Crimson Network Gets Ready For Ambitious Fall Program

After its ups and downs of last Spring --when a program might be heard over one radio and be just scatic next door--the Harvard Crimson Network is at last ready to take to the air in earnest.

Oddly enough the Network, which can be heard on your dial along with the other Boston stations, doesn't really come over the air at all. Modelled after the system of Brown University, the programs this year will be carried by direct wire to the Houses and dormitories and then transmitted through the metal framework of the building to each radio set.

Before the use of direct wires, the Crimson Network tried to transmit by a little experiment of its own--the heating pipes which run under all college buildings. But trials of four weeks last Spring proved that the system was inconsistent. One radio could receive clearly while a set next door got nothing but crackle.

F. C. C. Steps in

Besides, the Network suddenly found itself at odds with the Federal Communications Commission. In its effort to reach all the rooms, the Crimson transmitter developed a signal which could be heard five miles away in Newton or Belmont, though it failed to reach the top floor of Dunster House. The government officials politely suggested that Harvard keep its new voice within bounds.

The Crimson Network had a slow and painful birth in the middle of last winter. After overcoming the lethargy of official permission, the station was faced with problems ranging from finance to studio equipment and transmission. At the moment, it is owned completely by the Crimson, although members of the Network are not necessarily members of the newspaper.

Fancy Studio

The studios, donated by the University, occupy a suite of rooms Shepherd Hall. Besides a transmitter in the basement and a completely equipped control room, the Network boasts a sound-proofed (or almost) studio with standing and table mikes, signal window to the control room, and a fine pair of turntables.

The brains behind the technical work are Charles W. Oliphant, '41, Technical Director; Gordon McCouch, '41, Technical Engineer; and Charles W. Davis, '41, Production Engineer. During September they will supervise the installation of the new direct wire system. Freshman are welcomed to watch the technicians at work in order to understand the Network before the competition for positions opens later in the Fall.

Along with Chairman William W. Tyng, '41, the programs are handled by Program Director Lawrence Lader, '41 and Production Director, Stanley O. Beren, '41.

The purpose of the Network is to supply programs that major networks, for one reason or another, cannot give. College news and feature interviews, like those with the Wellesley hoop-roll queen or Col. Stoopnagle, fill an important spot at 10.45. Primarily, the Network wants to be a test tube where new ideas in music drama or talks can be tested and tried.