Radio mirror (Jan-Oct 1923)

RADIO DIGEST March 24, 1923 tiddio Digest Illustrated REG. U. S. PAT. OFF. Published by the Radio Digest Publishing Company, Inc. 123 West Madison Street Telephone State 4844-4845 Chicago, Illinois E. C. RAYNER. Publisher Chas. F. Smisor, Editor Evans E. Plummer, Managing Editor Harry J. Marx, Technical Editor Eastern Representative, Jacob Miller, 2126 Broadway, New York Telephone Columbus 2390 Pacific Coast Representatives E. J. Wood, 2S1 Kearny St., San Francisco Telephone Kearny 1472 H. M. Morris, 417 Western Mutual Life Building, Los Angeles Telephone 12011 58 PUBLISHED WEEKLY Yearly. SUBSCRIPTION RATES $0.00 | Foreign... Single Copies. 10 Cents .$6.00 Vol. IV Chicago, Saturday, March 24, 1923 No. 11 University Radio Courses Large Number of Colleges Now Broadcast ENGLAND and Germany are planning to broadcast university extension courses. A number of prominent institutions of learning in the United States have made a beginning in this direction and their reports of the encouraging success attending their efforts show us that the possibilities of the new method are not underestimated. Sixty other educational institutions are broadcasting educational and musical programs, forty-seven of them being colleges and universities. The combined area nominally covered by these institutions has been estimated to be seven or eight times the total area of the United States. Air-Borne Religion Aids Church Congregation Grows Instead of Getting Smaller THEEE are some ministers who declare Radio religion a curse and that there is a disposition to loll in an easy chair and listen in a moment or two at a sermon from some broadcasting station instead of going to church. There are many listeners in, but is Eadio making serious inroads upon church attendance? We have an idea that persons who were pious enough to go to church before Eadiophony became popular, still will go to church. A few years ago, by the way, many ministers regarded the automobile as an invention of the devil because it took more people away from church than it took to church, yet around any country church nowadays on Sundays there is a whole flock of flivvers. The many who go motoring — and not to church — Sundays did not go to church when they could not go motoring. Religion that is killed by gasoline or by Radio never was alive. Beginners Have Less Patience Increase in Ready-Made Instruments Causes Laxity THE Radio enthusiast developed by the growth of broadcasting has not the same amount of patience, or knack for tinkering with a set to develop and improve its latent possibilities as the boy or man who took up Radio in the days when only code was in the air. With the great increase in the manufacture of readymade sets of great range there has been a growth in the number of persons who are inclined to use the set that is the easiest to adjust, instead of the one that will give the best results. The way for a novice to go about it is to start in with a small set, preferably a crystal set. After he has become familiar with its operation he may safely attempt to work a more powerful receiving set. Many of the sets now offered for sale are very selective. This means they are capable of receiving a station only when it is tuned very closely, or when the station desired is so close as to require practically no tuning. This is a great advantage as it enables one familiar with the operation of such a set to tune in a distant station that would otherwise, if received at all, be only a jargon because of the interference from other transmitters operating on almost the same wave length. Aid to Exploring Parties Travelers Find Receiving Sets Invaluable THOSE who make expeditions into desert lands are proceeding with a very much greater feeling of safety since Radio came into wide use. One of the great conveniences that Radio has furnished is the ability to get the correct time. Scientific observations are greatly dependent upon having the correct time, and heretofore getting this has entailed hard work in the way of calculations. About a year ago an expedition was sent by the American Museum of Natural History to explore the central plateau of Asia. The members first went to Peking and from there to Kaisan and thence to Urga, Mongolia, a distance of about 800 miles. Traveling heretofore into the desert has involved silences and isolation that often overwhelmed men, but with the present expedition, every evening at sundown, Peking was picked up by Radio and the news of the day learned, and in addition, scientific data procured. Condensed By DIELECTRIC At the Franklin Institute, in Philadelphia, a very appropriate ceremony took place not long ago. The Elliott Cresson Medal, which has been awarded to only a comparatively few scientists, was bestowed upon Dr. Lee de Forest as the inventor of the audion tube. Every owner of a tube set must feel that the American Society of Civil Engineers has honored itself in honoring so eminent a Radiotrician. This invention is undoubtedly one of the most important to the progress of Radio science. Any Old Timer will verify that statement. When baseball was in season we listened in for the returns from the World's Series and thousands enjoyed that single feature. Then football came along and many games between the great universities were followed play by play by interested persons scattered all over the country. There is always a Radio audience when sports of any kind are being broadcast and fortunately for them the winter months do not prevent certain types of games being played. Basketball is another of the sporting events receiving some share of attention by broadcasting stations. Evidently a very exciting game of basketball was played by the Universities of Michigan and Wisconsin a short while ago. At least the announcement from Station WHA, at Madison, Wis., and the very audible commendation of the crowd, for one or the other team, made one listener in break out in perspiration from the excitement of witnessing a splendid forward pass reach its mark. Yes, you fairly see all that is going on as the plays come through your set. KDKA had to inform the Radio publie in the vicinity of New