Television digest and FM reports (Jan-Dec 1946)

provoked whether unions are getting cold feet about going into radio via FM. Telegraphic inquiry to UAW's radio director at Detroit headquarters, Allen Sayler, onetime FCC staffman and son-in-law of Senator Wheeler, brought response that executive board decided to quit Los Angeles race "to concentrate' on Detroit, Cleveland, and Chicago FA^ applications at present. No other applications to be dropped." Flint application wasn't mentioned, though it's on file. Union already holds conditional for Detroit ; it withdrew from recent New York race v/ith statement it v/ould seek Class A station in Nev/ark. As for Amalgamated, it holds conditional for Rochester, K.Y., was party to New York and Chicago hearings pending decision, which is full extent of its FA^ quests now. Other big union applicants. International Ladies Garment Workers Union, shows no sign of letup in seeking all 6 permissible FiMs ; it holds CP for Chattanooga, conditional for St. Louis, was party to Boston, Nev; York and Philadelphia hearings and definitely will participate in Los Angeles hearing. Q'UIHIiS IH HEW FI'I RSCESVEES: Besides danger cf poor showing FM faces when STAs put out inadequate signals (Vol. 2, No. 34), there now arises another plaguing problem; imperfect receivers. It's much the same story as in early days of broadcasting — hastily produced sets, improperly engineered, sometimes jerry-built with inferior parts (also true of some of today's cheaper AAI m^odels). Fortunately, their number is few, yet a correspondent writes us from Fresno, Cal. : "All the FM receivers we have been able to experiment with, of the type being offered for sale by retailers, have Some sort of difficulty or imperfection about them. They are either microphonic, they drift, or they have insufficient band width to accept FM modulation at 100% without extreme distortion." A check among people who know indicates these findings are not general; post-war sets haven't really been in use long enough to bear generalizations. Certain, however, is fact that some do have quirks in them. To credit of manufacturers eager to preserve integrity of their trade names and precious relationship with dealers and public, be it said they act quickly to remedy faults. Pilot Radio Corp., for example, called back to factory all its m.any-band table models because of faulty FM design. Philco has an improved model out after one false start. Others are clearing up difficulties as they develop, welcoming criticisms. There's also simple fact that few repairmen as yet have sufficient experience or education in FM to do adequate job. Here's something else, but don't lie awake worrying about it: Engineers at Bureau of Standards Central Radio Propagation Laboratory, picking up weak FM signals at extreme limits of reception, have been troubled with "cosmic noise" coming from, of all places, the Milky Way. Honest, that's what the man says. B!S BOYS HEUELY i\LL PBO-FDI: clear Channel Broadcasting Service, comprising sixteen 50 kw AM stations intent on maintaining integrity of high power on clear channels for rural— remote coverage, avows in press release issued by Director Vic Sholis this week that its members are engaged in no "sinister conspiracy to hold back FM." On contrary, 9 of its members are now operating FMs, 2 are preparing for interim operation, 4 await CPs, one (WLS, Chicago) withdrew F.M application (Vol. 2, No. 22) only to enable it to make further engineering studies looking to rural FM outlet. Fact is that all but handful of 50 kw AMers, though they would seemingly need FM least of all, are applicants for FM, if not already operators or grantees. Laggards are chiefly locals and regionals. Only 50 kw AMs we count who are not even applying for FM are: KVOO, Tulsa (which, however, is underwriting Tulsa U's FM outl*et7 ; WLAC, Nashville; KWKH, Shreveport, La.; KWBU, Corpus Christ!, Tex.; KOB, Albuquerque, N.M. — all communities with plenty of available channels (Supplement No. 43), £50 they still have time to apply. And another facet in 50 kw attiture toward FM is pointed up by one of Sholis' pioneer FM members. Dr. Leon Levy (WCAU-FM, Philadelphia), who thinks one good reason why there should be an FM trade association independent of NAB is to refvite accusations that AM op-erators are' deliberat'^y trying to stifle development of FA1 ; he thinks FMBI has lost its identity in NAB, therefore should be revived.