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24
RADIO REVUE
Will Radio Wonders Never Cease?
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Invention of Left-handed Microphone Likely to Revolutionize Broadcasting
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By I. B. HANSOM
Manager of Plants, Orchestrations and Racketeering Natural Broadcasting System
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DITOR'S NOTE
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We could not go to press without having a technical article for those of our readers -who are so inclined, so ■we called upon I. B. Hansom to write about radio's latest development. He has done so in a manner that leaves no doubt as to his fitness for the position he holds.
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RADIO engineers, ever alert to invent or develop new devices for the convenience of announcers, artists and others who present the broadcast offerings to the public, have made another great discovery. It is the lefthanded microphone and it may safely be referred to as the most radical development in microcraftsmanship in the past three years.
In order to take this great step forward, it was necessary to take a step backward. Years of research have proved that it is impossible to develop a left
handed
Mr. Hansom in a characteristic pose
c o n d enser microphone and that only the carbon type of
"mike" could be used. Yet, so great is the superiority of the left-handed mike over the type generally in use that it has been considered practicable to junk
Here is Mr. Hansom examining the two latest types of
microphones, which will doubtless be thrust into oblivion by his latest invention
the expensive condenser types. It has always been the policy of the Natural Broadcasting System to discard without hesitation hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of equipment if the public is to be benefitted in any way.
The secret of the left-handed microphone may be found in the shape of the tiny grains of carbon that give the carbon mike its name. In the old type microphone the bits of carbon were slightly longer than they were wide, the third dimension being indifferent. This caused the minute particles of carbon to revolve slowly to the right when agitated by a High C note or the mocking wails of a double bass.
Third Dimension Indifferent
In the new type the carbon particles are slightly wider than they are long, the third dimension remaining indifferent. This causes the particles to move in a left-handed direction. Another important phase of the new development is that the sex of the artist before the microphone has no effect whatsoever on the carbon contents.
While the average layman may wonder what difference this minor change in directional activity can make, to the engineer it is obvious. The tempo of the frequencies, which heretofore has been casual, is changed and the pitch co-efficient is greatly improved.
Another interesting angle is that each bit of carbon — (Continued on page 45)
N. B. — We have discovered quite inadvertently that the young lady standing before rhe jmall mike is Olga Serlis, pianistc and director of the Parnassus Trio. What she can be doing there is beyond us, as we do not believe she sings, but there is absolutely nothing we can do about it.