patric-sokoll.de · 18. Broadcasting Becomes Widespread (1922-1923) UNITED STATES EARLY RADIO HISTORY THOMAS H. WHITE s e c t i o n 18 Broadcasting Becomes Widespread (1922-1923)

18. Broadcasting Becomes Widespread (1922-1923)

UNITED STATES EARLY RADIO HISTORY

THOMAS H. WHITE

s e c t i o n

18

Broadcasting Becomes Widespread (1922-1923)

● Next Section: The Development of Radio Networks (1919-1926)

● Previous Section: Big Business and Radio (1915-1922) ● Home Page: Table of Contents / Site Search

●

Led by Westinghouse's 1920 and 1921 establishment of four well-financed stations -- located in or near Pittsburgh, Boston, Chicago and New York City -- there was a growing sense of excitement as broadcasting activities became more organized. In December, 1921, the Department of Commerce issued regulations formally establishing a broadcast service. Then, in early 1922, a "broadcasting boom" occurred, as a sometimes chaotic mix of stations, sponsored by a wide range of businesses, organizations and individuals, sprang up, numbering over 500 by the end of the year.

Eventually the scores of individual station efforts, from small town amateurs to major electrical firms, coalesced into a broadcasting boom, which swept across the United States in early 1922. In 1899, the London Electrophone had claimed Queen Victoria as a listener, and the rise of broadcasting introduced U.S. President Harding to radio, via a receiver installed by the Navy, according to President Enthusiastic Radio Fan "Listens-in" Almost Daily from the April 8, 1922 Telephony. Lists of the wide variety of stations making broadcasts to the general public began to appear, including What Anyone Can Hear, by Armstrong Perry, from the March, 1922 Radio News, First American Radio Charts from the March, 1922 Popular Science Monthly, Radiophone Broadcasting Stations of the United States, from the May, 1922 edition of The Consolidated Radio Call Book and Louis Jay Heath's The Romance of the Radiophone, from the 1923 annual supplement of The Home magazine. In fact, the Department of Commerce became worried that too many stations -- especially amateur and experimental -- were making broadcasts intended for the general public, and, effective December 1, 1921, adopted regulations which restricted public broadcasting to stations which met the standards of a newly created broadcast service classification. I've put together an overview of this tumultuous period, Building the Broadcast Band, which reviews some of the struggles that took place with the rise of widespread radio broadcasting in the U.S.

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With enforcement of the new regulations, the number of private U.S. stations permitted to make broadcasts intended for the general public dropped to 67 as of the March 10, 1922 list of broadcast stations, which appeared in the March 1, 1922 issue of the Commerce Department's Radio Service Bulletin. However, even with the restrictions broadcasting continued to grow explosively, and at the end of the year there would be over 500 broadcast stations, located in every state, their growth chronicled by the monthly broadcast station reports appearing in Radio News. WHAS in Louisville went on the air in July, 1922 as the first broadcasting station in Kentucky, 45th of the then-48 states to get a station. Credo Fitch Harris, a multi-talented journalist who incidentally knew virtually nothing about radio, was appointed station manager. In 1937, Harris recorded his experiences being assigned the job of starting up operations during "the horse and buggy days of radio" in the opening sections of Microphone Memoirs (operations extracts)--a task he poetically likened to being "led into the garden of Parizade and placed beneath her Singing Tree whose leaves dripped harmonies". The tremendous growth of radio broadcasting saw the development of a wide variety of innovative program offerings. Starting in October, 1921, children listening to WJZ, Westinghouse's recently established station in Newark, New Jersey, were informed that "The radiophone, which is the wireless, has made it possible for the Man in the Moon to talk to you", as the station began evening readings, by Newark Sunday Call journalist Bill McNeery, of short stories written by Josephine Lawrence. In 1922, a collection of these "Man in the Moon Stories: Told Over the Radio-Phone" was published, beginning with Chapter I of The Adventures of the Gingerbread Man. Credo Fitch Harris, the station manager at WHAS in Louisville, Kentucky, reviewed in Microphone Memoirs (programming extracts) the kinds of programs produced by his station in 1922 and 1923, beginning with its inaugural broadcast on July 18, 1922, which overwhelmingly consisted of live -- and unpaid -- amateur talent. As radio's mysteries captured the public imagination, it was increasingly reflected in popular culture, including the publication in 1922 of the wistful song, I Wish There Was a Wireless to Heaven (The Radio Song), followed six years later by a somewhat happier tune, A Bungalow, a Radio and You. Radio themes had occasionally appeared in juvenile books up through 1921, three early examples being John Trowbridge's 1908 "The Story of a Wireless Telegraph Boy", "The Motor Boat Club and the Wireless" written in 1909 by H. Irving Hancock, and the 1911 "Tom Swift and the Wireless Message", by Howard Garis using a syndicate pseudonym of Victor Appleton. However the 1922 broadcasting boom triggered a huge increase in radio related literature, including the introduction of at least three competing lines of Radio Boys books, in addition to a series about a group of Radio Girls. In most of these books radio activities served mainly as a prop or provided a loosely related background plot. A notable exception to this superficial coverage was the "Allen Chapman" Radio Boys books, written by John W. Duffield, with forewords by Jack Binns. The teenaged protagonists in this series do engage in the standard activities of besting bullies, while impressing the leading citizens -- and their



daughters -- in the fictional town of Clintonia, located not too far from New York City. But extracts from the first five books in this series also provide an unusually detailed and technically accurate review of the excitement of the rapid spread of radio broadcasting in 1922. In the series' opening book, The Radio Boys' First Wireless, the boys build award winning crystal receivers, which use headphones. In The Radio Boys at Ocean Point, they improve their receiver design, by adding a vacuum-tube detector and loud-speaker, while experimenting with umbrella and loop antennas. The Radio Boys at the Sending Station includes a visit to WJZ, the Westinghouse broadcasting station in Newark, New Jersey, and they are also thrilled to pick up their first trans-Atlantic signals. In The Radio Boys at Mountain Pass our heros continue to spread word of the wonders of the new technology of radio through the community, witness the broadcast of a local church service, and speculate on the day when cars will be equipped with receivers. And in The Radio Boys Trailing a Voice they learn about radio communication applications in the forest fire service, while Dr. Dale predicts that: "Radio is yet in its infancy, but one thing is certain. In the lifetime of those who witnessed its birth it will become a giant--but a benevolent giant who, instead of destroying will re-create our civilization." As radio broadcasting began to establish itself as an ongoing public service, there were questions about the types of stations and kinds of programming they would offer. In Concerning "Canned Music Now Broadcast" from the September, 1922, Radio Dealer, George H. Fisher came to the defense of small stations like WHAW in Tampa, Florida, whose programming consisted almost entirely of phonograph records. Meanwhile, the possibility of radio stations becoming a major source for news was covered in the September, 1922 Popular Radio by Homer Croy, who noted in The Newspaper that Comes Through Your Walls that an audio news service, like that which had been available for over twenty-five years to subscribers to the Budapest Telefon Hirmondó, could now potentially be transmitted by radio broadcasting stations over much wider areas. In 1922, the increasing interest in broadcasting led to the publication of numerous books and articles intended for the general public, to explain this exciting innovation. Rhey T. Snodgrass and Victor F. Camp, in Radio Receiving for Beginners, reported that "thousands of twelve year old boys, and girls" had already successfully set up radio receivers for "entertaining their families and friends", and that their introductory book would show others how to participate in the "magic" of the "radio wonderland". Basic information, plus explanations of technical terms like "static" and "interference", appear in the following selections from the book, beginning with How Can I Receive Radio? Another review, aimed at slightly older readers, talked of radio as "unlimited in its scope of subjects, just as it is virtually unlimited in the size of its audience", according to the Radio-Phone Broadcasting--What It Is and What It Means section from Austin C. Lescarboura's Radio For Everybody. Radio's ability to conquer distance helped reduce the isolation of sparsely populated regions. In the March 17, 1922 issue of Country Life, Frank H. Mason in Britain reported in Wireless



and the Country House how he had originally used a crystal receiver, which didn't require electricity to operate, to pick up time signals from the Eiffel Tower station in Paris, France. However, the introduction of broadcasting caused a dilemma, because reception of the weaker signals sent out by broadcast stations required more sensitive vacuum-tube -- or "valve" in British usage -- receivers, which were battery operated, and in the early 1920s most of the British countryside did not have electricity. So Mason built a small water wheel to power a generator, which recharged the set's batteries, and also operated a couple of lights in the outhouses. In the December 16, 1922 issue of The Country Gentlemen, John R. McMahon reviewed his adventures in setting up a radio receiver, and also answered the question of What Makes the Radio Laugh? -- "the cat's whisker tickled the galena and this made the radio laugh". After successfully installing a receiver, McMahon optimistically concluded that "The radiophone is a marvel. After the automobile, it is to become the foremost agency of civilization. Anybody who feels discouraged about things in general should clamp on a pair of ear phones and tune up." Somewhat less sanguine was Tom P. Morgan's article, A Wireless Warning from the April 22, 1922 The Country Gentleman, which reviewed, in a humorous way, potential downfalls. Morgan foresaw the introduction of pagers that would jab wearers in order to get their attention, to be followed by "a stern voice commanding him to get to work". Also, after a benign beginning where radio broadcasting would allow listeners in "the Red Front Grocery in Peeweecuddyhump" to hear Presidential addresses, the author feared that less benign impulses would soon be let loose, as broadcasting fell under the control of hectoring do-gooders, leading to a future where "the Hons. have torn loose and are flapdoodling like mad". Radio as a Revolutionist from the March 29, 1922 The Nation also sounded a cautionary note, asking readers to "Think of the tragic fate of some future Thoreau who goes to his beloved woods in search of solitude only to find the night made suddenly hideous by the 'famous laughing saxophone' played at station XYZ and received and amplified by equipment in possession of the Boston Boy Scouts in camp not far away!" And in contrast to the speculation by many that radio would help bring world peace, this review closed noting that "if another war comes, which radio-telephony may make easier to bring about, radio control of the means of destruction will add immeasurably to its horrors" although possibly these were "the fears of a crotchety generation that is passing. Certainly they are not shared by the young men and women who make up our radio clubs. May they make better use of this new conquest over the powers of nature than we have done with some of ours." The 1922 boom in radio broadcasting was also a boon for radio equipment sellers. How to Retail Radio informed merchants that radio was poised to take its place "in the stalls of business along with the camera, the victrola, the dictaphone, the typewriter, and all of the other merchandise that makes for the transference of sight or sound or thought between men". There was a caution, however, that the current sales boom would eventually level off, and "although radio is here to stay, not every radio dealer is here to stay". Ideas on how to avoid that unhappy fate were included in chapters such as What Kind of Radio Stock and How Much? by F. W. Christian, and Where to Look for Radio Customers by J. C. Milton.



Meanwhile, the 1922 edition of O. A. Witte's The Automobile Storage Battery, noted that "It is in the sale of batteries for radio work and in the recharging of them that the battery man can 'cash-in' on the radio phone 'craze.' ", according to the Radio Batteries chapter of the book. And a 1922 pamphlet by Frederick Dietrich, Beginner's Book of Radio, stated that "the beginner is apt to make the mistake of purchasing a horn attachment for his receiver" in a doomed effort to use it as a radio loud-speaker, but warned "the results obtained with such an arrangement will be extremely disappointing" -- better to "buy several headphones and connect them in series" -- as explained in the Radio Telephone and Telegraph Receivers chapter. (The author, by the way, was president of C. Brandes, Inc., major manufacturers of headphones). Not everyone, however, went to the expense of buying headphones. An international problem developed, as unscrupulous persons began snipping off the receivers from public telephones, as reported in Radio Craze Brings Raids On Telephones for Equipment from the June, 1922 Telephone Engineer, and French Pay Stations Robbed of Receivers for Radio Use, from the April 15, 1922 Telephony.

"A few days later, I remarked to a fellow reporter that I had spent several evenings listening to programs. 'Do you think radio is here to stay?' I quoted the popular gag of the day. 'God forbid!' he said. Apparently the young man who functioned as radio editor of the News shared his sentiments. Convinced that there was no future either in broadcasting or in writing about it, he resigned his job, and some time later I stood before the city editor again. 'Gross, you're it,' said the boss. 'I don't like radio,' I said. 'I want to be a drama critic.' 'You'll be a radio critic,' he insisted. 'But I'm not qualified,' I protested. 'I don't know a thing about radio.' 'Oh yes you do! From now on you're our expert--our great authority. And do you know why? Because you're the only guy around here who knows how to turn one of those damned things on!'"--Ben Gross, I Looked and I Listened, 1954.


19. The Development of Radio Networks (1919-1926)


THOMAS H. WHITE

s e c t i o n

19

The Development of Radio Networks (1919-1926)

● Next Section: Financing Radio Broadcasting (1898-1927) ● Previous Section: Broadcasting Becomes Widespread (1922-

1923) ● Home Page: Table of Contents / Site Search

●

The introduction of vacuum-tube amplification for telephone lines allowed AT&T to experiment with sending speeches to distant audiences that listened over loudspeakers. The next step would be to use the lines to interconnect radio stations, and in December, 1921 a memo written by two AT&T engineers, J. F. Bratney and H. C. Lauderback, outlined the establishment of a national radio network, financially supported by advertising. General Electric, Westinghouse and RCA responded by forming their own radio network, however, unable to match AT&T's progress, in 1926 they bought out AT&T's network operations, which were reorganized to form the National Broadcasting Company.

Large companies are often slow to innovate. A notable exception occurred when the research and experimentation by the American Telephone & Telegraph Company -- the largest company in the world -- on interconnecting telephone lines, loud speakers, and radio transmitters led in late 1921 to a plan to create a national radio network, supported by advertising, at a time when most people had yet to even hear a radio broadcast. AT&T's intention to set up nationwide broadcasting was formally announced on February 11, 1922 and publicized in articles such as National Radio Broadcast By Bell System, which appeared in the April, 1922 issue of Science & Invention. Most of the network broadcasts originated from WEAF in New York City, thus the network was generally called the "WEAF Chain". However, company circuit charts marked the inter-city telephone links in red pencil, so the chain of stations was also known as "the red network". From 1922 until 1926 AT&T would be the most important company in the programming side of U.S. broadcasting. Its advertising-supported radio network, including flagship station WEAF, set the standard for the entire industry. After AT&T began organizing the first U.S. radio network, the three companies that comprised the "radio group" -- General Electric, Westinghouse, and their jointly-owned


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subsidiary, the Radio Corporation of America -- responded by creating their own, smaller, radio network, centered on WJZ in New York City. But, blocked by AT&T from using telephone lines to connect their stations, this other network had to find some other way to link up stations. Initially leased telegraph wires were used. However, the telegraph companies hadn't been in the habit of employing acoustics experts or installing lines with more fidelity than what was needed for basic telegraph service, so this often resulted in low fidelity broadcasts accompanied by loud hums. Also tried was connecting the stations using shortwave radio links, but this couldn't meet the reliability or sound quality requirements. Another idea that was investigated was increasing transmitter powers, to create a small number of "superpower" stations of upwards of 50,000 watts. This higher power might have helped some, but still didn't match the reliability and flexibility provided by local stations linked together by high-quality phone lines. At this point, the radio group got a break. After four years of increasing success in the broadcasting arena, AT&T decided that it no longer wanted to run a radio network. In May, 1926, it transferred WEAF and the network operations into a wholly-owned subsidiary, the Broadcasting Company of America. Then came the bombshell announcement -- AT&T was selling WEAF and its network to the radio group companies for $1,000,000. (RCA's David Sarnoff was fond of saying "when life hands you a lemon, make lemonade". In this case, the strategy became "buy the other guy's lemonade stand".) At this point a new company was formed, the National Broadcasting Company, which took over the Broadcasting Company of America assets, and merged them with the radio group's fledgling network operations. AT&T's original WEAF Chain was renamed the NBC-Red network, with WEAF continuing as the flagship station, and the small network that the radio group had organized around WJZ became the NBC-Blue network. In September, 1926 NBC's formation was publicized in full-page ads that appeared in numerous publications: Announcing the National Broadcasting Company, Inc. The new network's debut broadcast followed on November 15, 1926. NBC's first president was Merlin H. Aylesworth, the energetic former director of the National Electric Light Association. Ben Gross, in his 1954 book I Looked and I Listened, included a biographical sketch of Aylesworth, noting that "If there is one man who may be said to have 'put over' broadcasting with both the public and the sponsors, it is this first president of NBC."


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"By this time AT&T, RCA's former ally, had cut loose, and was operating a broadcast station of its own--WEAF. It was better on a technical end than we were. The late Raymond Guy sums it up in his reminiscences recorded many years later at Columbia University's Oral History Research Office: 'AT&T did things with a more thorough knowledge of what they were doing.... They just knew more about telephony than we did, as you might expect. They had the best telephone engineers in the world. The entire Bell Laboratories were at their disposal.' Aside from the normal pride which engineers take in their profession, this kept us on our toes; but the technical competition with the telephone company was an uphill fight, as Ray Guy implied, and I would be the last to deny. WEAF, cautiously at first, began to sell time and develop an income. When WJZ-WJY went on the air May 15, 1923, neither we nor WEAF were paying the artists. After a while, WEAF was in a position to do so, and we were not, until the National Broadcasting Company was organized and WJZ became the key station of the Blue Network, later taken over by the American Broadcasting Company".--Carl Dreher, Sarnoff: An American Success, 1977.


17. Big Business and Radio (1915-1922)


THOMAS H. WHITE

s e c t i o n

17

Big Business and Radio (1915-1922)

● Next Section: Broadcasting Becomes Widespread (1922-1923) ● Previous Section: Broadcasting After World War One (1918-

1921) ● Home Page: Table of Contents / Site Search

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Once the radio industry finally became profitable, major corporations -- including the American Telephone & Telegraph Company, General Electric, and Westinghouse -- moved into the field. Meanwhile, in 1919, due to pressure from the U.S. government, American Marconi's assets were sold to General Electric, which used them to form the Radio Corporation of America.

According to Owen D. Young, the General Electric Company executive who coordinated G.E.'s purchase of American Marconi, and its transformation into the Radio Corporation of America: "Fifteen years is the average period of probation, and during that time the inventor, the promoter and the investor, who see a great future, generally lose their shirts... This is why the wise capitalist keeps out of exploiting new inventions and comes in only when the public is ready for mass demand". When, after years of losing money, radio finally started to become profitable in the late teens, then grew explosively with the broadcasting boom in the early twenties, the "wise capitalists" at major industrial corporations like G.E. began to enter and dominate the industry, in particular by buying up most of the major patents. In contrast, after nearly two decades of pioneering work and struggling companies, in 1921 Lee DeForest abruptly sold most of his radio interests and moved on to other fields. DeForest later explained that he felt the time had come when "the building up of this technique and institution might better be left in the hands of those with greater capital, influence and personnel to carry on" and further noted that broadcasting "grew amazingly, once the large organizations with ample capital took hold of it". During World War One, the radio industry was placed under the temporary control of the U.S. government, and (most) government officials planned to return the companies and stations to private ownership after the end of the conflict. However, as reviewed in the Attempts to Establish a United States Government Radio Monopoly chapter of Linwood S. Howeth's 1963




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History of Communications-Electronics in the United States Navy, during the war the Navy Department plotted to circumvent this, and tried to convert the radio industry into a permanent government monopoly. To this end, the Navy quietly purchased the Federal Telegraph Company stations plus a majority of the Marconi stations located in the United States, meaning that the government now owned most of the U.S. commercial stations. The Navy belatedly reported its actions to the United States Congress, which was not amused. Congress challenged the Navy's purchases, and directed the Department to return the stations to their original owners. The return of American Marconi's stations restored that company's domination of U.S. radio, which it had held since its 1912 takeover of United Wireless. However, in spite of its name American Marconi's ownership and management was largely British, and, because of national security considerations, the U.S. government -- especially the Navy Department -- wanted to avoid foreign control of U.S. international communications. Led by the Navy's S. C. Hooper and its Director of Naval Communications, W. G. H. Bullard, in mid-1919 the U.S. government applied extensive pressure on American Marconi to sell its operations to a U.S. firm -- at the same time General Electric was convinced to purchase the former American Marconi holdings. (The government selected G.E. because it was a major electrical firm, and it also manufactured the Alexanderson alternator-transmitters which seemed poised to dominate international radio communications. Development of these transmitters dated back to the high-speed alternators G.E. had built for Reginald Fessenden beginning in 1906.) Details about the events surrounding the formation this new company, patriotically named the Radio Corporation of America, appear in The Navy and the Radio Corporation of America chapter of Linwood S. Howeth's 1963 History of Communications-Electronics in the United States Navy. As the successor to American Marconi, the Radio Corporation of America inherited the position of the dominant U.S. radio firm, and advertisements for the new General Electric subsidiary, such as the one which ran in the July, 1920 issue of The Consolidated Radio Call Book, informed customers that RCA was "an all-American concern" holding "the premier position in the radio field". Shortly after its creation, RCA began to build a showcase international facility, Radio Central, at Rocky Point, Long Island. The site's original plans outlined a huge enterprise, the core of which was to be ten Alexanderson alternator-transmitters, surrounded by twelve huge antennas arrayed in spokes each approximately 1.5 mile (2+ kilometers) long. In 1922, with two of the antenna spokes built and two alternator-transmitters entering service, Charles William Taussig reviewed the fledgling Radio Central operations in The World's Greatest Radio Station chapter of The Book of Radio. Taussig enthusiastically reported that Radio Central incorporated "all of the wonders of radio which have transpired in the last twenty-five years". However, only about 20% of the planned alternator facilities were ever built, because within just a couple of years the longwave alternator-transmitters became obsolete, due to the development of far more efficient shortwave transmissions.



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Although RCA was initially envisioned as an international communications company, it also quickly moved into the developing broadcasting field. RCA made its broadcast debut on July 2, 1921 with a heavyweight boxing championship, as Jack Dempsey defeated Georges Carpentier. The bout took place in Hoboken, New Jersey, and was broadcast by a temporary longwave station, WJY, with a transcript of the fight commentary telegraphed to KDKA in Pittsburgh, for rebroadcast by that station. Because of the lack of radio receivers, a majority of the listeners were in halls, where volunteer amateurs set up radio receivers, charging admission for the sponsoring charities. RCA did much of the technical work, and covered the broadcast in its magazine, Wireless Age, announcing the event in July 2nd Fight Described by Radiophone, which appeared in the July, 1921 issue, and reviewing it in detail in Voice-Broadcasting the Stirring Progress of the "Battle of the Century", which appeared the next month. (A color scan, provided by Ross Allen, shows the WJY Participation Certificate which was issued to C. R. Vincent, Jr. for his help with the broadcast.) The original idea for the fight broadcast, and much of the coordination of the participants, came from Julius Hopp, manager of concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City. But since then, to an almost grotesque degree, history has been rewritten multiple times, as the roles of some participants, especially RCA's David Sarnoff, have been greatly exaggerated, at the expense of those who actually deserve the credit. I've put together a review, "Battle of the Century": The WJY Story, which covers the activities surrounding the broadcast, plus a review of how in later retellings some of the original events have been distorted almost beyond recognition. The broadcasting boom of 1922 expanded RCA sales into a national consumer market, with a resulting increase in advertising. Readers of the The Country Gentlemen were informed that "We want the farmers to know something about radio and the Radio Corporation", according to an ad in the December 9, 1922 issue, which noted that RCA's goal was firmly to establish America's leadership in Radio. The Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, based in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, also became one of the expanding radio industry's most prominent leaders. Westinghouse was a major, and well-respected, manufacturer of electrical appliances for the home, and would become the first company to broadly market radio receivers to the general public. Although the company had been involved in radio research to a limited degree during World War One, after the war Westinghouse began to greatly extend its operations, including the purchase of the International Radio Telegraph Company -- the struggling successor to Fessenden's National Electric Signaling Company -- as reported in Westinghouse Company Enters Wireless Field from the October 16, 1920 Electrical Review. This article noted that "special attention would be paid to the development of new uses" of radio, and the very next month, inspired by Frank Conrad's broadcasts over 8XK, Westinghouse inaugurated a public broadcasting service, designed to promote the sale of radio receivers. The formal start on November 2, 1920 featured election returns, broadcast from the company's new East Pittsburgh station. This election night broadcast actually was little noticed at the time, although it did merit a short writeup, Send Election Returns By Wireless Telephone, in the November 6, 1920 Electrical Review.


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For the first few days the East Pittsburgh broadcasts went out under the Special Amateur callsign of 8ZZ, after which it switched to KDKA. The new station began daily broadcasts of varied offerings which proved increasingly popular, and in the June 4, 1921 Scientific American, company engineer Leo H. Rosenberg reviewed broadcasting's accomplishments and bright future in A New Era In Wireless, with the prediction that "in a few years we will wonder that we were ever able to exist without enjoying its many benefits". After KDKA had been in operation for close to a year, Westinghouse set up three additional broadcasting stations, WJZ, Newark, New Jersey, WBZ, Springfield, Massachusetts, and KYW Chicago, Illinois, predicting that "this service will prove of expanding value and distinctive interest to mankind" in Westinghouse to Cover Country With Radio Entertainment, from the December 10, 1921 Electrical Review. A more extensive history of Westinghouse's broadcasting efforts though mid-1922, Development of Radiophone Broadcasting by L. R. Krumm, appeared in the July/August, 1922 Radio Age. The Westinghouse stations quickly became some of the most popular in the country. No review of early radio broadcasting was complete without a recap of their extensive pioneering work, for example, How Radio-Phone Broadcasting Came About from Austin C. Lescarboura's 1922 book, Radio For Everybody. Lescarboura also covered the significant contributions made by the American Telephone & Telegraph Company, noting, in When a Rival Became a Partner, that "it was only when the engineers of the wire telephone came to take an interest in wireless telephony that this art made real progress". On March 7, 1916, the National Geographic Society held a banquet in Washington, D.C. to commemorate the 40th anniversary of a telephone patent issued to Alexander Graham Bell. At this dinner AT&T, which had been originally formed in order to promote the Bell patents, showed off two scientific marvels made possible by recent improvements in vacuum tube engineering: transcontinental telephone lines, plus high-quality audio radio transmissions. These advances, seen by one speaker as an antidote to the claim that they were living in "an age that is materialistic and without faith", were covered in detail in the Voice Voyages by the National Geographic Society, from the March, 1916 issue of National Geographic magazine. In the July 19, 1919 issue of The Literary Digest, an AT&T advertisement, Pioneering Wireless Speech, highlighted the company's groundbreaking advances in audio transmissions, including the 1915 transoceanic tests, and the 1919 Victory Liberty Loan Drive. In 1920, AT&T opened the first radiotelephone link used for telephone service, "bridging by wireless" the California mainland and Catalina Island, as recounted in Radio Telephone Exchange for Avalon Island, Calif. from the June 19, 1920 Telephony. (One deficiency in the initial setup was that persons who knew the operating frequencies could listen in on conversations, and, even worse, a few with radio transmitters even interjected their own comments, according to "Tuning In" on the Wireless from the October, 1920 Pacific Radio News.) On October 21, 1920 AT&T showed off its growing technical prowess with a "sea to shining sea" test, successfully demonstrating before an international audience the interconnection of two radiotelephone links with a cross-country landline, to provide voice communication between the S.S. Gloucester, located off the coast of New Jersey, with


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Catalina Island, as described in From Ocean to Ocean by Telephone from the January, 1921 Telephone Engineer. The company's successes made it a leader in radiotelephone transmission, and it used its expertise to quickly claim a major role in the developing radio broadcasting industry. In early 1922, AT&T began building in New York City a station with the unusual policy that its airtime would be leased out for others to use -- this was called "toll broadcasting" -- which was announced in A.T.&T. Co. to Operate Radio Commercial Broadcasting Station from the February 18, 1922 Telephony. This station, WEAF (now WFAN), soon gained a reputation as the best engineered radio outlet in the country. AT&T's next innovation drew on its experience in interconnecting radio transmitters with long-distance wires, when it announced, in Bell Experiments Looking to Nation-Wide Radio Service from the April 15, 1922 Telephony, its plan to develop the first radio network WJY's 1921 broadcast of the "Battle of the Heavyweights" was an apt metaphor for the future of much of the broadcasting industry. The next few years would see a battle for dominance by some of the largest companies in the United States, with the "main card" consisting of AT&T vs. RCA.

"During the war, de Forest manufactured triodes under government immunity; but at the conclusion of hostilities some sort of working compromise with the Marconi company was essential. For a brief period the two companies tried to work together. But quarrels soon developed. And when in 1920 RCA acquired rights to the triode through cross-licensing agreements with the telephone company, it was no longer necessary to deal with de Forest. In the competitive struggle that ensued, de Forest's company was no match for GE, Westinghouse and RCA."--W. Rupert MacLaurin, Invention and Innovation in the Radio Industry, 1949.


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United States Early Radio History


Articles and extracts about early radio and related technologies, concentrating on the United States in the period from 1897 to

1927

Thomas H. White

LATEST ADDITIONS (July 9, 2006) • Three articles in Personal Communication by Wireless, two in Early Radio Industry Development, one in Pioneering U.S. Radio Activities, three in Arc-Transmitter Development, one each in Expanded Audion and Vacuum-tube Development and Fakes, Frauds, and Cranks .

An assortment of highlights -- plus a few lowlifes -- about early U.S. radio history. Over time more articles will be added, to cover additional topics and expand on the existing ones. (This webpage was begun September 30, 1996, and was located at www.ipass.net/~whitetho/index.html until March 11, 2003).

Sections

1. Period Overview (1896-1927) - General reviews of the individuals, activities and technical advances which characterized this era.

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2. The Electric Telegraph (1860-1914) - The electric telegraph revolutionized long-distance

communication, replacing earlier semaphore communication lines. In addition to its primary use for point-to-point messages, other applications were developed, including printing telegraphs ("tickers") used for distributing stock quotes and news reports.

3. News and Entertainment by Telephone (1876-1925) - While the telegraph was mainly limited to transmitting Morse Code and printed messages, the invention of the telephone made distant audio communication possible. And although the telephone was mostly used for private conversations, there was also experimentation with providing home entertainment. In 1893 a particularly sophisticated system, the Telefon Hirmondó, began operation in Budapest, Hungary -- one of its off-shoots, the Telephone Herald of Newark, New Jersey, did not meet with the same financial success.

4. Personal Communication by Wireless (1879-1922) - After Heinrich Hertz demonstrated the existence of radio waves, some were enchanted by the idea that this remarkable scientific advance could be used for personal, mobile communication. But it would take decades before the technology would catch up with the idea.

5. Radio at Sea (1891-1916) - The first major use of radio was for navigation, where it greatly reduced the isolation of ships, saving thousands of lives, even though for the first couple of decades radio was generally limited to Morse Code transmissions. In particular, the 1912 sinking of the Titanic highlighted the value of radio to ocean vessels.

6. Early Radio Industry Development (1897-1914) - As with most innovations, radio began with a series of incremental scientific discoveries and technical refinements, which eventually led to the development of commercial applications. But profits were slow in coming, and for many years the largest U.S. radio firms were better known for their fraudulent stock selling practices than for their financial viability.

7. Pioneering U.S. Radio Activities (1897-1917) - Marconi's demonstration of a practical system for generating and receiving long-range radio signals sparked interest worldwide. It also resulted in numerous competing experimenters and companies throughout the industrialized world, including a number of important figures in the United States, led by Reginald Fessenden and Lee DeForest.

8. Alternator-Transmitter Development (1891-1920) - Radio signals were originally produced by spark transmitters, which were noisy and inefficient. So experimenters worked to develop "continuous-wave" -- also known as "undamped" -- transmitters, whose signals went out on a single frequency, and which could also transmit full-audio signals. One approach used to generate continuous-wave signals was high-speed electrical alternators. By 1919, international control of the Alexanderson alternator-transmitter was considered so important that it triggered










the formation of the Radio Corporation of America.

9. Arc-Transmitter Development (1904-1921) - A more compact -- although not quite as refined -- method for generating continuous-wave radio signals was the arc-transmitter, initially developed by Danish inventor Valdemar Poulsen. Because arc-transmitters were less complicated than alternator-transmitters, a majority of the early experimental audio transmissions would use this device.

10. Audion and Vacuum-tube Receiver Development (1907-1916) - Lee DeForest invented a three-element vacuum-tube detector which he called an Audion, but initially it was so crude and unreliable that it was little more than a curiosity. After a lull of a few years, more capable scientists and engineers, led by AT&T's Dr. Harold Arnold, improved vacuum-tubes into robust and powerful amplifiers, which would revolutionize radio reception.

11. Pre-War Vacuum-tube Transmitter Development (1914-1917) - AT&T initially developed vacuum-tubes as amplifiers for long-distance telephone lines. However, this was only the beginning of the device's versatility, as various scientists and inventors would develop numerous innovations, including efficient continuous-wave transmitters, which would eventually replace the earlier spark, arc, and alternator varieties.

12. Pioneering Amateurs (1900-1917) - Radio captured the imagination of thousands of ordinary persons who wanted to experiment with this amazing new technology. Until late 1912 there was no licencing or regulation of radio transmitters in the United States, so amateurs -- known informally as "hams" -- were free to set up stations wherever they wished. But with the adoption of licencing, amateur operators faced a crisis, as most were now restricted to transmitting on a wavelength of 200 meters (1500 kilohertz), which had a limited sending range. They successfully organized to overcome this limitation, only to face a second hurdle in April, 1917, when the U.S. government shut down all amateur stations, as the country entered World War One.

13. Radio During World War One (1914-1919) - Civilian radio activities were suspended during the war, as the radio industry was taken over by the government. Numerous military applications were developed, including direct communication with airplanes. The war also exposed thousands of service personnel to the on-going advances in radio technology, and even saw a few experiments with broadcasting entertainment to the troops.

14. Expanded Audion and Vacuum-tube Development (1917-1924) - The wartime consolidation of the radio industry under government control led to important advances in radio equipment engineering and manufacturing, especially vacuum-tube technology. Still, some would look toward the day when vacuum-tubes would be supplanted by something more efficient and compact, although this was another development which would take decades to be realized.

15. Amateur Radio After World War One (1919-1924) - Although there was concern that amateur










radio stations would not be allowed to return to the airwaves after the war, in 1919 the wartime restrictions were ended. And the next few years would see tremendous strides, as amateurs adopted vacuum-tube technology and began to explore transmitting on shortwave frequencies, which resulted in significant increases in range and reliability.

16. Broadcasting After World War One (1918-1921) - Although still unfocused, scattered broadcasting activities, taking advantage of the improvements in vacuum-tube equipment, expanded when the radio industry returned to civilian control.

17. Big Business and Radio (1915-1922) - Once the radio industry finally became profitable, major corporations -- including the American Telephone & Telegraph Company, General Electric, and Westinghouse -- moved into the field. Meanwhile, in 1919, due to pressure from the U.S. government, American Marconi's assets were sold to General Electric, which used them to form the Radio Corporation of America.

18. Broadcasting Becomes Widespread (1922-1923) - Led by Westinghouse's 1920 and 1921 establishment of four well-financed stations -- located in or near Pittsburgh, Boston, Chicago and New York City -- there was a growing sense of excitement as broadcasting activities became more organized. In December, 1921, the Department of Commerce issued regulations formally establishing a broadcast service. Then, in early 1922, a "broadcasting boom" occurred, as a sometimes chaotic mix of stations, sponsored by a wide range of businesses, organizations and individuals, sprang up, numbering over 500 by the end of the year.

19. The Development of Radio Networks (1919-1926) - The introduction of vacuum-tube amplification for telephone lines allowed AT&T to experiment with sending speeches to distant audiences that listened over loudspeakers. The next step would be to use the lines to interconnect radio stations, and in December, 1921 a memo written by two AT&T engineers, J. F. Bratney and H. C. Lauderback, outlined the establishment of a national radio network, financially supported by advertising. General Electric, Westinghouse and RCA responded by forming their own radio network, however, unable to match AT&T's progress, in 1926 they bought out AT&T's network operations, which were reorganized to form the National Broadcasting Company.

20. Financing Radio Broadcasting (1898-1927) - Soon after Marconi's groundbreaking demonstrations, there was speculation about transmitting radio signals to paying customers. However, there was no practical way to limit broadcasts to specific receivers, so for a couple decades broadcasting activities were largely limited to experiments, plus a limited number of public service transmissions by government stations. During the 1922 "broadcasting boom", most programming was commercial-free, and entertainers, caught up in the excitement of this revolutionary new invention, performed for free. Meanwhile, a few people wondered how to pay for all this. In early 1922, the American Telephone & Telegraph Company began promoting the controversial idea of using advertising to finance programming. Initially AT&T claimed that its patent rights gave it a monopoly over U.S. radio advertising, but a 1923 industry settlement paved the way for other stations to begin to sell time. And eventually advertising-supported





private stations became the standard for U.S. broadcasting stations.

21. Fakes, Frauds, and Cranks (1866-1922) - Unfortunately, some "misunderstood geniuses" are actually crazy, or dishonest, or both.

22. Word Origins - Reviews of the history of the words "radio", "broadcast" and "ham".

23. Early Government Regulation (1903-1946) - Documents covering early international and national control of radio.

❍ 1903 Berlin Conference ❍ 1904 "Roosevelt Board" ❍ 1906 Berlin Convention ❍ 1910 Ship Act (Amended in 1912) ❍ 1912 London Convention and 1912 Radio Act ❍ Selected Radio Service Bulletin Announcements (1915-1923) ❍ Early Government Station Lists (1906-1946) ❍ Radio Regulation by the Department of Commerce (1911-1925)

24. Original Articles - Writings about United States radio history, emphasizing the early AM

broadcast band (mediumwave). ❍ Mystique of the Three-Letter Callsigns ❍ Three-Letter Roll Call ❍ K/W Call Letters in the United States ❍ United States Callsign Policies ❍ U.S. Special Land Stations: Overview ❍ U.S. Special Land Stations: 1913-1921 Recap ❍ Building the Broadcast Band ❍ United States Pioneer Broadcast Service Stations ❍ U.S. Pioneer Broadcast Service Stations: Actions Through June, 1922 ❍ United States Temporary Broadcast Station Grants: 1922-1928 ❍ Early Commerce Department Records: Examples ❍ Kilohertz-to-Meters Conversion Charts ❍ Washington D.C. AM Station History ❍ Extraterrestrial DX Circa 1924: "Will We Talk to Mars in August?" ❍ The International Radio Week Tests ❍ "Battle of the Century": The WJY Story

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E-mail: [email protected] Sarnoff, 1964: "The computer will become the hub of a vast network of remote data stations and information banks feeding into the machine at a transmission rate of a billion or more bits of information a second. Laser channels will vastly increase both data capacity and the speeds with which it will be transmitted. Eventually, a global communications network handling voice, data and facsimile will instantly link man to machine--or machine to machine--by land, air, underwater, and space circuits. [The computer] will affect man's ways of thinking, his means of education, his relationship to his physical and social environment, and it will alter his ways of living... [Before the end of this century, these forces] will coalesce into what unquestionably will become the greatest adventure of the human mind."--from David Sarnoff by Eugene Lyons, 1966.


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President Enthusiastic Radio Fan "Listens-in" Almost Daily (1922)

Telephony, April 8, 1922, page 16:

President Enthusiastic Radio Fan "Listens-in" Almost Daily. President Harding has become one of the most enthusiastic radio telephone fans in Washington. Scarcely a day goes by that he does not "listen-in" on the receiving set specially installed for him a short time ago by the wireless experts of the Navy Department. The President is singularly fortunate, for his set can take a wave length of 25,000 meters, while the average amateur cannot receive on a wave much longer than 375 meters. Under ordinary conditions, the President can hear not only all the stations in the continental United States, but also those in Hawaii and Panama, although those overseas do not send in voice, but in the Morse code, which the President is yet unable to read. The receiving set is placed in a bookcase near the President's desk in the White House. The aerial goes out from the roof to one of the tall trees on the south side of the mansion, but the engineering bureau of the Navy Department contemplates supplanting this with an indoor "cobweb" antenna. A vacuum tube detector and a two-stage amplifier make up the Presidential set. The President has become something of an expert now in tuning his set, whirling the knobs of the "tickler" and the "vernier adjustment" with assurance that he is going to receive the particular message he wants to hear.

● United States Early Radio History > Broadcasting Becomes Widespread

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What Anyone Can Hear (1922)

No single event or station introduced radio broadcasting to the entire United States. Instead, broadcasting activities evolved in many locations, slowly entering the public consciousness. By early 1922 there was enough organized activity for various publications to begin putting together national lists of stations that were providing broadcasts intended for the general public. However, because of the scattered nature of the activities, no single list at this time, including this one, was able to keep up with all the stations on the air. (It is interesting to note that while a headline refers to this article as a "complete list of broadcasting stations", the text includes the author's "doubt if it contains twenty-five per cent" of the broadcasts that were on the air). The list below was prepared while U.S. broadcasting was going through an important transition. Initially there had been no restrictions on which radio stations could broadcast programs intended for the general public. But on December 1, 1921 the Bureau of Navigation issued a new regulation, which restricted non-government broadcasting to only those stations which held a Limited Commercial licence plus an authorization to use the Entertainment wavelength of 360 meters (833 kilohertz), and/or the Market and Weather wavelength of 485 meters (619 kilohertz). It took a few months for all the stations to fall in line with this new broadcast service regulation, which means that in the list below many stations from other licence categories are still included. However, these stations were now required to either get Limited Commercial licences or stop making broadcasts. (A review of how you can determine a station's licence classification from its callsign is included at the close of this list).

Radio News, March, 1922, page 814:

What Anyone Can Hear

Complete List of Broadcasting Stations in U.S.By ARMSTRONG PERRY

THE present article by Mr. Perry is one of the most important because it gives a complete list of all

the present broadcasting stations throughout the country. Things are moving so rapidly in Radio of late that it becomes almost impossible to keep up with the trend. It is of course no news to anyone that at present Radio companies, be they manufacturers, dealers, or jobbers, are springing up by the dozen over night; but it will come as a surprise to even the wise ones that there are now over seventy broadcasting radio telephone stations throughout the country, and new ones are being added almost every week. It seems that the Radio interests have awakened to the fact that a broadcasting station on top of their roof will pay for itself within 48 hours. And we are only at the very beginning of things. Thus, for instance, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company is now erecting in New York City, the most powerful broadcasting radio telephone station in the country. And for what purpose do you think they are doing it? To rent out the station! In other words, within a month from the date this is written, the advertising manager of a big New York department store may reach for his desk telephone, and talk over the new broadcasting station to several hundred thousand people, giving them the latest prices and sales talk from gold fish to pianos. He need not leave his desk, as his telephone through "Central" will be connected to the broadcasting station. Thence his voice will be connected with the Radio transmitter to be hurled out into space. The American Telephone and Telegraph Company will hire out their station to anyone who wishes to rent it for any length of time, day or night. This may seem nothing but a stunt to us, but it is the coming thing. It merely goes to show what a tremendous grip the Radio telephone has upon the popular imagination to-day.--EDITOR.

SUPPOSE the American Telephone and Telegraph Co. and its local subsidiary companies had tried to build up a business as the radio interests are trying to build up theirs. Suppose that, instead of

issuing directories telling whom you can talk to with a telephone, they should offer you an installation backed up by only two arguments: First, that you can talk; second, that you can hear. Would you fall for such a proposition? Maybe you would. Phonographs were sold in the early days even though there was little in the way of records to play on them. People are still buying toy motion picture machines with only 20' of film. They are still born at the rate of one every minute, or more. But the manufacturer or dealer who wants to sell radio, keep it sold and build up a business, must recognize the fact that at the present stage of the industry the middle eighty per cent of the population is his field, not the submerged tenth who fall for a thing just because it is new, nor the intellectual ten per cent who are capable of learning radio. The "radio amateur" represents only the big game, like the elephant or moose that can be stalked and brought into camp occasionally. Some people make money hunting elephants. Also some can sell Rolls-Royces, but Henry Ford is the only man today who is rated higher than John D. Rockefeller, and both of them built their successes on the common people. The common people are ripe for radio if they are told what they can hear. I have answered during the past year several hundreds of letters from men and boys who wanted to use radio. I am beginning to get letters now from women, and women spend more than eighty per cent of the household funds. Practically every letter shows that the common people are hopelessly confused by the advertising, the catalogs, and even by the radio magazines. What they want to know is: "What can I hear with a radio outfit and how can I hear it?" Careful inquiry failed to reveal any list of the things that common folks--those who want to use radio without studying the theory, learning the code or building, apparatus--could hear. We have our call books, but they are all Greek to the novice. Even these of us who have used them for years cannot get out of them what the common people want to know, because it is not there. These books do not tell about the concerts, the lectures, the bedtime stories, the church services that are in the air. Those are the things that the army of new radio customers wants to know about. Thinking that the collection of a list of broadcasts of interest to the public would be of service in the promotion of radio as a household utility, I wrote to all the manufacturers and dealers whose names and addresses I could secure. To my utter astonishment the replies showed that not one out of three knew himself what could be heard with the apparatus he made and sold. Even the fact that the list was to have a circulation of at least half a million, among persons who would be influenced by thousands to buy radio receivers, failed to stimulate many of them to the point of digging up such local information as they could secure in five minutes' conversation with any enthusiastic amateur. Many of them gave me the information that they were very busy. I was interested in that, but it was no news to me. From radio departments in department stores to the high class shops specializing in radio, I had heard of the fact that the manufacturers had fallen down--that deliveries, just at the beginning of a radio era that should make millionaires, were 30 days and more behind. No manufacturer, so far as I could learn, had had confidence enough in himself and his business to use the dull months last summer to really get ready for the holiday trade. But a few came across with lists of voice broadcasts. Altogether, the list is impressive, though I doubt if it contains twenty-five per cent of the reliable broadcasts that people would buy receivers to hear. In Washington I have been getting White and Boyer's concerts once or twice a week Once a week I heard a lecture from the United States Public Health Service, with music before and after. From the Church of the Covenant I have heard not only the morning and evening services but also afternoon addresses by eminent men and women. To get all these things, I have used a mineral detector set that cost less than $30 to buy and install. I could have managed it successfully without any technical knowledge. Other folks in the house learned to use it in a few minutes. But the people of Washington do not know that such a boon is within their reach. They have read about it, but they do not know it. I have talked with scores of them and they have marvelled at the simple facts that I have given them. The man who sold me the set would have sold me a regenerative receiver if he had had his way. He would have had me all tangled up in complicated connections, doubtful about the expediency of bringing into the house a storage battery full of sulphuric acid solution that eats whatever it touches if it is spilled, prudently considering problems of upkeep that do not arise in using the simple set I bought. These Washington broadcasts could be maintained just as well in the summer time, when atmospheric conditions cause the DXer to pack up his troubles, leave them in the closet and go off for a vacation. More people stay at home than can afford to go away. If they can bring in a concert from five miles away, they should worry because the range of the broadcast is cut down from 300 miles to 30, by the summer static. My list of broadcasts probably contains errors. Much of the information is from listeners, and not all of it has been checked up by the broadcasting stations. But such as it is, I got it up with my own money and with the kind co-operation of a few manufacturers and dealers, and I offer it to radio men for what it is worth. Somebody, I hope, will be inspired to maintain a complete list and keep it accurate and up-to-date. Such a list could be printed in a booklet, with a manufacturer's or dealer's advertising, and given away to prospects and customers, or sold for enough to cover the cost of printing.

MOST IMPORTANT BROADCAST OF ALL FOR YOU The Amateur Broadcast transmitted from the United States Navy Station NAH, New York City, daily about 9.30 P. M., on 1832 meters is undoubtedly the most important broadcast for the American citizen to receive. The message usually is short, about 25 words. It is sent at slow speed, 10 words per minute, and with great distinctness. The message is always of interest and often of value, but the importance of the broadcast does not depend upon that alone. It is the means by which the citizen may keep in direct touch with our Government and make sure of receiving instant advice concerning an impending disaster, such for instance as the approach of a hostile air fleet, or the menace of an epidemic against which immediate precautions might prevail. Every American community is neglecting one of its greatest opportunities if it fails to receive this broadcast daily, and thus keep the line of communication open. One boy, or young man, or girl in any community, with an efficient radio receiver, could maintain this contact with Washington. In time of danger a continuous watch could be maintained--an easy matter if the system is once established locally. The Boy Scouts of America are especially encouraged to serve as operators and messengers in this system. In times of danger, speed is necessary. Wire service is fast, but radio is instantaneous. One Government official in Washington could give a word of warning to every American community at the same moment if every community were listening. Sometimes, to provide a means of secrecy, these messages are transmitted in Navy Amateur Code. Key to the codes used will be sent free on request by the Seascout Radio Commodore, 200 Fifth Avenue, New York City.

BROADCASTS FROM GOVERNMENT STATIONS(International Morse Code)

Weather reports are transmitted by Naval Radio Stations as follows: Atlantic Coast. Washington, call letters NAA, 2650 meters. 10 P. M. (Eastern Standard Time). Time signals start at 9.55 and stop at 10 P. M. Key West, Florida, call letters NAR, 1500 meters. Same time. Great Lakes. Great Lakes, call letters NAJ, 1512 meters. 10 P. M. (Central Standard Time). Time signals 9.55 to 10 P. M. Pacific Coast. San Francisco, call letters NPH, 952 meters. Noon and 10 P. M. Preceded by time signals on 2400 and 4800 meters from 9.55 to 10 P. M. North Head, call letters NPE, 952 meters. Same schedule. San Diego, call letters NPL, 952 meters. Same schedule. Local weather reports are broadcasted by Tatoosh, North Head, San Francisco and San Diego at 8 A. M. and 4 P. M. on 600 meters and at noon and 10 P. M. on 952 meters. Also by Puget Sound, Marshfield and Point Arguella at noon and 10 P. M. on 600 meters. Total weather report from Farallone Islands is forwarded to San Francisco for Marine Exchange at 8 A. M., noon, and 5 P. M. There are Navy radio stations in or near most of the coast cities of the United States and its islands. Many of these transmit press. Details are not given in the pamphlet on Commercial and Government Radio Stations of the United States, but they are usually known to local amateurs. An example of the broadcast schedules of Navy stations is given in the following official statement: "All Broadcast Schedules of the Third Naval District are transmitted by the U. S. Naval Radio Station, Navy Yard, New York on 1832 meter wavelength as follows: Ten thirty A. M. and five P. M. Weather and Hydrographic information; Nine P. M. and three A. M. press; Nine thirty P. M. Amateur Radio Broadcast."

