Radio broadcast .. (1922-30)

AUGUST, 1926 HOW IS YOUR A BATTERY 293 arrived in a comparatively short interval of time, and was allowed to develop no further than enough to demonstrate its unfairness and its destructive character, whereupon it was quickly and effectively dealt with. THE CONSUMER FINDS A CHAMPION THE National Better Business Bureau is an organization maintained by national advertisers to protect the consumer, to promote fair play between seller and buyer, and to protect industry from the usually unfortunate sequel of such developments as we have just described. Affiliated with forty Better Business Bureaus operating locally in the retail field, it has an unusual bird's-eye view of what is happening to an industry and to its consumers. For several years the National Bureau has had intimate contact with the storage battery industry in connection with the advertising, marketing, and servicing of automotive storage batteries. The development of the radio storage battery market was carefulls' watched by the national staff and its local contacts. When the seriousness of the situation became apparent, the National Bureau urged the industry to cooperate in a house-cleaning. A number of leading manufacturers agreed to the suggestion enthusiastically and instantly. " But before we can make headway," said the National Bureau, "in eliminating the 'gvp' battery and the box of junk sold for radio use, the leaders in storage batten' manufacture must set the example for the entire trade by cleaning house themselves." The radio battery merchandising code reproduced above on this page was offered to the industry as the first step in the protection of the radio battery user and the establishment of the whole trade upon a foursquare basis. Within a few weeks, the makers of ^5 per cent, of the storage battery pro Code for Merchandising Storage Batteries for Radio Use 1. Make sure that every battery is appropriately and correctly rated. 2. Brand each battery with the correct rating figure, or with maker's name and type or symbol number from which the rating may be determined. Preferably this branding should be on the box itself, at least on the name plate or other exposed part. 3. In each catalog or piece of advertising matter, advise dealers of the rating method employed and what anytype or symbol numbers used may mean. 4. Decline to misbrand batteries made for others, or to deliver batteries in oversize boxes unless marked with correct capacity rating in plain figures. NATIONAL BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU, INC. 383 Madison Avenue New York City duction of the United States had pledged themselves to follow such a code. The National Better Business Bureau then turned its attention to the battery makers who had not voluntarily placed their marketing upon a fair basis. Numbers of these were approached regarding their" practices. It was assumed in each instance that such a concern was perhaps unaware of the unfairness of the misleading custom of assembling and branding of batteries, and of the general clean-up which had taken place. Each was courteously invited to make over its method of marking and marketing so as to be fair to the consumer. A large number of those approached in this fashion saw the trend of events and revised their methods of representing batteries to the public in accordance with the suggested code. A few chose to continue misbranding their products or putting up batteries in oversize boxes for certain types of retailers to misrepresent to their customers. Batteries were purchased from these concerns and tested by actual cycles of charge and discharge in the engineering laboratories of a nationally known institution. It was found that some of these batteries were marked and sold as and for products having a capacity nearly twice that recorded by the testing engineer. Batteries were photographed, inside and out, disclosing the useless additional clearance in each cell jar and the deceptive appearance of the box when placed beside batteries of the same rated capacity which woul'd actually deliver the service for which they were rated. Other photographs, reproduced in this article, show the interior construction of some of these batteries. In two bulletins, published in February and May, 1926, the National Better Business Bureau took to the trade and to the public these outstanding facts: 1. That ampere-hour capacity is the commodity which the radio user seeks in a storage battery. 2. That the size of the box alone is an untrustworthy indication of storage battery capacity. 3. That weight alone is likewise an unsafe guide to capacity. 4. That number of plates does not by itself determine the ampere-hour capacity of a radio battery. 5. That ampere-hour capacity depends directly upon the correct proportion of active available materials in the battery. 6. That the radio user Can Play Safe by buying the products of trustworthy manufacturers from trustworthy retailers, instead of looking for big boxes or heavy boxes of dubious parentage and indiscriminate distribution. 7. That the trustworthy manufacturer marks or identifies radio batteries so that the correct iimpere-hour capacity may be readily learned by the consumer. TWO ILLUMINATING EXAMPLES Plates from a bargain battery after testing at radio rates. These plates were put in an oversize box, and the whole battery represented to be of a larger capacity than it could possibly be with the number and size of the plates. The positive plates were only one-tenth inch thick and after testing, the plates shed active material and warped. A battery like this is a poor one to make any filament glow — for long