Evening Star Newspaper, December 14, 1924, Page 39

EWRAnm SIA‘"UN RADIO ‘GOSSIP AND NEYi WSAI SOON TO OCCUPY RADIO’S BEST OFFERINGS AMATEUR STATION 3LF I RADIO QUERIES SECOND -HOUR OF MUSIC. TO.OPEN IN DENVER Forms Third of Broadcasting Chain MamtamedA by Gen- eral Electric. DENVER, Colo.,, December 13.—An- other national radio voice, KOA, the Rocky Mountain broadcasting sta- tion of the General Electric Co. at Denver, Colo., is scheduled to go on the air Monday night. The wave length for the present will be 323 neters and the power rating 1,500 ratts, Opening of KOA marks the com- pletion of the Genegal Electric n of three broadcasting stations across the United States—WGY at Schenec- tady, N. Y, and KGO at Oakland, Calif. KOA is the half-way point between the Mississippi and the Pacific and tanada and Mexico, and will be heard by millions from one end of the American continent to the other. Al- ready hundreds of letters, telegrams and fong - distance telephone calls have been received at the station in response to a series of unannounced tests under the experimental call let- ters, 9XA, during the dead of the night for the last two weeks, A public reception at the station will take place December 18, and will be attended by a number of prom- inent state and city officials. Thvita- tions have been extended to numerous radia officlals. Cost of construction approximated s ,000 and it was estimated the an- nual cost of maintenance will reach $100,000. The KOA staff when com- pletely organized, will number 20 members, including a . resident en- &ineer In charge of technical opera- tions, program manager, operators and announcers and members of the news bureau and the office personnel KOA's antenna system, 120 feet long, is 150 feet above the ground @nd fs supported by two triangular steel towers 0 feet apart. Directly beneath is the two-story studio build+ ing, in which is housed a large recep- tion room. waiting room for artists, general offices and a concert studlo 4 auxiliary or speakers' studio, In rear and adjoining is a one-story erhouso and generator room. ¥or the preseat programs will be broadcast three. nights a week, the dates to be announced later, in addi- ticn to Sund features. Harry D. Randall, Roecky Mountain district manager of the General Electric Co. will have local supervision of the sta- tiom. - s Must Scrape Radiator Pipes. Alminum paint is made of powdered Rluminum and oil, and for this reason the aluminum_paint of a radiator or cold-water pip# to which a ground wire is conneeted should he scraped off be- fore the wire is attached. Aluminum is a rductor tricity and is ire from the ac- ground c: Scrape the pipe 1d make the connection firm by means of a ground clamp. Signals will be louder and tuning sharper. Changing Tube Sockets. A sct that is cquipped with three or more tubes will work better If the tubes changed from one socket to another. amplification factor of a given type | tube is generally sald to be the sams,| of this type, but actually » amplification factor, like other in- dividual characteristics of a tube, varies slightly for each tube. Public a'tention durirg the past year has been focused to such an extent on improvements in: radio recelving sets and in the art of .broadcasting that almost equally important ad- ivances i the design of radio bat- terles have been largely lost signt of, according to G. C. Furness, chair- man of the battery committee of the radio section of the Associated Manu- facturers of Electrical Supplies. Mr. Furness has prepared a com- prehensive report on the battery situation, which points out that not only are better batteries being made, but prices are lower, so that greater savings in the cost of operating radio recelvers have been made possible. “The responsible manufacturers of B batteries havemade suchmarked im- provements that today's dry B battery operating costs are at least 30 per cent lower on the average than those of a year ago," says Mr. Furness. “The reduction Is the greatest on thosze sets with a heavy B batfery drain. A year ago it was sometimes necessary to renew B batteries after two or three months' use. Today, un- der the same conditions, they will last from four to six months “With the use of the latest types of batteries it is the exceptional operator who has to renew his B bat- tories more than three times a vear. These economles, however, are possi- ble only if