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About The Omaha morning bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 1922-1927 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 3, 1925)
(IN TH E WORLD OF RAPkT" Two Features in Radio Program 1 se of Short Waves and Wire Interconnction of Im portance. By ,IIDGE S. B. DAVIS In radio development during the last year two factors are outstanding —-the us# of the short waves and wire Interconnection of stations. Both are of great importance. The short wave has found its place in commercial and amateur transoceanic communication and In transmission for relaoadcast )ng both at home at^d to places ncross the seas. In domestic use It is a rival of wire interconnection, both being a means to the same end, the fumish 'ng of simultaneous programs to sev eral stations. I consider Interconnection, In which ever mode effected, almost essential ’.o the future of broadcasting, If we sre to look at radio as a means of service to all our people all the time. It ultimately means national pro grams, nation wide utterances, more valuable subject matter and that great happenings In which our people have so vital an Interest will be made available to everybody. To give them an Immediate touch with national and world happenings must result in bet ter citizenship. We have already seen examples of nation-wide communication In the simultaneous broadcasting on several occasions by stations from the Atlan tic to the Pacific, and it Is now a nightly practice within extensive areas. All this has happened in the last year. It Is transforming broad casting from a local to a national ser vice, and this not by way of detriment to the local stations, which are the backbone of the system, but as an.ad vantage to them. Interconnection, with Its corrallary of national service. Is only Just begin ning. It will go much further. Its development, together with some gen eral rise In the power level of stations for the overcoming of static and inter ference. giving us really useful recep tion, will I believe be the principal Im provements In the Immediate future. I look for remarkable development along these lines for the good of broadcasting, which means for the benefit of the listener, during the coming year. P adio Consumes Leisure Hours Modern Inventions Have Giv en Man More Time for Diversions. What shall we do with our leisure time? To many busy men and to large numbers of women engrossed In the cares of home or of social Interests this question may not at first appeal. Yet the busiest men and women have more leisure than they realize. I.abor-saving machinery, shorter hours of labor, quicker means of transportation, the Increased number of holidays, and the growth of the annual vacation habit have helped In crease the number of hours left over from the job of making a living. .Survey Planned. The whole question of utilization of leisure has again been brought to widespread discussion by the recent announcement of the Carnegie cor poration that It will make a thor ough survey, in order to determine how the public can best uae Its lei sure. In making the study they will enlist organizations, educators, art ists and scientists In an effort to point the way to cultural Improve ment. Without anticipating the conclu sions of these spare time research ers, It Is safe to say that radio as one solution of the problem will be offered. Radio, even in the short period of popularity which It has had, has done more to provide pleas ant, profitable and sane use of lei sure than any other utility that has appeared In many generations. Radio Popularity Gains. "Absence of occupation Is nut rest: a mind quite vacant Is a mind dis tressed," Is still true. Radio as a new agency for the employment of leisure has much to commend It, both for real enjoyment and for Us permanent contributions to personal growth and happiness. “Its popularity Is Indicate! !y the fact that the number of radio sets In use In this country today numbers between 2,000,000 and 3,000,000, and is increasing constantly. Furthermore, radio has proved n double-barreled time killer, since they not only enjoy listening to radio broadcasting but have had an equal amount of pleasure in building their own receiving sets. For example, approximately 100,000 persons have made for themselves sets of the well known Acme Reflex type. A popu lar booklet, "Amplification W lthout Distortion," has led thousands of men and boys, and not a few wom en, to construct their own sets. The possibilities of radio In pro Tiding popular entertainment, mental Year’s Progress in Reflex Circuits By VICTOR GREIF, E. E„ I. R. E. Of one development during the year there Is no doubt—reflex circuits have coma to stay. For a time It seemed that this Interesting class of circuits was just a playground for experiment ers and amateurs, but the past year's developments, seasoned