Radio broadcast .. (1922-30)

He Gave a Lusty Voice "The Regenerative Circuit Was Not an Invention, it Was a Discovery," says Edwin H. Armstrong. The Story of the Man Who Was Responsible for Regeneration, the Super'HeterO' dyne, and Super-Regeneration, Three of the Most Important Contributions to Radio Science IF YOU were asked to name the ten men who have contributed most to the progress of the twentieth century, you would unhesitatingly include the name of E. H. Armstrong in your list. To him is due the credit for having taken the feeble, piping voice of radio and transforming it into a lusty tenor that can be heard all over the world. Under his care the adolescent wireless grew to manhood and developed from a raw recruit into a grand opera singer. At the age of twelve, Armstrong started out with the ambition to train the untamed radio, and so well has he realized his objective that at thirty-four, he is famous as the inventor of the regenerative, the superheterodyne, and the super-regenerative circuits. In appearance, he is tall with mild blue eyes, a bald head and the erect carriage of an army officer. He is ready to talk on anything but himself. To elicit such personal facts, you must consult the "old" members of the Radio Club who knew "Howard" when he was at college and was struggling to establish his claim to his regenerative circuit. "1 knew Howard back in 191 1 when he first began his experiments," says George Eltz, head of the radio department of the Manhattan Electrical Supply Company and one of his cronies. "He never spoke of what he was doing and none of us presumed to try to find out. He had made so much more progress in radio than any of the rest of us, that we followed him blindly. What he did was right as far as we were concerned, and he was our arbiter on all questions of wireless. Hewasasenior at college the year 1 transferred from Stevens to Columbia, but although we rarely saw each other at school, we often met at the Club. " 1 remember going to Howard's home in Yonkers, one day — I think it was about 1912 — and having the greatest thrill of my life, for I heard Little Glace Bay station in Nova Scotia. Most of our spark sets were unable to exceed the record of fifty miles some one else had set, so I felt that I was present at an epoch-making event to hear that distance. At that time, long antennas were fashionable; the longer the antennas, the better we thought we could hear. Armstrong's antenna, therefore, was strung along an embankment one mile in each direction, and we used to gaze in mute envy at the thousands of feet of wire. "We had still another reason for envy. Howard was the only boy in the club who had more than one tube. The rest of us were proud to own even one, but Howard had quite a collection with which he constantly experimented. " At the top of the house, he had his radio room which is as full of junk to-day as it was in those college days when we used to stand over him, and wide-eyed, watch his experiments. To support his antenna, he built the tall mast wffich still stands in front of the house. That mast was a wonderful vantage point from which to see fires. When the alarm sounded in Yonkers, A RADIO CLUB GROUP Armstrong was closely associated with the Radio Club of America members when still at college, and when struggling to establish his regeneration claim. George J. Eltz, jr., one of the oldest members of the Radio Club, and new a director, says that in the old days the members were all jealous of Armstrong, for he was the only member of the club who possessed more than one tube. The above picture is a recent one of some of the Radio Club members. The gentleman with his left-hand thumb in a vest pocket is Louis Gerard Pacent, a director and committee member. To his immediate right is Thomas J. Styles, while to his right is George E. Burghard. Edwin H. Armstrong is a director of the Radio Club of America Howard would make a rush for his mast. He always was a remarkable climber and could hoist himself up its length in double quick time. "He had a better understanding of wireless than any of the members, and all of us in the Radio Club of America were aware that he was far ahead of science, in his knowledge of the audion. The rest of us looked upon radio as a fascinating diversion to which we gave as much time as we could spare, but Howard devoted his whole life to it. Day and night he spent in the little room at the top of the house, where he experimented with his tubes and gadgets." As a boy he was chiefly interested in reading. "We couldn't make him go out and play with the other boys," his mother says. " He was always curled up, his head bent over some book. Someone gave him a copy of Marconi's treatises on wireless when he was about eleven, and after that Howard was a hopeless radio fan. He borrowed every volume on electricity the town libraries had, and he transformed his bedroom into a laboratory". When I called on Mrs. Armstrong in Yonkers, she showed me the laboratory on the third floor. The room is undisturbed " and just as it was when the boy used to make his experiments. A beautiful old secretary is piled high with weighty text books, a work table before the window is covered with early sets, variometers and bits of wire; even the floor is strewn with radio parts. In another corner, there is a heap of worn, discarded electric light bulbs while on the other side of the room, old storage batteries still stand guard over the models of armatures young Armstrong made when he was first in the grip of the electrical fever. "By the time Howard was ready