The Belding banner-news. (Belding, Mich.) 1918-1973, 1922-03-29
RADIO PHONE
ENTHUSIASTS ARE
QUITE PLENTIFUL
SEVERAL LOCAL PEOPLE ARE
BUSY MAKING APPARATUS
TO RECEIVE MESSAGES

While the radio phone craze has
been heard of a great deal in the
larger cities, little had been heard
cf any local people getting enthused
over this popular new science until
the past two weeks, since which time
it has developed that there are quite
a number OF local people who are and
have been for some time, working
on apparatus which, when complet-
ed, would be able to receive radio
phone messages, speeches and con-
uerts from any of the sending sta
tions in this country.
A representative from a Grand
Rapids electrical supply house was
in the city several days ago and he
said that he found a large number
of local young men had interested
themselves in the work and that in
several intances they had fairly good
receiving instruments very near
ready for the tryout and that while
he had been unable to sell anything
locally, he was sure that after a
time when the time was ripe, his
concern would be supplying the
needs Of local radio phone enthus-
lasts.
The radio phone craze has spread
so fast and been taken up by so
many people that in some instances
the work of the amateurs is receiv-
ing and sending interferes seriously
with the radio work of the govern
curb the activities so that while the
-, ha
completely denied the pleasures of
the newly opened field, they will be
restricted to an extent where the
work and messages of the govern
ment will not be interfered with.
The writer was talking with res
ident of Detroit the other day and
he informed us that Detroit was
lousy with radio amateurs and their
contrivances and that while some OF
them have expensive sets other peo-
pie have rugged up inexpensive APP
aratus from most anything which
they could secure in the electrical
line and his statement seems to be
borne out by the following clipping
showing the new field of thievery
opened up with the new idea of ra-
dio.
"The radio craze is working out
some rather startling results in De-
troit, at least. The making of ru-
dimentary radio sets has proved tc
be so easy that, following the instruc-
tions given in the newspapers which
devote their columns to radio prop.
aganda, any "kid" with an ordinary
high school experience with electri.
cal apparatus can make one out OF
a few dollars worth of materials
The receivers are not very different
from the ordinary ear pieces of tel
ephone sets. The results of adapt
ing these to radio receiving have
been that thousands of hand tele.
phones have been stolen in Detroit
and lesser numbers in other place:
from the stations of the Michigan
State Telephone Company. AS q
matter Of fact the stealings have al
ready run up to nearly 10000 OF
these instruments. They have beer
"swiped" from public pay stations
/ from apartment houses, from set.
/ discontinued and awaiting collection
by the employees of the company, anC
from almost every other location
where such abstraction is possible
and easy. So far the telephon,
company hasn't been able to devils,
any method Of preventing these ex
tereive and expensive thefts, altht
later on recovery from the users o.
the stolen instruments may become
possible.