WIRELESS WAVE-LENGTHS

Evening Star, Issue 21622, 18 January 1934, Page 9

WIRELESS WAVE-LENGTHS

THE NEW ALLOTMENT WORKING SMOOTHLY. (British Official Wireless.) Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. RUGBY, January 16. A great majority of the European broadcasting stations began services on the new wave-lengths allotted them by the Lucerne plan. On medium wave lengths the- change over has been effected smoothly, and it is generally expected that foreign reception will be much improved. . ■ Considerable trouble is being experienced in the long wave length band, owing to certain stations refusing to conform to the provisions Of the Lucerne plan, while there are several important non-signatories to the plan, including Holland, Sweden, and Finland. Considerable further adjustment will be necessary in the'‘allocation of long wave lengths before smooth working is secured. BROADCASTING IK EUROPE NEW WAVE LENGTHS. The Lucerne wave length plan, which has been adopted by most European countries, was to come into operation oh January 15. On the previous night European broadcasting was to cease at 11 o’clock. Then each station, as arranged, would in turn resume transmitting on its new wave length, broadcasting its name at least every two minutes until ft was properly located. The purpose of the plan (said the London ‘ Times ’) is to ensure the widest possible choice of programme free from mutual interference. The proposals have been agreed _ to by 27 countries, but there remain eight others —Hungary, Holland, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Luxembourg, Lithuania, and Greece —which have delayed their decisions. . A certain amount of preliminary experimental work was to bo ■ done after broadcasting hours between January 1 and January 14. The allocation of the medium wave bands was generally considered satisfactory, and if any trouble arose it would chiefly be concerned with the long wave lengths. The plan will be effective for two years, and at the end of that time its working will be examined at an international conference. "In theory the Lucerne plan allows for adequate wave band separation between the various broadcasting stations. Almost every broadcasting station m Europe is undergoing some change. < Although in many cases it is only slight, the alterations will make it necessary for listeners to recalibrate their receivers. The tendency in commercial receiver design is to include the names of stations on the tuning scale. Receivers so fitted will need to be altered by the manufacturers—a minor operation.