Radio broadcast .. (1922-30)

Adventures in Radio Perhaps no other branch of science enjoys the romance and the spirit of adventure ever present in radio. It matters not whether it is the radio telegraph or the radio telephone, one has as many advantages as the other in this respect. Of course, radio telegraphy is the older of the two, and its exploits are more numerous; up to now, it covers a wider field of endeavor on both land and sea. Aside from the everyday uses of radio, there are a great many instances in the history of the art which stand out as milestones in the march of progress; instances which few devotees of radio broadcasting know about. Many of these adventures were unique — not always possible or practicable to duplicate; on the other hand, some were accidents, others mere incidents, still others great adventures; adventures never to be forgotten and which stand out as red-letter days for the individuals concerned. By adventures in radio we mean that which deviates radically from the commonplace. Radio has been responsible for many innovations — many new uses, some of which passed out of human ken, others were repeated again and again until to-day we have ceased to wonder and be thrilled when we chance to read newspaper accounts of such doings. Thus, we have the Radio Reporter, the first authentic instances being that of reporter Sprague of the Los Angeles Examiner who, pressed for time and urgently desiring to "scoop" the other sheets, commandeered the radio telephone set of a local army officer in order to report an unusual sporting event. Then there is the Radio Detective who came into his own during the war and of whom more will be said in a future number. The Radio Doctor has again and again proved his worth at sea, and many a sailor owes his life to a medical consultation held by radio from ship to ship or from ship to land. The initial success of the Radio Actor, or Actors, who have broadcasted an entire play over the radio telephone still rings in our ears. Then we have radio as the leading factor in the lives of the gunrunner, the smuggler, the arch criminal, the Central American revolutionist, the international spy, the cast-away sailor, and so we might go on indefinitely, for the exploits of radio are legion; some of which stand out as monuments of scientific achievements; others are ignominious ones to which this noble art has been unwittingly subjected. All of these, nevertheless, are intensely interesting, breathing the very spirit of adventure and romance. To this end, it will be the purpose of this department to report each month radio adventures that actually took place, with real human beings as principals. The series will range over the entire world, with incidents taking place in Sweden, Patagonia, and far-off Japan, as well as in the United States. The editors would be glad to receive accounts of such radio adventures from readers of the magazine, either their own experiences in the first person or authentic experiences of others. Married by Radio By PIERRE BOUCHERON T HERE have been all sorts of mar sand miles and their "yes I do's" were carried riages, happy, unhappy, and other to each other across this vast stretch by means wise. There are conventional of the etheric waves of radio, marriages taking place in the church, This first long-range marriage by radio took or at the court house, or at home, place in May, 1920, the Girl, Miss Maybelle and the bride and bridegroom are face to face, Ebert, being in Detroit, and the Boy, John or side by side when the union takes place. R. Wakeman, somewhere on the Pacific Ocean They can always take one long look at each on one of Uncle Sam's battle wagons, the other before the fateful step and call all bets cruiser Birmingham. off if either one changes his or her mind. There, About 8:30 in the morning, while the Bir at least, is one advantage of conventional mingham was in mid-Pacific, the radio operator marriages. But marriage by radio takes a called for Wakeman, one of the sailors, with certain amount of faith, hope, and charity as an important radiogram. It was an unusual well as a strong belief in science. sort of message and lacked the usual naval There is the case, for instance, of Wakeman lingo referring to orders, transfers, target prac versus Ebert, who probably broke the world's tice, arrivals, departures, or provisioning, record for long-distance marriages — long dis When its nature was made known to the tance in the sense that when the event took ship's captain and chaplain, the entire crew place they were separated by a few odd thou was mustered on the after-deck with sailor