Sentence:  The FCC says it decided to attempt standardization of VHF receivers after getting "thousands of complaints" from disgruntled boatmen who found their sets brought in mostly a lot of garble and <WSD>static</WSD>. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Interference on a broadcast signal caused by atmospheric disturbances; heard as crackles on radio, or seen as random specks on television.