The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1922-11-12
DOTS AND DASHES

- LIZA AZ KID
the stock of broadoasters it Is Walter
He states that on the single night
of November Z Qast Tuesday, he
heard twenty-six stations, covering
twenty cities and seventeen states.
Two of these We're over a thousand
miles away. The farthest was in San
Juan, Porto Rico. Walter tells me
that this station is nineteen hundred
miles away. He says he measured
this on the map and 1t is the correct
air line measurement. Maybe he
measured few hundred miles up in
the air and then down at the distant
point.
Some of the other stations that he
heard that night We're: KSD, st.
Louis; WHAS. Louisville: WLW, Gin
cinnati; WAX, C1eveland; WIT,
Philadelphia; WDAF. Kansas City;
DNI, Schenectady, New York; WGM,
Atlanta: WBAG. Minneapolis; WBAP.
Fort Worth; WOR, Newark. WWJ,
Detroit; KFAF, Denver; WIT, Char
lotte; WHB, Kansas City; WON, In
dianapolis; KDKA, Pittsburgh;
WDAP, Chicago; WHAG, Cincinnati,
also Boston. and the stations WPAz,
WAX, and WDAM He fsays that
all of these were caught without the
ground connected and that KFAF.
Denver, was heard ON the deteetor
only. He also stated that all the rest
were heard. using only the one-stage
amplifier. with the exception of the
station in san Juan Porto Rico.
Walter has received one night n
station in San Francisco, Cal | be-
lieve this is the record for the Biz
mingham listeners.
We have received the following
letter from reader who desires In
formation:
Jack Turner, Radio Editor, Age
Herald, city.
Dear Sir-I have radio set with
a coil, crystal detector, phone con-
denser and 5000 ohm phones. [
have been reading in Dots and Dashes
about boys who hear Atlanta and
other out of town stations on crys-
tai set. Should l be able to hear
Atlanta on my set7 IL so, at what
time of day? l would also like to
ask some other questions.
l. Does two-wire aerial do much
better for receiving than one
wire?
start broadcasting their concerts
AGAIN.
8. I have heard of buyers being
used on crystal sets. What Is the
use of them, and how are they con-
nected?
4. Can a variable condenser be
used on crystal set? Does 1t do
much good?
Thanking you for your informa-
ton, cordially yours,
JOHN WILKES.
In reply to this letter we wish to
state that very few ever are able to
do receiving other than local, on a
crystal set. The ones mentioned In
the radio page evidently have very
favorable conditions. Although At
lanta is very close to us, when COM
pairing it to other stations, It seems
that they would be very hard to
receive on one of these small sets,
due to the fact that they fade
| This is due to atmospheric condi-
| tions between here and Atlanta.
/ However. II you want to try to catch
them, their sending hours at night
| (Which would be the only time you
could possibly hear them) are con-
tinuous from o'clock, p. M, to about
11:45 o'clock, p. M. OF course, or
station is not sending all the time
! but there ard three Of them, WSB.
| WGM and WDAJ.
| In one of the cases of distant re-
ceiving on q crystal set 1t was found
/ that a regeneratiye receiving set was
| located very close to this crS'- tai set
and was probably relaying what 1t
received. A regenerative receiver is.
in many respects, like miniature ra-
I diophone. 1t is possible to send over
receiving set without making any
changes other than breaking the
p,@te voltage on the detector. 1t is
then possible and probable that this
crystal set was not receiving tho dis
tant stations from the station itself
but only from the regenerative re-
ceiver only few hundred feet away.
II there is such set near you, you
might try to receive out of town
when the audion set was in opera
ton.
AS for the other questions, we will
answer them in the order that you
asked them.
/. A one-wire aerial 100 feet long
and a good height is as good for re-
ceiving as two-wire aerial in the
same location.
2. AS WSY's new station is to be
the best. and every care Is to be
taken in its construction, the date
for the opening has not yet been an
nounced. AS soon as it is known.
however, it will be in the radio page.
The opening program, which is to
be in the hands of All Star Concerts
| (Mrs. Orline Shipman and Mrs. Rich
ard F. Johnston), will be in The Age
Herald as well as the other COM
certs.
3. BUYERS are only used on crys-
| tai sets to find the sensitive point on
! the crystal. They art not used when
receiving. There are several meth
DDS of hooking up buzzer. A good
way is to connect the buzzer in series
with honey comb coil and place the
! coil with the aerial wire running
through it. Then move the cats
whisker to the loudest point on the
crystal.
| A.. A variable condenser is not
any great Improvement on a crystal
set. If you already have one, how
| ever, you might try 1T in the aerial
or ground circuit or across these two
| leads. II using loose coupler or
| vario coupler they shunt the con-
denser across the secondary.
WAR RUM0RS AFFECT
VALUE OF DIAMONDS