Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-13
EVEN CHANCE GIVEN
VISUAL DROADCASTS
See-SaW Battle Waged to
Keep TeIeVision Within
Choice Air Area.

Television Tipped out of the broad.
cast band of frequencies rs a nuisance
to regular reception, flops back in or
probation, with more than an ever
chance to remain.
A see-saw battle to remain within the
broadcast spectrum and thereby wiz
range of the vast radio public, is being
waged by visual transmission. Or
dered to the short waves, and out OF the
public's reach less than a month age
after being adjudged guilty of inter
ference and otherwise not In the pub
lie interest, it now is temporarily au-
thorized to remain within that choice
ethereal area.
Everybody is agreed that televisior
is not practicable, as a public service
but it already is shaping into a new
radio industry. Manufacturers IN
some instances are marketing televisior
receiving sets and insist that if the new
visual art is to grow in the public in
terest it must be where the public can
derive its early benefits. That is in
the broadcast band where the public
can receive visual transmissionS II SO
inclined and not in the short-wave
spectrum which requires special short
wave apparatus difficult of operation
by the layman.
Debated for Months.
For some months the commission de-
bated the question of whether television
should be permitted eXperimentally in
the broadcast band or Immediately be
relocated to the short waves, where 1t
eventually must go. Finally. early IN
November it adopted a general order
over the rigorous protest of Chairman
Robinson permitting this until January
/, to ascertain its public interest, pop
ularity and the amount of interference
caused to regular reception by the
meaningless series of whistles that ac-
company the transmission OF visual
signals. It's questionable public interest
to the vast majority of the listeners
was debatable.
Television lost. Just before the first
of the year the commission adjudged
visual broadcasting as not yet in the
public interest and otherwise failing to
meet the standards warranting its Of
fering to the public.
Commissioner Caldwell. backed by
the manufacturers, has been protesting
against the action of the majority OF
the commission. He and the manufac-
turers say that without public recep-
ton and support television will be much
longer in arriving because the lockers"
with their criticisms and comments,
always beneficial, would be lacking.
Hours Are Designated.
But now the commission has decided
and says without amplifcation that
temporarily. visual transmission in the
broadcast band will be permitted be-
tween the hours of IL and 6 midnight
to 6 in the morning., pending final
commission action. For the second
time it has reversed itself.
The decision is that a conference on
the whole subject of visual broadcasting
within the broadcast band, limited to
the standard 10 kilocycle separation, be
held later this month or perhaps early
next month. All interested parties,
such as manufacturers, engineers,
broadcasters and even radio fans, are
invited to discuss the question.
The fact that the commission has
seen fit to change its mind about shunt-
ing visual transmission to the short
waves for all time may mean that it
will remain experimentally in the
broadcast spectrum. If it does it will
undoubtedly be under rigid regulation,
mainly during late night and early
morning hours, for the time being.
Also a number of such visual stations
would be held to a minimum.
Copyright, 1929. by the Consolidated rress.)