  Recently Alexander and Gulyaev have suggested that the apparent decrease in
impact broadening of radio recombination lines seen at high principal quantum
number n may be a product of the data reduction process, possibly resulting
from the presence of noise on the telescope spectra that is not present on the
calculated comparison spectra. This is an interesting proposal. However, there
are serious problems with their analysis that need to be pointed out. Perhaps
the most important of these is the fact that for principal quantum numbers
below n = 200, where the widths are not in question, their processed generated
profile widths do not fit the widths of the processed lines obtained at the
telescope. After processing, the halfwidths of the generated and telescope
profiles must agree below n = 200 if we are to believe that the processed
generated linewidths above n = 200 are meaningful. Theirs do not. Furthermore,
we find that after applying the linewidth reduction factors found by Alexander
and Gulyaev for their noise added profiles to our generated profiles to
simulate their noise adding effect, the processed widths we obtain still do not
come close to explaining the narrowing seen in the telescope lines for n values
in the range 200 < n < 250. It is concluded that what is needed to solve this
mystery is a completely new approach using a different observing technique
instead of simply a further manipulation of the frequency-switched data.
