New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1922-07-02
Receiving Sets
To Be Tested
By Experts
Standards Bureau Agrees to
Cooperate With the New
York Laboratory in Plac-
ing OK Upon Apparatus
System to Protect Public
Practical Difficulties To Be
Overcome Before Stand
ard System Is Adopted

WASHINGTON, July 1.-The Bureau
of Standards of the Department of
Commerce and the Electrical Testing
Laboratories of New York have ap-
proved in outline a method for imme-
diate use in the testing Of complete
sets manufactured for radio telephone
broadca sting. improvements on these
methods in testing the equipment sub
mtted by the National Retail Dry
goods Association will be subject to
approval by the Bureau of Standards,
which will cooperate with the Elec-
trical Testing Laboratories in the es-
tablshment of standard procedure.
1t is recognized that there are other
organizations which would be interest
ed in and benefited by any action lead
ing toward the making of performance
tests and the Standardization of radio
equipment, and it is desirable that the
interest in this work be co-ordinated
as thoroughly as possible.
There were present at the conference
on testing and standardization Of
radio equipment, held at the Bureau of
Standards in Washington May 26, 1929,
DR.. G. H. Sharp and H. l.. Bedenben
der, representing the Electrical Testing
Laboratories, New York. Harold R.
Young and Arthur Wiesenberger, rep
resentin. the National Retail Drygoods
Association, and DR.. J. H. Dellinger, L.
E. Whittemore and j. L. Preston, rep
resenting the Bureau of Standards.
The investigating committee of the
National Retail Drygoods Association,
composed of F. W. Tully, chairman; C.
S. Hammond, Joseph Fisher, S. J. Ryan
and Alfred Fantl, reported that its
members very generally are becoming
engaged in the sale of radio receiving
equipment. They find that there is no
information available for them to use
in the selection of good apparatus and
in the rejection of apparatus which is
not satisfactory in operation.
Standardization Needed
There was considerable discussion
features of the design and construc-
ton of radio receiving equipment, for
measuring and rating the perform
ance, and for determining which re-
ceiving sets are of durable construc-
ton. From the commercial stand
point the investigating committee of
the National Retail Dry Goods Asso-
citation had defined the solution as be-
ing Standardization by responsible
manufacturers of the efficiency OF
their various receiving sets, marking
plainly on each instrument the recelv-
ing radius under every atmospheric
condition. The discussion brought out
the fact that this is a very difficult
problem, and one which is impossible
to accomplish by brief statement or
mark on the receiving set. A large
number of factors enter into the de-
termination of the range over which
signals can be received with q given
receiving set These include the
strength of signals which the receiving
operator expects, the height and loca-
ton of the receiving antenna, the
power OF the transmitting station, and
its location with respect to other sta
lions which are capable of causing in
reference as we'll as the sensltlvlty OF
the particular receiving set.
The great need for the development
of methods for determining the per-
Torrance of radio receiving apparatus
is relatively new one, and has been
made necessary by the recent large
production of receiving sets, varying
enorm ously in quality and perform
ance. In spite of the desirability for
developing thoroughly comprehensive
methods for obtaining complete infor-
nation on the performance of appara-
tus, which would require considerable
length of time, the National Retail Dry
Goods Association is anxious to have
immediate action which will give such
information as can be secured in time
to be of service to them in buying for
the fall trade. They desire that the
reports on the behavior of receiving
sets be in such form as to be easily in
terpreted by non-technical organiza-
ton.
The present urgent need, therefore,
is for data on their comparative merits
which is Immediately useful and which
will be of assistance in the ultimate
Standardization of receiving sets.