York (as well as elsewhere) of the progress of the fight between Greb and Tunney. You may have to ask someone on the other side of the continent about events transpiring right at home — but it 's on the air, if you want it. The idea of supplying shut-ins with Radio receiving sets is worthy of commendation and emulation. There are several agencies at work seeing to it that unfortunate beings need be without contact with the Radio world no longer. One of the well-known broadcasting stations, WOC, at Davenport, is carrying on just this particular work. They announce from time to time the installation of a new set in the room of a sufferer, who is unable to get about and previously lacking means of hearing the interesting things so many of us have been enjoying for some time. Publie subscriptions provide the means of purchasing sets for these people, and there is no doubt of their genuine appreciation for what is being done along this line. It is difficult to conceive of a gift that would be better suited to conditions surrounding a shutin than a Radio set. Why not begin an organization with this idea in mind in the locality in which you are living? In case there may be some of you readers who failed to notice the statement concerning Dr. De Forest's contribution to the advancement of the science of Radio at his alma mater, I shall take this occasion to mention it. He has provided a fund for the purchase of a library of Radio works, and another for a course of lectures by experts for the benefit of advanced students, at Yale University. What Dr. De Forest has done for the science to which he is devoting his remarkable ability, surely others could do for institutions not so favored at present. It is with the hope that someone in the habit of whiling away time in the reading of this column will be inspired to action by duplicating his example, that I pay particular attention to so worthy a subject by so eminent The first item to which your attention is called this week concerns opera. In New York City the Wagnerian Opera Festival gave permission to WJZ to broadcast a few of their performances. If there is any question in the minds of those who are at the head of things at the Metropolitan Opera House, in that city, as to the advantages to be derived from broadcasting opera music, then they are not open to any argument. Following the broadcasting for the first time from the Manhattan Opera House of one of the Wagner operas there was almost a riot for seats to the next performance. Undoubtedly Radio had nothing to do with this occurrence, so agreeable to the management ! ! No, the publicity element in broadcasting is unquestionably nil. Why, then, such interest in opera so suddenly manifest? Oh, well, some of the receiving sets couldn't translate the jargon so they came to headquarters to find out what it all meant. That 's pretty lame reasoning, but I defy the Metropolitan to produce any better. All objections so far are weak signals and may yet fade out entirely. It is only natural that having met with so much success the Radiowls should find a competitor in the field of Radio Clubs. The newly organized aggregation of DX Fan-aties perhaps wisely eschewed the animal kingdom in looking for a name and chose instead from the vegetable kingdom. I say ' ' wisely ' ' because Michigan is known as the parent state of vegetarian cults, and though Battle Creek is slightly distant from Detroit, it is not so from a DX-er's standpoint. At any rate, the Red Apple Club is a reality, made so by Station WCX, the Detroit Free Press broadcasting station. It is about time for another club with an euphonious name to spring up somewhere. How about forming the Bachelor Button Fraternity, or the Maiden Blush Sorority? If prizes are to be offered by each new club to secure larger membership, then the name really counts for little. The main requirement is to begin at a late hour (late for the particular section) and acknowledge each new member 's oath of allegiance before broadcasting any entertaining ( ! ) features. Chicago should start a "Flivver" Society. Then you would see a club with some membership! WANNA BUY A RADIO SET ? RADIO INDI-GEST (This column is open to all aspiring Radioknuts who tender suitable contributions. Try to "make" the column if you can. All unsuitable manuscripts are turned over to the Office Squirrel who does not guarantee their return or anything else for that matter. — Indi.) Classify Her as Chickenoradiophan I must let you in on the following received at the Shepard Stores station: Dear WNAC, Kindly appraise Middleboro Male Singers of our appreciation Sunday Concert. Also ask them to come again. Our set is on the dining table. Yours truly was tuning in when "Mandalay" was announced. Mrs. M. had just got her plate charged with a hot chicken dinner which she had labored long to prepare. Then the problem-climax. Which to let wait; hot dinner or "Road to Mandalay." She got them both by donning receivers, with cord draped across the table carefully dodging the gravy bowl and the boiled onions. Can you beat that for efficiency? Just try eating and receiving and note the difficulties with only a WD-11 tube. — Radioknut Jean Sargent. Referred to National Museum of Radioknuts Dear Indi. — In Scientific American supplement No. 134 July 27th, 1878 B. P., appears an article by Prof. C. W. MaeCord, captioned ' ' A Mechanical Curiosity, ' ' de * \ HALT scribing a machine of six gear wheels, which by turning the crank 262,500 times will result in one entire revolution of the smaller wheel. Can you give me a hook-up whereby I can use this machine as a vernier adjustment in connection with the 11-plate "invariable condenser" shown on page 51 of the catalogue of a well-known Chicago River mail order house? E. E. Jateff. Outdoor Sports Modernized Dear. Indi. — Little Aileen listens each night for the tale of the sandman. One cold afternoon she was taken down town by a neighbor and for the first time in her life saw a man wearing ear-muffs. Returning home she reported the incident to her mother. "He was walking along the street with his Radio receivers on his ears, ' ' she said. Polly-' ' Ioway Sheba. ' ' niri