The New York herald., 1922-06-04
WGR HAS NEW IDEAS
| FOR BROADCASTERS
Powerful Station at Buffalo
Contains Several Unusual
Features of Interest.
HEARD $50 MILES AWAY
Full Description of Big Plant
Just Opened Is Worth Study
by Enthusiasts.
HEARD $50 MILES AWAY

station has Joined the ranks Of the radio
entertainers in this section of the city.
The newcomer. as some radio enthu-
eiasts who have highly selective sets
may already know. is WGR OF Buffalo,
operated by the Federal Telephone and
Telegraph Company of that city.
The station, which has an output OF
about one kilowatt. has already been
heard at a distance Of $50 miles, and
L. C. F. Horle consulting engineer Of
the company. who designed and put the
station in operation, confidently expects
reports showing that it has been heard
at much greater distances than this. AL
though the new station is far beyond the
range of crystal detector sets. vacuum
rick it out of the ether without much
diniculty in intervals in which WIZ and
other nearby stations are not sending.
The new transmitting station has a
number of features which are unusual
and Of interest to many amateurs who
have less pretentious stations of their
own. The antenna is located on top OF
Elmwood avenue. Buffalo The aerial
consists of six wire cage on three foot
epreaders supported between two forty
loot steel masts on the roof of the fac
tory. The wires are approximately
eighty feet from the ground.
The lead-in is taken into the build
Ing through a large cage which con-
meets with the grounding apparatus
mounted on a large bakelite panel In the
lahOratOry The connactinn iS
made to the water and steam pipe sys-
tenn In the factory in addition to a
direct copper ground secured to large
copper plates buried in the factory
courtyard. The antenna and ground
connections are carried to the transmit
ter through heavy copper tubing. all
supports being of bakelite, and large
bakelite panels being used where the
antenna passes through the walls of the
building.
Radiation Efficiency Is High.
The fundamental of the antenna IS
approximately sos meters, and at $50
meters approximately sixteen microhep-
ries of loading inductance are required.
This inductance is built up of very
heavy solid copper conductor and Is con-
nected directly from the antenna and
the ground. No series condenser has
peen uSeu, anu because OF tnlS IL mas
been possible to get considerably higher
radiation efficiency than was originally
contemplated.
In describing the station Mr.. Horle
said the transmitter proper has a power
capacity of about one kilowatt and is
supplied by 1000 volt, direct current
generator directly coupled with a single
phase twenty-five cycle induction meter
operating on the Buffalo General Elec-
s...- ~. VI.
to the meter and those between the
generator and the transmitter proper
are carefully fused with high voltage
fuses, and the generator itself is pro-
tected against radio frequency surges by
backing by an electrolytic lightning
arrester.
The major part of the commutator
ripple is eliminated by the use of high
voltage paper condensers and iron core
inductive chokes. The commutator
ripple has been allowed to remain in a
slight degree quite Intentionally, since
it's presence indicates to listeners that
the station is in operation and is about
TO broadcast To reduce II to proper
value. however. 1t has been necessary to-
use 27 micro-farads in three groups of
nine one micro-farad condensers con-
nected in series parallel so that the nor
NAL d. .. voltage OF each unit Is never
in excess of 700 volts.
About thirty-seven henries of induct-
ance are used in this filter system and
so distributed that the filter is alter
nately inductive or capacitance pro-
gressively from the generator to the
vacuum tubes. The generator is further
protected from radio frequency getting
back into the line from the tubes by the
insertion of high frequency chokes
These chokes have an inductance OF ap-
proximately two milli-henries and prop
erly chosen distributed capacities. Two
low power voice amplifying tubes are in
terplaced between the microphones and
the modulator system, all couplings
being of the resistance type. and pro-
vision is made to operate the voice am
plifier tubes on the 1000 volt supply
which operates the power tubes.
Easy Adjustments Provided.
Special coupling resistance units have
been devised to make this possible and
to make possible the easy adjustment
observation and replacement of all parts
of the system. The power tube fila