Radio broadcast .. (1922-30)

Cave-Man Stuff, But It Works A Rough but Ready Outfit that Gives Excellent Results on One Tube. Some Pointers on the Delicate Art of Bringing in Long-Distance Stations By I. R. TANNEHILL IN THE average discussion of the singlecircuit, single-tube, regenerative receiver, the writer starts off with the single circuit but is unable to confine his remarks to the subject and introduces a vast hash of selectivity, inductively coupled circuits, variometers, electrons, loop aerials, and radiofrequency amplification. It may be that the single circuit is less selective, but the average beginner finds any type of radio receiver so selective that he has trouble hearing anything at all. Hence why trouble him with methods of tuning out interference? Confidentially, 1 believe that every one of these writers is guilty of the v,ariometer habit and that his cellar or attic conceals a number of parts that do not fit into a single circuit. Have any of them conscientiously and consistently employed the single tube and the single circuit? If so, why do they claim that it requires two stages of radio a,nd two of audio amplification to pick up a station 200 miles distant? I have for one year employed the single vacuum tube in a single circuit more than any other type of receiving apparatus. Located in southeastern Texas, the home of static, I have frequently heard stations i ,000 miles away and for long-distance reception I would have nothing in preference to a single-tube, singlecircuit receiver. My aerial is fifty feet long, one end tied to the chimney and the other to a two-by-four nailed to an outhouse. My "The listener who does not occasionally hear stations farther away than 500 miles," says the author of this article, "is either in a dead zone or is not acquainted with his apparatus. If he tunes his set systematically instead of turning the knobs in a haphazard manner with the hope of accidentally hitting an adjustment, he will get results. The directions herewith may not conform with the practices of the manufacturers of apparatus, but manufacturers do not guarantee any great ranges and furthermore do not furnish directions with the apparatus that would enable anyone to get great ranges. You get thirteen pages of directions with a liver pill and practically nothing with a radio receiver!" Some of Mr. Tannehill's home-made equipment may lack finish and compactness, and we should hesitate to endorse his practice of never soldering a connection; but he does get results. The method of tuning described in this article should help many set-owners to improve their receiving records. — THE EDITOR. phones cost $4.37 and my vernier condenser, the pride of my outfit, was made from the plates of a knock-down condenser that 1 was never able to assemble as directed. The knob on the condenser is one of my wife's clothes pins. From the above remarks you can readily see that 1 am a first-class "ham". 1 have never soldered a connection. The only time 1 tried it I succeeded in making nothing but a lot of smoke. Every time the wind blows I am afraid my aerial will fall down. Yet fourteen of the stations I have heard with this outfit give an aggregate mileage of 1 1,950. In every instance I found by making inquiries that others in town had heard the same stations on similar sets. Therefore the freak, as it has been termed, was not due to the set but perhaps to atmospheric conditions. As far as the freak is con cerned, I feel sure that it was about 50 per cent, atmosphere and 50 per cent, careful and patient tuning. A i (cost $2); Ci, .001 mfd. ($4); €2, 3-plate ($3); GL, grid leak, combined with €3; C^, .00025 mfd.; S, tuning coil (250. to make); R, tickler coil (25C.) ; G, ground to water pipe; €4, approx. .001 mfd. (35C.);T, ($5); B, 22.5 volts ($1.50 to $3); R, rheostat (about 75C.); VT, tube (#5 to $8). The tuner may be a variocoupler. Parts can be purchased for about $1.50 to $2.00. A cheaper and really more satisfactory procedure is to cut two narrow rings from a