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quarter to a half million on each of these stations. And that was
considered exceptional. Even so, on some nights due to atmospheric
conditions there would be a static, or the program would fade out
at times; and on other nights it could not be heard at all in
farther away states.
To make it still plainer, let us take an imaginary example.
Suppose a listener just a mile or so out of St. Cloud, Minn., has
been listening to the Canadian station of 50,000 watts, located in
Saskatchewan, at the very top of the dial, 540. He wants to tune
to a program about to come in over KSTP, Minneapolis-St. Paul, a
50,000-watt station at the very opposite end of the dial. Now if
he turns the dial along rapidly, only three or four stations will
come in loudly and clearly enough to arrest his attention, provided
the volume is not turned on very loud. Suppose, now, our Mexican
station was located at 950 on the dial---which it isn't. I can't
reveal the exact channel offered us at this time, but it's just as
good as 950, and this will serve to illustrate. If this listener
were turning the dial rather rapidly, with volume half way up, he
would hear a brief sound for a fraction of a second as he went past
670 and 720, two of Chicago's 50,000-watt stations. But the
chances are he wouldn't even notice a sound as he went past a large
number of 5,000-watt stations in Bismark, N. Dak., Chicago,
Yankton, S. Dak., Omaha, and other points. If he turned the volume
clear up, and turned his dial very slowly, then he could hear all
these stations, and also such farther-away 50,000-watt stations as
Nashville, Cincinnati, and Detroit, or even Atlanta, Ga., Dallas
and Ft. Worth, Texas. But, with volume down low, and turning
fairly rapidly, the first station to come in sharp and loud enough
to arrest his attention would be WCCO, Minneapolis, 50,000-watts,
only about 50 miles away, at 830 on the dial. Turning on he'd pass
a number of other stations he could hear if he tuned carefully and
turned the volume on full---but the very next station to really
STOP him would be our station, across the Mexican border, at 950---
and this would REALLY STOP him, coming in just about as loud, as
clear and even and plain, as the 50,000-watt Minneapolis station
only 50 miles away, or as the local St. Cloud station only a mile
away, 1450 on the dial, or KSTP, St. Paul, 50,000-watts only some
50 miles distant.
Now, at 1040 on the dial, if he turned the volume on a
little louder, this listener easily could pick up WHO, Des Moines,
which would come in at St. Cloud very good, tho not nearly as loud
as the Minneapolis stations. Also, at 1200, he could, if he
turned the volume on full, and tuned carefully, bring in WOAI---
just as he could other 50,000-watt stations in Denver, Salt Lake,
Louisville and Nashville, Cleveland, Detroit, New Orleans, Atlanta,
Dallas, and other points. But do you see what I'm trying to make
clear? Unless he turned his dial SLOWLY, with the volume on so
full that in turning past his local Minneapolis and St. Paul
stations or our 250,000-watt station, it would almost break his
ear-drums, he would not ever happen to catch the program on a
50,000-watt station so far away as San Antonio. Yet our Mexican
station, with 250,000 watts of power, would come in SO LOUD, he
would almost have to stop and listen.
The point is, that for every one who happens to catch our