Evening Star Newspaper, January 22, 1928, Page 35

NEW WRG STUDIS | FINELY DECORATED Plant in Press Building Is‘ Placed Far Above Street and Free From Noise. i i | | | T 1 The new Washington Studios of the National Broadcasting Co., which will | furnish programs to the Radio Corpora- tion ot America’s Station WRC and the | Red and Blue Networks, were opened | iast week. The studios are located in | the National Press Building. The decorations and furnishings are creations of Gerard Chatfield, the pro- gram supervisor of the N. B. C.. The en- gineering features and the planning of | the studios were the work of O. B. Han- | son, manager of plant operation and en- gineering of the N. B. C.. whn also engi- neered the new headquarters. studios | and plant of the N B C. at 711 Fifth enue, New York City i The ashington offices of the Na- tional Broadcasting Co.. as well as the | studios, are situated on the twelfth | ficor in the south section of the build- | ing. facing an immense court in the, center of the structure. having the width of a large throughfare. This sec- tion of the building was chosen as the Dbest location for the studios as it placed them far above and free from the noise of the busy city street, insuring quict for the artists and enabling them to concentrate on the work at hand. The entrance to these quarters opens into & reception room of ample pmpflh; tions. finely decorated and comfortably furnished. and in which the period of | Charles IT is emphasized. creating an | atmosphere of simple grandeur. The | floor 1s richly carpeted in a solid deep wine color, with window drapes and door portieres of a lighter tone of the game color. The walis are textured with glared tints to effect a complete and harmonious ensemble. Art Objects in Rooms. The hghts are subdued and art ob- laced advantageously about the reception room is & small ladics’ lounge furnished in French provincial style and painted a pastel shade of green. with decora- tions. In complementary contrast the | walls are finished in a shade of pale orchid. In order that those in the reception foom may iisten 1o the programs which are being broadcast. a reproducer of high quality has been in- stalled. To the west of the reception room are the offices of the program and commercial organizations and the office of the manager. To the east a corridor Teads o the 1wo studies and main con- trol room 3 The corvidor its™lf has been made in- ilings and walls have treated. the acousde treatment eliminating thai resonant and ringing sound usually #aciated with long corridors. Hung upon the walls are photos of artists made famous through radio as well as re- productions N B C. studios and siations in other citics The studio nearcst to the reception e gold room. is the wo studio dimensions, approximately 20520 feet. primarily de- signed for the single performer or speaker. although small groups such as string trios or quartets could be broad- cast from this room satisfactorily. The + Boor of this room is covered with two- tone cork tile in the form of a checker- board. and spersely spread with small rugs. The object is to koep the floor acoustically alive, but at the same time cujet when walked upon The rugs fur- nish scoustical damping which can be | properly placed by the engineer to suit eonditions The ceiling is treated with special acousticsl plaster resembling biock coral and the walls are treated with panels of can> fib~r board. to in- sure good acoustics Gold-Colored Drapes. | The tetm “gold room” is applied be- cause of the soid-colored velour drapes | predominant in th> room. On the east- ern wall is a sound proof observation window which enables th» enzinee ting in toe control room to follow the proceedings in the studio These win- Gows have three thicknesses of piate- glass floating in heavy {eil frames sepa- rated by an inch or so to insure & win- dow free for vision. but offering greater resistance to the transmission of sound. It is perhaps worth mentioning that each gizss panel is of a different thick- ness than the adjacent panel. This fur- ther aids in soundprdofing e studio supervisor and engineer thus able 1o listen 1o the Progr: through the medium of a loud spaker in the control , just as it Il‘ heard on the air. free from the orig-| ina! production in the studio which might otherwise bias their judgment. | At the far end of the corridor is the green room. the larger studio. | The