Las Vegas Age

RADIO EXPERTS SUBMIT REPORTS ON ELIMINATION OF RADIO INTERFERENCE

Allen Foote, radio engineer licensed by the Federal Communications Commission, has made a rather detailed study of radio interference in Las Vegas and has made public a report on the subject at his own expense and through the courtesy of the local press in which he has classified the sources of radio static interferences, as follows:

Status

"Averages taken at 60 homes in two widely separated sections of Las Vegas show that an average home has four appliances that it uses. Of these four, an average of only one is radio interfering. This one average is made up of seven main types of appliances as follows:

"Electric razors-90 per cent of these are very bad noise makers; used 15 minutes per day. Interference covers three blocks.

"Vacuum cleaners-85 per cent of these are bad noise makers; used 30 minutes per day; covers one block.

"Sewing machines-85 per cent of these are moderate noise makers; used two hours per week; covers 1/2 block.

"Food mixers-50 per cent of these are bad noise makers; used 1 hour per week; covers one block.

"Washing machines-15 per cent of these are moderate noise makers; used two hours per week; covers one block.

"Heating pads (automatic) - 50 per cent of these are TERRIBLE noise makers; used six hours per week at odd times; covers 10 blocks.

"Fans-4 per cent of these are bad noise makers; six hours per day, in summer; covers 2 blocks.

"Flatirons-4 per cent of these are bad noise makers; used 4 hours per week; covers one block.

"Power line troubles causing radio interference are on 24 hours per day when they start and an average of one or more a week break out in odd sections of town, causing bad reception from 5 to 20 square blocks, depending on how bad it is. These very seldom are on for over a week before detection and elimination at present."

Mr. Foote suggests several steps toward elimination of radio interference, among them, in brief, the following:

Ban the sale or use of all defective electrical appliances.

Hire one man acquainted with locating power line troubles and with appliances and electric filters, with automobile equipped with radio, 44 hours each week. Thirty hours to be spent in house to house complete coverage of Las Vegas and Westside. The balance of 14 hours per week to be spent in systematic inspection of electrical distributing systems twice or three times daily.

To locate and report to the power company or the city and cooperate in stopping the radio noise with the least possible delay.

To check on all changes of occupancy and inspect all new appliances used.

To inspect all radio appliances for radio interference and install the necessary filters, and as to safety; if unsafe, inform owner to have it repaired for the protection of all members of the family. If wiring is found to be at fault to report same to city electrician.

Inspect meters and place condensers and necessary ground wires, etc.

Mr. Foote estimated that it will take from 45 minutes to one hour to inspect and install filters where necessary on each of the 3,000 homes and business places and that it will take from 75 weeks to 100 weeks to complete the work.

The cost to owner or occupant will average about one dollar. The cost to an owner having a maximum of five noisy appliances, including meter condenser and ground, $2.00.

Average cost of automobile upkeep, $10 per week.

The power company will spend from $3,000 to $4,000 per year on the basis of one or two calls per week to repair possible trouble on their lines, based on past experience.

A competent man can be had locally. It is especially necessary to secure a local man for the job so that after the main campaign is over he can take care of the situation on a part time basis.

A profit of 20 per cent on cost of filters sold to the public will provide approximately $200 per year to take care of cases where people are unable to pay for the necessary service.

Mr. Foote estimates that the cost of a 75-week campaign would be: $2,700 for man's wages; $750 for auto upkeep; $2,500 cost to the owners of appliances or houses; $180 for miscellaneous expenses and $3,000 cost to the power company, a total for the 75 weeks of $9,130. Of this amount the cost to the city (Continued on Page Four)
Radio Experts Submit Reports on Elimination of Radio Interference
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would amount to $3,630, wages and auto upkeep of the man. If the campaign should run 100 weeks (practically two years) the cost to the city is estimated at $3,600 for man's wages and $1,000 for auto upkeep and expenses.
In concluding his report, Mr. Foote lists hospitals and business houses as special cases. However, these do not bother for more than one or two blocks and are not serious except where the business house is located in a residential district.
Continuous interference radiated by the 33,000-volt power lines of the power company contribute only about one per cent of the total interference and bothers only about one per cent of the population. This can be somewhat reduced by the power company and the city, especially the city, in removing their street light wires from the poles that carry this high voltage and putting them on separate poles, on the opposite side of the street from the high voltage line. Then the few people it will then affect can overcome it by installing a proper antenna. It is to be remembered that this continuous noise only bothers reception in daytime.
The city street light circuit contributes almost one-half as much to noisy reception as the intermittent troubles on power lines which break out from time to time.
With this extensive plan, appliance interference will be reduced to about 1 per cent and power troubles to about the same amount. An overall liberal estimate would be to say that 95 per cent of present noises will be stopped, provided a continuous check-up campaign as is suggested is kept up after the main campaign is over.
Mr. Foote gives as his experience in daily contact with radio reception and interference problems and in repairing all makes of radios in Las Vegas during the past 10 years that much of the trouble with noisy or weak reception comes from three factors which can be readily corrected by the owner or by a competent radio man. These he classifies as noisy tubes; poor antenna installation or ground and loose connections on same; poor adjustment of the tuned circuits in the set itself.