[BC] putting phone calls on the air

[Rockwell Smith]

It seems to me it was more regulation than technology.  While the 
sophisticated hybrids we use today were not available back then, it was 
really quite easy to successfully put a call on the air using the simple 
canceling available in a the network in a normal phone, which brought the 
"near end" volume down to a level it didn't overpower the "far end" audio. 
My "hands on" knowledge only goes back to the early 60's, but various 
techniques had been around for quite some time then that made coupling a 
phone into the air mixer quite simple and satisfactory.  I have a Western 
Electric catalog from 1950 where the "recorder interface" was available, and 
I know many stations used that exact interface for many years to get phone 
audio on the air.  Unfortunately I don't have any of the old rules but I 
recall they were quite strict as to what was allowed, and the phone 
companies did not allow any non-telco stuff attached to their lines for a 
very long time.  And the point-to-point issues seems to ring a bell (no pun 
intended) also as to being a limitation.  I'm curious now that you've raised 
the question, but I don't think it was technology that was the determining 
factor at first.  It will be interesting to see what you ultimately find to 
resolve this question.

Rockwell Smith
Radio Engineering Manager
Journal Broadcast Group - Idaho
KJOT,  KQXR,  KRVB,  KTHI,  KGEM-AM,  KCID-AM
(208) 344-3511 - Main      (208) 947-5624 - Direct Line
(208) 947-6765 -Fax         (208) 869-6413 - Cell
Email:      rockwellsmith at journalbroadcastgroup.com
Personal website: http://www.engineer-exchange.com


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Donna Halper" <dlh at donnahalper.com>
To: "Broadcasters' Mailing List" <broadcast at radiolists.net>
Sent: Saturday, September 16, 2006 4:14 PM
Subject: [BC] putting phone calls on the air


> This is a semi-historical query.  I found an old clipping from January of 
> 1929 (!) wherein a Minneapolis/St Paul announcer successfully put callers 
> on the air.  I know that back then, the Federal Radio Commission (later 
> the FCC) did not permit phone calls to air-- I thought it was because of 
> technical problems that were not yet resolvable in the 1920s, but also the 
> FRC seemed to think phone calls were "point to point communication" rather 
> than mass communication.