RADIO MARKET NEWS SERVICE The Bureau of Markets and Crop Estimates of the United States Department of Agriculture, in coöperation with the Air Mail Radio Service of the Post Office Department, broadcasts market news by radio daily except Sundays and holidays, in accordance with the following schedule: Between June 15 and September 15 no radio reports will be broadcasted on Saturdays after 1 P. M. Notice of any changes in this schedule will be broadcasted in connection with the radio reports for one or more days prior to the date such changes become effective. Washington, D. C. Call letters WWX. Weather 10 A. M. Grain and live stock, 7.30 to 8 P. M. Fruit and vegetables, 8 to 8.30 P. M. Eastern time. 1800 meters. Cincinnati, Ohio. Call letters KDQC. Live stock receipts 9 to 9.15 A. M. Chicago live stock 11 to 11.30 A. M. St. Louis live stock 12 to 12.30 P. M. Chicago live stock 7.30 to 7.45 P. M. St. Louis live stock 8 to 8.15 P. M. Central time. 4000 meters. Omaha, Neb. Call letters KDEF. Live stock receipts 9 to 9.15 A. M. Chicago live stock 11 to 11.30 A. M. Omaha live stock 12 to 12.30 P. M. Kansas City live stock 1 to 1.30 P. M. Grain 2 to 2.15 P. M. Chicago live stock 4.30 to 4.45 P. M. Kansas City live stock 7 to 7.15 P. M. Omaha live stock 7.30 to 7.45 P. M. Central time. 2500 meters. North Platte, Neb. Call letters KDHM. Live stock receipts 9 to 9.15 A. M. Chicago live stock 12 to 12.30 P. M. Chicago live stock 5 to 5.15 P. M. Kansas City live stock 8 to 8.15 P. M. Omaha live stock 8.30 to 8.45 P. M. Mountain time. 3000 meters. Rock Springs, Wyo. Call letters KDHN. Live stock receipts 9 to 9.15 A. M. Chicago live stock 12 to 12.30 P. M. Chicago live stock 4.30 to 4.45 P. M. Kansas City live stock 8 to 8.15 P. M. Omaha live stock 8.30 to 8.45 P. M. Mountain time. 3000 meters. Elko, Nevada. Call letters KDEJ. Live stock receipts 8.30 to 8.45 P. M. Chicago live stock 12 to 12.30 P. M. Chicago live stock 4 to 4.15 P. M. Pacific time. 3000 meters. Reno, Nevada. Transmits on 3000 meters at 10 A. M. Weather reports for mailplane pilots are broadcasted whenever conditions require it. Pilots listen at all times while in the air. The above market reports, whether sent in Morse code or by radio telephone, are given by using abbreviations that would not be understood unless the receiver had before him the blanks provided by the Bureau of Markets. A supply of these should be obtained from the Bureau. With them even a novice can receive the reports. The reports are repeated by a number of local radio stations, especially those connected with State Universities and Colleges. Details can be obtained locally.

CONCERTS, STORIES, LECTURES, NEWS, SERMONS Akron, Ohio. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 6.30 to 7 P. M. Eastern Standard Time, 190 or 200 meters, Radioart Store station. Call letters 8UX. Radiofone, latest phonograph records. Normal range 30 miles. Exceptional range, 200 miles. Friday evenings. Cleveland Radio Association. Concerts. Daily except Sunday, 8 to 9 P. M., Eastern Standard Time, 375 meters. Westinghouse station, Pittsburgh. Call letters KDKA. Press and music. Sunday, 7 to 8 P. M. Same station. Church service. Atlanta, Georgia. Daily 7 P. M., Eastern Standard Time. 5500 meters. Mexico City, Mexico, station. Call letters XDA. Spanish press. Daily 8 to 8.15 P. M. 4000 meters. Cincinnati station. Call letters KDQC. Press. Daily except Sunday, 7 to 8 P. M. 375 meters. Westinghouse station, Pittsburgh. Call letters KDKA. Press and music. Sunday, 7 to 8 P. M. Same station. Church service. Daily except Sunday, 7 to 8 P. M., 375 meters. Westinghouse station, Newark, N. J. Call letters WJZ. Press and music. Schedule unknown. 200 to 250 meters. Government station, Anacostia, D. C. Call letters NSF. Radio telephone. No regular schedules. 200 meters. Amateur stations 4ZF, 4BT, 4CO, 4VA, Music.

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Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and possibly Saturday, 7.30 to 8 P. M. 200 meters (may change to 275, 325 or 375 meters). Carter Electric Company. Call letters 4CD. Music and press. This station was installing radio telephone on date of report. No schedule. Amateur station Rome, Georgia. Call letters 4BQ. Radio telephone. Range said to be 500 miles. Berlin, N. H., Y. M. C. A., is installing radio telephone transmitter for broadcasting program of interest to the public. Buffalo, New York. Daily except Sunday, 8 to 9 P. M. Eastern Standard Time. 375 meters. Westinghouse Station, Pittsburgh. Call letters KDKA. Press and music. Sunday, 7 to 8 P. M. Same station. Church service. Daily except Sunday, 7 to 8 P. M., 375 meters. Westinghouse stations. Newark, N. J. Call letters WJZ. Press and music. Monday and Thursday, 8 to 9.30 P. M., 450 meters. Canadian Independent Telephone Company, Toronto, Canada. Radio telephone, wonderfully clear voice modulation. Boston, Mass. Daily except Sunday, 8 to 9 P. M., 375 meters. Westinghouse station, Pittsburgh. Call letters KDKA. Press and music. Sunday, 7 to 8 P. M. Same station. Church service. No schedule. H. A. Beale's station, Parkesburg, Pa. Call letters 3ZO. Radio telephone. Daily except Sunday, 7 to 8 P. M., 375 meters. Westinghouse station, Newark, N. J. Call letters WJZ. Press. Music. No schedule. T. F. J. Howlett's station, Philadelphia, Pa. Call letters 3AWI. Radio telephone. No schedule. (200 and 250 meters.) Government station Anacostia, D. C. Call letters NSF. Radio telephone. No schedule reported. Variable wave lengths. Union College, Schnectady, New York. Call letters 2XQ. Music. Church service. Daily, 8 P. M., 350 meters. American Radio and Research Corporation station, Medford Hillside, Mass. Call letters WGI. Boston city police reports, first in International Morse Code, ten words per minute, then by radio telephone. Wednesday, 8.15 P. M. Same station. Concert. Tuesday and Thursday, 8.15 P. M. Same station. Burgess Bed Time Stories. Monday, 8.15 P. M. Same station. Publicity and information of general interest. Saturday, 8.15 P. M. Football, baseball and other athletic events and general news. Special broadcasts. Same station. U. S. Public Health Service Lectures. Detailed reports of World Series. Concerts by high class artists. Sermons on Sundays. Address by prominent speakers. Business reports. Heard in Indiana, North Carolina, Canada, Texas, and on board ships in the Atlantic. No schedule. Raymond F. Farnham's station, Pawtucket, R. I. Call letters 1OJ. Radio telephone. No schedule. Thomas Giblin's station, Pawtucket, R. I. Call letters 1XAD. Radio telephone. Cambridge, Mass. Daily except Sunday, 8 to 9 P. M., 375 meters. Westinghouse station, Pittsburgh, Pa. Call letters KDKA. Press and music. Sunday, 7 to 8 P. M. Same station. Church service. No schedule. 1600 meters. Station of National Amateur Wireless Association. New York City. Reports of athletic championship events such as the Dempsey-Carpentier fight, and the baseball World Series. Concerts by famous musicians. Daily papers announce details needed by persons who wish to hear the broadcasts from this station. Daily except Sunday, 7 to 8 P. M., 375 meters. Westinghouse station, Newark. N. J. Call letters WJZ. Press and music. Daily, 7 P. M. H. B. Richmond reports: "One station using but a single wire aerial, detector and 2-Step amplifying unit, has been able to copy the time signals from Honolulu, Hawaii, and Nauen, Germany. . . . These stations are sending the time signals 12 hours apart, yet they are received in Boston simultaneously. Nauen is sending signals at midnight. . . . The time signals from Honolulu are being sent out at 12 o'clock noon of the previous day. Because of the difference in time both come in at Boston at 7 :00 o'clock P. M. It is quite effective to sit at one's apparatus and by simply turning the condenser knob shift from Germany to Honolulu, realizing as we do that these places are 12 hours apart; in other words, on opposite sides of the globe. No schedule. Local radiophone concerts. Chicago, Illinois. 8 P. M. Westinghouse station, Chicago. Call letters KYW. Music. Grand opera every night. Navy station. Call letters NUR. Weather forecast, market reports. Press. Army station at Fort Sheridan (not complete for public transmission on date of report). Police and Fire Departments reported to be experimenting with radio telephone. Amateur stations 9XG and 9LY. Music. Cincinnati, Ohio. Daily except Sunday. 7 to 8 P. M. Central Standard Time. 375 meters. Westinghouse station, Pittsburgh, Pa. Call letters KDKA. Press and music. Sunday, 6 to 7 P. M. Same station. Church service. Schedule not given. Government station, Anacostia. D. C. Call letters NSF. Radio telephone. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, 8 P. M. Central Standard Time. 375 meters. Station of Precision Equipment Co. Call letters 8XB. Music, vaudeville. baseball scores and other information of value. Heard in Iowa, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Canada, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida and Tennessee. Cleveland, Ohio. Sunday, 7.30 or 8 P. M. Eastern Standard Time. Station of Cox Manufacturing Company, Cleveland. Call letters 8ACS. 200 meters. Music and voice. Can be heard with mineral detector receivers in Cleveland and suburbs. With amplifiers it is heard clearly at distances up to 50 or 60 miles and has repeatedly been heard at distances of several hundred miles. Thursday evenings. Concerts under auspices of Cleveland Radio Association. Different members give these concerts. They are heard throughout Greater Cleveland and sometimes at greater distances. Daily except Sunday, 8 to 9 P. M. 375 meters. Westinghouse station, Pittsburgh, Pa. Call letters KDKA. Press and music. Sunday, 7 to 8 P. M. Same station. Church service. Reception of broadcasts from the above station is subject to local interference. Almost any evening. Various radio telephones. Occasionally in the evening. Westinghouse stations at Newark, N. J., and Chicago. Music and press. Columbus, Ohio. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 7.30 P. M. Central Standard Time. 200 meters. Station of Electrical Specialty Company. Call letters 8BYV. Music, football scores, baseball scores and other news. Daily except Sunday, 7 to 8 P. M., Central Standard Time. 375 meters. Westinghouse Station, Pittsburgh, Pa. Call letters KDKA. Music and press. Market reports.. Sunday, 6 to 7 P. M., Central Standard Time. Same station. Church service. Daily except Sunday, 6 to 7 P. M. Central Standard Time. Westinghouse station, Newark, N. J. Call letters WJZ. Market reports, music, press. No schedule. Doron Brothers Electrical Company, Hamilton, Ohio, station. 200 meters or over. Radio telephone. McCook Field, United States Army, Dayton, O. Call letters WA-1. Radio telephone. United States Army station, Fairfield, Ohio. Call letters WL-2. Radio telephone. No schedule reported. 275 meters. Station of Ohio State University, Columbus. Time signals, market reports and other useful information. Call letters 8YO. Daily except Sunday, 12.35 P. M., Central Standard Time. 800 meters. University of Wisconsin station. Call letters 9XM. Weather forecast for Wisconsin. In international Morse Code, 18 words per minute. Repeated at 7 words per minute. Then repeated by voice from radio telephone three times. Daily except Sunday. Same station and wave-length. 12.15 P. M. Report of Wisconsin Department of Markets. Same code, 10 words per minute. Special abbreviations are used. Persons interested should secure from the University Forms MI-20 and MI-22. Reports are repeated by voice from radio telephone, using same special abbreviations, beginning 12.50 P. M. Friday, 7.30 P. M. Same station and wave-length. Edison phonograph music. At 8.15 P. M., wave-length is changed to 375 meters for the benefit of those whose receivers will not receive the longer wave. Concerts given in the University Armory by distinguished artists such as Vecsey, Lhevinne and Casals are transmitted by radio telephone in place of the phonograph concerts whenever the consent of the artists is obtained. Monday, 9 to 11.30 P. M., Central Standard Time. 375 meters. Same station. Campus news exchange with other universities. International Morse Code, 20 words per minute. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 10 to 12 P. M. (beginning one hour earlier on Friday). Same station. 330 meters. Exchange of messages with amateurs. Wave-length raised to 375 on Friday. Speed adapted to the operator who calls. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, 8 P. M., Central Standard Time. 375 meters. Station of Precision Equipment company, Cincinnati. Call letters 8XB. Music, vaudeville, baseball scores and other information. No schedule given. Station of University of Iowa, Iowa City. Call letters 9YA. Market reports by radio telephone. No schedule given. Station of DeForest Radio Telephone and Telegraph Company, Ossining, N. Y. Dallas, Texas. Rumored that the Westinghouse Company will establish a broadcasting station similar to that at Newark, N. J. Davenport, Iowa. Tri-City Radio Electric Supply Company reports: "Physically impossible to list all the calls heard. We get all the stations sending market reports. Hear Los Angeles music. Get NAH (U. S. Navy station, New York), like a "ton of bricks." Denver, Colorado. Daily, 10 P. M. Y. M. C. A. station, Time signals, weather report and news. Thursday, 8 to 9.30 P. M. Fitzsimons Hospital station. Concert. Daily, 8.30 A. M. Station of Reynolds Radio Company, Inc. Weather forecast (voice only). Radius 250 miles. Call letters 9ZAF. Daily, 9 P. M. Same station. Weather forecast (voice only). Radius 1,000 miles. Sunday, 8 to 10 P. M. Same station. Concert. Radius 1,000 miles. This music is used for dances in Wyoming, Nebraska and Kansas. Galveston, Texas. Galveston Wireless Supply Company reports: "Hear press and music from Houston, 65 miles away. Do not know schedules. We expect to install 30-mile radiophone and later a transmitter for relay and press work on regular schedule. Hartford, Connecticut. Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, 8 P. M., Eastern Standard Time. 425 meters. Station of The C. D. Tuska Company. Call letters WQB. Concerts. These have been heard over a range of approximately 900 miles. Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Hack's Electrical Store broadcasts program of interest to the public. Kansas City, Missouri. 11.30 A. M. 375 meters. Station of Western Radio Company. Call letters 9XAB. Kansas City Live Stock Market reports and weather forecast. Voice only. 2 P. M. Same station. Kansas City and Chicago Live Stock Market report, grain market and weather report. 7.30 P. M. Same station. Repeats market and weather reports, followed by concert at 8. 8.30 to 9 P. M. Same station. Concert. Phonograph, and vocal and instrumental music. Radio telephone is used exclusively in the above broadcasts and the voice at the telephone is heard over a range of 1,000 miles. Lincoln, Nebraska. Noon and 7.30 P. M. University of Nebraska station. Call letters 9YY. Phonograph concerts. Range several hundred miles. Los Angeles, Cal. Hamburger's Department Store broadcasts program of interest to the public. Range 1,000 miles. Louisville, Ky. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 10 P. M. 200 meters. Station of Darrell Ashton Downard. Call letters 9ARU. Police news in code. Madison, Wisconsin. Daily except Sunday, 12.35 P. M., Central Standard Time. 800 meters. University of Wisconsin station. Call letters 9XM. Weather forecast for Wisconsin. In International Morse Code, 18 words per minute. Repeated at 7 words per minute. Then repeated by voice from radio telephone three times. Daily except Sunday, 12.15 P. M. Same station and wave-length. Report of Wisconsin Department of Markets. Same code, 10 words per minute. Special abbreviations are used. Persons interested should secure from the University Forms MI-20 and MI-22. Reports are repeated by voice from radio telephone, using same abbreviations, beginning 12.50 P. M. Friday, 7.30 P. M. Same station and wave-length. Edison phonograph, music. At 8.15 P. M., wave-length is changed to 375 meters for the benefit of those whose receivers will not receive the longer waves. Concerts given in the University Armory by distinguished artists such as Vecsey, Lhevinne and Casals are transmitted by radio telephone in place of the phonograph concerts whenever the consent of the artists is obtained. Monday, 9 to 11.30 P. M. 375 meters. Same station. Campus news exchange with other Universities. International Morse Code, 20 words per minute. Tuesday, Thursday, 10 to 12 P. M. Same station. 330 meters. Exchange of messages with amateurs. Friday, 9 to 12 P. M. Same station. 375 meters. Messages and tests. Speed adapted to amateurs. Medford Hillside, Mass., Daily, 8 P. M. 350 meters. Station of American Radio and Research Corporation. Call letters WGI. Boston city police reports, first in International Morse Code, ten words per minute, then by radio telephone. Wednesday, 8.15 P. M. Same station. Concert. Tuesday and Thursday, 8.15 P. M. Same station. Burgess Bed Time Stories. Monday, 8.15 P. M. Same station. Publicity and information of general interest. Friday, 8 P. M. Amateur Night. Code instruction; new licenses announced. Saturday, 8. 15 P. M. Football, baseball, other sporting events and general news. Special broadcasts. Same station. United States Public Health Service Lectures. Detailed reports of World Series. Concerts by high class artists. Sermons on Sundays. Addressed by prominent speakers. Business reports. Voices from this station are heard in Indiana, North Carolina, Canada, Texas, and on board ships in the Atlantic. Menominee, Michigan. Reported by Signal Electric Manufacturing Company that they hear all broadcasts sent out with sufficient power to carry up to 800 or 1,000 miles. Montreal, Canada. Tuesday, 8 to 9.30 P. M. 1,200 meters. Station of the Marconi Telegraph Company of Canada, Limited. Radiophone concerts, news bulletins, notices of wireless society meetings and other information. Range about 200 miles. Heard at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Newark, New Jersey. Radio telephone broadcasts and all sorts of traffic too numerous to mention. Wireless Equipment Company reports hearing amateur Radio telephones in New York, Perth Amboy and Rutherford. Also Westinghouse station WJZ, Army radio telephones at Fort Wood, N. Y., and the De Forest Radio Telephone and Telegraph Company's broadcasts. The Westinghouse Company's radio telephone broadcasting station in Newark is one of the most powerful in the country and, like this company's stations in Springfield, Mass., Pittsburgh, and Chicago, provides varied entertainment for all who listen in during the day and evening. With proper receiving apparatus Westinghouse Broadcasts may be heard over practically the entire Eastern United States and the addition of multistage amplifiers and loud speakers will make the music, sermons and other things audible throughout the largest auditorium. New York City. A list of all that can be heard with a radio receiver anywhere within three hundred miles of Greater New York would fill a book. At any hour of the day or night, with any type of apparatus, adjusted to receive waves of any length, the listener will hear something of interest. Scores of ships may be heard exchanging messages with shore stations or with each other in the International Morse Code. Many of them have radio telephones also and conversations may be heard in many different languages. Government stations send out weather forecasts, hydrographic information and time signals. Amateurs signal in Morse code, converse over radio telephones or amuse the world by playing jazz. At times there is so much going on that it is difficult to tune out all but the station that the hearer wishes to receive, though the selectivity of modern tuning apparatus is marvelous. By merely listening in and writing down the adjustment of the receiving apparatus at the time when it brings in each station, anyone may quickly develop a list of broadcasts and then add to it each day as new and interesting stations are discovered.



One man reports: "I can hear nearly every high power station in the world." Paris, Texas. Daily, 7 P. M. 375 meters. Station of James L. Autry, Junior, Houston, Texas. Call letters 5ZX. Weather forecast and local news. International Morse Code. Daily, 7 P. M. 375 meters. Dallas, Texas, station. Call letters 5ZC. Weather forecast, highway report (CAMAA), police bulletin and local news. Code. No schedule given. 375 meters. State University, Austin, Texas. Results of athletic contests, local news and other information. Call letters 5ZU. Code. Daily, 7.30 P. M. 450 meters. Dallas, Texas, station. Call letters WRR. Police and Fire Departments. Weather forecast, police bulletins, local news and other information. Radio telephone. Daily, 8.30 to 9 p. m. Same station. Concerts. Daily, 6 P. M., until 11 or 12 P. M. 375 meters. Denver, Colorado, station. Addresses, music and local news. At intervals. California stations. College stations in New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Dakotas, Indiana, Missouri, Georgia, Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Virginia, Kentucky. All the above were reported by A. L. Overstreet. Pittsburgh, Pa., Daily, 8 P. M. 360 meters. Westinghouse Station. Varied program. Doubleday-Hill Electric Co. 450 meters. Range 700 miles. Schedule to be announced. San Francisco, Cal. Leo J. Meyberg Company reports the following concert schedule: Sunday, 10 to 11 A. M., Fairmont Hotel station. Monday, 7 to 9 P. M., Presidio station. Monday, 7.30 to 8.30 P. M., Los Altos station. Monday, 8.30 to 9 P. M., Fairmont Hotel station. Tuesday, 7.30 to 8.15 P. M., Hotel Oakland station. Tuesday, 8.15 to 9 P. M., Radio Shop station, Sunnyvale. Wednesday, 7.30 to 8.15 P. M., Harrold Laboratories, San Jose. Thursday, 7.30 to 8.30 P. M., Fairmont Hotel station. Thursday, 8.30 to 9 P. M., Los Altos station. Friday, 7.30 to 8.15 P. M., Radio Shop station, Sunnyvale. Friday, 8.15 to 9 P. M., Hotel Oakland station. Saturday, 8.15 to 9 P. M., Fairmont Hotel station. Every afternoon except Sunday, 3.30 to 4.30 P. M., Rockridge station of Atlantic-Pacific Radio Supplies Company. 360 meters. Call letters KZY. Concert. Every night except Sunday, 6.45 to 7 P. M. Same station. General news, sports, foreign news. Sunday, 11 A. M. to 12.15 P. M., sermon and sacred music. Same station.** 3 to 4 P. M., Same station. Concert. 4 to 5 P. M., Same station. Concert** **This station will carry the Sunday morning schedule of Trinity Center and the Sunday afternoon schedule of Colin B. Kennedy until these two stations are ready to carry their schedules shown for that day. Wednesday, 7.30 to 8.15 P. M. Same station. Concert. Saturday, 8.15 to 9 P. M. Same station. Concert. Also the following, daily except Sunday: 7.10 to 7.20 P. M., Hotel Oakland station. General news. 7.20 to 7.30 P. M., Fairmont Hotel station. Market, bond, and weather reports. 4.30 to 5.30, Fairmont Hotel station. Until the California Theatre can make the necessary changes to operate on 360 meters, the Presidio will broadcast concerts on their schedule, Wednesday evenings, 8.15 to 9, and the Fairmont Hotel will run the full hour and a half from 7.30 to 9 P. M. on Saturdays. The Fairmont Hotel, Los Altos, Hotel Oakland, and the Presidio are heard consistently up to 1,500 miles. Reports have been received from Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Montana, North Dakota, and practically all of the Northwestern states. Stations within a radius of two and three hundred miles are consistently receiving concerts from the above mentioned stations loudly enough to be heard all over the house. Rumored that Westinghouse Company will establish broadcasting station similar to that at Newark N. J. St. Paul, Minnesota. It is reported that through cooperation with city officials, a Boy Scout Municipal Radio station is being established. The station will be able to send by radio telegraph over a radius of 1,000 miles and by radio telephone as high as 500 miles. It will distribute crop and weather reports and cooperate with the State Department of Forestry by reporting forest fires. Intertroop communication will be maintained between Scouts in all parts of the State. Concerts, lectures and addresses given at the Municipal Auditorium will be broadcasted. The station is reported to be in charge of 16 Scouts under the leadership of a Scoutmaster who was formerly a radio inspector. Schenectady, N. Y. Union College broadcasts programs of interest to public. Seattle, Wash. Post-Intelligencer broadcasts programs of interest to public, including United States Public Health Service Lectures. Toronto, Canada. Tuesday, 8 to 9.30 P. M. 1,200 meters. Station of the Marconi Telegraph Company of Canada, Limited Radiophone concerts, news bulletins, notices of wireless society meetings and other information. Range about 200 miles. Washington, D. C. Tuesdays, 7.30 to 9.30 P. M. Station of White & Boyer. Concerts, with short lectures on radio and information of interest to radio amateurs. Planning to broadcast. Keith's vaudeville. Tuesday, 4.15 P. M. Naval Air Service Station. Call letters NOF. 1,100 meters Music United States Public Health Service Lectures. Wednesday, 9 P. M Same station. 365 meters. Music. Talks on radio. Friday, 8.30 P. M. Same station. Music. Music, 9 P. M., United States Public Health Service Lecture Sunday, 10.30 A. M. Church of the Covenant. (Transmission by Radio Construction Company. Call letters WDM. 365 meters.) Church service. Sunday, 3 P. M. Same church and transmitting station. Addresses by famous men and women on topics of public interest. Sunday, 7.30 P. M. Same church and transmitting station. Church service. Some of the most important Government stations are located in the vicinity of Washington. The Arlington station of the Navy, call letters NAA, transmits time signals and news on 2,650 meters daily at noon and 10 P. M. This station and the still more powerful one at Annapolis, which transmits similar information on the same schedule, can be heard throughout the United States and in fact throughout a large part of the world. The station at the Bureau of Standards conducts tests in which it has the coöperation of many amateur stations. Then there are Army stations and stations connected with the Army and Navy flying fields. Radio telephones may be heard frequently. Loomis Radio School is planning to broadcast, daily, music played in a local theatre. Westerly, Rhode Island. Nightly. Whitall Electric Company station. Music and speech. The Westinghouse stations at Pittsburgh, Newark, N. J., and Springfield, Massachusetts, are heard here. They transmit on 375 meters concerts, readings, sermons, and news. Schedules are given in reports from a number of preceding cities. American Radio and Research Corporation station, Medford Hillside, Massachusetts. See schedule under "Medford Hillside, Mass." Radio telephones on board vessels sailing along the coast are frequently heard here. Anywhere in the United States. With an up-to-date long-wave receiver, it is possible to get the news broadcasted by high powered stations in the British Isles, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Mexico, West Indies, South America, Hawaii. With the increase in power of transmitting stations world-wide reception has become possible. Radio Central the new commercial station of the Radio Corporation of America, located at Rocky Point, Long Island, New York, has been heard in New Zealand, 10,000 miles away.

Callsigns and Licence Classifications: Most of the stations listed above which have callsigns starting with K or W (WRR, WGI, KYW, KZY, WQB, WJZ, KDKA etc.) held the Limited Commercial licences which, with the adoption of the December 1, 1921 broadcast service regulations, had become mandatory for private broadcasting stations. (Many of these stations had previously held licences in other classifications, especially Experimental and Amateur. Also, it was not uncommon for a station to hold more than one licence, and operate under different callsigns according to the licence classification it fell under at the time it was on the air). Numerous stations in this list have callsigns that start with a number, which was the Radio Inspection District in which they were located, followed by two or three letters. Despite the similarity of their calls, these stations were actually divided among four different licence classifications, although what they did have in common was that, because of the December 1st regulations, they all were now required to get Limited Commercial licences if they wanted to continue to make broadcasts intended for the general public. Many stations in the above list had standard Amateur licences, which meant they normally transmitted on the congested wavelength of 200 meters (1500 kilohertz). The callsign rule for standard Amateur stations was that the letter following the district number could be anything except X, Y, or Z. Some of the better known standard Amateur stations appearing in the above list are 8UX in Akron, Ohio, 4BQ in Rome, Georgia, 3AWI in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1OJ in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and 4CD in Atlanta, Georgia. The other three licence categories -- Experimental, Technical and Training School, and Special Amateur -- which had callsigns starting with district numbers were known collectively as the Special Land stations. These stations generally were allowed to transmit on the less congested wavelengths between 600 and 200 meters (500 to 1500 kilohertz). Experimental stations had callsigns with an X as the first letter following the district number. Some of the more prominent Experimental stations from this list include 8XB in Cincinnati, Ohio, 2XQ in Schenectady, New York, 1XAD in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, 9XM in Madison, Wisconsin, and 9XAB in Kansas City, Missouri. Technical and Training School licences were most commonly issued to colleges and universities, and their callsigns had a Y immediately after the district number. Technical and Training School stations in this list include 8YO, Columbus, Ohio (Ohio State University), 9YA Iowa City, Iowa (University of Iowa) and 9YY, Lincoln, Nebraska (University of Nebraska). Finally, Special Amateur licences allowed qualified amateurs to legally operate on the less congested wavelengths, and their calls had a Z after the district number. The special Amateur stations include 9ZAF in Denver, Colorado, 3ZO in Parkesburg, Pennsylvania, and 5ZC in Dallas, Texas. A few U.S. Government stations are also listed. (Government stations were exempt from the private station requirement that broadcast stations have Limited Commercial licences). Stations operated by the U.S. Navy were assigned calls starting with N, for example NAA in Arlington, Virginia. The U.S. Army stations were supposed to use calls starting with WUA to WVZ and WXA to WZZ. However, other Army stations at this time seem to have used whatever calls they wanted, such as Fairfield, Ohio's WL2 and Dayton, Ohio's WA1. Finally, there is one foreign call included--XDA, in Mexico City, Mexico. Additional Information: The various land station licence classifications are defined in the August 15, 1919 edition of Radio Communication Laws of the United States, beginning with regulation 51. For a detailed review of U.S. callsign practices, see United States Callsign Policies. For a comprehensive overview of the establishment of the Limited Commercial broadcast service and the current status of many of the stations listed above, see United States Pioneer Broadcast Service Stations. And for more information on radio station lists, see Early Radio Station Lists Issued by the U.S. Government.



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First American Radio Charts (1922)

No single event or station introduced radio broadcasting to the entire United States. Instead, broadcasting activities evolved in many locations, slowly entering the public consciousness. By early 1922 there was enough organized activity for various publications to begin putting together national lists of stations that were providing broadcasts intended for the general public. However, because of the scattered nature of the activities, no single list at this time, including this one, was able to keep up with all the stations on the air. (Also, note that the ranges listed for many of these stations appear to be very optimistic, even for optimum nighttime conditions). The list below was prepared while U.S. broadcasting was going through an important transition. Initially there had been no restrictions on which radio stations could broadcast programs intended for the general public. But on December 1, 1921 the Bureau of Navigation issued a new regulation, which restricted non-government broadcasting to only those stations which held a Limited Commercial licence plus an authorization to use the Entertainment wavelength of 360 meters (833 kilohertz), and/or the Market and Weather wavelength of 485 meters (619 kilohertz). It took a few months for all the stations to fall in line with this new broadcast service regulation, which means that in the list below many stations from other licence categories are still included. However, these stations were now required to either get Limited Commercial licences or stop making broadcasts. (A review of how you can determine a station's licence classification from its callsign is included at the close of this list).

Popular Science Monthly, March, 1922, pages 72-73:

First American Radio Charts Show Nation Is Now Blanketed by Wireless News and Music

You'll Find in These Maps the Broadcasts that You Can Hear

How Radio Reaches You

Wherever You Are

YOU have

never before seen maps of the United States like those printed here. They are the first American radio charts. Only a few months ago, POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY started the present national wireless craze going, with our already famous "Wake Up to Wireless!" message, written by Armstrong Perry. The nation IS wide awake to-day. Nobody can predict how many hundreds of thousands of families will soon

HERE is the first chance ever given the people of America to see at a glance how many important broadcasts of wireless music, news,

and entertainment can now be heard in every part of the country. After securing direct reports from dealers and amateurs in all parts of the United States, and after excluding numberless smaller stations, POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY has selected twenty-two points and has charted their location and "normal range on the accompanying radio map. One or another of these stations can, with proper equipment and favorable local conditions, be heard easily and regularly in 48 states of the Union.

How to Find Your Program

To find out what radio entertainment you may normally expect to receive in your locality, simply complete in pencil on the map the circles partially indicated by the dotted lines. With the proper receiving set, and provided atmospheric conditions are right, the chances are in favor of your hearing the stations within whose radius thus charted your particular town falls. Daily and nightly radio programs may possibly be heard over even greater distances than are here indicated, but don't forget that local conditions of all kinds may cut down the number of stations you are likely to hear in your district. In some regions you may have difficulty because of too many stations using the air at once. Before purchasing a receiving set, supplement the information given here by consulting an amateur in your neighborhood, and by requiring, if possible, a demonstration of the set by the dealer. Finally, if the outfit you are using is one of the low-priced, crystal detector sets, remember to divide the distances shown on the map at least by 10, in order to get a reasonably accurate estimate of the radius in which any given station's broadcasts may be heard by you. Having found on the map the cities containing radio stations that you are likely to hear in your district, you can secure from the following paragraphs definite information about these stations.

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be enjoying the most romantic recreation of modern times. POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY has compiled these pioneer radiotelephone broadcasting charts in order to show just what vocal entertainment a good receiving-set can give. If you wish further information about wireless or broadcasting stations, write to the Question and Answer Department of POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY.

THE following stations in North

Atlantic and New England states give extensive broadcasting service: Newark, N. J.--Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co. station (WJZ). Wave length, 360 meters. Program of news and concerts every evening at 8.05. Children's hour every Friday at 7.15 P.M. Pittsburgh, Pa.--Westinghouse station (KDKA). Wave length, 330 meters. Washington Observatory time broadcasted daily, except Sunday, at 8 P.M. Government market and New York stock reports at 8.05 P.M. Special musical program, 8.30 to 9.30 P.M. Organ recital every Sunday at 4 P.M. Springfield, Mass.--Westinghouse station (WBZ). Wave length, 375 meters. Concerts and musical programs every Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 8 P.M. Medford Hillside, Mass.--American Radio and Research Corporation station (1XE). Wavelength, 350 meters. News, concerts, and music every weekday evening, with sermons every Sunday. Hartford, Conn.--Station of C. D. Tuska Co. (WQB), with a wave length of' 425 meters. Concerts on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturday evenings. Union College, Schenectady, N. Y.--Irregular program of music. Roselle Park, N. J.--Station of the Radio Corporation of America (WDY). Range 1000 miles.

IN the Southern section these stations, among others, are audible:

Washington, D. C.--Government and private stations. Correct time broadcasted at noon and 10 P.M. daily from Arlington Navy Station (NAA) with a wave length of 2650 meters. The White & Boyer station, on Tuesdays and Fridays from 7.30 to 9.30 P.M., broadcasts concerts as well as short lectures on radio. Atlanta, Ga.--Carter Electric Co. station (4CD). Range 200 miles. Music, and news service Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, from 7.30 to 8 P.M. Dallas, Texas.--Police and fire department station (WRR). Wave length, 450 meters. Weather forecast,

local news, and other information at 7.30 P.M. daily. Concerts every evening, 8.30 to 9. Austin, Texas.--State University station (5ZU). Wave length, 375 meters. Results of athletic contests, local news. Houston, Texas.--Numerous amateur radiotelephone broadcasting stations with ranges up to 60 miles.



WORKING westward on the map, the following are the most important stations generally heard

by amateurs who have reported: Westinghouse Station at Chicago, Ill. (KYW). Wave length, 360 meters. Grand opera program every evening except Friday and Sunday during opera season. Concerts Friday evening. Cincinnati, Ohio.--Station of Precision Equipment Co. (8XB). Wave length, 375 meters. All evening on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday--music, vaudeville, and sport reports. Madison, Wis.--State University station (9XM). Weather reports in code and then in voice, daily except Sunday at 12.35 P.M., with a wave length of 375 meters. On Fridays, special music at 7.30 P.M., at 800 meters. Same music at 8.15 at 375 meters. Various entertainments during remaining part of evenings at wave lengths between 330 and 375 meters. Lincoln, Nebr.--State University station (9YY). Has widest range in that section. Concerts every evening. Kansas City, Mo.--Station of the Western Radio Co. (9XAB). Market reports and weather forecasts at 11.30 A.M. and 2 P.M., on 375 meters. Concerts in the evening. Denver, Col.--Station of the Reynolds Radio Company (9ZAF). News twice a day. Concerts on Sunday evening. San Francisco, Calif.--Concerts by various commercial and hotel stations every evening in the week. California Theater to broadcast performances nightly at 360 meters. Los Angeles, Calif.--Station in Hamburger's department-store. Reported range, 1000 miles. San José, Calif.--Herrold Laboratories station. Range, up to 500 miles. Seattle, Wash.--Seattle Post Intelligencer (newspaper). Range, 60 miles.

IN addition to the foregoing stations there are thousands of private and amateur stations scattered

throughout every state having ranges up to 50 miles. Stations in Detroit, Mich., Cleveland and Akron, Ohio, and Davenport, Iowa, while less powerful than many of the others mentioned, have transmitting radii great enough in extent to enable thousands of listeners in their vicinity to enjoy the daily news reports and regular evening concerts.

Callsigns and Licence Classifications: Most of the stations listed above which have callsigns starting with K or W (WJZ, WBZ, WQB, KYW, KDKA etc.) held the Limited Commercial licences which, with the adoption of the December 1, 1921 broadcast service regulations, had become mandatory for private broadcasting stations. (Many of these stations had previously held licences in other classifications, especially Experimental and Amateur. Also, it was not uncommon for a station to hold more than one licence, and operate under different callsigns according to the licence classification it fell under at the time it was on the air). Numerous stations in this list have callsigns that start with a number, which was the Radio Inspection District in which they were located, followed by two or three letters. Despite the similarity of their calls, these stations were actually divided among four different licence classifications, although what they did have in common was that, because of the December 1st regulations, they all were now required to get Limited Commercial licences if they wanted to continue to make broadcasts intended for the general public. Some of the stations reviewed had standard Amateur licences, which meant they normally transmitted on the congested wavelength of 200 meters (1500 kilohertz). The callsign rule for standard Amateur stations was that the letter following the district number could be anything except X, Y, or Z. The only standard Amateur station call appearing in the above list is 4CD in Atlanta, Georgia. The other three licence categories -- Experimental, Technical and Training School, and Special Amateur -- which had callsigns starting with district numbers were known collectively as the Special Land stations. These stations generally were allowed to transmit on the less congested wavelengths between 600 and 200 meters (500 to 1500 kilohertz). Experimental stations had callsigns with an X as the first letter following the district number. Some of the more prominent Experimental stations from this list include 1XE in Medford Hillside, Massachusetts, 8XB in Cincinnati, Ohio, and 9XAD in Kansas City, Kansas. Technical and Training School licences were most commonly issued to colleges and universities, and their callsigns had a Y immediately after the district number. One Technical and Training School station is included in this list -- 9YY, Lincoln, Nebraska (University of Nebraska). Finally, Special Amateur licences allowed qualified amateurs to legally operate on the less congested wavelengths, and their calls had a Z after the district number. The two Special Amateur stations in this list are 5ZU in Austin, Texas and 9ZAF in Denver, Colorado. One Government station is also listed. (Government stations were exempt from the private station requirement that broadcast stations have Limited Commercial licences). Stations operated by the U.S. Navy were assigned calls starting with N, including NAA in Arlington, Virginia.





Additional Information: The various land station licence classifications are defined in the August 15, 1919 edition of Radio Communication Laws of the United States, beginning with regulation 51. For a detailed review of U.S. callsign practices, see United States Callsign Policies. For a comprehensive overview of the establishment of the Limited Commercial broadcast service and the current status of many of the stations listed above, see United States Pioneer Broadcast Service Stations. And for more information on radio station lists, see Early Radio Station Lists Issued by the U.S. Government.







Radiophone Broadcasting Stations of the United States (1922)

No single event or station introduced radio broadcasting to the entire United States. Instead, broadcasting activities evolved in many locations, slowly entering the public consciousness. By early 1922 there was enough organized activity for various publications to begin putting together national lists of stations that were providing broadcasts intended for the general public. However, because of the scattered nature of the activities, no single list at this time, including this one, was able to keep up with all the stations on the air. (Also, note that the ranges listed for many of these stations appear to be very optimistic, even for optimum nighttime conditions). The list below was prepared while U.S. broadcasting was going through an important transition. Initially there had been no restrictions on which radio stations could broadcast programs intended for the general public. But on December 1, 1921 the Bureau of Navigation issued a new regulation, which restricted non-government broadcasting to only those stations which held a Limited Commercial licence plus an authorization to use the Entertainment wavelength of 360 meters (833 kilohertz), and/or the Market and Weather wavelength of 485 meters (619 kilohertz). It took a few months for all the stations to fall in line with this new broadcast service regulation, which means that in the list below many stations from other licence categories are still included. However, these stations were now required to either get Limited Commercial licences or stop making broadcasts, which explains why some entries report that, due to the new restrictions, the stations were no longer making broadcasts. (A review of how you can determine a station's licence classification from its callsign is included at the close of this list).

The Consolidated Radio Call Book, 4th edition, May, 1922, page 267:

Radiophone Broadcasting Stations of the United States

(Alphabetically by Cities)

Akron, Ohio. Radioart Store Station. 8UX. 190-200 meters. Temporarily discontinued on account of recent ruling forbidding broadcasts on 200 meters. Anacostia, D.C. NOF and NSF. 350 meters. Former call letters for broadcasts; latter for government work. Austin, Texas. State University. WCM. 360 meters. Berlin, N.H. Y.M.C.A. 1BKP. 200 meters. Range about 50 miles; local broadcasts. Impromptu program. Charlotte, N.C. Southern Radio Corp. WBT. 360 meters. Located at 905 Realty Bldg.; 250-watt tube station, consistent range 200 miles daylight, 500 miles night. Broadcasts music, and news of general interest daily, and church services on Sunday.

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Chicago, Ill. Westinghouse Station. KYW. 360 meters. 2,000-mile radius. 9.30 A.M. to 9.15 P.M. every day except Sunday. Sunday (Chapel Service), 3.00-4.30 P.M. General broadcasts, 9.30 A.M. to 1.15 P.M. Market reports, 2.15, 4.15, and 6.30 P.M. News reports after market reports. Special speakers, 7.00 P.M. Children's bed-time story. 7.30 P.M. Music, 8.00 to 9.00 P.M. News, 9.00 to 9.15 P.M. Cincinnati, Ohio. Crosley Manufacturing Co. WLW. 360 meters. Every evening but at no fixed time; music, lectures, news and information. Cincinnati O. Precision Equipment Co. WMH. 360 meters for concerts; 485 for news. 11.00 A.M. to 4.00 P.M., news and weather reports on week days. 8.15 P.M., concerts on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. One of the first stations to adopt regular schedule. 1,000 miles maximum distance heard. Cleveland, O. Cox Mfg. Co. 8ACS. 200 meters. Station shut down because of government order prohibiting 200 meter broadcast. Cleveland, O. W. R. Cox. WHK. 360 meters. 300 miles radius. 1.30 P.M. to 2.00 P.M., 3.30 P.M. to 4.00 P.M. and 8.00 P.M. to 9.30 P.M. every day. Columbus, O. Ohio State University. 8YO. 275 meters. Time signals, market reports and other useful information. 700 miles. Dallas, Texas. Police Dept. WRR. 450 meters. 7.00 P.M., news; 8.30 P.M., music on week days, 11.00 A.M. and 7.45 P.M. Church services on Sunday. Range, 1,500 miles. Davenport, Iowa. Palmer School of Chiropractic. WOC. 360 meters. Concert daily except Sunday, 5.45 to 6.00 P.M. and 7.00 to 8.00 P.M. Sunday. Business review 8.00 to 8.15, P.M. Chimes Sunday, 9.00 to 10.00 A.M. and 5.30 to 6.00 P.M. 1 K.W. two-tube set. Station formerly located at Rock Island. 600 miles. Dayton, O. McCook Army Station. WFO. No information as to range or broadcast yet. Deal Beach, N.J. American Tel. & Tel. Co. 2XJ. Varying wave lengths, working with KDOW, test station. Denver, Colo. Fitzsimmons Gen. Hospital Station. 5DD. 325 meters. Concert, news daily, 8.15 P.M. Range 1,500 miles. Denver, Colo. Reynolds Radio Co. 9ZAF. 360 meters. Weather reports, daily, 8.30 A.M. Weather and news, 7.45 P.M. Concert 8.00 to 9.30 P.M. Range 1,500 miles. Denver, Colo. W. D. Pyle. 9WD. 200 meters. Saturday, 8.00 to 9.50 P.M., concert. Range 1,500 miles. Denver, Colo. Y.M.C.A. Station. 9YAL. 485 meters. 9.55 P. M., time signals and news. Heard l,500



miles. Detroit, Mich. Detroit News. WWJ. 360 meters. 4 250-watt tubes, 2 as oscillators; 2 as modulators; and 1 50-watt tube as speech amplifier. 11.30 to 11.55 A.M. phonograph music. 3.30 P.M., market and weather report on 475 meters. 7.00 to 8.15 P.M. evening program. Music, vocal and instrumental, humor, lectures, jokes and vaudville artists. 1,500 miles. Erie, Pa. The Electrical Equipment Co. WJT. 360 meters. No regular program. Fairfield, Ohio. U.S. Army Station. WL2. Experimental station. Fort Worth, Texas. Fort Worth Record. WPA. 360 and 475 meters. News instructions and hints on radio, special question and answer department, concerts and market reports, weather forecast, police and fire reports, 7.10 P.M. Maximum range 100 miles. New set with consistent range of 1,000 miles now in course of erection. Hamilton, O. Doron Bros. Electrical Co. WRK. 360 meters. Heard 800 miles on crystal; maximum 1,400 miles; 8.30 to 10:30 P.M. daily, music; Monday, 10.30, health lecture. Wednesday 8.30, music, lectures and vaudville. Saturdays 8.30, music, health and radio lectures. Alternate Sundays, church services. Jersey City, N. J. Hudson City Radio Club. 2CBK. 200 meters. 2.00 to 3.00 P.M. Sunday, music; 5.00 to 6.00 P.M. week days, music. Uses Hudson City Radio Shop's Station. Jersey City, N. J. Hudson City Radio Shop. 2BPG. 200 meters. Saturday, 10.00 to 11.00 P.M., music. This station is used to broadcast Hudson City Radio Club material on call 2CBK. Jersey City, N. J. Jersey Review. 2IA. 200 meters. Third station in the U.S. to broadcast. Concert, 7.00 to 8.00 P.M. week-day evenings. One-half hour chapel service Sunday evenings. Heard in Memphis, Tenn.; Owensboro, Ky.; S.S. Corona, 950 miles at sea; Toronto, Canada, and Calais, Me. Jersey City, N. J. N. J. Wireless Telephone Co. WNO. 360 meters. Hourly on the half hour from 12.30 to 5.30 P.M., news of the day and music. 6.30 P.M. Monday, half hour program for children; 6.30 P.M. Tuesday, first act of local popular play; 6.30 P.M. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, music. Lincoln, Neb. University of Nebraska. 9YY. 375 meters. Heard at Hazelton, Pa. 10.10, market reports and weather forecast. 1,200 miles maximum distance heard. Los Altos, Calif. Colin B. Kennedy Co. KLP. 360 meters. 7.30 to 8.30 P.M., news supplied by the Journal of Electricity and Western Industry, followed by music on Monday. 8.30 to 9.00 P.M., music on Thursday; 4.00 to 6.00 P.M., music on Sunday. Heard in Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, Minnesota, Iowa Ohio, Canada, Alaska and Hawaii. Los Altos, Calif. Colin B. Kennedy Co. 6XAC. 200 meters. Experimental station.



Los Angeles, Calif. Leo J. Meyberg Co. KYJ. 360 meters. Operating for Hamberger Department Store. Heard 1,000 miles in North and Three Rivers, Canada by airplane, San Francisco receives easily, also Idaho, Wyoming and Washington. Music 4.00 P.M. to 5.00 P.M. Weather reports Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, 8.00 P.M. to 9.00 P.M. Educational matters, 9.30 A.M. to 10.30 A.M. In connection with this station there is a free radio school--300 to 400 pupils. Night school for adults. Los Angeles, Calif. C. R. Kierulff & Co. KHJ. 360 meters. Broadcasting for Los Angeles Times. Schedule not yet arranged. Los Angeles, Calif. Western Radio Elec Co. KOG. Heard in Quartzburg, Idaho and Boseman, Montana. Press notices every afternoon except Sunday, 5.00 P.M. to 5.45 P.M. Music Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. 8.00 P.M. to 9.00 P.M. Music Friday evening-8.15 P.M. to 9.00 P.M. Madison, Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin. WHA. 360 and 485 meters. Range 1,000 miles. Daily press and market reports by telephone and telegraph, weather and time signals. Music, lectures, Tuesday evenings, 8.00 P.M. to 9.30 P.M. Press bulletin music and announcement of weekly program Friday evenings, and concerts. Mamaroneck, New York. Experimental Station. 2BQH. 200 and 1,200 meters. Operates on test work exclusively from 10.30 P.M. and after, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday nights. This station is experimental, working continually for the benefit of the amateur, and it in charge of a competent radio engineer. Heard 1,400 miles away. Medford Hillside, Mass. American Radio Research Co. WGI. Daily 8.00 P.M. Music and regular broadcasts. Radius 1,000 miles. Police reports in slow code, then phone. Station formerly called 1XE. McKeesport, Pa. K. & L. Electric Co. WIK. 360 meters. Daily 6:30 to 7:00 P.M. Tuesday and Thursday 9:30 to 10:30 P.M. Sunday 1:30 to 2:30 P.M. Newark, N. J. L. Bamberger & Co. WOR. 350 meters. Music from 9.30 to 6.30 hourly on half hour, No Sunday program. Lectures and talks included. Heard at Boston. Newark N. J. Westinghouse Elec. Mfg. Co. WJZ. 360 meters. Program daily from 11.00 to 6.00 hourly on the hour. Regular program from 7.00 to 10.30. Music, shows, lectures, operas, artists, etc. Time and weather reports. Church services and sacred music on Sundays. 1,800 miles. Newark, N. J. Westinghouse Test Station. 2SAI. No schedule. [NOTE: Call was actually 2XAI.] New York City, N. Y. Hudson Radio Club. 200 meters and over. 2AYZ, 240 W. 80th St.; 2BHY, 171 E. 79th St.; 2KP, 345 W. 88th St.; 2ADK, 650 West End Ave. Music and club publicity. New York City, N. Y. Shipowners' Radio Service. WDT. 360 meters. No regular schedule at present time.



