Evening star., 1933-12-10
AUTO RADIO SH|F IS
into HIGH GEAR
Special Programs for Motor
ist Expected to Increase
Interest in Highways.

Automobile radio, once . limping In
novation that scarcely made the grade,
now has shifted to fourth speed and Is
riding the highways as smoothly as It
rides the ether waves. II you have been
considering radio receiver for your
car there Is much you would do well to
forget and great deal of more timely
information you will want to digest. Car
radio is definitely out of the expert
mental stage.
New type tubes. remote tuning. auto
matte volume control, dynamic speakers,
to mention few of the purely electrical
improvements, have brought to automo-
billing new standards of reception. But
in the automotive application Of radio
there has also been simultaneous I'M
provement in the more mechanical
features. Installation has been revamped
to eliminate many of the loose ends.
1t Is no secret that the real handicap
to car radio has been the scarcity Of
radio men who also are good mechanics.
Putting receiver in car is, in many
respects. mechanical service job SIM
liar to installing car heater.
Installation Important.
Experience in installing sets has re-
suited In much additional knowledge on
the subject OF interference suppression"
by means Of which 1t Is possible to OBJ
tain home-type reception without In
reference from the cars ignition sys-
tenn. Most motorists declare they are
not interested in tuning in while the
car Is in motion, but experience demon
strates that once car Is equipped, the
desire to listen in as you 60 becomes fr-
resistible Travellers find their radio sets
keep them mentally alert. Because OF
this demand for continuous reception 1t
has been necessary to devise new and
better methods of preventing interfer-
ence with the radios output while the
ignition is on.
In preventing the coil-to-distributor
high-tension wire from interfering with
reception, for instance. 1t is necessary
to shield with special metallic COW
ering and then ground this shielding
at both ends as well as at the middle
Grounding only at one end may be the
broken link in the chain Of detail
necessary to satisfactory reception.
Resisters should be installed on all
the spark plugs and on the distributor
| while interference condensers should
be added to the generator and coil
Some cases of interference have been
traced to failure to shield the low-ten-
sion wiring from the coil to distributor
It would be well to try the installation
before going to the trouble of relocating
the coil, but the chances are that this
| unit will need to be placed on the
engine side of the dash. On some
cars the coil is combined with the igni-
ton SWITCH the unit being mounted
| just behind the instrument panel. II
| interference is traced to such unit
| the best solution is to disconnect the
original coil and substitute a new one
mounting the latter on the engine side
Of the dash. This should be no hard
ship, since the motorist usually can
substitute an improved coil that will
give him better car performance as
well.
Shielding Takes Time.
Shielding, while not calling for ex.
| pensive materials, takes time, and any
| one who wants to get the most from hi.
car receiver will do well to allow the
| installation man ample time to do the
| job properly. 1t has been found, fol
! instance, that the wider the gap at the
| spark plugs the better the radio set viii
perform while the car is in operation
but it Is apparent that with high COM
| preston calling for closer spacing Of
| points 1t may be necessary to consult
a car service man before going too fal
with the matter of seeking radio per-
| fection.
For those whose cars are no'
equipped with special antenna there
are various ways of getting around
some of the natural difficulties. If the
| top of the closed car is semi-soft, witt
I ND
screen tackled to the under side of ths
bows will provide sufiicient pickup fol-
| good reception with the more powerful
sets now being offered. 1t is necessary
to remove the ceiling lining TO make
! this change. and, in addition, it Is yer,
important to keep the screening at leas
three inches from the metal body posts
| A change in the position of the dome
| light wiring should be made to keep II
/ as far as possible from the pickup
| system.
| Some cars have what is known a.
poultry wire just above the head lining
| This may or may not make a goot
! antenna, and 1t Is well to experiment
| to find out In the older cars 1t Il
| likely to be grounded, in which case
| it Is not only useless as an aerial, but
will also shield any added copper
screening from the radio waves. Somt
manufacturers now take care to see thai
the poultry wire is not grounded anc
that it is bonded.
Tape Antenna Possible.
There are various ways Of getting
around difficulties met in working or
older models. It is even possible tt
use tape antenna on the cars roof
and many installations involve the USE
| Of an aerial strung under the chassis.
Because the newer sets are all-in-one
the subject of protecting "B" batterie.
has become mere history. Where sucf
batteries still are used, however, the
important thing is to keep them dry
Recently there has been introduced {
special generator which produces cur.
rent at ITO volts. 1t is driven from tht
fan belt and is said to provide idea
! radio current.
The big broadcast for the motoris
has arrived. Rehearsals are over anc
he tunes In with assurance that he il
going to hear in his home on wheel
the sort of thing he has come to ex
pect of radio at its best.
! (Copyright, 1880
|