Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-15
7 ANUARY and February so far
this wear. so the radio SoOth-

JANUARY ana FEBRUARY 50 1dI
this year, so the radio Sooth-
sayers tell us, have been
- periods of exceptional radio
reception, confirming predictions
made last year that with the
coming minimum" of the 11-year
Sun-Spot cycle radio conditions
would return to the halcyon days
Of 1920 and 1921, when a little
50-watt broadcaSter could be
heard 5000 miles away.
Only the congeSted conditions
of the wave lengths stand in the
way of the ideal DIX conditions
of the old days. Nevertheless, re-
ports come from all parts of
North America that distance re-
ception this month is the best
ever in the history of modern
receiving sets. And the Sooth-
savers say it is constantly i'm
proving, with distant programs,
especially on the clear channels,
rolling in with surprising power
and clarity.
An unexpected consequence of
this improved reception, however,
has been the increased fading and
"muShing" of nearby stations
after nightfall to listeners within
so to 100 miles of stations. This
is explained by the fact that a
large proportion of stations sky
wave energy is reflected down
from the HeaviSide layer (radio's
ceiling" in the upper atmosphere
to conflict with the ground wave
Fading is caused by the inter
action of these waves.
Since the position and condition
OF the HeaviSide rejecting layer
depend upon Sun-Spot conditions.
or the electronic commandments
coming from the sun, the coming
minimum of Sun-Spot activity rs
expected to make long distance
reception improve throughout 1881
and 1882. In connection with
long distance tuning it is inter-
eSting to note the observations of
Henry A. Bellows, former Federal
radio commissioner and now a
vice president of the Columbia
system, in an article on broad
casting in the Harvard Alumni
Review. He doesn't think much
Of DX-ing apparently.
"The long distance listener, the
radio fan of earlier days, is, hap
PLY, almost extinct" writes Mr..
Bellows. Most people will tell
you that long distance listening,
like the old gray mare, is not what
it used to be, and will lay the
blame at the door of the Federal
Radio Commission, or sun spots,
or the tariff. The real fact is
that listeners will no longer
tolerate the hodgepodge of
SquealS and SquaWkS which used
to delight them. They demand
quality, day and night, at least
comparable to that of a first -claSS
photograph record, and such
quality is not dependably deliver
able by any broadcaSting station
in the world over radius of more
than a couple of hundred miles"
A silent" manuscript, guaran-
"A teed crackleproof, has been
developed for the use of DR.. Julius
Klein, Assistant Secretary of Com
Merce, LOT MS weekly talks over
the Columbia network.
The textile division of the De-
partment of Commerce, which
conducts experiments to find new
uses for cotton, co-operated with
cotton manufacturers in the de-
velopment of the product. 1t is a
cotton proceSSed fabric, soft and
oliable, on which addresses may be
typed or written in ink without
blurring.
The advantage of the new
paper" is that it eliminates the
cracking and rustling noises of
manuscripts that are carried over
the air in annoying volume.
Practiced radio speakers gingerly
lift each piece of manuscript as
1t is read and set it noiSelesSly on
the floor. The remarks of less ex-