The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1926-02-15
Romping Around the
Radio Dials
BY GARDNER MACK

All I know about radio ID what
I hear coming from the loud
speaker
With due Napologies to VIII
Rogers for stealing his best line
I want to start this trick O.
writing pieces for the radio read
ers Of the Washington Times by
announcing myself. loudly and
distinctly a. being one Of the
twenty million persons in these
United States who simply own radio
sets. And Polly and mother and !
are intensely interested in what
radio brings rs through the loud
speaker.
And 20 at the very beginning i
don't want anyone to think that !
can tell him what sort Of q
doOdad, put edgewise across the
output can make the fnput hetrO-
dyne against the grid leak!
Neither Of US would know grid
leak IL we found It In the soup.
But all Of usand that goes for
80 per cent Of the twenty million
as well a. the twenty millions,
Polly and mother are tremend-
ously excited for at least three or
four hours out OF every twenty
four by what the loud speaker de-.
livers to as. And 1t Isl just that
just the things we get out Of the
radio that we propose. to write
around and upon from day to day.
Savants Classifying Waves
You see. there are several rather
distinct kinds Of people nonkeying
with tho microphones and raw ma
terial for them these days. One set
Of them Is made up OF scientists
physicists and electrical savants
who are busy with all sorts Of re-
search work ii an effort Is dis
cover what radio Isl They have
started on their way. But they
i haven't gone beyond mailing dis
lance from zero yet. They are
searching the atmosphere for eiec-
irons and atoms and such things
to discover just what and why and
where and when are the sound
waves. Science, you know, IL the
orderly arrangement or classified
ton OF knowledge. And these learned
gentlemen are all engaged in getting
the knowledge to arrange. They
are getting the waves strung
together In species every scientist
loves to get b new and distinct
species to which his name can be
attached and go down In history in
that way.
It might interest radio fans to
know that the original watt. the
original ohm. the original volt, the
original farradaY men! Those
words that now mean things or
terms Of measurement to most of
rs were actually men who gave
their names to these things be-
cause they either originally dis
covered them or first made them
of practical use..
Mix Science and Mechanics
These researchers pass their work
on to experts who mix science and
mechanics and turn out q stand.
ardiged. mechanical product that
will practically demonstrate their
scientific I ects-or approximate
them. Standardization is necessary
mot only because it Is a passion
with mechanical geniuses, but be-
cause unless 1t is accomplished the
scientific idea involved In such things
as radio receivers will not be CONNER
r'ally practical. So tho first class
Of our radio guides consists Of
scientists and mechanical geniuses
who are interested in arranging the.
science and standardizing the me-
chanics OF radio-and in very little
else about IT.
The second class form the group
Of devotees OF the creative arts or
learned philosophers who see in
radio the greatest opportunity ever
offered the human race to get cul.
tured and finished and taught this
or that ism or ology sor school Of
art. music, literature or philosophy.
There Is subgroup Of this second
class made up of propagandists.
With all due respect to most Of the
people in this second class-anG
tley are the ones that are broad
casting quite a lot of our programs
the great mass of them has a
schoolmasterish type OF mind and
insists that his way Of saving tho
world from ignorance and cultural
demnition Is the only way.
This type almost kisses The micro
phone IN sheer joy because 1t gives
him one-way agency with which
to do his sultan agency that
cannot talk back or argue.
There is another subgroup con-
sisting Of he-flappers and female
baritones who tinkle or shout their
favorite melodies into the micro.
phone. The absence OF applause
doesn't worry these people much,
as It does the regular product of
the concert platform or the stage,
because they never have been APP.
plauded and might be frightened by
it.
Wants of Listeners
And then there is the advertising
counselor who sees in the one.way1
character Of the radio an op-
portunity to catch the popular ear
before nature does its stuff and in
spires the hand to twist the dial
to another wave 1ength--and an.
other station that isn't engaged in
advertising-for the hand that
turns the dial rules the wave
length!
All of these and sundry others
forget that hand that turns the
dial, they Only remember the ear
that is trained on the loud speake.
or covered by the phones. And we
want many, many things. We're
not at all standardized we listeners.
We want to be amused and enter
tanned. Some of us want to be in
structed. All of us want to get our
legitimate thrill every evening. Most
of US know that by turning our
dials we can tune in nm San Fran.