[News and Views]

Abstract

AT a conference on March 25, held by the principal broadcasting organisations, representatives from twenty European countries took part. A new scheme for the redistribution of wave-lengths in Europe was submitted and provisionally approved. The details of the scheme will now be considered by the various interested organisations from the point of view of local difficulties. Suggested amendments will be con sidered by the Committee of the Office International of Radiophonie, and a final scheme will be drawn up for the approval of the various Governments con cerned. The scheme divides broadcasting stations into two classes. The first class consists of those capable of guaranteeing good reception at long ranges. They receive an ‘exclusive’ wave-length, but every country receives at least one exclusive wave-length. The other class consists of low-power stations for the use of local listeners only. All this class will work on a common wave-length. Experiments have shown that each of these small stations can work without practical interference from the other stations using the same wave-length. To ensure satisfactory results it is absolutely necessary that the same standard type of wave - metre should be used by all the stations. This problem is being considered by a technical committee at Brussels under M. Raymond Braillard. No wave-lengths less than 200 metres have been allotted, and great pains have been taken to avoid unnecessary changes in wave-lengths already in use. It will be seen that the proposed solution is, perhaps unavoidably, not a perfect one. The ideal solution would be one in which every listener with a good valve set would be able to listen in to many of the small stations in Europe. If they all have a common wave-length this would be impossible. In the course of other meetings held at Geneva, committees were formed to consider pressing international broad casting problems with the object of finding practical solutions.