Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-05
HOMEMADE RADIO
. SETS WIN PRAISE
Expert Encourages Amateur
to Continue Work on
Receiving End.

Hugo Gernsback, radio eApeti
mentor and writer. and who. IN ms
snare time, edits popular rauio
n,ontbIv. went before the microphohe
~ station WRNY. New York. last
night. to encourage the construction
OF homemade receiving sets ana ~
outline their advantage over 'ie
manufactured variety. The amateur
set builder he described as the pioneer
of radio development. In othet
words he thinks the homemade SET
builders create most of the ne"
wrinkles in the mechanical makeup
of receivers and the manufacturers
come along later and adopt the sue
cessful ones. all of which we are not
prepared to deny. .,4o,,,.
Anvbovv Mr.. GernsGaCk incidentally
sounded an appeal for the scrapplhe
of the single circuit. unselectlVe sets--
obsoleto reminders Of the time Wheh
radio first came into vogue. mere
are vet many Of these sets OF aIlc'eh1
vintage in use in the District slVlIs
f.ood results. no doubt as far as range
and volume are tOlttN 49,
ipo nm every form of interference
tho+ Green's into the sensitive ether,
To ba unto.date under conditions
tba+ change as quickly as those IN
hroadca sting. Mr. Gernsback points
o,,+ radio receivers must forever De
l,ent up-to-theminute. IhouSh lhe
changes are gradual" he said, they
are constantly taking place, ana their
effec+ is culminative. You would not
tb;nl oP using. In the midst OF heavy
traffic. q 1924 model car that haa 10
be cranked by hand. NO more can
you expect the set of 1922, oullt Wneh
there were but few oroadcasl sea-
lions, 10 give satisfaction pafticu
larly in our congested centers' ~
3 Ner known fact that every time
station changes It's transmitter. or IN
creases It's power. thousands OF NEARBY
eats are Immediately found to- be IN
odaouote because they cannot tune
sharnlv enough to cut out the nearpy
station and get others at wills
ssTrvestigation usually shows, on
e,,oh occa Sions, that most or these
i,nselective sets are single CIRCUIT OF
crystal receivers. and others punt
several years ago. which are no
longer suitable for present day raoio
traffic. Furthermore. addltlonai oe'
mands are being made right along
on the selectivity of radio receivers
because the broadcast stations are
continually increasing their power.
T,ba ser builder. naturally. keeps pace
with the evolution of broadcast con-
ditions. and is forever ready to build
new and better set to meet future
requirements"
The Davis Saxophone Octet and the
Inana Troubadours. in their musical
way. will continue to further adVer'
tise baking powder and toothpaste
tonight over WRC and other stations
on the WEAF chain. The advance
ororran from New York indicates
that the feature selection OF the sa1o-
nhone group will be a solo, 'Ro-
nance" By Frommel, played by Clyde
Doerr. accompanied by the entire en-
senble, The solo by Doerr is in itself
not at all unusual. for such selec-
tion is featured each week, but 1t IS
seldom that this premier saXophonlst
plays with the entire ensemble In the
background.
The half hour entertainment of the
Troubadours will include three brand
new Broadway hits, which, according
10 the program writer, have not pre-
viously been broadcast. In addition
popular dance selections, cello solo
by Lucien Schmit and a selection for
the string instruments. in the group
The regular Wednesday night light
opera presentation of the WEAF
Opera Company, a late attraction on
WRC's bill, will be a tabloid version
of the opera RED Hussar."
l.. T. Moore, 2123 l street. advises
Lny1aar SffraG
soprano, who made her radio debut
in the Atwater Kent hour Sunday
night during a joint recital with her
mother, Nine Louise Homer, soon
will become a resident of Washington.
Rev. Ernest Stires, her husband, he
writes, has been appointed to the
staff of the Church of the Epiphany to
succeed Rev. Herbert S. Miller, who
was transferred to Trinity Church.
New York.
Static of the continuous cracking
type that we get on a Midsummer
night marred the reception of distant
stations last night. Otherwise, the
night undoubtedly would have pro-
duced good results. The signals were
there, but only those hurled into the
ether by the superpower stations were
able to cut through the uproar with
sufficient clarity and volume for audi
bility.
The atmospherics were manifest in
the early evening, and seemed to In
crease until about II o'clock, when
they became most pronounced. The
worst conditions prevailed in the
Northwest, and made reception of the
Chicago broadcasters virtually impos-
sble at times.
Strangely enough. however, WBAL
In Baltimore came through almost as
clear as WRG, it's signals apparently
unaffected by the disturbance. And
more strangely, perhaps, was the vir-
tual complete lack of fading. which Is
so characteristic of this station.
Stations heard with volume and
clarity enough for Identification on
loud speakers We're all in the North.
Among them We're WPG, Atlantic
City: WMCA, WEAF and WIZ, New
York, and WIZ, Springfield.