Radio Broadcast (May-Oct 1922)

Progress of Radio in Foreign Lands REVENUE FOR THE BROADCASTING ORGANIZATIONS "^OR the time being, at least, we are fortunate as regards our radiophone programmes. The broadcasting stations H I maintain a high standard and their services are free. Furthermore, there is nothing to prevent anyone from Hstening in, and small but adequate receivers can be made without great difficulty or expense. In Great Britain, however, no one is willing to do the broadcasting unless assured of some definite return. Consequently it is not surprising to learn that the British radio organizations which are to do the broadcasting have asked the Postmaster-General not to license a receiving set unless made by a member of one of the broadcasting organizations. In this way, the profits derived from the sale of radio receiving equipment would go to those who maintain the broadcasting services. Still another plan is to have the PostmasterGeneral exact a modest fee for each receiving license, and then turn over a part of the receipts to the broadcasting organization. Already the British radio enthusiasts have been asked for voluntary contributions toward the maintenance of the station in Holland which is providing entertainment for so many of them. POWERFUL FRENCH STATION EXCELLENT IN TESTS WITH NEW YORK ACCORDING to a Reuter news dispatch, the radio station of Sainte Assise in France, which has been under construction for the past two years, has unofficially opened communication with New York. The American technicians in communication with the French station, which is the most powerful so far constructed, state that they consider it gives the clearest signals they have ever received from France. The new station will be placed at the disposal of the general public as soon as the authorization of the French Government has been given. BELGIAN AMATEURS SERIOUSLY RESTRICTED RADIO TELEPHONY, which is now becoming popular in England and France, evokes comparatively little interest in Belgium. The reason seems to lie in the rigid restric tions placed on radio stations by the decree of August 7, 1920, which prohibits radio broadcasting and limits receiving stations to time signals and meteorological messages. Detailed regulations prohibit the use of vacuum tubes unless specially authorized, require secrecy in regard to all messages which are not public property, forbid receiving stations to accept any remuneration in connection with their work, and provide for cancellation of the license and other penalties in case of violation of the regulations. VIENNA WILL HAVE MARCONI COMPANY RADIO CENTRAL THE Austrian Government has granted a charter to Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Company for the establishment of a central radio station in Vienna, in cooperation with an Austrian company. It is stated that the Austrian Government will participate to the extent of 30 per cent, of the capital, and a group of Austrian banks will assist the Marconi Company in founding the Austrian Company. This concession is said to have been obtained in spite of strong competition on the part of the Telefunken interests of Berlin. GREAT PROGRESS IN RADIO IN ITALY SINCE THE WAR THE war was the cause of a very rapid development in radio telegraphy in Italy. Figures before and after the war show that the number of ship stations has increased from 54 to over 400, that the number of words per year between ships and coast stations has increased from 80,000 to about 1,000,000, and that traffic between Italy and her colonies has risen from 150,000 to 900,000 words per annum. From Elettrotecnica, we learn that international traffic is carried on by two sending stations, San Paolo and Centocelle, and three receiving stations, Monterotondo, Taranto, and Covitavecchia, all controlled by the Rome telegraphic central. The operating is duplex. Arcs, alternators, and musical sparks are employed for transmission, vertical and loop antennas, amplifiers, and Wheatstone apparatus for reception. The Coltano station