Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-19
Behind the Microphone
RI FINAL establishment Of sh
BY THE RADIO EDITOR.

FINAL establishment Of shcrt
L wave tranSmitters as the solu.
ton to the problem Of broad.
casting events which take place
in isolated locations was indicated
yesterday In figures released b,
the Columbia BroadcastinE Sys.
tenn. These show that almost OF
per cent OF all major sport event.
on the Columbia schedule durine
the flrst six months of 1881 were
covered by short wave transmits
sion from the point of origination
Portable transmitters developed
by Columbia engineers were shown
to be invaluable in several in
stances. A 90-pound instrument
for instance, powered at Z watts
was so constructed that it could
be carried about while in opera
ton by one man. Strapped to the
back OF Ted Husing, it enabled
the sports announcer to follow
tournament golfers throughout ia
holes Of play in both the RYDER
Cup matches and the National
Open Championship.
Again, in the case Of crew rae
ing the portable sets showed their
mettle. A second type of trans
mitter with an output Of 50 watts
was placed aboard a launch which
followed the shells down the river.
No other method Of transmission
other than short wave would have
permitted this procedure.
Occasionally, in cases where
the laying Of direct wire lines
was forbidden, short waves were
substituted. When Ted HuSing
covered the Penn Relays and the
I. c. A. A. A. A. meet in Phila-
delphia, portable tranSmitters on
the field brought him constant
reports from his "leg" men. Track
authorities had refused permission
for the digging Of a trench for
the cables under the carefully laid
dirt track for fear 1t would injure
the track surface.
Although the output Of these
miniature tranSmitterS is actually
sent through the air, it in no way
interferes with other broadcast
ing; first because the portable
sets are inSuff1ciently powered to
be heard ordinarily more than
few miles and, secondly, because
short waves cannot be picked I'D
on an ordinary radio receiver.
Added to the fact that they do
not infringe upon channels in the
broadcasting band is the advan-
tage that short waves possess in
their ability to be transmitted with
far less power than is required by
long waves. Only because high
power was unnecessary and heavy
batteries were eliminated was the
development Of the portable set
possible.
MORE letters from radio listeners
~ already have reached the
National Broadcasting Co.'S mail
box, and stations associated
with its networks, in the first half
of this year than we're received
in all IL months of last year. More
still is that hot weather
mail, in previous years light, bids
fair to be heavier than that in the
earlier months Of 1881. There is
substantial increase in the June
mail over that of May.
Last year 2,178,574 members Of
the radio 0audience--Sst- down tn
they had enjoyed its programs.
The figures for the first six months
of 1881 are 2,196,684.
TabulationS of letters received
during May and June show that
the avalanche of mail is growing
more formidable week by week.
The May total for this year was
255, 100, as compared with 124,476
last May. The June total in 1881
was 292 1877, as compared with the
1914 total for June, 1880. ;.
In one six-day week last month
from June 8 through June -
fan letters numbered 1920, only
1894 fewer than the total for all
of June in 1880.
Flour mills of Shanghai, China. are
expected to buy large quantities Of for