by a summer In the laboratory, Indoor and out, have proven up to all the demands. Since many amateurs have had good, results with reflex circuits, and some have had just the reverse, so that "some swear by them and others at them,” ns the saying goes, it will be necessary to describe the classes of "reflexes" and show how the best In them has gradually been developed. A reflex circuit: ns is well known, is one In which one or more of the tubes are used for both radio fre quency and audio frequency amplifi cation, thus giving greater power for each tube used. In crystal reflexes the signal after radio amplification is put through a transformer into a crystal rectifier and becomes an audio or sound cur rent, and is further amplified. The use of a crystal has very im portant advantages: 1. It avoids the use of a detector tube with grid leak and condenser, the most uncertain factor in radio, which is usually the sent of tone dis tortion, and replaces it by an ele ment which in its nature must give perfect tone. Every one who has used a crystal set knows it does this in practice as well as theory. Reflex Circuits, Step by Step. 2. The tube which would be needed as detector can be used twice, as R. F. and audio amplifier and act far more efficiently. This gain In efflcl i-rrzr~ I__ _ llow a two-tube reflex set employing a variometer in the antenna elrrnlt appears. Tills receiver was very popular a month ago. eney Is comparable to the use of re generation. The diagrams of reflex circuits are very difficult to trace and to read un til one gets the "hang" of them. Tills may be accomplished very quickly by 1 breaking them up by the step by step ! method. 1 It will be seen by figure 1 that a standard reflexed tube le developed from one stage of radio frequency amplification and a crystal detector. ’ This is shown with a headset to re ‘••‘Voii&s .-v ceive the audio signal. It will be seen that this headset has no connec tion with the tube circuits except through the coupling in the reflex transformer. There is no difficulty therefore in substituting the primary / of an audio transformer for the head set at M and cutting the grid return wire at N and Introducing the audio secondary. Following this operation will make It plain how the signal after conver sion to sound in the crystal is stepped up in the audio transformer and again amplified in the, tube, coming out finally at O. This diagram shows the basic prin ciple of the reflex circuit. If an an tenna is coupled to the tuned coll we have a reflex receiver of the simplest type. It is, however, very faulty In design, since there Is no me; r Back panel view of — the Multiflex, a commercial application of the four-tube reflbx, which I* equivalent in output to a six or seven-tube receiver. control, and while many such receiv ers have been built by amateur, it is a matter of luck whether they work or not. If the crystal happens to match the circuit it will work, if not the efficiency is low. A circuit which is typical of the reflexes of a year ago Is shown be low. This uses a variometer and a condenser in a single circuit hookup. There Is one reflex tube and one straight audio. While rather difficult to control, when built with proper parts this circuit has proven a good distance getter and operates a loud speaker well. It will be remembered that on the first evening of the transatlantic A standard single tube reflex cir cuit, using«tha tube for one stage of audio and radio frequency combined with the crystal serving as a de tector. tests a delighted fan telephoned WOHS from Lakewood, N. J., and proudly reported his log of the Aber deen broadcast received on one of these two-tube sets. Those who know him say he is still quite puffed up about having his achievement broad cast to the world. More than mere distance getting Is expected of a set these days, however, and the real progress of the year In reflex circuits has been from these “two tubes" that were quite remark able in their way, to a more highly finished set, one which will give a maximum of entertainment value. For this It Is necessary to have: 1. Ease of tuning, fixed reading and not too many dials. 2. An absolutely “foolproof” reli able crystal. 3. An energy control to use the crystal to best advantage. 4. High selectivity. 6. Certainly and uniformity of re suits. 6. Sufficient sensitivity for loop operation and sure fine loud speaker volume under perfect control. The first attempt* to Increase the number of tubes In the reflex were not very successful. It was difficult to get the circuits to work, as the principle of crystal control was not developed. Finally a circuit was developed using the highly efficient, special re flex transformer used In previous work in combination with the type of highly efficient low loss colls used In filter tuners and superheterodyne couplers. This circuit was named the double selector multiflex, and had the fol lowing specifications: 1. As the name Indicates, double selector tuning. 