert Hoover,
jr., who Is radio engineer for the West
ern Air Express. Licenses were also
obtained for stations to be operated by
the air line at Oklahoma City. San An
tonic, Kansas City and San Diego.
II is believed that Western Air in
tends to Join with some railroad or per-
haps another air line for another COM
peting transcontinental service. and
that the radio plans are among the
preliminarv details.
The commission has also issued two
airplane radio licenses to Colonial Air
Transports. operating to Boston and
Montreal and along the Eastern Great
Lakes.
A new station license was also issued
to the Universal Aviation Corporation,
.1lta
transcontinental air rail service in con-
junction with the New York Central
and Santa Fe Railroads. The city air
port at Monterey, Calf. was granted a
license for a 150-watt ground station to
communicate with planes.
(copyright. 1929. by North American News
paper Alliance)