Radio Broadcast (May 1928-Apr 1929)

94 :,::^io BROADCAST DECEMBER, 1928 I 1TILIZING 500-watt high-frequency trans^ mitters a complete chain of stations has been established as the communications network for the Chicago-Dallas air route. The cities at which the transmitters are located are Fort Worth, Oklahoma City, Wichita, Kansas City, Unionville, and Moline. D ELLEFONTE, PA., is the location of another radio aircraft installation. This important center for air mail service will have a directive radio beacon, somewhat similar to that installed at College Park, Md. Announcement is also made of a new type of vibrating reed which is used as an indicator on the plane, in which change in frequency with temperature is practically eliminated. Radio Abroad A VITALLY important patent decision was made by the Comptroller General of the Patent office in England when a compulsory license was granted to Loewe Radio Company. Under this compulsory license, the Loewe Company will make three and two-element radio valves at license fees of 10 s. and 7 s. 6 d. respectively, instead of £1, 17 s. 6d. and £1, 5s., heretofore asked by the Marconi Company. In the decision of the Comptroller General, he stated that he was "satisfied that a case of abuse of monopoly rights had been established." The decision further states: "When we come to consider the scale on which the applicants hope to manufacture in this country, the Loewe valve will be recognized as offering a new advantage or utility for which it may be well worth sacrificing the superior sensitiveness which the use of reaction admittedly affords. Broadcasting has become a feature of our national life and a commercial policy which excludes large sections of the public from its full enjoyment is not, we think, a justifiable policy. "The Marconi Company have secured a dominant position by gathering together in their own hands a large series of patents which, taken collectively, cover almost all broadcasting receivers of an efficient character. It is to be remarked that not one of the five patents now in question is for an invention originating with the Marconi Company. Three of them are American, one is French and one is German in origin. " It is a kind of super-monopoly. The applicants cannot seek alternative terms from competing monopolists. They are absolutely in the hands of those who have gathered together this far-reaching aggregation of monopolies." THE British Broadcasting Company's educational curriculum includes literary readings in French, German, and Latin from biographical sources, and a wide range of subjects presented in English on literary, historical, geographical, and musical subjects. This educational program is summarized completely in a brochure on the subject which should interest ambitious American program directors. THE League of Nations announces that its plan of establishing a powerful radio-telegraph station has advanced to the point that it has now purchased a 50-kilowatt transmitter which will be operated, in normal times, by Radio Suisse. The station and its personnel may be taken over by the League, upon notice, in emergencies. THE Government of Australia, under a new law, has taken over the ownership, equipment, and facilities of broadcasting stations of the Class "A" type. A system somewhat similar to that now established in New Zealand is being adopted for the control of broadcasting. A COMMISSION has been appointed in Canada with a view to laying plans for the establishment of a national radio system, similar in character to the British Broadcasting Company. The commission will study the situation, not only in Canada but in Great Britain and the United States. Naturally, the owners of broadcasting stations are opposing the move. In the Visual Broadcasting Field COMMISSIONER H. A. LAFOUNT is reported as advising stations in his zone, interested in visual broadcasting, that, " In my opinion, the Commission will shortly issue orders for the regulation of television and picture transmission, particularly in "the broadcast band. I , therefore, suggest that you defer the purchase of any equipment or the making of any investment until such action has been taken." If restrictive regulation must be applied to this experimental art to the discouragement of those who are risking their time and money in so problematical a field, it would be a good idea to get it over with. There is no known reason for regulation at this time because picture broadcasting is causing no trouble of any kind, but the Commission has so often and so repeatedly thrown the shadow of threatened regulation upon it that progress in extending picture broadcasting has been totally stopped. If the new field must be stifled by the Commission, the sooner it is done the better, because all the money, so far NEW AUTOMATIC SOS RECEIVING APPARATUS The S. S. "Cedar Bank" recently has been equipped with Marconi apparatus Jor automatically receiving SOS signals. The signals are received by the threetube regenerative set shown on the left, and below the receiver is the selector relay which rings bells, in the radio room, on the bridge and in the operators' stateroom, whenever an SOS signal is picked up. courageously spent by experimenters, is practically a total loss should the Commission pass any serious restricting regulations. Further waste in experiments may as well be stopped, sooner rather than later, and protracting the agony is not in the least helpful. A VERY fine publicity story emanated from wgy, following the broadcast, on the evening of September 1 1 , of the radio play from their studio. The television transmitter was working on the occasion. The story stated that synchronization of speech and vision was perfect, but there were no comments as to the character of the images received. Those, technically acquainted with the subject, were inclined to smile at the statement that perfect synchronization was accomplished, not because there was any doubt that it had been done, but because it would have been wonderful if anyone discovered a practical means of transmitting speech and television out of synchrony under the conditions involved. A statement by Dr. Alexanderson, who is receiving wgy's transmissions at Lake George, a distance of two-hundred miles, reported trouble from a mirage or delayed image. Television may prove useful in securing data with reference to the heaviside layer. THE Experimenter Publishing Company has sued a magazine which was to appear under the title Television. The application for the injunction was. of course, denied by the New York Supreme Court. Somebody ought to publish a list of patented words. News of the Radio Industry IN URGING industry support of the R. M. A. patent pooling plan, Le Roy J. Williams of that Association pointed out that the automobile industry, which solved its patent difficulties by means of an identical scheme, did not find a single patent basic. The R. M. A. plan, as our readers will remember, provides for the pooling of non-basic patents at the option of their holders, and permits patent holders to exempt so-called basic patents from the pool. The argument, however, does not hold good for the radio industry because there are many patents of a decidedly basic character still [in force. The pooling of non-basic patents is of negligible importance. A RECENT statement of the R. M. A. innocently rises to the point of humor when it seeks to throw aspersions on the accurate and comprehensive statistics which the National Electrical Manufacturers' Association has issued with the cooperation of the Department of Commerce. The R. M. A. now proposes to go into the statistics business also, utilizing agencies of a character undisclosed to assist it. "The study of available, but incomplete statistics, largely estimates, is being made by the Committee which will present recommendations to the R. M. A. Board of Directors for the development of real statistics which are reliable and may be of actual service to all branches of the radio industry." Silly publicity of this character certainly does not reflect glory upon those who issue it. — E. H. F.