New-York tribune., 1922-03-19
Fans Deceived
In Ocean Kiss
By Hybrid Coil
Those Who Boasted of Hear.
ing With Crystal Sets Ra-
dio Romeo Aboard the
America We're Mistaken
Merely a Re-radiation
Voice Sounds We're Trans
mitsed From Deal Aerial
Transmitting Station

Science has cruelty interposed to
crush the happy spirits of many radio
fans who have been priding themselves
that they received the conversation
which has been passing nightly be-
tween Deal Beach, N j.. and the steam
ship America on the Atlantic Ocean.
Ever since the unnamed radio Romeo
on the America waited his kiss across
1000 miles of ether to the girl of his
heart ashore & number of crystal de-
tector owners have been treading upon
air because of their unprecedented sue
cess in receiving speech over that dis
tance.
Alas, now comes the disllusion-
mentl-and it is my sad duty to burst
the bubble of their pride.
Where the Trouble Lies
The whole trouble lies at the door
OF an evil-intentioned coil of wire,
which the scientists have aptly named
"the hybrid coil" If this coil had
paid strict attention TO it's own par
ticular business, instead of interfering
with the work of some other innocent
piece of apparatus, lot of radio en-
thuSiasts would not be placed in the
false position of having boasted about
their achievements with hunk of
wire and chunk Of galena.
However, the fact remains that this
hybrid coil has done its work. and
now all that remains is to expose it.
None of you who wrote in so gleefuliy
that you had listened to the speaker
aboard the America with your crystal
sets, really did so. What you heard
was the re-radiation of his voice from
the aerial of the transmitting station
at Deal Beach. And this is how it
happened.
As you know from last Sundays
Tribune Radio page the tests were con-
ducted in such manner that conversa-
ion could be carried on simultaneous
yn either direction, just as it can on
an ordinary telephone, and also that
the voice from the steam ship was au-
tomatically and instantaneously trans
posed on to the land line telephone
system. Now, in order to accomplish
this it was necessary to have two radio
stations, one for transmitting and one
for receiving. The former is at Deal
Raach Nd = |, n 1ot@
Another important factor enters the
scene at this point. In order that the
feeble current picked up from the ship
at sea shall be able to hold it's own
against the tremendous power radiated
from the nearby Deal Beach station it
IS necessary to have d balance struck
between them. This was the job Of
the hybrid coil
Of course, when the ordinary land
line telephone is added to the circuit
the balance is likely to be overcome, SO
an elaborate device known as "the
balancing network" is placed on the
other end of the balance to counter
act the effect Of adding the land line
NN.SPAOHSi anu lIluS, III q way yOU nave
two sets Of balances hanging from the
same scales
Hybrid Coil Holds Balance
Now, it is the job of the hybrid coil
IN manner of speakinc) to hold this
delicate balance and see to it that
neither side OF the scale gets any more
conversation than it is entitled to.
Investigation, however. has shown
that the hybrid coil is never 100 per
cent on the job, so the result is that
little Of the conversation from the
steamship America spills over the bal
ance and leaks back into the transmit
ing station al Deal Beach. On its
arrival in the latter station it inlme
dlately passes through the voice am
phiiars there, where its power is in
creased, through the modulators, and
finally or to the aerals, whence it is
radiatcd out into the ether, just the
same as though it we're originally
spoken from the Deal Beach station.
So there you are. That's how You
heard the chap on the America con
Quoting the first sercradc in the his
tory of radio. Don't blame it on me-
It's the fault of the hybrid coil.