the operator is using the iz of battery best sulted for his particular needs. It Is necessary that the batteries be adequite to the drain imposed upon them by the tubes of the receiver or the resultant over- loading of the battery will defeat all the efforts at improvement made by the manufacturers of _batteries. It is also important to use a C battery in the circuits in which the need for a negative grid bias is indicated or the normal life of the B batteries will be cut in half. “The developments which are re- sulting in lower operating costs for the radio public have come about in several wavs. In the first place, there has been a real improvement in the design of the regular sizes of bat- terles, which has brought about greater uniformity and longer life. In the second place, ‘extra large bat- terles' (L e. those constructed of extra large-size cells) have been de- veloped for use with the increas- ngly popular multi-tube type of sets and power amplifiers, many of which impose such a_heavy current drain as to overload even the so-called large-size batteries’ (those construct- ed of large-size ceils). Finaliy, tae price of batteries has heen reduced The extent of this reduction is best indicated by the fact that the price of the ‘extra large battery' is les: than last vear's price of the ‘lgrge size battery.' “The new dry cell B batteries have not been on the market very long and have had therefore scarcely time to demonstrate their superiority over the old, but radio users ought to begin soon to realize that their batterfes are giving longer service than they have received in the past.” Mr. Furness also took occasion to report on the standardization and simplification work of the battery standards committes. “Standardization is particularly de- sirable in the manufacture of bat- teries,” he pointed out. “Sizes and shapes must be uniform, so far as possible, in order that manufactur- ers of portabls und semi-portable re- ceiving sets may design compart- ments that will hold any make of battery that the user may choose. To avold “confusion and minimize the chances of batteries hoing wrongly connected, It s essential that mark- ings and locations of terminals be uniform. For best operating results it is necessary that the amount and pressure of the current supplied by various makes of batterfes be unli- form. ~To date this committee has fssued standards and made recommenda- tions covering the following: Types THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C. DECEMBER 14, 1924—PART 1. of terminals, location of terminals and terminal markings for dry oell \.and B batteries; shape of cartons for dry cell A batteries;: standard tests to determine the operating char- acteristics of A and B batteries, and a system of designation of types of dry cell B batteries. These standards of the battery com- mittee have been adopted by the radio section as a whole compris. Ing the most important manufactur- ers and dealers in radlo apparatus, and are now officially in effect. German radio fans object to being taxed, even 24 marks a year, for the privilege of listening in, and do not take out licenses. So difficult has it become for the postal authorities to locate unlicensed radio sets that con- siderable sleuthing is now necessary, reports from Berlin state. All letter carriers and even the chimney sweep- ing industry have been called to assist the post office in locating and spying out unlicensed radlo receivers. When it is realized that there are about 250,000 unlicensed sets in operation, and approximately 100,000 in Berlin alone, It is seen that the authorities are losing about 6,000,000 matks a year. Unlicensed reception is reported as still growing and the government Is striving to stamp out the practice. The enlisting of the co-operation of the chimney sweeps was a strateglc move on the part of the municipali- ties, since these master craftsmen of sometimes 20 years' experience are the privileged entrants of every home in their districts. Chimneys in Ger- many are the kind deslgned for Santa Claus; that is, they are large and readily climbed or entered from the tops. "Regular cleaning is part of the monthly routine, and tHe master sweeps are appointees of the munici- palities. When the sooly leather-suited sweeps and their apprentices appear at the door the hausfrau Js practical- ly forced to admit them! black and dirty as they are, for her