Electrician and Mechanic, January, 1909, pages 310-311:

EDITORIALS

    A STRONG desire seems to exist among amateur wireless operators to obtain lists of the call letters of commercial and naval stations, whether on land or on ship. There are various ways in which these may be learned. The Navy Department has published a list of the wireless stations of the world. This is now considerably more than a year old, but is the only list to be had which makes any pretence to completeness. It lists many stations, however, which have never been established, some which have been discontinued, and by no means all that now exist. Many call letters are incorrectly given and practically all the Marconi calls are given as two-letter calls, while in practice they are now all three-letter calls.

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    SEVERAL individuals are advertising and selling lists of wireless calls. We have purchased and examined all we have been able to find. All of them contain many errors, and are manifestly based upon the Navy list.

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    IT has been suggested by many of our readers that we publish a complete and up-to-date list of at least all calls of American land stations and ships plying in American waters. We have taken this question up with all the commercial wireless companies, but they have raised such strong objections that we have decided that the plan is not one to be carried out. The commercial companies claim that their business is greatly interfered with by experimenters, who call up their stations and break in upon commercial messages.

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    ALTHOUGH we possess a complete and official list of call letters of all American stations, therefore, we have decided to publish no more information of this character except with the consent of the companies concerned.

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    WE wish to call to the attention of the members of our wireless club the serious damage they may do to the cause of wireless experimenting by careless or mischievous interference with commercial and naval work. Many experimenters are so anxious to have some one to communicate with that they call up any station in the vicinity whenever they want to talk. Oftentimes commercial operators are willing and able to talk to amateurs, but usually they are not. In such cases, we understand it is not uncommon for the amateur to deliberately interfere with the receiving of messages on important matters, to get even, as they express it. We are informed that one crabbed individual living near Boston has installed a very powerful apparatus, and spends his evenings in deliberately drowning every message sent or received by a naval station near by. This is an extreme case, and the naval authorities will eventually catch this man. But carelessness may be as effectual as malice in interfering with business, and we ask our readers to be careful not to interfere with other wireless work.

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    THERE is a very good reason for this request. The Navy Department and the commercial companies together will make a strenuous effort this winter to get a bill through Congress requiring all wireless stations to be licensed. It is not probable nor desirable that this should occur, but every case of interference strengthens the argument for licensing. So always stop sending, when asked to by those whose business means something to the world. Don't get the idea that the ether is free, for Uncle Sam has police powers even over the ether, if he cares to exercise them.

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    WE are preparing to assign wireless calls to all members of our wireless club. In order to prevent any confusion, we have consulted with the commercial companies, and find the situation is as follows: The United States Navy has utilized about half the possible two-letter combinations. The United Wireless Company has a very large number of two-letter calls and some one-letter calls. The Marconi Company uses three-letter calls exclusively. We have charted all these calls and shall assign three-letter calls to all our members. Every call will have prefixed the letter E. The other two letters will be so chosen as not to conflict with any commercial station within three hundred miles.

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    CHICAGO is hustling as usual. The first local wireless club, Local No. 1 is already organized. New York will probably be second. Who will form No. 3?

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    WE learn that many of you would like to earn the wireless set (the $175 one), but are afraid to begin because some one must have such a good start that it is no use. Now just get over that. There are a few others getting to work, but we want to tell you right here that if you will go out and get half a dozen subscriptions to-day you will be in the first fifteen or twenty, and have as good a chance as anybody. The real scrap will come in January, but get busy right off, and you will probably land the set. If you all hold back now and see some one cantering off with the prize with less subscriptions than you could easily get, you'll be sorry.

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    WHEN the United States officials at Washington advertise for bids on airships or wireless apparatus, they are ten years ahead of science. Witness the specifications for the 100-kilowatt station for Washington. The man who can come up to them has solved the whole wireless problem for all time.