dimensions of this room are ap- ' proximately 20 feet by 34 feet with an 18-foot ceiling. and as in the case of | the gold- room the engineers have | carefy the acoustical treatsfent. Here the ceiling and walis | ere fimished in the special acoustic iaster resembling coral, full of minute oles which have been produced by a chemical process forming a gas which tn turn produces the porosity It is in these small openings that the energy in the swund wave hitting the wal & expended reducing the mtensity of U ebiy the amo exceptiona cted sound. Prob- sound absorption it 20 eo vie 1o have the room per_cent, as v vary th en velour Grapes the wall Of oo the green in ne way sflects the nooustics as far s is known. but it ce % enhances the other beauty of tie in the yoom, this sludio » polished cork ile floor strewr small rugs to permit sdjusiment in the acoustic omdivon Decorations Are Handsome, Quteide of the engineering features the decorations 2re handsome. the walls and eeliing being wottied with gold and pen Lints and hung with rich green Velour drapes, #5 zic the four smber jeaded glass casement windows which jend 8 soft warm light W the room. ‘Two interes Drogades nany sl ad- vanlageous locstions n the wall these must be w vall seen 1o0m 1s iocated bro permitting the 3 view of rol oerd. through mentioned he main con'iy) tween the 1wo studion engineers 1 has sLgdion from the oo notia 1l observation dora previously. one studio. Imme- fiately in front of these windows on vt confroi room wde. wre located the ingividual Bl control RppAratis where the contol men e walches 1he ar6 bis DELTUMEnts vith ty With cach set of comtrol s loud sjewker of wiest dewigh enznies im0 Jisten (o the resuils he . orger v weeure Ui best i tons. the room It sy tregted i & similer menner W the gold Jomm. W which W 18 Compsrative in size A panel bowrd running through the cener of the room consitng of Eix signderd racks conteine the mnwn con- o) eppsratis, which oonsists of studio | Where, bne #nd monitonng amph volume Ingselors, ehual panels zeluys swikches et through which wudio programs are Gontroled Here Sl are lovated the Wncoming lines {rom pick-up points snd e Lerming ionad Uons of the N B C Jed #nd Biue Net work wires The Jine amph mentioned are proviaed for s, programe o e network cireud Becting W he COmpRnY's maln oo New York. sl pmplifier feeas he program b phone wire o he [t C A Tadio s ’ 1wy WIE borwted on the Rigge Bank H ding 1w o miles norih ol Lhe Mudine. ¢ Foureenth pireet wnd Park 1osn Al the eguipment on Lhe mEin oon | uperviced e plant instaliation and THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, " ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WRC LIKES ITS NEW HOME The new elaborately and tastefully decorated reception room in WRC's new quarters in the National Press Building hat the artists and visitors are received. D. C., JANUARY 29 1928 —PART 2. CHARGES REFUTED, Federal Radio Commissioner Cites Record on Treatment i of Small Broadcaster. By the Associated Pres Commissioner O. H. Caldwell con- tends that the record of the Federal Radio Commission’s treatment of inde- pendent broadcasters refutes charges made by D. W. May, owner of Station WTRL of Midland Park, N. J., and other station operators that the commission has been unfair to the small broad- caster. Mr. May's charges of mistreatment were made before the Senate commit- tee on interstate commerce and in let- ters to members of the Senate. letter to Senator Royal Copeland, Dem- ocrat, of New York, Commissioner Cald- well asserts that the stations placed on {the preferred channels are the It is in thi NAVAL RADIO ENGINEER'S WOR 10,500 recelving sets registered in | country and 8,500 of them are in this IN SMALL SHED BRINGS PRIZE = Dr. A. Hoyt Taylor Awarded Morris‘ Liebmann Memorial Honor for Achieve- ments in_ Little Laboratory. ‘ Rr the Associated Prese | In & =mall_shed near the shore of the Potomac, Dr. A. Hoyt Taylor worked | out the problems which brought him the Morris Licbmann Memorial Prige for the year's greatest achievement in radio. The shed is the field house of the Naval Radio Laboratory at Bellevue across the river from Washington. and there. shielded from disturbing noises and interruptions, Dr. Taylor carried on his work in the development of high frequency transmitters for which he | was awarded the prize. The honor was given him by the Institute of Radio Engineers. A mild mannered