San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1926-01-31
SOME BELIEVE.
POWERLEAk
CAUSE
Exasperated Listeners
Asked to lpaugurate
Hunt for Disturber.
By o. M. STATIC

G-r-r-r-r-r-r-r
That's the radio program to which
most of San Antonio has been forced
to listen for some weeks past.
What is it, Where is it? Who
is responsible?
That's what fans would like to
know.
At intervals for months. and for
some weeks almost continuously, q
stray electrical disturbance has raised
havoc with radio reception in and
near San Antonio.
IL comes and goes at intervals.
Sometimes it ceases for 8 moment. or
for an hour. Sometimes it settles
down for an allnight session, blanket
ing reception. On some nights the
ethereal buzz saw is strong enough to
interfere with the two local stations,
making signals mushy, distorting mu-
steal notes. '.'
3. A., RADIO "HAS BEEN"
Someone is turning San Antonio
into a place where radio used to be
good.
No wave length on the broadcast
scale is exempt from interference, al
though it is more troublesome on the
lower waves-from 200 to 400 meters.
1t cannot be tuned out. At any point
on the, scale where the receiver is in
resonance, the buzz comes through.
Sometimes music or voice comes
with it, but in most cases the broad
cast signal is so distorted as to be
unpleasant TO hear.
During the past week. with all
San Antonio craning its ears for
European stations, this electrical in
reference has been most troublesome.
Listeners have kept The Lights
phones busy with inquiries as to the
cause of their troubles. The Light
has been attempting to locate the
buzz, but as yet the guilty machine
has escaped.
LISTENERS DIFFER.
Experienced listeners differ as to
what is making the buzz All agree
that IL is not the wave Of wireless
amateur-that is, not the true wave.
Some are Of the belief that a trans
former, used to supply current for
some radio experimental, has become
grounded" and that the buzz is the
wave sent out by the transformer it
self.
Last Sunday afternoon the writer,
tuning in on the lower portion of the
broadcast scale, listened carefully TO
the buzz for two hours in an attempt
TO obtain the call letter of the station.
lie was able to pick out words in the
message which was being sent, but
could not get the sign off" for two
reasons-first because some eight
years have passed since he attempted
to read radio signals, and secondly
because the letters were garbled and
broken up to such a degree that it
was difficult to distinguish between
them.
The gentleman who was decorating
the ether played with his buzzer until
q p. M. when he signed off for an
hour. apparently to refresh his cx-
hausted frame with food. Promptly
at y. N. he returned TO the air,
and stayed there all the evening. in
Guiding the hour from 10 to II, when
all stations in the United States were
supposed to be silent.
HOLLYWOOD! YEAH.
Hollywood was on, it is true, but
that is neither here nor there.
Some listeners incline to the belief
that the buzz is nothing more than
power leak-an electric light or power
line where insulation has failed, or
where transformer is improperly
shielded or grounded. 1t is possible
that this is the explanation.
Whatever the cause, the interior
ence will have To he run down and 10
Gated before San Antonians will be
able to enjoy clear radio reception
again.
Radio receivers employing loops
will probably be the means of elimin
ating the disturbance. Fans who use
such sets are well aware that sig |
mails come in strongest when one edge |
Of the loop is pointed toward the in
coming wave. If fans in various sec
tons of the city, cooperating, will
note the compass readings of their |
loops when pointed at the interfer-
cnce. IL will be found that these direc- |
iional lines will converge pretty close |
ly at one ponit. And that point is |
where Mr.. Buzz has his headquar-
tiers.
OTHER CITIES. ALSO.
Most large cities throughout the |
country have organized broadcast lis
teners' leagues or associations, which |
IN many cases maintain trouble shoot
ers whose principal aim in life is 10
dash about in radio-equipped automo-
biles, running down the sources of in
terfering electrical strays.
In Cincinnati, recently, thousands
Of self-delegated detectives have lost
sleep In running down a disturbance
which disrupted radio reception
Throughout the city.
In one Massachusetts community
similar radio disturbance was correct
ed when it was found that a bird had
built a nest between two high-tension
lines. causing a partial short-circuit
and converting 4S,000-volt trans
hitting line into perfect antenna-
ground system. which made radio i'm
possible over an area Of nine square
miles.
Such troubles. once found usually
are easy Of correction. Power and
light companies arc happy to cooper
ate in any way possible. IL only for
he reason that power leaks are n di-
rcct loss TO them in dollars and cents.
% say nothing Of the matter OF good !