2. Two radio stages, crystal recti fler and three audio, the equivalent of aix tubes, using four. 3. A special control of energy In the reflexed tube. 4. A last stage of very true toned, stable, reactance coupled audio ampli ficatlon, giving the effect of a power amplifier. This is shown In the cir cuit diagram shown. - "1 ---* 1 ■■ . . - ' -==- --- The latest development In rrflexing, malting four tubes do the duty of from six to seven, Is shown schematically, for rostruetlvs purposes, directly above. A panel riser of this set, com pleted, appears at the top of the diagram. _t_ and spiritual refreshment and In broadening the outlook of the aver age man and woman on Ilfs, are only beginning to be realized. The new art Is so wholesome, so democratic and universal In Its ap peal, and so susceptible of further development as a resource of cut ture, education and diversion, that it may well receive the thoughtful at tention of those who are trying to help humanity enjoy and Improve Itself. Cfyerk on Bronrlcatstern. Australian amateurs have organized a radio Institute, which meets period ically In a federal convention, and boasts of an official organ, The Kx perlmental Hndlo and Hroadcast News, the first number of which was published last August. This maga zine declares that the Australian Ha dlo Institute will examine all trans mitting stations, and will cancel the licenses of nil those whose work Is un natlsfactory as to production and lech nlonl means, and are, therefore, nui sances to the radio world. Owing to Illness of the author, the thli'il article in the series nn tin new railto principle of augments tlon Is mining on today's radio page. The article will he printed next week. v -/ /-,.. . \ Radio Programs v.--i Program for January 8. (Courtney of Radio Dlgeat ) My AMorlilfd Preae WOR. Buffalo (lit): 0-3 SO. music. KYW. Chicago USB): 0:26, Uncle Boh: 7. concert; S, musical; 3.06, Youth’s companion: 9 SB, Pun great classic; II 2. carnival, NlgUthawka. WON. Chicago (370): 6, organ; « SO. ooncart; 9 claaalcal; JO. danca. WU Chlrago (346); 7, lulliby tlma; 7:18, entertainer*. WMAQ. Chicago (447.B): 0. orrheafra; 0:30, radio photolngua; I, Chicago t ha uler revue. WQJ, Chicago <448> : 7, concert, ao prano, pianist. tenor; 10-2, Mkylark, me fodlani, entcrtalncra. WBAV, Columbus (4SS); 3, dance. W K A A, Pallaa New* (473): 8.30. fiera uadara- 11, orchestra. WOC, Davenport (414): 7:80, rellgluue; 8, orchestra, song*. ICTUS, Hot Spring* (S7B): 1:10. concert; JO 30, danca. W DA F. Kan*** City Star (411): 1-7, School of the Air; 11:46-1, Nlghthiwk frolic. WIIA S, lioulavllla Tlmaa (400): 7:80. concert. a WMC, Mernphla (101): I, story; 1:80, concert. WCCn, Mtnneapolla- St Paul (417): I. philosophic*. 8:10, announced; JO, nrch^a <‘AC, Montreal r428 ) t 8, atorlee; 4:10, concert; 7:30, atudlo; 0:10 dance WNJ. Newark ( 233): 9:10. revue WOR. Newark (403): a. •Mow to Diva 150 year*." WRIIR. New York (17.1): 7-7:50, trio, soprano. Bible WRAP, New York («»?): 3:30. boy** parted, 7, alngara; 8, orchaatra; 1°. dance WHN New York (|80) orchestra 7 in. entertainers, f, orchestra \9 3'’. dance. ,j I WJZ. New York (488): 4, orchestra; • :3o. dance. WNYC. New York (824): 4 IS. Chateau Four; 7:40, police quartet; 8:10, tnatiu mental noveltle* WCAL, Northfleld (340): It. mualcal KOO. Oakland (111): 4, concert; 10, drama. 12, danra. VVTAY. Oak Park (*M>! 4:48 artiste Wn, Philadelphia (»»6): 4, talk, 7, re cital. 4. concert. WDAR. Philadelphia (198): 4 40. talk. KDKA. Pittsburgh (324): 4:20, atory; 7:40. concert. WCA1C. Pittsburgh (441): 4 30. Uncla Kayb"*; 7:10. piano recital KOW. Portland Oregonian (491) t 12. orchestra. KPo Han Francisco (422): 10, or chestra. KK'IA, Seattle (488): 10.10. con ert, 12:08. 1nax KFQX. Seattle (214M 9 11. atory; 10. orchestra; II. concert; 12. dance KFNF, Shenandoah (244): 4 20. pro gram WHZ. Springfield (137): 4 20, trio 7:18. orcheatra; violinist, soprano, barl tone; 4:11, longi. piano, reader, * 48. orchestra. KHD, fit. T.oula Pott Ptapatch (844): 11-40. orcheatra Wfir. Washington (441) • 4 18. music; 7:18, Hilda talk: 7 10. concert, 9 30. or chestf-a; 10-18. organ WAIIO. Richmond Hill (414): 11 sere nad era. WO AW Program. Saturday, .lanuar) 9. 4:00 r M Dramatic hour. Pavia Htu-t o nf F,\ precision Helected readings and regular weekly le*aon In voice improve men» bv J Hlmmons Pavla 4 JO P M Sunshine Twins nf IJncnln Veb (Eleanoe Ackerman and Bather Katun J * 4S T. M—Ray Munj'a Clndaralla en tertalnera. 9 oo V M—Frograro from tha atudtoa of J. Kdward Carnal (voice) and Stanley .Tan l4t«V0kf (plaho), arranged by Mr. <’arnnl Rdna Carnal, accompanial. Contralto aoloa; (a) "Where My Caravan Heat floated” ....l«ohr (b) "A Clift of Koeea* ..Openehaw Jeanette Warren. Plano aoloa (a) "Old Vienna” .Oodowakv (b) "March of tha Dwarfa".Orla» Margaret Koibar*. Bean aoloa: (a) "The Armour Son*” .....Da Koven <b> "Out In tha Deep” .l.ohr Howard McMaatera Plano aoloa: <a) Poinnalao” ................ Chopin (b> Hungarian Done*” .Brahma Oretchen Handera Soprano aoloa: (a) 1 Would Weave a Son* for You” , , O'Hara (b) "l.a l.aran Hnaa”. Ardltl. Undo Ldndqulet. Plano eolo, "Whlaperin* Wlnda . Wollenliaupt Katherine Fugner. Moprano aoloa: m) "l.nve and Mualf* Puccini (ii) *T Oraamt That I Dwelt In Mar bla IIalia ' . Half* Mr* W U Pier Violin Solo— Ho | w ft a 1 Kly Ka«muaaen. Marl ton a Solo- Selected Vernon c. Horne Vneal duet. "Hark. Hark. Mv Sonl'.Mevin Mr-. W I 1’iar and Mra. Mary Danntal iMano eolo* in) "Cradle Hon*" . .. Brahma (b) Molly on the Shore (Balmier Margaret Carmichael. Contralto Solo— Haler fed Mra Mary Imnneal. Violin Solive-—Selected Fly Itaatnuaaen. Baritone aolo: Frank Warren Plano aoloa: • a> Polonalfa” Chopin (b) ".Tuba Dance' . ,|J#tt Jenaia Caiherina Ulllaapia. Soprano aoloa: <•) 'll Hacclo** .... ...ArdlU <bj "Aidant” .....Matcalf Moral a I'owall (dramatic soprano). 11:00 1* M Frank Hodak'a orohaatra at lloMUni! Oardtna 11 so iv M —Organ mualr. tranamlttad from World theater, Arthur Maya, or ganist. LOW WAVE LENGTH RECEIVERS SOUGHT Washington, D. C.—Radio manufac turers are urg«d to develop receivers which will enable their owner* to tune in etatione as lowr as *00 meters. Un less this Is done, It Is said, these low wave lengths will be practically value less for hfoadcaattng purposes, since they cannot be tuned In on the ordl nary set. There are very few sets on the market today that will go below 285 meters, while most of them will not go below *50 or *75 meters. Sev ern! class A ststlons have already been assigned wa\e lengths as low as 209 meters. Kailin Moltilircr. Radio was used successfully |n Chi cago to mobiles 14* nieml»ers of the 181st Infantiy In lea* than half an hour, and the entire regiment an swered roll call two hours after an assembly call had been radiocast When In need of help try Re* Want I Tuning Is Vital for Harmony m Radio Novice Must Under stand Why He Moves Dials. To understand what he Is doing when he moves the dials of hla set to certain positions, the novice in the radio art must learn a little bit of the theory of tuning. To receive a desired station the receiver must be in “harmony” with the sending sta tion. This function may be explain ed in a simple manner by considering the action of two violin strings ex actly alike in key, length and tension, and strung side by side. If a bow is drawn across one of the strings, caus ing It to vibrate, the string which was not touched by the bow also be gins to vibrate and send out sound waves. This happens because both strings are in “harmony” with each other, or are said to bt “in tune” with each other. Must Be in Tune. Similarly in radio, a receiver must be in tune with the sending stations one desires to receive. The wave length, or vibration period, must be Identical for both stations. For the most part the vibration period is gov erned by the effective length of the antenna. In the sending station the wave length Is always the same—hav lng a fixed value. But In the receiv ing set certain variable units are used which add to or deduct from the wave length of the antenna. The dials of the set are attached to these variable units, and by moving the dials one way or the other the period of vibration or frequency of the set is changed at will. The degree marks on the dial* show the degree of variation In the units Inside the eet. They do not neces sarily represent the wave lengths of broadcasting stations. The position of the dials for a certain station de pends more or less on the antenna attached to the receiving set. With two different antennas, that is. of different lengths, the positions of the dials for a certain wave length will lie different. It is because of this that It is impossible to know before hand at what positions the dials arc to be set for a certain station. It all depends on the antennas. No Two Alike. No two seta ars alike. The dials on one set will have entirely differ ent positions for a certain broadcast ing station than those of another set even with the same antenna, because the values of the variable units are different for every set. At the present stage of radio with sny receiver there is only one meth »d of tuning. After the set has been Installed the owner must begin to hunt for the desired stations. Once h# has located them he should “log” the positions of the dials for each station. After a week or two he will j then be able to set hla dial at the degree numbers which he has found Will bring In the station he desires., But tf be makes a change In the length of his antenna he will find that the positions of the dial for each station also will have changed. With receivers that use a