New York City, N. Y. John Wanamaker. WWZ. 360 meters. Broadcasts hourly on the 40 minutes from 11.40 to 5.40 inclusive. At 10.30 broadcasts till midnight. Program music, talks on unusually interesting matters. Heard 1,400 miles. N. Y. Harbor, N. Y. Fort Wood, Governor's Island. WVP. 1,450 meters. Irregular program. Music. Lectures and radio questions answered via radio telephone. Heard 1,200 miles. Oakland, Calif. Hotel Oakland. Western Radio Inst. Preston D. Allen. KZM. 360 meters. 1,900-mile radius. News on week days, 7.15 P.M. Music on Tuesdays, 7.30 to 8.15 P.M. Music on Fridays, 8.15 to 9.00 P.M. Sent out first radio sermon in the west to an audience of 30,000. Parkesburg, Pa. H. A. Beale. 3XW. 3ZO. 200 meters. Heard in all the New England states. Range about 1,000 miles. Pasadena, Calif. J. J. Dunn & Co. KLB. 360 meters. Heard 600 miles. Music Monday and Friday, 7.30 to 8.15 P.M. Music Sunday, 3.00 to 4.00 P.M. and 8.00 to 9.00 P.M. Power to be increased ten times in six weeks. Professional talent at least once a week. Pawtucket, R. I. DeLancey, Felch & Co. Station of Raymond W. Farnum. 1OJ. 200 meters. No regular program now. Music. Range 150 miles. Pawtucket, R. I. Standard Radio & Elec. Co. 1XAD. 290 meters. Thos. P. Giblin. Station. 2 50-watt tubes, radius 400 miles. Heard at distances of 1,000 miles. Located at 463 Broadway, same city. Broadcasts three days per week, music, lectures and letters read. Now working on 290 meters. Aerial 70 foot long, 9 wires on spreader 15 feet, 11 wires on counterpoise. Ground, 11 wires 70 foot long, copper plates at end. Philadelphia, Pa. Gimbel Bros. WIP. 360 meters. Heard 1,000 miles. Music, speeches, news items. Programs published in Philadelphia papers. Philadelphia, Pa. T. F. Howlette. WGL. 330 meters. No schedule. Philadelphia, Pa. Strawbridge & Clothier. WFI. 360 meters. Philadelphia, Pa. John Wanamaker. WOO. 360 meters. Broadcasting principally a musical program, 7.00 to 10.00 P.M. Temporary installation. Pittsburgh, Pa. Doubleday-Hill Electric Co. KQV. 360 meters. Daily except Saturday and Sunday 2:30 to 3:00 P.M.; Saturday 1:30 to 2 P.M. Sunday 4:00 to 4:30 P.M. Monday, Wednesday and Friday 9:40 to 10:45 P.M. Range 700 miles. Pittsburgh, Pa. The Newspaper Printing Co. WPB. 360 meters. No regular schedule. Pittsburg, Pa. Westinghouse Elec. Co. KDKA. 360 meters. 10.00 to 10.15 A.M. music; 12.30 to 1.00 P.M., music; 2.00 to 2.20 P.M., music; 4.00 to 4.20 P.M., music; 7.30 to 7.45 P.M., bed time story;



7.45 P.M. news; 8.30 to 9.00 P.M., music; 9.00 to 9.05 P.M., United Press Service News; 9.05 to 9.30 P.M., music; music; 9.55 to 10.00 P.M., time signals. Sundays, chapel services, 11.00 A.M., 3.00 and 7.30 P.M. Range 2,000 miles. Portland, Ore. Willard P. Hawley. 7XG. 200 meters. Experimental and vocal music between 8.00 and 8.45 P.M. Tuesday and Wednesday, and between 9.00 and 9.30 P.M. Thursday. Portland, Ore. Northwestern Radio Mfg. Co. 7XF. Broadcasts every Tuesday and Friday evening at 8.45 P.M. Public Health Service Bulletins. Sends out Industrial News every Monday evening. Portland, Ore. The Oregonian. KSW. 360 meters. Music, talks, news bulletins daily. Maximum distance 900 miles. [NOTE: Call was actually KGW.] Richmond, Ind. Richmond Palladium News-Paper Co. WOZ. 360 meters. Stock and market reports daily at 4.00 and 6.30 P.M. Range about 100 miles. Ridgewood, N. Y. Broadcasting Corp. of America for Times Publishing Co. WHN. 360 meters. 100 miles radius. Every hour on the hour from 8.00 to 11.00 A.M. Every hour on the half hour, 11.00 A.M. to 9.30 P.M. Roselle Park, N. J. Radio Corp. of America. WDY. 360 meters. Program combined with WJZ, the Westinghouse station at Newark, N. J. The Radio Corporation will open a new station in New York about June lst. Sacramento, Calif. J. C. Hobrecht. KVQ. 360 meters. Operating in connection with Sacramento Bee newspaper. Equipment, 5 5-watt tubes; 2 oscillators, 2 modulators, 1 speech amplifier. Heard in Alberta, Canada, Washington, Wyoming, Utah and Idaho. Every afternoon from 5.30 to 6.30, press notices and music. Wednesday and Saturday, 8.00 to 9.00 P.M., music. Range about 1,000 miles. St. Louis, Mo. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. KSD. 360 meters. Sends grain reports lectures and music daily. Heard 500 miles. San Jose, Calif. Chas. D. Herrold. KQW. 360 meters. Equipment, 50-watt phone with facilities for connecting with the telephone line. 1,500-mile radius. Music and church services are transmitted by telephone to the laboratories, and then re-transmitted via radio. Schenectady, N. Y. General Electric Co. WGY. 360 meters. Heard in Iowa, Minneapolis and Cuba. 1,600 miles. Broadcasts music, speech and topics of general interest. Schenectady, N. Y. Union College Radio Club. WRL. 360 meters. Weekly program, Sunday 7.30 P.M. Irregular program during week. Power, 1 kilowatt. Seattle, Wash. Northern Radio Elec. Co. WJO. 360 meters. Operating in conjunction with Seattle Post Intelligencer. 100-watt vacuum-tube transmitter. Heard by ship 3,600 miles at sea. News, market reports, music, etc. Seven to nine hours daily. Land range about 1,200 miles.



Seattle, Wash. Post Intelligencer. KFC. 360 meters. Operated by the Northern Radio Co. News bulletins between 12.00 and 1.00 P.M. on special occasions; at 3.30 and 5.30 P.M., news bulletins, market quotations and music. 8.30 to 10.30 P.M., cables, news, new phonograph records, concerts. Springfield, Mass. Westinghouse Station. WBZ. 360 meters. Children's bed time story, 7.30 P.M. (every day except Sunday); prominent speaker, 7.45 P.M. (every day except Sunday); musical program, 8.00 to 9 P.M. (every day except Sunday); chapel service, 3.00 P.M. Sunday; church service, 8.00 P.M. Sunday. Maximum distance 1,400 miles. Seattle, Wash. Excelsior Motorcycle Co. KHQ. Works on divided schedule with Northwest Radio Service. Broadcast 7.00 to 9.00 P.M. Music. Stockton, Calif. C. O. Gould. KJQ. 360 meters. 75 to 100 mile radius, operated by D. W. Horstmeyer. 5.00 to 5.30 P.M., news and music on week days. 7.00 to 8.00 P.M., music on Wednesdays and Sundays. 10.00 to 11.00 A.M., church services on Sundays. Washington, D. C. Church of the Covenant. WDM. 360 meters. Church services on Sunday only at 11:00 AM., 3:30 and 8:00 P.M. Range 900 miles. Power 50 Watts. Washington, D. C. Doubleday Hill Elec. Co. WMV. Every afternoon from 4.30 to 5.30 P.M. Thursday and Friday from 7.30 8.30 P.M. [NOTE: Call was actually WMU.] Washington, D. C. White & Boyer Co. WJH. Concerts with short lectures on radio, Keith's vaudeville, music, etc. Range 1,000 miles. The above list of radiophone broadcasting stations, together with the information as to their calls, wave lengths, broadcasting schedules and the maximium distances at which they have been heard, has been carefully verified and is presented as authentic. There are other stations which have not been included in the above list because the information regarding them is either lacking in detail or has not been directly verified by the stations themselves. A list of these stations follows:

Information correct up to May 1st 1922.

Additional Broadcasting Stations



4CD Atlanta, Ga., Garter Electric Co. WNJ Albany, N. Y. The Shotton Radio Mfg. Co. WKC Baltimore, Md. Joseph M. Zamoiski Company WWT Buffalo, N. Y. McCarty Bros. and Ford. WWB Canton, Ohio. Daily News Printing Company WJB Granville, Ohio. Dennison University WBU Chicago, Ill. City of Chicago KOP Detroit, Michigan Police Department KFU Gridley, Calif. The Precision Shop KGC Hollywood, Calif. The Electric Lighting Co. WEV Houston, Texas. Hurlburt Still Electrical Co. WOH Indianapolis, Ind. Hatfield Electric Co. WLK Indianapolis, Ind. The Hamilton Mfg. Co. WOS Jefferson City, Mo. Missouri State Marketing Bureau WOQ Kansas City, Mo. Western Radio Co. WHW Lansing, Michigan. Stuart W. Seeley ------ Los Gatos, Calif. Heard by ships 2,500 miles at sea. 360 meters VCA Montreal, Canada. Marconi Telegraph Company of Canada, Ltd. XDA Mexico City, Mex. WHN Memphis, Tenn. Riechman Crosby Co. [NOTE: Call was actually WKN.]

WPG New Lebanon, Ohio. Nushawg Poultry Farm WGJ or WCS New Haven, Conn. A. C. Gilbert Co. [NOTE: Call was actually WCJ.] WCL Philadelphia, Pa. [Note: Call was actually WGL] WOK Pine Bluff, Ark. The Pine Bluff Co. KGF Pomano, Calif. The Ponoma Fixture and Wiring Co. WHQ Rochester, N.Y. The Rochester Times Union 4BQ Rome, Ga. ------ San Francisco, Calif. Fairmont Hotel. 360 meters. KUO San Francisco, Calif. The Examiner Printing Co. KWG Stockton, Calif. Portable Wireless Tel. Co. KJJ Sunnyvale, Calif. The Radio Shop KFZ Spokane, Wash. Doerr Mitchell Electric Co. WEW St. Louis, Mo. St. Louis University WDZ Toledo, Ohio. Marshall Gerkin Co. 27 Ontario Ave. WDW Washington, D.C. The Radio Construction Co. WEY Wichita, Kans. Cosradio Co. KQP Yakima, Wash. Electric Power and Appliance Co. KFV Yakima, Wash. Bradbury Radio Store WMC Youngstown, Ohio. Columbia Radio Co.

Callsigns and Licence Classifications: Most of the stations listed above which have callsigns starting with K or W (WBT, KYW, WMH, WHK, KDKA etc.) held the Limited Commercial licences which, with the adoption of the December 1, 1921 broadcast service regulations, had become mandatory for private broadcasting stations. (Many of these stations had previously held licences in other classifications, especially Experimental and Amateur. Also, it was not uncommon for a station to hold more than one licence, and operate under different callsigns according to the licence classification it fell under at the time it was on the air). Numerous stations in this list have callsigns that start with a number, which was the Radio Inspection District in which they were located, followed by two or three letters. Despite the similarity of their calls, these stations were actually divided among four different licence classifications, although what they did





have in common was that, because of the December 1st regulations, they all were now required to get Limited Commercial licences if they wanted to continue to make broadcasts intended for the general public. Many stations in the above list had standard Amateur licences, which meant they normally transmitted on the congested wavelength of 200 meters (1500 kilohertz). The callsign rule for standard Amateur stations was that the letter following the district number could be anything except X, Y, or Z. Some of the better known standard Amateur stations appearing in the above list are 2IA in Jersey City, New Jersey, 1OJ in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and 4CD in Atlanta, Georgia. The other three licence categories -- Experimental, Technical and Training School, and Special Amateur -- which had callsigns starting with district numbers were known collectively as the Special Land stations. These stations generally were allowed to transmit on the less congested wavelengths between 600 and 200 meters (500 to 1500 kilohertz). Experimental stations had callsigns with an X as the first letter following the district number. Some of the more prominent Experimental stations from this list include 2XJ in Deal Beach, New Jersey, 6XAC in Los Altos, California, 1XE in Medford Hillside, Massachusetts and 1XAD in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Technical and Training School licences were most commonly issued to colleges and universities, and their callsigns had a Y immediately after the district number. Two Technical and Training School stations are included in this list -- 8YO, Columbus, Ohio (Ohio State University), and 9YY, Lincoln, Nebraska (University of Nebraska). Finally, Special Amateur licences allowed qualified amateurs to legally operate on the less congested wavelengths, and their calls had a Z after the district number. The two Special Amateur stations in this list are 9ZAF in Denver, Colorado, and 3ZO in Parkesburg, Pennsylvania. A few U.S. Government stations are also listed. (Government stations were exempt from the private station requirement that broadcast stations have Limited Commercial licences). Stations operated by the U.S. Navy were assigned calls starting with N, including NOF in Anacostia, D.C. The U.S. Army stations were supposed to use calls starting with WUA to WVZ and WXA to WZZ, hence Fort Wood's WVP in New York Harbor. However, other Army stations at this time seem to have used whatever calls they wanted, such as Fairfield, Ohio's WL2. Finally, there is one ship station mentioned in this list. The entry for 2XJ in Deal Beach, New Jersey refers to KDOW, which was the S.S. America. Additional Information: The various land station licence classifications are defined in the August 15, 1919 edition of Radio Communication Laws of the United States, beginning with regulation 51. For a detailed review of U.S. callsign practices, see United States Callsign Policies. For a comprehensive overview of the establishment of the Limited Commercial broadcast service and the current status of many of the stations listed above, see United States Pioneer Broadcast Service Stations. And for more information on radio station lists, see Early Radio Station Lists Issued by the U.S. Government.







The Romance of the Radiophone (1922)

No single event or station introduced radio broadcasting to the entire United States. Instead, broadcasting activities evolved in many locations, slowly entering the public consciousness. By early 1922 there was enough organized activity for various publications to begin putting together national lists of stations that were providing broadcasts intended for the general public. However, because of the scattered nature of the activities, no single list at this time, including this one, was able to keep up with all the stations on the air. The article below, which appears to date to around June, 1922, was prepared while U.S. broadcasting was going through an important transition. Initially there had been no restrictions on which radio stations could broadcast programs intended for the general public. But on December 1, 1921 the Bureau of Navigation issued a new regulation, which restricted non-government broadcasting to only those stations which held a Limited Commercial licence plus an authorization to use the Entertainment wavelength of 360 meters (833 kilohertz), and/or the Market and Weather wavelength of 485 meters (619 kilohertz). It took a few months for all the stations to fall in line with this new broadcast service regulation, which means that in the list below some stations from other licence categories are still included. However, these stations were now required to either get Limited Commercial licences or stop making broadcasts. (A review of how you can determine a station's licence classification from its callsign is included at the close of this list). NOTE: A number of apparent callsign typos in the original article have been corrected. Following are the callsigns as they appear in the article below, followed, in parentheses, by the (incorrect) listing in the original article: KRE Berkeley, California (KFU), 2IA Jersey City, New Jersey (2A1), WOR Newark, New Jersey (WCR), 8UX Akron, Ohio (SUX), and WDZ Toledo, Ohio (WSZ). Also, other sources list WAI in Dayton, Ohio as "WA1".

The Home: 1923 Supplement, 1922, pages 65, 68:

The Romance of the Radiophone

In Accomplishment It Eclipses the Wildest Dreams of Fanciful Fiction

By LOUIS JAY HEATH

Assistant Director of Educational Work, United States Public Health Service, in charge of Radio Activities

ONCE more the dreams of the most daring weavers of scientific romance sink into the background before the

accomplishments of present-day inventive genius. In 1887, when Edward Bellamy in "Looking Backward" predicted radio, his picture of radio receiving, which today is a common scene in thousands of American homes, seemed but the fanciful flashings of a vivid imagination. Yet in less than thirty-five years engineers delving into the mysteries of electrical transmission have passed beyond the limits of Bellamy's imagination and realized as wild a dream as the boldest maker of fiction ever wove. Three short years ago a man who told of picking from the air the musical notes of an opera or a concert given, hundreds of miles away would have been considered demented by a majority of the intelligent. Only here and there in laboratories and workshops the dreamers of radio broadcasting were pushing on. Then with the suddenness of a tropical storm radio burst upon the mind of the layman--of the man in the street. On June 1, 1922, according to the United States Department of Commerce, there were 301 licensed radio telephone broadcasting stations in the United States. These are scattered over forty-one states. At the same time the

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National Radio Chamber of Commerce reported that a nationwide survey had been made of' radio developments and that there were approximately one million five hundred thousand radio receiving sets already in use in American homes. So rapid is the development that figures become obsolete almost as soon as they are written.

Think of the possibilities! One million five hundred thousand American homes equipped with radio receiving sets! In that number of homes families, friends and neighbors are gathering about innocent looking boxes and are listening in on concerts, operas and lectures given in cities hundreds of miles distant. The latest news and the best music can be secured daily by merely tuning in on the radio without leaving the easy chair in your own living room. Nor is this all. It is possible that within the next year the Federal Government in Washington will be conducting the largest broadcasting service in the world. The details of a nationwide experimental service through high powered Government stations extending in a network across the continent are now being worked out. Already several departments are making extensive use of radio telephony. The United States Public Health Service of the Treasury Department has been operating a health information by radio service on a regular schedule since December, 1921. The Department of Agriculture has been using radio since November of last year to broadcast crop, market and weather reports; extensive plans are under way in the Bureau of Education in the Department of the Interior for a great educational service through Government stations; the Department of Labor is active, and other departments will soon be issuing educational news. The possibilities of radio as an educational medium seem boundless. So rapidly has the interest in radio transmission spread that the day is certainly not far distant when a radio receiving set will form a part, in fact a most important part, of the equipment of every American household. It is already possible for a man to deliver a message simultaneously in homes throughout hundreds of square miles of territory. The Public Health Information by Radio Service lectures of the United States Public Health Service, transmitted through NOF, the powerful Naval Aircraft Radio Laboratory station at Anacostia, D. C., have been heard simultaneously in Nova Scotia, Cuba and western Kansas. At some not far distant time, so great are the possibilities of radio, the President of the United States, when he has a message of general national interest to present, will not merely present it to Congress, but will speak into a broadcasting station that will send his words into the homes of the citizens in every state of the Union. Already voice broadcasting through NOF, on the banks of the Potomac, has been heard in southern California, and code messages from the same station have been picked up in Honolulu.



No one can predict the future of radio or estimate what will be the value of its service to mankind. What will be the effect upon this little earth and its peoples when the voice of a man in Chicago, Washington, Paris, Berlin, Moscow or Tokio will be carried around the world? A new age is dawning--we stand watching that dawn and distances shrink, barriers of mountains and seas, barriers of language and illiteracy are being swept away. Who can say what radio will mean? Perhaps a United States of the World, united through the common medium that envelopes us all.

LOUIS JAY HEATH.

Wave Length

WKH 360 Montgomery, Ala. Montgomery Light & Power Co.WOK 360 Pine Bluff, Ark. Pine Bluff Co.KRE 360 Berkeley, Cal. Maxwell Electric Co.KFU 360 Gridley The Precision ShopKGC 360 Hollywood Electric Lightning & Supply Co.KLP Los Altos Colin B. Kennedy Co.KJS Los Angeles Bible Institute of Los AngelesKOG Los Angeles Western Radio Electric Co.KQL Los Angeles Arno A. KlugeKYJ Los Angeles Leo J. MeybergKZC Los Angeles Western Radio Electric Co.DDV 360 Monterey Noble Electric WorksKLS Oakland Warner Bros.KZM Oakland Hotel OaklandKZY Oakland Atlantic Pacific Radio Sup. Co.KLB Pasadena J. J. Dunn Co.KGF Pomona Pomona Fixture and Wiring Co.KVQ Sacramento J. C. Hobrecht (Sacramento Bee)AGI San Francisco Signal Corps PresidioKDN San Francisco Leo J. Meyberg Co.KGB San Francisco E. C. LordenKUO San Francisco Examiner Printing Co.KYY San Francisco Radio Telephone ShopKQW San Jose Chas. D. HerroldKJQ Stockton C. O. GouldKWG Stockton Portable Wireless Telephone Co.KJJ Sunnyvale The Radio ShopKIZ Denver, Colo. Reynolds Radio Co.WQB Hartford, Conn. C. D. Tuska Co.WCJ New Haven A. C. Gilbert Co.WDM Washington, D. C. Church of the CovenantWDW Washington, D. C. Radio Constr. & Electric Co.WJH Washington, D. C. White & BoyerWWX 1160-1980 Washington, D. C. P. O. Dept.3YN 360 Washington, D. C. National Radio Inst.4CD 200-375 Atlanta, Ga. Carter Electric Co.KYW Chicago, Ill. Westinghouse Elec. & Mfg. Co.WBU Chicago, Ill. City of Chicago



WOC 360-485 Rock Island, Ill. Karlowa Radio Co.WLK 360 Indianapolis, Ind. Hamilton Mfg. Co.WOH 360 Indianapolis, Ind. Hatfield Electric Co.WOZ 360-485 Richmond, Ind. Palladium Printing Co.WGF 360 Des Moines Register Tribune9YA 360 Iowa City University of Iowa9ARU 200 Louisville, Ky. Darrel A. DownardWGI 360 Medford Hillside, Mass. American Research & Radio Corp.WBZ 360 Springfield Westinghouse Elec. & Mfg. Co.WWJ 360-485 Detroit, Mich. The Detroit NewsWHW 485 East Lansing, Mich. Stuart SeeleyWLB 360 Minneapolis, Minn. University of MinnesotaWOS 485 Jefferson City, Mo. Missouri State Marketing BureauWOQ 360-485 Kansas City, Mo. Western Radio Co.9YY 360 Lincoln, Neb. University of NebraskaWOU 360-485 Omaha, Neb. Metropolitan Utilities DistrictWOV 360 Omaha, Neb. R. B. HowellWNO 360 Jersey City, N. J. Jersey Journal2IA 200 Jersey City, N. J. Jersey ReviewWOR 360 Newark, N. J. L. Bamberger and Co.WJZ 360 Newark, N. J. Westinghouse Elec. & Mfg. Co.WDT 360 New York City, N. Y. Ship Owners Radio ServiceWJX 360 New York City, N. Y. DeForest Rad. T. & T. Co.WYCB 1450 New York City, N. Y. Amateur Radio ReserveWHQ 360-485 Rochester, N. Y. Rochester Times UnionWGY 360 Schenectady, N. Y. General Electric Co.WRL 360 Schenectady, N. Y. Union College8UX 360 Akron, Ohio Radioart StoreWLW 360 Cincinnati, Ohio Crosley Mfg. Co.WMH 360-485 Cincinnati, Ohio Precision Equip. Co.WHK 360 Cleveland, Ohio Warren R. Cox8BYV 200 Columbus, Ohio Electrical Specialty Co.8YO 275 Columbus, Ohio Ohio State UniversityWFO 360-485 Dayton, Ohio Rike Kumler Co.WAI 360 Dayton, Ohio U. S. ArmyWL2 360 Fairfield, Ohio U. S. ArmyWRK 360 Hamilton, Ohio Doron Bros. Electric Co.WHU 360 Toledo, Ohio Wm. B. Duck Co.WJK 360 Toledo, Ohio Service Radio Equip. Co.WDZ 360-485 Toledo, Ohio Marshall-Gerken Co.WGL 360 Philadelphia, Pa. Thos. F. J. HewlettKDKA 360 Pittsburgh, Pa. Westinghouse Elec. & Mfg. Co.KQV 360 Pittsburgh, Pa. Doubleday Hill Elec. Co.WRB 360 Pittsburgh, Pa. Newspaper Printing Co.WRR 450 Dallas, Texas Police & Fire Signal Dept.KFC 360 Seattle, Wash. Northern Elec. & Radio Co.KHQ 360 Seattle, Wash. Louis Wasmer



KJR 360 Seattle, Wash. Vincent I. KraftWHA 360-485 Madison, Wis. University of Wisconsin

Callsigns and Licence Classifications: Most of the stations listed above which have callsigns starting with K or W (WRR, WGI, KYW, KZY, WQB, WJZ, KDKA etc.) held the Limited Commercial licences which, with the adoption of the December 1, 1921 broadcast service regulations, had become mandatory for private broadcasting stations. (Many of these stations had previously held licences in other classifications, especially Experimental and Amateur. Also, it was not uncommon for a station to hold more than one licence, and operate under different callsigns according to the licence classification it fell under at the time it was on the air). But some stations in this list have callsigns that start with a number, which was the Radio Inspection District in which they were located, followed by two or three letters. Despite the similarity of their calls, these stations were actually divided among four different licence classifications, although what they did have in common was that, because of the December 1st regulations, they all were now required to get Limited Commercial licences if they wanted to continue to make broadcasts intended for the general public. A few stations in the above list had standard Amateur licences, which meant they normally transmitted on the congested wavelength of 200 meters (1500 kilohertz). The callsign rule for standard Amateur stations was that the letter following the district number could be anything except X, Y, or Z. The standard Amateur stations appearing in the above list are 4CD in Atlanta, Georgia, 9ARU in Louisville, Kentucky, 2IA in Jersey City, New Jersey, 8UX in Akron, Ohio, and 8BYV in Columbus, Ohio. The other three licence categories -- Experimental, Technical and Training School, and Special Amateur -- which had callsigns starting with district numbers were known collectively as the Special Land stations. These stations generally were allowed to transmit on the less congested wavelengths between 600 and 200 meters (500 to 1500 kilohertz). Experimental stations had callsigns with an X as the first letter following the district number. However, by the time this list appeared most Experimental stations making broadcasts had acquired broadcasting licences, so none appear in this list. Technical and Training School licences were most commonly issued to colleges and universities, and their callsigns had a Y immediately after the district number. Technical and Training School stations in this list include 3YN in Washington, D.C. (National Radio Insttute), 9YA Iowa City, Iowa (University of Iowa), 9YY, Lincoln, Nebraska (University of Nebraska), and 8YO, Columbus, Ohio (Ohio State University). Finally, Special Amateur licences allowed qualified amateurs to legally operate on the less congested wavelengths, and their calls had a Z after the district number. Like the Experimental stations, by the time this list appeared special Amateur stations were no longer transmitting broadcast services. A few U.S. Government stations are also listed. (Government stations were exempt from the private station requirement that broadcast stations have Limited Commercial licences.) Stations operated by the U.S. Navy were assigned calls starting with N, for example NOF in Anacostia, D.C., which is mentioned in the text of this article. The U.S. Army stations were supposed to use calls starting with WUA to WVZ and WXA to WZZ, for example WYCB in New York City. However, other Army stations at this time seem to have used whatever calls they wanted, including AGI in San Francisco, California, Fairfield, Ohio's WL2 and Dayton, Ohio's WAI (WA1 according to some other sources). Another government station included in this list is WWX, operated by the Post Office in Washington, D.C. Additional Information: The various land station licence classifications are defined in the August 15, 1919 edition of Radio Communication Laws of the United States, beginning with regulation 51. For a detailed review of U.S. callsign practices, see United States Callsign Policies. For a comprehensive overview of the establishment of the Limited Commercial broadcast service and the current status of many of the stations listed above, see United States Pioneer Broadcast Service Stations. And for more information on radio station lists, see Early Radio Station









Lists Issued by the U.S. Government.




Building the Broadcast Band


Thomas H. White -- February 12, 2004 The history of AM broadcast band (mediumwave) in the United States spans eighty years. This is a review of its first decade -- how it was established, initially evolved, suffered through a chaotic period when government regulation collapsed, and finally was reconstructed by the newly formed Federal Radio Commission, along lines that are still visible today.

Sections ● Technical Antecedents (late 1890s) ● United States Government Regulation (1912) ● Initial Wavelength Bands ● The Rise of Voice Broadcasting ● The Westinghouse Stations (1920) ● Establishment of a Broadcast Service (Dec. 1, 1921) ● "Crop Reports and Weather Services" (485) ● "News, Concerts, Lectures, and Such Matter" (360) ● Meters and Kilohertz ● Restrictions (1922) ● First National Radio Conference (1922) ● Class B Stations on 400 Meters (1922) ● 360, 400 and 485 Meter Assignments ● Dawn of the Skywave

● Second National Radio Conference (1923) ● Creation of a Broadcast Band (1923) ● Initial Class B Allocations by Zone ● Continued Expansion and the Third National Radio

Conference (1924) ● Class B Complexities (1925) ● Legal Actions (1926) ● A Little Bit of Anarchy (Regulation Collapse, 1926) ● Re-regulation (1927) ● Initial FRC Work ● Portable Stations ● Refining Standards ● New Broadcasting Structure (1928) ● Effects of the November 11, 1928 Allocation ● Consequences and Conclusions ● Allocation Overview

Technical Antecedents

Guglielmo Marconi's pioneering wireless work, begun in the late 1800's, developed an important principle which more than twenty years later would help determine which wavelengths would be available for broadcasting. Marconi's most significant early discovery was of the "groundwave" radio signal. This was a key development, which made longrange signaling using electromagnetic radiation practical for the first time. Prior to Marconi, all electromagnetic radiation was thought to act similarly. Like light, it was believed to normally travel through the air in a straight line until absorbed or reflected. What Marconi stumbled across was that, for longer wavelengths with a properly constructed antenna, some of the radio waves, instead of just "going through space", actually "traveled along the ground", following the contour of the Earth. Thus, the Earth could be used as a guide, carrying signals over the horizon to distant points. Moreover, it turned out the ocean was an even better conductor than soil for transporting radio waves to distant points. It was found that the longer the radio wavelength, the better the Earth acts as a conductor, and the greater the range for a transmission of a given power. For this and other early work, Marconi shared the 1909 Nobel Prize for physics. And for 25 years following his pioneering work the groundwave signal was the most important factor in determining the desirability of a given radio wavelength.

United States Government Regulations

In the United States the use of wireless initially was unregulated -- anyone could operate a radio transmitter anywhere, at any time, on any wavelength. And most utilized the longwave signals that traveled so well across land and sea. Naturally severe interference occurred with everyone trying to use the same wavelengths. Eventually it was decided to do something about this, and because the individuals involved were the United States government, the action took the form of An Act to Regulate Radio Communication, passed on August 13, 1912.

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A year earlier a Radio Service had been established in the Department of Commerce and Labor's Bureau of Navigation. It was initially charged with making sure ships carried wireless equipment, as required by a June, 1910 act. With the passage of the 1912 Act, the job of licencing stations and operators was added to the Radio Service's duties. The country was divided into nine radio inspection districts, with a district headquarters for a Radio Inspector set up at a major port within each district. Initially radio was dominated by ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore stations, plus amateurs who comprised the bulk of the land stations. As far as government control goes the 1912 Act was fairly liberal, since some, particularly the Navy, had wanted to nationalize radio altogether. Unfortunately, the Act's language wasn't always very clear, and was geared toward two-way communication between stations that were permitted, and even expected, to use various wavelengths of their own choosing. Fourteen years later these flaws would help cause a breakdown in the regulation of broadcast stations. The 1912 Act essentially divided the radio spectrum into four parts. Following the standard set by the Service Regulations of the 1912 London International Radiotelegraph Convention, a choice band of wavelengths, from 600 to 1600 meters (500 to 187.5 khz) was appropriated primarily for government use. This band was selected due to the superior groundwave coverage these wavelengths provided. Two additional bands, available for commercial use, were designated on either side of the government band. The first group, consisting of wavelengths greater than 1600 meters (frequencies less than 187.5 khz), actually had groundwave coverage superior to that of the government band. Here were found the huge transoceanic stations. The other commercial band ranged from 600 meters to 200 meters (500 khz to 1500 khz). Groundwave coverage provided by these wavelengths rapidly diminished as the wavelength decreased. This band was used by commercial stations with more limited service areas, and for other special purposes, such as 300 and 220 meters (1000 and 1365 khz), set aside because ship antennas were too short for effective use on longer wavelengths. The final "band" was really a single wavelength -- 200 meters (1500 khz). Although they were not mentioned by name, this wavelength was assigned to amateur stations. Because of its poor groundwave coverage, it was considered to be all but useless, and was far removed from the wavelengths amateurs had used prior to 1912. Still, this limited allocation was better than being completely eliminated, which some, again particularly in the Navy, had favored. The Act also allowed individual amateurs to receive "special" licences to use longer wavelengths, and a number were issued within the 200 to 600 meter band, in order to support communication between amateurs doing "relay" work. (According to the Bureau of Navigation's September 28, 1912 edition of Regulations Governing Radio Communication, "...a special license will be granted only if some substantial benefit to the art or to commerce apart from individual amusement seems probable".) Still, the Act was a major setback for amateurs, and severely restricted their activities.

The Rise of Voice Broadcasting

All early radio work used telegraphic signaling, in most cases using spark transmitters. However, following the example of the wire telegraph, which would lead to the telephone, many worked to transmit sound by radio. As this work progressed hundreds, perhaps thousands, of experimental and publicity broadcasts were made. Some were even conducted on regular schedules. However, the first technologies used -- high-frequency spark, alternator and arc transmitters -- turned out to be dead-ends in the attempt to provide reliable, high quality, and cost effective voice service. Only with the development of vacuum tube continuous wave transmitters, just before the start of World War I, did broadcasting became practical. During the war all radio equipment -- both sending and receiving -- was either shut down or taken over by the United States government, so broadcasting experimentation ceased. However, the new vacuum tube transmitters were perfected under government supervision. In late 1919, with the end of the wartime restrictions on transmitting, numerous commercial, experimental, government and amateur stations renewed dabbling with broadcasting, using the new vacuum tube transmitter designs. By its September, 1920 issue, QST magazine would note that "it is the rare evening that the human voice and strains of music do not come in over the air".

The Westinghouse Stations

Of all the players involved with broadcasting experimentation and development, it was the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, headquartered in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which would finally spark the transformation of radio broadcasting from an experiment into a national institution. Westinghouse was a relative newcomer to radio work. Its post-war efforts arose out of wartime contracts, combined with the broadcasts of Westinghouse engineer Frank Conrad's experimental station, 8XK. Westinghouse was to become the first concern to have the vision, commitment, financial stability, and clout to propel broadcasting into the national consciousness.


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Previously the person most associated with broadcasting had been Lee DeForest, who was behind a number of efforts by various companies on both coasts, beginning before the war. However, these activities always seemed to eventually evaporate. In particular, DeForest had a knack for getting stations shut down for violating regulations. With a well established firm like Westinghouse there was no doubt their broadcast activities were a stable and on-going service, that would be funded in part by profits from the sale of Westinghouse radios to the general public. In contrast, with the DeForest efforts there was always the nagging suspicion that a station's main purpose was to promote the sale of watered stock, or that the company responsible, along with the broadcasts, might soon disappear, as had so many of the previous efforts. By 1921, when Westinghouse's work began to bear fruit, DeForest had left radio research, and was concentrating on work on a sound-on-film system for talking movies. Westinghouse inaugurated its new broadcast service from East Pittsburgh with presidential election returns on November 2, 1920. Most accounts simplify things by crediting this historic broadcast to KDKA, operating on 360 meters. Actually, either due to a delay in the delivery of KDKA's Limited Commercial licence, or more likely indecision about the proper classification for the station's entertainment offerings, the election night broadcast went out under the temporarily assigned Special Amateur call of "8ZZ". Moreover, it wasn't until the fall of 1921 that KDKA moved to 360 meters. Westinghouse's broadcast was hardly unique, as a number of other stations sent out election returns at the same time, and some had also broadcast results during previous elections. Nor were there historic numbers of listeners to the broadcast, since contemporary estimates put the audience at about 100 receivers, and it attracted little attention outside of the immediate Pittsburgh area. However, Westinghouse differentiated itself from the others which had made broadcasts by launching a regular daily schedule, with plans to establish additional stations if the Pittsburgh station proved successful. Westinghouse understandably sought good coverage for KDKA and its later broadcast stations. However, the commercial longwave band beyond 1600 meters was too congested to be usable, while the 600 to 1600 band was reserved for government stations. Thus, KDKA's home would have to be somewhere within the 200 to 600 meter band -- the only wavelengths remaining after earlier radio settlers had claimed the longer wavelengths with their superior groundwave coverage. Information is sketchy, but contemporary reports state that the election night broadcast, using the callsign 8ZZ, was transmitted on a wavelength of 550 meters (545 kilohertz) while later publicity places KDKA's broadcasts on 330 meters (909 khz). There is evidence of shifting around, as some later reports list one or more of the Westinghouse stations on 375 meters (800 khz). With the success of KDKA, the fall of 1921 saw the establishment of three additional Westinghouse stations -- WJZ Newark, NJ (now WABC, New York), WBZ Springfield, MA (now in Boston), and KYW Chicago, IL (now in Philadelphia, PA). At this time Westinghouse officials lobbied for a special wavelength for their stations, and after negotiating with Commerce officials, 360 meters (833 khz) was selected. (Unlike DeForest, Westinghouse seems to have had good relations with government regulators). Louis R. Krumm of Westinghouse later claimed credit for proposing 360 meters as the standard. The first station to receive a license that explicitly specified 360 meters was WBZ on September 15, 1921. Licences for 360 meters for WJZ, KDKA, and KYW soon followed.

Establishment of a Broadcast Service

Westinghouse apparently thought only its stations would be assigned to 360 meters. However, the Commerce Department had no intention of giving Westinghouse a wavelength monopoly. Officials began assigning 360 meters to broadcast stations that other companies set up beginning in the fall of 1921. Unwittingly, Westinghouse's suggestion for itself instead became the seed wavelength which would flower into the broadcast band. By late 1921 enthusiasm for broadcasting had started to develop nationwide, and the Bureau of Navigation decided to formally designate standards and wavelengths for a specific broadcast service. Moreover, in addition to entertainment broadcasts, it saw the need to provide for broadcasts of official government reports. On December 1, 1921 two wavelengths were formally set aside for broadcasting, set up as a service category within the already existing "Limited Commercial" class of stations. A clause was added to the Limited Commercial regulations, reading: "Licences of this class are required for all transmitting radio stations used for broadcasting news, concerts, lectures, and such matter. A wave length of 360 meters is authorized for such service, and a wave length of 485 meters is authorized for broadcasting crop reports and weather services, provided the use of such wave lengths does not interfere with ship to shore or ship to ship service". Thus, broadcasting was formally introduced using just two wavelengths -- 360 and 485 -- in the 200 to 600 meter band. However, it would rapidly expand, until it ended up occupying almost all of this band, plus some of the "useless" territory beyond 200 meters.


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In addition, it would also drive out the ship-to-shore and ship-to-ship services it initially was required to protect. At this time there were few limitations on who could get a broadcast station licence. Generally all you needed was the desire, the equipment, and American citizenship--plus an on-duty technician holding at least a commercial second-grade operator's licence.

"Crop Reports and Weather Services"

Having a separate wavelength -- 485 meters -- for government market and weather reports made theoretical sense, but ultimately proved impractical. After the Navy Department, the Agriculture Department had been the government agency most involved in pioneering radio work. In particular, it wanted to speed weather and market information to isolated farmers, at that time dependent on mailed daily newspapers. (The August, 1913 Monthly Catalogue of United States Documents noted that the Weather Bureau had begun a daily radiotelegraphic "broadcast" of weather reports, which it explained as follows: "'Broadcast', as the term is used in the Radio Service, means that the message is fired out into the illimitable ether to be picked up and made use of by anybody who has the will and the apparatus to possess himself thereof".) Beginning with international conventions preceding the 1912 Act, it was the practice to set aside certain wavelengths for special purposes. So, it was natural to set aside a special wavelength for broadcasting market reports and weather forecasts. Then a radio could be tuned to a single wavelength and receive service from a number of stations. If the reports had instead gone out on 360 meters, farmers would have risked having distant reports drowned out by nearby stations broadcasting at the same time. The 485 wavelength--with its better groundwave coverage--was probably seen as the more important development, and a greater public service, than the mere entertainment being sent out on 360. On many occasions the Bureau of Navigation's Radio Service Bulletin listed stations and schedules of weather and market broadcasts, but it never featured the latest listing of stations carrying the Chase and Sanborn Hour. Any broadcast station could get 360 just for the asking, and most did. However, before the Bureau of Navigation would issue an authorization for 485 meters the station had to first submit a written authorization from the Chief of the Bureau of Markets and Crop Estimates or the Chief of the Weather Bureau. (In its 1922 annual report, the Agriculture Department reported it was limiting 485 authorizations to just two stations per community.) Although the number of broadcast stations authorized to use 485 meters rose from 15 to 137 in the year ending March, 1923, there were few problems with interference. The two Bureaus strictly regulated dissemination of government reports. They also controlled the schedules for the broadcasts, so that stations sending out reports on 485 meters would not interfere with each other. From the government's point of view the dual-wavelength system worked pretty well. For example, in late 1922 the Weather Bureau Office in Springfield, Illinois announced that, using a good receiver, a daily schedule of thirteen weather and market reports, from seven different broadcast stations, could be heard in central Illinois on 485 meters. Unfortunately, individual stations were not as impressed, especially since most concentrated on the entertainment side of their offerings. Credo Fitch Harris, in "Microphone Memoirs", a history of the "Horse and Buggy Days" of WHAS in Louisville, Kentucky, wrote:

What logic gave rise to that mandate to tune a transmitter suddenly from its normal operation of 360 meters to 485 for the weather reports, and then quickly back to 360 for the continuance of a program, has never been explained and it still remains one of the most profound departmental enigmas. Practically none but farmers yearned passionately for news of tomorrow's weather, and crystal sets were incapable of serving distant areas. There were a few, though quite exceptional, instances of longer range receivers, -- using earphones of course. These were homemade affairs built from published diagrams and strung out from mother's parlor table to the kitchen, but so imperfect and confusing to tune that usually we had sent the forecast on 485, and were back again on 360, before the tyro had emerged from his wilderness of tangled wires, knobs, rheostats and other gadgets. The rulings were so patently absurd that the chief of the Louisville Meteorological Bureau personally appealed to Washington and had it changed. Parenthetically, for fifteen years I have tried to discover the father of it. None will confess.

In defense of the Weather and Market Bureaus, it's doubtful they expected a station to jump back and forth between 360 and 485 meters like WHAS did. Most likely they expected the station to set aside, and publicize, a fixed period each day for the broadcasts on 485, after which it would sign off. Then, after a decent interval, it would start up operations on 360. In any event, as reviewed later the split wavelength operations ended in May of 1923, not because of the intervention of the Louisville Meteorological Bureau, but as a result of the expansion of the frequencies allocated to broadcasting. (The concept of broadcast frequencies


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reserved exclusively for public weather reports continues into the present, via the NOAA Weather Radio frequencies.)

"News, Concerts, Lectures, and Like Matter" The government, viewing broadcasting as a public service, may have thought that 485 meters was the more important development. However, the general public saw 485 meters as only a sideshow. The main attraction was the entertainment offered on 360 meters. However, in contrast to the carefully controlled activities on 485 meters, the situation on 360 meters eventually became badly congested, especially in the larger cities. In the year ending March, 1923 the number of stations authorized for 360 meters jumped from 65 to 524. Moreover, it was up to the stations themselves to come up with equitable timesharing agreements when more than one station was located in the same area. Although most stations only wanted to broadcast a few hours per day or week, most coveted the prime early evening hours. In the New York City area, Westinghouse thought that WJZ, which began broadcasting in October, 1921, was going to be the only station there on 360 meters. Certainly it didn't see a need for additional ones. However, by the middle of 1922 nine more stations had been licenced for 360 meters in the region, requiring a complicated and hard-fought timesharing agreement for the New York City area. Other cities had similar problems. San Francisco had been an early broadcast center, with a number of experimental stations operating on various wavelengths, some of which pre-dated KDKA. However, when the new policies required them to be converted to broadcast stations, they congregated on 360 meters, requiring a timesharing agreement. In a few cases talks came to an impasse, and two stations would start to transmit at the same time, drowning each other out. Officials at the Commerce Department normally refused to get involved in these disputes. Eventually the stations, which looked pretty silly, would bow to public pressure and work out some sort of compromise. (No doubt it also was difficult to lure talent with the opportunity to participate in "broadcasts" that were completely drowned out by another station).

Meters and Kilohertz

The initial broadcast service allocations referred to the "wavelengths" that stations would use. This practice dated back to early radio work, when the length of the antenna had a strong influence on the wavelength of the radio signals that were transmitted and received. However, for technical reasons, beginning in 1923 the Bureau of Navigation switched to specifying a station's "frequency", as measured in "kilocycles per second" (later recast as "kilohertz"). Frequency and wavelength are reciprocals -- to convert one to the other you just divide the value into the speed of light. So, how many kilohertz is 360 meters? Suddenly the simple division is not so simple, because the speed of light was only roughly known in the early 1920s. In some early Department of Commerce references 360 meters was stated to be 834 khz. In other cases the rounded figure of 300,000 kilometers/second was used for the speed of light, so depending on how many decimal places were calculated the answer became 833 or 833.3 or 833.333. Sometimes a more precise estimate, 299,820, was used for the speed of light, which gives a result of 832.8 khz. And if you use the even more precise modern estimate of 299,792.458, the answer becomes 832.757 khz. (485 meters is equivalent to either 618 or 619 khz, depending on the value used for the speed of light.) All this leads to a question -- if you could go back to 1922 with a modern radio with a digital frequency readout, and you wanted the radio tuned to the exact frequency equivalent for a station operating on 360 meters, what you punch in? The following excerpt from "Microphone Memoirs" gives a clue:

The way a transmitter was complacently assumed to be kept on its required 360 in those days could be amusing now, or horrifying. A government inspector arrived every four or five months to 'measure' us. In front of the main panel was a large aluminum disk with a center knob, devised by the manufacturer to vary its emitted frequency. The supervisor would gravely and thoughtfully turn that knob back and forth, watching his meter betimes. He would then take a pencil and make a thin mark on the disk's circumference, announcing solemnly: '360'. Another mark: '485 for the weather'. If those pencil strokes escaped being rubbed off by an over-zealous janitor some early morning, we probably retained an accuracy of five or ten meters, above or under par. Or if they remained long enough for the supervisor's next visit, it was interesting to observe that he invariably rubbed them out himself and put on new ones"

A ten-meter swing each way for a station at 360 meters translates to a frequency drift from about 810 to 855 khz. Obviously WHAS' setup wasn't very precise. But its transmitter was no homebrew concoction -- it was an expensive top-of-the-line 500 watt Western Electric, the best that money could buy. Government regulators would struggle for a decade with keeping stations on their assigned frequencies. [Kilohertz to Meters Conversion Charts].

Restrictions


http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/

http://earlyradiohistory.us/khzmeter.htm


By the end of 1921, 29 broadcast station authorizations had been issued for 360 and 485 meters. In early 1922 the broadcasting bandwagon rapidly gained momentum. On board, in addition to formally recognized broadcast stations, were government, experimental, technical and training school, plus regular and special amateur stations, each operating on their own wavelengths. Government stations were outside the control of the Bureau of Navigation, so nothing could be done about them. In any event, many of their broadcasts were speeches by elected officials, so it probably wouldn't have been wise to try. However, the rest were required to conform to the new regulations, and convert to formal broadcast stations, if they wanted to continue broadcasting to the general public. Broadcasts by amateur stations were explicitly prohibited beginning in January, 1922. The Bureau of Navigation regarded most of the broadcasts coming from these stations as frivolous -- in most cases the best they could offer were scratchy phonograph records. Since most people already had phonographs there didn't seem to be a pressing public need to fill the airwaves with recorded songs. (According to the June 30, 1929 Annual Report of the Chief of the Radio Division of the Department of Commerce: "During the early days the programs of a majority of stations consisted almost entirely of phonograph records. The announcers had favorite records which they repeated numerous times during a program. The Secretary of Commerce foresaw the danger of the station losing public interest if a change were not made in the programs.") Amateur broadcasts were said to only be "temporarily" banned, pending new regulations. Eighty years later amateurs are still waiting for the ban to expire. In the meantime, some amateur stations were converted into broadcast stations, helping to swell the broadcasting ranks.

First National Radio Conference

By early 1922 it was clear that broadcasting was an important, and probably permanent, development. It was also beginning to tax the ingenuity of its regulators. In order to receive advice on a number of pressing issues, Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover convened a Conference on Radio Telephony, composed of representatives of various government agencies and radio groups. The conference met in Washington from February 27th to March 2nd, and again from April 17th to the 19th. The resulting conference report proposed that major portions of the 200 to 600 meter band be set aside for broadcasting. In fact, it suggested separate bands for Government and Public, Private and Toll, and City and State Public broadcasting stations. It favored a total ban on "direct" advertising, and even suggested rules governing broadcasting by private detective agencies. The report also favored legislation strengthening the Commerce Secretary's regulatory authority. Secretary Hoover, while lauding the efforts of the conference, moved cautiously, partly because Congress failed to pass any new legislation. Only a single new wavelength, 400 meters (750 khz) was added, as a second entertainment wavelength. This was designated the "Class B" wavelength, with 360 meters now referred to as the "Class A" entertainment wavelength. Although 400 meters was envisioned for the use of "better quality" stations, in order to avoid the appearance of censorship only technical requirements had to be met in order to be assigned to the new wavelength. The maximum power permitted was 1000 watts, and "mechanically reproduced" programs were prohibited. As on 360 meters, stations in the same locality had to devise timesharing agreements.

