NBC transmitter (Jan 1943-Sept 1944)

DECEMBER 1943 3 RADIO CITY DECADE Huge Broadcasting Wonderland, Dedicated in 1933, Remains Mecca of Industry • NEW YORK.-Oldtimers around NBC’s New York Radio City studios polished their Ten Year Club gold buttons last month and started talking about the old days at 711 Fifth Avenue. The occasion for the trek down Memory Lane was the observance of the 10th anniversary of the opening of Radio City on Armistice Day, 1933. In other times there might have been some sort of celebration but with the war effort occupying all the available manpower, the event was marked only in the affectionate memories of those who remembered radio’s earlier days. “Broadcasting goes on as usual-’ was the order of the day. Still regarded as the most impressive studios in the world, New York’s Radio City was really a wonderland back in 1933. Those were the days of the NR A and the first of the “fireside chats. " Four days before the first voice went out to the world from Radio City. Utah had become the 36th State to ratify the repeal of prohibition. Broadcasting was different then. In a week of special inaugural programs. NBC announced that one day would be devoted to short-wave pickups from 15 foreign countries. The New York Times called that “a big day for the engineers.” There were some in the industry itself who questioned the necessity of erecting 27 studios, with room for eight more, just to put two programs on the air simultaneously. But NBC engineers — under the direction of 0. B. Hanson. NBC vice-president and chief engineer— foresaw that the perfection required of modern network broadcasting would require hours of rehearsals for every halfhour on the air. “The historians who judge the 1933 enterprise from the future may marvel at the audacity and courage of those who built such a temple for sound alone,” wrrote one editor, “but they will probably agree that those behind the project were far-sighted— they saw television coming with a bigger and better show.” NBC was operating two networks in those days— the Red and the Blue. Combined, they had only 88 affiliates; today NBC— a single network— has 141. Besides engineering advances, programs have changed materially, too. Music programs occupied more than twothirds of the air time 10 years ago although they only occupy about 35 per cent of NBC time now. News reports took only about two per cent of the broadcast day as compared w ith 20 per cent in news reports, analyses, sports news, fo reign pickups and special events of modern day radio. The daytime serial was virtually unknown. although some of the dramas now so popular during daytime hours were SKYSCRAPER OF SOUND -The RCA Building is not as brilliantly lit in these ivartirne days as it is in this photo, but the NBC programs originating within its walls continue to be heard ’ round the world. heard five times weekly in the early evening spots 10 years ago. Quiz shows, too, were unknown. On the same day that Radio City was dedicated, the first NBC mobile transmitter also made its debut. An elaborate clock system controlled by power-plant impulses was installed, hut split-second network operation outmoded the method within nine years. NBC’s latest clocks are controlled by tuning forks mounted in vacuum tubes. NBC engineers kept on replacing the “old” with the “new” in many branches of technical operation. The studios became a Mecca for engineers all over the world. All incorporated the now standard “floating’ floors, walls and ceilings. The air-conditioning system was the most elaborate for radio audience comfort ever constructed. NBC engineers gave considerable thought to television in the construction and it is a tribute to their foresight that when television became a reality in New York, the Radio City studios met the needs of the new art. One of the major differences in studio construction during the decade has been a new approach to acoustics. In 1933, walls were deadened to absorb sound. Later, it was discovered that “brilliant” sound was more desirable. Walls accordingly were redesigned to diffuse the echoes (rather than deaden them entirely) by non-parallel walls and ceilings. The two newest studios built two years ago in space purposely left vacant have non-parallel walls. Even the ceiling and floor are not parallel. Almost 5,000.000 persons have come from every part of the globe to take the NBC one-hour escorted studio-television tour during the 10 years. The guest relations staff has played host to notables from every walk of life. During the past year, one studio has been decorated with symbols of the principal faiths for religious broadcasts. NBC has built new studios, based on Radio City-tested engineering principles in Hollywood, San Francisco, Washington, Cleveland and Denver, and has enlarged and improved the Chicago studios.