Radio Broadcast (May-Oct 1922)

RADIO BROADCAST 37 their names. In Seattle, Wash., a newspaper, the Post-Intelligencer, also maintains a service, as does the Detroit, Mich., News. There are short range stations in many other cities and no doubt the number is constantly increasing. All these stations give entertainment to which the public listens free of charge. The artists give the entertainment and the concerns that pay for the broadcasting get some incidental advertising. All manufacturers naturally share in the benefits of the sales which such broadcasting stimulates. Although the Radio Corporation group is made up of the largest electrical companies, it has nothing like a control in the supply of radio equipment. The loud speaker is manufactured under various trade names by such concerns as the MagnavoxCo., of San Francisco; John Firth & Co., and the American Pattern, Foundry and MachineCo.,of New York; RileyKlotz Mfg. Co., Newark, N. J. Head sets are produced by such concerns as C. Brandes, Inc., New York; Nathaniel Baldwin, Salt Lake City, Utah; William J. MurdockCo., Boston; Stromberg-Carlson, Rochester, N. Y. The AtlanticPacific Radio Supplies Co., of San Francisco, is widely known as a maker of tubes. Under these conditions what is to be the future of radio as a business? Is it to reach its maximum and become a convenient necessity, a common object in nearly every household; or is it to be far less prevalent? The answer lies fundamentally in the character of service performed by the broadcasting stations, and in the refinement of the receiving instruments. Technically neither the sending machinery nor the receiving machinery is as good as it should and will be, and the science of preparing broadcasting programmes is in its infancy. The basis on which broadcasting will ultimately be paid for is undetermined, and it is not even clear yet who will eventually do the broadcasting, or what will be broadcasted. After the novelty of listening to words and music in the air wears oflF, the public will listen not for the sake of listening but for what it hears. If what it hears is of compelling interest or importance, the public will listen. If not it will do something else. If listening is to become a national custom, broadcasting must become a high art and some permanent and ample means provided to support this art. WHAT TO EXPECT FROM YOUR RECEIVER By ARTHUR H. LYNCH RADIO has been surrounded by so much mystery for the last few years that the present stimulation has naturally brought with it a great deal of misinformation. This misinformation has led many people to expect results from their receiving sets which they ought not to expect. There is an unfortunate lack of accurate information covering the range in miles over which various types of receiving sets will function satisfactorily. Now and again, we find an item in the daily press describing some new form of receiving set made to fit in a match box, a watch case or a thimble, with which it is but necessary to place one's foot against a hydrant and hold an umbrella over one's head to hear signals from infinitely great distances. We hear also of loop aerials being used to pick up radio concerts from stations hundreds of miles distant. Unquestionably there are very small receiving sets which actually do operate. There are' also certain stations where reception over great distances is possible with a loop aerial. However, the belief that the two may be combined is very far from being correct. The small set may be operated over comparatively short distances from a broadcasting station, and it is safe to say that the average maximum distance for such reception is 1 5 miles. Where the loop aerial is used for receiving over long distances, it is necessary to employ accurately designed vacuum tube apparatus which cannot be made to operate satisfactorily by an inexperienced person. Another common error concerning radio