Evening star., 1933-12-10

IN 1G things are stirring In Euro
- pean broadcasting-bu not all
to the liking of Europe's gov
~ ernments, with their multiple
ity of racial, lingual and politi-
cal rivalries.
Almost on the eve of the major re-
ALLEGATION of wave lengths decided upon
at Lucerne last Summer, and sched-
uled to go into effect January Is, eight
nations continue to hold out against
the plan de Lucerne. The effect may
be to wreck the scheme even as the
failure of the recent North American
Radio Conference at Mexico City
wrecked all immediate prospects of a
radio concordat among the United
States, Canada. Mexico and the Cen
trail American republics, leaving the
United States and Canada alone in
agreement. but also leaving the radio
systems of both nations open to Sc
rious future trouble from the others.
The European reallocation has been
projected somewhat along the lines OF
the major shake-up that placed most
of the stations in the United States
on new wave lengths back in 1928,
though it is not quite SO drastic. 1t
was drawn up with the object in view
OF eliminating or reducing interference
between the various countries. The IN
reference has been getting more ana
more aggravating as more OF Europe's
stations are going to higher powers
powers as great as 100000 watts. or
10 times higher than the maximum
allowed in this country.
Peace Move Failure.
The Lucerne parley parceled out the
available waves among the nations.
Dissatisfaction with their shares pre-
sumablv is what led Holland, Sweden,
Lithuania, Finland, Poland, Hungary
Greece and Luxembourg to decline to
adhere. A meeting of the Union In
ternational de Radiodiffusion In Am
sterdam in October brought them no
nearer to agreement, even though such
formerly recalcitrant countries as Rus
sia, Turkey and Algeria were present
in a receptive frame of mind.
The disagreement apparently lies
chiefly in the division of the longer
broadcasting waves, which are relative
" few in number. but which are un-
usually we'll adapted to long distance
broadcasting. 1t should be borne in
mind that Europe has the dual wave
length system. There the stations not
only use the same wave lengths be-
tween $50 and 800 kilocycles that are
used in North America, but they also
employ channels down as low as 200
kilocycles q 800 meters).
To tune in these longer waves, radio
listeners must either have a separate
set of coils to insert in their receiving
sets or they must have sets that are
constructed to tune in either one band
or the other, or both. There was
a movement on foot in the United
States to open up these long waves for
American broadcasting, but resistance
iv.Nar &c
prevented the consummation. To make
them available might have given North
America some additional far-reaching
broadcasting outlets, but it would also
have meant that people would have
tn equip themselves specially to hear
the new stations.
Plan Will Go Through.
At the present writing, based upon
reliable reports from abroad, the re-
ALLEGATION will probably proceed on
January IS so far as the 500-1.500
kilocycle band is concerned. While
European listeners will have to find their
stations at new dial settings. the shifts
are to be such as to minimize incon-
venience. In Great Britain, for ex-
ample, the 13 broadcaSting stations will
actually improve their positions Incl
dentally. England drew only one long
wave length-the 200 kilocycle channel
for SIX at Daventry, its nationally
heard station
The new European technical set-up
Is admittedly favorable to better recep-
ton in all nations, but it takes. as one
British journal points out, only one
or two undisciplined stations to wreck
the whole scheme. The situation is
parallel to that in North America,
where the Mexico City disagreement
leaves almost any United States and
Canadian station subject to potential
ruinous interference from country
like Mexico, should that country de-
eide to license high-poWer station on
or near any of the wave lengths used
to the North.
The political ramiications are not
quite so parallel, although the United
States Government has resented the /
hegira of American. radio operators,
unable to secure wave facilities in their
own country, toward the Mexican bor-
der where dozen MeXican-licensed
stations, well known to be backed by
American capital, are already operat-
ing on or between the United States
and Canadian channels. This resent
ment, however, is tame by comparison
with the resentment the French and
Austrian and Russian authorities have
shown toward propaganda broadcaStS
from Germany since the NaZis came
into power. There has been bitterness
in Europe also toward the 200, 900
watt long-wave Luxembourg station
which French and Belgian capital has
been backing in order to send spon-
sored programs to the whole continent.