Class B Stations on 400 Meters

In most cases there are about a dozen claimants when you try to identify "the first station" in one category or another. Surprisingly, there seems to be universal agreement that the first Class B station was KSD, the Saint Louis Post Dispatch station in Saint Louis, Missouri, beginning in late September, 1922 (now KTRS-550). Eventually around thirty stations nationwide qualified to use 400 meters. Although most stations that met the new standards welcomed the chance to move to the less congested 400 meter wavelength, for some it caused problems. The March, 1923 edition of Radio News carried the following report: "One big broadcasting station after trying out the Class B licence on 400 meters for a short time has returned to the 360 wave. The Department of Commerce has just relicenced WHAS, The Louisville Courier Journal, on 360 meters. That paper believes the 360-meter wavelength is better suited for broadcasting, and more popular with the fans". In fact, the order to move to 400 meters had caused an odd crisis at WHAS. As recorded in "Microphone Memoirs", the following exchange took place between station manager Harris and his technician:

'Now what?' I asked. 'Can you put us on 400?' 'I can try,' he said. 'When the supervisor measured us last September


http://earlyradiohistory.us/RSBannoc.htm#192202-01

http://earlyradiohistory.us/1922conf.htm



he marked 360 and 485, but the 485 got rubbed off. Let's see. The 400 meter change would be -- ' (out came the slide rule). 'Well, it would be about a third up from where we are to where 485 is if 485 was there, which it isn't. We can't move a third up to nowhere. Maybe I can guess it, within about ten or fifteen meters'

This technical problem, plus fear that their listeners would find it as hard to retune their sets to 400 meters as WHAS did, prompted Harris to get permission to stay on 360 meters.

Station Wavelength Assignments

With the addition of 400 meters, it was now possible for a broadcast station to be licenced to 360-only, 400-only, 485-only, 360/485, or 400/485, where 360 and 400 were Class A and B entertainment wavelengths and 485 continued as the Market and Weather wavelength. Below is a chart reviewing the authorizations on these wavelengths, compiled from official station lists issued for selected dates from March 10, 1922 to March 1, 1923:

DateTotal

Stations

Station Wavelength Assignments Wavelength Totals

360-only 360/485 485-only 400-only 400/485 360 485 400

3/10/1922 67 52 13 2 -- -- 65 15 --

3/31/1922 137 105 26 6 -- -- 131 32 --

4/30/1922 223 178 38 7 -- -- 216 45 --

5/31/1922 312 254 50 8 -- -- 304 58 --

6/30/1922 378 307 63 8 -- -- 370 71 --

3/1/1923 556 409 115 5 10 17 524 137 27

(Links to on-line copies of these stations lists are available at Early Radio Station Lists Issued by the U.S. Government).

Dawn of the Skywave

Because the stations on 400 meters had superior equipment, they did a better job of staying on their assigned wavelengths. Surprisingly, in some cases this resulted in more interference between stations. A letter from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, appearing in the February, 1923 issue of Radio News, in part complained: "Can't you start some kind of a campaign among your thousands of Radio fans and readers to get Washington to do something about this wave-length question? Since all the good stations have gone to 400 meters it is worse than ever, as they are square on 400 meters and all come in together... while before they were scattered below and over 360 meters". This letter reflects a new problem which was being encountered during nighttime hours. It was the result of the development of better radio receivers, combined with the existence of long ignored "skywave" radio signals. Until the early twenties, most radio receivers used by both the public and commercial companies had been primitive. The majority were crystal sets, limited to picking up strong signals, which in practice usually meant only groundwave signals. The spread, in the early twenties, of receiving sets using vacuum tube amplification meant radios were now thousands of times more sensitive. The wavelengths assigned to broadcast stations had relatively poor groundwave coverage, and the stations used relatively low power, with few rated at more than 500 watts. So, considering only the groundwave signal, stations could be packed fairly close together on the same wavelength without unduly interfering with each other. However, with the introduction of the better receivers, at night during the prime listening hours people were beginning to receive stations from far beyond the range of the groundwave signal. This would have profound effects on how to deal with interference between stations operating on the same wavelength. At this point it's valuable to return to Marconi's original work. Like many scientific discoveries, his discovery of the groundwave signal both advanced and hindered the art, because it lead to a single-minded pursuit of good groundwave coverage. Huge spark stations of tremendous power were developed, using giant antennas. By later standards these early stations were absurdly overpowered -- in fact they were so powerful that their signals were probably traveling around the world more than once. However, because receivers were so insensitive, these transmitting behemoths were needed in order to insure quality service.


http://earlyradiohistory.us/statlist.htm#statlists


Forgotten in the "cult of the groundwave" was the fact that not all of a station's signal is groundwave -- some of it does indeed travel "through the air". Originally it was thought that these "skywave" signals merely fled into the cosmos, never to be heard again. However, soon there was evidence that something strange was happening, especially at night. Somehow, some of the signals were coming back to Earth at distant points. English physicist Oliver Heaviside did pioneering work on the subject, and found evidence that high above the Earth there is an encircling layer of charged particles. This was originally called the Heaviside Layer, but is now known as the ionosphere, and is the cause of the reflected signals. At first it was mainly viewed as a curiosity, responsible for "freak" reception. Unlike the groundwave signal, which is unaffected by the sun, and has the same strength day and night, the strength of the reflected skywave signal is variable, and usually was too weak to be readily detected by the primitive receivers then in use. Also, on the wavelengths then in use there normally wasn't any skywave signal during daylight hours, so daytime reception was completely dependent on the groundwave signal. In fact the skywave signal was seen mainly as a nuisance, since it interacted with the groundwave signal, causing fading. With the introduction of broadcasting, information about skywave signals suddenly became important. However, a full understanding of what was taking place did not exist in the early twenties. It was obvious the sun was involved, since in most cases skywave signals appeared only at night. Eventually it was determined that the ionosphere is composed of layers, each with distinctive characteristics. What became known as the "E" and "F" layers are responsible for reflecting radio signals back to Earth. (Unlike groundwave signals, the strength of reflected skywave signals are essentially the same across the entire 200 meter to 600 meter band.) Due to the ionizing effect of the sun, these reflecting layers actually are more concentrated, thus more effective at reflecting radio signals, in daylight hours than at night. Therefore, in theory skywave signals should be even stronger during the daytime than at night. However, it turned out that a inner "D Layer" also existed. And the D Layer absorbs signals in the wavelengths that happened to be assigned for broadcasting, blocking them before they have a chance to reach the reflective outer layers. But unlike the E and F Layers, the D Layer only exists during daylight hours, which is why skywave signals disappear during the day but return at night. An analogy is that, when talking about the wavelengths assigned to broadcast stations, the E and F Layers act as a mirror reflecting signals back to Earth, while the D Layer is a curtain drawn in front of the mirroring layers during daylight hours. (It is popularly believed that old "Amos and Andy" shows are winging their way through the cosmos. Unfortunately for old radio buffs on alpha Centauri, in most cases these signals actually were snuffed out by the absorbing D and reflecting E and F layers a fraction of a second after they left the radio station. In the mid-twenties amateurs began experimenting with frequencies higher than the traditional 1500 khz. As expected, the higher they got the worse the groundwave signal. However, unknown to the amateurs, when you get above a certain frequency the D layer no longer absorbs the signals, but they continue to be reflected back to Earth. Thus, they stumbled upon the shortwave frequencies, which have almost no groundwave capabilities -- thus are "worthless" under the old view -- but also have globe-spanning skywave coverage, sometimes even better during the day than at night. As you continue to go up in frequency, you eventually reach frequencies which pass through the entire ionosphere, both day and night. Therefore, unlike AM band and shortwave signals, FM and TV signals are indeed spreading throughout the cosmos.) The greater nighttime coverage on broadcast wavelengths meant it was now possible, at night, for stations to interfere with each other over great distances. In some cases this meant, as reported in the Murfreesboro letter, hearing more than one program at the same time. However, there was an even worse problem. When two stations are close in frequency their signals interact, creating a piercing "heterodyne" tone, which was estimated to extend ten times as far as the audio interference. (For example, if one station were on 833 khz, and the other on 830 khz, the resulting heterodyne tone would be 3 khz, which is the difference between the two station frequencies.) If stations stay within about .05 kilohertz of each other the tone disappears. However, as seen by the earlier WHAS quote on frequency control, with early 1920s technology any such convergence would have only been a fleeting coincidence. (At this time many stations drifted in frequency both in response to what was being transmitted and whenever their antennas swung in the wind. The "flattop" antennas in use at this time had stronger skywave signals, and weaker groundwave, than the modern "vertical" antennas that supplanted the flattops beginning in the 1930s) Until the development of affordable precise frequency control, plus directional antennas suitable for use on the broadcast band frequencies -- both a full decade away -- the only tools for preventing heterodyning on a common wavelength were wide separation of stations, timesharing, plus reduced nighttime powers and daytime-only operation.

Second National Radio Conference

By early 1923 it had become clear that a major overhaul of the broadcast service was needed. The most critical problem was that



two entertainment wavelengths were not nearly enough. Ideally each station should be given its own wavelength, but that was impractical. Secretary Hoover convened a second conference of government and industry representatives, beginning on March 20th. Once more the conference proposed increasing the number of broadcast frequencies. This time the Commerce Department acted quickly, announcing in early April a sweeping expansion of the broadcast allocation. Over a period of time broadcasting was to be assigned, in 10 khz steps, all the frequencies from 550 to 1350 khz (545 to 222 meters). Stations would still be divided into Class A and B, but this now would refer to two bands of frequencies. Class A stations would be limited to 500 watts, while Class B's would use 500 to 1000 watts of power. Although a few new Class A stations were assigned to the new frequencies beginning in April, the full plan did not start to go into effect until noon on May 15th. Under the plan, none of the multitude of stations operating on 360 meters would be forced to change to a new frequency -- they could stay on 360 meters, as "Class C" stations, if they wished. However, no new stations would be assigned to 360 meters, and it was hoped that all the current 360 meter residents would soon voluntarily switch to the new, less congested, Class A and Class B frequencies. Once the stations on 360 meters disappeared, the new band would consist of 50 Class B frequencies running from 550 to 1040 khz, plus 31 Class A frequencies, from 1050 to 1350 khz. The Class A frequencies consisted of lower power stations -- some using a little as 5 watts -- which were located relatively close together. The initial plan specified that about two-thirds of the frequencies could be used in all nine of the radio inspection districts, while the rest would be used in at most three assigned districts. Under this setup, nighttime heterodynes were unavoidable on the Class A frequencies. The upper limit of 1350 khz available for Class A stations apparently was set by the existing ship wavelength at 220 meters (1365 khz). There were more Class B frequencies available than stations qualified to use them, which was a good thing since a number of the frequencies were not immediately usable. The clump of Class C stations on 833 khz were pretty shaky in the frequency control department, so initially no Class B stations were assigned from 810 to 860 khz, giving the Class C's a little wobbling room. Also, 1000 khz (300 meters) was an international ship frequency, so broadcasters stayed clear of 980 through 1040 until the ships could be reallocated to other frequencies. The old Class B entertainment wavelength at 400 meters became just another Class B frequency, now known as 750 khz. (Ironically, this frequency was assigned to WHAS, which apparently had finally figured out how to tune its transmitter to 400 meters). The separate Market and Weather wavelength on 485 meters disappeared. To the relief of stations like WHAS, broadcasters now sent out their entire program on their one assigned frequency. However, the government still maintained strict control over the use of official government reports and forecasts. The handful of stations which had no entertainment offerings, and thus were licenced only for 485 meters, were moved to 360 meters. The Commerce Department made a special effort to assign the showcase Class B frequencies equitably. The United States was divided into five zones, and each zone was assigned at least ten Class B frequencies. Because of the relatively low powers then in use, Zones 1 and 5, on opposite coasts, were far enough apart to permit simultaneous use without nighttime heterodyning interference. However, all the other zones required exclusive use of their frequencies to avoid heterodyning problems. Below is a review of the fifty Class B frequencies, and their zone assignments, as initially announced by the Bureau of Navigation:

550-3 630-4 710-5 790-1 870-2 950-3 1030-4560-5 640-1,5 720-2 800-3 880-4 960-5 1040-1570-4 650-3 730-4 810-5 890-1 970-2 580-2 660-1,5 740-1 820-2 900-3 980-4 590-1,5 670-2 750-3 830-4 910-5 990-1 600-3 680-4 760-1,5 840-1 920-2 1000-3 610-1,5 690-1 770-2 850-3 930-4 1010-5 620-2 700-3 780-4 860-5 940-1 1020-2

Within each zone, frequencies were assigned for use by specific localities. Commerce was careful to state that frequencies were





allocated to jurisdictions, not to individual stations. But they obviously had taken a close look at the 400 meter roster when deciding the initial allocations. One standard was that there be a minimum 50 khz separation between stations in a given locality. This was viewed as the smallest spacing that an average radio could discriminate between when near two stations. There was also a minimum 20 khz spacing within zones. The final step was to assign stations to the new frequencies. Since there were more frequencies assignments than qualified stations, some Class B frequencies were reserved for later use within specific zones. In some of the more congested cities frequencies were shared by two or three stations. Below is a review of the initial May 15th Class B allocation, plus the stations that were assigned to them by the end of July, 1923. Seventy-seven years later many of these stations are among the most prominent in the nation. Others, with owners who couldn't afford the expense, later became lesser stations or were deleted altogether. In fact, three stations, WDT (Ship Owners Radio Service), WGM (Atlanta Constitution) and KFDB (Mercantile Trust Company) would be deleted before the end of 1923. Amazingly, given all the changes in the succeeding seven decades, three stations have continuously stayed on the frequencies they received under the May 15, 1923 plan: WMAQ-670 Chicago (now WSCR), KFI-640 Los Angeles, and KSD-550 Saint Louis (now KTRS).

Allocations Announced for May 15, 1923Station Assignments as of July 31, 1923

Zone Location Freq.

1 Springfield/Wellesley Hills, MA 890 WBZ Springfield, MA

Schenectady/Troy, NY 790 WGY Schenectady, NY & WHAZ Troy, NY

New York, NY/Newark, NJ 660 WJZ Newark, NJ

" " 610 WBAY/WEAF New York, NY

" " 740 WJY/WOR New York & WDT Stapleton, NY

Philadelphia, PA 590 WOO/WIP Philadelphia, PA

" " 760 WFI/WDAR Philadelphia, PA

Washington, DC 690 NAA Arlington, VA

Reserved 640 WRC/WCAP Washington, DC

Reserved: 840, 940, 990, 1040

2 Pittsburgh, PA 920 KDKA East Pittsburgh, PA

Chicago, IL 670 WMAQ/WJAZ Chicago, IL

Davenport/Des Moines, IA 620 WOC Davenport, IA

Detroit/Dearborn, MI 580 WWJ/WCX Detroit, MI

Cleveland/Toledo, OH 770 WBAV Columbus, OH & WJAX Cleveland, OH

Cincinnati, OH 970 WLW/WSAI Cincinnati, OH

Madison, WI/Minneapolis, MN 720 WLAG Minneapolis, MN

Reserved 870 KYW Chicago/WCBD Zion, IL

Reserved: 820, 1020

3 Atlanta, GA 700 WSB/WGM Atlanta, GA

Louisville, KY 750 WHAS Louisville, KY

Memphis, TN 600 WMC Memphis, TN

Saint Louis, MO 550 KSD Saint Louis, MO



Reserved 650 WCAE Pittsburgh, PA

Reserved: 800, 850, 900, 950, 1000

4 Lincoln, NE 880 ---

Kansas City, MO 730 WDAF/WHB Kansas City, MO

Jefferson City, MO 680 WOS Jefferson City, MO

Dallas/Fort Worth, TX 630 WFAA Dallas/WBAP Fort Worth

San Antonio, TX 780 WOAI San Antonio, TX

Denver, CO 930 ---

Omaha, NE 570 WOAW Omaha, NE

Reserved: 830, 980, 1030

5 Seattle, WA 610 KGW Portland, OR

Portland, OR 660 KDZE Seattle, WA

Salt Lake City, UT 960 ---

San Francisco, CA 590 KFDB San Francisco, CA

" " 710 KPO San Francisco, CA

Los Angeles, CA 640 KFI Los Angeles, CA

" " 760 KHJ Los Angeles, CA

San Diego, CA 560 ---

Reserved: 810, 860, 910, 1010

The Commerce Department made a tentative step in establishing frequency control standards by "suggesting" that stations stay within 2 khz of their assigned frequencies. This did nothing to reduce heterodyning interference between stations on the same frequency, but at least it would keep stations from drifting into neighboring frequencies. In spite of the suggestion, there would continue to be reports of stations straying far beyond the 2 khz standard. Although stations were now being assigned in neat 10 khz frequency steps, the public generally clung to the older, and less precise, wavelength nomenclature, usually stated to the nearest meter or tenth of a meter for the corresponding frequency. It would be more than a decade before wavelength references completely disappeared in the United States, and many in Europe (where AM stations are now allocated in 9 khz steps) still use the older terminology.

Continued Expansion and the Third National Radio Conference

In the year following the May 15, 1923 reallocation the number of Class C stations on 360 meters declined, so the gap of unused Class B frequencies around 833 khz also shrank. Also, with the reduction, and then elimination, of ship transmissions on 300 meters Class B stations were assigned to the frequencies around 1000 khz. However, problems continued, including a shortage of Class A frequencies. Hoover announced a third industry conference, beginning October 6, 1924. One of the conference recommendations was to increase the number of Class A frequencies. Under the May 15th allocation amateurs had gotten a little more breathing room, as Special Amateurs were permitted to move below the traditional 1500 khz (200 meters) to 1350 khz (222 meters). However, this expansion would prove short-lived in the face of broadcasting's appetite for additional frequencies. In July, 1924 the lower limit for amateurs had been shifted back to 1500 khz. Then, following the recommendations of the Third Conference, starting in November, 1924 Class A broadcast stations were assigned to fifteen additional frequencies from 1360 to 1500. Not that very many stations wanted to go there. Along with low powers, poor groundwave coverage, and interference from the nearby amateurs, these stations were faced with the fact that many radios didn't tune this high.




Following the conference Class B stations were allowed to experiment with powers of up to 5 kilowatts, to be attained in 500 watt steps. (RCA's proposal that stations be allowed to use up to 50 kilowatts was met with shock and a promise to study the matter further). By April, 1925 the elimination of the Class C stations on 360 meters was essentially complete, and the Class B stations filled in the freed-up frequencies. Thus, from the initial footholds at 360 and 485 meters, broadcasting had expanded in both directions, and now occupied all but the first 50 khz of the 200 to 600 meter band. (Broadcasting's low-end expansion ended at 550 khz due to the need to protect 500 khz -- 600 meters -- from interference. 500 khz was, and still is, an international distress frequency). The three Class A frequencies adjacent to the Class B band had been converted to Class B use, so the broadcast frequencies now consisted of 53 Class B (550 to 1070) plus 43 Class A (1080 to 1500), for a total of 96.

Class B Complexities

Throughout the mid-twenties there was a tremendous turnover of stations. However, whenever one disappeared another popped up to take its place. The overall number of stations fluctuated between 500 and 600. However, powers steadily increased, along with the resulting interference, especially at night. A major problem developed because of a lack of Class B frequencies. Although Class B radio stations were expensive to operate (and generally there was no direct financial return, as commercial sponsorship was only just beginning to appear) the prestige was great enough that more and more companies wanted one. The crush was exacerbated when the United States, realizing that an entire country was located to its north, informally set aside six Class B frequencies -- 690, 730, 840, 910, 1010, 1030 -- for exclusive Canadian use. (Recognition that other countries, such as Mexico, also existed would not come until 1940 with the NARBA agreements). As a partial solution, some Class B stations were placed on Class A frequencies, but this didn't do much to satisfy their owners. In 1925 the Commerce Department had experimented with shrinking the spacing between the Class B frequencies from 10 khz to 7.5 khz, but this proved unsuccessful. Finally, in October, 1925, the Commerce Department announced it would generally cease licencing new stations, because the broadcast frequencies were filled beyond capacity.



Legal Actions

Secretary Hoover knew the embargo was on shaky legal ground. For years he had pleaded with Congress to pass a new law, giving him clearer control of radio. However, the two branches of Congress had never come to an agreement, so radio remained under the increasingly creaky control of the 1912 Act. Moreover, station licencing was not the only area of legal challenge. The Zenith Radio Corporation operated WJAZ, a Class B station in Chicago, which it thought of as a showcase for the firm. Unfortunately, due to the Class B frequency shortage the station was assigned a grand total of two hours per week of air time, on 930 khz. Zenith found it's showcase wasn't very visible. So it moved to 910 khz, which had been one of the exclusive Canadian frequencies, and challenged Secretary Hoover to do something about it. Ironically, Zenith had no intention of diminishing Hoover's overall regulatory powers. It only claimed it found a small loophole which permitted frequency shifts for a handful of stations which, like WJAZ, had been granted "Developmental" licences. However, earlier challenges had not been favorable to the Commerce Department, and the effects of the WJAZ case instead would be sweeping. The Commerce Department challenged Zenith's move, and the case ended up in Federal Court in Chicago. In his April 16, 1926 decision, Judge James H. Wilkerson sided with WJAZ on its right to choose its own frequency. However, Wilkerson's ruling mainly addressed the legality of WJAZ's frequency shift, and did not delineate exactly what Hoover could and could not do. The Commerce Department debated whether it should appeal the WJAZ ruling. In the meantime, everyone looked to Congress to pass a new law to stabilize the situation. Congress promptly dropped the ball. Although both branches passed new laws, they were significantly different, and Congress adjourned in early July before the differences could be worked out in committee. Congress would return in session on December 8th, after the elections. Until then Hoover was on his own. Hoover's next step was to ask Acting Attorney General William J. Donovan for advice on what powers Hoover held under the 1912 Act. Donovan had a difficult task in trying to make sense of the Act and how it related to broadcasting. The bill's language was obscure at times, and some important sections were widely removed from each other, so that their exact relationship was unclear. The Act was oriented toward to regulating two-way communication, and allowed stations a great degree of flexibility. A key problem was in frequency assignments. The Act stated that stations were to be assigned a "normal wavelength", but they also were allowed to use additional wavelengths of their own choosing, as long as they fell outside of the 600 to 1600 meter government band. In fact, in keeping with standard practice, the first few broadcast licences were actually issued stating that the station's "normal" wavelength was 600 meters -- not that any broadcast station actually ever used this wavelength. Thus, their broadcast authorizations for 360 and 485 meters fell under the category of "additional" wavelengths. These early authorizations, following guidelines set by the Act, also required the stations be capable of communicating with ships on 300 meters, when needed. Not that it ever was. The Act was also ambiguous whether the Commerce Department could withhold licences from qualified applicants, or could regulate powers and hours of operations outside of the 600 to 1600 meter government band. Given the ambiguity of the Act, various opinions ranged from the extremes that Hoover either had complete authority to regulate broadcasting, or he had virtually none at all. Donovan released an opinion on July 8, 1926. It wasn't legally binding, but did give the Commerce Department an idea whether it should pursue an appeal of the WJAZ case. As it turned out, Donovan's opinion matched Hoover's worst fears. In Donovan's opinion, except for the government band Hoover not only had to issue licences to all upon request, but he also had no right to restrict frequencies used, hours of operation, or powers. Broadcasting had become a free-for-all. The only thing Hoover could do was ask stations for restraint and try to keep track of things until a new law was passed. Just before the breakdown of regulation Canada had complained that its six exclusive Class B frequencies were not enough. In the "wave jumping" by U.S. stations that followed, it would watch this number drop to zero.

A Little Bit of Anarchy

Because of the new state of affairs, the station list appearing in the December 31, 1926 issue of the Radio Service Bulletin included the following rueful disclaimer: "The power and wavelengths given in this table were compiled from applications for licenses



furnished the department by the owners of the stations. Since the department does not make assignments in either respect, this list is not necessarily in conformity with wavelengths or power actually used". Although the first few months saw relatively few changes, eventually a torrent of new stations and frequency changes developed. In an eight month period around 200 new stations flooded the airwaves. Many stations jumped from Class A to Class B frequencies. Some broke new ground, such as WOBB in Chicago, which was reported to be on 540 khz, a step below the former 550 khz lower boundary of broadcast frequencies. WHAP in New York City decided there was just enough room between WJZ-660 and WOR-740 for another Class B station, and it settled on the unorthodox new frequency of 697 khz. Another case where a station headed for a split frequency was KFKB in Milford, Kansas, which began operating on 695 khz. KFKB was owned by J. R. Brinkley, M.D., the infamous "Goat Gland" doctor. His later stations, on the other side of the Mexican border, would continue this affection for split frequencies. In some cases it's hard to determine exactly what frequency a station was operating at, because many were still reporting station wavelengths rather than frequencies. Thus, when KEX in Portland announced it was operating on 447 meters, it probably was specifying the nearest whole-meter equivalent for 670 khz. However, the Commerce Department dutifully divided 447 into 299,820, and reported that KEX was now operating at exactly 670.7 kilohertz. New York and Chicago were worst hit by the increase in stations and congestion, but the effects were felt nationwide, especially with an increase in nighttime heterodynes. In the West, one group of stations staged a novel demonstration in support of the restoration of government controls. According to the June, 1927 Radio Broadcast "Between the hours of eight and nine February 11, KFI, and ten other Pacific Coast stations presented what they termed an Interference Hour. The stations were paired off and so changed their wavelengths as to interfere seriously with one another. After an hour of squeals, howls, indistinguishable announcements, and distorted music, the stipulated wavelengths were resumed, following which pleas were made from each of the stations in support of the radio bill before the senate". Stations turned to the courts to clear things up. Eventually the courts would have stabilized the situation, as a series of rulings generally gave established stations priority and relief from interference from newcomers. However, these rulings were getting dangerously close to giving stations property rights to their radio frequencies, something the government desperately wanted to avoid.

Re-regulation

Congress reconvened in December, and work slowly began on the radio crisis. Although all agreed that something needed to be done, a controversy broke out whether to strengthen the powers of the Commerce Department, or form an independent commission, modeled after the Interstate Commerce Commission. Finally, on February 23, 1927, President Coolidge signed the newly passed Radio Act of 1927. A compromise, it set up a temporary independent Federal Radio Commission, which would have one year to settle the radio mess. After that most of its powers would revert to the Commerce Department. Most of provisions of the 1927 law were based on the recommendations made by the various Radio Conferences beginning in 1922. The United States was divided into five regions and five commissioners -- one to represent each region -- were appointed. Two promptly died. (Credo Harris of WHAS turned down the offer of a Commission appointment). It was a high pressure assignment -- radio broadcasting, although only six years old, was seen as a national resource. With the chaos radio sales had declined, and there was a sense that radio was being wasted. The whole country was watching.

Initial FRC Work

The FRC had to act carefully -- every decision was a potential court case. There were a total of 732 broadcasting stations when it took over, far more than could comfortably fit into the broadcast frequencies. The Commission was given the power to delete stations not found to be in the public "Convenience, Interest, or Necessity", but that didn't give it the right to arbitrarily delete stations in bulk. However, it did halt new station grants, except in a few underserved regions of the country. The Radio Act of 1927 explicitly protected stations from deletion for 60 days following the enactment of the new legislation. When this ban expired on April 25, 1927, the FRC made no move to start culling the broadcasting ranks. Instead, all existing stations were given "temporary" operating extensions. A series of 30 to 60 day extensions followed, eventually dragging out for more than a year.


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Ultimately stations would be required to formally apply for licences, which would give the FRC a chance to winnow the ones that didn't meet standards. But first the standards had to be developed. Until then, it was hoped that time would see an attrition in the number of stations. Meanwhile, information was collected on the stations, and various technical tests and studies were conducted in order to get an idea on what could be done with all of them. Although it was strongly hinted that the broadcast band would be extended by adding 50 broadcast frequencies from 1510 to 2000 khz, in the end the frequencies assigned to broadcasting remained unchanged. (The International Radio Convention of 1927, which met in Washington, DC, specifically set aside 550 to 1500 khz for broadcasting purposes). Among the first actions the FRC did take was to clear out the Canadian frequencies and get all stations back to 10 khz frequencies from 550 to 1500. This produced something roughly like the old Class A and Class B bands, but with a lot of shoehorning in of extra stations. Although they had done nothing illegal, most "wave jumpers" and stations that had popped up in the preceding few months did relatively poorly under the reassignments. Every few weeks or months new refinements were announced, and stations were shuffled to new spots on the radio dial. The commissioners made visits to the regions they represented, to consult with station owners and evaluate the situation. On their return stations within the region were juggled once again. WEBC in Superior, WI was allowed to increase its power from 250 to 1000 watts "in order to make certain that President Coolidge would have good radio reception at his summer home". Although the initial standards were fairly generous, the overall trend was to reduce interference by reducing the number of stations broadcasting simultaneously. This meant an increase in the number of stations forced to share time, or limited to daytime-only operation. The Commission made a special effort to clear the key frequencies of 600 to 1000 khz of "heterodyne and other interference", in order to give the listening public an island of better reception while the band was being reconstructed. The FRC applied pressure to get recalcitrant stations to cooperate, proclaiming "Broadcasters who are parties to placing annoying interference, instead of programs, on their respective channels are not looked upon as serving public interest, convenience, or necessity. Instead of creating good will for themselves certain radio stations have become extremely unpopular due either to blanketing or heterodyning interference, complaining letters indicate". It added "Regarding divisions of time requested, the commission feels a distinct service is rendered to any station which is encouraged to broadcast fewer hours under clear reception conditions rather than full time with its signals at most points utterly valueless". However, the clearing effort met with only limited success. The FRC set a new standard that stations would have to stay within .5 khz of their assigned frequencies. But this was still about twenty times the limit needed to avoid heterodyning other stations on the same frequency. And even this liberal standard proved difficult for most stations to meet. The key objective in the evolving FRC reallocation came to be the reduction of heterodyne interference, especially during the prime nighttime hours. It became clear the FRC was not going to finish its task in the year allocated by the 1927 Act. On March 28, 1928 Congress approved a one-year extension for the FRC, until March 16, 1929. Many wondered why the process was taking so long. Radio Broadcast informed its readers that, contrary to popular belief, "The Commission is not incompetent; it is impotent".

Portable Stations

The FRC did move aggressively against one class of stations that was a particular annoyance. The Department of Commerce had licenced "portable" stations, usually to transmitter manufacturers, who could move the stations from place to place for demonstrations. The FRC decided it wasn't required to regulate moving targets, so in April, 1927 it restricted portable licences to two frequencies -- 1470 and 1490 -- and announced that eventually all would be eliminated. As of early 1928 there were still about a dozen portable stations, but all were gone by July 1, 1928. Not all were deleted, however. A few were allowed to become permanent stations in underserved areas of the country.

Refining Standards

In March and April, 1928 the FRC, along with industry engineers, worked to finalize the new broadcasting band structure, choosing from among a number of plans submitted by various public and industry representatives. However, in addition to technical concerns, there was also a political one. The legislation continuing the FRC included a clause that came to be known as the Davis Amendment. It required that station allocations be equitably made between the states. The commissioners were divided whether the provisions of the Davis Amendment could be instituted over time or had to be implemented immediately. Finally the FRC started to pull everything together. All stations were required to formally apply for licences by January 15, 1928.



The FRC reviewed the applications, identifying stations which appeared to fall short of meeting the new Convenience, Interest, or Necessity standard. On May 11, 1928 the FRC issued General Order 32. It targeted 164 stations that the FRC felt had failed to meet the new public standard. Hearings would be held July 9, 1928, with the stations to be deleted on August 1st if they were unable to sway the Commission. Most of the stations contested their fate, and a majority survived, with the FRC actually complimenting the work of some of the challenged stations. Figures vary, but between fifty and ninety stations eventually disappeared, many by default or surrendering their licences rather than deletion, and many of the survivors had their powers and hours of operation reduced. Some of the deleted stations had been found to be no longer operational. Others had served as little more than platforms for their owners, used to fill the airwaves with personal opinions and attacks. Perhaps the oddest case was KFQA, licenced to The Principia in Saint Louis, Missouri. The FRC reported that "During the hearing, held on July 9, the representative of the station urged that all the applicant wanted was to maintain a licence from the commission but did not care about the transmitter". In other words, they wanted a licence, but didn't want to actually operate a station, preferring to broadcast through KWK's facilities. In deleting KFQA, the FRC noted: "This case is a good illustration for a direct application of the principle previously announced by the commission that it is not in the public interest, convenience, nor necessity to continue to licence a station which is not putting its transmitter to any use". (A year later KFQA got its wish, and it became a special callsign for KMOX when broadcasting Principia programming).

New Broadcasting Structure

With the broadcasting ranks now reduced to about 585 stations, the FRC finally announced the long awaited restructuring of the broadcast band. On August 30, 1928, General Order 40 described the new setup. It had taken more than a year for the FRC to come up with a definitive broadcasting reorganization, which was scheduled to take effect at 3:00 AM on November 11th. The Commission itself reported significant disagreement between the commissioners, and the best the final plan could muster was a four to one vote in its favor. The holdout was Commissioner Ira E. Robinson, who reportedly felt the commission was acting rashly, and had favored high-powered stations, to the detriment of the low-powered ones. Nor could Robinson be called a "good loser". After the new plan was announced, he released the following statement: "Having opposed and voted against the plan and the allocations made thereunder, I deem it unethical and improper to take part in hearings for the modification of same". Using legal language best described as "tortured", it was formally announced "That a band of frequencies extending from 550 to 1500 kilocycles, both inclusive, be, and the same is hereby, assigned to and for the use of broadcasting stations, said band of frequencies being hereinafter referred to as the broadcast band". The new plan organized the broadcast band in a more complicated manner than the previous Class B/Class A setup. Most noticeable was that, instead of two adjacent groupings, blocks of high and low power frequencies were placed at various locations within the band. Also, stations were now divided into three categories, which in time would become known as "Clear", "Regional", and "Local". Six of the 96 frequencies were off-limits for United States stations, as 690, 730, 840, 910, 960, 1030 were set aside exclusively for Canadian use. The United States was divided into five zones, and forty frequencies -- eight per zone -- from within the range of 640 through 1190 khz were assigned for the primary use of individual zones. These "Clear Channel" frequencies were the successors to the old Class B authorizations, and stations on them would eventually have powers up to 50 kilowatts. Forty regional frequencies were allocated, for stations using a maximum of 1000 watts, to be used concurrently in two to five zones. These were the successors to the old Class A band. Four additional regional frequencies were permitted to use a maximum of 5 kilowatts, as an incentive to get stations to accept the unpopular high-end frequencies of 1460 to 1490. (These frequencies would eventually be converted to Clear channels.) The final six frequencies effectively marked the reappearance of the old Class C 360-meter wavelength. These were to be used by "local" stations nationwide, with a 100 watt power limit. The overall structure of the November 11th reallocation has been modified over the years, but today's AM band strongly reflects this historic restructuring. Following is the frequency setup that took effect on November 11, 1928, from 550 to 1500 khz. Numbers in parentheses are the zones assigned dominant use of individual Clear Channel frequencies:

550 - 630: REGIONAL640 (5), 650 (3), 660 (1), 670 (4), 680 (5): CLEAR 690: CANADA (exclusive)700 (2), 710 (1), 720 (4): CLEAR730: CANADA (exclusive)740 (3), 750 (2), 760 (1), 770 (4): CLEAR



780: REGIONAL 790 (5), 800 (3), 810 (4), 820 (2), 830 (5): CLEAR840: CANADA (exclusive)850 (3), 860 (1), 870 (4): CLEAR 880 - 900: REGIONAL 910: CANADA (exclusive)920 - 950: REGIONAL960: CANADA (exclusive)970 (5), 980 (2), 990 (1), 1000 (4): CLEAR1010: REGIONAL1020 (2): CLEAR1030: CANADA (exclusive)1040 (3), 1050 (5), 1060 (1), 1070 (2), 1080 (3), 1090 (4),1100 (1), 1110 (2): CLEAR1120: REGIONAL1130 (5), 1140 (3), 1150 (1), 1160 (4), 1170 (2), 1180 (5),1190 (3): CLEAR1200 - 1210: LOCAL1220 - 1300: REGIONAL 1310: LOCAL 1320 - 1360: REGIONAL 1370: LOCAL 1380 - 1410: REGIONAL1420: LOCAL 1430 - 1450: REGIONAL1460 - 1490: REGIONAL (high power)1500: LOCAL

Radio Broadcast cautiously hailed the new plan. It noted that "We hesitate to praise any constructive step announced by the Commission because, up to this time, it has always reversed itself before promised reforms have been put into operation. It proposed to eliminate all stations persistently wandering from their channels, but backwatered before the echo of its brave statements had died out. It called a host of stations before it to prove they were operating in the public interest, necessity and convenience, and with great fanfare to the effect that they would be weeded out, but the actual result of the hearings was negligible. From past evidence, we cannot avoid fearing a complete reversal of form and a repudiation of the meritorious broadcast allocation plan". In spite of the fears of Radio Broadcast, the FRC moved forward. Its next hurdle was to assign stations to frequencies for their November 11th debut. There were still signs of tentativeness, as assignments were announced September 10th but then modified on three occasions in October. The Commission also made an unsuccessful effort to rationalize network operations. Chains had started to gain prominence, and the Commission was worried all its hard work would be devalued if all the strongest stations ended up carrying the same programs. However, the FRC eventually gave up its effort to reduce network broadcast duplication, and announced that instead the issue would ultimately be part of a comprehensive review of chain programming.

Effects of the November 11, 1928 Allocation

By all accounts the November 11, 1928 allocation was successful in greatly reducing interference. And the FRC was proud how few stations it had to delete along the way. However, many stations were unhappy with the new allocation, and some headed to the courts to get relief. Most were unsuccessful. Because of its emphasis on reducing heterodyning interference, the Commission had adopted a very conservative approach, assigning low powers and limited frequency slots. And although they hadn't been deleted, scores of stations had in effect been given death sentences. On the regional frequencies the FRC limited the number of stations operating concurrently to two to five nationwide. And, in major population areas the states were over-represented under the guidelines of the Davis Amendment. Thus, in major metropolitan areas, particularly New York and Chicago, the FRC in some cases required four, and occasionally five, stations to share the same frequency. It was impossible for a station to survive economically on a ration of a quarter or a fifth of a



broadcast day, especially with the coming of the Depression in late 1929. Fierce legal battles broke out, as stations used the FRC and the courts to wrest broadcast hours from -- or kill off -- the stations they were partnered with. Some of these legal battles lasted years and gained legendary status within the broadcast industry, and were credited with financing the college educations of numerous legal counsel's children. (Ironically, many educational stations were paired with commercial stations, which often lead to the demise of the educational stations. This was one of the main reasons educational channels were set aside when the FM band was created.) The final timesharing agreement in the New York City area wasn't consolidated until 1985, when WNYM (now WWRV) bought out WPOW to gain fulltime status on 1330 kilohertz, while the final timesharing arrangement dating back to November 11, 1928 -- WEDC/WCRW/WSBC on 1240 khz in Chicago, IL -- lasted eleven more years, until the owners of WSBC purchased WCRW, which stopped broadcasting in July, 1996, then bought out WEDC, which made its final broadcast June 12, 1997, to end 68½ years of time-sharing.

Consequences and Conclusions

The November 11, 1928 reallocation was a major achievement, as government regulators finally regained control over the broadcast band, lost a year and a half earlier. But there was still plenty of work to be done. The Commission had to refine the equalization of station grants, as required by the Davis Amendment. The early thirties saw the development of "vertical" antennas, which replaced the old "flattop" antennas. The new antennas had better groundwave coverage, at the expense of reduced nighttime skywave service. They also could be set up as directional antennas, which, combined with better frequency control that finally eliminated audible heterodyning, allowed closer placement of stations with less interference. Despite the FRC's "temporary" status, and court challenges by disgruntled stations over its constitutionality, the Radio Commission survived until 1934, when it was replaced by the Federal Communications Commission. (In contrast, Radio Broadcast expired in 1930). In the early forties the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreements extended the broadcast band to 1600 khz. However, the overall November 11, 1928 structure remained intact. The lower frequencies were unaffected, and in most cases where stations were moved to a new frequency, all the stations on a given frequency moved to a new dial position as a group. After World War II there was an easing of interference standards, and thousands of stations were added to the AM band. Still, even today, on many frequencies there is a core group of pioneer stations that have shared a common frequency since 1928. One change has been an increase in power limits -- to 50,000 watts on the old Clear and Regional frequencies (now known as Class A and B respectively), and from 100 to 1000 watts on the Local frequencies, now known as Class C. It's an overused phrase, but the best description of the November 11, 1928 reallocation is that it "brought order out of chaos". And nearly seventy years later this historic work still provides the underpinning for the AM broadcast band. From its tentative beginnings on 360 and 485 meters, and through its descent into chaos, broadcasting had finally been given a stable and secure foundation.

Allocation Overview Mid-1921 Ship Relay Ship

Ship Amateur

Dec. 1, 1921 Ship M/W Relay Ent. Ship Ship Amateur

Late Sep 1922 Ship M/W Relay B A Ship Ship Amateur

May 15, 1923 Ship ===Class B==== =C= Class B Ship =====Class A===== Amateur

Nov 1924 Ship ===Class B==== C ==Class B== ==========Class A========== Amateur

April 1925 Ship ===============Class B=============== ======Class A====== Amateur

7/1926-3/1927 Ship Anarchy Amateur

Nov 11, 1928 Ship FRC Reorganized Band: '''''''''|||||[|||[||||'|||||[|||''[''''[||||'|[||||||||'|||||||**'''''''''*'''''*''''*'''!!!!*

Kilohertz => 500 540 550 619 666 750 833 870 990 1000 1050 1060 1070 1350 1365 1500 >1500



Meters ==> 600 485 450 400 360 300 220 200 <200 The above chart is a general overview of the evolution of the broadcast band, and selected wavelength and frequency allocations from 1921 to 1928. Wavelengths are listed horizontally across the top of the chart, with the kilohertz equivalents directly below. Individual wavelength assignments are marked with a single entry, explained below. Bands of frequencies are marked with double lines. The entries include: M/W: "Market & Weather" (485 meters/619 khz) -- broadcasting wavelength used from December, 1921 to May 15, 1923 for official government reports, including market reports and weather forecasts. Discontinued after the May 15, 1923 expansion. "Ent.", A, C: Entertainment wavelength (360 meters/833 khz) -- broadcasting wavelength used for entertainment offerings beginning in September, 1921 and formally assigned December 1, 1921. In September, 1922, with the creation of the "Class B" entertainment wavelength, 360 meters became known as the "Class A" entertainment wavelength. On May 15, 1923, with the creation of "Class A" and "Class B" frequency bands, it became known as the "Class C" wavelength. It quietly disappeared in mid-1925 when the final holdouts were moved to Class A and B frequencies. B: Entertainment wavelength (400 meters/750 khz) -- created late September, 1922 for better quality stations. Expanded to a band of Class B frequencies on May 15, 1923. Ship: International ship wavelengths. 300 meters and 220 meters were quickly absorbed by the expanding Broadcast Band, while 600 meters (500 khz) remains an international distress frequency to this day, thus a barrier for any expansion of the AM band to lower frequencies. Relay: Special Amateur Relay (450 meters/800 khz) -- One of the wavelengths set aside for relay work by Special Amateurs. Special Amateur work was moved to the 1350 to 1500 band in the May 15, 1923 reallocation, and later discontinued altogether. Amateur: Standard amateur wavelengths. FRC Reorganization: Graphical representation of the 96 frequencies assignments, from 550 to 1500 kilohertz, under the November 11, 1928 plan. The following symbols are used:

Regional (40) '

U.S. Clear (40) |

Canadian-only (6) [

Local (6) *

High-power Regional (4) !

BIBLIOGRAPHY Following are the major sources for this work: DeSoto, Clinton B. "Two Hundred Meters and Down". The American Radio Relay League, Inc., 1936. Harris, Credo Fitch. "Microphone Memoirs". The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1937. Pejza, Father Jack. "A Beginner's Guide To The Ionosphere". DX Monitor, International Radio Club of America, March 25, 1972. "Commercial and Government Radio Stations of the United States". Annual list issued as of June 30th for 1920 through 1931 by the Department of Commerce.



QST. Selected issues from 1920 to 1922. Radio Broadcast. Selected issues from 1922 to 1927. "Radio Communications Laws of the United States and the International Radiotelegraphic Convention". August 15, 1919 edition. Issued by the Bureau of Navigation, Department of

Commerce. Radio News. Selected issues from 1920 to 1927, especially The Development of Radiophone

Broadcasting by L. R. Krumm, September, 1922, p. 467. Radio Service Bulletin. Issued monthly, beginning in January, 1915 by the Bureau of Navigation, Department of Commerce. Continued in various formats until 1952. Included occasional broadcast station lists plus changes in regulations, including FRC General Orders. "Regulations Governing Radio Communication". September 28, 1912, February 20, 1913, and

July 1, 1913 editions. Issued by the Bureau of Navigation, Department of Commerce. "Report of the Federal Radio Commission". Annual reports, 1927 through 1933.

● United States Early Radio History > Broadcasting Becomes Widespread ● United States Early Radio History > Original Articles


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March 10, 1922 U.S. Broadcast Station List

MARCH 10, 1922 BROADCAST STATION LIST 67 Stations

Allen, Preston D. Oakland, CA E KZM American Radio & Research Corp Medford Hillside, MA E WGI Atlantic-Pacific Radio Supplies Co Oakland, CA E KZY Bamberger & Company, L. Newark, NJ E WOR Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Inc Los Angeles, CA E KJS Chicago, City of Chicago, IL E WBU Church of the Covenant Washington, DC E WDM Cox, Warren R. Cleveland, OH E WHK Crosley Manufacturing Company Cincinnati, OH E WLW De Forest Radio Telephone & Telegraph New York, NY E WJX Detroit News Detroit, MI EM WWJDoron Brothers Electric Company Hamilton, OH E WRK Doubleday-Hill Electric Company Pittsburgh, PA E KQV Duck Company, William B. Toledo, OH E WHU Dunn & Company, J. J. Pasadena, CA E KLB Electric Lighting Supply Company Hollywood, CA E KGC Examiner Printing Company San Francisco, CA E KUO General Electric Company Schenectady, NY E WGY Gilbert Company, A. C. New Haven, CT E WCJ Gould, C. O. Stockton, CA E KJQ Hamilton Manufacturing Company Indianapolis, IN E WLK Hatfield Electric Company Indianapolis, IN E WOH Herrold, Charles D. San Jose, CA E KQW Hobrecht, J. C. Sacramento, CA E KVQ Howlett, Thomas F. J. Philadelphia, PA E WGL Karlowa Radio Company Rock Island, IL EM WOC Kennedy Company, Colin B. Los Altos, CA E KLP Kluge, Arno A. Los Angeles, CA E KQL Kraft, Vincent I. Seattle, WA E KJR Lorden, Edwin L. San Francisco, CA E KGB Marshall-Gerken Company Toledo, OH EM WDZ Metropolitan Utilities District Omaha, NE EM WOU Meyberg Company, Leo J. Los Angeles, CA E KYJ Meyberg Company, Leo J. San Francisco, CA E KDN Missouri State Marketing Bureau Jefferson City, MO M WOS Montgomery Light & Water Power Company Montgomery, AL EM WGH Newspaper Printing Company Pittsburgh, PA E WPB Northern Radio & Electric Company Seattle, WA E KFC Palladium Printing Company Richmond, IN EM WOZ Pine Bluff Company Pine Bluff, AR E WOK Pomona Fixture & Wiring Company Pomona, CA E KGF Portable Wireless Telephone Company Stockton, CA E KWG Precision Equipment Company Cincinnati, OH EM WMH

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March 10, 1922 U.S. Broadcast Station List

Precision Shop, The Gridley, CA E KFU Radio Construction & Electric Co Washington, DC E WDW Radio Corporation of America Roselle Park, NJ E WDY Radio Shop, The Sunnyvale, CA E KJJ Radio Telephone Shop, The San Francisco, CA E KYY Reynolds Radio Company Denver, CO EM KLZRike-Kumler Company Dayton, OH EM WFO Rochester Times Union Rochester, NY EM WHQ Seeley, Stuart W (US Weather Bureau) East Lansing, MI M WHW Service Radio Equipment Company Toledo, OH E WJK Ship Owners Radio Service New York, NY E WDT Union College Schenectady, NY E WRL University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN EM WLB University of Wisconsin Madison, WI EM WHA Warner Brothers Oakland, CA E KLS Wasmer, Louis Seattle, WA E KHQ Western Radio Company Kansas City, MO EM WOQ Western Radio Electric Company Los Angeles, CA E KOGWestinghouse Electric & Mfg Co Chicago, IL E KYW Westinghouse Electric & Mfg Co East Pittsburgh, PA E KDKAWestinghouse Electric & Mfg Co Newark, NJ E WJZ Westinghouse Electric & Mfg Co Springfield, MA E WBZ White & Boyer Company Washington, DC E WJH Wireless Telephone-Hudson County NJ Jersey City, NJ E WNO

List of stations broadcasting market or weather reports (485 meters) and music, concerts, lectures, etc. (360 meters), (March 10, 1922) from pages 13 and 14 of the March 1, 1922 (number 59) Radio Service Bulletin. NOTES: "E" stands for an authorization to transmit on the "Entertainment" wavelength of 360 meters (833 kilohertz), "M" stands for an authorization to transmit on the "Market and Weather" wavelength of 485 meters (619 kilohertz), while "EM" means the station was authorized to use both wavelengths. The following errors, which have been corrected in the list above, appear in the original list: Bamberger & Co.--call WCR incorrectly listed instead of WOR; Marshall-Gerkin--call WSZ incorrectly listed instead of WDZ.

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Radio News Extracts: Growth of the Broadcast Service (1922)

The adoption of the December 1, 1921 regulations by the Commerce Department restricted broadcasting to stations which held a Limited Commercial licence plus an authorization to use the Entertainment wavelength of 360 meters (833 kilohertz), and/or the Market and Weather wavelength of 485 meters (619 kilohertz). These new regulations meant that stations operating under other licence categories -- in particular amateur and experimental -- could no longer make broadcasts intended for the general public. The first list of broadcast stations operating under the new regulations was issued by the Bureau of Navigation for March 10, 1922--it included just 67 stations. However, the new broadcasting service grew rapidly nationwide, and only six months later exceeded 500 stations, again triggering concern that there were too many stations on the air. The following extracts from Radio News review the explosive growth, month by month, as broadcast stations were licenced in all of the then 48 states, plus the territories of Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. (The last state to get a broadcasting station was Wyoming, with the licencing of KFBU in Laramie on October 3, 1922).

