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Show UNITED STATES CONELRAD EXERCISE Radio Stations to Leave Air July 20 in CD Test Every radio and TV station In the United States will go off the air at 3:10 p. m. (EST) on July 20. For the next 15 minutes the only broadcasting in the nation will be done by 1.2f stations which have Joined the Federal Civil Defense Administration's "Conelrad" plan for emergency broadcasting. AH of these stations will broadcast broad-cast on one of the two civil defense frequencies (640 or 1240 kilocycles). They will use only special material prepared for Operations Alert, 1956. It will be the first full fledged test of the ability of the Conelrad Conel-rad stations to reach the public with the all-Important civil defense de-fense broadcast which will be the nation's only broadcast source of official information and Instruction In event of an enemy air attack. Conelrad (Plan for the Control of Electromagnetic Radiation) H a system devised by the Air Force, the broadcasting industry and the Federal Government to make possible the vital broadcasting broad-casting of official information and civil defense Instructions in times of emergency. Under normal nor-mal broadcasting, it would be possible for an' enemy plane to tune Its direction finder to a station broadcasting in a target city and "ride the beam" right into its target. Under the Conelrad plan, all stations sign off the air when an alert is signaled. Conelrad stations sta-tions then reduce power, change their broadcasting frequency to 640 or 1240 kilocycles and return re-turn to the air. Conelrad stations in each city form a cluster. These stations broadcast a common program, with each of the cluster stations on the air for only a few seconds at a time. The frequent switching switch-ing from one station to another makes it impossible for a bomber bomb-er pilot to use the radio signals for navigation purposes. In smaller communities, where only one station is in the Conelrad Conel-rad system, it will broadcast at either 640 and 1240 kc for a short period, then be off the air for a number of minutes. The on-the-alr, off-the-alr program will continue until the end of the Conelrad Drill on July 20. Radio stations will publicize the Conelrad drill in advance, warning listeners to expect the Interruption to normal broadcasting broad-casting to shut down and tune to 640 or 1240 on home radio |