Broadcasting (Oct 1931-Dec 1932)

Drastic Commission Rules Revisions (Continued from page 6) the Commission, provided all parties who participated in the original hearing are notified of the request. The Commission, in its disj cretion, may fix a time for such argument to be heard, or it mayconsider and decide the matter j without argument. As to quotas of facilities and the unit values of stations, the Commission retains the same base ! set forth in General Order 92. Certain minor modifications in unit values of stations in the lower and more complex categories, such as stations operating the equivalent of one, two or three nights a week with varying powers, are effected, i In every instance these revisions are upward by fractions of a unit. The terms of General Order 105, defining the broadcast day, which require minimum operation of 12 hours for an unlimited-time station, are modified. Instead of specifying 12 hours, and instead of applying only to full-time stations, the amended regulation affects half-time and other classes of stations, specifying that a station shall maintain a "minimum regular operating schedule of twothirds of the hours that it is authorized to operate during each broadcast day," Sundays excluded. "If the minimum operating schedule herein required is not adhered to," states the regulation, "the licensee may, after hearing, be required to share time with other stations, or be limited to operation during daytime or during specified hours." Provisions for the maintenance of program and operating logs by all broadcast stations, incorporated in General Order 106, are relaxed considerably by the Commission to relieve some of the hardship on small broadcasters. Complaint against the original provisions was made formally by the NAB. For the guidance of limited time and daylight stations, the CommisI sion promulgates in its rules and regulations, the average time of sunset for each month at various points throughout the country. Television Regulations : iOUTSIDE the broadcast band the ( i Commission has effected a widespread reallocation of frequencies to conform with the one-tenth per cent separation recommended in 1929 at the meeting of the C. C. I. E. at The Hague. Of particular interest and importance to broadcasters is the designation of 1550 kc, just outside the broadcast range, as the visual broadcast sound-track. The theory is that (the conventional sound receiver will pick up 1550 kc. and that the use of this frequency for sound, in conjunction with a television receiver, will obviate the need of a short-wave set for sound-track pick-up. Heretofore 1604 kc. was designated as the sound track. In addition the experimental television band from 1600 to 1700 sc. is established, in lieu of the 2850 to 2950 kc. band, the former )and having heretofore been asigned to aviation. The exchange vas made by mutual consent of the .viation and experimental televison licensees in the interest of both :roups. General Order 56, relating to visual broadcasting regulations, promulgated in 1929, was deleted by the Commission, and the following provisions were inserted in the regulations : "Each applicant for experimental visual broadcast station permit will be required to show that he has a program of development outlined that promises to lead to improvement in the visual broadcast art and has the finances and facilities to carry out the proposed program. "The licensee of an experimental visual broadcast station shall not permit the transmission of programs involving advertising features. This regulation, however, shall not be construed to preventthe transmission of a visual broadcast program simultaneously with a regular broadcast station program having commercial aspects, provided that commercial announcements, either oral or visual, shall not be made on the visual broadcast frequency. In all such simultaneous transmissions from a broadcast station in the band 550 to 1500 kc. and from a visual broadcast station in the band assigned to visual broadcasting, the regular broadcast station shall make the regular commercial announcements only on the broadcast frequency. Both stations shall make the announcements of call letters for both the broadcast station and the visual broadcast station on their respective frequencies; provided that when commercial announcements are made on the broadcast frequency, and the use of the visual broadcast frequency is referred to, the following form of announcement only shall be used: "This program is being broadcast by television over station on the frequency of kilocycles. These visual broadcast transmissions are experimental." In its annual report to Congress, the Commission covered in minute detail the activities and developments in all aspects of radio during the 1931 fiscal year, which ended last June 30. High tribute to broadcasters for their achievements and cooperative spirit was paid by Maj. Gen. Charles McK. Saltzman, chairman, on behalf of the Commission. Pittsburgh, Pa. The past year, he said, has seen almost a complete revolution in the type of equipment used in broadcasting stations. He pointed out that by the terms of General Order 111 all stations were required to have equipment which was capable of more than 75 per cent modulation. "Such equipment results in the approach to an equalization between the service area and the nuisance area of a broadcasting station, thus extending materially the service area for most stations," he continued. "In many cases the changes in equipment which were necessary to meet the requirements of this general order likewise resulted in improved quality of transmission. In less than a year all stations were brought to the high level of service of which only a few stations boasted at the beginning of the year. The broadcasting stations of this country should be congratulated upon their willing cooperation in bringing this condition about." Annual Report: IN THE field of visual broadcasting General Saltzman said that rapid strides have been made, but as yet the Commission has not recognized commercial television. "There has been a great improvement in the quality of images transmitted and in the amount of detail which it is possible to transmit," he stated. "However, the present number of visual broadcasting frequencies present a severe limitation on the number of stations which may be operated without in terference and on the character of the image which can be transmitted. The Commission has therefore encouraged the investigation of the use of frequencies above 30,000 kc. for the purpose of visual broadcasting." Other technical improvements in broadcast transmission are in view, General Saltzman declared, by virtue of advances in frequency control. The remainder of his report dealing with broadcasting is as follows: "In addition to the improvements in the equipment which gave more complete coverage for the stations, General Order No. 105 required that all full-time stations use the time assigned to them. Thus, full use is made of all the broadcast assignments. "The development of broadcast transmitters, and particularly the frequency control of such transmitters, has been very rapid. At an informal hearing held April 20, 1931, the radio broadcasting industry unanimously agreed that much stricter frequency maintenance is possible in the operation of broadcast transmitters. It was developed that a ±50-cycle tolerance could be met by modern broadcast equipment, and that if stations maintain their frequency within ±50 cycles per second there would be a large decrease in the amount of heterodyne interference. The Commission, therefore, by General Order No. 116, promulgated on June 22, 1931, required that installations thereafter made must be capable of maintaining the frequency of the station within ±50 cycles, and that within one year NOW AVAILABLE Complete Detailed Certified Facts Regarding The Iowa Market and The Ability of WMT To Cover That Market For Detailed Information Write The Waterloo Broadcasting Co. WATERLOO, IOWA December 15, 1931 • BROADCASTING Page 25