Radio News, June, 1922, page 1136:

SOURCES OF ENTERTAINMENT, NEWS AND WEATHER REPORTS. Ninety-eight radio stations were broadcasting music, concerts, lectures, and market and weather reports, according to the Department of Commerce on March 23. Among the sending stations are 10 newspapers, a church, a Y. M. C. A., several large department stores, and two municipalities. Many manufacturers, radio sales and equipment shops, and five universities are also sending out amusement features in several forms so that today "all who listen may hear," just as all who "ran" have been able to "read" for many years. Even Hollywood, Calif., has a broadcast. On March 10 the list of broadcasting stations sending entertainment on 360-meter wave were as follows: [March 10, 1922 list: 67 stations]

TWENTY-SIX STATES BROADCASTING. Today there are broadcasting radio telephone stations in 26 states of the Union, California leading with 26 stations, Pennsylvania, second, with 11; New York, 9; Ohio, 8; New Jersey, 6 and District of Columbia, 5. Twenty other states have one or more stations, but 23 have no stations broadcasting as yet. Page 1218:

MORE ENTERTAINMENT IN THE AIR. During the past week 21 limited commercial broadcasting stations have been licensed by the Department of Commerce, among them five colleges, Purdue, New Mexico State, St. Joseph, St. Martins and Loyola. The Des Moines Register and Tribune has entered the aerial news field.

Radio News, August, 1922, page 237:

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BROADCASTING STILL INCREASING

With the licensing of 18 more broadcasting stations recently by the Department of Commerce, the country now has 253 stations sending out news, entertainment, and Government information. On March 10, there were but 67 stations broadcasting, showing that the number has practically quadrupled in two months, and that new stations are being licensed at a rate of three a day. It is not strange that everyone is wondering how long it will be before the ether is literally filled with music, news, market and weather reports, and the need for legislation is obvious. To aid the Secretary of Commerce in controlling commercial and amateur radio transmission, particularly radio telephone broadcasting, and to insure the maximum and practical use of the ether by assigning wave-lengths for specific purposes, a bill is in course of preparation. Following the recommendations of the Radio Committee which assembled at the call of Secretary Hoover, the final report was circulated in the Departments of War, Navy and Commerce, and it is understood, has received the approval of these agencies. A special committee composed of Senator F. B. Kellogg, Representative W. H. White, Jr., W. D. Terrill, Chief Radio Inspector, Department of Commerce and Mr. A. J. Tyrer, Deputy Commissioner of Navigation, Department of Commerce, met recently to go over the final draft of a proposed bill which Congressman White will shortly introduce in the House of Representatives. Present plans in Congress aim to push this needed legislation so that it will be enacted during the present session.

TRANSMITTING STATIONS TOTAL 19,067

A survey of all radio transmitting stations licensed by the Department of Commerce shows that there are today 19,067 stations. Of this number 15,495 are amateur stations, 348 experimental and technical training schools, 2,783 American ships and the balance, 439, commercial stations. Of this last number there are today 274 broadcasting stations, known as limited commercial stations, 20 of which were licensed recently. They comprise universities, municipalities, newspapers, electrical manufacturers and retail stores, sending entertainment or information on weather, crops and market reports. The growth of this class of radio stations has been remarkable; it jumped from 67 stations a little over two months ago to 274 today. Applications are filed on an average of about three or four a day.

TRANSMITTING STATIONS

Trans-Oceanic 11; General Public or "ship to shore" 31; Point to Point 124; Broadcasting 274; American ships 2,783; Experimental 225; Technical and Training Schools 123; Amateur 15,294; Special Amateur 201.

AMATEURS BY DISTRICTS

1. Boston 2,490; 2. New York 2,313; 3. Baltimore 1,831; 4. Baltimore (Savannah) 319; 5. New Orleans 699; 6. San Francisco 1,616; 7. Seattle 726; 8. Detroit 2,393; 9. Chicago 2,907. The Commerce Department does not regulate or record receiving stations, and will not guess at the



total number, now unofficially estimated at about a million and a half.

PACIFIC COAST STATES AND CITIES LEAD IN BROADCASTINGCALIFORNIA FIRST AND OHIO SECOND OF STATES, WHILE LOS ANGELES LEADS CITIES There were 310 broadcasting stations licensed by the Department of Commerce up to June 2d to send out news, entertainment and market and crop reports. This number would have been 314, except that four stations have dropped out of the broadcasting business. These stations--one each in Illinois, California, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia--are the only ones which have stopped broadcasting since last June, according to officials of the Department of Commerce Radio Section; whereas new stations are being licensed at the rate of about three per day. California takes the lead in broadcasting development, according to late figures, with 60 stations. Ohio is next with 23, Pennsylvania and New York are tied for third with 20 each, and Washington is a close fourth with 19, Illinois has 13, Missouri 12, Texas 11 and New Jersey, Kansas and Oregon follow with 10 each. Only six states and territories are without one of the modern sources of news, information and entertainment--Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, New Hampshire, Kentucky and South Carolina--although there are several states with but one station. [Note: The state of Mississippi and the territory of Puerto Rico, omitted in the list below, also did not have any broadcast stations at this time.] Los Angeles, like its progressive state, leads other cities in the number of broadcasting stations, with 19 in that city; Philadelphia is second with 7; and San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, New Orleans and Minneapolis have 6 each; while New York, Chicago, Washington and St. Louis have 5 each. It is obvious that the Pacific Coast states and cities lead in this development.

BROADCASTING STATIONS BY STATES AND CITIES

Alabama, 2--Birmingham 1, Montgomery 1. Alaska, 0. Arizona, 2--Phoenix 1, Tucson 1. Arkansas, 4--Fort Smith 1, Little Rock 2, Pine Bluff 1. California, 60--Altadena 1, Bakersfield 2, Berkeley 2, El Monte 1, Eureka 1, Fresno 2, Gridley 1, Hollywood 1, Long Beach 1, Los Altos 1, Los Angeles 19, Modesto 2, Monterey 1, Oakland 4, Pasadena 2, Pomona 1, Redwood City 1, Reedley 1, Sacramento 1, San Diego 4, San Francisco 6, San Jose 2, Stockton 2, Sunnyroll 1. Colorado, 5--Colorado Springs 1, Denver 4. Connecticut, 3--Greenwich 1, Hartford 1, New Haven 1. Delaware, 0. District of Columbia, 5--Washington 5. Florida, 3--Jacksonville 2, Tampa 1. Georgia, 5--Atlanta 3, Decatur 1, College Park 1. Hawaii, 2. Idaho, 0. Illinois, 13--Chicago 5, Decatur 2, Peoria 1, Quincy 2, Springfield 1, Tuscola 1, Urbanna 1. Indiana, 7--Anderson 1, Indianapolis 2, Richmond 1, South Bend 1, Terre Haute 1, West Lafayette 1.



Iowa, 5--Ames 1, Centerville 1, Davenport 1, Des Moines 1. Fort Dodge 1. Kansas, 10--Anthony 1, Atwood 1, El Dorado 1, Emporia 1, Lindsborg 1, Manhattan 1, Wichita 4. Kentucky, 0. Louisiana, 8--New Orleans 6, Shreveport 2. Maine, 1--Auburn 1. Maryland, 2--Baltimore 2. Massachusetts, 6--Boston 1, Medford Hillside 1, New Bedford 1, Springfield 1, Worcester 2. Michigan, 7--Bay City 1, Dearborn 1, Detroit 3, E. Lansing 1, Flint 1. Minnesota, 8--Minneapolis 6, Northfield 1, St. Paul 1. Missouri, 12--Columbia 1, Jefferson City 1, Kansas City 4, St. Louis 5, St. Joseph 1. Montana, 1--Great Falls 1. Nebraska, 4--Omaha 3, University Place 1. Nevada, 2--Reno 2. New Hampshire, 0. New Jersey, 10--Camden 1, Jersey City 1, Moorestown 1, Newark 4, Paterson 1, Plainfield 1, Roselle Park 1. New Mexico, 2--Roswell 1, State College 1. New York, 20--Albany 1, Buffalo 2, Canton 1, Ithaca 2, Newburg 1, New York 5, Ridgewood 1, Rochester 1, Schenectady 2, Syracuse 2, Tarrytown 1, Utica 1. North Carolina, 1--Charlotte 1. North Dakota, 1--Fargo 1. Ohio, 23--Akron 1, Athens 1, Canton 1, Cincinnati 4, Cleveland 1, Columbus 1, Dayton 1, Defiance 1, Danville 1, Hamilton 2, Marietta 1, New Lebanon 1, Portsmouth 1, Toledo 3, Youngstown 2, Zanesville 1. Oklahoma, 2--Muskogee 1, Oklahoma City 1. Oregon, 10--Eugene 2, Klamath Falls 1, Hood River 1, Portland 6. Pennsylvania, 20--Bridgeport 1, Brownsville 1, Clearfield 1, Crafton 1, East Pittsburgh 1, Erie 2, Harrisburg 1, McKeesport 1, Philadelphia 7, Pittsburgh 2, Wilkes-Barre 1, Villanova 1. Rhode Island, 1--Edgewood 1. South Carolina, 0. South Dakota, 1--Rapid City 1. Tennessee, 3--Memphis 2, Nashville 1. Texas, 11--Amarillo 1, Austin 1, Dallas 2, El Paso 1, Fort Worth 2, Houston 2, Paris 1, San Antonio 1. Utah, 3--Salt Lake City 2, Ogden 1. Vermont, 1--Burlington 1. Virginia, 2--Norfolk 1, Richmond 1. Washington, 19--Aberdeen 1, Bellingham 1, Centralia 1, Lacy 1, Seattle 6, Spokane 2, Tacoma 2, Wenatchee 3, Yakima 2. West Virginia, 3--Charleston 1, Huntington 1, Morgantown 1. Wisconsin, 3--Madison 1, Milwaukee 2. Page 379:



PORTO RICO AND SOUTH CAROLINA GET FIRST BROADCASTING STATIONS

The Department of Commerce issued 13 more broadcasting licenses during the past week, including one to a radio school in Porto Rico [Note: WGAD, Spanish-American School of Radiotelegraphy, Ensenada, June 19th] and one to a radio shop in Charleston, S. C. [Note: WFAZ, South Carolina Radio Shop, Charleston, June 17th] the first stations on the Island and in the State. This leaves but five States without one or more broadcasting stations. The 13 new stations licensed bring the total list of broadcasters in the United States and territories to 361.

Radio News, September, 1922, page 451:

NINE MONTHS OF BROADCASTING On June 30th the Department of Commerce licensed the 382d broadcasting station, issuing 21 during the past week. Within nine months all these broadcasting stations have sprung up until to-day the air is literally charged with news, music and data of various sorts. The future of radio telephonic broadcasting seems assured, as the remarkable growth still goes on at the rate of about three new stations each day. Since the advent of broadcasting only ten stations have dropped out of the new and fascinating game, and most of those on account of the termination or transfer of a business or due to the death of the owner. Among the recent stations deleted are the following: KGC--Electric Lighting Supply Co., Hollywood, Cal. KQL--A. A. Kluge, Los Angeles, Cal. WGH--Light & Water Power Co., Montgomery, Ala. WPB--Newspaper Printing Co., Pittsburgh, Pa. WQB--C. D. Tuska, Hartford, Conn. KOJ--University of Nebraska. Among the new stations listed recently is the first department of the American Legion to take up broadcasting, the Nebraska Department of this organization having been assigned the call, "WGAT," the last three letters of which seem to have a special military significance and recall a weapon with which most veterans were familiar not so long ago. A newspaper in Fort Smith, and one in South Bend, have put in broadcasting stations, making nearly fifty dailies with private stations, while three more universities have opened stations.

Radio News, November, 1922, page 1017:

IDAHO JOINS BROADCASTING STATES Among 12 broadcasting stations licensed by the Department of Commerce during one week recently, there were two in Idaho, one of the five states which had no broadcasting station. They are operated by an electric shop in Moscow [Note: KFAN, The Electric Shop, July 6th] and a firm in Lewiston [Note: KFBA, Ramey & Bryant Radio Co., also July 6th]. Wyoming will soon be in the broadcasting field, it is reported, and then there will be but three states with no radio news distributing stations--Mississippi,



Kentucky and Delaware. Los Angeles appears to be pretty near the saturation point, as far as radio broadcasting is concerned, as with 29 stations in the vicinity contributing to the aerial barrage of news, music and entertainment, time schedules and Wave assignments will be necessary soon. Three daily papers took up broadcasting recently, one school of music, and the city of San Jose, California.

Radio News, September, 1922, page 480:

ALL BUT TWO STATES NOW BROADCAST The states of Kentucky and Mississippi went on the Department of Commerce's Broadcasting Map last week when stations in Louisville [Note: WHAS, Courier-Journal and Louisville Times, July 13th] and Corinth [Note: WHAU, Corinth Radio Supply Company, July 14th] were licensed. There are but two states, Delaware and Wyoming, left without broadcasting stations, every other state of the Union having one or more dispensers of news and entertainment via the ether. Eleven limited commercial stations licensed last week bring the total broadcasters to 406. Of the new stations, Nevada, District of Columbia, California, New Jersey, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Montana and Wisconsin, besides Mississippi and Kentucky, opened one station each.

Radio News, October, 1922, page 632:

451 BROADCASTERS OPERATE IN ALL STATES EXCEPT WYOMING When KDKA, the first broadcasting call, was assigned nine months ago to the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co., East Pittsburgh, Pa., even the Chief Radio Inspector did not suspect that today there would be 451 stations broadcasting, one or more in every state except Wyoming. The growth has been phenomenal, but at the same time healthy, for the applications for broadcasting station licenses continue to pour into the Department of Commerce at the rate of about three a day, with very few withdrawals. During the week ending July 29 twenty-six more stations were licensed, including the stations of the Wilmington Electrical Specialty Co. [Note: WHAV, July 22nd], the first in the state of Delaware, which leaves but one state without a broadcasting station. Wyoming, last of the states alphabetically, is also the last of the states to take up radio communication. There are no public service or broadcasting stations there, no experimental or technical operators and only three special or advanced amateur stations; one each at Douglass, Casper and Elk. In the whole of the Seventh Radio District, comprising Wyoming, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, there are only about 750 amateurs transmitting, while in other districts the number runs into two or three thousand. Evidently something must be done to awaken the great Wyoming to the call of the air, when even the smallest state, Delaware, has one broadcaster. Naturally the greatest number of broadcasting stations are operated by electrical manufacturers and dealers, but one of the keenest interests displayed is that of the press of America : sixty-eight newspapers are broadcasting today for the benefit of their readers and the public in general. Last week five joined the throng, one each in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska and Wisconsin.



Radio News, December, 1922, page 1087:

FIRST BROADCASTER IN ALASKA IS WLAY Thirteen regular broadcasting licenses, now known as Class "A," were issued by the Department of Commerce during the week ending September 30, among them the first broadcasting station in Alaska, WLAY, the station of the Northern Commercial Company, located at Fairbanks, [Note: First licenced September 27th--Alaska was a territory, not a state, at this time] nearly in the center of that territory, will broadcast a program of entertainment for the benefit of the citizens within a radius of about 500 miles. Page 1138:

CALIFORNIA LEADS IN BROADCASTING STATIONS--SERVICE CONTINUES IN

ALL BUT ONE STATE Broadcasting still continues in all but one state in spite of the pessimistic reports from some quarters that this service, which is likened to a fad, is falling off and likely to collapse. On September 21, there were 510 active broadcasting stations, according to a survey by the Radio Section of its Limited Commercial Stations, operating on 360 meters. California still leads the procession, with 66 stations sending entertainment, news and information; Ohio is second with 34; and New York third, having 28 stations, while Wyoming brings up the rear without a single station. Every other State of the Union has one or more transmitting stations carrying entertainment in some form for the owners of receiving sets.

NUMBER OF BROADCASTING STATIONS BY STATES ON SEPTEMBER 21, 1922

California 66; Ohio 34; New York 28; Pennsylvania 27; Texas 25; Washington 23; Missouri 22; Illinois 20; Iowa 20; Nebraska 17; Oregon 15; Kansas 15; Minnesota 12; Indiana 12; Massachusetts 12; Michigan 11; New Jersey 11; Louisiana 10; Wisconsin 10; Florida 9; Dist. of Columbia 8; Oklahoma 8; Georgia 7; Arkansas 6; Colorado 6; Arizona 5; Connecticut 5; Idaho 5; Rhode Island 5; West Virginia 5; Alabama 4; Maine 4; Utah 4; Kentucky 4; Montana 4; Maryland 3; North Carolina 3; South Dakota 3; Tennessee 3; Nevada 2; New Mexico 2; North Dakota 2; Porto Rico 2; South Carolina 2; Hawaii 2; Vermont 2; Virginia 2; Delaware 1; Mississippi 1; New Hampshire 1; Wyoming 0. Total: 510. Page 1156:

BROADCASTING INCREASES FIVE-HUNDRED FOLD IN YEAR. STATIONS NOW IN

EVERY STATE--ONLY 23 OUT OF 558 LICENSES LAPSE By WASHINGTON RADIO NEWS SERVICE

There were 546 broadcasting stations in the country on October 5; one or more stations supply radio enthusiasts with all the in every state of the union. These stations supply radio enthusiasts with all the entertainment, news, government data on weather, agriculture, health, and other subjects that they can



listen to all day and far into the night. But the total of 546 stations, is literally too great, and the stations are not well distributed, according to the Department of Commerce officials. Most of the broadcasters are located in the east and southwest, where time schedules have to be employed to avoid interference. The public would be better served, it is believed, if there were fewer stations and they were more widely distributed or located in proportion to areas and population; 535 stations are broadcasting on 360 meters, the balance on 400 meters.

SIFTING OF STATIONS NEEDED

"What is needed now," one official explained, "is a sifting out of the lesser stations, which are not rendering satisfactory service and popular entertainment, so that the Radio Public can listen in to good music, authoritative statistics and current news." The creation by the Department of the Class B license, granted to only the superstations, will guarantee high-class entertainment and excellent radio service, since those stations are granted authority to use a special wave-length of 400 meters. There are 11 of these stations located in seven states, making good programs, without mechanical music and cheaper forms of entertainment, available in practically all the Eastern and some central states, where the fans listen in on 400 meters, watching local papers for the daily programs. The 535 stations operating on 360 meters will have to look to their programs, as public opinion will indicate which of them are to continue in service for any length of time. The operating expense is so high that eventually only the good ones with sound backing will remain.

BROADCASTING IN EVERY STATE

With the issuance of a license in Laramie, Wyoming, [Note: KFBU, The Cathedral (Bishop Thomas), October 3rd] every state in the Union has one or more broadcasting stations. As has been the case since the industry got a fair start, California still leads, having today 66 stations; Ohio follows with 35 and New York is third, having 30.



Microphone Memoirs--Station Establishment Extract

Kentucky was one of the last states to get a broadcasting station--its first was WHAS in Louisville, licenced in July, 1922. WHAS was from the start a well run operation, with a top-of-the-line 500-watt Western Electric transmitter. When the station signed on for its debut public broadcast, it operated on the standard entertainment wavelength of 360 meters, or 833 kilohertz. If a receiver tuned to WHAS had been sealed that inaugural day and reactivated today, with some minor adjustments it would still be tuned to the station, as WHAS is now assigned to 840 kilohertz, and still located in Louisville. The reference to the "Detroit" radio station was one operated by the Detroit News, which have been involved with radio broadcasting since August, 1920.

Microphone Memoirs, Credo Fitch Harris, 1937, pages 11-24: I

WHEN my friend, Judge Robert W. Bingham, publisher of two large and influential newspapers--later to become the American Ambassador to England--telephoned me one peaceful April morning in 1922, there was evident, if restrained, excitement in his voice. "What are you doing today?" he asked. "Finishing the ninth chapter of my next book." "Have you seen the Courier-Journal?" "No." "You may be aware of the fact that there is such a newspaper?" he pleasantly inquired. "Vaguely." We both laughed. "Then finish your ninth chapter--it's doubtless terrible--and drop in today, if you can." Meanwhile I sent for the morning C-J and saw, streamer-fashion across its front page, that he intended building a "radio telephone broadcasting station." In those years it rated that staggering title. But I might as well have picked at random any four Sanskrit words in a Hindu temple, for all the enlightenment they brought me. Fate had mischief in her eyes that day. I was writing my sixth book and the contract called for its delivery the following November. It was to be quite a book, too, if you want to know! Indeed, I completed the chapter that forenoon with a sigh of satisfaction, for my young and fiery heroine--then but thirteen--was stretched lengthwise on the lowest limb of a giant oak tree beneath which, she had overheard the night before, two men were to fight a duel at dawn. But Fate was spinning a different weave, and I have left her in that tree now these sixteen long years. As I entered my friend's office, he began at once: "I am intending to build a radio telephone broadcasting station, and hope you can organize it for me--get it going!" "I never heard of it till this morning--don't know what it is!" "No one else does, much," he answered. "It's new, and amazingly incredible. There's one in Detroit, I understand--or maybe it's Pittsburgh. If you have no engagements, you might run up to those places and see!" "What does it do?" I asked, thinking of my next chapter. "I am told," he began--and then launched into a tale more weirdly impossible than anything to be

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found in the Arabian Nights. Fascinating, yes, but utterly, absurdly visionary. Yet he continued, pointing out blessings which the ridiculously mysterious jigger would bring to humanity, to the isolated, sick and blind. He said that my voice would carry without assistance for more than a thousand miles---- I interrupted nervously: "You mean my voice?" A vague uneasiness for this beloved friend had started a rippling in the skin of my back. "Certainly! It will span bridgeless chasms, fly over tree tops! By stretching a piece of wire along the roof of a mountain cabin, the family living there can manipulate a little box and find themselves in a pew of a city church, in a seat at a concert or desk in a University." I was now alarmed. He had been working intensively on a number of interests, and I conceived the idea that his nerves were beginning to pay the piper. While I wondered how I might diplomatically suggest a cruise or other complete rest, he read these thoughts in my lugubrious face and burst into one of the most wholesome and contagious laughs I have ever heard in my life. "That's what I thought about the manufacturer's representative who told me," he kept on laughing. "But, seriously, it is said to perform all those things. It surpasses legerdemain, and even approaches divine miracles. It may be a divine miracle, if handled properly. I intend getting one for the citizens of Kentucky and Indiana, to give them pleasures, diversions, religious consolation, simple rules of hygiene--in fact all manner of enlightenment, especially to some parts of our mountains where a fine and forthright people are completely shut in." He talked for another half hour, then paused: "If you could see your way to get it organized for me--perhaps ask your publisher for an extension---- Long before that my fears had flown, and in their place came a kind of hypnotic sublimation which held me agape before this man-made thaumaturgical invention. I had been led into the garden of Parizade and placed beneath her Singing Tree whose leaves dripped harmonies. So--I sent the telegram. Thus was it that I stepped into the most exacting, maddening yet satisfying profession of the twentieth century. Please understand, the credit is not mine. It belongs to that friend who was courageous enough, public spirited enough, to lay his money on a dream. Full fifteen years have passed since then. The present age of broadcasting and its commercial aspects is a far cry to that early little band of adventurers, asleep to the possibilities of making money, who were reconciled and indeed quite happy to give with a prodigal hand in lieu of a daily bushel of "thank you" letters. So much white water has roared down the rapids that some may find it difficult to understand the publisher's willingness to build an expensive apparatus solely to benefit mankind. One might pardonably infer that, even though no financial return were possible from the station itself, he hoped it would be a means of increasing the circulation of his newspapers. Such a result did become patent within a year or two, but when we first discussed it upon that memorable day, which changed the current of my activities, he was drawn by its fascinating mystery as an agent of public service. It was too strange and new for wider comprehension. This I know, as I have known him, his mind, his great heart for half a lifetime. We were but gazing uncertainly into a feeble dawn, but his penetration reached much farther than my own. Such an utterly diversified change in the conduct of its affairs from then to now, and the terrific speed with which broadcasting has advanced, seem to have thrust its beginnings deeper into the past than they actually were. The drama of their early days is practically lost. Especially our first two toddling years might be



entitled to a small niche in this twentieth century of swift progressiveness before entirely retreating beyond the reach of memory. Their secrets lie before me in a huge mass of yellowing papers, already covered with dust, which are the only source now extant to reveal the intimacies of the birth and rearing of the first licenced radiocasting station in Kentucky, one of an early handful in the United States, which operated on the highest known power for broadcasters then devised by engineers--500 watts. Contemplating those two tempestuous years one is subconsciously touched by the ancient saw that "the first two years of marriage are the hardest," but no discord in wedlock, no union of Incompatibles, has yet produced for man or woman such derangements as the borning and weaning of that cantankerous little devil, named WHAS, which thrilled the country in those early days of what Congress now calls "The Art." Today broadcasting is matter of fact. The romance of listening to voices coming through the air without visible assistance, penetrating walls, water and earth with equal facility, has to a great extent disappeared. The receiving set is no longer an object of amazement. Its place in the American home is permanent and, perhaps because it is more used than any other fixtures except beds and chairs, the mysteries back of it have become commonplace. Not so with the debut of that old broadcaster. The whirl of its adventures were so interwoven with smiles, laughter and tears--even quasi tragedies--that it would be impossible to do them full justice without embracing too great an exactness of detail for a one-volume book. Much, therefore, shall be omitted which might otherwise reflect the station's early influence upon educational, civic and religious life within the hearing of its voice. As each day brought at least one event worthy of being recorded, those first two years alone--a period now viewed through dim glasses--would mean the inditing of upwards of a thousand such incidents. It is no use trying. Only a few peaks may be recounted here from the jumble of old records, but if they re-create certain erstwhile memories now lost in the acceleration of development, these pages may be said to have served their purpose.

2

HAVING gleaned all that was gleanable from the studio director in Detroit, while our one and only operator drew dark secrets from a chap who toyed with a slide-rule and posed as "technician," we dashed back to Louisville agog with knowledge. What a pitiful amount was required in those days! The Department of Commerce controlled whatever radio affairs were astir at the time, for the Federal Radio Commission and the subsequent Federal Communications Commission were pleasures yet to be experienced. Under the Department of Commerce reposed the Bureau of Navigation whose chief, Hon. David Carson, had, by genial permission or otherwise, practically as much say-so about this infant industry as Mr. Secretary Herbert Hoover, himself. I rather thought at the time that neither of them took their child very seriously. Subsequently they did, as they also became my friends and advisers on many occasions. Thus to that Department we wrote that I was coming for a license to operate. The law requiring such procedure seemed scarcely to have been printed long enough for the ink to dry. There was no question of denial, for what difference could a radio station make in the serenity of our national life? Who wanted to spend money for one of them, anyhow, when few people would go to the costly trouble of buying some mysterious kind of a contraption which might, or might not, enable them to listen? And listen to what?



More particularly, for how long? The great American public knew little or nothing about it, and even those who did, conceived it to be a sort of glorified toy that would soon drop into disuse, like Christmas dolls and wind-up trains. Such expressions were not infrequent after the newspaper story apprised our town of what was coming. The average Mr. Citizen merely followed the skepticism which beset many great inventions during their days of infancy. In the Department of Commerce a young man stated that our call letters were WHAS, our wave length 360 meters, except when broadcasting weather reports when we would use 485 meters. "What does WHAS stand for?" I asked. "Search me," he answered agreeably. "But what does that mean about 360 meters for programs and 485 for weather?" "I suppose you'll have to work it out for yourself. I'm just reading it off your license." "Your gratuitous information is dazzling," I murmured. "It's like the man who gave a beggar a penny and asked him how he became so destitute. 'Same as you, sir,' wheezed the beggar. 'I was always giving away vast sums to the poor and needy.'" His smile told me that he had heard it before. "Please realize," I continued seriously, "that you're looking upon the neediest needy who ever came in here. Isn't there anyone who can shine a little more light on the situation?" "Secretary Hoover is in a meeting and Mr. Carson's away on a government boat. I doubt if the President would know. You might ask Congress. Anyway," he added genially, "I was told to keep this for you. You'd better take it." And thus our first license was literally thrust at me. Looking back, it seems unbelievable that there should have been no "hearings," no entanglements, nor even a pleasant little legal battle which today, in similar circumstances, would be fought out before a body of honorable gentlemen,--the Radio Division of the FCC--sitting in bane with the wisdom of Solomon stamped upon their patient faces, as they listen to a flow of technical nomenclature that fifteen years ago had not got into dictionaries. Since those early days The Art has added a thousand words to our vocabulary--many of them unprintable. That license, dated July 13, 1922, specified "360 meters for broadcasting music and like matter; 485 meters far broadcasting weather reports," and further granted us "unlimited time" of operation. But the dictates of caution, which actuate ventures of border scouts and pioneers, caused us to proceed merely with programs from four to five o'clock each afternoon and from seven-thirty to nine on weekday evenings. As the entire twenty-four hours had been given over to us, those periods could be changed without further official parleys, and they were, indeed, frequently extended for special occasions. On the other hand, I recall moments of aural agony when I wished they might have been condensed to extinction. In the beginning when 360 meters had been assigned to all stations, happily there were only a few and those widely scattered. For, although we did not become aware of it until later, it was impossible to tune those clumsy little transmitters with any reasonable degree of accuracy and, because of that, their mutual interference was negligible to the listener. Crystal sets, which remained constant and only caught the nearest signal were almost entirely used at first. But shortly more efficient types began to be manufactured which could "pull in" distant stations, and therefore if all transmitters were operating on a precisely fixed frequency, with no variations whatsoever, listening to any particular one would have



been unpleasant because of heterodyning from the others. That gradual improvement in receivers, as well as correspondingly more efficient transmitters, resulted in the necessity of giving stations different wave lengths as at present. But that came later.

Pages 28-31: Our license was good for ninety days. Before the end of those three short months we were told to file another application for a further ninety-day permission. That procedure continued until a few years ago, when licenses--or franchises--were extended to the noble length of six months. Some future historian will write the surprising anomaly of these present day big businesses, which high powered stations have come to be, possessing faith enough to risk a fortune in an undertaking that holds no guarantee of continuance beyond half a year. For a station cannot own its wave length, as Congress had decreed that all radio channels belong to the public domain. I pray you, do not entertain the idea that our path is strewn with roses. In recent hearings before the Federal Communications Commission, broadcasting during those first two years that we operated was twice referred to as "the prehistoric era." And, indeed, that expression fit it like a girdle. The dawning industry, compared to its present development, was tolerably suggestive of that first imaginary animalcule which emerged from ooze to become, in time, a mastodon--or man, if my fundamentalist friends will permit the simile. Not until 1922 did the Secretary of Commerce consider broadcasting important enough to call a meeting of its widely scattered station managers and engineers, whereat both he and they floundered in possibilities, nodded sagely over probabilities, and spent hours discussing supposedly known principles which a year later were discarded in as many minutes. That nullifying process took place at the Second Radio Conference in 1923, which brought even fresher possibilities and probabilities--though we were still in the "prehistoric era." Yet most of us by then were of a notion that we knew enough to formulate certain rules by which the budding Art might be guided to a fruitful destiny. And so we proceeded to do, with no slight feelings of importance. Gathered about the council table, someone said in a voice that shook with emotion: "Gentlemen, this meeting is epochal! It will go down in history!" He may have been thinking of Independence Hall, or Runnyrnede. After the three days of profound concentration that it took us to hitch our wagon to a fine big star we adjourned, shook hands gravely--I blush to say pompously--with the Mr. Secretary who thanked us for our fine work. Then we bade adieu to the city of Washington, but had scarcely got settled down again back home when the star ran off and our wagon was a sight! The Horse and Buggy Days witnessed nothing so complete in the realm of demolition. This required a Third Radio Conference, in 1924. It began to look as if each succeeding conference was called to patch up the wreckage of its predecessor. But it is none the less true that broadcasting managers--an accepted misnomer--had yoked themselves with a youngster of such terrific speed, so agile in its changes from one aspect to another, that none of them was quite able to cope with it. It required special training of temperament which our former sane lives had failed to take into account. Without being able to do anything about it, we found ourselves dashing around in a wilderness of split-seconds. Moreover, while we slept, unexpected theorems



sprouted, grew, bloomed and had dropped their seeds by the time we came down to breakfast. Such devastating surprises even subdue the emotional squirt of a grape-fruit. Before luncheon new and untried mechanical appliances had, from all sides, sprung upon The Art with a confusion of madness, and by evening a visitor could instantly recognize the station manager by the wild, roving look in his eye. On such a track began the race of radio with modern progress, and it has been tearing along--hell-bent, devil take the hindmost--ever since.

Pages 34-35: Since the station was formally established as a department of two daily papers, and their articles of incorporation were changed to embrace it, we became by law and mutual interests one of that large family--the baby, true enough, yet definitely creating a third factor in the organization which was now composed of: a morning newspaper, an afternoon newspaper, and WHAS. This I particularly wish to stress, because many of the old records on which my yarn is built happen to be closely interwoven with news rooms, and I would not have you feel that I am going far afield to make copy when the station's affairs and those of the Fourth Estate become properly identical. Such instances cannot entirely be ignored, although they shall be touched upon as infrequently as possible. Our first idea of locating the studios in the parent building was discarded when it became known that vibrations of the presses would work havoc with microphones and other delicate radio adjustments. So we were given space high up in an adjacent storage building, where silence was the only virtue, and the construction of quarters went forward. I shall never forget that studio. To reach it you had to take the Courier-Journal elevator to its topmost limit. There, amid the unceasing noise of busy linotypes, you might gaze around more or less helplessly until directed to a solid iron door. Two feet beyond this you came upon an iron and asbestos fire door. We must have been expected to burst into flames at almost any moment, because the underwriters specified fire doors aplenty. Stepping then upon an iron platform which spanned a dizzy height between the two buildings, you would climb a narrow iron stairway. It was not uncommon to see visitors carefully avoid touching that iron hand-rail, lest they receive some kind of an electrical shock--for the average mind was obsessed by curiously superstitious fears concerning us. At the top of these stairs stood a large porcelain drinking water affair which a janitor filled each morning with ice. A few paces farther, still overhanging the chasm was the little motor generator. Then, turning left, you would pass another fire door and enter oar reception room. To one side of this stood the transmitter behind a glass partition, with a large and threatening red sign: "DANGER." Straight through the reception room was my office.

Page 46: I may have mentioned that our first summer was excessively warm, the heat in our studio terrific and the air unspeakable. If so, it is because the padded, tightly shut room has left an everlasting impression upon me. After a night program, when a dozen horn blowers had done their half hour, to be followed by a vocal chorus of thirty minutes, and this succeeded by still another thirty minutes of arias, ballads and recitations, there was nothing so sweet as a breath of outside air, even in the alley. Of course, all has changed now. Our present large and beautiful studios are air conditioned and we work in the lap of luxury. Money was at hand to be lavishly spent for our comfort in those days, too! But acousticians were



as far behind in the science of treating such rooms as we were in the art of radio, itself. No one was to blame.

Pages 99-104: 8

OUR STATION had not been operating a week before the wildest rumors and imaginative tales began to reach us. Many of these apparently had some foundation of fact, many came from sources which might have been considered unimpeachable. Several groups were formed for research into psychical phenomena, the belief being that, here at last, radio was the key to unlock their mysteries. One morning a gentleman appeared in my office. He seemed to possess the gift of deep, dark silences, and his face was gravely authoritative. He advanced with the slow, solemn stride which Edwin Booth might have used in an entrance for Hamlet, and his voice was a musical diapason, exceedingly attractive. The cut of his coat suggested a rural minister--although he might not have been, for he offered no card or introduction, and I have never seen him since. "This will have to he curbed," he said, with undenying finality. "Yesterday afternoon I took a walk across my farm. A flock of blackbirds passed over. Suddenly one of them fell to the ground dead. Your radio wave must have struck it." He paused. His timing was perfect. "Suppose that wave had struck me?" Now that was rather stumping. I had not been up against anything like it before. The straight-forward path of inexorable logic pointed otherwise, yet how could one apply logic to radio? Anxiously I ventured: "Suppose the blackbird had reached his three score years and ten, and just naturally passed out?" He pondered this. There was something about the "three score years and ten" which touched him, for no doubt he was more familiar with theology than ornithology. "Perhaps," he murmured. "Perhaps. But I have warned you!" And, turning, he left. Do you know, I actually began to entertain the ridiculous idea that our radio wave might have killed that blackbird? And, if it had, how many more fatalities should later be laid at our door? Please understand that we were all very young in The Art! Furthermore, my seat of thought is wide enough to accommodate a superstition or two. I consulted our technician. "Maybe," he sagely nodded. "But why didn't it kill all the blackbirds?" I insisted. For, the fact of the matter was, I greatly desired his complete negation to the whole absurdity. With puckered brow he merely shook his head, but the next day handed me a sheet of formulas intended to show how one blackbird might be killed and the others escape--formulas embracing cube root, cosines, coefficients and submultiples until I was dizzy. I gave up. Yet it was not altogether a giving-up matter. This broadcasting business, obviously, threatened to lead into places too inexplicable for the human mind to follow. That same day he demonstrated one mysterious peculiarity of these "electro-magnetic" waves, as they were called. He took an ordinary electric light socket, screwed in a sixty watt bulb, then attached in the usual manner two long wires. One of these he fastened to the iron hand rail of our stairs, the other he carried into the next building and touched it to a metal radiator. Result: the light burned brightly! Yet we



could feel no current. It was magic raised to the nth degree. Small wonder if we were half expecting any dire thing to happen! Wild and woolly fancies continued to spread throughout the public mind. If it rained too hard, letters came accusing us; if it did not rain enough, we were again to blame. About that time a sharp thunder storm broke over the city and, of course, our station attracted it. "I never had lightning knock bricks off my chimney before," wrote an indignant homesteader. "What do you think I am, anyway?" Not knowing, how could I reply? One man heard queer noises in the fireplace, and his wife had had "historics." A woman could not sleep o' nights, and someone told her that our waves played over the metal springs in her mattress. She was afraid to get into bed; she had sat up the last forty hours. Would we stop it, or would she have to sue us? A nicely phrased letter on engraved paper apprised us of the lamentable fact that the floor boards in the writer's new home had begun to creak. The builder said that radio was drying them out. Would we have them fixed, or should she attend to it and send us the bill? Another: "They say radio brings in sperets and hants. I doan want no truck with ghostes so plese turn them waves some other way." And this note came:

"My little girl thowed up in school today. She ain't given to thowin up and they say its radio and you got to give her sumthing."

All such accusations were answered tactfully, and sometimes a considerable correspondence resulted because of these apparently strange phenomena. A woman, more neurotic, writing in a fine old-fashioned hand, said that while she was listening to WHAS her husband, who had died thirty-eight years ago, appeared in the room with her. She knew that radio was the agency which brought him, but she had waited for nearly a week and he had not returned. Could she come and sit in the station, and watch for him there? "You see," she added a pathetic touch, "when he was on earth we had no such thing as radio, and he is probably confused about it, especially as he possessed no aptitude in mechanical matters. I think it likely that he is getting on the wrong wave and being carried somewhere else." I could have sworn from the bottom of my heart that the gentleman lurked not upon our premises, and assured her with equal truth that if he happened to come wandering in some day he would certainly have to lurk alone. That chap who wanted "no truck with ghostes" spoke my language. But something entirely different had to be concocted for this delicate one who must have spent years in vague and fantastic melancholy. It required gentle stepping, and I thought hard over an answer, almost wishing that a few of our departed "analysts" might return. (Sorry! I thought I had told you about the analysts! But they will appear in a later chapter, if I ever get to it.) Anyhow, I did wish for one! Each day her letter stared up from my desk, until it began to take on accusing eyes. I covered it with papers, but it seemed to have the faculty of looking through them. I tried replying to it, but never got very far. Then, one morning---- She entered, bringing that long ago froufrou of taffeta on taffeta. I had not heard it since childhood,



but it used to charm me in a delightfully tantalizing way, and I shall welcome the return of that old fashion in women's dress. Our interview was lengthy, for she presented a problem at once formidable and fragile. At first agitated, somewhat frightened by her strange surroundings, it was not long before a few tears came to soften the deep lines in her face, and the deeper pain in her heart. With a touch of exquisite pathos, she murmured: "Our love is like the throb of violins. I cannot bear to think of him being lost." God grant that she took away some small measure of comfort.

Pages 108-109: As time passed, superstitions concerning us grew less, and the day finally arrived when we could almost look our fellow creatures in the eye without flinching. Those noises in the fireplace proved to be gusts of wind; the woman was sleeping well upon her mattress with its radio affinity; the little girl stopped "thowin up," and forecasts of "Fair with occasional showers" seemed satisfactory. I could not feel really critical of their enkindled phantasmagorias. Radio was so utterly new, so completely mystifying! They looked up on it very much as an awe-struck Indian might have watched the first steamboat churning its way into the silent waters of his tribe. Nor could I forget that with but a little encouragement I had been ready to swallow that blackbird yarn in toto! Yet these "weird" people could not keep still for long. As one group made its exit another came on our stage. They appeared and disappeared with uncanny regularity.



Man in the Moon Stories--Chapter I (1922)

The Man in the Moon stories were read by Bill McNeery, initially over Westinghouse's WJZ, and later over WOR, the Bamberger and Company station. Both these stations were located in Newark, New Jersey -- the same city where, a decade earlier, children had listened to Uncle Wiggily and Three Little Trippertrot stories read over the Telephone Herald. The WJZ broadcasts began in October, 1921, and the original plan was for the author, Josephine Lawrence, to read the stories herself. However, there was a last minute change, as recounted by WJZ announcer Tommy Corwin, in Ben Gross' 1954 book, I looked and I Listened:

"A woman was running a series of juvenile stories in the Newark Sunday Call. So we asked her to read these over the air. Our studio was situated on the top of one of the factory buildings and to reach it one had to climb a fifteen-foot iron ladder which led through a hole in the roof. Well, it so happened that this lady was afraid to make the climb and we had to drag her up forcibly. She was so frightened that she fainted. Bill McNeery, a reporter on her paper asked, 'Now what do we do?' "'It's your paper; so you do it,' I said to Bill, giving to him a sheet on which several of her stories were pasted. "'Yeah,' said Bill, 'but what do we call it?' "Just then through a window, we saw a big moon in the sky. 'I'll give you a name--The Man in the Moon,' I said. So McNeery read the story and became 'The Man in the Moon,' one of the most beloved characters of the early days of radio."

The Man in the Moon series was one of the best known programs on the air in radio's pioneering days. The show was even parodied -- WDY, RCA's short-lived station in Roselle Park, New Jersey, countered with a story series read by the "Man in the Room", who made his way into the studio (via sound effects) by crashing through a skylight window. Below is the first chapter from the book, which was the opening section in a five-part series reviewing The Adventures of The Gingerbread Man. (This series concluded with the The Gingerbread Man wedding Princess Charlotte Russe. There is no information whether the clock, damaged in the first chapter, was ever successful repaired.)

Man in the Moon Stories, Josephine Lawrence (illustrations by Johnny Gruelle), 1922:

MAN in the MOON STORIES

Told Over The

RADIO - PHONE

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By JOSEPHINE LAWRENCE

First Stories For Children Broadcasted By Radio

Illustrated By JOHNNY GRUELLE

Author of "RAGGEDY ANN" and "RAGGEDY ANDY"

NEW YORK CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY

PUBLISHERS

INTRODUCTION DEAR CHILDREN:-- You know the Man in the Moon--you have all seen his jolly face beaming down at you from the great yellow moon. Whenever you see him he is smiling and you know, just to look at him, that he is good-natured and happy and very fond of the little children at whom he smiles. Although you have all seen the Man in the Moon, not all of you have heard him. It wasn't until recently that he could talk to little earth folk, not till the radiophone was perfected. There he lived on the Milky Way this Man the Moon, with the Star Children, but he couldn't speak to you because there was no way to make you hear him. The radiophone, which is the wireless, has made it possible for the Man in the Moon to talk to you. And as soon as he found the children could hear him, he began to tell stories. The Man in the Moon told the first story for children ever told by radiophone and the first stories he told are those in this book. As he told these stories to children, the Man in the Moon named stars for them, bright, twinkling stars that stay shining as long as little people for whom they are named are good, but which turn dull and cloudy when the children are naughty. The Man in the Moon wants every child to have his own star; if you look inside the cover of this book you will find yours. As soon as your name is written on your star, you will be one of the Man in the Moon's Star Children. Please don't forget, the way to keep your star bright and shining is by singing as much as you can and never pouting at all--you'll really find it easy. Pages 1-12:



I. THE ADVENTURES OF THE GINGERBREAD MAN

CHAPTER ONE

HE STARTS OUT

THE Gingerbread Man was very beautiful. You would have said so, if you had seen him. He was dressed in a suit of brown that

shone almost like satin. The buttons were of pink sugar, sweet and hard, and the suit was trimmed with wavy lines of white sugar. The Gingerbread Man had currant eyes and a nose of citron and he looked good enough to eat. He positively did. "I am so lovely," he said to himself as he lay in the glass case that stood in the bakery, "that I am sure someone will buy me and put me in the parlor on the mantelpiece. I am as handsome as a clock or a cut-glass vase would be." The Gingerbread Man had a kind heart, but dear me, I am afraid he was slightly vain. The glass case was lined with mirrors and he could see himself as often as he wished to look. And a vain person should not look in the glass too often because that makes him worse. One day an old lady came into the baker's shop to buy a loaf of bread. When she saw the Gingerbread Man she asked the baker to take him out of the case and let her see him. "My, but he is a handsome Gingerbread Man," said the old lady. And the Gingerbread Man said to himself that she was certainly a wise woman. "He is so handsome," the old lady continued, "that I think I must buy him and take him home to my little grandson. Yes, put him in a nice white paper bag and I will take him home with me and the next time I go to visit my grandson I shall take him the Gingerbread Man." The Gingerbread Man was so excited at the thought of going somewhere that he did not have time to feel sorry because he was leaving the baker's shop which had always been his home. He was popped into a paper bag and the old lady put the bag in her satchel and away went the Gingerbread Man to begin his Adventures. It was dark in the satchel and the Gingerbread Man, of course, could not see where he was going. He wondered what was happening to him and where he was being taken, when all of a sudden the bag was opened and the old lady reached in and took out the paper bag with the Gingerbread Man in it. "If I leave it in my bag too long, I am afraid it will melt," said the old lady aloud. She was talking to herself as the Gingerbread Man soon discovered. There was no one else in the seat with her and she was on a train. She put the Gingerbread Man, still in his paper bag on the seat beside her. The top of his currant eyes just showed over the edge of the bag "How nice it is to travel," said the Gingerbread Man to himself. I have always wanted to see the world. I hope that I am going to California." But just then the brakeman of the car opened the door and shouted "Greenwood! Greenwood! All out for Greenwood!" and the old lady picked up her bag and hurried to the door. She left the Gingerbread Man in his paper bag lying on the seat. She had forgotten him. "Well, look at this!" said the conductor when he came through to collect tickets. "Look at this handsome Gingerbread Man! I'll take him home to my little girl." "I thought I was going to a little boy, and now I am going to see a little girl," said the Gingerbread Man. "Surely I am going to have an exciting life." The conductor took the paper bag with the Gingerbread Man in it and put it away with his overcoat when he left the train that night, he put the bag in his pocket and the next thing the Gingerbread Man knew a little girl had opened the bag and pulled him out. "Oh, Daddy!" the little girl cried. "What a wonderful Gingerbread Man. Where did he come from?" "I found him on the train where someone had forgotten him and I brought him to you," said her daddy. "I hope you will see that he has a kind home." The little girl said that she would be very good to the Gingerbread Man and she took him upstairs, and put him on the window sill so that he could look out of the window. But oh, my, what do you suppose happened? The little girl's mother came in long after the little girl was asleep and she raised the window to let in the sweet cold night air. She did not see the beautiful Gingerbread Man and he fell out of the window and down upon the ground. But don't be sorry, because it really did not hurt him. He landed on a soft mat of grass and there he lay till something soft and furry, that walked on four little feet, came pattering up to him. Yes, you have guessed it--the something was a little dog. He took the



Gingerbread Man in his mouth and away he ran. The Gingerbread Man was frightened at first, but the little dog carried him so gently and pattered along so smoothly that presently he was not afraid at all and rather enjoyed himself. "Little dog," said the Gingerbread Man politely, "where are you taking me?" "Ubble-gubble," answered the little dog, because of course he could not talk plainly with the Gingerbread Man in his mouth. Presently the little dog stopped running and began to walk. He walked in a gate and up a long path, up to the front door of a house which was painted white with green blinds. Then he scratched at the door with his paw. "Why, here's Toby!" cried a little girl, opening the door. "And oh, look what he has in his mouth! Such a beautiful Gingerbread Man." "Where did you find the Gingerbread Man?" asked the little girl's brother who had come running to see what Toby had found. "Woof! Woof!" replied Toby, his tail, wagging "Woof!" And only the Gingerbread Man knew that he said he had found him under a bush on the grass while he was out hunting for woodchuck. The Gingerbread Man, you see, could understand what anyone said. "He is such a beautiful Gingerbread Man," said the little girl to her brother, "that I think we should put him on the shelf beside the clock, as Mother does the pretty vases. He is prettier than any vase I ever saw." "Yes, he is," said the little boy. "I will get a chair to stand on and then I will climb up and put him beside the clock." "No, I want to climb up and put him beside the clock," insisted the little girl. And wasn't this dreadful! the little girl took hold of one side of the chair and the little boy held on to the other, and they pulled and they pushed and cried and argued till their mother came in and stopped them. And, when she had heard what they were quarreling about, she said she was surprised. And the little boy had to go and sit in one corner and the little girl in the other one and neither one could put the Gingerbread Man on the shelf beside the clock. Their mother put him there, and very handsome he looked. That night, after everyone in the house was in bed and asleep, the Gingerbread Man heard someone talking. "Tick-tock, tick-tock!" said the little voice. "What in the world shall I do? Tick-tock there is no one who can help me." "I'll help you, if I can," cried the Gingerbread Man, "What is the matter?" "Why something is the matter with one of my wheels," groaned the clock. "Tick-tock--there, every time say that, something catches. I think it is dust. If you put your hand in there at the hole in my back I am sure you can fix it." "But suppose I make you worse?" asked the Gingerbread Man doubtfully. "I don't know much about clock wheels." "Tick-tock!" groaned the clock. "Tick-tock. Oh, you can't hurt me--just stick in your hand and pull out that cobweb of dust." The Gingerbread Man did as he was told and put his hand in at the hole in the back of the clock. "Whir-rr! Whizz! Whir-rr bang!" went the wheels inside the clock and then the tick-tock stopped. "Clock, clock!" cried the Gingerbread Man. "Is anything the matter? Did that hurt you? I was afraid I would hurt you, you know." The clock did not reply and though the Gingerbread Man listened intently, there was no sound. "Dear clock!" he cried again. "Please answer me--why don't you say tick-tock any more?" But the clock said never a word and its wheels would not go round. The Gingerbread Man called loudly for Toby and the little dog came pattering in from the hall where he slept on a rug close by the door. "The clock won't say 'Tick-tock' any more," cried the Gingerbread Man. "Oh, what shall I do? What will the little girl's mother say when she comes in and finds that her clock is broken?" "Oh, my!" said the little dog in great dismay. "Oh, my, that clock is a very expensive clock. It is too bad you broke it." "Couldn't you mend it?" begged the Gingerbread Man. "Oh, I couldn't mend a clock," answered Toby, the little dog. "Dear me, no, I wouldn't know how to go about it. I think you



had better run away." "But that would look as though I were afraid," protested the Gingerbread Man. "I don't want to be a coward." "If you could talk to Mrs. Mother and explain that you only put your hand in the clock because he asked you to, that would be all right," said Toby. "But as you cannot make anyone understand what you are saying, it will not be cowardly if you go away. I will take you, if you will say where you would like to go." "I'd like to go back to the baker shop," sighed the poor Gingerbread Man, "but that must be miles from here. Where else could I go, Mr. Toby?" The little dog thought for a few minutes, and then he said he would take the Gingerbread Man out to a farm which was not very far away.

