Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-06
EFFORT TO REDUCE
CHANNELS FAILS
Vote of 3 to 2 Blocks Step
Which Might Have Doomed
High Power.

Effort to lop off five of the 40 cleared
channels set aside for exclusive opera
ton Of high powered broadcastine sta
lions has feiled after a two-dAy night
within the Federal Radio Commission.
This step. which might have meant
the eventual doom of the cleared chan
mel and high power, was blocked by
vote of 8 to 2. It was the first major
broaecasting question to be decided by
the newly constituted commission and
disclosed that the two new members,
william d L, Stsrbuck and Mai. Gen:
Charles NICK. Saltzman. have aligned
themselves with the engineering view
mat the rural listener can be provided
GOOD radio only on a channel cleared
FOR the exclusive use of high-powered
station.
Lafount Leads Fight.
Commissioner Harold A. Lafount OF
the Pacific zone led the fight against
ffolesting the present arrangement. put
into effect last November under the
sweeping reallocaton, which the assign
raents of "a per cent of the 600-odd
broadcasting stations were changed.
Commissioner E, o. Sykes, representing
the southern zone. who proposed the
change as a means of forcing the syn
ehronization of stations. was supported
by Chairman Ira E. Robinson.
But in rejecting the Sykes motion the
commission approved the selection Of
single cleared channel for experimental
EXPERIMENTATION during a so or so day
period. The details have been left to Its
ensineering division subject to the
commissions approval. These expert
fs1ents will be to ascertain whether or
not IL is practicable for two high-pow-
cred stations on opposite sides OF the
country to operate simultaneously dur
ing evening hours without ruinous dis
tortion and interference. Commissioner
Lafount likewise opposed this proposal,
on the ground that experiments OF this
kind are being conducted continually
without success.
Motion to Amend Order.
The Sykes motion, specifically, was
that the reallocation order of last No
yennber be amended so that seven, In
stead of eegflt cleared channels be as
signed to each Of the five radio zones.
and that on each Of these five channels
the commission assign, for simultaneous
night operation, not more than two sta
lions located in different zones. He
held the view, concurred In by Judge
Robinson that stations can so adjust
and control their signals as to prevent
f1eterodyning or "whistling" and thus
operate on the same channel with only
negligible interference in restricted
area. Engineers, on the other hand,
claim synchronization is out OF the ques-
ton at this time and that the cleared
channel is the salvation OF the remote
listener.
Commissioner Lafount entered the
discussions armed with some 5000 let
tiers from listeners in his zone. They
were in reply to circular he had sent
out asking what class of station they
preferred. Ninety-five per cent of the
people replied that they listened to the
cleared channel stations. with their
power wallops, most of the time. He
pointed out that good proport< n-per-
hans as many as half-of the radio lis
teners live more than 100 miles from
q broadcasting station and can get their
programs only from the cleared channel
station.
Blow to Low Power Members.
The action is a victory for the pro-
ponents of high power, notably former
Radio Commissioner O. H. Caldwell. It
", at the same time, body blow to low
power "anti-trust" members of Con-
eress. who have endeavored to reduce
the number of cleared channels on the
ground that they are monopoly" to
the particular stations to which they
are assigned They likewise have tried
to curb grants on high power, contend
ing IL is not necessary for good service.
The experiments on the single chan
rel 10 be selected for the synchroniza-
ton tests will be watched with interest.
It will be a case of engineering opinion
versus practical trial. In England syn
chronization has been tried with string
of low-powered stations operating on
the same channel, but the reports are
that It is far from perfect.
Copyright, 1929, by the Consolidated Pressl