Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-09
RUSSIA PURCHASES
RADIO EQUIPMENT
Soviet Orders Largest High
Voltage Rectifier Eyer
Built for Purpose.
BY MARTIN coDEL.

NEW YORK, April Cloud speakers
at urban street corners and receiving
sets in schools and village assembly
halls are carrying to the Russian people
the programs of the 81 radio broad
casting stations that have been estab-
liShed by the Soviet government.
With only 100000 radio sets in use,
Russia has yet to accomplish the major
part of its plan of making radio avail
able to the masses. In the amount OF
broadcaSting of all kinds of programs,
however, it is far ahead of the rest of
Europe, for nearly all its stations are
working on a full-day schedule.
Germany, France and Sweden, with
about 80 stations each, and the United
Kingdom, with %, do not offer their
listeners as many different programs to
tune in.
Little known facts about Russia's
radio development have been brought to
light as the result of the $600,000 con-
tract for radio equipment recently
placed with an American manufacturing
concern through the Amtorg Trading
Co.. official trade representatives of the
Soviet government in this city. This
equipment is now being delivered piece
meal.
Giant Rectifier.
It includes the largest high-voltage
rectif1er ever built for radio-a giant
unit capable of 750-kilowatt output.
The design of Prof. Bonch- Bruevich,
hailed as RuSSia's greatest radio engi-
neer, consists of 18 mercury vapor
tubes which transform an alternating
current into direct current at a
potential $4,000 volts. The ordering of
this rectifier would tend to verify re-
ports that Russia is building the largest
station in the world, either at Moscow
or at Nizhninovgorod
Amtorg officials do not know just
what use will be made of the rectifier,
but it was indicated from other sources
that it will probably be adapted to Rus
Sia's present highest-powered broadcast
ing station, at Moscow, which is rated
at 40 kilowattS.
The Russians have designed and
manufactured practically all of their
own radio equipment, but the so-called
weak current trust" recently concluded
an agreement with the Radio Corpora
ton of America for technical co-opera-
ton. The agreement provides for an
exchange of patent and engineering in
formation. Partly in connection with
this agreement, and also to study the
American radio system, Director Antu-
hin and Chief Engineer Ziklinsky of
the trust are now on their way to this
country for an extended visit.
Soviet Russia will have a short-wave
station at Moscow in direct communica-
ton with New York before this year is
out. It is also building one at Khaha-
rovSk, at the western end of Siberia,
presumably for communicating with
Moscow. This station may also be used
for transpacific circuit with the
United States.
Encourages Amateurs.
As in this country and Canada, the
Russian officials are encouraging all
amateur operators, with the thought of
developing them into radio engineers.
Licenses are issued freely to youths with
radio aptitude, and local radio clubs are
encouraged.
Besides the rectifier, the order placed
with the American company included a
long-wave broadeaster, Short-wave
broadcaster, five code transmitters and
eight telegraph and telephone sets for
transmitting from aircraft. These are
understood to be intended largely for
experiments, with the idea of adapting
American equipment to the fast devel-
oplng Russian system.
The Russian representatives disavow
any intention to propaganda over their
radio stations. It is true that Russian
listeners can receive programs from
Prague, Vienna and other nearby trans
mission points, and that Russian sta
tons may often be heard in Continental
Europe, but the interchange f-program
idea is not in the minds of the broad
cast managers, it is said.
All the spoken programs are in Rus
sion. They trend toward educational
features more than American stations
do. A typical program of Komintern,
the Moscow station, as taken from a
popular radio magazine in Russia, con-
sists of a lesson in Esperanto and an
hour Of agricultural lessons for the
peasants early in the morning. At IL
noon there is an hour entitled Sing
With U.s." devoted to group singing.
Through the afternoon there are lee
lures to amateur photographers, hunt
erS and the like. Then there are the
news flashes, called the Radio News
paper" and the weather reports, called
the Radio Calendar" Lectures on lit
erature, politics and other subjects,
along with plays and dialogue, complete
the educational features.
Chamber music or broadcaStS from
the opera take up the three and one
half hours before midnight.
Copyright, 1929. by North American News
paper Alliance)