The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1924-03-31
PICKING 4 RADIO
SET IS REAL
PROBLEM
Some Of Things That Must
Be Considered by Pur-
chaser Are Listed.

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Little things like picking out a
wife, selecting an AUTOMOBILES. or
buying a new house, are a cinch
compared with deciding which radio
set to buy or build.
The multiplicity Of types of re.
cetving sets available, the extrava.
giant claims made for MANY Of
them, and the inability Of a large
section sof the public to select good
sets or parts, make the laynan's
choice, Of set a real problem.
The formula consists of the
sum Of ten important character
lsttcs divided by the cost in dollars
and equals satisfaction per dollar.
The characteristics are:
l, Quality Of reproduction: q,
volume; 8, range (sensitivity); 4,
ease OF tuning; 5, ease Of construc.
ton; o, non-radiating; q, sharpness
OF tuning (selectivityl: 8, rugedness;
cost.
1, Some Of these characteristics can
De rated by one who has never
seen or heard radio set, while
others need further explanation.
l. Quality of reproduction isgiven
first, for without 1t a radio set
is useless for entertainment. With
the proper apparatus and loud
speaker or head phones the DUAL.
ltys of reproduction is assured.
DetectOr Important.
The most important piece of ap.
paratus for quality in radio set,
outsides OF the actual reproducer.
Is the detector, with the odds
greatly IN favor Of the crystal
q. Volume is obtained by audio
frequency amplification and depends
for its magnitude on the make Of
transformer used and the number
OF stages.
8. The greatest range can be
given to a radio receiving set by.
radio frequency amplification and
when three stages are used pro.
duceS an amplifier Of such sensi.
tivity that distant stations can be
heard loud and clear even on a
loop.
4. II set has easy tuning the
novice can get the most out of it:
women can easily tune in the dis
tant stations loud and clear. Ease
OF tuning depends directly on the
number OF controls.
5. The great majority Of the sets
in this country today were made
at home and ease Of construction is
therefore very necessary char
acteristic. Choose set consisting
OF standard parts and wire it &C.
curding to a good diagram, easily
followed.
Don't Annoy NeighbOr.
s. Build set which wont radiate
and annoy your neighbor, but IL
you do build radiating type OF
set learn how to operate it SO that
the interference to others will be
at minimum.
Z. The number Of stations you can
get on a receiver depends greatly
OF interference in your locality. A
loop set can't be beat for selectivity
and cutting out interference because
loop and. a low loss condenser
have such low resistance, and a
loop has the property Of receiving
radio in the plane Of its direction
some hundreds Of times easier than
in directions at right angles to this
plane. Interference at right angles
is therefore eliminated.
8. Ruggedness is a characteristic
usually quite apparent but for
safety's sake be sure the parts are
those manufactured by well.known
companies who are building for the
future, and therefore cannot afford
to put out an inferior product.
3. The upkeep expense Of a radio
set depends on the number Of tubes
used to meet all the other necessary
requirements. Sets using a crystal
detector and four amplifier tubes
draw only half as much current as
sets using a soft vacuum tube
detector and four simplifying tubes.
10. The first cost of a radio set
is the easiest thing to determine
as there are thousands Of men quite
eager to tell you.
Attention to these Command
ments'' win pay any fan, for they
will enable him-or her-not only
to select good set, but one
adapted to his or her own particular