chimney must be cleaned. As these men cover the same territory for years, they know every nook and cranny of the individual chimneys as well as of the general domiciles. During their regu- lar work they have excellent oppor- tunities to discover llicitly operated recelving sets. Seldom does the hausfrau have time to hide radio apparatus or take down the amerial after the swesps appear at the door. Tt fs belleved ‘that through the constant survelllance of the trusty sweeps unlicensed radio sets will soon disappear. FPost- men, too, keep an eye aloft for an- tennas, reporting also the receipt by post of any packages believed to con- tain radio sets or parts. The German government also lec- tures unlicensed fans over the air every night, advising them of the law, which confiscates unauthorized use of sets. Officlals plan to broad- cast selzures, together with the names of Individuals found to be evading the radio law. Evidently it takes a detective to de- tect a radio detector in Germany. Radio does not hold the dignified d useful position abroad that it has in America, and {n mome instances radio apparatus Is classed with the tolonious weapons of cracksmen, bur- glars and gangsters. Imagine putting a harmless receiving set in the same list with the tools and implements of the underworid. Yet this is just what has happened in British West Africa. By an order of the Gold Cost Colony council “knuckle dusters,” better known as brass knuckles, used by thugs and toughs as weapons, and wireless gets are classified in the same category and placed on the list of prohibited imports, according to an official report to the United States De. partment of Commerce. Conditions in the radio industry and in broadcasting have changed so ma- 'REW 3-STORY BUILDING Vive-Kilowatt Transmitting Equip- ment to Be Ready by January 1. CINCINNATI, Ohlo, December 13.— Construction work on the three-story bullding which will house the 5-kilo- watt transmitting equipment at sta- tion, WSAL has practically been com- Dpleted and it is expected that the new set will be installed and ready for operation by January 1. The new transmitting plant will be located at Mason, Ohio, approximat ly 21 miles from the center of popula- lation in Cincinnatl. The present studlos, which are sald to be among the most beautifully furnished in the country, will be used with the new equipment and the speech and music will be shipped over telephone wire from the studios to the operating plant. The first floor of the new bullding at Mason will be utilized for the heat- ing, ventllating and lighting systems, and for the power supply equipment. On the second floor will be the office, reception room and the operating rooms, in which will be located the transmitter, power control panels and speech input equipment.” The entire third floor will be used for living Qquarters for the operating staff. ———————————as terially during the past few months that Secretary Hoover that the enactment of the old White radio bill would be a handicap rather than an aid In enforcing radio regulations. Furthermors, he does not desire that the Commerce Department should be forced to exercise judiclal authority, which might be necessary 1if the question of monopoly were injected into radio legislation. In a lstter to Representative White of Maine of the House merchant m: rine and fisherles committes Secre- tary Hoover asks that the Becretary of Commerce be given authority to assign wave lengths, specifying pow er, emitted wave, character of ap- paratus and time of transmission, to all stationg requiring licenses under the law. Three New Stations. The Department of Commerce last week licensed three new broadcast- ing stations and transfermed five from to class A. The new stations WFBD, Gethsemane Baptist Church, Philadelphia, P: 234 moters, 5 watts. WGBT, Furman University, Green- vilie, C., 236 meters, 16 wa WRAA, Rice Institute, H Tex., 256 meters, 100 watt: Stations transferred to class A are , Wash.; KQW, f.; WCAR, San Antonio, Little Rock, Ark., and Tex. Amateur Game Offers Thrills. Five years ago amateur radio tele- graph operators were sending mes- sages to all parts of the United States and Canada through the American Radio Relay League. There was no distance on the continent that they could not span. The idea of com- municating with Europe was regard- ed as improbable. Today hardly a week goes by but some amateur makes a