Radio-Electronics Monthly Review
October 1945 Radio-Craft

October 1945 Radio-Craft [Table of Contents] Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics. See articles from Radio-Craft, published 1929 - 1953. All copyrights are hereby acknowledged.

On December 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the FCC issued a "Notice to All Amateur Licensees" that began thusly: "All amateur licensees are hereby notified that the Commission has ordered the immediate suspension of all amateur radio operation in the continental United States, its territories, and possessions." The October 1945 issue of Radio-Craft magazine announced the long-awaited planned resumption of transmitting operations. On November 15, 1945, amateurs were finally allowed back on the air, but only on the 10 and 2 meter bands. Another end to an FCC wartime policy announced was the requirement to reduce output power by 1 dB (~20%) below normal maximum power, with the motivation having been to extend the lifetime of tubes. Also reported was the FCC's consideration of allowing the newfangled FM radio broadcasts to operate ten hours each day rather than only six. Proving that engineers and major corporations can have a sense of humor, get a load of the "sniffer" radar dish shown here.

Radio-Electronics Monthly Review

Amateur operators are back on the air! Operation after the enforced wartime lay-off was authorized by the Federal Communications Commission at its meeting on August 22. First to be opened was the 112-115.5 megacycle band, with the expectation that lower and higher frequencies would soon be declared open to "ham" operation. No permission to operate in bands offering international contacts was anticipated in the immediate future at the time the order to resume was issued. Station licenses which were valid between the dates of December 7, 1941, and December 15, 1942, and which have not subsequently been revoked are good until the FCC makes new arrangements for licensing.

A Minimum of ten hours broadcasting daily for FM stations-instead of the six hours tentatively proposed by the FCC in its regulations - was urged last month by E. I. Godofsky, former president and general manager of Radio WLIB, Brooklyn, in a memorandum submitted to the FCC. The memorandum also declared that "ownership, operation or control of both AM and FM stations serving the same area would constitute a concentration of control inconsistent with democratic objective," and suggested that the FCC should issue a "sense of the Commission statement" to that effect, meanwhile postponing any regulations on the subject till the 1950 census would indicate whether the number of FM sets is likely to exceed or approach the number of AM receivers in any community. If such should be the case, Mr. Godofsky believes that ownership of both an AM and FM station would constitute dual ownership to an extent exactly equal to the ownership of two AM stations in the same community, a practice not now permitted.

Full-Power operation of all broadcast stations was ordered to resume October 1. FCC order 107, which required readjustment of all United States broadcast transmitters to a level one decibel below their full output, has been revoked. Order 107-A, rescinding the earlier order, stated that "on and after September 1, 1945, at the option of the licensee, transmitting operations may be conducted with full operating power during daytime hours only, and on and after October 1, 1945, Order No. 107 shall be revoked, and all licensees shall be required to operate in accordance with the provisions of Section 3.52 of the Rules and Regulations." Order 107, which called for the one-decibel drop in output, was passed November 6, 1942, with the object of conserving transmitter tubes and other parts. Since the War Production Board has advised that no obstacles now stand in the way of replacements and the parts and tubes will be generally available, rescinding order 107-A was issued.

Rural FM may be detrimentally affected by FCC regulations requiring directional antennas to avoid invasion of urban areas, declared Major Armstrong in testimony before the Federal Communications Commission last month. Such aerials, the Major said, might cut off as much as 50 percent of a rural station's service area, merely to avoid competition with town or city stations to whom it would offer no substantial competition, if the urban stations put out programs with real listener appeal. Questions of interference between high-powered rural stations and metropolitan or community installations - as well as problems of adequate rural coverage - could be solved, Major Armstrong believed, by allocating positions on the lower end of the band to these high-powered country broadcasters. In reply to a question as to the length of time required to change to the new high frequencies, he estimated eight months, though this period might depend somewhat on the time taken to develop a new high-frequency, high-power tube. Meanwhile it would be necessary to build FM receivers to cover both bands, he stated.

Two-Band FM receivers are not in the public interest, the FCC informed the Radio Manufacturers Association last month. "The only reason that has been advanced for the manufacture of receivers. covering the old FM band as well as the new is that by building such receivers demonstrations of FM reception to prospective customers will be possible," wrote the Commission chairman to RMA's president R. C. Cosgrove. "This does not appear a valid reason. We anticipate that very shortly the Commission will announce its standards for FM broadcasting in the higher band. As soon as this is done, FM stations will be required to take steps to begin operation in the new band as soon as possible, so that by the time receivers are available all stations will be operating in the new band." If necessary, the Commission letter hinted it might put an end immediately to FM transmissions in the old band, to protect the public from an unnecessary expense and to insure that the change to the permanent FM band should not be delayed.

Posted August 19, 2021