The FCC saved lives during WW2

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W2DU:
Todd, I scanned Sterling's History of the RID....., and put it on a CD. I can supply a copy of the CD to anyone, someone who could make additional copies for anyone who would be interested. Could some procedure be worked out to perform this task?

Walt

W3SLK:
Walt, when did the FCC come into existance? Wasn't it originally a division of the Commerce Department in its infancy stages?

W2DU:
Hello Mike,

During the early and mid twenties the Commerce Dept issued licenses to broadcast stations, but had no clout with respect to regulation. The result was chaos, because there was no means for denying a license and no means for separating stations by wavelength, there were only two or three wavelengths allowed, and the term 'frequency' hadn't yet been established.

Herbert Hoover was the Secretary of Commerce, so it was he who issued all radio licenses, including amateur. By 1926 the chaos was so rough Hoover persuaded Congress to crack down, which it did by passing the Radio Act of 1927, resulting in the formation of the Federal Radio Commission. (My first license was issued by the Federal Radio Commission, 1933.) However, to facilitate a broader scope of communications than merely radio, by passing the Communications Act of 1934, Congress transformed the Federal Radio Commission into the Federal Communications Commission.

One of results of the Radio Act was to give the Radio Commission the power to regulate the broadcast spectrum. Another of the results was to divide the broadcast spectrum into frequency slots  for assigning stations at every 10 Khz. The result was astounding, because spreading the stations around the frequency slots eliminated the chaos. Another action the newly-formed Commission took was to demand that the frequency of each station must be within +/- 50 Hz with respect to the assigned frequency, so as to control the heterodyning between stations on the same frequency. The low-frequency response of radios of that era was such that a 50-Hz beat frequency was practically inaudible. However, as the low-frequency response of radios increased, the beat notes became noticeable. Consequently, the newer Communications Commission reduced the frequency tolerance to +/- 10 Hz, where it remains today.

I'm sure you'll find much more on this subject by searching in Google. This is just a starter.

Walt

Todd, KA1KAQ:
Quote from: W2DU on February 04, 2011, 05:29:47 PM

Todd, I scanned Sterling's History of the RID....., and put it on a CD. I can supply a copy of the CD to anyone, someone who could make additional copies for anyone who would be interested. Could some procedure be worked out to perform this task?


Walt, I have a friend who does this type of thing regularly. Let me talk with him and see if he has some free time in his schedule. It would be wonderful to have Mr Sterling's account available to all who would like to read it. I recall the forward explaining how close the book came to being lost to history after his passing.

Steve - K4HX:
Later today, I will post a link to a copy of Sterling's history of the RID. Anyone will be able to download and enjoy.

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