"And no matter if all the clocks in the house ask you to put your hand in their backs and fix the wheels, don't do it," said Toby severely. The Gingerbread Man promised that he would never touch another clock. "But how am I to get down from this high mantelpiece?" he asked anxiously. "And how will you get out of the house when all the doors are locked?" "I can climb up on a chair and take you off the shelf," said Toby. "And I think I can manage to climb out of the cellar window." So the little dog climbed up on a chair and gently took the Gingerbread Man in his mouth and climbed down again. Then he scuttled down the cellar stairs and into the cellar. One of the windows was open, to let in air, and the little dog kicked and scuffled till he had knocked the screen out. Then away he ran, the Gingerbread Man in his mouth. This time the Gingerbread Man did not talk to him, because he knew he needed all his breath for running. Soon the town was left far behind, and they were pattering along over a country road. The little dog did not stop until he came to a farmhouse, painted white and set back from the road. "I think this will be a good place," he said to the Gingerbread Man as he put him down on the front steps. "I am sorry I cannot wait to find out if any children live here,

but I have to run all the way back so that I will be in our house by breakfast-time." "I hope some children do live here," said the Gingerbread Man, "but of course you cannot wait to see, Toby. Thank you very much for bringing me here, and if you can ever make the people understand that I did not mean to break the clock, please do." The little dog promised and reminded the Gingerbread Man once more not to touch another clock. Then he started off up the road, to run home before breakfast. The Gingerbread Man sat on the steps and wondered if the people who lived in the house would be nice to him. "I hope they will be glad to see me," he said to himself. "I am sure I am just as beautiful as ever, and not one of my pink sugar buttons are missing. If any children live here, they will be pleased to find me, I am sure. My goodness, I do believe they are getting up." Sure enough there was a noise in the hall, as though someone were unbolting the door. It was morning by this time, you see, and time to start a new day. As the Gingerbread Man listened, the door opened and a woman appeared wearing a blue and white gingham apron, with a broom. "She is going to sweep the porch--I hope she will see me first," said the Gingerbread Man and he was so excited he almost bounced off the steps. The edge of the broom was almost on the Gingerbread Man and he thought he was going to be swept off, when the woman saw him. "My goodness me!" she cried in great surprise. "Here's a Gingerbread Man! Some child must have been playing on the steps and left him. But I wonder who could have been here?" She picked the Gingerbread Man up and carried him into the house. "Now, let me see, where would be a good place to keep him?" she said aloud. "I will save him for Jennie, I think I'll put him



up here behind the cracker jar and when Jennie comes over, I'll ask her if she would like to have him." The glass cracker jar stood on a table in the dining room, and the Gingerbread Man propped his feet against it and stared about him. He wanted someone to talk to. "Hello, where did you come from?" asked Cracker Jar suddenly. "I--I just came," stammered the Gingerbread Man. "Say, are there any children in this house?" he asked eagerly. "No, there are no children who live here," answered the cracker jar. "But a little boy and girl live on the next farm, and they come over here very often." "Is the little girl's name Jennie?" asked the Gingerbread Man. "Yes, it is, how did you know?" said the cracker jar. "Oh, he heard Mrs. Anderson say she was going to keep him for Jennie," chimed in the china sugar bowl. "Didn't you, Mr. Gingerbread Man?" "Yes, I did," replied the Gingerbread Man. "I hope Jennie will come over soon. What is the little boy's name?" "Jimmie," said the cracker jar. "Jimmie Mason." Presently Mrs. Anderson brought the breakfast in and she and her husband sat down at the table to eat it. "What is that up there behind the cracker jar?" asked Mr. Anderson as soon as he saw the Gingerbread Man. "Oh, that is a gingerbread man," explained Mrs. Anderson. "I found him on the front steps when I went out to sweep early this morning. I am saving him for little Jennie Mason." "Jennie Mason has so many dolls and toys, she really doesn't need a gingerbread man," said Mr. Anderson, who was a tall, jolly-faced man with twinkling, smiling eyes. "Why don't you give him to me for poor little Charlie Crane, who has to sit in a chair all day and play with toys on the window sill? He hasn't ever had a gingerbread man to play with, I'm sure." Good Mrs. Anderson said of course Charlie Crane should have the Gingerbread Man, and as her husband said he was going to drive to town that morning and would pass Charlie Crane's house on the way, she hurried off to wrap the Gingerbread Man in a nice piece of tissue paper. "Now I never will see Jennie Mason," mourned the Gingerbread Man to the cracker jar. "But Charlie Crane is the nicest little boy!" the cracker jar cried. "Just think, he has been sick for nearly a year and he hasn't been cross about it once." Mr. Anderson tucked the Gingerbread Man, all wrapped in white tissue paper, into his coat pocket and a half hour later started for town. The Gingerbread Man was so curious to see where he was going, he managed to work his head out of the paper and to peer over the edge of the pocket as Mr. Anderson was driving. He found that he was in a wagon harnessed to two black horses. "My goodness me!" cried Mr. Anderson suddenly, pulling out his watch. "Here it is half-past nine and I have promised to be at the town hall at a quarter of ten. I will never have time to go all the way up the Crane's lane to their house. I know what I'll do; I'll put the Gingerbread Man in the mail-box; that will be a surprise for Charlie." He took the Gingerbread Man out of his pocket, wrote hastily in pencil on the wrapping, "For Charlie" and stopped his horses before a small tin box nailed to a post on one side of the road. The Gingerbread Man could not see any house, but he knew there must be one near. Mr. Anderson put him in a box and half closed down the lid. Then he drove on. "What in the world will happen to me next, I wonder?" said the Gingerbread Man.



Microphone Memoirs--Programming Extracts

In the early years most radio stations didn't sell airtime or run commercials, so they couldn't afford to pay performers, and were dependent on unpaid amateur talent for most of their programs. In order to fill their schedules, stations came up with a wide variety of innovative offerings. This extract reviews this period of pioneering broadcasting, especially 1922 and 1923, at WHAS in Louisville, where Credo Fitch Harris was the station manager.

Microphone Memoirs, Credo Fitch Harris, 1937, pages 42-51: After our return from Detroit, while waiting the arrival of the transmitter and the completion of that iron platform between buildings so we could cross without having to swing on ropes like Sinbad, I found another office space and began to write masses of letters. The director up in Michigan strongly advised this, for his station had opened nine months before my visit and he was old with wisdom besides having lost twenty pounds. Following his tip, I gathered a list of musical persons in Louisville and contiguous areas, and began my letters--explaining what a radio telephone broadcasting station was and inviting them to come and register their willingness to entertain for us--free of charge, as a matter of course. The idea of paying radio talent was then as remote as selling time to advertisers. I was careful not to say to the prospects as much as the publisher had told me that first day I called upon him, for had I got into the enigmas of "a small piece of wire on a cabin roof," and the manipulation of "a black box" acting as a magic carpet to whisk them over the earth or even to Mars, they wouldn't have come anywhere near us. They might have turned and run at my approach. And we needed them, not alone their abilities but their friendship, faith and loyalty. For it should be remembered there were no networks in those days, and no electrical wizard had devised a way of picking up entertainment by telephone lines at remote control points. Every program we broadcast had to originate within our own padded room, so it was necessary to have a long string of volunteers on call and for them to be dependable enough to cross our threshold promptly thirty minutes before starting time. Otherwise there would be no concert, or one that got off late. What those troubadors wished to sing or play I left to their own choosing, and half an hour was none too long in which to orientate their introductions, think up a few words about each musical selection and, if possible, some interesting fact concerning the life of its composer. Although the Department of Commerce had granted us use of the entire twenty-four hours, should we want it, on the other hand there might be trouble afoot were we to remain entirely silent or even tardy in beginning periods which we had publicly committed ourselves to fill. So my letters, while meant to be subtly enticing, were emphatic. You may think that the preparation of shows from four to five o'clock every afternoon, and seven-thirty to nine each night except Sundays, would be quite a simple undertaking. Comparing that weekly total of sixteen hours to our present schedule of one hundred and twenty-four, it is. But sometime when you've nothing else to do, try it for a few years, depending entirely upon unpaid amateur talent. First, however, accept a friendly tip and engage your room in a sanitorium. The scores of daily replies which began to arrive reflected a fine co-operation. Except for a few who expected babies, I do not recall that any declined. At times the queue of registrants outside my door seemed interminable. One woman with tender eyes, whose telltale throat hinted at how long ago she had passed the age of

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feminine despair, came to say that although she had not been invited nor had she sung for several years, she would gladly make an exception in our case; and that her husband, "celebrating tomorrow his seventieth birthday" had really a lovely tenor voice. This is not written in levity or disrespect. It was a kindly and courageous gesture--more kind than wise, perhaps. A stout heart rested there, and if the voice had wandered off and got itself lost in the shadows of proud memory, what of it! A few weeks later, when driven desperate by a last minute cancellation of a flu-stricken quartette booked for the afternoon program, and further distracted after my secretary and I had called a score of telephone numbers only to find they led into an epidemic of colds, I bethought myself of the elderly soprano and her seventy-year-old husband tenor. You understand that I was quite desperate. The starting hour was close upon us. Another telephone call! Almost at once a taxi was speeding after them, and they arrived breathless but in time. Writing this many years later, I am glad they had that one great radio adventure. Of its kind, it was their only one. Both have since joined the Celestial Choir. Sweet sing to them! As our opening night approached, citizens almost raided electrical stores to buy crystal sets and earphones. Tube receivers had scarcely come into the broadcasting picture. A scattered few were built by budding young engineers (without loud speakers, of course), yet they spread out over so much room--or rather so many rooms--that few homes were physically able to house them. Crystal sets were fairly good while they worked. On going dead, the frantic fan would wiggle his wire whisker to another part of the crystal, or another, and still another. Then he might dash to the medicine chest and give it a dab of rubbing alcohol. If that failed he might put it in the oven for a ten minute baking. Meanwhile the concert was probably over. Those were good recipes in their day and generation, and during our first year of broadcasting we must have repeated them by telephone to a thousand anxious inquirers. Carefully I had gone over my talent list and picked out the choicest material for our first big night, announced to open Tuesday, July 18, 1922. A cinema concern moved in to take a thousand feet of film. Some of it they shot in the afternoon, keeping a reserve for the first studio program. That reel, by the way, was later shown in almost every theatre of size throughout Kentucky and southern Indiana. By half past six o'clock newspaper photographers, executives, departmental heads, reporters and a few especially invited others had arrived, and were very much in the way, standing around with mouths more or less agape while cautiously refraining from coming into contact with any metal surface. Will I ever forget it! We were to open at seven-thirty o'clock. Yet by seven each singer and instrumentalist was placed, as well as eminent citizens who, according to pre-arrangement, were to be introduced to our great unseen audience. Then the movie men began to grind. Their klieg lights added to the dazzling ensemble, and to the heat. By seven-twenty the studio was closed. There we waited as the clock ticked off minute after minute. Mercury in the thermometer was about the only other thing that moved. Then, one by one handkerchiefs appeared, but I frowned them back into their pockets. Handkerchiefs might make a noise. Two minutes more to go! At the end of those torturous one hundred and twenty seconds a red signal light would flash on the studio wall, and we would be--on the air! I explained this quickly in a hoarse whisper, and once more warned the room to silence. No cough! No sneeze! My heart was pounding. Our star soprano was breathing painfully. I could see the contralto's pulse beating in her throat. All nerves were tuned to concert pitch. Suddenly the red light glowed! Someone gave a little gasp. I, also, wanted to gasp, but swallowed it and exclaimed in my best manly voice: "This is WHAS, the radio telephone



broadcasting station of the Courier-Journal and the Louisville Times, in Louisville, Kentucky!" It was the first cry of our infant broadcaster. A rather long cry, but a lusty one. I had rehearsed it at home until the family was almost crazy, and had further prepared a brief explanation of what our adventure hoped to accomplish. Those who lived more than a thousand miles away were asked to wire us, collect, if they heard us or not--a somewhat ambiguous Irish twist which got by without comment. But afterwards a destitute creature accused me of having said to send those telegrams "prepaid" instead of "collect." Maybe so. Now came the moment for introductions of executives and a few broad-browed notables who were waiting in line, pale and perspiring. They looked frightened and forlorn. I recall thinking that they looked very much as I felt. It was expected, as a matter of course, that when their names were called each would step forward and at least say "Good evening," or "How-do-you-do." But microphone-itis is a fearful disease, and as one after the other was presented he made only a low, courtly bow in the most--or nearly most--approved drawing-room manner, with never a word coming from his frozen lips. Those silences were awful. They fairly thundered, seeming to shatter the calm air with earsplitting roars. It is gratifying to exonerate our president, the publisher, from any such exhibition of microphone fright. He was out of the city. Yet, even if he had stood in that palpitating line-up, I shall not believe he would have let me down as those others did. Until then he never had, nor has he since, so without conclusive evidence I find it difficult to conceive his nerve failing at the very moment when our little bark launched upon uncharted seas--and rough seas, too! However, (there's always a however) that old carbon microphone produced amazing and terrifying effects upon those who faced it! Buck ague, fire panics, bayonet charges were child's play in comparison. I did not sleep much that night.

4

GOING in town next day I passed a church. On the bulletin-board out front was the subject of the pastor's following Sabbath sermon: GOD IS ALWAYS BROADCASTING. Broadcast had instantly taken its place in the public mind. At least, throughout our locality, it became an active and controversial subject of conversation, whereas two months earlier the word was scarcely mentioned. In fact, I did my utmost at dinners and other gatherings to steer away from it, rather than openly admit ignorance. But that minister's salesmanship appealed to me and, wishing to enlarge upon a beautiful thought, I added to our schedule a Sunday forenoon service from ten to ten-thirty o'clock, quickly ordered a melodeon moved into the studio, and an electric motor device placed outside the wall to keep the bellows pumped up.

Pages 55-56: Hundreds and hundreds of pathetically grateful letters from shut-ins really plunged me into a black depression. I had had no concept of the fact that there could be so many paralytics, lame, halt or blind tucked away--with tender care, for the most part--in top or back rooms of as many homes. While visitors



came and went below stairs, those others were the attic hermits whom the public did not see. It was only when our station became a daily companion that their years of loneliness found expression in penciled words. These were not local, by any means. From Wethersfield, Connecticut, came a letter--it lies before me--saying: "I am glad to write and congratulate you on your wonderful broadcasting. I have a broken back, and your station makes a fellow feel happy, and the programs are marvelous. I want to send my congratulations and best wishes, and hope they will be accepted as I always enjoy tuning in your station." He was one of the early investors in a tube set, quite new upon the market, using earphones, of course. That, and other such letters, more than repaid our public-spirited publisher for his heavy expenditures in radio. His dream was coming true; a genuine satisfaction in bringing to just such unfortunates a new and exciting pleasure was his dividend. While many wrote touchingly about the Sunday morning services, which were of a more personal nature than musical broadcasts, several hinted at a drawback, and it became apparent that some means must be devised for annihilating the spiritual distance between microphone and listener, pulpit and pew. Because of the obvious fact that our radio congregation was made up of all denominations, I asked our ministers to avoid sectarianism and build their sermons solely upon a fine human philosophy, thus touching all listeners alike.

Pages 62-65: That WHAS Church Service Congregation marked our first and most profound epoch in radio advancement. Studio services still go on, and that "really great preacher" to whom I just referred has unfailingly continued throughout these fifteen years to take the first Sunday of each month. But membership cards have long since been abandoned. Eventually the national networks came into being, using numerous outlets which served more satisfactorily distant areas with a Church of the Air. One of our first gratifying returns was a letter, written with difficulty, from a woman in southern Indiana. It was dated "Sunday."

"Dear WHAS, for the past nineteen year I've been living from my bed to a wheel char and back to bed, and aint never had a chance at going to church except listening to yore radio and that seemed a long way off. But last week my membership card come. This morning I opened the Book on my lap, laid my card on Its blessed page, and felt just like I was setting in the front pew."

We were encouraged. Wielding such influence, the power of radio became more and more apparent. There was no imposition of an arbitrary censorship then, nor is there now, except within a station manager's concept of propriety. But I realized, and have continued to realize through the years, that upon each microphone, upon the conduct of each station, must rest a solemn obligation. So I posted a Code in the studio which to this day has remained unchanged:

"THE WHAS CODE



"A station's value is in proportion to the esteem of its listeners. "One objectionable word will ruin the most beautiful program ever built.

"Had the Lord written an Eleventh Commandment it might have been: Thou Shalt Not Be Common.

"Entertainment, if not in good taste, belies its name. "Mispronunciation is worse than no pronunciation.

"Avoid controversies."

And beneath this I attempted, alas! to editorialize:

"The culture of a people is molded by spoken words. There are said to be nearly a million receiving sets in America. An audience of this size is impressive, but that it should be under the domination of relatively few microphones is startling. The possession of such power to influence, places squarely upon the voice of each station a solemn responsibility for decent and intelligent address. Failing in either of these, silence becomes a virtue."

I could not help smiling just now as I copied that yellowing, dusty page. Mile-posts have sped by rapidly. Nevertheless, our old Code is even more valuable today, when two-thirds of the nation's population are forming ideas from six hundred microphones, and children's minds are everywhere being grooved into habits of thought--tidy, or otherwise.

Pages 69-72: God protect me from temperamental artists! It was one of these who caused our first program breakdown. To begin with she arrived somewhat late, and entered twisting her handkerchief into a wee ball, breathlessly declaring she could not "go on with it." "That's ridiculous!" I made a fair bluff at laughing. "Of course, you can." "I can't--I can't--I can't," she crescendoed. "I'll see a thousand cars wagging and flapping at me!" The sand was running out of the glass and we had to get started. She was a pretty thing. Indeed, as I remember it now, she possessed an unusually rare and dazzling order of beauty. A week or so before, when she had come for a booking, our observant technician quietly remarked to me that she could "crash a Beauty Show in a calico josie." I have never seen a "josie," and doubt if anyone else has. But josie or no, she now was late, and getting jumpy, and putting crinkles in my own nerves. For a moment it was a toss-up whether to get tough or give the soothing-syrup. The syrup seemed more promising--at least pleasanter. "Forget those ears, my dear sweet singer! Just think intensively about the thousands of sick and suffering people whose pillows are hot with fever, and how your gorgeous voice will penetrate the walls and soothe them!" I did not actually mean soothe the walls. Radio had not quite got to that. But when program time drew near and tardy artists went hysterical, a proper arrangement of words meant less than nothing. It wasn't a gorgeous voice, either. Anyhow, with a few encouraging grunts from her accompanist she stiffened up, walked determinedly into the studio; the light flashed, she was introduced and began.



Half through her first song I heard a suspicious quaver, turned quickly and saw her eyes brimming with tears. A storm of some kind seemed imminent. In desperation I made angry gestures, funny gestures, all sorts of gestures to distract her from those "thousands of wagging, flapping ears." But the hurricane was upon us and, in another instant, she broke down completely with a wail that sounded scarcely human. Whispering frantically to the piano accompanist to keep on playing something, anything, I led the--by this time--bawling soprano outside. "What do you mean by ruining this broadcast," I stormed. "Didn't I tell you to forget those confounded ears?" "I w-w-wasn't thinking about th-th-the ears," she sobbed. "I was th-thinking of all those s-s-suffering people you told me to think about!" That should have taught me something. It was only our first month, and not much water had run over the dam since my publisher friend told me of this miraculous invention. I have sometimes wondered if he deliberately avoided any intimation concerning temperamental sopranos, lest he scare me off, or if he actually had no knowledge of them!

Pages 78-81: 6

WITH no one to teach us, no precedents to guide, I blazed our trail through an unknown forest of perplexities and nightmares, begging dear old Providence to lead us out alive, even if deranged. It would hardly have been sporting to expect both. Experience can be a bitter school, but when once it teaches, there is no forgetting. The conglomerate information my Detroit confrere imparted had seemed complete at the moment, but after a first plunge into actualities those kindly words fell away, leaving me stark and alone, facing the several duties of manager, announcer, program director, continuity writer, and the doer of whatever else turned up, including host and bouncer. Oh, yes, still another duty fell upon the manager-announcer, as alien to my talents as walking a tight-rope, and this was playing the chorus of "My Old Kentucky Home" on chimes. Imagine! In an unguarded moment, thinking that it might be an effective way to sign the station off, afternoons and nights, I had these metal bars constructed--eight were sufficient--and, after giving the correct time, that famous old tune was hit off note by note. Invariably I went at it with fear and trembling, lest the do-dad I struck with hit the wrong thing--and the marvel is that it did not miss oftener. In fact, my daily agony was the anticipation of that moment when, hammer in hand, heart in mouth, alone and forsaken before a listening multitude, I should assume the role of virtuoso. What devil put the idea in my head to begin with, may never be known. But, once started, there was no turning back. The way we gave that correct time seems now almost too ridiculous to be true. Having arranged the program of singers and players to conclude at four and a half minutes to nine--if threatening to run over, making signs to the performer to stop at a specific verse; or, if running short, signaling for a repetition of verses and chorus,--I would announce: "Now we shall give you the correct Central Standard time, calling the next three minutes in fifteen second intervals, and the last minute in intervals of five seconds. Are your watches ready? (Keeping my eyes glued to the large master clock with a pendulum swing of half a second.) Are your watches ready? (A pause.) It is four minutes to nine! (Then a stifling series of



pauses.) Fifteen seconds!--Thirty seconds!--Forty-five seconds!-- Three minutes to nine!--Fifteen seconds!--Thirty seconds!--Forty-five seconds!--Two minutes to nine!--Fifteen seconds!--Thirty seconds!--Forty-five seconds!--One minute to nine! -- Five -- Ten -- Fifteen -- Twenty -- Twenty-five -- Thirty -- Thirty-five -- Forty -- Forty-five -- Fifty -- Fifty-five -- NINE O'CLOCK!" That was the place for my musical solo, and then: "This is WHAS, the radio telephone broadcasting station of the Courier-Journal and the Louisville Times, in Louisville, Kentucky. We hope we have brought you pleasure, and now wish you a very--good--night." And another day had passed into history! I have written all of this out, only to give some of you a chance to say: "Why, I remember that! Doesn't it seem a million years ago?" Such long drawn pronouncements would put modern radio listeners to death--if they stayed with it all the way through. But then people had different ideas, and radio was more of a novelty. It was great fun keeping grandfather's clock and daddy's watch set to the second!

Pages 88-89: 7

AS THAT fourth dimensional value in announcing spelled success, a complete absence of it was correspondingly destructive. I recall the time when my managerial duties grew to proportions which required someone else to do this part of the work, and I employed a likable chap with good basic qualifications. After he had carried on for a short while he came to my room. There was a gleam of triumph in his eye. "Well, sir, I've conquered it!" "Conquered what?" I inquired. "The microphone," he answered proudly. "I don't pay any more attention to it now than if it were that"--pointing to my inkwell. "You mean that you've no longer a screwed-up-tight feeling when you go to it?" "Exactly! I've finally overcome it!" "Well," I sighed, "as an announcer you're dead on your feet without knowing it. Unless you immediately recapture that quality, our listeners will begin turning thumbs down on you." I could see that he was not at all convinced; but two weeks later the first of a flood of objections arrived. It came from Mississippi. "What's the matter with your new announcer? Was he an undertaker in private life? I expect any moment to hear him tell us that the remains are in a room to the right, and please step quietly." When I showed him a number of these he shook his head sadly, remarking: "I've killed my best friend." And so he had.

Pages 134-137: 11

IT WAS in the early days of our "prehistoric era" that we launched out upon a new adventure, one that later brought us more favorable national comment. This was an offer to broadcast for persons missing from home, who could not otherwise be located. We called it: "Paging the Ether." Really, some of our



finds were extraordinary, and showed us anew the penetrating, all-reaching power of radio. Replying to that announcement a letter came one day from a gentleman in Russellville, Kentucky. The writing indicated age and effort. He had received no word from his son, Dan, for more than a year, and had abandoned hope of finding him until hearing the offer from our station. Now, perhaps, through this new science, we might bring some light again into his life. So that afternoon I asked for news concerning Dan's whereabouts and said that his father wanted him to come home. Several weeks elapsed, and then a brief but happy note arrived from the father saying that Dan had sent him a post card from Seattle. We were pleased, of course, but I did think the chap had taken an inexcusably long time notifying his dad, because our message had reached that northwestern city in less than a tenth of a second. However, in a few days, this letter came, again from the father:

"I am writing to tell you that the prodigal, Dan, whom you broadcast for, has returned; the fatted calf has been killed, the ring placed upon his finger and shoes upon his feet. He was on the Pacific Ocean, out from Seattle, on a boat. The Captain sent for him and said: 'Dan, your father is calling you. He wants you in Russellville.'"

This had the scent of a good story and needed following up. In brief it turned out that Dan was on a freighter, en route from Australia to Seattle. One day when they were 200 miles off Cape Blanco a sailor came into the fo'castle telling Dan the Captain wanted him. He deferentially entered the master's room, saw him lolling back with sea boots up on the table and two strange looking black things clamped to his ears. These were removed as he sat up and delivered the message. Now Dan knew as much about radio as I had a few months before, and that was nothing. So he backed, away, quietly closed the door, then dashed down the companionway stairs among his fellows, shouting: "The old man s hearing voices--gone crazy as hell! Says my father's been talking to him from Russellville, Kentucky, and wants me to come home!" I can sympathize with Dan, having entertained similar sentiments toward my friend, the newspaper publisher, when he told me the previous April what this radio thing would do. At any rate, when Dan finally went ashore at Seattle, he sent his father the post card, and then followed upon its heels. Even our signal having reached so far was most exceptional, and the Captain might have tried daily for months before he caught us again. But broadcasting waves from our little 500 watter, when conditions of air and earth were exactly right, sometimes registered in almost unbelievably distant places. In glancing over ancient clippings from home and foreign newspapers, I vividly recall many of the happy surprises which we were the medium of bringing to worried families. And I feel again, as I did then, humbled in the presence of an invention which all but approaches the solemnity of a divine miracle. Results were so simply obtained! No effort, skill or ability was required by the announcer. He merely said into the microphone something like this: "We desire information concerning the whereabouts of so-and-so." Age and appearance of the missing person followed, and also the place where last heard from. Listeners were asked to telegraph, charges collect, if they could assist us. That inquiry went into hotels, boarding houses, lowly rooming places, farms, cabins in the woods,



highway garages and filling stations. It penetrated places where individual searchers would not have thought to look. In our old scrapbook of those clippings I see that "E. Anderson learns of uncle family gave up as dead thirty-five years ago;" "radiophone finds Mary Allison who has been lost twenty-four years."

Pages 162-165: Would you mind my telling just one more "Paging the Ether" story? It is somewhat different, because it never got on the air, at all. I looked up. Standing patiently by to get my attention, was a small boy. Blue, large and wistful were his eyes, and his cheeks were smeared with dirt and tear stains. Not in recent hours had a comb and brush touched his tousled hair. He held a worn cap with both hands, grasping it tightly as if suffering under some strong emotion. As I smiled, he essayed a smile in return, but it was half-hearted. "Mister," he began, "don't you radio for lost people?" "Yes." "Well, I wisht you'd send one fer Mister Mac! He's been gone since yesterday and I can't find him nowhere!" "What's his full name?" I asked, taking up a pen. "Just--Mister Mac, is all we know him by." "Age?" "Oh, he's awful old!" "We must have something more definite than this! What's the color of his eyes?" "Brown," the little boy spoke up confidently. "Brown, Mister! But he can't see, hardly. There's sort of something white growin' over 'em." "Hair?" "It's black an' white spots." "Spots," I exclaimed, sitting straighter. "Are you talking about a dog?" "Yes, sir, he's a setter." "I'm sorry," I said, laying down my pen. "Our rules only let us broadcast for lost people." "But he is people, Mister!" The little urchin's body grew tense as he saw a likelihood of having his request refused. "He's just as much people as anybody!" Tears were gathering afresh in his eyes. He had banked his last hope of finding Mister Mac through the necromancy of radio and, as he saw this slipping, a kind of panic seized him. "Please don't turn me down! Suppose he was your dawg!" That was exactly what I had been supposing. I had owned many dogs in days gone by. They had owned large portions of me. Through a mist I seemed now to see their honest eyes of chestnut brown, looking at me as steadfastly as the blue eyes of the little boy, pleading with me to extend to this suffering youngster a mite of the kindness I had shown to them. "Even if he were mine," I answered softly, "I couldn't break the rule." "Oh, Mister," he choked back a sob, "you don't know how bad it is! Why, when I was just a baby me mudder put Mister Mac in bed with me. He was a puppy then, an' him an' me grew old together. An'--an'--well, when me mudder died--. Well, every day when they made me leave for school Mister Mac came to the corner with me, an' watched me out of sight. An' when I got near home again, he was always



there a-waitin'. An' he'd hold my hand in his mouth, Mister, like as if to lead me. That's the way we was. An' if things went bad an' I had to cry, he'd put his head clost on my chest an' cry, too. Honest to God, he'd cry just like me! Or if I'd laugh a lot, he'd wag his tail an' grin so wide you could see all his teeth. Oh, he was just as much folks as anyone, Mister! "An' yesterday I did him a dirty trick--without meanin' to. Us kids was playin' on the street, an' I jumped in a passin' wagon without his seein' me. An' then I called, like as if I was in trouble. An' bein' half blind Mister Mac couldn't see where I was. He looked around ever'where, awful anxious an' scairt, an' then run off the wrong way. That's the last I've saw of him. An' maybe he's been hit by a ottermobile, lyin' up in a alley somewhere dyin', with no one to give him water, or pet him, or tell him I'm sorry I played that dirty trick. Oh, Mister, won't you please, sir, help me find him?" I am not in the least ashamed to admit that as he told his little story I wanted to throw him downstairs. It would have been against rules to grant his request; yet I did not have the moral courage to refuse it. Thus, for half a minute, I stared at the wall, while he waited expectantly. It was during this torturous interval, as the shades of my dead dog friends were passing before me, that three boys dashed into the studio, stopping abruptly when they saw us. Then one whispered excitedly, "We got 'im, Bud!" As though in obedience to a magic wand, they instantly vanished. I heard the clattering of their shoes upon the iron steps, the slamming of the iron door. Finally I went to the control room window--the only one that opened--and looked down upon the street, a hundred feet below. There, within a circle of enthusiastic urchins, a tousled-headed kid kneeled with his arms tightly wrapped about the neck of a benign old setter, which vigorously wagged its tail. Would I have broadcast for the lost Mister Mac? I don't know, even now.



I Wish There Was A Wireless To Heaven (The Radio Song) (1922)

Click here to hear Irving Kaufman's 1921 version of I Wish There Was a Wireless to Heaven, recorded on Victor Record's Vocalion B14358.

I Wish There Was A Wireless To HeavenLyric by Then Mama Would Not Seem So Far Away

JOS. MANUEL and Music by HARRY WHITE WILLY WHITE

While other children listened on the wireless telephone, One little girl, sadly sat alone, And as a message came from far away, They heard this tearful little girlie say: Chorus I wish there was a "Wireless" to Heaven, And I could speak to Mama ev'ry day, I would let her know, by the Radio, I'm so lonesome since she went away. I wish that I could only send a message, And hear my Mama answer me and say, "Hush a bye my darling, dry your tears, don't cry, Mama dear is watching baby from the sky." I wish there was a "Wireless" to Heaven, Then Mama would not seem so far away. As flowers nod their pretty head when shadows start to creep,

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http://earlyradiohistory.us/1921hvn.mp3



I Wish There Was A Wireless To Heaven (The Radio Song) (1922)

Poor little girlie, rests in slumber deep, And dreams that Mama once again is there, It seems an answer to her baby prayer: (repeat chorus)


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A Bungalow - A Radio - And You! (1928)

By 1928, radio had made the transition from a fad to becoming an established feature of domestic life.

A Bungalow, - A Radio - And You!Fox - Trot Song

Words and Music by FRED DEMPSEY and

DICK LEIBERTDreaming, scheming, that's all I do, In the future I can see happiness for you and me. Building castles, hope they don't tumble down, You're my queen in a gingham gown. Chorus In a bungalow with a radio and you, Where the roses grow underneath the skies so blue, I'd be content if life could be spent with sweet harmony in ev'rything we do. And the dials of life will turn so merrily, On our little set we'll get L- O- V- E. And later on a baby song brings joy we never knew, In a bungalow, with a radio and you! Day dreams, stay dreams, till they come true, I dream all the night and then wait till I can dream again. Hoping, wishing, now and forever more, Here's just what I was wishing for:

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A Bungalow - A Radio - And You! (1928)


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The Radio Boys' First Wireless--extracts (1922)

"Allen Chapman" was one of the pseudonyms used by the Stratemeyer Syndicate for its juvenile books. The actual writer of the first five Radio Boys books was John William Duffield, an experienced author who turned 63 years old in 1922. The book forewords were written by Jack Binns, who had gained fame as the radio operator aboard the S.S. Republic, when it sank in 1909. James D. Keeline has put together an extensive review of this topic at 'Radio Boys' series by 'Allen Chapman' and Others.

The Radio Boys' First Wireless, Allen Chapman, 1922, pages v - vi:

FOREWORD

BY JACK BINNS IT is very appropriate at this moment when radio has taken the country by storm, and aroused an enthusiasm never before equaled, that the possibilities for boys in this art should be brought out in the interesting and readable manner shown in the first book of this series. Radio is still a young science, and some of the most remarkable advances in it have been contributed by amateurs--that is, by boy experimenters. It is never too late to start in the fascinating game, and the reward for the successful experimenter is rich both in honor and recompense. Just take the case of E. H. Armstrong, one of the most famous of all the amateurs in this country. He started in as a boy at home, in Yonkers, experimenting with home-made apparatus, and discovered the circuit that has revolutionized radio transmission and reception. His circuit has made it possible to broadcast music and speech, and it has brought him worldwide fame. He had no elaborate laboratory in which to experiment, but he persevered and won out. Like the Radio Boys in this story, he was confronted with all kinds of odds, but with true American spirit he stuck to his task and triumphed. The attitude of the government toward the wireless amateur is well illustrated by the expressions of Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover, and is summed up in his declaration, "I am for the American boy." No other country in the world offers such opportunities to boy experimenters in the radio field. The government realizes that there is always a possibility of other important discoveries being made by the boy experimenters, and that is the reason it encourages the amateur. Don't be discouraged because Edison came before you. There is still plenty of opportunity for you to become a new Edison, and no science offers the possibilities in this respect as does radio communication.

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Pages 9-11

THE RADIO BOYS' FIRST WIRELESS

CHAPTER I

THE AUTO CRASH "How about it, Joe?" asked Bob Layton of his chum, Joe Atwood, as they came out of school one afternoon, swinging their books by straps over their shoulders. "Going up to Dr. Dale's house to-night?" "You bet I am," replied Joe enthusiastically. "I wouldn't miss it for a farm. I'm keen to know more about this wireless business, and I'm sure the doctor can tell us more about it than any one else." "He sure does get a fellow interested," agreed Bob. "He isn't a bit preachy about it, either. Just talks to you in words you can understand. But all the time you know he's got a lot back of it and could tell you ten times as much about it if you asked him. Makes you feel safe when you listen to him. Not a bit of guesswork or anything like that." "What are you fellows chinning about?" asked Jimmy Plummer, one of their schoolmates, who came up to them at that moment. "You seem all worked up about something." "It's about that talk Dr. Dale is going to give us to-night on the wireless telephone," answered Bob, as he edged over a little to give Jimmy room to walk beside them. "You're going, aren't you? The doctor said he wanted all the boys to come who could." Declared Jimmy, with a grin, "But eats or no eats, I'm going to hear what the doctor has to say. I got a letter the other day from a cousin of mine out in Michigan, and he told me all about a set that he'd made and put up himself. Said he was just crazy about it. Wanted me to go into it so that he and I might talk together. Of course, though, I guess he was just kidding me about that. Michigan's a long way off, and it takes more than a day to get there on a train." "Distance doesn't make much difference," declared Bob. "Already they've talked across the Atlantic Ocean." "Not amateurs?" objected Joe incredulously. "Yes, even amateurs," affirmed Bob. "My dad was reading in the papers the other night about a man in New Jersey who was talking to a friend near by and



told him that he was going to play a phonograph record for him. A man over in Scotland, over three thousand miles away, heard every word he said and heard the music of the phonograph too. A ship two thousand miles out on the Atlantic heard the same record, and so did another ship in a harbor in Central America. Of course, the paper said, that was only a freak, and amateur sets couldn't do that once in a million times. But it did it that time, all right. I tell you, fellows, that wireless telephone is a wonder. Talk about the stories of the Arabian Nights! They aren't in it."

Pages 28-45:

CHAPTER III

WONDERS OF WIRELESS "HOW are you, boys?" asked a pleasant voice, and the lads looked up to see Dr. Amory Dale, the pastor of the "Old First Church" of Clintonia, standing beside them. Most of them responded cordially, for they liked and respected him. There was no stiffness or professionalism about him to make them feel that they were being held at a distance. He was comparatively young, somewhere in the early thirties, and had the frame and bearing of an athlete. There were rumors that he had been a star pitcher on his college baseball nine and a quarterback on a football eleven whose exploits were still cherished in the memory of his institution. He was a lover of the out-of-doors and there was a breeziness and vitality that radiated from him and made him welcome wherever he went. He kept in touch with modern science, and it was said that he would have embraced a scientific career if he had not felt it his duty to enter the pulpit. The minister's house adjoined the big stone church, which was on West Main Street and divided the business from the residential part of the street. It was a roomy, capacious structure, and at about eight o'clock that night it became a place of pilgrimage for a large number of the boys of the town. Buck Looker and his cronies were conspicuous by their absence, but this was a relief rather than a privation. Bob and his friends were among the first corners. They were warmly greeted by Dr. Dale and ushered into the large living room of the parsonage. The portières had been drawn back between the front and back rooms so that nearly the whole ground floor was thrown into one big room. Extra chairs had been brought in so that there were accommodations for a large number. There were no grown people in the gathering, for the doctor had especially confined his invitation to the boys, who, he knew, would feel more at ease in the absence of their elders. From the time the boys entered the room their eyes were fixed on a box-like contrivance that was placed on a table close up against the wall of the further room. It had a number of polished knobs and dials and several groups of wires that seemed to lead in or out of the instrument. Connected with it was a horn such as was common enough in the early days of the phonograph. There were also several pairs of what looked like telephone ear pieces lying on the table. They eyed it with intense curiosity, not unmixed with awe. They had already heard and read enough of the wireless telephone to realize that it was one of the greatest marvels of modern times. It seemed almost like something magical, something which, like the lamp of Aladdin, could summon genii who would be obedient to the call. The rooms were comfortably filled when Dr. Dale, with a genial smile, rose and took up his stand near the table.



"Now, boys," he said, "I've asked you to come here to-night so that we can talk together and get a little better idea of some of the wonders of the world we are living in. One of those wonders and perhaps the most wonderful of all is the wireless telephone," and here he laid his hand on the box beside him. "Most of you have heard of it and want to learn more about it. I'm going to try to explain it to you just as simply as I possibly can. And I'm not going to do all the talking either, for I want you to feel free to ask any questions you like. And before I do any talking worth mentioning, I'm going to give you a little idea of what the wireless telephone can do." The boys watched him breathlessly as he handled two of the knobs at the side of the box. A moment later they heard the clear, vibrant notes of a violin playing a beautiful selection from one of the operas. The music rose and swelled in wonderful sweetness until it filled the room with the delicious melody and held all the hearers entranced under its spell. It was evident that only the hand of a master could draw such exquisite music from the instrument. The doctor waited until the last notes had died away, and smiled with gratification as he saw the rapt look on the faces of his visitors. "Sounds as if it were in the next room, doesn't it?" he asked. "But that music came from Newark, New Jersey." "Gee," whispered Jimmy to Bob, alongside whom he was sitting, "that's nearly a hundred miles from here." "But there's no need of confining ourselves to any place as near as that," continued the doctor. "What do you say to listening in on Pittsburg? That's only a trifle of four hundred miles or so from here." "He calls four hundred miles a trifle!" breathed Jimmy. "Pinch me, somebody. I must be dreaming." Joe on his other side pinched him so sharply that Jimmy almost jumped from his chair. "Lay off there," he murmured indignantly. "S-sh," cautioned Bob, for by this time the doctor had made another adjustment. Then into the room burst the stirring strains of the "Stars and Stripes Forever" played by a band that had a national reputation. The rhythm and dash and fire of the performance were such that the boys had all they could do to keep their seats, and, as it was, their feet half unconsciously beat time to the music. "Hit you hard, did it?" smiled Dr. Dale, who, to tell the truth, had been keeping time himself. "Well, I don't wonder. I'd hate to see the time when music like that wouldn't shake you up. But now we'll go a few hundred miles farther and see what Detroit has to give us." Jimmy was past speech by this time and could only look at his comrades in helpless wonder. Then the twang of a banjo sounded through the rooms and to the thrumming of the strings came a voice in rich negro dialect:

"It rained all night the day I left,

The next day it was dry, The sun so hot I froze to death

Susanna, don't you cry."

CHAPTER IV

MYSTERIOUS FORCES THE boys broke out in roars of laughter in which the doctor joined heartily.



"You see how it is," he said, as the song came to an end. "There's hardly anything you can think of that you can't hear over the wireless telephone. It takes you anywhere you want to go in a fraction of a second. In the last few minutes, we've covered quite a section of the United States, and with a still stronger instrument we could go right out to the Pacific coast and hear the barking of the sea lions at the Golden Gate." "Wonder if we could hear the barking of the hot dogs at Coney Island," whispered the irrepressible Herb, who would have his joke. Bob nudged him sharply and Herb subsided. "And you can pick out any kind of entertainment you want," the doctor went on. "The great stations from which this music was sent out have programs which are published every day, together with the exact time that the selections will be given. At a given minute you can make your adjustment and listen to a violin solo, a band concert, a political speech, a sermon, or anything else that you want. If it doesn't please you, you can shut it off at once, which is much easier and pleasanter than getting up and going out from an audience. "We'll have some more selections later on in the evening," he continued, "but now I want to explain to you how this thing is done. I can't hope to do much more than touch the surface of the subject to-night, for I don't want to tire you out, and there'll be plenty of other nights and days when I hope you boys will call upon me for any information that you want and I can give. "Of course the whole thing is based on electricity, the most wonderful thing that perhaps there is in the whole physical world. Nobody knows what electricity is--Mr. Edison himself doesn't know. We only know that it is a wonderful fluid and that the ether is full of it. But though we don't know what it is, scientific men have learned how to develop and use its energy, and among other things they have harnessed it in the service of the wireless telephone. "Take for instance a quiet lake. It may seem absolutely still, but if you throw a stone in it you start a number of ripples that keep spreading further and further out until they break on the shore. So if you hit a drum with a stick, sound waves are stirred up that keep spreading out very much like the ripples on the lake. "Now electricity is something like that. It doesn't begin to act until you do something to it. The impulse to ripple is in the quiet lake all the time, but it doesn't ripple until you throw the stone in it. The sound quality is in the drum, but you don't hear it until you hit the drum with a stick. So you've got to put into the ether something that disturbs the electricity in it, something that stirs it up, and then this disturbance makes waves that travel on, just as the waves on the lake follow one another and just as the sound waves from the drum keep pushing each other along. "A man named Hertz discovered a way of stirring up this energy, snapping it, you might say, as a man snaps a whip. It was found that these waves could be made long enough and strong enough to go all the way across the Atlantic Ocean, in fact to go around the world." "Around the world!" murmured Jimmy, and again he was tempted to ask somebody to pinch him, but remembered his previous experience and stopped just in time. "Now," continued the doctor, "you may ask what this has to do with the voice, for it is with the voice that one talks over the 'phone. The whole principle of the wireless telephone is based on the fact that sound can be transformed into electricity and then can be transformed back into sound again. I know," he said, with a smile, "that that sounds very much like saying that you can make eggs into an omelet and then get the omelet back into separate eggs again"--here there was an audible snicker from the



boys--"but that is very much like what is done by the wireless, although it doesn't exactly fit the case. "Now see what a wonderful increase in power you get the moment the sound waves are changed into electric waves. Sound goes at the rate of one thousand and ninety feet a second. Electrical energy travels at the rate of one hundred and eight-six thousand miles a second. In other words it could go around the world more than seven times in a single second. "When you speak into a telephone, unless you are greatly excited, you don't use more than a fiftieth part of the power of your voice. But by the time that sound has been caught up and churned, as it were, into electrical energy it is more than a hundred thousand times as loud and strong. "Suppose now, just as an illustration, that you were going to telephone to Europe. You'd pick up the 'phone and give your message. That sound would go in the form of a tiny electrical impulse into one of the great sending stations on the Atlantic Coast, we'll say, and there it would be caught up by a powerful lot of electrical machines, amplifiers, alternators, and others, that would keep making it stronger and stronger until finally it was flung out into space from the ends of the great wires or antennae. Out and out it would go until it struck a lot of wires on the other side of the ocean. Then it would go through another process that would gradually change the electrical impulse back into sound again, and the man at the other end of the telephone would hear your voice, just as one does now when you 'phone to any one in this town." He paused for a moment, and there was a long drawn breath on the part of his auditors that testified to the rapt attention with which they had followed him into this fairyland of science. "So much for the theory and principle of the wireless," resumed the doctor. "Of course I've only scratched the surface, and if I talked to you all night there'd be still lots left to say. But we only need to know a little about it to put it to practical use. And it is the practical use of the wireless telephone that I'm especially interested in for the sake of you boys. I'm satisfied that there's hardly anything that could give you more pleasure or more benefit than for each of you to have one of these contrivances in your own home. It's a wonderful educator, it helps to develop your interest in science, and what will perhaps appeal to you most of all, you can have more fun with it than anything else I know of." Here Bob put in a question that was in the minds of many of the others. "Does it cost very much, Doctor?" he asked. "Not very much," the doctor replied. "Of course, some of the more powerful ones with vacuum tubes and other high class improvements run into the hundreds of dollars. But some very good receiving sets--and that's all you could use at the start, for it takes considerable time and you have to get a license before you are permitted to transmit--can be bought for from twenty-five to seventy-five dollars." There was a little gasp at this, some of which was due to a feeling of disappointment. It seemed beyond the range of what they could save up from their pocket money, and while the parents of some of them were well to do, others came from simple and frugal homes where every dollar had to be carefully counted. The doctor was quick to note the expression on many faces, and took pains at once to remove any feeling of discouragement. "But don't let that bother you at all," he said, "for with a little thought and planning any one of you will be able to build a telephone receiving set for himself at hardly any cost at all. In fact, I'd much rather have you build one than buy one, for in that way you'll get an understanding of the whole thing that otherwise you might not get at all. You'd be surprised perhaps if I told you that this set here was built by me and I wouldn't exchange the experience I've had in putting it together for a good deal of money."



"But you knew how to do it," put in Joe, "while we don't know the first thing about it. We wouldn't know how to start, even, let alone finish one." "I was coming to that," returned Dr. Dale, smiling. "As some of you know, I've fitted up a workshop in the barn behind this house where I do a good deal of tinkering in my spare hours. Now I'm going to ask you boys to come out there next Saturday and see me build a wireless receiving set from A to Z. You'll be surprised to see how much can be done with a few things that cost very little money and with a lot of things that don't cost any money at all. How about it, boys?" It was almost with a whoop that the invitation was accepted by his eager hearers, and the minister smiled with gratification at their enthusiasm. "Now that's all the talking I'm going to do tonight," he said. "And as talking's rather dry work, I'm going to have a little refreshment. Will you boys join me?" Would they join him? They would and they did, and the havoc they wrought on the sandwiches and cake and ice-cream that were brought in and passed around was something to be remembered. Jimmy in particular ate until his eyes bulged and fully sustained his previous reputation. And while they ate, the doctor turned on one lively selection after another, finishing with a selection from a jazz band that sent them into a frenzy of laughter. They were still tingling with it as they finally said good-night to the doctor and started on their way home. "Oh, you wireless telephone!" exclaimed Herb. "Isn't it a wonder?" ejaculated Joe. "Wonder!" repeated Bob. "It's a miracle!"

