FEDERAL RADIO COMMISSION to The
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SECOND ANNUAL REPORT of the FEDERAL RADIO COMMISSION to the CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES For the Year Ended June 30 1928 Together with A SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT For the Period from July 1, 1928 to September 30, 1928 COMMISSIONERS IRA E. ROBINSON, Chairman EUGENE O. SYKES SAM PICKARD ORESTES H. CALDWELL HAROLD A. LAFOUNT CARL H. BUTMAN, Secretary UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON 1928 i TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I Personnel and organization: Page Membership of the commission 2 Secretary of the commission 2 Engineering division 2 Legal division 3 License division 3 Press service 3 Offices of the commission 3 Total personnel of the commission 4 Financial statement 4 Committees of the commission 4 The five zones 4 PART II Broadcast band: Extent of broadcast band and frequency separation between channels_ 6 Channels reserved for exclusive and shared use by Canadian stations_ 6 General orders 7 Renewals of licenses 7 Changes in assignments of broadcasting stations prior to March 28, 1928 8 Hearings on applications for modification of licenses 9 Changes made in fifth zone as result of inspection trip by Commissioner Bellows _ 9 Clearing of 25 channels 9 Changes made in fifth zone effective March 1, 1928_ 10 The third zone 10 Changes in total number of stations- 11 The Davis amendment 11 Various plans presented to the commission for compliance with the Davis amendment 13 Discontinuance of portable stations 14 General Order No. 32 14 Hearings pursuant to General Order No. 32 15 Decisions in cases heard pursuant to General Order No. 32 16 Legal proceedings arising out of decisions under General Order No. 32 16 New broadcasting allocation 17 Construction permits and new licenses 18 Rules and regulations 18 Popularizing of higher frequencies 20 Chain broadcasting 21 Television 21 Receiving sets in the United States 22 PART III The low and high frequency bands: Extent of low and high frequency bands 23 Allocation of hands under the International Radio -Telegraph Con- vention 23 Extension of licenses 24 The low -frequency or long -wave band 24 The high -frequency or short-wave band 25 In IV TABLE OF CONTENTS The low and high frequency bands-Continued. Page High -frequency hearing in January 26 Further study and investigation of the high -frequency band 27 Allocation of high -frequency bands for mobile services 29 Hearing on applications of fixed services for transoceanic channels 29 Allocation of transoceanic high -frequency bands for point-to-point services 29 Legal proceedings arising out of transoceanic high -frequency channels_ 31 High -frequency broadcasting, relay broadcasting, and television in the band 6,000-23,000 kilocycles 32 List of high -frequency stations of the world 32 Continental high -frequency band 32 Amateurs 34 Conclusion 34 SECOND ANNUAL REPORT OF THE FEDERAL RADIO COMMISSION FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1928, TOGETHER WITH SUP- PLEMENTAL REPORT FOR THE PERIOD FROM JULY 1, 1928, TO SEPTEMBER 30, 1928 FEDERAL RADIO COMMISSION, Washington, D. C., October 26, 1928. To the Congress of the United States: The First Annual Report of the Federal Radio Commission covered the period from March 15, 1927 (the date of the first meeting of the commission after its creation under the radio act of 1927), to June 30, 1927. This, the second annual report, might logically have been confined to the year ending June 30, 1928. Since such a report would necessarily have omitted mention of many important develop- ments in the last three months and would not have presented to Congress a complete picture of the present status of the regulation of radio communication, the commission has thought it best to extend the report so as to. cover the latest possible elate consistent with the time of going to press. To have separated the report into two distinct periods, i. e., before and after June 30, 1928, would have necessitated the interruption of accounts which should properly be treated consecutively under appropriate headings, and would have decreased its usefulness as a convenient source of reference as to the work accomplished by the commission. The supplemental report has therefore been merged with that for the previous period, but care has been taken to preserve record of dates sufficiently to enable the reader to determine in which of the two periods a particular matter belongs. Numerous appendices are printed separately as a supplement to this report. i PART I PERSONNEL AND ORGANIZATION MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMISSION On July 1, 1927, the commission was composed of the following members: Admiral W. H. G. Bullard, chairman (second zone , Orestes H. Caldwell (first zone), Eugene O. Sykes (third zone , Henry A. Bellows (fourth zone), Col. John F. Dillon (fifth zone . Commissioner Dillon died on October 8, 1927; Commissioner Bellows resigned on October 31, 1927; and Commissioner Bullard died on November 24, 1927. The loss of each of these three men was severely felt by the commission, all three of them being of excel tional ability and having expert knowledge in matters over which the commission has jurisdiction. Sam Pickard, of Manhattan, hans., who had theretofore served as secretary of the commission, was appointed commissioner from the fourth zone on November 1, 1927. Harold A. Lafount, of Salt Lake City, Utah, was appointed commissioner from the fifth zone on November 14, 1927. Judge Ira E. Robinson was appointed com- missioner from the second zone on March 29, 1928. For a period of several months after November. 