Mexico weekly ledger., 1922-12-28
THINGS THE RADIO
NOVICE WILL NEED
Tools and Materials He Should
Keep on HaDd-Advantages
Of Keeping a Log Book.

We are going to pause in explaining
the theory Of radio receivers and get
down to practical things for today.
There are many novices building their
own sets, or making additional parts,
who are in doubt az to Just what tools
and materials they will
Naturally there are tools and tools.
Some cost more than others. Then,
there are people and people. Some
people need more tools than others.
Some folks are Just naturally handy
with tools, and others find that tools
won't behave and lead the user into
all sorts Of complications.
The tools and materials following
are such as are necessary, and which
will be useful at all times. No prices
are given for the buyer will have to
look to his pocketbook for guidance
in this respect.
Tools that will come In handy;
large, medium and small screwdrivers;
fat, three-cornered and round hle;
hack saw, inter saw and box and
crosscut saw: a small plane, a wise. Q
bit and augeF. pliers, q square and
yards1ck or tape rule, dividers and
hammer, preferably a small one.
Materials that will be convenient to
have On hand r as follows: Sand
paper, emery paper, wire Of all gauges,
round and iat-headed screws, a sup
ply of brass nuts and washers, paraf-
fine and sealing wax, bakelite, card
board and fiber board, tinfoil, por-
celain i%nsulators, binding posts and
terminals, sheet copper and sheet
brass and adhesive tape.
Tape is possibly the most useful ar
ticle in the whole layout, for 1t will
be found to have many uses. 1t Is in
short a versatile piece Of material in
the electricians kit.
Those Of our readers who are build
Ing sets may find that it is good pol
icy to keep all the odds and ends Of
wire, tape, copper, ETC., that they may
have. It seems that uses for these
short bits are always to be found just
when it is discovered that they have
been thrown away. So, therefore,
hoard all small pieces.
One thing we want to stress in build
ing radio apparatus: Use care in your
work, and put a good finish on your
sets. Not only does 1t greatly add to
the appearance Of the set, but it also
eliminates odd corners and stray ends
Of wire that catch dust or catch on
surrounding objects and will hamper
the efficiency of the set, either by
shorting the circuit or causing it to
be dragged off q pedestal and thrown
on the floor. Those who have vacuum
tube sets know that usually a fall
means some e tubes.
To those radio novices who desire
to go skipping blithely through the
ether, picking out a station here and
a station there, as fancy directs them,
we recommend a log book. Just any
sort 7of book will do, or rather any
book will do In which one can jot
down records of the evenings broad
casting.
The reason for the log book is that
1t prevents a lot Of unnecessary fuss
Ing with the dials when a certain sta
ton is desired. Say for instance,
KDKA was going nicely. but that
there was a certain concert going on
In New York at WUZ On WGY, or
maybe WGI up In Boston. Let rs
make the problem even harder and say
that there were two addresses In one
evening, both especially good, and one
of the addresses In New York was
scheduled to start two minutes after
the one In Pittsburgh was over. Az
soon as the one address is over, the
enthusiast starts playing with his dials
to catch New York. Sometimes 1t
takes two minutes and sometimes 1t
takes a great deal more time to catch
the desired signal, and more often
than not, the lecture is half over be-
fore 1t is tuned in correctly.
To assist the enthusiast to tune In
quickly on any desired station is the
mission Of the log book. In this book
should be entered the necessary data
about all stations that have been
picked Up. Here should be noted
down the exact position Of the dials
where the station was tuned in the
best and other pertinent remarks. ALI
these remarks should be entered, Of
course, the first time a new broadcast
ing station is picked up. With the In
formation before him, the enthusiast
needs but a glance at his book to tell
him how he set his dials the last time
he heard WBZ.
The oft heard remark to the effect
that RNU was heard last night but
cannot be heard tonight, should be a
thing Of the past IL a log book is
about, that is, providing ones set has
range enough for the distance.
No directions are set down here for
making a log book as 1t is thought
that each one of the radio folk will
have his own ideas on the subject.
However, space should be left to In
scribe even the minutest data about
signal reception.
- .E. FIX #.