CHAPTER V

CROOKED WORK

"WE'VE got to get busy right away and rig up wireless telephones of our own," continued Bob. "Of course they won't be anything like the doctor's, but they ought to be good enough for us to get a lot of fun out of them." "You bet we will," agreed Joe. "Gee, I can't wait to get at it! If it wasn't so late I believe I'd start in figuring on it to-night." "Count me in on it too," chimed in Jimmy. "In a week or so we'll be sending messages everywhere. I'll be talking maybe to that cousin of mine in Michigan." "Come out of your trance, Jimmy," laughed Bob, clapping him on the shoulder. "Things don't move so fast as that. It'll be a good long time before you'll be sending any messages. You'll have to learn all about receiving them first; and believe me there's a good deal to learn about that. Then before you can send any messages you have to pass an examination and get a license. But for quite a time we'll have our hands full and our ears full with attending to the receiving end of the game. One step at a time is the rule in radio, as well as in anything else that's worth while." "I didn't know that," replied Jimmy, somewhat dashed by the information. "I had an idea that we could send just as soon as we got our sets made." "How about you, Herb?" asked Bob. "You're in it with the rest of us too, aren't you?" "With both feet," replied Herb. "I think that the wireless is the greatest thing that ever happened. But I don't know about making one for myself. I'm all thumbs when it comes to doing any mechanical work.



You fellows are handy with tools, but I have all I can do to keep out of my own way. I guess I'll ask my dad to buy me a set and let it go at that." "That's what you think now," replied Joe, "but I'll bet when you see the rest of us getting busy, you'll pitch in too and make your own machine. Besides, from what the doctor says, it doesn't take a genius to put the thing together."

Pages 58-66: The days passed by swiftly until Saturday came and with it the opportunity the boys had looked forward to of going to Dr. Dale's workshop and getting a few practical points on the making of a wireless telephone set. They found the doctor at a bench that he had rigged up in his barn. On the wall was arranged a large variety of tools and on the bench were strewn several coils of wire and a number of objects the name and use of which the boys did not know. The doctor, who was in his shirt sleeves, extended a hearty welcome to the boys, who ranged themselves about him, and whose numbers were constantly augmented by newcomers until the barn was well filled. "What I want to do to-day, boys," he said, "is to show you how easy and simple it is to put up a wireless telephone receiving set without paying to spend very much money. "Now the first thing you have to get and put up is the aerial," he remarked, as he unwound a large coil of copper wire. "You want about a hundred or a hundred and twenty feet of that. You can extend it horizontally for about fifty feet, say, for instance, from the side or back of your house to the barn or the garage, and then have it go up as high as it can go. The upper end doesn't have to be in the outer air, for the sound will come along it if it's in the attic. Still it's better to have it outside if possible. The lower end of the wire has to be connected with the ground in some way, and you can fix that by attaching it to a water pipe or any other pipe that runs into the ground. A good way is to let it down the side of the house and put it through the cellar window and fasten it to a pipe. "After you have your aerial you want to get the rest of the apparatus together. The first thing to do is to get a baseboard which will serve as the bottom of the receiving box. Something like this," and he put his hand on a board about eighteen inches long, twelve inches wide, and about an inch thick. "This is the platform, as it were, on which the different parts of the apparatus are to rest. "Now since your ear alone can't detect the waves that are coming to and along your aerial, you have to have a sort of electrical ear that will do this for you. Here it is," and he picked up a piece of crystal and a wire of phosphor bronze. "When this wire comes in contact with this bit of crystal the mysterious waves become audible vibrations. "But this isn't enough. You've got to get in tune with the sending station in order to understand the sounds you hear. When your vibration frequency is the same as that from which the message is sent, you can hear as clearly as though the voice or instrument were in the next room. Now here's a piece of a curtain pole that's about a foot and a half long. You see that I've wound around its entire length, except for about a half inch at either end, a coil of wire. This is called the inductance coil. You will notice that the wire is covered with cotton except for this little strip of wire extending lengthwise where I've scraped the cotton off with sandpaper so as to accommodate the sliding contacts. These sliding contacts can be made from curtain rings with holes punched in them, through which are passed copper rivets. These



rivets press against the bare path of the coil and can be moved to and fro until you find the exact point where your set is in tune with the sending station."

CHAPTER VII

IN THE DARK

"Now," continued Dr. Dale, as he glanced round the circle of eager faces, alight with interest in the subject, "we're getting pretty close to the time when one picks up the receiver and begins to listen in. "But as the electric vibrations, if left alone, would have a good deal of trouble in passing through the telephone receiver, we must have a condenser to help them out. This is very easily made by gluing a piece of tinfoil about one and a half inches square to each side of a sheet of mica. Then you must have two strips of tinfoil, one extending from each side of the mica. If you haven't any mica, a sheet of ordinary writing paper will do, though the mica is better. "The telephone receiver you will have to buy, as a satisfactory one can't very well be made by an amateur. The receiver ought to have a high resistance to get the best results. "There," he said, as he laid the telephone receiver on the bench, "those are the essential things you have to have in order to make a set of your own. With these things only, it will of course be a simple set and have a limited range. There are a hundred improvements of one kind or another that you'll learn about as you get more expert, and these can be added from time to time. But the special thing I wanted to prove to you to-day was that it would take only a very small expenditure of money to get this material together. You see how many things I've used that any one of you can find about the house, such as tinfoil, curtain poles, curtain rings, wood for the box, and so on. The wire needed for your tuning coil and your aerial can be obtained for less than a dollar. The detector, including the crystal, can be got for another dollar. An excellent receiver can be bought for two dollars. A few minor things will be needed at perhaps five or ten cents each. Altogether the cost of the set can be brought within five dollars." This was good news to the boys, many of whom began at once a mental calculation as to the amount of their pocket money, while others began to figure on odd jobs that might bring them in the required amount, in the event that their parents would not supply the money. With a few deft movements the doctor attached the various parts of the apparatus to their proper places on the baseboard. There was not time that day to put up the aerial, but he gave them practical illustrations of how to use the detector by pressing the point of the wire firmly against the crystal, how to slide the rings back and forth until they found the point of greatest loudness and clearness, and all other points essential to using the set successfully. Not all the boys caught on to all that was involved, but to the majority it was made reasonably clear. To Bob and Joe, who had followed every point of the demonstration with the keenest attention, the operation of the receiving set was made as clear as crystal, and they had no doubt of their ability to construct a set for themselves. Herb's attention had wandered somewhat, because in the back of his mind there still lurked the idea of buying a set ready made. Jimmy had been somewhat distracted by looking about in various parts of the barn to see if he could detect the presence of any "eats," and his ideas were somewhat hazy in consequence. "Well, boys," at last said the doctor, with a smile, "I guess we'll call it a day. But remember that if at any time you are puzzled and want more information all you have to do is to come and ask me. I'll gladly lay aside my work any time to help you youngsters out." The boys thoroughly appreciated the doctor's cordiality and the demonstration that he had given them,



and most of them took occasion to tell him so as they said good-bye to him and filed out of the extemporized workshop. "He certainly does make things clear," said Bob enthusiastically, as he and his friends made their way toward their homes. "Not only that, but he makes you want to do them," said Joe. "After seeing and hearing him this afternoon, I'd ten times rather make a set than buy one." Jimmy agreed with them, and even Herb seemed ready to reconsider the idea of getting one ready made, though he was not yet quite prepared to surrender. "All of you come over to my house to-night," said Bob, as they neared their homes. "We haven't got the materials yet, but we can go over again what the doctor told us to-day and make sure that we've got it all straight in our minds. What one forgets, the other may remember. Then when we do get the stuff we can put a little snap and speed into making the set." "That will be bully," replied Joe, and the others agreed with him. "For my part," Joe continued, "I count every day lost that we have to go without it. I sure am becoming a radio fan." It turned out that Herb was prevented from coming by unexpected company but the others were there. Their talk that night was animated and enthusiastic, so much so in fact that the time passed more quickly than they imagined, and they were surprised when the clock struck eleven.

Pages 70-84:

CHAPTER VIII

GETTING A START THE idea of having their own radio outfit and being able to hear all the wonderful things going on in the air about them so fascinated the boys that they could talk or think of little else. Even Jimmy Plummer became so excited that his mother declared he was actually forgetting to eat, a statement that his father flatly refused to believe at first. "You see how it is, Dad," said Jimmy, mournfully. "If you don't give me the money to get some wireless stuff I'll just pine away and die." Said his father, with a twinkle in his eye, "I suppose if you've set your heart on it I might as well come across now as later and save myself from being pestered to death. How much do you suppose you'll need to get started?" "The other fellows are figuring that about five dollars apiece will buy most of the things we'll need--at first, anyway," he added, with a careful eye to the future. "All right, here it is," said Mr. Plummer. "And I suppose the next thing we know you'll be breaking your neck falling off the roof while you're trying to put up aerials, or whatever it is they call the contraptions." "Leave that to me," said Jimmy. "And I'll bet you'll get lots of fun out of this too, Dad, when we get it going." "Well, maybe so," said his father. "But I don't take much stock in the whole business. Some wonderful things happen these days, though, and you may be able to change my mind." "I'm sure I will," said Jimmy, with conviction. "And if you had heard what I did at Doctor Dale's house, I'll bet you'd want a radio outfit as much as I do."



"Well, go ahead and see what you can do, Son. If you can really get the thing working, so much the better." The next day Jimmy lost no time in hunting up his friends and telling them of his good fortune. He found that the others had not been far behind him in procuring the necessary cash. That afternoon they all descended on the hardware store, whose proprietor had laid in a stock of the materials that would be likely to be needed in the construction of simple radio outfits. The hardware merchant was glad to see them, but somewhat surprised also. "Gosh!" he exclaimed, when he learned what the boys had come for. "When that salesman from New York talked me into stocking up with all that stuff, I never thought I'd get a sale for it in the next ten years. And now here's all you youngsters coming in here after it with money in your fists." "Yes, and you'd better lay in a whole lot more of it, Dave," said Bob Layton. "It won't be long before everybody in this town will be wanting a wireless radio outfit." "Well, I guess I've got enough in the store now to start you fellows on your way," said Dave Slocum, the proprietor. "Now, what all do you need?" There followed a time of much consultation and anxious questioning before all the enthusiastic young experimenters were satisfied that they were getting the most useful things their limited amount of capital would buy. Dave Slocum sold more feet of copper wire in that one afternoon than he had in the previous five years, not to mention insulators, resistance wire, detectors, head sets, and all the other paraphernalia necessary to the beginner. At last all the various purchases were tied into neat bundles, and the excited boys swarmed out into the street. "Let's go to my house and get started right away," proposed Bob. "It will be quite a job to get the aerial strung, and the sooner we do it the better it will suit me." The others were of the same mind, and they made the distance to the Layton home "on the jump" with Jimmy puffing valiantly in the rear in a desperate endeavor to keep up with his more active comrades. "Never mind about pies now," said Herb. "The question before the house is to get an aerial strung from Bob's house to the barn. What's the best way to get up on the roof, Bob?" "There's a trap door in the roof not far from the chimney," replied Bob. "I was thinking that we could make a mast and lash it to the chimney. That would give us one secure anchorage for the aerial, and the other we can fasten to the roof of the barn easily enough." "What are we going to make the mast out of?" inquired Joe. "There's a nice piece of four by four lumber out in the barn," replied Bob. "I was thinking that we could leave it square at the bottom and plane it off round at the top, so as to look better. I don't see why that won't fill the bill all right." "Sounds all right," said Herb, and, with Bob leading, all four boys piled out to the big barn back of the house. Bob produced his scantling and hunted up a big plane. Then the boys set to with a will, and in a short time had the rough timber nicely smoothed off, with a slight taper toward the top. Then they screwed in a large hook, bought for the purpose, and after providing themselves with a generous length of rope, repaired to the roof of the house. As Bob had told them, there was a large scuttle leading from the attic onto the roof, and one after another they clambered out through this. The roof sloped gently at this point, and while they found it necessary to be careful, they had little difficulty in reaching the chimney. Before erecting the mast they fastened one end of the aerial over the hook in it. The aerial consisted of a single, number fourteen, hard drawn copper wire, insulated at each end by an earthenware insulator having two hooks embedded in it.



One of these hooks went over the hook in the mast, while the other had the end of the wire attached to it. A similar insulator was provided at the other end of the wire, thus preventing its becoming grounded to the house or barn. Having hooked up one end of their aerial, the boys erected the mast against the chimney, and lashed it firmly in position with the rope they had brought up. "There!" exclaimed Bob, when everything was fixed to his liking, "that mast looks as though it might stay put a while. Now let's rig up one on the barn, and we'll have the first part of our job done, anyway." Clambering back to the scuttle, the boys dropped through to the attic floor and hurried downstairs. It was beginning to get dark, and as they wanted to get the aerial up while daylight lasted, everything went with a rush. Of course there was no convenient chimney on the barn to act as a support for the mast, but they finally rigged up a mast at one end of the barn, nailing it securely to the siding boards. Then they drew the copper wire through the hook in the insulator until there was just a little slack, cut off the wire, and wound it securely. Then they all gazed with pride at their handiwork, and had the comfortable feeling that comes of work well done. "Hooray!" shouted Jimmy. "That's what I call a good job, and it didn't take us such a long time, either." "Yes, but that's only the beginning," said Joe. "I only wish we had more time to-night. I feel as though I'd like to keep right on now and not stop until we're actually receiving." "When you two follows are all through arguing, maybe we can go up and hook on our leading-in wire to the aerial," said Joe, impatiently. "We ought to get that much done before dark, anyway." "I don't know about that, Joe," objected Bob. "It's almost dark now, and we could do it better and easier in the daylight. What do you say if you all come around after supper and we'll dope out a wiring diagram and maybe make a start on building the tuning coil." Joe reluctantly consented to this, and the four companions separated for the time being, after promising to return to Bob's house that evening. And true to their promise, the boys had all returned to the Layton home by eight o'clock that evening, full of enthusiasm for the task that lay before them. Mr. Layton was mildly interested in the radiophone project, but after a few questions he retired to the library with the evening paper, leaving the boys to their own devices.

CHAPTER IX

WORK AND FUN

"WELL, fellows," said Bob, "here we are, all set for a busy evening. What shall we do first?" "Shall we get the tuning coil started?" suggested Bob. "It will take us quite some time to do that, but we might get the core wound tonight, anyway." As there was no objection to this, they all went down to the cellar, where Bob had rigged up a work bench and had a pretty complete stock of tools. Jimmy's father had made them a wooden form on which to wind the wire. This core was nothing but a plain cylinder of wood, about three inches in diameter and ten inches long. For Christmas, the year before, Mr. Layton had given Bob a small but accurately made bench lathe, operated by a foot pedal, and Bob mounted the roller between the lathe centers, holding one end in the chuck jaws. Then he produced a narrow roll of stout wrapping paper, such as is used for winding around automobile tires, and a bottle of shellac, together with a small, fine-haired brush.



"First thing," he said, "we want to wind a few layers of shellacked paper on this core. Suppose I turn the core, you let the paper unwind onto it, Joe, and you can shellac the paper as it unrolls, Herb." "That leaves me with nothing to do but boss the job," said Jimmy, "and I don't see why I can't do that as well lying down as standing up, so here goes," and he stretched out luxuriously on an old sofa. "This must have been put here just for me, I guess," he continued, with a sigh of perfect contentment. "Get busy, you laborers, and flash a little speed." "We haven't got time to come and throw you off that sofa just now," said Bob. "But as soon as we get through with this job you'll vacate pretty quick. Are you fellows ready to start now?" "I've been ready for the last half hour," said Joe. "Start that jigger of yours going, and let's see what happens." Bob put a dab of shellac on one end of the paper to get it started, stuck the end on the wooden core, and then started winding the paper onto it at a slow speed. Joe moved the roll of paper back and forth to wind it smoothly and evenly, while Herb shellacked for all he was worth, giving himself almost as liberal a dose of the sticky gum as he gave the paper. It was not long before the core was neatly wrapped, and Bob stopped his lathe. "That looks fine," he said, eyeing the job critically. "Now, while that shellac is drying out a bit, let's see if we can't coax Doughnuts to get up off that couch." "You're welcome," retorted Joe. Then to Bob: "Do you think we can wind the wire on now, Bob?" "Why, I guess so," said Bob, testing the shellac with his finger. "It's getting pretty tacky now; so if we wind the wire on right away the shellac will help to hold it in place when it dries." "Well, start up the old coffee mill, then," said Herb. "If we can get the wire on as slick as we did the paper, it won't be half bad." But the wire was a more difficult thing to work, as they soon found. It required the greatest care to get the wire to lie smooth and close without any space between coils. More than once they had to unwind several coils and rewind them before they finally got the whole core wound in a satisfactory manner. But at last it was finished, all coils wound smooth and close, and the boys gazed at it with pardonable pride. "That doesn't look as bad as it might, does it?" said Bob. "I should say not!" exclaimed Joe. "The last time I was in New York I saw a coil like that in an electrical store window. I didn't know then what it was for, but as far as I can remember, it didn't look much better than this one."

Pages 91-110:

CHAPTER XI

CLEVER THINKING THE radio boys were at Bob's house on the dot, all but Jimmy, who to his great disgust had to do some work for his father, and so could not come. "I suppose we'll have to try to get along someway without his valuable assistance," said Herb. "When he told me he couldn't get here this afternoon he certainly felt sore about it." "I guess I know how he feels, all right," said Joe. "It would pretty near break his heart not to be able to work on this radio stuff now. I'm crazy for the time to come when we can pick our first message or music out of the air."



"I guess you're no more anxious for that to happen than we are," said Bob. "Let's go downstairs and see what we can do." They all made their way to Bob's workroom in the basement, where they found the core well dried and the wire as firmly set on it as the most particular workman could desire. "Good enough!" exclaimed Bob, examining the core with loving pride. "We'll get this set up in a jiffy, and then we can make the condenser." Working together, the boys soon had two square blocks sawn out as end pieces, and they centered the core on these and screwed it fast. Then they drilled holes in the two upper corners of the square end pieces to fit two brass rods they had bought at the hardware store. These rods carried each a small sliding spring, or contact, which rubbed along the length of the tuning coil, one on each side. After they had bolted the brass rods securely in place, the coil was ready for use, except that the boys had first to scrape off the insulating enamel in the path of the sliding contacts, so that they could reach the copper coils. A sharp pen knife soon effected this, and the boys found themselves possessed of a neat, substantial tuning coil, at a cost of only a fraction of what it would have been if they had had to buy a coil already made. And in addition they had the satisfaction that comes of a good job well done, which more than compensated them for the labor involved. "That begins to look like business," exulted Joe. "We'll be putting Mr. Edison out of business pretty soon." "Yes, it's lucky he can't see that tuning coil," laughed Bob, "he'd be looking up the want ads in the papers, sure." "Oh, that coil won't be a patch on the condenser we're going to make," declared Herb. "I know we've got to have a condenser, but I'm blessed if I really understand what it is for," said Joe. "I know the doctor told us about it, but I guess I didn't get a very clear idea of what it was all about." "I'm not very clear on it either," admitted Bob. "But from what he said and what I've read, it seems to be a sort of equalizer for the electric current, storing it up when it's strong and giving it out when it's weak. It prevents the current getting too strong at times and burning something out." "That's the way I understood it, too," said Herb. "And Dr. Dale said that in the larger sets they have what they call a variable condenser, so that they can get more or less damping action according to the strength of the incoming current waves." "I guess I get the idea," said Joe. "But it's a pretty complicated thing when you first tackle it, isn't it?" "Yes, but it's just like almost anything else, probably--it's easy when you know how," said Bob. "It tells here how to make the condenser," said Herb, who had been looking over an instruction book that the boys had bought. "But it says the best thing to use for the plates is tinfoil. Now, where are we going to get the tinfoil from, I'd like to know!" "If you want to know real badly, I'll tell you," said Bob. "Right out of that box over in the corner. Just wait a minute and I'll show you." Bob stepped swiftly over to the box in question and produced a big ball of tinfoil, composed of separate sheets tightly packed together. "When I was a kid I used to collect this stuff and sell it to the junkman," he said. "This ball never got big enough for that, and I forgot all about it until a few days ago when I happened to come across it and thought that it would be just the thing for us to use now. We can easily peel off all the sheets we need, I guess. Some of them are damaged, but there are enough whole ones to do our trick." "Gee, that's fine!" said Joe. "Pry off some, Bob, and let's see if it will serve."



With his knife Bob pried away at likely looking places, and soon had several large sheets off. These, when smoothed out, looked good enough for any purpose. "How many does the book say we'll need, Herb?" asked Bob. "It says eight or ten, each one about four inches square," answered Herb. "And it says they have to be separated by paraffined paper. How are we going to get hold of some of that?" "Paraffine wax is what they use to seal fruit jars," said Joe. "We ought to be able to get some of that easy enough." "Mother had a big cake of it last summer!" cried Bob. "Maybe she has some of it left. Wait here and I'll ask her," and he dashed up the stairs three steps at a time. In a few minutes he returned, having obtained not only the wax but a small sauce pan in which to melt it. "I thought I'd bring this along, so as to have it," he said; "but it's so near supper time that I don't think we'll have a chance to do much more--right now, anyway. What do you say if we knock off now and do some more work this evening after supper?" "Gee, I never thought it was that late," said Herb. "If Jimmy had been here, I suppose he would have been talking about supper for the last hour or so, and we'd have known what time it was." "Well, I'll be here for one," said Joe, "and I'll stop at Jimmy's house on the way home and tell him to get around, too." Bob went upstairs with them, and Herb and Joe went away together, after promising to come back as soon after supper as possible. After they had gone, Bob could not resist the temptation to go down and gaze with an approving eye on the shiny new tuner they had made, and dream of the many wonderful sounds that would soon come drifting in through that gleaming bit of mechanism.

CHAPTER XII

FORGING AHEAD

THE Laytons had hardly finished supper that evening before Jimmy's cheery whistle was heard outside, and Bob jumped up to let him in. "Come in, old timer," Bob called to him. "Where's the rest of the bunch?" "Oh, I guess they'll be along pretty soon," said Jimmy. "I guess I'm a bit early, but I was so anxious to get around that I couldn't wait to come at a respectable time. I suppose I should be boning down for to-morrow's lessons, but I'd never be able to get my mind on them until get our outfit going." "I feel the same way," said Bob. "But at the rate we're going now it won't be very long." "Joe told me you finished the tuning coil this afternoon," said Jimmy. "I don't understand how you ever did it without my being here to tell you how, though." "Oh, we managed to patch it up some way," laughed Bob. "Come on down and look at it, and see if it's good enough to suit you." "Lead me to it," said Jimmy, and the two boys went downstairs. "Say, that's a pippin," said Jimmy, as Bob switched on the light and he caught sight of the finished tuner. "I couldn't have done it better myself. You've certainly made a first class job of it." "We thought it wasn't so bad," admitted Bob modestly. "Especially when one stops to think that you weren't here to give us the benefit of your advice." "That's the most surprising thing about it," said Jimmy. "But now that I'm here to-night, why, we can



go right ahead and get a lot done. Seems to me it must be about time for Joe and Herb to show up." As though in answer to this thought, they heard a tuneful duet, and a moment later came a vigorous ring on the doorbell. "You go up and let them in, will you, Doughnuts?" said Bob. "I want to melt this paraffine and get things started right away." "Sure I will!" And Jimmy hastened off, returning a few minutes later with the missing members of the quartette. "It's about time you got here," said Jimmy. "Bob and I were wondering if we'd have to do all the work by our lonesome, as usual." "Gee, you don't know what work means," returned Joe scornfully. "Last evening you pretty near wore a hole in that old couch resting on it, and this afternoon you were enjoying yourself helping your father instead of coming here and doing a little honest work for a change." "Oh, yes, I enjoyed myself a lot!" exclaimed Jimmy. "I sawed enough one inch planks this afternoon to make either one of you loafers cry for help! And then you talk about my having enjoyed myself!" Said Joe, "When are you going to have that wax cooked good and tender, Bob?" "Suppose you leave the wax to me, and you get busy cutting out some squares of tinfoil and paper," suggested Bob. "This wax will be done a long time before you're ready for it." "All right, I'll do it," said Joe. "I don't suppose there's anybody in the world can beat me at cutting out squares of paper. There may be some things I can't do, but I sure shine at that." "Yes, I guess you can do that all right," admitted Bob. "But I can't be real sure until you give us a demonstration." "Here goes, then," replied Joe. "How big do they want to be?" "Four inches square, the book says, and I suppose the man that wrote it knew what he was talking about," said Bob. "That will do to start on, anyway." Joe carefully measured a square of paper to the required dimensions, and then used it as a pattern in cutting out the others. He soon had a number of neat squares ready, which he handed to Bob, who immersed them in the melted wax. While the paper was soaking this up, Joe cut out a corresponding number of tinfoil squares, leaving a projecting tongue on each one to serve as a terminal. "You're an expert at carpenter work, Doughnuts," said Bob. "If you feel as ambitious as usual you can cut a couple of squares out of that oak plank over in the corner. We'll need them for end pieces to this condenser." "Oh, that will be lots of fun," said Jimmy, who had been casting longing glances toward the old sofa. "I'd a good deal rather saw some more wood than take it easy. How big shall I make them?" "About five inches each way, I should say," answered Bob, reflectively. "That will give us room to drill holes in each corner to put the clamping bolts through. In that drawer under the table you'll find some drills. I think a three-sixteenth drill ought to be all right. There are four brass bolts in that bag on the table, and you can measure them and see what size drill you'll need. I bought them for three-sixteenth anyway." "You go ahead and cut out the pieces Jimmy," said Herb "I'll do the real hard work, like measuring the bolts and picking out the drill. Then when you get the end pieces cut out, the drill will be all ready for you to put the holes through." Jimmy gave him a withering glance, but rolled up his sleeves and set to work. Once started he made the sawdust fly, and before very long had two stout looking pieces of solid oak cut out.



"Where's your drill, Herb?" he inquired then. "Don't tell me you haven't got that ready yet!" "All ready and waiting," was the reply, and Herb handed over the required tool. "Go to it, and see that you make a first class job of it." Clamping both pieces of wood in the vise, Jimmy ran the sharp hand drill through in a workmanlike manner, and then viewed his work with pardonable pride. "There you are," he said. "If this condenser doesn't condense, it won't be because it hasn't got two good end pieces, anyway." "It's funny that you should have to condense electricity," said Herb, with a twinkle in his eye. "It's just the same as milk, isn't it?" "Yes, it isn't," said Bob. "Another wise remark like that, and you'll find yourself out in the wide, wide world, young fellow." "I should say so," said Joe. "That was a fierce one, Herb." "Well, I'll promise to be good," returned Herb. "But I still think that was a pretty fine joke, only you fellows haven't got enough sense of humor to appreciate it." "Well, I guess this paper has soaked up all the wax it's going to, so we can go ahead with the rest of it," said Bob, as he started fishing squares of impregnated paper out of the saucepan. He laid one sheet on one of the blocks that Jimmy had cut out, and on top of that laid a sheet of tinfoil, then another sheet of paper and one of tinfoil, alternating in this way until he had a number of sheets lined up. The little tabs or projections on each sheet of tinfoil he arranged in opposite directions, so that half of them could be attached to a wire on one side of the condenser, and half to a wire on the other side. Then he placed the other wooden block on top of the whole thing, passed the four screws through, one at each corner, and tightened them up evenly. This squeezed all superfluous paraffine from between the plates, and held the whole assembly very securely and neatly. "That looks fine so far," said Jimmy, critically. "But how do you mean to connect up all those tabs on the plates?" "I guess about the only way will be to solder them," replied Bob. "I used to have a soldering iron around here somewhere." He rummaged in the big drawer under the bench and soon produced the iron, which he then proceeded to heat over a gas flame. Said Bob, rising to get the soldering iron. "Whew! but this is hot now, all right. I'll let it cool a bit, and get the condenser ready for soldering."

CHAPTER XIII

THRASHING A BULLY

STRIPPING a length of copper wire, Bob nipped off two short lengths with his pliers and fastened them to opposite sides of the condenser with small staples. Then he brought all the tinfoil plate terminals on each side in contact with the wire on that side, and connected the terminals with their respective wires with a small drop of solder on each. Then he produced a roll of ordinary bicycle tire tape and wound the whole thing neatly in this, leaving only the ends of the two copper wires projecting a distance of perhaps a quarter of an inch. "There!" he exclaimed, "we can solder our other wires up to them when we come to connect up the set. It isn't very fancy, but it ought to do the work." "Gee, Bob, you must have been studying up on this," said Jimmy. "To look at your work, any one



would think you'd been doing this all your life." "I did look it up after you fellows went home last night," admitted Bob. "This condenser isn't made just the way they say, but the principle is the same, and I guess that is the main thing." "We won't worry about how it's made if it only works," said Joe, "and I guess it will do that all right." "We'll hope so, anyway," said Bob. "But there's only one way to find out, and that's to hook our set up and see if we get signals through. And if we do--oh boy!" "I'll bet it will work like a charm," said Jimmy enthusiastically. "We haven't got to make much more now, have we?" "We've got to make a panel and mount all these inventions on it," said Herbert. "That won't take very long," said Bob. "Of course, we can't do it to-night, but to-morrow's Saturday, and if we get started early we may be able to fix things up so that we can hear something to-morrow night. Saturday night is the time they usually send out the biggest number of musical selections, and if we have luck we may be able to listen in on them." "Wow!" exclaimed Herb. "Won't that be the greatest thing that ever happened? You can't start too early to suit me." "Nine o'clock's early enough," said Bob. "Everybody come around here then and we'll make things hum. There's still plenty to do, but we ought to get it finished before that." The boys were so excited at the prospect of actually operating their set the following evening that they could hardly sit still two minutes at a time. They laughed and joked and speculated on what would be the first thing they would hear through the air, and finally Bob's guests started home in an hilarious mood.

Pages 119-153:

CHAPTER XIV

ON THE VERGE Said Bob, "Let's get to work on our panel and see if we can't get things hitched up in time for the Saturday evening concert. I'm crazy to get the thing actually finished now." "No more than I am," said Joe. "Let's go!" His three chums all felt very much at home in Bob's workroom, and knew where to find the various tools almost as well as Bob did himself. Jimmy was given the job of sawing a panel board out of an oak plank, while the others busied themselves with stripping the insulation from lengths of wire and scraping the bared ends to be sure of a good, clean connection. Bob also cleaned and tinned his soldering iron, in preparation for the numerous soldered joints that it would be necessary to make. "It seems to me you rest an awful lot in between strokes, Doughnuts," said Herbert to that perspiring individual. "Why don't you keep right on sawing until you get through? It seems to me that would be a lot better than the way you're doing it." "If you don't like the way I'm doing this, just come and do it yourself," was the indignant reply. "I'd like to see you saw through twenty inches of seven-eighths oak without stopping. You always seem to get all the soft jobs, anyhow. Whenever there's anything real hard to do, like this job, for instance, it gets wished on me." "That's because we know you like hard work," said Bob, laughing. "Well, I get it whether I like it or not," complained Jimmy. "But it's almost done now, so I'll finish it



quickly and prevent any of you fellows having to do some real work." "Jimmy's certainly good at that, you have to admit it," said Joe. "I could just stand here all day and admire the way he does it." But for once the boy refused to rise to the bait, and kept doggedly on until at last he had a neat twenty inch square cut out of the big plank. "There you are, Bob," said Jimmy, panting. "Now see if you can't find some heavy job for these two Indians here." "I'd like to, first rate," laughed Bob, "but I guess you've about finished up the last of the hard jobs. Of course, we've still got to drill a lot of holes in that piece of wood, but that's easy enough." "If you give me your word it's easy, I'll tackle it," said Herb. "Where do we want the holes, Bob?" "I don't know yet," said Bob. "We've got to arrange the different parts on the panel first, and find out just where we want them before we drill a single hole. I don't want to have to change things around after we put holes in the board and spoil the appearance of it." He laid the board on the bench, and arranged the tuning coil, the crystal detector, the condenser, and the terminals for the head phone plugs in what he thought should be their proper positions, and then called for advice on this layout. "If anybody can think of a better way to set these things up, let him speak now or forever hold his peace," said he. "That looks all right to me," returned Joe, eyeing the outfit critically. "But we'll have to raise the panel up an inch or two so as to give room underneath for wires and connections, shan't we?" "Right you are!" exclaimed Bob. "There's another job for you, Jimmy. We'll have to have two cleats to go underneath and raise the whole business up." "Never mind whom I mean," said Jimmy. "Here are your cleats, so you can get busy and screw them on to the back of that panel. I'll lie down on the couch and watch you to see that you don't make any mistakes." "No danger of that," said Herb. "I couldn't make a mistake if I tried. Wait till I get hold of a screw driver and watch my speed." "You'll probably make a mistake without trying," said Jimmy, "but I suppose there's no use trying to give you good advice, so go ahead." However, Herb justified his modest estimate of himself this time, for he soon had the cleats strongly fastened to the back of the panel, raising it two inches, which gave plenty of clearance for wires and screw heads underneath. "That will make a better job of it, anyway," said Bob. "I was figuring on running the wires on the top side, but if we put them underneath it will look neater, although it will take longer to do it." "We might as well do it up brown now that we've got this far," said Joe, and the others were of the same opinion. The boys arranged the various pieces of apparatus to their satisfaction, and then drilled holes through and bolted them securely to the back. This also took a little more time than merely to screw them to the face of the panel, but made a more secure and lasting piece of work. They were still drilling holes and clamping down nuts when Mrs. Layton called down to tell them that lunch was ready. "Ah, this is the life!" sighed Jimmy, as he stretched out luxuriously on his back and gazed up at the cloud-flecked sky. "It isn't so bad," admitted Bob, biting on tender blades of young grass. "But I'd enjoy it more if we had



our outfit together and working." "It won't take long to finish it now, do you think?" asked Joe. "Not unless we strike a snag somewhere," said Bob. "After we get everything assembled, we've still got to run our leading-in wire down to my bedroom. But I don't think that will take us very long." "By ginger, I just can't loaf around until we do get it working!" exclaimed Joe' springing to his feet. "Come on, fellows, let's get busy. We can take it easy after we have everything fixed up."

CHAPTER XV

THE FINISHING TOUCH

THE three chums set to work with a will, cutting, stripping, and soldering wires, and while the afternoon was still young they made their last connection and found themselves possessed of a real honest-to-goodness radio receiving outfit, not quite so beautifully finished and polished off as a set bought readymade in a store, perhaps, but still serviceable and practical. "Hooray!" shouted all three together, so loudly that the sound reached Jimmy, still lying on the grass, and roused him from his blissful slumber. "What's the matter here?" he asked a few moments later, coming sleepily down the stairs. "Is the place on fire, or what?" "No, but we've got the whole set together at last, and we thought we were entitled to a yell or two," explained Bob. "Gee, that's fine! I didn't mean to sleep so long. Why didn't you wake me sooner?" "You seemed to be enjoying that snooze so much that we hated to disturb you," said Bob. "There wasn't very much you could have done, anyway." "Well, I certainly feel a lot better," said Jimmy, with a prodigious yawn. "What's the next thing on the program?" "All we've got to do now is to hook up our leading-in wire and ground wire and we'll be all set," said Bob. "I've got a fine big table in my bedroom, and I was thinking that that would be a fine place to mount all our things and keep them together." This was agreeable to all concerned, so they repaired forthwith to Bob's room. This was situated on the top floor, and, as it happened, almost under the scuttle leading onto the roof. This made it comparatively easy to connect up with the antenna, as all they had to do was to bring the leading-in wire through the frame of the scuttle, drill a hole through the attic floor and the ceiling of Bob's room, and drop the insulated leading-in wire through. To make it perfectly safe, they surrounded the wire, where it passed through the scuttle and ceiling, with a fire proof asbestos bushing or sleeve. In this work they received some advice from Dr. Dale, who chanced to drop in. All this work took some time, and it was nearly dark when they had made all their connections, including the ground connection to a water pipe. On one corner of Bob's big table they had inserted a small knife-blade switch in the leading-in wire, so that the set could be disconnected from the aerial when not in use, or during storms so as to guard against lightning. When all was finished the boys viewed the result of so many hours of hard work and planning with mingled feelings of delight at its business-like appearance and apprehension that, after all, it might not work.



"Gee, I'm almost afraid to try it," said Bob. "But we've got to find out what rotten radio constructors we are some time, so here goes," and he produced his set of head phones. So did Joe and Herb, but Jimmy was struck with a sudden unpleasant thought. "Great Scott!" he exclaimed. "I've gone and left my set home. I'll get it and come back as soon as I can," and he dived precipitately out of the room. "He didn't need to be in such a hurry," laughed Bob. "We could have taken turns with ours." "Well, let's connect up, anyway, and see if we can hear anything," said Joe. "There's no use waiting until Jimmy gets back. It won't take him a long while, and likely enough he'll be back before we raise any signals, anyway." "Well, pull up your chairs, and we'll plug in," said Bob, adjusting the ear phones over his head. "I saw in this morning's paper that the Newark broadcasting station was going to send out an orchestra concert this afternoon, and if our set is any good we ought to hear part of it." They all adjusted their ear phones and then drew up chairs and inserted the plugs in the spring sockets designed for their reception. They had connected four pairs of these sockets in parallel, so that all four head sets could be used at once. Now was the crucial moment, and the boys waited breathlessly for some sound to come out of the air to them.

CHAPTER XVI

SWEETS OF VICTORY

BOB set one of the sliders about at the middle of the tuning coil, and set the other--the one connected to the leading-in wire--about opposite. Then he adjusted the sharp pointed wire on the detector until the point was just touching the crystal. Still there was no sound in the ear phones, and the boys looked at one another in bitter disappointment. Bob moved the antenna slider slowly along the tuning coil, and suddenly, faint, but very clear, the boys heard the opening chords of an overture played by a famous orchestra nearly a hundred miles away! Sweet and resonant the distant music rose and fell, growing in tone and volume as Bob manipulated the contacts along the coil. The boys sat spellbound listening to this miracle, to this soul stirring music that seemed as though it must surely be coming from some other world. Hardly breathing, they listened until the last blended chords whispered away into space, and then looked at each other like people just awakened from a dream. Bob was the first to speak. "I think we can call our set a success, fellows," he said, with a quiet smile. "Bob, that was simply wonderful!" cried Joe, jumping up and pacing about the room in his excitement. "Why, we can sit here and hear that orchestra just as well as though we were in the same hall with it. It seems like a fairy tale." "So it is," said Bob. "Only this is a fairy tale that came true. I wish Jimmy had been here to listen in with us." "He's here now, anyway," said a familiar voice, and Jimmy burst into the room, puffing and blowing. "Does it work, fellows? Tell me about it." "I should say it did work!" replied Joe. "We just heard a wonderful selection played by a big orchestra. It must be the Newark broadcasting station, as they had promised a concert for this afternoon."



"I missed it, then, didn't I?" said Jimmy, with a downcast face. "Yes, but they'll play something else pretty soon," said Herb. "Plug in with your ear phones, and maybe you'll hear something to cheer you up." "It will take quite a good deal," said Jimmy, "after hoofing it all the way to my house and back on the double quick. I'll bet that trip took ten pounds off me, if it took an ounce." Said Joe, "Hurry up and plug in here, so that we'll be ready for the next number on the program." "Oh, all right, all right," said Jimmy, adjusting his phones. "If I'm not ready, just tell 'em to wait." The absurdity of this idea raised a laugh, which was suddenly cut short as the first notes of a rousing march came ringing into the ear phones. Every note was true and distinct as before, with practically no interference, and when the last note had died away the boys rose and as though actuated by one impulse, executed an impromptu war dance. When they had quieted down somewhat, Bob rushed downstairs and brought his mother up to hear her first radio concert. She was rather incredulous at first, but when the first notes of a violin solo reached her ears, her expression suddenly changed, and when the selection was over she was almost as enthusiastic as the boys themselves. "That was simply wonderful!" she exclaimed. "I never imagined you would be able to hear anything half as distinctly as that." "I'll bet you never thought you'd hear anything over our home-made set, now did you?" accused Bob. Mrs. Layton looked a trifle guilty. "I never thought you'd get it working so soon nor so perfectly," she confessed. "But now that you have, I certainly congratulate you." They all listened for some time for something else to come in over the aerial, but apparently the concert was over, for they could hear nothing but a confused murmur, with here and there some fragment of a sentence coining out clear above the general confusion. This was probably due to the sending being so distant as to be almost beyond their range. Just before supper time they heard a message from a ship at sea, and Joe, Herb, and Jimmy could hardly tear themselves away to go home to supper. They finally got started, however, promising to return as soon as they could after supper, so as to be in time for the evening concert. After they had gone, Bob called up Doctor Dale, and told him of the successful outcome of their experiment. The minister was delighted. "That's great work!" he exclaimed heartily. "So the set works well, does it?" "Yes, sir, it certainly does," said Bob. "Of course it's not as good as yours, and we can't tune out interference very well. But it does all that I hoped it would, and more. I wish you could around to hear it when you get a chance." "I tell you what I'll do," said the doctor. "I have an expert radio man visiting me here this evening. How would it be if I dropped around some time during the evening, and brought him with me?" "Fine!" exclaimed Bob, delighted at the prospect of talking with an experienced radio man. "We'll all be looking for you, sir. Bob was delighted over the doctor's promise, and told his friends about it as soon as they arrived that evening. They were all equally pleased. "He can tell us just what we need to know," commented Joe. "You can dig a lot of stuff out of books, but lots of times just the question you want answered doesn't seem to be in them." The boys had just raised the Newark station, and were listening to the first number on the program, a soprano solo, when the minister and his friend arrived. He introduced the stranger as Mr. Brandon, and



the latter immediately made himself at home. "I hear you fellows got your set working first crack out of the box," he said, as they were going upstairs. "You're luckier than I was with my first one, because I had a lot of trouble before I got my first signal through. I fooled around a long time before I found out what the trouble was, too." "What was it?" asked Bob. "I finally found that the water pipes were insulated from the street pipes, as they are in some houses, so that I really didn't have any ground at all, even though my ground wire was connected with a pipe in the bathroom. I might have been looking for the trouble yet if a friend of mine hadn't given me a tip what to look for." By this time they had reached Bob's room, and Dr. Dale and Mr. Brandon inspected the boys' outfit with great interest. "Pretty good for beginners, isn't it, Brandon?" said the minister at length, when they had gone over the thing at length and Bob had explained the way they had made the different units. "I should say so," acquiesced the expert. "They've made up one of the neatest amateur jobs I've seen in a long time. Let's see how it sounds." He and the doctor donned head phones, and Mr. Brandon manipulated the tuning coil and the crystal detector with a deftness that spoke of long experience. He showed the boys how they might get even clearer and louder tones than any they had yet obtained by adjusting the detector until the best possible contact was obtained with the crystal. "You could hear better with a more elaborate set of course," he said, "but you get mighty good results with what you've got. Of course, your range is limited to less than two hundred miles with this set, and your tuning range is limited, too. But you've made a fine start, and with this as a foundation you can go on adding equipment, if you like, until you have a first class receiving station." "Yes, and after we get a little more experienced we want to try our hand at sending, too," said Joe. "Well, that's a more complicated undertaking," said Mr. Brandon. "But there's no reason why you shouldn't, if you are willing to go to the trouble to learn the international code and take an examination. You have to be able to receive ten words a minute, you know, to get a license." "I suppose you're an expert both sending and receiving," said Bob. "I ought to know something about it by this time," said Mr. Brandon. "Uncle Sam has me working for him now as radio inspector, so I'm supposed to know something about it." "Mr. Brandon was with the aviation radio branch of the service during the war," explained Dr. Dale, "and he has seen radio telephony develop from almost nothing to what it is to-day." "Yes, it was the war that speeded up the growth of radio," said Mr. Brandon. "It revolutionized war in the air, and made it possible to control the movements of airplanes in a way that had never been dreamed of before." "You must have had some mighty interesting and exciting work," ventured Herb. "All of that," admitted Dr. Dale's friend, with a smile. "Once our whole station was wrecked by a bomb dropped on it from an enemy plane. Luckily, we all had time to duck out before the bomb landed, but there wasn't anything left of our fine station but a big hole in the ground and bits of apparatus scattered around over the landscape. There were very few dull moments in that life." "It doesn't sound very dull," said Bob, laughing. "I can assure you it wasn't," said the radio expert. "But in the case I was telling you about, our airmen brought down the fellow who had dropped the bomb, which made us feel a little better."



"There's some interesting stuff coming in now," said Dr. Dale, who had been listening in at the receiving set. "They're sending out news bulletins now, and I'd advise you to listen for a bit. It's away ahead of reading a newspaper, I assure you." "Besides being easier on the eyes," grinned Mr. Brandon. "Let's hear what it's all about." Sitting at ease, they heard many important news items of the day recorded. There was a little interference from an amateur sender, but they finally managed to eliminate this almost entirely by manipulation of the tuning coil. "I know that fellow," said Brandon. "I was inspecting his outfit just a few days ago. He's got a pretty good amateur set, too. He's located in Cooperstown, not twenty miles from here." "My, you must know every station in this part of the country!" exclaimed Joe, surprised. "It's my business to know them all," said Brandon. "And if anybody takes a chance and tries to send without a license, it's up to me to locate him and tell him what's what." "It must be hard to locate them, isn't it?" asked Jimmy. "Sometimes it is," returned the radio inspector. I'm tracing down a couple now, and hope to land them within a few days." The little company had some further interesting talk, and then, as it was getting rather late, Dr. Dale and his friend rose to go. "I'm glad to have met all you fellows," said the radio expert, shaking hands all around. "If there's anything I can do to help you along at any time, Dr. Dale can tell you where to find me, and I'll be glad to be of service." The boys thanked their visitor heartily, and promised to avail themselves of his offer in case they found that they needed help. Then Bob saw the visitors to the door, and returned to his friends. "We're mighty lucky to have met a man like that who knows this game from start to finish," said Joe. "I'd give a lot to know what he does about it." "You never will know as much," said Jimmy. "Mr. Brandon is a smart man." In a few moments three tuneful whistlers were making their way homeward, with hearts elated at the success of their first venture into the wide field of radio telephony.

CHAPTER XVII

THE FERBERTON PRIZE

For the next few days the boys' radio set was in much demand. Of course all their immediate relatives had to listen in, as it is called, and they also invited many of their friends, both boys and girls, to try it. "Oh, it's too wonderful for anything," declared Joe's sister Rose. "To think of getting all that music from such a distance!" "Yes, and that splendid sermon Sunday afternoon!" exclaimed Mrs. Plummer. "I declare, if Dr. Dale doesn't look out they'll make it so nobody will have to go to meeting any more." "I've certainly got to hand it to you boys," was Doctor Atwood's comment. "I didn't think you could really do it. This radio business is going to change everything. Why, a person living away off in the country can listen in on the finest of concerts, lectures, sermons and everything else. And pick up all the very latest news in the bargain." A most interesting thing happened to the radio boys. The Representative in Congress of the district in which Clintonia was located, Mr. Ferberton, came out with an offer of a prize of one hundred dollars for



the best amateur wireless outfit made by any boy in his district, and a second prize of fifty dollars. It was stipulated that the entire set, outside of the head phones, must be made by the boy himself, without any assistance from grown-ups. A time limit of three weeks was allowed, at the end of which time each set submitted was to be tried out by a committee composed of prominent business men and radio experts, and the prizes awarded to those getting the best results and making the neatest appearance. It may be imagined what effect this offer had on the four radio boys. The announcement was made at the high school one day, and from that time on the boys were engrossed with the idea of winning the coveted prize. "Just think of the honor it would be, let alone the hundred dollars," said Bob. "Whoever wins that prize will be known through the entire State." "I wouldn't care much who got the honor, so long as I got first prize," said Jimmy, avariciously. "What I couldn't do with all that money--yum, yum!" "Yes, or even fifty dollars wouldn't be anything to sneeze at," said Joe. "I give you fellows notice right here that you'll have to step mighty lively to beat yours truly to one of those fat plums." "Gee, you'll never have a chance," said Jimmy. "Why, my set will be so good that it will probably win both prizes. Nobody else will have a look in." "All you'll win will be the nickel plated necktie for frying," said Herb. "If you really want to see the winner of the first prize, just gaze steadily in my direction," and he grinned. "I'm not saying anything, but that doesn't prove that I'm not thinking a lot," said Bob. "Never leave little Bob Layton out of it when there's a prize hanging around to be picked." "It would be just like your beastly luck to win it," said Jimmy. "There won't be much luck about this, I guess," said Joe. "By the time the judges get through picking the winner, the chances are it will take a pretty nifty set to pull down first prize--or second, either, for that matter," he added. "There's a lot of fellows trying for it, I hear." "Well, as far as we four go, we all start even," continued Bob. "All that we know about radio we learned together, so nobody has a head start on the other."



One day the hardware dealer of whom they had purchased their supplies called Bob, Joe and Jimmy into his establishment. "Got something to show you," he declared importantly. "New box set, just from New York, and sells for only twenty-two fifty. Better than any you can make. Want to try it? There's a concert coming in from Springfield right now." "Yes, sir, we'd like to try it, and it's good of you to let us," answered Bob. "But we believe in making our own sets. That's more than half the fun." "Yes, but just wait till you hear this box set," urged the dealer. "Then maybe you'll want to own one. A professional set is always better than an amateur one, you know." The boys didn't know but they did not say so. They followed the man to a back room of his establishment, where the box set rested on a plain but heavy table. "There are the ear phones, help yourselves," he said. "I've got to wait on that customer that just came in." The three radio boys proceeded to make themselves at home around the table. They adjusted the ear phones and listened intently. There was not a sound. "Guess the concert is over," observed Doughnuts. "Wait till I make a few adjustments," put in Bob, and proceeded to tune up as best he could. He had been reading his book of instructions carefully of late, so went to work with a good deal of intelligence. "There it is!" cried Joe, as the music suddenly burst upon their ears. "Listen, fellows! They are playing Dixie!" "And it sounds mighty good," added Jimmy enthusiastically. "But no better than it would on our set at home," put in Bob, quickly. "Not a bit," added Joe, loyally. The three lads listened to another selection and then the storekeeper joined them. "Isn't that grand?" said he. "I'll bet you can't make a box as good as that." "Maybe we'll make something better," said Bob. "You come up to our place some day and listen to what we have." "Then you don't think you want a box?" And the shopkeeper's voice indicated his disappointment. "Not just yet anyway," answered Bob. "We'd rather buy the parts from you and make our own," added



Joe. "Besides, we want to try for the Ferberton prizes." "Oh, that's it. Well, when you want anything, come to me," concluded the dealer.

