Radio Digest (July 1924-Apr 1925)

;=-... Julv 12, 1924 RADIO DIGES T— Illustrated BEFORE THEY THOUGHT OF "MIKES" * . • •::.yXw:v:-:-x-:-:.v. The young's Ger at the left is one of the first Radio an nouncers at one of the first stations in the country. At the rig-lit is Hugh B. Marshall, WTAT, the older of the two babies shown last week, and next to him, Corley W. Kirhy, WWJ. im Hugh B. Marshall, WTAY BORN in a town called LaCrosse, "Wisconsin, in 1897; and living there until 1918, sure is some record for an announcer. No big town stuff until 1iis Uncle Sam decided that he needed a few good men in the army, and then according to Hugh — "he looked at me." Being somewhat of an impersonator, he did his stuff for* the boys in the army in the fall of 1918. Whether it was because of his good work or not, we have been unable to determine, but they decided to finish the war and let him make some money. He signed up with the Red Path Chautauqua and started a jaunt covering 32 states; then he decided that the home ties were calling and returned to La Crosse, thence to school to study dentistry. It was while he was performing in Chautauqua that he met his wife — yeh! he's married has been for four years. She was sitting in the audience at Akron, Iowa, and wouldn't even smile at his wise cracks. But, she laughed two years later — wedding bells and slow music, you know how it is. His hobby is "flivvers" — taking them apart and putting them together again; profession, recent dentistry graduate of Northwestern university, intends to open up office and practice in August in Oak Park; ambition, "to be an ethical dentist;" aversion, second hand Fords and an old maid looking for a husband; gifts from fans, box of cough drops and a faded, withered, badly dilapidated rose — the last rose of summer. Last summer he started at Station WJAZ as studio manager but long hours forced him to give it up because of school. When WTAY started in February, 1924; he filled the position of manager and announcer. His creed as an announcer is: *A little humor, here and there, if not too long — make announcements different." Corley W. Kirby, WWJ THIS young man has so trained his voice that his wife doesn't know whether he is announcing, or his "side-kick," Edwin L. Tyson. This outstanding feature is exceptionally useful New Towers, Antenna Raise WDAF'S Power Fans' Letters Show Volume of Signals Greatly Increased KANSAS CITY, MO. — According to hundreds of letters received by The Kansas City Star, the new 160-foot towers with the new antenna erected on top of The Star building greatly increase the volume of the signals. There has been a slight drop in radiation, but this probably will not decrease the distance of the station. The towers are a part of the entire new equipment to be installed by WDAF. Other new parts will include a larger studio and operating room, and a new transmitter. Work on these improvements has not yet begun but is expected to start soon. Happenings of the Shrine convention in this city, the Republican convention in Cleveland, and the Democratic convention in New York have been transmitted to listeners over this new antenna and thousands of letters are pouring in congratulating WDAF on the volume and clarity of everything. The towers are of massive steel, painted a battleship gray, and stand 160 feet on top of the building which is 85 feet in height. Destroy German Station BERLIN. — An attempt was made recently to destroy the great Radio station at Koenigswuesterhausen. One mast was actually brought down. 'Largest Spark Coil' Is Source of 'Death Ray' English Chemist Says All He Needs Is Bike Lamp LONDON. — Two weeks ago it was announced that nearly every European power had at least one death ray inventor. Now England has been stricken with another. The last arrival on the scene is a chemist, but evidently his ray is based on electrical phenomena for he claims to have the largest privately owned spark coil in the world. It is from this that he gets his ray. He maintains, however, that he can direct his death-dealing ray along a beam from a bicycle lamp or even a pocket flash-lamp. With a common searchlight beam he claims that he could wreck a Zeppelin in no time. The claims of the many inventors are attracting but little attention in official circles. However, serious consideration is being given to the development of the two plans suggested by well-known and successful scientists; the plan of GrindellMatthews (the first one proposed) and the plan of Professor Wall of Sheffield university. Hoover Meet in September WASHINGTON, D. C. — No official announcement has been made at the department of commerce relative to the date for the third Radio conference. Secretary of Commerce Hoover has let it be known unofficially, however, that he will call the conference for the latter part of September. when he desires a night off to go to the club. It is his misfortune to have to -carry around the given name of Corley hooked, up with a perfectly good Irish christian name of Kirby. He was born in the latter part of the nineteenth century, to be exact, 1896, in a little town called Peoria, which appears only on country maps. Of course, he was educated in his home state, Illinois. His eyes are brown and hair is akin to that color. Sometimes it is combed, and sometimes it isn't, largely because he has the unhappy faculty of mussing it up when in a pensive mood. Gifts from admirers cover a large variety; sometimes it is a piece of wedding cake, another time it is flowers, and again it may The young man above is announcer at a station owned by a telephone company and located in the city where "Volstead was made famous. be cigars or cigarettes. His old standby is his pipe, which perhaps is the most delapidated looking pipe in the city. It has had years of service and speaks for itself, with no weak accents, either. . Tennis is the predominating sport at the present time, although he enjoys baseball and football. His height is five feet ten inches, and comes in very handy in playing tennis. As for vices, of course he has them, just the average quantity for a man of his age, not too good and not too bad. Being an old newspaper man, he is a bearcat when it comes to correct pronunciation and enunciation, and he firmly believes that every announcer should be careful just what he says and how he says it to the listening public. NOMINATION CERTIFICATE Announcers' Contest Radio Digest First Annual GOLD CUP AWARD GOLD CUP AWARD Editor, Radio Digest, 510 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, 111. Dear Sir : I nominate Station and Call Signed Address Town State Every Radio Fan Needs This Book A Complete Text Book on Super -Hetrodynes Here for the first time is a thoroughly scientific volume treating of what the super -hetrodyne means to radio, together with a wealth of data on its development, advantages and operation. Written by a man who was a pioneer in the development of radio, this book covers the entire field of super-hetrodyne equipment. Profusely illustrated, and liberally supplied with charts and wiring diagrams, this book gives you a fund of information found nowhere else. 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