New-York tribune., 1922-03-05
by JACK BINNS=
Ftrst Hid to the Radio Fan

l'2oo; secondary coil. 7o0 ticker coil,
4oo' with condcnsers in parallel.
Length Of Aerial Important
r. A. NJ, Ashland, N. Y:
Q.-Does it make any difference
about the length OF thc "lead-in" wire
from the aerial, provided it is we'll in
sulated upon porcelain knobs? A.
Yes. All the wire in the aerial ia part
OF the aerial circuit and this includes
the lead-in from the aerial, as we'll as
the ground wire connection. The
longer this is the longer will be the
natural wave length of the aerial cir
cult. 1t is best to have the aerial not
longer than $50 feet in its entirety for
the purpose of receiving broadcasted
music.
Q.--ls bare wire better for the Lead
IN wire ? A.--You can use insulated
wire, but there will be losses. Bare
wire is best.
Q.-What difference would the dis
tancc make IN regard to the size Of
wire used for the lcad-in wire? A.
There would be no difference as re-
CARDS distance, but If you use finer
gauge wire than No. Ia you will in
crcase the resistance Of the aerial cir
cult.
Charge the Condensers
Q.-As foundation set, what would
ycu think Of the following description
with, Of course, amplifcatioa added if
necessary: Honeycomb coils with vari-
able indLctance mounting, three con-
densers one Of 001 MID FOR primary
one OF .0005 for secondary and Que of
.0000S MID for shunt connection in the
secondary circuit, for sharper tuning;
detcctor panel, with rheostat, potentio-
meter. grid leak, grid condenser, wv
necessary honcyconlb coils, batteries
aerials, etc? A.-Thc imposing array
Of apparatus you have detailed may
tend to unnecessarily frighten the
average novice who is not acquainted
With tho details inside his set. but
am including them, as they are part
Of your question. This set should
work perfectly we'll, provided you
make the following necessary change:
Place the .0Ol mid condenser in
the secondary circuit with the .0OoO9
MID condenser shuntcd across it, and
then put the .0005 condenser n the
aerial circuit. Otherwise the selection
is all right.
Q.--What capacity honcycomb col :
would you recommend for the above
outfit for receiving telephone concerts
from Newark? A.-Sec answer to A.
A. \. jr. above.
Q.-Could I use V-type aerial, sup
ported from two trees and the house
gable, the point of the aerial being at
the gable and the two sides being about
Is feet in length and 80 feet from the
ground? A.-Ycs.
Steel Roof as Aerial:
Q.-Wouid it be possible to use the
steel roof of our house for an aerial by
soldering the lcad-in-wire to it, the
roof being about twenty-five feet high
at the peak and fifteen at the caves
A.-Your steel roof is undoubtedly con-
nected to metal drain pipes, which are
grounded, or, at least, I should i'm
agine that it is grounded in some man
ner as protection against lightning.
If it is not it should work all right as
an aerial, but you would need to take
the same general precautions with a
lightning switch as you would with an
aerial.
Q.-Would it be possible to build an
aerial of the loop variety that would
work at distance Of ten miles
from the city. if used out OF
doors: A.--With 4 loop aerial
it would not make any difference
whether you used it indoors or out OF
doors. You would need a special circuit
for it, and I doubt whether it would
function at your distance without radio
-. H..