record pointing the way to world-wide amateur communication by radio telegraph, Recelpt of two messages Within a day or two of cach other, one from Australia and the second from v Zealand, brought from Hiram Percy Maxim, president of the American Radio 'Relay League, the comment that the “big radio thrills are in the two-way telegraphic game.” Both of these messages came all the way by ton, amateur radio with the same reliabil- ity that they could be sent by cable and wire. “This appears to be another of the Special Sale of Fine Watches Right in time for Christmas, we stage this big watch value giving event, and we know that our hundreds of friends and prospective friends will need no urging to take advantage of it. We do not believe that such values as these are offered anywhere in the city. 5 These watches are guar- TONIGHT. Musical program by “Roxie nd_ his (E-n(," direct from Capitol _Theater, New York City, WCAP, Washington, and 'WEAF, New York, 7:20 to 9:15 o'clock. Concert by Joseph Knecht’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel Or- chestra, WJZ, New York, and WGY, Schenectady, 8:45 to 10 o'clock. am b; Musical pro; AX, Orchestra, 9 to 11 o'clock. Talk _on “True Value of Arctic Work,” by Donald B. MacMillan, Arctic e)wlorer, WCAP, Washington; WEAF, New York; WEEL Boston; WIJAR, Providence, R. I, and BH, Worcester, Mass., 9:15 to 9:30 ¢'clock. R.A.C. leveland, Organ _recital, direct from studio of the Skinner Organ Co., New York City, WCAP, Washington, .and WEAF, New ork, 9:30 to 10:30 o'clock. Concert by Western and Southern OQrchestra, WLW, Cincinnati, 9:30 o'clock. Porty Stations in Cuba. Cuba has 40 broadcasting stations. ‘There are 18 radiophone stations in Havana, the most powerful being PWX, operating on the 400-meter wave' léngth Wednesdays and Satur- days from 8:30 %o 11:30 p.m., Eastern standard time.. i KFQX Increases Its Power. Station KFQX, the newly opened broadcaster in Seattle, Wash., has in- creased its power from 1,000 to 1,600 watts, A woman, Vivian Potter, is the announcer. The station already has been heard in virtually every State in the Unlon and many forelgn countries. PO Use of Special Sockets. When using special tubes which re- quire special eockets it is best to use the type of socket mecessary for the tube and, when possible,-avold adapters placed in standard sockets. startling thin that amateur radlo is developing.” Mr. Maxim declared. Tmagine what would have been said ©f me only five years ago if T had pre- dicted that in 1924 private citizens in thelr homes in New Zealand and Aus- tralia would be tommunicating back and forth with private citizens in the United States as well as in England and France? “The private citizens of the world have it In their power to communi- cate with one another Without leav- ing thelr homes. Where is it leading to? May it not be toward broader po- litical views, more international friendships and better understanding? There is a thrill in receiving musi broadcgst from France, but I belleve it is even more awe inspiring to con- verse back and forth with an indiv- idual whom you have chanced to meet on the afr. %&%‘KW&& i Radio -4 Give some- thing useful! You can fnd Radio Sets and Apparatus to suit your purse /BNJOYS LARGEST SALE + OF ANY LOUD SPEAKER Have you aver listened to radio over the Amplion®., - Thein! favorite! .| ‘The creation of the world’ oldest loud speaker mak: ers, thirty years experi- enced in sound reproduc- tion.* The largest selling loud speaker. TO CONOUCT EXPERIMENT ‘Will Demonstrate Transmitting Ability of Beveral Radiating Receivers Tomorrow Night. Amateur etation 3LF, owned and operated by Rufus Turner, will conduct a series of tests tomorrow night, begin- ning at 11 o'clock, to demonstrate the transmitting ability of several radiating recelvers. Radlophone on 200 meters will-be used throughout the tests. . Mr. Turner hopes to demonstrate through the tests the actual range of the disturbance created by an improp- erly operated regenerative set. He has promised to announce the results of his tests.in the newspapers. Three types of recelvers will be used during the test—the famillar single cir- cult regenerator, the Colpitt's oscillator and the DeForest ultra-audion. Bending Bus Bars With Nails. Bus bars can be easily bent with the ald of ten-penny nalls and a small plece of wood one-half inch thick. Drive the natls into the wood, leaving about