Evening star., 1933-11-26
TRIO OF STATIONS
GET $4,000 WATTS
Trend Indicates Ultimate Ex.
tinction of Most Clear
Channel Broadcasting.

Three more clear-channel broadcast
ing stations have been authorized by
the Federal Radio Commission to in
crease their power to $4,000 watts, but
mounting evidence continues to indi-
cate the ultimate extinction Of most
clear-channel broadcasting as such.
Indeed, it Is the very threat Of duplica-
ton on their exclusive wave lengths
that is impelling many Of the present
occupants, as partial measure OF pro-
lection, to seek the 50,000-watt maxi
mum allowed in this country.
BY clear channels Is meant the 40
wave lengths reserved for exclusive use
during the night hours by single sta
tions of high power SO that they may be
able to serve rural and remote listeners
without interference from other stations
on the same waves. There are now "A
broadcasting with $4,000 watts, includ-
ing the most recent grants, which were
to WBZ (Boston), WHAM (Rochester)
and WGN (Chicago). Two others await
struction-namely, WOR Newark
and KOA (Denver).
Antipathy Toward Waste.
Congressional antipathy toward the
alleged waste" Of the limited wave
length facilities, the fact that the Radio
Commission itself is planning to over
haul its quota system with view to
equalizing radio facilities more evenly
among the zones and States and the
development of directioral antennaS,
which focus a stations broadcast en-
ergy toward given directions rather than
to all points of the compaSs-all this
tends to the conclusion that the clear
channels generally are soon to be clear
no more.
Senator Dill, co-author of the radio
law and leader in Congress on radio
matters, has frequently voiced his op-
position to stations along the seaboards
having exclusive waves, and a goodly
share of the clear channels are used by
stations along or near the Atlantic and
Pacific. His chief point Is that half
their radius Is the open sea. Why not,
then, he argues. permit other stations OF
reasonably lower power to use the same
channels also on the opposite coast?
Waste of Energy.
In other words, where a station like
WEAF, whose transmitter Is on Long
Island, uses an exclusive wave at night,
half its energy is lost on the Atlantic
and the other half serves New York
and its rural environs. Senator Dill
would allow another station. say in
Southern California. to use the same
wave length simultaneously, limiting
its power so that it will not bother
wEAF. The engineers are not all Of
one accord as to the extent Of inter-
ference WEAF would suffer or cause
by such an arrangement.
AS matter of fact, at least a half
dozen channels designated as clear are
no longer clear in the strict sense Of
the word There is VIGIL Chicago
for example. operating by mutual
agreement full time simultaneously on
the otherwise clear channel of KJR,
Seattle: WBAL, Baltimore, synchro-
nizes with WIZ, New York. and their
channel is no longer really clear. A
United States Supreme Court decision
broke down the first clear channel
when WGY, Schenectady, had KGO,
Oakland, Calf, placed on its otherwise
clear wave. There are other examples,
too. generally the result o. agreements
between the stations that have been
ratified by the Radio Commission.