Broadcasting (Oct 1931-Dec 1932)

(Control Engineer Should Know Music Network Executives Place Technical Knowledge First But Admit Value of Supplementary Training Mr. Hanson By SAMUEL KAUFMAN ENGINEERING executives of both the NBC and CBS recognize the importance of musical knowledge to control men. So much of the success of broadcasts depends on the work of the control men that they are virtually the most important links between the broadcast artists and listeners. In musical broadcasts, especially operas and symphonies, the control man's importance is stressed. Network engineers agree that musical training in the engineer is a great asset towards the success of the program. Yet they do not rate musical training higher than engineering training. The happy medium is an efficient engineer who has had supplementary musical training to the point of being able to read scores. But, above all, he must know how to handle the monitoring equipment before him. Engineer First 0. B. HANSON, NBC manager of plant and operations, responded an enthusiastic "Yes!" to the interviewer's query of whether a control man should have musical training. "However," Mr. Hanson, hastily added, "he must be an engineer rather than a musician. "If the control man has musical training — if he can play some musical instrument — it is a great asset to the broadcasts he monitors. "Let us first consider why we do controlling. We deal with 100piece orchestras some larger still. The steps of gain vary and must be carefully handled. It is up to the engineers to handle Mr. Cohan them. In orchestral work, the dynamic range is so great that the broadcast system might, at times, be incapable of handling it were it not for alert control men. "Artistic control is necessary. By this I mean the accurate control of range to prevent blasting, overloading and to prevent the pianissimos from 'falling into the mud.' The control engineer must also consider the limitations of presentday receiving sets. A Two-Man Job "THE ENGINEER, although having a basic knowledge of music, must be a technical expert to protect the equipment he is using. When it comes to grand opera you might say that the man who does the controlling should know the score. But he can't read the score while he is operating the controls. A man can't ba a good engineer and a musician at the same time. It is a two-man job. When the NBC deals with such programs as operas and symphonies, a musician sits nearby the control man. He knows the score and the sort of thing the conductor will do. Each conductor is different. He tells the engineer what to do and what to expect. "Most NBC engineers can read music. I can, too. I took violin lessons for some time when I was younger." E. K. Cohan, technical director of the CBS, when interviewed by the writer said in response to the query of whether a control man should know music: "To answer in one word, I would say 'No!' "I believe that, unless a control man has been trained along lines of musical appreciation, he can't do a 100 per cent job. But, in choosing between two men — one that knows every note in the scale but doesn't thoroughly understand the broadcasting equipment, as against a man who knows the equipment but no music — I'd take the latter. Showmanship Needed "IMPROVEMENTS have been such that it is no longer necessary to maintain manual control between the previous manual limits. With the program properly setup under present day methods, the controls can virtually remain untouched. The engineer must first see that the various microphones are faded in and out as called for in the program script. "The control man must have an appreciation of showmanship. Of course, the CBS gives preference to control men who studied some musical instrument. The ideal control man would know 100 per cent of both music and engineering and that combination is impossible to find. "I do not advocate the use of two men — a musician and an engineer— at the controls. There can't be two captains to a single ship." To obtain the angle of the chief engineer of an individual station, the writer interviewed J. R. Poppele, of WOR, Newark. "The more a control man knows about any subject, the better he can do his job," Mr. Poppelle said. "And this applies particularly to music because each day's programs are 70 to 90 per cent musical. Music must, therefore, be considered an important subject from the engineering as well as the program angle. For this purpose, WOR recently conducted classes in musical appreciation for engineers, announcers and other station employees. Music Must be There "ONE IMPORTANT thing a control man must know is the exact value of each instrument in an orchestra. When the studio set-up is made, he must know definitely what range every instrument should be in relation to the microphone. "It is important that the control man should have an appreciation of the entire musical range. He can compare his duties with a photographer who must know how to adjust his lens for highlights and shadows. Without musical knowledge, the engineer is faced with the task of painting a picture without knowing^ the value of each color. It's a distinct advantage for a control man to know music and all WOR engineers do. "But it's not all up to the engineer. He must have a good program to start with. He can't make good music sound bad nor bad music sound good." Newest Separation Figures Available NEW MILEAGE separation figures for broadcasting stations of various powers have been drafted by the Radio Commission's engineering division and are recommended for use by the Commission in making future station assignments and allocations. The figures, which involve only minor changes from the former tables, were computed on the basis of the new frequency maintenance of 50 cycles, plus and minus, which became operative in June, whereas the old tables were based on the 500-cycle tolerance. Andrew D. Ring, Broadcast Engineer, explained that these new separations are calculated to minimize objectionable interference in the good service areas of stations about 90 per cent of the time. He pointed out also that the major changes affect daytime operating assignments. The new tables, effective as of Sept. 1, may be procured by addressing the secretary of the Commission. Stations operating on local channels, Mr. Ring said, are protected to the 2 millevolt field contour, both day and night, as previously, but regional stations are protected to the 500 microvolt line in the daytime and to the one millevolt line at night. Day and limited time stations are protected to the 500 microvolt contour. Dominant clear channel stations are protected to the 500 microvolt contour from crosstalk by stations on adjacent Channels and to the 100 microvolt contour from stations on the same channel in the daytime. These differences in protected areas have given rise to small chanees in the mileage separations, Mr. Ring declared. Uses Lapel Mike THE LAPEL microphone introduced by CBS during the recent Democratic national convention in Chicago, is now being used by Pat Flanagan, WBBM, Chicago, baseball announcer in preference to the condenser type mike. The new instrument permits greater freedom of movement about the broadcasting booth, it has been found, in covering details on the game and the crowds. BROADCASTING METROPOLITAN OPERA— Gerald Chatfield, musical expert, seated at right, gives instructions to Jens Weis, control man; O. B. Hanson, NBC manager of plant operations and engineering, is seen guiding George Nixon, laboratory man, in focusing the parabolic microphone to get best possible musical pickup. New Tubes Announced TWO NEW TYPES of transmitting tubes designed especially for ultra high frequency applications are announced by the RCA Victor Co., Camden, N. J. The new tubes are designated RCA 831 and RCA 846. At the same time the company announced new prices on certain tubes, effective Sept 1. September 15, 1932 • BROADCASTING Page 13