man with gray hair, Dr. Taylor explores the vast uncharted regions -of ether as other msn do the | unknown crannies of the earth. Since 1899, when he was a student in North- western University at Chicago. radio 'has interested him. Radio His Work and Hebby. Radio is both his work and his hobby, but until the war he always left time to carry on other hobbies. Each Sum- mer he and some kindred spirit set out for the wilderness of the north with canoe. gun. food supplies and compass, scorning the services of a guide. There | the perplexities of radio fading and of charting the Heaviside layer were for- gotten in the delights of exploring the ! wilderness, - | The sea also has intrigued the scien. tist. Since his enlistment in the Nav in 1917, Dr Taylor has been on many | cruises and has done experimental work on all types of naval craft except sub- marines. under varied weather condi- tions. One of his most interesting ex- periments. he says, was testing the ef- fect of the wind and of ship vibrations on radio while a 30-mile gale was rock- | ing a destroyer. His greateset thrill, Dr. Taylor be- lieves. occurred at the laboratory here seven years ago when he conducted A “two-way” conversation with a radio operator in Sydney, Australia. Another thrill was in communicating with New Zealand one night while he was aboard | a naval vessel in the North Atlantic. He used a low power short wave trans- mitter. Reads Foreign Literature. Dr. Taylor's favorite indoor recreation is the reading of foreign literature. He | speaks German fluently, French fairly | well and has an excellent reading knowledge of Spanish and Italian. The Iibrary of the laboratory is well stocked with foreign periodicals. as he considers these invaluable to the scientist Although he now is engrossed in short wave work, Dr. Taylor says he hopes that 5 or 10 years hence he can de- vote his attention to some other phase of radio. as he finds the unexplored re- glons the most fascinating in the field of science. “It has been alluring work and I con- sider myself fortunate to have been connected with the two greatest agen- cles for bringinz people of the world together, radio and aviation.” he de- clares. | ’Coast Guard Improves Radio Equipment To Aid in Patrol of North Atlantic: By the Associated Press To heip maintain its record of not a life lost by ship collision with jceberzs since starting its North Atlantic partol. ths United States Coast Guard is im- proving radio equipment for its cut- ters As radio is both traffic cop and life- guard in the ice ficlds off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. it is essential that the apparatus be of the most mod- ern type and kept in perfect condition. Coast officers declare. | Radio experts of the Coast Guard and | engineers of the Naval Research Lab- oratory here are working on the refine- ment of the 500-vatt high frequency transmitter built at the laboratory. which communicates from the Grand Banks directly with Arlington. They | are also perfecting the 2-kilowatt trans- | mitter which broadcasts on long waves | information to ships regarding the lo- | cation of icebergs and weather condi- tions. | Each ship speeding through the ice 2 1séd radio power generating apparatus infested areas by night or in fog plays | FHC PRt y believe will make i possible & game of chance. 7The "'"3 Ship | for transoceanic planes to send and re- minimizes the danger by giving eacl vessel all possible information in regard | 10 the set and drift of the ice and its lo- cation at all times. To obtain this infor- mation requires considerable cruising in search of bergs and after finding trail- | ing them to determine their move- | ments, Bv means of radin in“rmesien ©oom | ships passing through the lee regions the zrea under surveillancs of the pa- trol has been greatly enlarged. The pa- | trol vessel assumes the role of a radio | clearing house and disseminates a di- ¢ 2d report for the entire region. Mer- pt vessels Canadian direction find- 1z stations and United States shore | stztions aid the patrol Radio contact with the patrol usually | ix made by ships at a distance of about 459 miles and west of the Grand Banks, Durtag 1977 there were 5,543 reports re- crived from passing steamers concerning ithelr position course, speed and s vater temperatures. A survey of the radio work for the year shows that seheduler betwesn the naval radio sta- tions and the patrol ships