Radio doings (Dec 1930-Jun1932)

The DX Contest ^ Logs-logs-logs! Written with pencil, with ink, with typewriter. Made with all kinds of sets in all kinds of locations. Everybody frantically searching the ether at the same time for more and better radio stations, big and little. That's the story of the Radio Doings DX Contest, held March 14 from 8 o'clock in the evening until 1 o'clock in the morning. The idea was to log as many stations as possible during five hours, being careful to note down some material that could be used for verification. ^ The task of picking the prise winner in DX contests is not an easy one. A lot of careful study is necessary' to weigh the relative merit of the logs. If the longest list won, t'would be easy, but many other things must be considered. For example, many logs are disqualified because the notation after a station is too vague and impossible of verification, such as "dance music" or "speech." The contestant should bear in mind that the material noted must be such that it would be sufficient to send in to the station in order to obtain verification of reception. A The grand prize was awarded to W. E. R. Crawford, 144 East Elm, Fullerton, Calif. His log contained 68 stations, without counting any locals. Everything was properly listed, and for good measure the log was signed by three witnesses. Mr. Crawford used a Majestic, with a ground rod and good outdoor antenna. He says the static and electrical interference were such that it was not exactly an A-l night for DX. Nearly all of the contestants complained of this condition. Mr. Crawford adds that he heard two of the Japanese stations at about 12:30 a. m., but did not log them as nothing was recognizable. Space prevents printing Mr. Crawford's log in full. We will therefore simply give the call letters of the stations logged in the five hours of the contest : WKBW, WOAI, WBT, WTAM, KTHS, KYW, WOC-WHO, KDKA, XED, KJR, KGHL, WHAS, KWKH, XFX, WCCO, WGN, WLW, KPO, WMAQ, WEAF, WSM, WFLA, KFSD, KHQ, KTAR, KTAB, KFYR, KGO, KOA, WFAA, WENR, KFKA, KROW, KOIN, KVOO, WO WO, WCAU, KEX, KYA, KTBR, KFBK. KTFI, KGB, KFPY, KLO, KGA, WOW, WDAF, CMK, KVI, WBBM, WABC, KLX, XES, KFXF, KOL, Kenneth Ormis+on awarding DX prize to W. E. R. Crawford WMBD, KGKY, KOMO, XEG, KPCB, CFAC, KMMJ, KFQU, KRLD, KGCX, KFXM, KJBS. £ W. H. Nicholson, Beverly Hills, who won the last Radio Doings Contest, submitted a great log of 1 1 7 stations, including locals, acquired on his Westinghouse super, but we did not consider his entry because of the fact that he won the marbles last time. And then Jack Whitley of San Diego contributed a log of 78 DX stations and 40 "locals." If Jack was a bit less careless in his listings and program notations, he would bring home the bacon often. He used a Majestic super. £ The longest list of all came from the greatest distance. Mac Plung, 1425 Coney Island Ave., Brooklyn, New York, sent in a log of 143 stations. He used a Zenith at his home address. Mr. Plung did not list his verification information properly, using such brief bits as "man speaking," or "orchestra." We were very interested in his log, however, particularly his reception from Western stations. He listed KFI, KFSD, KNX, KPO, KGA, KSL. £ The prize awarded to Mr. Crawford was one of the new 9-tube Angelus Superheterodyne receivers, manufactured by Davison-Haynes Manufacturing Company, of Los Angeles, and given as a prize through the courtesy of the manufacturer. It is a real super, licensed by R.C.A., and delivering bigset performance despite its compactness. We are sure the Angelus will add many stations to Mr. Crawford's log. Kound the -World DX Club EDWARD ROTH, President THE Round-the-World DX Club has ' now completed the first six months since its origination. The first three months were spent in organizing the club, electing officers, drawing up the Charter, By-Laws and Constitution. Members living in Los Angeles pay fifty cents each, monthly dues. Members living outside of Los Angeles county pay $1.00 a year. Foreign members are not required to pay dues. Entrance fee is $1.00. R. E. Doman now holds the position of corresponding secretary. The past three months have seen much activity in DX work by the club members. Three DX parties were held. One was held at Wm. MacDonald's at Chula Vista, the other two were held at L. J. Wright's home at Lomita. Members who had never had the thrill of hearing the Japanese, Australian and New Zealand stations received a "treat" at these parties when these stations came in with a "bang." ^| The summer months arc new .il most upon us and though DX is a little hard, some foreign stations, as a rule, can be heard on summer nights and short wave DX reception is possible. A short wave receiver can be put together in a few hours at a nominal cost and the results will more than repay the DX fan who has initiative to build one. Several very efficient sets can be purchased reasonably. The Club's technical advisor, K. G. Ormiston, will help you straighten out any difficulty that may arise in hooking up the S.W. received. Write him. There are approximately twenty-five S.W. Broadcasters in the United States and many of these can be heard on the average S.W. receiver. The better sets will bring in many foreigners, but before all this can be accomplished, the S.W. fan will have many things to learn. Many things have to be taken into consideration. The two most important are differences in time, extreme patience in tuning and knowing where to find stations. If the fan will take the time to master the code with a fair degree of speed and accuracy, he will get considerable more pleasure from his S.W. Receiver for the air is full of "brass pounders" and they have plenty of news shooting back and forth to one another. RADIO DOINGS Page Thirty-one