Radio doings (Dec 1930-Jun1932)

January, 1931 RADIO DOINGS Page Forty-five The Modern Radio Receiver By L. E. TAUFENBACH* Until this year, broadcasting has not aided true appreciation of music. Reproduction of music in the home via the radio receiver of the past decade bore little or no resemblance to the concert hall original. True perhaps, the melody was there, but as heard after being sent through the old carbon type microphone and telephone land lines and distorted by limited range circuits abetted by horn and magnetic cone type speakers, it was practically a caricature of the original, a black and white photograph taken with a poorly focused camera, losing not only color, but its lines and movement as well. Not only did the radio receiver of yesterday fail to build up an understanding of fine music, but it had a far more reaching effect, for it broke down true tone appreciation to such an extent that an owner of a receiver of perhaps the 1927 vintage has to have his ear re-educated before he is able to truly hear the full range of the reproduction brought to him by a radio receiver of today, such as the Brunswick. The man about to buy a 1930 receiver feels much the same as a man attending the concert of an orchestra that he has been hearing broadcast for several years. He feels as though an augmented group of musicians has been rung in on him. The kettle drums become echoes, the bull fiddles, rasps and French horns, diabolical blasts, all calculated to destroy the ear that has become adapted to hearing blurs and hisses instead of true low and high notes. Musicians all over the world are hailing the new 1930 radio receivers, not in the form of "paid endorsements," but by word of mouth. Through them, they feel they can bring to the great masses real appreciation of fine music. The appreciation which is necessary before music lovers can be developed in any country. * — President Western Radio, Inc., Southern California Brunswick Distributors. * * * The Need of a Super-Heterodyne Midget By F. W. FALCK* Many people have questioned me as to why I went into production on a super-heterodyne midget. To me this is a very easy question to answer for I have several very definite reasons which to me seem important. As a radio engineer and experimenter I have always felt that the super-heterodyne principle was the ultimate in radio receiving circuits from the standpoint of selectivity, sensitivity and tone quality. As a manufacturer I am, of course vitally interested in consumer trends and changes in broadcasting conditions. I am also aware of the fact that the receivers of 1931 to meet competition and to meet the demands of the discriminating fans must be vastly superior to those made in the past. The prospective radio purchaser today demands a compact, powerful sensitive, selective receiver housed in a beautifully finished cabinet and at a reasonable price. Using the super-heterodyne principle we can give them a small radio set that will do all that the large receivers will do and still be able to house the complete chassis and speaker in a midget cabinet. The Federal Radio Commission has under advisement the request of some twenty-eight new 50,000 watt broadcasting stations. If the commission authorizes the erection of these stations the radio fan will need a super-selective receiver to be able to cut through these powerful transmitters and pick stations which they wish to hear. I have spent many months working on the super-heterodyne and the final result is a receiver which I firmly believe will meet the new era of radio reception which is unquestionably being ushered in. * — President of Advance Electric Company * * * Shall I Handle Refrigeration? By GEORGE G. LANE* Ninety per cent of the radio business of Southern California is done in the fall, winter and spring months. And the coasting period, of fewer sales, and lesser activity, comes during summer. The high point of sales in some other businesses is during the summer months. Among them is electrical refrigeration. These two assorted bits of information ought to spell something of keen interest to every radio dealer. If they can somehow be brought together, they should mean profits. The idea is no new one. There are several companies doing a good deal of talking about the possibilities, and I suspect that practically every radio dealer has been approached on the idea. The strange thing to me is that I occassionally hear of a dealer who has not seen the possibilities, who believes thai "maybe in the spring" he'll consider electrical refrigeration. Perhaps it's too cruel to suggest that "maybe in the spring" he'll find himself without the opportunity of considering the matter, either through not having the chance to get the representation that he wants, or, perhaps even through his not being in the business by that time. What I mean by that is simply this: the live and alert radio dealers, good merchants, have seen the possibilities of this hook-up between radio and refrigeration, and the) are actively on the job making it work for them. There is, however, something to be said for the cautious Naturally, with the fast thinkers catching the significance ol the idea, there have been some fast workers developing. There is a good reason for the radio dealer, approached on electrical refrigeration, to tread cautiously, even though hebe firmly convinced that the idea is a sound one. There are three things which mean the difference between profitable electrical refrigeration and an unprofitable mistake. These are: a sound and reputable manufacturer with experience and ability in the refrigeration held, aggressive manufacturer and jobber support of dealer activity, and a competitive price which assures ability to do a job in a field which will soon be crowded with dealers tor various boxes now being manufactured and new ones coming into the field In fact, I'm convinced that a favorable answer to the question, "should I install electrical refrigeration as a sup plement to my radio business?" should be answered largely on the basis of these three points which I have just outlined. They are the real measure of success. * — Collins-Lane Co., Southern California Distributors of Leonard Refrigerators.