Broadcasting (July - Dec 1938)

Park at the edge of the river, reported that water was backing up inside the dike, and within a very I short time expected the transmitter building to be flooded. The management decided to shut down the station temporarily, to remove the transmitter and associated equipment from its location 1 at Pynchon Park, as the rising waters might put the station off the air for some time. A crew was , rushed to the transmitter building, and the transmitter removed to the garage of Chief Engineer Earl Hewinson. Permission was granted by the FCC for us to use this site and WMAS returned to the air at 5:01 p. m. Thursday, about seven hours after leaving the air. The facilities of the station were again turned over to the Mayor and his Emergency Committee. After some 56 hours of constant duty and vigil, Mayor Putnam made the announcement, at 5:30 Friday afternoon, that the river was receding and there was no further danger of the dike's breaking at the North End of Springfield. I Once again radio has played its important role in an emergency situation involving Springfield and the entire Connecticut Valley. Through the experience obtained during the 1936 flood, the present disaster was covered in an orderly manner, preventing much of the panic occasioned by the former flood. Throughout the entire emergency, WMAS sacrificed color in its broadcasts and avoided the dramatic as much as possible in the thousands of messages sent out over the air, in an effort to create a feeling of confidence on the part of the public that the situation was well in hand. WMEX, BOSTON WBRY, WATERBURY By E. J. Frey WBRY is approximately 20 miles from the severely hit areas. Wind blowing trees across our wires caused a loss of power the day of the storm. We were off the air from 4.p. m. until midnight. Power was restored during the night, so we were able to resume operations next morning. Service to listeners consisted chiefly of broadcasting messages for word from relatives and friends located in nearby areas which were severely stricken. Fifteen-minute programs were broadcast regularly with such messages. Information also was carried regularly regarding road conditions through this territory, and many telephone calls for this information were an-, swered. THE CBS Headlines & Bylines, weekly summary of current events, will begin its second year Oct. 2. H. V. Kaltenborn and Ralph Edwards, commentators on the program, are to be joined this year by Gilbert Seldes. COMMERCIAL schedules and scheduled broadcasts went by the board for 48 hours during Thursday and Friday, Sept. 22 and 23, while WMEX converted its entire facilities and personnel to the handling of the greatest flood of emergency bulletins and messages in the history of New England broadcasting. With a 100-odd-mile gale, the center of a hurricane disturbance at 6 p. m., Wednesday, Sept. 21, the WMEX vertical radiator atop Powderhorn Hill, Chelsea, the highest point along the Massachusetts Coast, was blown down and at the same time all electric power along the North Shore was cut off. Working all night under the direction of Alfred J. Pote and William S. Pote, an emergency crew had a substitute antenna rigged up in four hours but electric power lines were not restored until 6:30 a. m. and WMEX returned to the air at 7 a. m. Thursday. Amateur Networks Meanwhile, through the facilities of W1XAL of the World Wide Broadcasting Foundation and WIFHY, in Cambridge, an amateur radio network was formed covering all points in all New England. All messages were first broadcast on WMEX then relayed to W1XAL and WIFHY and in turn relayed to the amateur radio operators in the districts desired. Schedules were set up for amateur network in which they received the emergency messages through WMEX and in turn had scheduled periods to contact the amateurs in stricken areas receive their reports on conditions in that particular area in turn relay these back to WMEX. Under the direction of John E. Reilly, program director, all leaves and days off were cancelled and the entire announcing staff and office personnel were devoted to handling emergency broadcasts. Lines were set up in the editorial rooms of the Boston American and bulletins were issued from there at frequent intervals. A grand total of 1573 emergency messages were sent to all points of the five New England States; New York, Colorado, Minnesota, California, Cuba, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey, Kentucky, Nova Scotia, Ohio and ships at sea by shortwave through formation of this amateur radio network. Added to this were hundreds of messages and bulletins broadcast from the Governor's office and Mayor's office and announcements for the State Police, Coast Guard, American Red Cross, American Legion, Volunteers of America and other charitable organizations lending their aid through radio to the stricken areas. WICC, BRIDGEPORT By Jud La Haye Give them NEWS and of course they'll listen! 457,163 Canadians in CHML's primary area follow world events by listening to CHML's Transradio Newscasts. For details on sponsorship 'phone or wire HAMILTON CHML ONTARIO WHILE WICC with its transmitter location at Pleasure Beach Park, on the Bridgeport shorefront, escaped the crest of the hurricane, in comparison to Hartford and Providence localities which had the added dangers of fire and flood, it did not remain entirely unscathed and was forced off the air twice during the actual storm period on Wednesday, Sept. 21. With clearing skies at noon, by 3 o'clock on the afternoon of the 21st the storm had already begun to take its toll, destroying bridges and supply lines (power-water, etc.) to the island where the WICC transmitter was located, forcing WICC off the air for approximately 45 minutes until Garo Ray, chief engineer, could traverse the remaining portions of the bridge — and then wade in waist high water to the transmitter site and help start the emergency Diesel engines furnishing WICC's power. With a 40-mile gale piling the surf high on the beach front; ripping shingles from the transmitter roof; completely shearing down the shortwave towers and whistling through the 300-foot transmitter towers; hurling large sections of boardwalks and stand tops against the transmitter building. Both Ray and his assistant in Crawford were momentarily doubtful if WICC could remain on the air. Remain they did, though, barricading doors and providing bulwarks against the sea until finally all resistance was broken down and water finally got in to the generators, caus ing complete shutdown at about 8:30 p. m. and forcing WICC to remain silent until the waters receded and the damage could be repaired early the next morning. As storm reports began to trickle back to Southern Connecticut, WICC's switchboard soon became tied up with all sorts of emergency requests, orders and al^n-as -^om surrounding localities, which WICC immediately aired under Supervisor Joseph Lopez's direction. Program periods were cancelled ; emergency switchboard assistants installed and, until forced to go off the air, continued broadcasting these messages and relaying information to the storm stricken areas included in WICC's broadcast coverage. With the return of WICC to the airlines early Thursday morning, weed e company IWPtO STA7I0* ttepXESE/tram£S\ N£W YORK ■ cH/c/ieo I Detroit* sun Fumaseo ana da's Richest Market New Microphone that CANNOT be acoustically overloaded Astatic Engineers, in presenting the new MULTIUNIT Crystal Microphone, incorporating DUAL DIAPHRAGM construction, provide an instrument of the highet type . . . . d signed to meet the exacting requirements of broadcast stations, night clubs and public address systems. Multi-Unit Microphones guarantee maximum amplification without feedback and cannot be acoustically overloaded. Designed with Self Locking Tilting Head Multi-Unit Microphones are made in two models r MU-2 constructed with two dual diaphragm crystal units using four diaphragms, and M U 4 with four dual diaphragm crystal units and eight diaphragms. Chrome or black and chrome finish. LIST PRICES MU-2 $29.50 • MU-4 $39.50 (Complete with interchangeable locking connector and 25-ft, cable.) ASTATIC MICROPHONE LABORATORY.Inc. YOU NGSTOWN.O. Licen&ed Under Brush Development Co. Patents ASTATIC Patents Pending BROADCASTING • Broadcast Advertising October I, 1938 • Page 67