one- quarter of an inch protruding. The nails should be placed close enough to- gether to just allow a plece of bus bar to slip between them. To bend the wire at right angles or into loops at the ends, sirgply insert the bus bar between the nails and bend it in the desired direc- tion. —_— New 500-Watt Station. A new 500-watt broadcasting sta- tion {s being erected in New Orleans by the Saenger Amusement Company and the Maison Blanche Company. It is expected to go on the air about February 1, 1925. Should Never Be Oiled. Variable condensers, for one thing, should never be oiled. Oil is an in- sulating liquid and can make some types of condensers inoperative, Radio Editor: Pleass Inform me as to what station or stations were broad- casting the . Svuthern California-Syra- cuse foot ball game, played n Los Angeles about 7 p.m. Eastern Standard time, Saturday, December 6. Also the call letters of a station in BSyracuse, N. Y., located on a hotel ; this may have been the one. ‘What are the call letters of a Denver, Col., station using the test call 9XA? Is WDBX the New York City station that broadcasts “direct from the Cotton Club, and also what are the call letters of “The Southern Radlo Corporation?” —H. C. Smith. Stations in Syracuss. are WBBE, WEFAB and WLAH. The brosdcasting station directory does not indicate which one is located on a hotel. The radio editor has no information regard- ing the station broadcasting the South- ern California-Syracuse game. The station in Denver using the experi- mental call letters 9XA is KOA, which formally opens tomorrow night. WCAR in San Antonia, Tex., is operated by the Southern Radio Corporation of Texas. Radio Editor: Could you or some of the fans tell me the call letters of the Canadlan station on the air Thursday night? I judge it was on a wave band around 411 meters. The program included Hawaiian music and vocal chorus. It signed off at 11:32.—B. &. A number of Canadian stations were scheduled to broadcast Thursday night. Perhaps some of the readers can identify the etation you heard. Radio Editor: Could you publish in your query column what station was broadcasting the Salvation Army Band Wednesday night about 10 o'lock? It sounded as though the announcer eald Ottawa, Canada.—JAMES C. SUIT. CNRO, Ottawa, Canada, was the sta- tion you heard. et One bat will eat 250 mosquitoes in a single night. ECZEMA CAN BE CURED Free Proof To You All I want is your name and addr juse to try Nearl; Fhirty-Five is offer public. 1f you I can send you a free trial treatment—~that’ Y. ent. in Re 'lggflB\‘lflme”m served fc e Boardol Pramacy s e peare m P, everyone in Fort Wayne kn: J. C. HUYZELL oRusatsT a8 & member of the Retail Druggists® ows me and knows about my successful all—just usand Men, W d Childs i e o s e oo, len, Women “bnhi.’l iren outside of Fort Salt Rheum, Tetter—never mind how bad—my treat~ it since I first o e mthug.u wa?.zmm.e‘-d na;“nlrmonb:l-cmeolmm-y Send o r o trial treatment T want 0 eend you FREE. The wonders atcompushel o reus yom rocs e s creag CUT AND MAIL TODAY J. C. HUTZELL, Druggist, No. 4872 West Main St., Fort Wayne, Ind. Please send without cost or obligation to me your Free Proof Treatment B — ¢ Post. Street mud No. e What Greater Gift? Fun for the holidays—for allthe fellow who gets the Give it all—give 3 You're sure of its tone. be loud yet to the unit. It with vivid clarity—it pleasant, bcause its Woa:::a the joysof radio real! 39 The second. of the series of “Bruns- wick Hour of Music” programs to be broadcast Tuesday night by WRC in conjunction with other stations of the Radlo Corporation, of America will feature popular music, instru- mental and vocal. The artists schedvled to take part include Marion Harris, celebrated “Dlues” singer: Margaret Young. ‘Wright and Bissinger, stars of the vaudeville circuit: Phil Ohman sna Victor Arden, the piano wizards, for- merly of “Roxie’s Gang” and now playing in the musical comedy, “Lady Be Good,” and Ray Miller's jazz or- ROSLEY BETTER—COST LESS 2-TUBE RECEIVER Operates Loud S On Local Staths ™ COMPLETE TO OPERATE *35 Nothing More ory Calle. | Pair Head Phoses. 100 1t An. tam Wire, 20 1. Load-ta Wirs, Light. ning Switeh Insula. 3-TUBE RECEIVER S Sag.s with all ma. terial neces- HAVERFORD CYCLE SALES CO. Radie Division 522 10th St. N. w. Opes Satarday Evenings . Fun for the “;: the family. 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