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Latest Radio and Communication News, from The National Capital, and Previews of Things to Come
NO RELEASE OF FREQUENCIES -As forecast in
this column, the Office of Defense Mobilization as
the result of the special interdepartmental government
study made under its direction announced
recently that the "unanimous conclusion" of the
survey group was that no VHF frequencies now
utilized by the federal government could be released
to the FCC for additional television broadcasting
allocations. The ODM announcement flatly stated
"national security requirements and the needs of
air navigation and air communications preclude the
release for non -government use of any of the very
high frequencies now utilized by the federal government."
The ODM report pointed out that, in addition
to national security requirements, the programs for
guided missiles, radar networks, earth satellites and
other defense necessities "have placed and will continue
to place an ever -increasing demand for radio
frequencies." The ODM added "full national benefit
could not be obtained from these vital services
without the continued use of frequencies between
50 and 300 MC."
TV DEINTERMIXTURE -The FCC viewpoint on
the difficult problems of UHF television during the
period of its recent intensive study of television
problems has been leaning more and more toward
deintermixture as the best solution of preserving
UHF in cities where that allocation has been
demonstrated as rendering good service. The FCC
is concerned over the fact that 10% of the nation's
population is still without TV service and just a
little more than 100 cities have over one local television
station in operation.
COLOR TV IN ALL HOMES -In the next two
decades the FCC leadership feels that in all probability
there will be color TV in every home and
so that viewers could have a large range of program
choice all- channel receivers should be standard. FCC
Chairman George C. McConnaughey has proposed
a concentrated research program by the manufacturing
industry to achieve all- channel transmitters
and receivers. If this was accomplished in the near
future the FCC would have a sound technical basis
for making a long -term decision on UHF, the Commission
leadership feels.
INCREASED TEMPO -While television dominates
the spotlight in the public's knowledge of the FCC,
the safety and special radio services, so vital to
the nation's economy and fire and police activities,
are becoming more important all the time as a
responsibility of the Commission. This was pointed
out by FCC Chairman McConnaughey in a recent
letter to Senate Interstate & Foreign Commerce
Committee Chairman Warren G. Magnuson (D.,
Wash.). The safety- special applications, the FCC
chieftain stated, at present approximate 175,000
applications a year. He warned that this rate is
continuing to increase substantially "as the need
for radio becomes increasingly apparent to the many
facets of American industry and for many new
applications involving protection of life and
property."
HIGHER BY 15% -The FCC authorizations in the
safety -special services are "now running about 15%
higher than last year and about 8%-around 12,000
applications per year- higher" than the Commission
estimated in its budget request for the fiscal year
1957 which begins next July 1. To reduce the safety -
special backlog to an application processing time of
30 days at the end of the 1957 fiscal year would
require $50,000 to $60,000 more than provided in the
budget and to place the processing on an even more
current basis would require an additional $80,000.
JET AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL -The Civil Aeronautics
Administration has proposed a $246 million
five -year program for a modernized federal air
traffic control system designed to keep pace with
requirements of the jet age with a large part of the
expenditures to go for communications and electronics
equipment. The plan, released by CAA Administrator
Charles J. Lowen, includes long range
radar, airport surveillance radar, peripheral communications,
and other navigation and air traffic
control equipment. The five -year program calls for
putting radar of the short -range surveillance type
into 44 additional airports; long -range radar with
direct pilot -controller communications into 20
additional air route traffic control centers; a new
device known as the radar beacon at 134 locations;
and 20 airport surface detection equipment radars
to control ground movement at congested terminals.
Also proposed are 40 additional airport traffic control
towers; 383 VHF omnidirectional radio ranges
(VOR) with associated distance measuring service
(DME) ; and 28 instrument landing systems. For the
1957 fiscal year $37,500,000 is earmarked for new
radar and air navigation facilities.
National Press Building
Washington, D. C.
ROLAND C. DAVIES
Washington Editor
144 Tele -Tech & ELECTRONIC INDUSTRIES June 1956