San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-11-08
N0V|CES OBTAIN
STARTLING
RESULTS
Homemade Sets Bring in
Distance, Give Volume,
Fans Report.

San Antonio is fast becoming head
quarters for Browning Drake enthus-
lasts.
So many readers of The San An
tonic Light have constructed Brown
ing-Drake receivers and have obtained
such remarkable results from their
operation that dealers have been hard
put to it to keep pace with the de-
mand for special parts which the set
requires. This situation now . has
been remedied for the most part.
The radio fans, driven by neccs-
slty, have put their wits to work and
discovered that Browning Drake cir
cults may be hooked up with almost
any form of three-circuit tuner sub
stituted for the commercial Browning
Drake coils.
Only one change is ordinarily
necessary to make the ordinary three
circuit tuner perform satisfactorily in
the Browning circuit. The secondary
must be. tapped about fifteen turns
from the filament or low potential end.
the connection running to the small
condenser which neutralizes the capa.
city of the first tube.
FUNCTION OF CONDENSER.
Many amateur radio constructors
are somewhat in the dark regarding
the function Of the neutralizing con
denser when the set is operating.
1t is devised to compensate for the
slight capacity which exists between
the grid and plate Of the radio fire.
quency tube. These two tiny pieces
Of metal act as n condenser and al
low the oscillations of the receiving
set to fed back into the antenna cir
cult, producing the sQueals and bowls
which make life miserable for the
neighbors who happen to be listen
lug in.
The neutralizing condenser, which is
adjusted until its capacity is equal to
that between the grid and the plate,
offsets the tube capacity and regen.
erative whistles are confined to the
receiver in which they originate. At
the same time the set is made more
stable. and easier 10 tune without
breaking into oscillation.
RECORDS REPORTED.
Remarkable records in the line of
distonce-getting. some of them made
by new corners to the radio field
who have seldom heard radio sets
in their lives, have been reported TO
The Light.
New York City, Pittsburgh. Los
Angeles and Seattle have been heard
with volume on loud speakers, the
sets having been operated in many
instances. on indoor aerials or make
shift outdoor affairs less than 30
feet long.
One enthusiastic fan reported pick
ing up Los Angeles and New York
within five minutes one evening, and
the writer can listen any evening on
his Browning Drake. static permitting,
TO Los Angeles, Chicago, Cincinnati,
or Pittsburgh.
The set is so sclective that a varia-
ton of half degree in the reading
of the second tuning condenser is
sufficient to tune out distant sta
VICAR is tuned out absolutely by
turning both dials two degrees off
setting. When the power of VICAR
is considered. this feat is a tribute
both to the selectivity of the set and
to the sharpness Of the station.
USING WASTE SPACE.
On this page today The Light
prints a photograph of n Browning
Drake set which shows unusual in
genuity in the placement of the parts.
Everything is crowded behind an
eightecn-inch panel, every inch of
space being utilized, and yet the
parts are SO arranged that there IL
no interference. electrically. between
them. The coils are all turned so
that their principal fields are at right
angles to one another and therefore
do not intcract. The audio trans
forme,s likewise arc so placed that