Radio annual (1938)

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being graduated according to a zone system, depending upon the question of reliability of service as indicated by the distance of the installation from the nearest broadcasting station. Sets in Use— 176,337. Stations •12. €) UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS General — With the exception of a small number of amateur transmitters, all broadcasting and radio transmission stations in the Soviet Union are owned and operated by State organizations. The maintenance and management of the technical equipment of general broadcasting stations are in the hands of the People's Commissariat for Communication of the U.S.S.R., while the broadcasting is controlled and supervised by the AllUnion Radio Committee, which is attached to the Soviet of People's Commissars of the U.S.S.R. The Ail-Union Radio Committee is a central body which carries out the radio broadcasting programs of the main stations in Moscow and supervises the activities of 70 local committees in different parts of the Soviet Union. Advertising — Advertising in the sense in which that term is usually understood is not broadcast by Soviet radio stations. Foreign business firms have not, apparently, at any time advertised over the Soviet radio broadcasting system. It is believed, moreover, that advertising over the Soviet radio would not, in view of the Soviet Government monopoly of foreign trade and other factors of merchandising peculiar to the Soviet Union, achieve the purposes for which intended since such factors would seem to obviate the necessity for that type of advertising. Reception of American Programs — American shortwave broadcasts are received in the Soviet Union by good short-wave receivers, but such receivers are extremely rare and appear to be mostly in the possession of members of the various foreign colonies in that country. It should be added, in this connection, that American radio programs have, although infrequently, been rebroadcast by standard and long-wave Soviet broadcasting stations. Receiving Sets — At last report, there were 350,000 receiving sets in the Soviet Union or about two sets to each one thousand of the population, in addition to which there were approximately 2,000,000 outlets in community _ systems. The sources of supply of radio receivers and radio materials and replacement parts in the Soviet Union are Soviet factories. No foreign receivers or replacement parts are available on the market. Television and Facsimile Transmission — Considerable experimentation wTith television appears to be in progress in the Soviet Union. The V. Ts. S. P. S. (trade union) station at Moscow is said to maintain regular television transmission based on the 30-line or 1,200-element system. Television receivers are not available on the Soviet market. A few have apparently been constructed by amateurs. Facsimile transmission is< used to some extent in Government communication services. A regular facsimile service has been established between Moscow and Leningrad. Transcriptions — Transcriptions of radio broadcasts are apparently not made in the Soviet Union. Transcribed programs consist of broadcasts of phonograph recordings and sound films. As was pointed out previously, 2000 of the 5,800 hours devoted, during 1936, to musical programs by the central stations are designated for the broadcast of transcribed music. Patents — -In endeavoring to raise its own technical standards and to free itself from dependence upon foreign products, Soviet industry is_ engaged in copying on an extensive scale machinery and other articles which have been invented and patented in other countries, samples or descriptions of which it has obtained by purchase or otherwise. This practice has been facilitated by the fact that it is not illegal in the Soviet Union to copy articles or processes not patented in that country and that relatively few Soviet patents have been granted to persons or firms resident abroad. Customs Duty — The Collection of Customs Tariff of the U.S.S.R., 1935, provides, under item No. 92 a minimum and a maximum import duty on radio receivers and radio materials amounting respectively to 25 and 30 per cent ad valorem. The minimum duty, it is understood, is paid upon the importation of radio receivers and material according to plan and the maximum duty is paid upon the importation of such articles outside of the plan. Sets in Use— 350,000. Stations — 63. England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Minor Islands General— Total number of licenses in force at the end of July, 1937, was 8,269,500 compared with 7,718,794 at the end of July, 1936. This does not represent the total number of radio sets in use in the country, as one license may cover more than one set and there is doubtless a certain additional number of unlicensed sets being operated illegally. Demand for Sets — It is estimated that during the last 2 years the majority of the business has been in replacements. In one instance, it was calculated that 75 per cent of total sales of one factory during 1936 was replacements. The sales of sets to new users will continue slowly, but in the future the replacement business will be the most important. The most popular sets in the United Kingdom are those costing between £9 9s. and £15 15s, table models with from 6 to 8 tubes, and operating on 3 wave-bands, long, medium, and short. The demand for shortwave sets, or rather all-wave sets, has increased enormously. Sources of Supply— The British Radio Manufacturers' Association has been active for several y.-ars in developing expedients by which foreign goods may be excluded from competition in the British market, especially through pressure upon wholesalers and retailers. Several plans have been tried, employing both punitive measures against dealers in foreign goods through restricting their supplies of British products, and by rewarding dealers in British goods exclusively through added discounts. Patents — The sale of American sets on the British market is severely handicapped by the activities of the Patent Pool, whose policy it is to exclude if possible American sets. This the pool has been successful in doing to a great degree 959