were main- | tro! board is of very latest design, spe- cially corstructed for radio broadcasting by the R.C A The power board from | which the motor generators and storage | batteries are controlled is also loc within & room adjacent 0 the program control panels. Here the voltage and | power required on the amplifier, etc.. I8 regulated and distributed. The motor generators are Jocated in another room | where the nolse of these mechines will not intertere with proper monitoring The storage batteries alwo are sepa- rately located in an acidproof room properly ventilated 1o remove noxious urses given off by the charging and discharging sworage hatteries Pluced in front of the main ecntrol | panel is a table on which are several | Morse Instruments. which ensble the setion safl 1o keep in close Wuch with the Red and Blue Network sta- tons and the American Telephone & Telegroph Co's main control hoard Sufficient equipment has been pro- videa 1o enable the simullaneous trans- mission of three disunetly separate nrograms. should the occasion arise Necessary spare equipment alw s pro- vided Washed Alr Supplied In ewch studio & small desk placed besiGe Lhe obsery window contains the ADDOUNCET's COMIOL box, Which per- s the BONOUNCEr Lo operate swilches | vieusly seb up by the engineers | irough the pressing of small buttons | |located on the fuce of the panel A [series of red and green vignal lamps indicates the position of the remote | switchies and visr announcers of sev- | eral oMher conditons Both studios and | control rooms are supplied v it washed a dehydiated alr, insuring plenty of 0 eir for those within ‘The | double windowe W Lhe outside may Thue be kept permanently closed, pre enting Ui paesage of sound o olher peite of e bullding snd vice versa o | has G MCEIRth, engineer-in-chisge N B C swdios and Blation W will continue to pervise the opers- tim of the plant and WRC. , | welght ITALK ON RABBIT RAISING. [t M tained more eonsistently than ever be- fore. This is attributed to the higher power used by naval stations and the versonal co-operation of individual op- erators both ashore and afloat. The iee patrol was inaugurated fol- lowing the sinking of the Titanic. RADIO FOR PLANES | FORCED DOWN AT SEA Navy Engin?erl Devise Apparatus| for Two-Way Communication in Event of Trouble. Br the Associated Press 1 Navy engineers declare they have de- | ceive messages after they have been forced down at sca. | Information concerning this equip- | ment will not be magde public until| patents have been obtained. At that| time it will be available for use on all | aireraft. | Radio operation in most well equipped planss has been dependent on electri~ cal generators which get their propel- ling power from wind-driven fansat- tached o the wing of the plane. As s00n as the plane goss down the radio power supply is cut off. The apparatus now being designed affords continuous power. ‘The Navy enuginecrs regard long dis- ance overseas flight hout adequate two-way" radio sets as hazardous. In the disastrous Dole flllhul. from San Prancisco to Honolilu® last S8ummer, the plane of Art Goebel the winner, was the only one that carried both sending and (sceiving sets The ill-fgted Miss Doran hac no radio appardtus and Jack Frost, win plloted the Golden Eagle on its tragic \oyage. declined to take a sending set on account of its The Dallas Spiri'. from whichy came the dramatic messay®. “We are in a spin—BOS." did not have & recelv- ing set. Col. Charles Lindbergh carried no radio because of the welght it vould add to his heavily burdened plane, Navy experts are working on th» aroblem of designing transmitting and recejving sets which combine the q ties of lightness and ruggedness. The making of light welght continuous pow- er equinment for commercial planes s | an easler task than the designing of similar apparatus for Navy eraft, they ! wnsert, The Department of Agriculture radio | service will brondeast & spscial 10- minute talk on rabbit ralsing through | 60 commercial radio stations Jan- | uary 26 | The talk will be of & popular nature | and is designed primarily for farmers | and townspeople who raise a few rabhits a sideline A second talk on rabbit | ralsing i» scheduled for March 26, Amateur Is Congratulated, The honor of heing the first amateur | to communicate by wireless with (he French ’lmhv-umn of Muadagascar falls epin of Vernon. France. used a short wave length w | ernor