The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-01-07

1923 it would be possible to hear a watch ticking all the way. from Ha- vana. Cuba, tC Birmingham, he would be in a more dangerous eondl- tion. If at that time another man were to say that sometime it would be possible to hear the ticking of a watch all the way from Cuba to Birmingham, so loud that 1t would hurt ones ears. there is no telling what would become of him, but all this Is really true today.
 Each time when the announcer or station PWX finishes and there is to be a slight intermission, he places his watch near the microphone and it is plainly heard In Birmingham by the listeners. In fact, all over this part of the United States. In many cases where the receiving set is us- ing two-stage amplifier. it is so loud that 1t is not comfortable to wear the phones. (Some of the local bugs say that the PWX announcer must use an alarm clock)
 In the past day or so I have mo- ticed several transmitting stations in the ether that apparently had no business there. Both c. w. and spark stations have been interfering greatly for the past few days and We would appreciate any report on who this Is.
 One of these stations sounds like a spark coil with the vibrator very loose. That is the clicks were very slow and the wave unusually broad. There is some c. W. station sending that sounds like it uses no rectifier whatsoever. There is no break like that of a chemical rectifier and the owner sometimes changes his tone a little. He must be trying to get some radiation. He seems afraid to send as he only sends one long dash (about N15 minutes long). If he is testing with some one and wants a report on his signals, I am very glad to advise that they are rotten. Of this fits you, wear it.)
 I am always opposed to anyone sending without cause, but last We'd nesday night, I could not help but offer my admiration to a c. w. sta ton that was really playing tunes on the key. How he did it. Is be- yond me, but 1t was in perfect time and always right in the right pitch. The change of the note did not seem to change his wave and 1t really sounded pretty. l judged the station was about two or three hundred miles away but never heard him sign The only way I can see that he did this was by changing the speed of his chopper. If this is the way he must have been able to judge the pitch by the noise itself. then when the right speed was obtained he would press down on the key.
 Some of the selections were Amer ica, Dixie and National Anthem.
 If ic nno nf U have been expecting from the bugs" in town with. sets they received Christmas. This one Is from a local bug who told me a few days before Christmas about the parts for set he was going to get and promised to write me a letter as soon as the set was completed and the old sta- tions started roaring in.' We are glad to see him live up to his word and hope to hear from him again very soon.
 The letter is as follows:
 Jack Turner, Radio Editor The Age-Herald. Birmingham, Ala. Dear Sir: l saw you before Christmas and told you I was going to get the parts for a vacuum tube set for Christmas. Rand Hood helped me make this set and it was ready for action Sunday night, December S1. 1922.
 "Of course we had no trouble in hearing WSY but in two nights caught ten stations. including WSY. Birmingham; WHB. Kansas City; woe, Davenport; WSB, Atlanta; Ga; WWJ, Detroit, Mich; WFAA. Dallas, Tex; KSD. St. Louis. Mo. .; woo, Philadelphia, Pa., WGM, At lanta, and WBAP, Fort Worth, Tex. will 1et v0u lsDoW hOut my eat in the near future.
 Yours very truly,
 BERNARD BURTON, JR." We are glad to see this "bug" get ting such fine results from his set at the first try out. This is a good record and looks like he ought to get some real distance soon. We take it for granted, if he started lsten- ing for the first time On his set last Sunday night. that he didn't stop until 1923 had come over qs. ADD DOTS AND DASHESV27s l-. Rand Hood who has always been interested in the Radio department of The Age-Hera1d and who has been in constant touch with us eyer since he was a Crystal Bug" has recently informed me of vacuum tube set he has just completed. This set is 8 short wave set, using a tickler coil and one stage of audio frequency amplification. Rand states that he received many stations among which are: WWJ, Detroit; KDKA, Pitts burg; WSB, Atlanta; WGM. Atlanta; PWX, Havana. Cuba; woe, Daven- port; WDAP. Chicago; WHB. Kansas City; WBAP. Fort Worth. Texas: wFAA. Dallas. Texas. Cleveland; KSD, St. Louis; WHAS, Louisville and also station CFCA in Toronto. Canada.
 This Is an especially good record for new set and we are expecting more form Rand.
 This Bug" is doing his part to- ward making Radio success. He aided one of the local bugs with his set and this is something that many people refuse to do If every one who knew something about radio would help the ones who are trying to learn something about 1t, there would be less money spent on the wrong kind of material and parts and all the new sets would be an improvement on sets in general rather than what most of them are.
 Edward Beatty. who now Is the owner of a Western Edectric Louu speaker and Power ampHfier. is get ting fine results from it and states that he heard station WGY, at Sche- nectady few nights ago. five blocks from his set This may seem impossible but it is the truth. Some of the bugs would be perfectly satis- fled to hear a station 1000 miles away. less than five inches from the phones.
 Last Sunday night Radio station WDAP, at Chicago. stated that they were going to break the worlds s record for broadcasting by transmit ting eight hours without stopping. They also said (which was mu .h more interestingly that they would