Radio age research, manufacturing, communications, broadcasting, television (1941)

TRANSMITTER PANELS LINE BOTH SIDES (IF THE CONTROL ROOM OF THE SHORT-WAVE I'LANT AT DIXON. I ALIKORNIA. DESTINATION: ORIENT Powerful Short-Wave Plant Built and Operated of Dixon. California, by RCA-N6C Engineers, Corries United Nations'Story to the Far Eost r^ By Raymond Guy Radio Facilities Engineer National Broadcasting Company OX a square mile of flatlands neai- the town of Dixon, 28 miles southwest of Sacramento, Cal- ifornia, the combined efforts of radio engineers and construction experts have erected one of the world's most powerful short-wave voices, a modern Stentor now mak- ing itself heard in all parts of the Pacific and the Far East, and to the south and southeast in Latin Amer- ica and South America. The Dixon plant is a war-born infant with the vocal power of a giant. It was started soon after this country entered the war and was rushed to completion as part of a government project to extend the use of short-waves in carrying the story of the United Nations' ideals throughout the globe. At the beginning of the war, when European developments had top priority, the first stations in the general plan were located in the East. Notable among these installa- tions were the six powerful trans- mitters at Bound Brook, New .Jer- sey, erected and operated by NBC for the Oflice of War Information and the Committee on Inter-Ameri- can Affairs. Once these facilities were under way, OWI contracted for additional outlets with greater power to per- form similar functions in the Orient and Pacific areas and to the south. China. Russia. Japan, the mid-Pacific islands, Australia and New Zealand were the goals in one direction. The Spanish and Portu- gese speaking countries below the Mexican border and in South Amer- ica were objectives in the reverse direction. Accordingly, at the request of OWI. operating through the De- fense Plants Corporation, the Na- tional Broadcasting Company and the Columbia Broadcasting System pooled their engineering resources in the design and installation of two complete transmitting plants at sites to be selected by the respective networks. Further to speed the work and thereby meet the increas- ingly urgent calls for the new serv- ices, it was decided that the two stations would be identical in archi- tecture and equipment. It was also part of the agreement that NBC and CBS should operate the sta- tions after their completion, with OWI supplying program material. NBC's first move was to conduct searches to determine the most suit- able location for the plant and the extensive array of directional an- tennas that would be needed for the specified global coverage. The Dixon acreage on level terrain, unobstruct- ed for many miles in all directions, was found to meet all reciuirements. Larger Unit Added Later The transmitter building at Dixon was laid out to accommodate one 200 k.w. and two 50 k.w. units, but for several months it operated with four 50 k.w. transmitters. The larger unit was put into action later as materials became available. Built of reinforced concrete, the central structure has a floor area of more than 16,000 square feet, ar- ranged in three sections: transmit- ter room, cooling room and admin- istrative quarters. In the main transmitter room, switchboard panels extend along both sides for a total length of 124 feet. The operator's console is placed at the far end, facing racks containing the audio-input ampli- fiers and test equipment. Behind each row of panels is a fireproof vault housing the power trans- formers. [RADIO AGE 17]