General of Madegascar has sent | him » telegram of congratulations. Lessens Microphone Fright, As an nid toward minimiging what fs now known s microphone fright, the British Broadcasting Co. has tried con- verting its studio Inio a small (ieater complete with audlenee and spotlights The system ia said 0 be a sticoess . “Now You Can € . INSULITE from your Dealer t here in - WASHINGTON righ the |broadest programs and the best idivid- {the rules of the air, Mr. Caldwell says. They have been assigned preferred Keep warmer in winter at less fuel cost—keep cooler in summer— enjoy the better health conditions that such insu. lation makes sure —byincluding in your house specifications CALDWELL HOLDS | increases, or as better individual pro- | to those channels. P n}nsfllzncd these channels if it can be channels because of their individual local history and standing as stations and not because of any chain or other connections. In fact, about twenty of these stations had no chain service when given their present assignments, but have since chosen to contract for the program service offered by one of the chains. That they are free to do this is evident, since by the radio act of 1927 the commission expressly has no authority over programs. “The supply of two hours of daily pro- grams from a common source of pro- gram material certainly has no more relation to the Independent character of the station than the supplying of two columns of syndicated news matter to the leading newspapers in 20 cities, Trom a central news bureau, would have on the independent control, character or policy of these papers. May Contest Channe “At present the time occupled by these chain programs averages less than two hours per day, for each sta- tion. Later if this purely chain time grams are developed by other stations now below 1,000 kilocycles, such sta- tions have recourse to contest the right And they will be shown that such reassignments would. from the standpoint of diversification most popular in their respective communities | and nearly all are independently owned | casters, the attitude or the commission and operated. They are invariably the | always has been particularly sympa- stations having the best apparatus. the | thetic toward the small stations and “With respect. to independent broad- the independent operators who make 680 stations on the air. In fact, the ' small stations which are doing a good | shell. Near to the reproducer the sides | Kissing Contests By Radio Parties AreHeldinFrance By tha Associated Press. PARIS.—Radio kiss contests now are under way. France is looking for the champion radio loud kissers and radio parties hold contests for nominees. Two persons, preferably of the opposite sex, hold wires connected with terminals and the radio set. As soon as their 1ips meet an electric contact is established and the loud speaker records the smack. Piati SPIRAL SHELL SPEAKER. Correspondence of the Associated Press. PARIS.—The latest in French loud speakers s in the shape of a spiral 7 COLLEGE STATIONS PROVIDE PROBLEM Representatives of Land Grant In- stitutions and Commission Seek Solution. By the Amociated Press. ‘The problem of providing satisfactory wave lengths and power for college radio stations is being worked out by the Ped- | eral Radlo Commission, with the co-op- | eration of a committee representing the | Assoctation of Land Grant Colleges. Twenty Land Grant Colleges, which | are supported by Pederal and State aid. | regularly send out radio educational programs. some of them giving exten- | slon courses. ‘While most of the college stations re- {of the throat are covered with a very | . satisfactory broadcasting conditinns, | | of programs, be in the greatet interest | =— | of distant as well as local listeners. | jop in ual records of faithful observance of | up by far the greatest number of the thin felt. It is claimed that this method elimi- nates all metallic sound. The effect is to deaden the sound a little but im- prove the tone. their communities have been given every possible advantage. and where such stations are in isolated re: gions, increases in power have been au thorized up to the limits of interfer- ence elsewhere. Unfortunately, how- ever, as is generally known, we have not ‘half enough channels to permit good service by our 680 stations.” This many-purpose wood-fiber insulating board - - - . 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