Radio broadcast .. (1922-30)

704 Radio Broadcast MAJOR WILLIAM N. HENSLEY, JR. Commanding Officer, Mitchel Field, New York " The adaptation of radio to the airplane has completely changed the aspect of war. Under present conditions, an enemy would have no secrets, To mass troops at any one point would simply serve to inform the opposing forces that an offensive was contemplated. Artillery fire could lie directed with such deadly accuracy as to annihilate any stronghold. The gun pointer would have first hand and almost instantaneous information as to the necessary corrections with the result that big guns can be fired with the precision of a rifle" channel as one through which material for entertainment rather than education should be sent. It is not at all impossible that the educational possibilities of radio have been overestimated. Possibly the contact with the instructor, the opportunity to ask questions, to get his criticism and occasional praise, have a much higher value in the field of education than is generally supposed. The progress of educational radio must depend upon its reception by the public, and the public's demand for it may show conclusively, as has often been stated, that the teacher, and not the method or material taught, is the factor which advances the world's knowledge. Yap Gets a Radio Station THE small island of Yap in the western Pacific has several times loomed up in international affairs with a valuation much greater than its physical dimensions and natural riches warrant. It occupies a strate gic position in cable and radio communication between the eastern and western shores of the Pacific and assumes unexpected importance, especially for Japan and the United States. At the Disarmament Conference in Washington, Japan was granted mandatory powers in Yap, with the provision that other interested nations should have equal rights with Japan in the use of its communication facilities. Japan now announces her intention to erect next year a powerful radio station in Yap, presumably to increase the certainty of her transpacific communication channels. Undoubtedly the new station will be used for relaying. In that role it would be useful also to the United States when static interferes with the long spans over which our present circuit to Japan extends. Cooperation in Solving Interference IN A recent issue we had occasion to commend the activities of Mr. Alfred Caddell of the American Radio Association and used as an illustration of the work he was attacking with success the question of interference in the broadcast channels caused by the steamers of the New England 'Steamship Company, which carried on a heavy commercial traffic with spark transmitters. The interference was there without any doubt, and we quite rraturally commended Mr. Caddell for the lively measures he was taking to eliminate it. We have received a very courteous letter from the president of the Steamship Company asking us to assure the broadcast listeners that his company was anxious to help in clearing up interference as much as possible. In accordance with the recommendations made at the last radio conference the ship traffic is now being carried on on a wavelength much farther removed from the broadcast channels than the originally interfering wave of 600 meters, and he hopes the interference nuisance has been done away with. His letter, however, contains one na'ive statement which we think worth while passing along. "I get no interference from these steamers," says Mr. Parnell, "although I use a simple set consisting of three stages of radio frequency, a detector, and three of audio frequency, seven tubes in all." Well, naturally, he gets no interference. Three stages of tuned radio frequency will eliminate a whole lot of interference, but surely this is a rather expensive equipment to expect the average broadcast listener within a few miles of New York to use. If all the listeners who have