Radio broadcast .. (1922-30)

.RADIO BROADCAST. reach for making more accurate adjust- ments. Show a dealer a likely looking device, and listen for his first question—"How much does it cost?" He wants to know if it is a low-priced convenience for everyone or an expensive luxury for a few. Discussing remote control, R. H. Lang- ley, director of engineering for the Crosley Radio Corporation said, "Important improvements in the automotive field have not brought corresponding price increases. If remote control is to become a permanent feature of radio sets it must be possible for manufacturers to add it without sub- stantial increase in the cost to the public." In this connection it is expected that the new models, equipped with Kinematics, to be brought out this spring, will cost only a little more— only ten or fifteen dollars — than hand-tuned models. On the other hand, remote control may bring about important changes, to be discussed in sub- sequent paragraphs, which will make it necessary to spend no more for the com- plete installation with remote control than for the present types of hand-tuned re- ceivers. The biggest feature of Kinematic is not seen as much as it is experienced. That is, the device is habit-forming. Just, as from habit, you open your front door at night, and reach for the switch to turn on the lights, so you reach, with little direct at- tention, for the tuning knobs of the Kine- matic, changing the volume, tuning up or down to a program that is in keeping with your mood, or switching the set off alto- gether. When you have learned to depend upon the convenience of the control, you are conscious of what you accomplish, rather than of the means you employ. There you have the difference between the gas water-heater which has to be lighted each time with a match, and the type which lights itself when you turn on the water. Kinematic removes the radio mechanism from your consciousness and leaves you with the sense of enjoying music from a source you need not consider. What About Radio Furniture? This season, most chassis cost less to manufacture than the cabinets which house them. To put it differently, and in a rather startling way, the companies that make sets and cabinets are more in the furniture business than in the radio busi- ness. If they do not make their own cabi- nets, they are supporting furniture com- panies larger than their own. This is not a healthy development in the industry for, in order to permit a wider choice of good cabinets at reasonable prices, the radio equipment is being ruth- lessly engineered to lower costs. There are many improvements which are now ex- cluded from the radio chassis simply be- cause their cost is put into the appearance of the cabinet. The trend of design for 1930—and this will be most pronounced by 1931 —is to eliminate the necessity for elaborate cabi- nets by putting the set, enclosed in a plain metal box, out of sight, operating it by remote control. While it is true that the initial results obtained from 1929 model sets, equipped with screen-grid tubes, show some im- provement over preceding types, and although the outward appearance of the new sets is generally more clean-cut and attractive, the result of cost reduction is apparent the moment you dig into the chassis to shoot trouble. This year parts are being hung together by the wiring. No attempt has been made to facilitate the finding of faults which develop all too rapidly. The wiring has simply been moved to the under side of the chassis where, out of sight, it is done in a most haphazard manner. The coming season will certainly demonstrate the general Fig. 4 — Diagram showing how the remote dial tuning units are con- nected with the receiver. fallacy of cheap construction where it has been carried to an extreme in radio re- ceiver sets. Scientific development has been brought to a standstill because improvements which would increase the coat of the chassis are prohibited. The use of remote control will permit a part of the present cost of cabinets to be put into better radio equipment. The overall cost to the public will be no higher, but the public will buy more radio and less cabinet. This is easy to understand when you realize that furniture companies entering the radio field buy standard chassis for less than twenty-five dollars, and retail these chassis, fitted into cabinets at two hundred and fifty dollars. With remote control available there is YCI DDinQS Y JOHN S. GORMAN (Gulbransen): "Although the stock market up- heaval undoubtedly may cause a radical readjustment affecting many concerns, we are going full steam ahead." MAJOR FROST (Radio Manu- facturers' Association): "The era of suspicion and distrust among radio manufacturers is over." HAROLD A. LAFOUNT (Federal Radio Commission): "Expressions from listeners throughout the na- tion concerning the character of the programs they enjoy should aid the Radio Commission in properly ap- praising the public service rendered by broadcasters." J. L. RAY (Radio-Victor): " At no time in radio's short but spectacular history has it been possible to get so much for the radio dollar." X H. R. RICHMOND (Radio Manu- facturers' Association): "Fortu- nately for the average pocketbook, radio receiver design has reached a point where to-day's set does not make yesterday's obsolete." no need for furniture except to house radio and phonograph combinations. These instruments must be a part of the home furnishings, but the radio set should take its place with the other home electrical and mechanical devices, out of sight. How It is Installed The set manufacturer's first question concerning remote control is, "What changes must be made in the chassis?" With thousands of dollars invested in manufacturing tools, dies, and fixtures, no company can afford to make sweeping changes in the current chassis designs in order to accommodate remote control, no matter how good it is. This is particularly true in the case of controls which require a considerable increase in the overall di- mensions of the chassis, for then the chassis cost is increased also. The driving mechanisms described in this article are so small, fortunately, that they can be fitted on as compact a job as the Crosley receiver. It is necessary to locate the tuning mechanism at one end or the other of the condenser shaft, but the volume and switching mechanism can be put anywhere that space can be found. Nor is any complicated assembly prob- lem introduced. To avoid the use of the flexible coupling, the large gear is mounted on the condenser shaft. Then, when the driving mechanism is in place, it is moved up until a pinion engages smoothly with the big gear, and the holding screws tight- ened permanently. The volume and switching device is a complete unit in itself, so it does not require a special assembly on the chassis. Leads which, on hand-tuned sets, were brought to the volume control and power switch, are connected to these devices now mounted on the driving mechanism. A separable connection or terminal strip is used for connections from the mechanism to the cable. This circuit is shown in Fig. 4. The wiring is very simple to do because all the control boxes hook on in parallel. Small terminal boxes un- provided for the cable connections to the boxes, as it is safer to use this method than to employ ordinary splicing. Aluch New Business Ahead Every family that has bought a radio set to which remote control can be at- tached is a prospect right now. The first sale may include only one or two control boxes. Subsequent calls, after the people have become acquainted with this new device, will bring many sales of additional l>oxes. Spring and fall moving times will bring substantial extra business in re- installing the control equipment. Already, many concerns which specialize in wiring new houses for radio are planning to sell Kinematic installations. When houses are wired for remote control, the cable will be led to seven-contact wall plates, into which a convenient length of cord, attached to a control box, can be plugged, just as wall outlets are provided for electric lamps. New sets, Kinematic-equipped, open another field of sales and installation work for dealers. This can be developed most profitably for there is not only the initial work to be done, but follow-up sales of additional controls. These are time-plus-profit jobs, requir- ing no subsequent free service. No routine inspection is needed. There are no brushes to be replaced, armatures to be rewound, grease cups to fill, or adjustments to be regulated—things which must be done free of charge—only clean-cut set sales and installation for which charges can be made legitimately. 150 • • JANUARY 1930