Radio broadcast .. (1922-30)

PROFESSIONALLY 1 678 5 c 7 t * ! i 3 4 5 6 7 1 S SPEAKING REGARDING STYLE CHANGES THERE ARE PEOPLE who never cease comparing the radio industry with the automotive industry, the phonograph industry, or some other industry which has had its days of youth, adolescence, and maturity. In general we decry such comparisons, but in particular we must admit there are certain similarities. Automobiles are sold to-day on two legitimate appeals, that of style, and that of technical advance. It is difficult to estimate how many of the style changes in the automotive industry are dependent upon tech- nical advance, but it is certain that they were not made possible by engineering changes to the extent that they are in radio. It is necessary only to think over the style changes in radio to estimate how many were dependent upon radio engineers and not style engineers. Single dial sets, consoles with radio, loud speaker and power supply in one cabinet, freedom from a multiplicity of knobs and accessories brought about by the development of automatic volume control, disappearance of regenerative sets, invention of uniform gain circuits, production of a.c. tubes, change of panel effect by automatic tuning or remote control, and develop- ment of drum dials — all have been made possible by tech- nical advance. It seems probable that the future will find radios sold as much on style change as on technical advance. It seems ad- visable, then to divorce style engineering from circuit de- sign, and to remove from the hard-working radio engineer one of the worries that lingers in the back of his head. A RADIO FOR THE FARMER AFTER NEGLECTING the farm market for several years — although everyone admits the rural dweller has the most to benefit from radio —it appears that the fanner is to be subjected to the selling pressure of many if not most of the receiver manufacturers now competing for the a.c. business. It is to be hoped that the sets made purely for the listener unable to enjoy the privilege of drawing power from house wires will not only operate from batteries and pull-in the desired stations but that they will also be inexpensive in first cost and economical in maintenance. Those not blessed with power circuits can now enjoy radio by means of battery- operated receivers and have been able to do so for a number of years. What they cannot enjoy is lugging the battery to town to be charged, and the continual drain on B batteries. They do not want just another battery set; they want a set that is engineered with their particular problem in mind, a set that operates for a month from a single battery charge and wliich What will sell radios in the future? I^el's divorce style engineering from radio circuit design. The farmer — a new factor in selling radio. How the Spanish government controls broadcast advertising. consumes only one set of B batteries a year instead of two or three. A set for the rural dweller should have about four tubes, probably three screen-grid tubes and a power tube. These screen-grid tubes should have better filaments than those now obtainable. They should last longer and be less microphonic. The power tube should be similar to the pentodes now being used extensively on the Continent. They are more efficient than any American power tube, both from the standpoint of the amplification necessary to produce a given amount of power output, and from the standpoint of battery power consumption. In other words, they make possible a set which costs less to maintain as well as less in first cost. At present it is possible to buy a radio set for less than $60, which is probably near the rock-bottom price with present methods of dis- tribution. There is little to be hoped for in the direction of lower first cost, apparently. One tube manufacturer (De Forest) has announced a d.c. screen-grid tube that is sturdier than those ordinarily obtain- able. It has an oxide-coated filament and heavier construction. Of eight tube manufacturers interviewed at the New York Radio Show, only one had heard of pentode tubes and the majority of the others were disinterested. Apparently there are more pressing problems in the average tube plant than developing new tubes. Or is it true that most tube manu- facturers arc still willing to let someone else pay the develop- ment cost? FOREIGN VIEWS ON ADVERTISING WIRELESS WORLD, an English radio publication, reports a decision of the Spanish government relative to radio advertising. Broadcast advertisements are stated to have killed enthusiasm for wireless and the State decree has stipulated that not over one hundred words of advertis- ing per hour can be put on the air from a given station. This would be a severe handicap to some announcers and some advertisers in the United States. Some of the adver- tisements sound like a weather report transmitted at ten words per minute for North and South Polar regions and all intervening territories. Another English paper laments the fact that radio programs in England, under the control of the B.B.C., a monopoly doled out by the government, do not compare with those of other nations where someone besides the listeners pay the bills. Particularly envious glances are directed toward the United States where the best musical and other talent is on the air through the sponsorship of national advertisers. It might be worth while to send to England those who orate most en- thusiastically against our present broadcasting structure. • DECEMBER 1929 •