New-York tribune., 1922-05-14
Beverage Wire
Removes the
Static Pest
Aerial Equal i'll Leng,l, to
One Full Wave Length
Successfully Used to
Overcome Interference
Is Directional in Effect
Observation-Disclosures
Test Successful on Less
Than One Horsepower

efficiency OF Atlantic wireless
telesraphy. It is known as the Bcver-
sre antenna, and it's use has mate
rally reduced static interference. in
fact so much 40 that engineers are ex-
pcrinenting with it for use in the re-
ception of broadcast radiophonc en-
tcrtainment
The most notable achievement of the
Beverage antenna was in December Of
last year, when Paul Cooley. the famous
American amateur, used it in Scot land
on the occasion Of the amateur trans
Atlantic radio tests. With this type Of
aerial,Godlev succeeded in receiving no
fewer than twcnty-seven different
American amateur stations, every one
Of which was using less than one kilo-
watt of power in their transmitters. In
+ his report Of the test Cooley wrote:
ION Wednesday the 7th the / 300 foot
( stretch Of line was completed, the wire
being supported by 2x4 inch posts
twelve feet high and lad out to point
directly toward Chicago. The wire was
grouided at the distant end through a
non-inductive resistance ESQ 10 400
ohms) and at the home end through a
variable inductance of the order OF O.
1 microhenry in value This consti-
tutes the Beverage antenna.
Aerial Equals One Wavelength
For any given wavelength the wire
should be one or two even wavelengths
long Arrangements were made to
change the length of the wire, it being
necessary in each case TO shift tho
non-inductive resistance and ground
connection from one supporting pole to
another
Signal potentials built up in such a
wire are approximately equivalent 10
those which would be built up in ver-
tical wire ne-tenth at most OF its
total length. When working at 200
meters and having wire length of ap-
proximately GOO feet lone wavelengthD.
signal potentials produced in the wire
would be equivalent 70 those produced
IN vertical wire 65 feet in height. or.
if the full wire were used. 1870 fest in
height, at that wayelength. Further
moIe, the system is highly directional,
and eliminates great portion of the
atmospherics and interference coming
from directions other than those from
which one wishes to receive
That this condition did exist was
proved by comparison with a small YER
tical wire supported by nearby tree.
Static to signal ratio in all cases was
decidedly better on the Beverage wire"
OF course, it will be seen at the out
set that such an aerial cannot be used
by every radio fan, because of it's
great. length, and the fact that only
lew persons, comparatively speaking
can erect such a long wire.
Aerial Nine Miles Long.
Perhaps the best way to explain the
operation of this type of antenna will
be by describing its use in connection
with the gigantic station at Radio Cen
trail, Riverhead, l.. l. This station re-
ceives from the long distance European
stations which are using wave
lengths ranging around $4,000 meters
IN length, or, in other words, each cleo
stations is approximately nine miles
in length.
Now in order to fulfill oil of the re-
quirements Of the theory covering the
operation of the Beverage antcnna, it
IS necessary to have receiving aerial
one full wave length long or. in other
words, receiving aerial nine miles in
length. This is exactly what has been
installed at Riverhead. The aerial is
'ne Wiies ion2, and Is supported on
poles thirty feet above the ground one
end being grounded through non-in
ductive resistance, and the other
through variable inducteuce. With
this wlre the Riverhead station is daily
Ifecelvlng five different European sta
= tons simultaneously without interfer-
ence.
In Designing this aerial ADVANTAGE
was taken of the fact that static is to
a certain extent greatly localized. and
also Of the fact that certain types of
aerial.ssre very directional in effect
The noninductive resistance at one of
the antenna soaks up the interference
and passes it to ground.
Static Is Immature Lightning
For. instance. static is lightning in
the making, and congested center
such As New York, with its heated air
rising from the big buildings, pro-
duces "a great quantity of local static.
/ This would be a very serious situa-
tion for Riverhead bat for the loca-
tlcn Of New York, which makes a
beverage antcnna very effective in
eliminating this local static as the
signals are coming from the opposite
direction to the static.
In order to illustrate the operation
of the Beverage antenna G. H. Clarke.
an engineer of the Radio Corporation.
has drawn the following analogy for
our rtaders:
''1f ,we look upon the Beverage ar
tenna as a large lake." he says, "and
the wind as the static VIC eau get an
idea how it works. Now suppose the
wind is blowing across the lake from
east to west. At the eastern end there
Will be little or no ripples, but as we
get to the western end the ripples
VIII gradually increase in size to full
waves. If the shore at the western
end is a gentle slope Of sandy grave
the waves will be dissipated end will
not he, reflected.
"H, on the other hand. the shore OF
the lake is precpitous and rocky the
waves will be reflected and will
disturb the eastern end Of the lake.
Now the Beverage antenna. having
ron-inductivc resistance at its non
receiving end. corresponds to sandy
s'.o-,s, because it absorbs the static
and interfering wares and does not
reflect them.
analogy Explains System, ..s-.-,...,,
Carrying the analogy further. if, we
rlace.a stationary paddle wheel at the
western end of the lake, which is re-
voiying uniformly and producing
waves Of uniform character. these
waves will travel steadily forward to-
ri