24, 1927, Commissioner Sykes was the only liing member of the commission whose appointment had been confirmed by the Senate. The appointments of Commissioners Robinson, Caldwell, Pickard, and Lafount were confirmed by the Senate on March 30, 1928. At a meeting held on April 5, 1928, the commission elected Com- missioner Robinson as chairman. SECRETARY OF THE COMMISSION On November 1, 1927, the commission appointed Carl H. Batman, of Washington, D. C., as secretary to succeed Mr. Pickard. ENGI.\'EERING DIyISION Prior to \ugust 1, 1928, the commission had no regularly organ- ized engineering division. During the period covered by this report it had had generous assistance from the Bureau of Standards of the Department of Commerce and, particularly, of Dr. J. H. Dellinger, chief of the radio section of that bureau. It also had the assistance, until July 25, 1928, of Capt. S. C. Hooper, of the United States Navy (recently appointed Chief of Naval Communications), who, at the request of the commission, was detailed to assist in á study of the complex technical problems arising in connection with the allocation of channels in the high -frequency band. From time to 2 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL RADIO COMMISSION 3 time the commission has been generously assisted by John V. L. Hogan, L. E. Whittemore, Prof. C. M. Jansky, jr., R. S. McBride, and Edgar Felix, who have acted as temporary technical advisors. Capt. Guy Hill, Signal Corps, United States Army, was detailed by the 1Var Department at the request of the commission as a technical advisor on April 6, 1928. On August 1, 1928. Dr. J. H. Dellinger was offered and accepted the position of chief engineer of the commission for a limited period of time. Commander Tunis A. M. Craven, of the United States Navy, at the reqiest of the commission, was detailed as a technical advisor on August 27. 1928, to assist Doctor Dellinger. In addition, he has the assistance of four other men of considerable technical experience.. LEGAL in VISION The commission had no legal division until June 25, 1928. The Department of Justice from time to time detailed Bethuel M. Web- ster, jr., Special Assistant to the Attorney General, to assist the com- mission in the handling of particular hearings and court cases. On June 25, 1928, the position of general counsel was filled by the ap- pointment of Louis G. Caldwell, of Chicago, Ill. He is to be with the commission only a limited period of time. He now has three lawyers assisting him. LICENSE DIVISION The preparation and issuance of construction permits and licenses and the keeping of records thereof is intrusted to a license division in charge of George S. Smith. To make possible adequate records of the large number and variety of applications which are received by the commission and of the action of the commission thereon, an exten- sive filing system has been made necessary. PRESS SERVICE The duties of this office are to inform newspaper and magazine correspondents concerning the activities of the Federal Radio Com- mission, to answer queries relative to the status of the various sta- tions, and on request to supply information and data concerning the radio situation to editors. The press service also prepares and distributes news releases, general orders, and the commission's de- cisions to the public. G. Franklin Wisner is chief of press service. OFFICES OF THE COMMISSION Due to the urgent need of increased space not available in the Department of Commerce Building, the commission sought relief from the Public Buildings Committee, requesting a minimum space of 26 rooms. On July 2, 1928, the commission moved into its new quarters on the fourth floor of the Department of the Interior Build- ing, where it has the use of 20 rooms indefinitely and 3 additional rooms until November 1, 1928. Even with the use of the additional rooms the commission has inadequate space in which to accommodate its personnel and records and is considerably handicapped by this lack of sufficient quarters. Some additional space is being sought. 4 REPORT OF THE FEDERAL RADIO COMMISSION TOTAL PERSONNEL The total personnel of the commission as of September 30, 1928, is 57. FINANCIAL STATEMENT There follows a summary of appropriations and expenditures for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1928.