loop an tenna. and thus may be carried around to different locatione without a change of conditions, the listener even may mark down the different stations' call letters opposite the de gree marks on which they are brought tn. But until he learns by the "pick end hunt” method where the different stations are found, the receiver cnnnot be marked for the stations. Nobody several hundred miles away can tell him where to set hts dials for any station. He must find the stations himself by search ing for them. New Merger in WireleM. A new merger tn the radio industry was consummated recently when the Inter-Ocean Kadlo corporation com pleted the purchase of the American Radio Phone and Manufacturing coin pany. The Inter-Ocean corporation will henceforth carry on ths business of both companies, operating three plants, two in Jersey City and one In Newark, according to the announce ment of W. P. Hum. Its president. Appreciation of Radio Is Growing Change in Attitude of Public Is Noted by Secretary Hoover. By IIKKBKRT HOOVKR. flic greatest development'in broad casting during the last year has not been in the application of new meth od* of transmission or reception, im portant as improvements, in these lines have been. It I* rather in the change in public attitude. listeners lire becoming more and more ap preciative of the real service of radio and increasingly critical both as to the character of the matter furnish ed them and as to the efficiency with which it reaches them. The whole broadcasting structure is built up on service to the listeners. They are beginning to realize their importance, to assert their interest and to voice their wishes. Broadcast ing must be conducted to meet t.helr demands and this necessarily means higher character in what is trans mitted and better quality in its re production to the ears of the listener. ■ - There is a growing realization on their part of the public responsibili ties they assume in conducting an agency so greatly affecting the cul tural progress of our people. The Innovations of which we hear »o much—national programs, wire inter connections, short wave rebroadcast Ing, increased power and wired radio, which are already playing »q im portant a part and are destined to have still greater influence for good —are based entirely upon the neces sity for meeting the growing popular requirment of better service. The demand will continue to increase, and new method* of efficiency will continue to be found to meet it. But beyond all. radio haa begun to enrich American life by a real contribution to the home. It yet has far greater service to perform in this way and I believe the next year will see great and more definite advance in this direction. Tuning Fork as • Signal Measure Errors Under This Method Are Between 5 and 10 Per Cent It !s frequently Important to meas ure the strength of received radio signals. Since the early days of radio rough measurements have been made by shunting the telephones with a resistance juat large enough to leave the signal barely audible. A more accurate method of measuring the telephone current hse now been de veloped at the bureau of standards, which is especially applicable to con tinuous wave signals with beat recep tion. In this the telephones are switched quickly from the receiving circuit to a local circuit In which a known alternating current from a 1,000-cycle tuning fork oeclllator flows. The amount of this current which passes through the telephones it regulated by a potentiometer. When the beat note of the signal is adjusted to 1.000 cycles and the strength of the local current adjusted so that the sound Intensity in the telephones is the same in the two portions of the switch the known local current in the telephonei is equal to that due to the signal. The errors in this method of meas urement are under favorable circum stances not greater than S per cent anJ do not exceed 10 per cent under ordinary condition# of continuous wave reception. In cases where the tone of the signal cannot be made to match the tuning fork oaclltator. as In the measurement of spark algnalf or atmospheric disturbances, the errors are greater. M Radto BU|. Atckieea. Kaasai Jbr Economical Traniportatiow J.W. Smith Chevrolet Co. 2060 to 2202 Farnom Straat Phono AT Untie 9111-9112-9113 SALES and SERVICE MIAMI HOTEL TO BROADCAST A new broadcasting station, operat ing under the call letters WMBK, will be opened this winter by the Fleet wood hotel, Miami Beach, Fla., ap cording to an announcement made by 'esse M. Jay, engineer In charge of Installation and operation. The wave length will be 830 meters and the two unit antenna, supported on needle towers, will have a capacity of 500 watts. The work of construction Is now under way. i standard V» Xfndtonter* I \ ^Hk 04 $L'« in»t*VUnt • Cn . r *, . vrr- 1 JP is-fsS^si; \ I IZj|* fo' \ \ fPl^ ^."uiPCET « I LcH*iI*IL!S-—1—*