Radio age (Jan-Dec 1925)

RADIO AGE for June, 1925 What the Broadcasters are Doinz Here is a typical airplane used for exploring trips, and similar to the 'planes which will be taken with the Mac MillanMcDonald Expedition in June, when they set out for their perilous dash to the mysteries of the northland. The 'planes will aid the explorers in guiding the ships and reaching points which are closed to navigation. commission. If the airplane motor is out of commission, so is the radio, and we cannot take that risk. We want a transmitter capable of sending word back to the ship for the emergency plane to come out in case our motor fails us and we are forced to make a landing far from our base. Daily "Letters" Home "We hope to transmit messages back every day. Reinartz confidently hopes that we will be able to send voice back from the Artie on 20 meters. If this is possible , we'll give you the Esquimeaux Folk Songs by radio. It may be possible if we can transmit the voice back to pick it up, boost it in wavelength, and put it out over the broadcasting station WJAZ." THE foregoing shows rather impressively what a degree of thought and effort and careful engineering is being devoted to the radio phases of this adventurous enterprise. While the expedition has the cordial indorsement of the National Geographic Society, to which plans of the itinerary already have been submitted, and although President Coolidge has not only given the expedition his approval but has authorized the participation of the Navy Department, it is, after all, a private enterprise. It should be remembered by those who prefer to know who are the most useful friends of radio that the negotiations in Washington were conducted successfully only through the earnest co-operation of Secretary Wilbur, of the Navy Department; Rear Admiral William A. Moffett, in charge of naval vaiation, and Congressman Fred A. Britten, an Illinois representative who repeatedly has come to the aid of the radio industry and the radio fan. It was the vision of these three men and their vigorous prosecution of the official plans which made the project what it is today, one of the most important scientific ventures ever undertaken. Will Test High Frequencies As a result of all this, radio high frequencies will have their chance while the world stands by as referee. The ancient ruins in Labrador and Greenland will be explored to connect then, if possible, with Eric the Red. The exploring ship will tryto make its way to Axel Heiburg land. It is planned to establish an airplane base 250 miles away from the ship at the northernmost point of the land. The airplanes will have a cruising radius of 1,000 miles and a speed of 120 miles an hour. They will try to fly over the Greenland ice cap, where no man has ever been before. One of the most important missions of these planes will be the mapping of Ellesmere Land and Baffin Bay, in the vicinity of the magnetic north pole. The party will attempt to make a comprehensive survey of the only remaining "blind spot" in the world — that region of more than a million square miles in extent, which is hidden away at the top of the world between Alaska and the pole. In the projected exploration of Baffin Land there is a fascinating invitation for Commander McDonald and "Sport" Herrman, both doughty disciples of Isaak Walton. For they probably will find thousands of lakes, hitherto unfinished by white men. Esquimeau have told of enormous numbers of seal, caribou and other wild animals in these wilds. The "Bowdoin" will sail about June 20 and from that date forward many hundreds of thousands of persons will await daily the news of this intrepid assault on the phalanxes of the proud and stubburn north. England Hears Radio From Hawaii WASHINGTON, D. C— NRRL, the amateur experimental radio station operated by Lieutenant F. H. Schnell, traffic manager of the American Radio Relay League, with the United States fleet in European waters, has succeeded in piling up some enviable records in the way of constant communication on short wave lengths. Several stations in the East and some on the Pacific Coast have worked with Lieutenant Schnell, while stations that have heard NRRL run from California to England. British station g5NN picked his nessage put on the air and relayed the information back to League Headquarters in the United States by radio. Stations in Rochester, N. Y., Brooklyn, N. Y., and Longmeadow, Mass., were the ones on the Eastern seaboard that successfully conversed with Lieutenant Schnoll, while Minneapolis, Long Beach, Cal., Altedena, Cal., and Ellensburg, Wash., also carried out two way telegraphy with Station NRRL. Reports have been made to the American Radio Relay League headquarters in this city by stations at Gadsen, Ala.; Baltimore, Attleboro, Mass.; Schuylkill, Pa., New York City; Red Bank, N. J.; Port Arthur, Ont.; Hilton, N. J.; Mt. Ranier, Md.; Los Angeles and Baker, Ore., that Lieutenant Schnell's messages from the special short wave station were heard and copied by the operators. China to Admit Radio Supplies Hartford, Conn. — The central Chinese government is planning to lift the embargo on radio material and supplies, according to correspondence of the American Radio Relay League, whose headquarters are in this city. The Peking government Department of the Telegraph is reported at work on the first drafts of the regulations governing conditions of import. Those who advocate the removal of the restrictions point out that in Manchuria there are radio stations in operation at Mukden, Changchun, Harbin, Tungkiang, Marchuli, Yinkow and Hulatao. Others are in course of construction at Antung, Tsitsihar and Tetropavlovsk, while plans for other stations are being considered. The American Radio Relay League correspondent points out that all of these stations are used for official purposes only, but it is the hope of radio enthusiasts in the Chinese republic that they may be opened to commercial and other uses in the near future. Vigilance committees designed to reduce interfernece in radio communication have been formed by the traffic department of the American Radio Relay League and are already functioning.