Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-04-21

There's one thing about a phono.
graph that is decidedly in its favor. It's
dependable machine. You know that,
decide to spend comfortable evening
at home. all you will have to do is wind
up the machine. put on record, start
1t and the music will come forth. And
1t will do 1t not once in while, but
365 days and nights in n year.
And. from that very fact. 1t leaves
nothing to the Imagination. there is no
element of gambling, Of skill, Of your
machine accomplishing something that
Jim Smiths couldn't do. There 5
nothing In it for You to be particularly
proud of and enthuse over.
1t must be confessed that. at the
present stage Of development. radio has
not reached this point Of depcndability.
But, for that precise reason, its status
today gives it that element Of game
Of skill or chance that promotes the
kecncst kind Of rivalry and makes for
an enthusiasm that is half the fun Of it.
Get two radio fends together and
you'll hear, "You ought to have heard
me bring in BVD last night. Got him
like a ton of bricks. And after he was
through I monkeyed around bit, and
what do you think!'
And the second fend will ask some
what grudgingly. Dunno: what?
There was RSVP clear as a bell.
What d'ya know about that? One
thousand two hundred and fifty miles
away and you might have thought he
was in the next room. That's a great
little hook, up I'm using. You ought
to try it.
This undependabilty is due to many
different reasons, not one OF which is
sufficiently well understood yet to per :
NIT of a solution Of the problem.
First there is that bugbear Of all
radio men, static-atmospherics--
strays. These are three names for the
same thing. They refer to the dis
charge of electricity in the air or the
clouds. Lightning is violent and con-
centrated form of static. But there can
least sign of weather trouble. Down in
tropic waters. from March on through
the summer months, have frequentl!
been unable to read a message because
of the continual crashing and sizzling
and frying in my phones. And this
with the sky gulltless Of a cloud and tn,
| moon and stars fairly blazing in crysta
brilliancy.
We have already referred. in these
articles, to the radio waves in the ether
being like ordinary waves in pond OF
water. There are waves of different
sizes and shapes and We can tune oul
receiving instruments to respond to Onl!
one size and shape. The ether may b
likened to a placid pond. Our trans
mitting instrument is the means b.
which we throw a pebble into the pom
and start series of waves out in al
directions.
A discharge of static might be lkene'
! to dumping a carload Of quarry refus'
Pinto the pond. There are pieces o
stone of all sizes-big and little ant
medium and tiny and huge. The resul
is a great splash which sends out waves
| Of all sizes. and no matter how thu
! receiving instrument Is tuned, there il
a wave of the size and shape to caus'
it to respond. So that. il the receiver
happened to be getting an intended
series Of waves, the similar waves
coming from the carload would inter
| fere and make 1t impossible to tel
which was which.
That will give you a rough idea q
| what static is.
Static is usually of little trouble In
winter in the northern hemisphere ant
| becomes more and more troublesome as
summer advances. And, though there
have been several so-called static
! eliminators' invented. static Is still q
nuisance and only smiles at our present
methods Of opposition.
Then there is the phenomenon o.
fading Signals You will tune in t
get the concert from PDQ and he vii
start in very QSA, as the wireless bugs
say when they mean strong anc
clear" Then. without any change il
the adjustment of your instrument. h'
will fade away until You have lost hin
entirely, and no matter how much re.
adjusting you may do, YOU will not &c,
him back. And later, perhaps, he vii
gradually come in again until he Is a
! OSA as any one would wish. Nobody
! knows why and nobody knows what t
do about II.
Monday night YOU may get the con
cert from KYW as though YOU wer'
under the shadow Of his aerial. Yol
, Will make notes Of the exact adjust
mcnt of Your set, and when you sit il
, Tuesday night YOU will turn every knot
and dial To the place it was the nigh
before. And you NAV hear just {
whisper. You try other adjustment
but 1t is Of no use. You hear him ant
that is all. Again nobody knows VIII,
and nobody knows what TO do about 1t
And Wednesday night he may be loude
and clearer than he was Monday.
Am speaking now Of distant sta
ttOnS. II you are located only five o
ten miles from n powerful broadcaster
YOU won't be troubled So murh. 70,
can pretty nearly depend on getting /
satisfactOriiy--if static isn't in sea
son and working overtime.
But that is really half the fun of tn
game. II gives never ending subjec
of conversation among radio fans, JUS
as the golf bug or the baseball fan 0
the motorrar enthusiast can talk en-
ioyably for hours and say nothin: o
any lmpUrtLnC".
Thi, isn't intended to be discourag
ing. Nine nights out of ten you vii
get satisfactory results on your receiver
but if YOU don't, you can compare note
.t.l. E.4-