CHAPTER XVIII

FRIENDLY RIVALS

THE radio boys, Herb excepted, finally decided each to make his own set without any consultation with any of the others, and submit it to be judged strictly on its merits. "Three weeks ought to give us plenty of time," said Bob. "I'm going to do a lot of experimenting before I start in to make the real set. Of course, the one we've already got belongs to all of us equally, and you fellows know you can come and use it any time you feel like it." "Your mother will be putting us out if we spend much more time at your house," replied Joe. "It seems as though we have just about been living there lately." "Oh, don't let that worry you," said Bob. "You know you're welcome at any time. Besides, we won't have to put all our time on the new sets, either. We can have plenty of fun in the evening with our present one." The boys finally agreed to build their sets each by himself, and to say nothing about any features or improvements that they might incorporate in it. They were all enthusiastic over their chances, although they knew that the winners would have to overcome a lot of first-class opposition. Herb felt sorry at times that he had not started a set of his own, but his was an easy-going disposition that took things as they came, and while the other boys were studying all the books they could find on the subject and consulting Dr. Dale, Mr. Brandon having departed, he was listening to music and talk over the original set, and enjoying himself generally. "You go ahead and have all the fun you want now," said Joe one time, when Herb was teasing him about working so hard. "My fun will come later." "Yes--if you win the prize," said Herb. "But if you don't, you won't be any better off than I am, and you'll be out all your work besides." "Not a bit of it," denied Joe. "Even if I don't win either prize, my set will be returned to me after the judging is over, and I'll have that to show for my trouble, anyway." "Maybe you will, if they don't tear it all apart while they're looking it over," said Herb. "Aw, forget it," advised Joe. "If I don't get anything out of it but the experience, I won't think that I've wasted my time." "Well, that's the spirit, all right," said Herb, "Go to it. But you ought to have heard the concert I heard last evening while you slaves were working your heads off." "Yes, but when I get this outfit of mine working, I'll be able to hear everything a lot better than you can with the set we've got now," said Joe. "I've got some good kinks out of a radio magazine that I'm going to put in mine, and it's going to be a regular humdinger." "Oh, all right, all right," said Herb, laughing. "That's the very thing that Jimmy was telling me only this afternoon. He's putting a lot of sure fire extras on his set, too. I don't think there will be enough prizes to go around." "I don't care whether there are or not, so long as I get one," said Joe, with frank selfishness. "One is all I want." "That's probably exactly one more than you'll get," grinned Herb. "But you may astonish us all by



working up something really decent. Funny things like that do happen, sometimes." " 'It's easier to criticize than to create,' " quoted Joe. "Likewise, 'he who laughs last, irritates.' If those two wise old sayings don't hold you for a while, I'll try to think up a few more for you."

Pages 212-214: The town hall that night was crowded, and many had to be content with standing room. Upon the platform were numerous wireless telephone sets that had been received for the competition. Mr. Ferberton himself presided at the gathering. He made a most interesting address, in which he dealt with the wonders of wireless and gave a review of its latest developments. His own set, which was one of the largest and most powerful the radio boys had ever seen, had been installed on the platform with a large horn attached, and for an hour and a half, while waiting for the prizes to be awarded, the auditors were regaled with a delightful concert. In the meantime, a committee of three radio experts had been examining the sets submitted in competition. They subjected them to various tests, taking into account the care displayed in workmanship, the ingenuity shown in the choice of materials, and the clearness of tone discerned when each in turn was connected with the aerial and put to a practical test. The choice was difficult, for many of them showed surprising excellence for amateurs. At last, however, the awards were decided on, and Mr. Ferberton, holding the list in his hand, advanced to the edge of the platform. The silence became so intense that one could almost have heard a pin drop. "The first prize," he said after a few words of introduction, "is awarded to Robert Layton." There was a roar of applause, for no one in town was more popular than Bob. "The second prize goes to Joseph Atwood," continued Mr. Ferberton, and again the hall rocked with applause. "If there had been a third prize," the speaker concluded, "it would have been awarded to James Plummer. As it is, he receives honorable mention." And Jimmy too had his share of the cheering and hand clapping. Long after the lights were out and the audience dispersed, the chums sat on Bob's porch, elated and hilarious. "I'm the only rank outsider," grinned Herb. "I take off my hat to the rest of the bunch. You're the fellows!" "You needn't take it off to me," laughed Jimmy. "I got only honorable mention, and there isn't much nourishment in that. Not half as much as there is in a doughnut. I could have used that money, too." "What are you two bloated plutocrats thinking of?" asked Herb of Bob and Joe, who had let the others do most of the talking. "Radio," replied Joe. "The most wonderful thing in the world," declared Bob.

THE END



The Radio Boys At Ocean Point--extracts (1922)

The Radio Boys at Ocean Point, Allen Chapman, 1922, pages v - vi:

FOREWORD

BY JACK BINNS IN these days of Radio broadcasting, when the country has gone wild over wireless music and entertainment, there is a tendency to overlook the other phases of radio--such as its use as a means of saving life at sea, and for navigational purposes generally. There is no doubt about the interesting character of broadcasting, and equally, there is no doubt about the importance of radio as a means of life saving. With this thought in mind, I think that the present volume, detailing the adventures of the Radio Boys, serves a very useful purpose in that it forcibly portrays the use of wireless to bring aid to a disabled ship on the high seas in a storm. By doing this it will inculcate a desire among boys to learn the wireless code and transmit wireless telegraphy messages themselves, and in doing so will tend to develop that nucleus of communication experts in the coming generation, which is always an imperative necessity to every nation.

Pages 9-15:

THE RADIO BOYS AT OCEAN POINT

CHAPTER I

TAKEN UNAWARES "JIMINY, but this is hot work!" exclaimed Bob Layton, as he laid down the hammer he was using and wiped his perspiring forehead. "Hot is right," agreed his friend, Joe Atwood, as he also took a moment's breathing space. "You might almost think it was August instead of early June. Old Sol must have got mixed up in his calendar." "I'd call it a day and knock off right now if we were doing anything else," remarked Bob. "But, somehow, when I get going on this radio business I can't seem to quit. There's something about this wireless that grips a fellow. Work seems like play."



"Same here," said Joe. "I guess we're thirty third degree radio fans all right. I find myself talking radio, thinking radio, dreaming radio. If there was any such thing as radio breakfast food I'd be eating it." "I'm afraid we'll get thin if we wait for that," laughed Bob, picking up his hammer and resuming work on the aerial that they were stringing on the top of his father's barn. "But come along now, old scout, and get a hustle on. We're going to finish this job to-day if it takes a leg." Joe stretched himself lazily. "I hope it won't come to that," he replied. "I need both legs in my business." "Well, come along and shake a leg anyway," counseled Bob: "I'm not asking you to lose one." "I'm glad we decided to make this aerial in umbrella shape," remarked Joe, as, following his friend's example, he set busily to work. "I think it has it all over the vertical one. We'll be able to hear the messages from the broadcasting station a heap better than we ever did before." "I'm sure we shall," returned Bob. "That's the kind Doctor Dale is using on his set, and he tried both the vertical and the flat-top kind before he finally settled on this. It's better for longwave work. It stands to reason that since it has the greatest surface area it also has the greatest capacity. Then, too, the end of the antenna that has the greatest potential is nearest the ground. The doctor gave me a lot of dope about it that sounded reasonable. He knows by actual experience, and that's better than all the theory in the world." "What Doctor Dale says goes with me all right," replied Joe. "He's never been wrong yet in any of the tips he's given us. It's funny, isn't it," he continued, as he deftly drove a nail, "that we're never satisfied with what we've got in this radio work? That first set we put together looked pretty good to us at the time. Then the ones with which we won the Ferberton prizes looked a good deal better yet. But now here we are making it still better." "That's the beauty of radio," said Bob, with enthusiasm. "The surface of it hasn't been more than scratched so far. It's practically a brand new thing with a million features to be explored and countless improvements to be made. I suppose a few years from now we'll be laughing at the instruments we're using now. They'll seem as old fashioned as the stage coach and the kerosene lamp. Some of the best brains in the world are working at it now, and there's hardly a day that you don't hear of something new in connection with it. It keeps you guessing all the time as to what will turn up next." "Right you are," agreed Joe. "Did you read the other day about that man in Paris who runs his house by radio? You know they have a powerful radio outfit on the Eiffel Tower. That starts operations at six o'clock every morning. This fellow has rigged up things all over his house that are controlled by the waves that come from the tower. First the shutters fly open, then the curtains are drawn back, then electric heaters get into action and begin to make the coffee----" "Say," interrupted Bob, turning to look at his friend, "what are you giving me? Trying to get me on a string?" "Honest to goodness, I'm not trying to kid you," replied Joe. "This is straight goods. The coffee begins to bubble in the percolators, the breakfast is started cooking, and the people are waked up by electric bells placed alongside their beds. If the weather is hot, the electric fans are started working." "Does it wash and dress the baby, too?" demanded Bob, with a laugh. "I don't know whether they've got as far as that yet," replied Joe, with a grin; "but it starts a lullaby at night and sings the baby to sleep. It sure does wonders. There seems to be no limit to what it can be made to do."



"We'll have to tell Jimmy about that," chuckled Bob. "Anything that will save work will make a hit with him. He'll want to hitch it up so that it will saw wood for him and mow the front lawn. By the way, Joe, when did Jimmy say he'd be around? He promised to help us out with this." "He said he wouldn't be able to get here before three," replied Joe. "He had to go on an errand for his father. But to-day's baking day at his house, and I smelled doughnuts cooking as I came past. Ten to one he's filling up on those. That beats working on a roof in a hot sun." "I shouldn't wonder if you were more than half right," agreed Bob. "But what's keeping Herb? He promised to help out on the job." "There's company at his house," explained Joe. "But he said he'd slip away as soon as he could and get over here." "Sounds mighty uncertain," said Bob. "Looks like a case of doing it ourselves if we want it done. And it's got to be done this afternoon. They've got a dandy program on at the broadcasting station to-night, and I don't want to miss it." The two boys set to work with redoubled energy, despite the sweat that rolled down their faces and made them have frequent recourse to their handkerchiefs. "What's the idea of all those rocks down at the side of the barn, Bob?" inquired Joe, at the moment that his work brought him close to the edge of the roof. "They're for some repairing that dad's going to do to the barn," replied Bob. "The side of it has settled some, and he's going to put in a new stone foundation. The old shebang needs a lot of fixing, anyway. The water pipes are rusty, and they'll have to be replaced. He wants to get the place in shape before we go down to Ocean Point for the summer." "Ocean Point!" repeated Joe, With a sigh. "Why do you want to bring that up now when I'm dripping with sweat? It's cruelty to animals. Say, Bob, what would you give just at this minute to be taking a dip in the briny? Just imagine yourself at the end of the pier with your hands above your head, ready to dive down into that cool green water, down, down, down, and feel it closing all around you and----" "Who's cruel now?" groaned Bob. "Stop right where you are or I'll throw something at you. Don't you suppose I'm just as crazy as you to get down there? It's only last night that I dreamed I was there. Oh, boy! The swimming, the fishing, the boating, the games on the sand, the----" "Radio," suggested Joe. "Righto!" agreed Bob "That will be a new thing there that we've never had before. And instead of being in a hot, stuffy room, we can sit on the veranda, with the sea breeze blowing all around us, and the ocean stretched before us in the moonlight, and the lights of ships passing up and down the coast and----" "Back up," laughed Joe. "You're getting poetical. You could almost set that to music. But you're dead right that it will be just what the doctor ordered to listen to a radio concert under such conditions. Where can we put up our radio set? In your cottage or mine, I suppose." "I've got an idea it would be a good thing to put it up in the community hall," replied Bob. "Then everybody could enjoy it, and there's a broader and bigger piazza there than any of the cottages have. We're all like one big family there anyway." "That's a dandy plan," agreed Joe. "I shouldn't wonder, too, if we caught a good many messages from ships while we are down there. Almost all the vessels now are equipped with wireless, and we ought to be able to listen in on lots of talk going on with the shore." "I only wish we could talk back to them," said Bob "I'm keen for the time when we can send



messages, as well as listen in on them. But that will be possible, too, before the end of the summer. I'm studying up hard on the code and I know you are too, and we ought to be able to pass our examinations soon and get the right to have a sending station."

Pages 30-39: CHAPTER III

MARVELS OF RADIO

"DON'T forget now," Bob reminded them, as his friends passed out of the gate on the way to their respective homes. "Be over at the house a little before eight, for the concert begins at eight o'clock sharp, and there aren't many things in it that we want to miss. It's the best program that I've seen for a month past. There's violin music and band marches and opera selections and a bit of jazz mixed in." "Sounds as if it were going to be the cat's whiskers," said Jimmy. "Jimmy, I'm ashamed of you," said Bob, with mock severity. "When are you going to leave off using that horrible slang?" "He might at least have said the 'feline's hirsute adornments,' " muttered Joe. "That would have been a little more dignified. But dignity and Jimmy parted company a long time ago." "I didn't know they'd ever met," remarked Herb. "But if they were 'lovers once they're strangers now.' " They laughed and parted with another admonition by Bob to be on time. He himself went into the house and solaced himself with the cold bath and change of clothes that he had been promising himself all through that hot afternoon. A brisk rubdown with a rough towel did wonders, and by the time his mother returned he was feeling in as good shape as ever, with the exception of a touch of lameness in the right arm that had been subjected to such an unusual strain that day. By a quarter to eight that evening the boys began to come, and even the tardy Jimmy was on hand before the time scheduled for the concert to begin. In addition to the pleasure they anticipated from the unusually fine program, they were keenly curious to learn what improvement, if any, had been made by the installation of the umbrella aerial. They were not long left in doubt. From the very first tuning in there was an increase in the clearness and volume of the sound that surpassed all their expectations. The opening number chanced to be a violin solo, played by a master of the instrument. It represented a dance of the fairies and called for such rapid transitions up and down the scale as to form a veritable cascade of rippling notes, following each other with almost inconceivable swiftness. And yet so dearly was each note reproduced, so distinctly was each delicate shading of the melody indicated, that the player might have been in the next room or even in the same room behind a screen. The boys and the others were delighted. They listened spellbound, and when in a glorious burst of what might have been angel music the selection ended, the lads clapped their hands in enthusiastic applause. "That's what you can call music!" ejaculated Bob. "That player knows what he's about," was Herb's tribute. "And how perfectly we heard every note," cried Joe. "We certainly made a ten strike, Bob, when we rigged up that new aerial. It's got the other beaten twenty ways." "I guess you're right about that," said Jimmy. "I don't grudge a minute of the time you spent this



afternoon in putting it up. It was worth all the trouble." Bob looked hard at him, but Jimmy was as sober as a judge, and before either Bob or Joe could frame a suitable retort the crashing notes of a military band came to their ears and put from them the thought of anything else. It was a medley that the band played, composed of well known airs ranging from "Hail Columbia" to "Dixie" and so inspiring was it that the boys' hands were moving and their feet jigging in time with the music all through the performance. For fully two hours they sat entranced through a varied program that included things so dissimilar as famous grand opera selections, the plaintive melodies of Hawaiian guitars, and some jazz, and when at last the list was ended the boys sat back with a sigh of satisfaction, their faces flushed and their eyes shining. "Ever hear anything like it?" asked Bob, as he relaxed into his chair and took off his ear pieces. "It's the best ever!" declared Joe. "And to think that we can have something like it almost any night we choose, and all of that without going out of this room!" "That's the beauty of it," Bob assented. "To hear a concert that included such fine talent as that we'd have to go to New York. That would mean all the time and trouble of dressing up, the long ride on the railroad train, the getting back home at two or three o'clock in the morning, to say nothing of the ten dollars apiece or thereabouts that we'd have to pay for train fare and tickets for the concert. For us four that would mean about forty dollars. Now we haven't paid forty cents, not even one cent, we haven't had to dress, we've sat around here lazy and comfy, we can go to bed whenever we like, and we've had the concert just the same. And what we did to-night we can do any night. I tell you, fellows, we haven't begun yet to realize what a wonderful thing this radio is. It's simply a miracle." "Right you are," agreed Joe. "And just remember that what's true of us four is true of four thousand or perhaps four hundred thousand. Take the biggest concert hall in the United States and perhaps it will hold five thousand. When it's full, everybody else has to stay away. But there's no staying away with radio. And every one has as good a seat as any one else. Think where that concert's been heard to-night. People out as far as Chicago and Detroit have heard it. They've listened to it on board of ships out at sea. In lonely farmhouses people have enjoyed it. Men sitting around campfires up in the Adirondacks have had receivers at their ears. Sick people and cripples lying on their beds have been cheered by it. Lonely people in hotel rooms far away from home have found pleasure in it. There's absolutely no limit to what the radio can do. It seems to me that it throws in the shade everything else that's ever been invented." "You haven't put it a bit too strong," chimed in Herb. "But talking about a lot of people hearing it makes me think that perhaps we fellows have been a bit selfish." "What do you mean?" asked Jimmy in some surprise. "It isn't so long ago that we got the old folks and sick folks together and gave them a concert at Doctor Dale's house--Joel Banks and Aunty Bixby and the rest of them." "I don't mean that," explained Herb. "That was all right as far as it went, and I hope we'll do it soon again. But what I have in mind are our own folks and our friends. Our fathers and mothers haven't heard much of this concert tonight, and there are some of the fellows that we might have invited in." "But we have only four sets of ear pieces," objected Jimmy. "I suppose of course we could attach a few more----" "I get Herb's idea," interrupted Bob, "and it's a good one. He thinks that we ought to have a loud speaker--a horn that would fill the room with sound and do away with the ear pieces altogether." "You hit the bull's-eye the first time," Herb conceded. "In other words, instead of having a concert for



four have it for fourteen or forty."

CHAPTER IV

FACING THE BULLY THE radio boys ruminated over Herb's suggestion for a little while. "The idea itself is all right," pronounced Joe slowly, "but the trouble is that we couldn't do it very well with this set, which is the best we've been able to make so far. We can hear the sound that comes over the wire well with these earpieces glued to our ears, but the sound would be lost if it were spread all over the room." "Wouldn't the horn help out on that?" asked Herb. "Not by itself, it wouldn't," answered Bob. "It's a mistake to think that the horn itself makes the sound or increases its loudness. The only use of the horn is to act as a relay for the diaphragm of the receiver and connect it with the air in the room. But the sound itself must first be in the receiver. And with a crystal detector, such as we're using in this set, I'm afraid that we couldn't get volume of sound enough. It would be spread out over the room so thinly that no one would be able to hear anything. We'll have to amplify the sound, and to do that there's nothing better than a vacuum tube. That's the best thing that the world has discovered so far." "I guess it is," remarked Jimmy. "Doctor Dale has one in his set." "Yes," chimed in Joe. "He even has more than one. The more there are the louder and clearer the sound." "I don't suppose we could make one," Herb remarked. "No; that's one thing that costs real money," replied Bob. "But don't let that bother you. I've got quite a lot left of that hundred dollars of the Ferberton prize, and there's nothing I'd rather spend it for than to improve the radio set." "Count me in on that, too," said Joe. "I've scarcely touched my fifty." "How about the horn?" queried Jimmy. "Will that have to be bought, too?" "No," replied Bob. "That's something you can make. That is, if you're not too tired from the work you did on setting up the aerial this afternoon." "But," objected Jimmy, ignoring the gibe, "I don't know anything about working in tin or steel. I haven't any tools for that." "The horn doesn't have to be made of metal" answered Bob. "In fact, it's better if it's not. Some horns are even made of concrete----" "Use your head for that, Jimmy," broke in Herb irreverently. "But best of all," Bob continued, while Jimmy favored the interrupter with a glare, "is to make the horn of wood. Take some good hard wood, like mahogany or maple, polish the inside with sandpaper after you've hollowed it out, give it a coat of varnish or shellac, and you'll have a horn that can't be beaten. It's very simple." "Sure!" said Jimmy sarcastically. "Very simple! Just like that! Simple when you say it quick. Simple as the fellow that tells me how to do it." "Just imagine you're hollowing out a doughnut," put in Joe grinning. "You're an expert at that."

Pages 45-63:



CHAPTER V

A BIG ADVANCE

By this time the principal was only a few yards away. "Good afternoon, boys," he said, as he came abreast of them. "You seemed to be a little excited about something" "Yes, we were having a little argument," admitted Joe. The principal looked at them sharply and waited as though he expected to hear more. But as nothing further was said, he did not press the matter. If the trouble had taken place in the school or on the school premises, he would have felt it his duty to go to the bottom of the affair. But he had no jurisdiction here, and he was too wise a man to mix in things that did not directly concern him or his work. "Well, how goes radio?" he asked, changing the subject "Are you boys just as enthusiastic over it as you were the night you won the Ferberton prizes?" "More so than ever," replied Bob, and Joe confirmed this with a nod of the head. "It's getting so that almost every minute we have out of school we're either tinkering with our set or listening in. We've just finished putting up a new umbrella aerial, and it's a dandy." "I use that kind myself," said Mr. Preston. "I get better results with it than I do with anything else." "Why, are you a radio enthusiast, too?" asked Bob, in some surprise. "I didn't have any idea you were interested in it." "Oh, yes," affirmed the principal, with a smile. "I'm one of the great and constantly increasing army of radio fans. I understand there are more than a million of them in the United States now, and their ranks are being swelled by thousands with every day that passes. I use it for my own personal pleasure and for that of my family, but I also have an interest in it because of my profession." "I understand it's becoming quite a feature in education," remarked Joe. "It certainly is," replied Mr. Preston. "Many colleges and high schools now have radio classes as a regular part of their course. College professors give lectures that go by radio to thousands where formerly they were heard by scores. I've been thinking of a plan that might be of help in the geography classes, for instance. Suppose some great lecturer or traveler who has been in faraway lands should give a travel talk from some broadcasting station. Then while he was describing China, for instance, we might have moving pictures thrown on a screen in the classroom showing Chinese cities and customs and types. Both the eye and the ear would be taught at the same time, and in a most interesting way, it seems to me. What do you think of the idea?" "Fine," said Bob. "Dandy," agreed Joe. "There wouldn't be any lack of interest in those classes. The boys would be eager to have the time for them come." "Well," smiled Mr. Preston, "it's only an idea as yet, but it's perfectly feasible and I shouldn't be surprised to see it in general use in a year or two." He turned into a side street just then with a pleasant good-bye, and the boys went on their way together, picking up Jimmy, who was just emerging from a store. "What was Mr. Preston talking to you about?" asked Jimmy, with some curiosity, for he had witnessed the parting. "Hauling you over the coals, was he, for something you've done or haven't done?" "Nothing like that," replied Joe. "We just found out that he is a radio fan like the rest of us."



"Funny, isn't it, how that thing is spreading?" murmured Jimmy musingly. "You couldn't throw a stone now without hitting somebody who is interested in radio." They told him all the details of the meeting, and became so engrossed in it that they almost ran into Dr. Dale, who was just coming up from the railroad station. He greeted them with great cordiality, which met with quite as hearty a response on their part, for the minister was a prime favorite with them and they always felt at their ease with him. There was nothing prim or professional about him, and his influence among the young people was unbounded. He chatted with them for a few minutes until they reached Bob's gate. "Won't you come up on the porch for a few minutes, Doctor?" asked Bob. "There are some things we'd like to ask you about radio." "Certainly I will," replied the doctor, with a smile. "There's not much that I'd rather talk about. In fact, I was just about to tell you of an interesting experience that I had this very afternoon." He went with the boys up the steps and dropped into the chair that Bob drew up for him. "Tell us about that first, Doctor," urged Bob. "Our questions can come afterward." "I just had the luck to get on a train coming home that had a car attached to it where they were trying out a new radio system," replied the minister. "I heard about it from the conductor, whom I know very well, and he arranged it so that I could go into the car where they were making the experiments. They had a radio set in there with a horn, and the set was connected with an aerial on the roof of the car. They sent out signals to various stations while the train was going along at the rate of forty miles an hour, and got replies that we could hear as plainly as though one of the people in the car were talking to the others. The whole thing was a complete success, and one of the officials of the road who happened to be in the party told me that the express trains on the road were going to be equipped with it. "Of course, if one road does that, it will not be any time before all the others will, too. It'll not be long before we can be sitting in a car traveling, let us say from New York to Albany, and chat with a friend who may be on another train traveling between Chicago and Denver. Or if a business man has started from New York to Chicago and happens to remember something important in his office he can call up his manager and give him directions just the same as though he pressed a buzzer and called him in from the next room." "It sounds like magic," remarked Bob, drawing a long breath. "If we'd even talked about such things a few hundred years ago we'd have been burned at the stake as wizards," laughed the doctor. "The most important thing about this railroad development," he went on, "is not the convenience it may be in social and business life, but in the prevention of accidents. As it is now, after a train leaves a station it can't get any orders or information until it gets to the next station. A train may be coming toward it head on, or another train ahead of it and going in the same direction may be stalled. Often in the first case orders have come to the station agent to hold a train until another one has passed. But the station agent gets the message just a minute too late, and the train has already left the station and is rushing on to its fate. Then all the agent can do is to shudder and wait for news of the crash. With the radio equipment he can call up the train, tell of the danger, and direct it to come back. "Or take the second case where a train is stopped by some accident and knows that another train is coming behind it on the same track and is due in a few minutes. All they can do now is to send back a man with a red flag to stop the second train. But it may be foggy or dark, and the engineer of the second train doesn't see the flags and comes plunging on into the first train. With the radio, the instant a train is



halted for any reason, it can send a message to the second train telling just where it is and warning of the danger. Hundreds have been killed and millions of dollars in property have been lost in the past just because of the old conditions. With the radio installed on trains, that sort of thing will be made almost impossible in the future. "But there," he said, with a smile, "I came up here to answer your questions, and I've been doing all the talking. Now just what is it you wanted to ask me about radio?"

CHAPTER VI

THE WONDERFUL TUBE

"IT'S about getting a vacuum tube," replied Bob, in answer to the doctor's question. "The crystal detector is all right when we use the ear pieces. But we got to thinking about a horn so that lots of people could enjoy the concerts at the same time, and we figured that the crystal wouldn't be quite good enough for that." The doctor smiled genially. "I knew you'd be wanting that sooner or later," he said. "It's the second natural step in radio development. While you were still getting familiar with the working of the wireless, the crystal would do very well. But there comes a time to all amateurs when they get to hankering after something that is undeniably better. And the vacuum tube is that thing." "It seems funny to me that the vacuum tube could have any use in radio," put in Jimmy. "I never thought of it in any way but as being used for an electric light." "Neither did lots of other people," replied the doctor, smiling. "Even Mr. Edison himself didn't realize what its possibilities were. He did, though, discover some very curious things about it. In fact, he made the first step that led to its use for radio. He put a plate in one of his lamps. The plate didn't touch the filament, but formed part of a circuit of its own with a current indicator attached. Then when he turned on the light and the filament began to glow, the needle of the indicator began to twitch. Since the filament and the plate weren't touching, the movement of the needle indicated that the electricity must have jumped the gap between the two. But this simply showed that an invisible connection was established between the filament and the plate and nothing more came of it at the time. "Now, it's likely that even yet we shouldn't have had that discovery of Edison's used for the development of radio if it hadn't been for the new theory of what electricity really is. That theory is that everything is electricity. This chair I'm sitting on, the railing to this porch, the hat that Jimmy is holding in his hand--all that is electricity." Jimmy gave a little jump at this, and held his hat rather gingerly at arm's length and looked at it suspiciously. The doctor joined in the laugh that followed. "Oh, you needn't be afraid that you'll get a shock," he said. "Electricity won't hurt you as long as it's at rest. It's only when it gets stirred up that high jinks are apt to follow." Jimmy looked relieved. "Now," continued the doctor, "the theory is that all matter is composed of an infinite number of electrons. An electron is the smallest thing that can be conceived, smaller even than the atom which used to be thought of as the unit. There may be millions, billions, quadrillions of them in a thing as big as a hickory nut. And when these electrons get busy you can look out for things to happen.



"Every hot object sends out electrons. That's the reason that the filament in the electric light tube sends them out." "I suppose a red-hot stove would send them out, too," suggested Joe. "If that is so, I should think that people would have found out about them long ago." "Ah, but there's this difference," explained the doctor. "The red-hot stove does send them out, but the air stops them. Remember that the atoms of which the air is composed are so large that the poor little electrons have no chance against them. It's like a baby pushing against a giant. It can't get by. "Now the vacuum tube comes along, knocks out the giant of the air, and lets the baby electrons get past him. The air is pumped out of the tube and the electrons have nothing to stop them. That's why Mr. Edison saw the needle on the plate begin to move, although the plate wasn't touching the filament. The electrons jumped across the gap between the filament and the plate because there was nothing to stop them. "With this discovery of Mr. Edison's to aid him, a man named Fleming came along, who found that the oscillations caused by the flow of electrons to the plate could be utilized for the telephone by the use of what he called an oscillation valve that permitted the passage of the current in one direction only. That was the second important step. "But these two steps alone wouldn't have made radio what it is to-day if it hadn't been for the wonderful improvement made by DeForest. He mounted a grid of wire between the filament and the plate connected with a battery. He found that the slightest change in the current to the grid made a wonderfully powerful increase in the current that passed from the filament to the plate. Just as when you touch the trigger of a rifle you have a loud explosion, so the grid magnifies tremendously the sound that would otherwise be weak or only ordinary. And by adding one vacuum valve to another the sound can be still further magnified until the crawling of a fly will sound like the tread of an elephant, until a mere whisper can become a crash of thunder, until the ticking of a watch will remind you of the din of a boiler factory, and the sighing of the wind through the trees on a summer night will be like the roar of Niagara. "But there," he broke off, with a little laugh, "I'm letting my enthusiasm carry me away. It's hard to keep calm and cold-blooded when I get to talking about radio." "Well, you don't care to talk about it more than we care to hear about it, you can be sure of that," said Joe warmly. "Yes," chimed in Jimmy, "to me it's more interesting than a--a pirate story," he added rather lamely. "With the advantage," laughed Dr. Dale, "that the pirate story usually has lots of pain and misery in it for somebody, while the radio has nothing but benefit for everybody. Why, you can scarcely think of any experience in which the radio won't help. Take an Arctic expedition for instance. It used to be that when a ship once disappeared in the ice floes of the Arctic regions it was lost to the world for years. Nobody knew whether the explorers were alive or dead, were failing or succeeding, were safe and snug on board their ship or were shipwrecked and freezing on some field of ice. Look at the Greeley expedition, when for months the men were freezing and starving to death. If they had had a radio outfit with them, they could have communicated with the outside world, told all about their plight, given the exact place they were in, and help would have gone to them at once. Not a man need have perished. So if a crew were shipwrecked on a desert island, they wouldn't to-day have to depend on a flag or bonfire to catch the attention of some ship that might just happen to be passing near the island. All they would have to do would be to send out a radio message--provided, of course, they had one from the wrecked ship's stores or had material to make one--and a dozen vessels would go hurrying toward them. Those



naval balloonists that were lost in the wilds of Canada a couple of years ago, that other expedition that perished in the heart of Labrador, and similar cases that might be counted by the dozens--all could have been helped if they had been able to tell their troubles to the outside world. I tell you, boys, we haven't half begun to realize what the discovery of radio means to the world. "Now all this leads us back to vacuum tubes, for it's only with them that all these things would be possible. Perhaps in the future something better yet will be invented, but they're the best we have at present. I'm heartily in favor of you boys using a tube instead of a crystal, because it will give you vastly more enjoyment in your work. I wouldn't have more than one at the start, but later on it may be well to have more. I have a catalogue up at my house of the various makes and prices, and if you'll run up there any time I'll give it to you. At the same time I'll show you just how it's got to be inserted and attached. Maybe also I'll be able to help you in the making of the horn. I'll have to go now," he added, looking at his watch. "It's surprising how the time flies when we get on this subject. Good-bye, boys, and don't forget to drop in at the house whenever you can." The radio boys watched the minister's straight, alert figure as he went rapidly up the street. "Isn't he all to the good?" asked Bob admiringly. "You bet he is!" agreed Jimmy emphatically, the others nodding their assent.

CHAPTER VII

BASEBALL BY WIRELESS

FOR the next week the radio boys worked like beavers. They had pored over the catalogue that, according to his promise, Dr. Dale had lent them, and, acting on his advice, had picked out a tube of well-known make that could be bought for a moderate price. They had had to send to New York for it, because Dave Slocum did not have just that kind in stock, and they were feverish with impatience until it arrived. In the period of waiting they pitched in and helped Jimmy with the horn, and even Herb became sufficiently infected by the energy of the others to turn to and do his share of the work. The precious tube arrived on Saturday morning, and Bob, who had ordered it, was gloating over it when the other boys came over to the house. "It's come at last!" he cried exultantly, holding up the tube for their inspection. There were exclamations of satisfaction as the others gathered round Bob and examined it. "And it's come just in time to get a good christening," declared Joe. "That is, if we can have everything ready by three o'clock this afternoon." "What do you mean?" asked Bob. "Why, I just read in the morning paper that the broadcasting station is going to send out the big baseball game between the Giants and the Pittsburghs at the Polo Grounds this afternoon," replied Joe. "They say that they're going to send out the game play by play, every ball pitched, every strike, every hit, every base stolen, every run scored, so that you can follow the game from the time the first man goes to the bat till the last man goes out in the ninth inning. What do you think of that?" What they thought of it was evident from the chorus of jubilation that followed. All of them were ardent baseball fans, and in addition to that were good players themselves. Bob was pitcher and Joe first baseman on the High School nine, while Jimmy played a good game at short and Herb took care of the center field garden. Naturally, with this love of the game, they were keenly interested in the championship races of the big



major league ball teams and, during the season, followed the ups and downs of their favorites with the closest attention. That spring the race had been especially hot between the Giants and the Pittsburghs. Both had started out well, and the Giants had cleaned up the majority of games in the East, while the Pittsburghs had been cutting a big swath in the West. Now the Pittsburghs were coming to New York on their first invasion of the year, and interest ran fever high in the Metropolis and the section round about. The newspapers were devoting columns of space to the teams, and it was certain that there would be a record attendance at the game that afternoon. "Bully!" cried Herb, as he danced a jig on the receipt of Joe's news. "It will be almost as good as sitting in the grandstand behind the home plate," exulted Jimmy. "Best thing I've heard since Sitting Bull sat down!" exclaimed Bob, as he clapped his friend on the shoulder. "First time we'll ever have seen a championship baseball game without paying for it," laughed Joe. "I wouldn't exactly call it seeing the game," said Bob. "But it's certainly the next thing to it. But now let's get busy so that we'll be sure to have everything ready by the time the game begins." They needed no urging and worked so fast and well that by dinner time they had the tube and horn arranged to their satisfaction. That left them time enough to go around among their friends and invite them to come in and enjoy the game with them. The invitation was accepted with alacrity, and some time before the hour set for the game to begin Bob's room was filled with expectant boys. Naturally, Bob, as host, was a little anxious and nervous as the moment approached when his improved set would be put to the test. It would have been a mortifying thing for him to fail. He felt sure that every attachment and connection had been properly made and that nothing essential had been overlooked. Still, it was with a certain feeling of apprehension that he turned the knob to tune in when his watch told him that it was three o'clock. The day was hot, and "static" was likely to be troublesome. There was a moment of hissing and whistling while he was getting perfectly tuned. Then he caught it just right, and into the room, clear and strong, came the announcement of the umpire, repeated by the man at the broadcasting station: "Ladies and gentlemen: The batteries for today's game are Blake and McCarthy for Pittsburgh, Hardy and Thompson for New York. Play ball!" There was a roar of delight from the boys in the crowded room and a clapping of hands that made Bob's face flush with pleasure. But he held up his hand for silence, and the excited boys settled back in their chairs, listening intently so as not to miss a feature of the game. Then followed, play by play, the story of the first inning with the Pittsburghs, as the visiting team, first at bat. The hum of conversation had ceased in the room, and the boys leaned forward intently, anxious not to lose a syllable.

Pages 71-72: There was a momentary pause. "Krug hits a terrific drive to the box," announced the voice. "Compton leaps into the air and spears it with his left hand. He throws to Albers and catches Wilson, who had left the bag. Albers hurls the ball to Menken and gets Ackerson, who was trying to scramble back to second. Triple play, three men out and



the Giants win, three to two!" There was a moment of stupefaction in the crowded room. Then a roar broke out that brought Mrs. Layton up to the room in a hurry under the impression that something dreadful had happened. "It's all right, Mother," laughed Bob. "We're only excited over the baseball game. It came out so unexpectedly that it took us all off our feet." "You seem to be all on your feet, as far as I can judge," Mrs. Layton smiled back. "But you can make all the noise you want as long as you are happy," and with a wave of her hand she left them. "A triple play!" exclaimed Bob hilariously. "The thing that happens only once in a blue moon. Say, fellows, maybe we didn't pick out a corking game to christen our radio with!" "And almost as good as though we were right at the grounds," cried Joe. "I've seen many a game, and I never got more real excitement over one than I've had this afternoon. I could almost hear my heart beat while I was wondering what Krug was going to do." "And just think what it will be when the World's Series comes along in the fall!" chuckled Jimmy. "We'll take in every game without going out of Clintonia." "That is, if it's played in the East," put in Herb. "It may not be so easy if it's played in the West." "It doesn't matter where it's played," rejoined Jimmy. "By the time fall comes, we'll probably have improved our radio set so that we can listen in on Chicago just as easily as we have to-day on Newark. And, anyway, the results will be sent to the Newark station so that it can be broadcasted all over the East. We'll take them all in, never you fear, and we won't have to pay a fortune to speculators for the tickets either."

Pages 74-83: CHAPTER IX

THE LOOP

"DO YOU know, fellows," remarked Bob, as he was talking with his friends a few days later, "I've been thinking----" "Bob's been thinking!" cried Herb. "Fire the cannon, ring the bells, hang out the flags. Bob's been thinking!" "Are you sure it's that, or have you only been thinking that you've been thinking?" grinned Joe. "When did it attack you first?" asked Jimmy, with great solicitude. "And where does it hurt you worst? Are you taking anything for it? You don't want to let it go too long, Bob. I knew a fellow who had that same trouble and didn't think it was worth while to send for a doctor, and before he knew it----" Bob made a dive at him that Jimmy adroitly ducked, losing nothing but his hat in the process. "Listen to me, you boneheads," Bob commanded, "and I'll try to get down on the same level with your feeble intelligence. I've been thinking that perhaps we can better our set still more in the matter of aerials." "Alexander always looking for new worlds to conquer," murmured Joe. "We nearly got killed the last time we bettered our aerial. What's the matter with the umbrella type? I thought that was the ne plus ultra, the sine qua non, the----" "The e pluribus unum," Herb helped him out, "the hoc propter quod, the hic jacet, the requiescat in pace, the----" At this point his hat followed Jimmy's.



"The umbrella kind is good, all right," admitted Bob; "and, for that matter, I'm not dead sure that it isn't the best. It certainly gave us fine results in the baseball game on Saturday. But there's nothing so good that there may not be something better, and I thought it might be well to rig up a loop some day and try it out. If it works as well or better than the umbrella, we may use it when we come to set up our radio at Ocean Point." "Is it a big job?" asked Herb, who as a rule was not on speaking terms with anything that looked like work. "No," answered Bob. "It's easy enough to make. We'll just get Jimmy here to make a frame for it down in his father's carpenter shop---- "Jimmy!" repeated that individual, in an aggrieved tone. "We'll just get Jimmy to make the horn. Sure! We'll just get Jimmy to make a frame. Sure! I suppose if one of us was marked out to die, you'd say, 'We'll just let Jimmy do it.' Just as easy as that." "Stop right there, Jimmy," commanded Joe "You'll have me crying in a minute, and it's an awful thing to see a strong man weep." "After Jimmy has made the frame," continued Bob, not at all moved by the pathos of the situation, "all we'll have to do will be to wind it about eight times with copper wire. That will give us a lot of receiving area and capacity. The frame ought to be about four feet square. It'll have to be mounted on a pivot----" "Let Jimmy make the pivot," murmured Jimmy. "So that it can be swung end on in the direction of the broadcasting station," continued Bob, not deigning to notice the interruption. "It has to be pointed in that direction in order to get the message. If it were at right angles, for instance, we probably would hear only very little or perhaps nothing at all. You see, with that kind of aerial we don't have to put up anything on the roof at all. We could have it inside the room. It could be fastened to a hook in the ceiling, so that when we weren't using it we could hoist it up and get it out of the way. That kind is used a lot on ships and at ship stations on shore. They call it sometimes a 'radio compass.' You can see it must be pretty good or they wouldn't use it so widely." "It is good," broke in a bass voice behind them, and as they turned in surprise they were delighted to recognize in the owner of the voice Mr. Frank Brandon, the radio inspector, by whose aid they had been able to track down Dan Cassey, the rascal who had tried to defraud Nellie Berwick, an orphan girl, of her money. There was an exclamation of pleasure from all of the boys, with whom Mr. Brandon was a great favorite. "What good wind blew you down this way?" asked Bob, after the greetings and hand-shakings were over. "A little matter of business brought me down to a neighboring town, and while I was so near I thought I would run over to Clintonia and call on my old friend, Doctor Dale," replied Brandon. "He told me that you boys won the Ferberton prizes," he continued, addressing Bob and Joe, "and I congratulate you. I wasn't surprised, for I knew you'd been doing hard and intelligent work on your sets. And I can see from the conversation I overheard that you're just as much interested in it as ever." "More than ever," affirmed Bob, and the others agreed. "We're just crazy about it. We think it's just the greatest thing that ever happened." "There are lots more who think the same thing," said Brandon, with a smile. "And I guess they're about right. By the way, there's an interesting thing about that radio compass you were speaking about that isn't generally known. I was over on the other side when the thing happened, and I got some inside



dope on it." "Tell us about it," urged Bob, and the others joined in. "It was just before the battle of Jutland," replied Brandon, "which, as of course you know, was the biggest naval battle fought during the World War. The German fleet had been tied up in their own home waters for nearly two years, and hadn't ventured out to try conclusions with the British fleet that was patrolling the North Seas. In fact, it began to be thought that they never would come out. But at last the German naval leaders determined to risk a battle. They made their preparations with the greatest secrecy, because, their vessels not being as numerous as those of the British, their only chance of success lay in catching a part of the British fleet unawares before the rest of the fleet could come to their rescue. "But the British naval authorities were on the alert. They had this radio compass you were talking about developed to a high point of efficiency and were able to listen in on the orders given by the German commanders to their vessels. The Germans hadn't any idea that they could be overheard and used their wireless signals freely. Now, you remember that the battle took place on May thirty-first." They did not remember at all, but they nodded their heads and tried to look as wise as possible. Jimmy especially had such an owlish expression that the others could hardly keep from laughing. "On the night of May thirtieth," resumed Brandon, "the German flagship wirelessed a lot of instructions that were heard at several places on the British coast. These were compared and it was possible to ascertain just where the flagship was stationed. The next morning the flagship sent another lot of orders, that were also heard by the British. It was then found that the flagship had moved seven miles down the river from the station where she had been the night before. That showed that the fleet was on the move. Instantly the British fleet was sent out to meet them. So when the Germans came out to surprise the British, they found that it was the other way around and it was they themselves that were surprised. Well, you know the result. The German ships had to retreat to their harbor, and they never came out again except to surrender after the war was over. That was one way that radio helped to win the war." "Just as it helped our aviators," put in Joe. "Precisely," assented Mr. Brandon. "The Germans are usually pretty well up in science, but we put it all over them in the matter of wireless while the war was on."

CHAPTER X

OFF FOR THE SEA SHORE

"BUT valuable as the radio was in war," Brandon went on, "I believe it is going to be still more valuable in the matter of maintaining peace. I think, in fact, that it may do away with war altogether." "I don't quite get you," said Bob, with a puzzled air. "In this way," explained Brandon. "It's going to make all the people of the world neighbors. And when people are neighbors they're usually more or less friends. They have to a large extent the same interests and they understand each other. "Now, most wars have been due to exclusiveness and misunderstandings. Each nation has dwelt in its own borders, behind its own mountains or its own rivers, and they've shut out of their minds and interests all people outside of themselves. They've grown to think that a stranger must necessarily be an enemy. Some little thing happens that makes them mad and they're ready to fight. "But the radio is going to break down all these barriers of exclusiveness and remove these



misunderstandings. When people get to talking together each finds that the other one isn't such a bad fellow after all. When a man in Paris picks up his telephone and has a chat with one man in England and then another man in Spain and still another in Italy he finds that they are all human beings and very much like himself. If he had the Englishman, the Spaniard, the Italian in his office together, he'd probably invite them out to dinner and they'd all have a good time. When the time comes that in every country in South America men can tune in on the radio and listen to the inaugural address of the President of the United States coming from his own lips, they'll know that we have no unfriendly designs on their country and are only anxious to see them happy and prosperous. We'll hear the same speeches, we'll listen to the same concerts, and gradually we'll come to feel that we're all neighbors. That's why I say that the radio may in the course of time make all wars impossible, or at least very improbable." "It sounds reasonable," commented Bob. "I only hope that you're right." "I'm mighty glad that we happened to be in town when you dropped in to see the doctor," said Joe. "A few days later and we'd all have been down at Ocean Point for the summer." "Ocean Point!" exclaimed Mr. Brandon. "Is that where you boys are going?" "Yes," replied Joe. "Our folks have a little colony down there, and we go every summer. Why, do you know anything about the place?" "I should say I did!" replied Mr. Brandon. "I usually spend a week or two at Ocean Point myself, and I have a cousin there who has charge of the Ocean Point radio station. His name is Brandon Harvey. His first name you see is the same as my last name." "Why, that's fine!" exclaimed Bob. "Radio seems to run in your family," said Herb, with a smile. "We'll look him up and introduce ourselves, said Joe. "We're all radio fans, and that's a sort of freemasonry." "You'll find him a good fellow," said Brandon. "And I'm sure he'll be glad to meet you. If I happen to get down there about the same time that you do, I'll take you around and introduce you myself. You'll find that what he doesn't know about radio isn't worth knowing. He can run rings all around me." "He must be pretty good then," laughed Bob. "Though I don't believe it. But it will be dandy if you are able to spend part of the summer with us down there."

Pages 92-93: "If you fellows put as much energy into getting that aerial strung as you do in chinning with each other, we'd be receiving messages by now," said Bob, laughing. "Let's get busy and get things fixed up, and then we'll go down and see if there's any sign of that shark friend of Herb's." The radio boys all agreed to this, and without further delay took up the business of stringing the antenna. They had brought two masts with them, and these they proceeded to mount on the roofs of the two bungalows occupied by the Laytons and



the Atwoods. These were so situated that the umbrella antenna ran directly over the community living room, thus giving an ideal condition for sending, as the boys intended to set up their apparatus in the big living room, so that everybody in the little colony could get the benefit of the nightly concerts and news bulletins sent out by the big broadcasting stations. As the radio boys had surmised, getting up the aerial was a blisteringly hot job, and before they had been at it many minutes the perspiration was running off them in streams. They kept doggedly at it, however, and at last the final turnbuckle had been tightened up, and everything looked taut and shipshape. "There!" exclaimed Bob, looking with satisfaction at the result of their labors. "I guess it will take a pretty strong gale to knock that outfit over." "A cyclone, you mean," said Joe. "I don't think anything short of that would even bother it."

Pages 100-101: In spite of his grumbling, he worked faithfully, and soon had the lids off a number of mysterious looking boxes, from which the boys got out much complicated looking apparatus. They had brought Bob's set, the one that had been awarded the big prize the previous spring, and Bob handled this lovingly. All the radio boys worked with a will, and the way in which the various apparently unrelated parts became connected up into a compact and highly efficient receiving station was surprising. After two hours of steady work they had the set in condition to test. "I don't think we've forgotten anything," said Bob, carefully going over the various connections. "Everything looks all right to me, so here goes to test it out." And sure enough, it was not long before they heard the familiar call of the big Newark broadcasting station and were listening to a big band perform in stirring style. "That sounds familiar," said Joe, as the band finished its selection with a flourish. "It doesn't seem to be any different than when we were in Clintonia, even though we're considerably further away from the sending station." "I guess a few miles don't make much difference to old man Electricity," said Herb.

Pages 147-150: CHAPTER XVIII

IN THE WIRELESS ROOM

"SAY, Bob," said Joe, as the four radio boys were walking briskly in the direction of the wireless



station the following morning, "we must get Mr. Harvey to give us lessons in sending. That must be half the fun of radiophony, and we might as well do all there is to do. What do you say?" "I think you're dead right," said Bob heartily. "We'll speak to him about it to-day, and I guess he'll show us how all right. In fact, he offered to do that very thing the first time we were there, if you remember." "I know he did," said Joe. "And I'm going to remind him of it as soon as I get a chance." The chance was not long in coming, for that was one of the first things Mr. Harvey spoke of after their arrival at the station. "You fellows ought to practice up on receiving and sending," he said. "You can't really claim to be full-fledged radio fans until you can do that." "That's just what we were speaking of on our way here," said Bob. "If it wouldn't be asking too much of you, we'd like nothing better than to have you show us how." "Well, of course, it doesn't take very long to learn the international code, and after that it's chiefly a matter of practice," said the radio man. "I have a practice sending set here now, and if you like I'll give you your first lesson." The boys were only too glad to take advantage of this friendly offer. Harvey had a simple telegraph key, connected up to a buzzer and a couple of dry cells. The buzzer was tuned to give a sound very much like an actual buzz in an earphone. In addition he had a metal plate on which all the letters of the alphabet were represented by raised surfaces, a short surface for a dot, and a long one for a dash. The low spaces in between were insulated with enamel. In this way, if one wire was attached to the brass plate and the other brushed over the raised contact surfaces, each letter would be reproduced in the buzzer with the proper dots and dashes. The boys found this device a big help, as they could memorize the proper dots and dashes for each letter, and then by moving the wire along the plate could hear the letter in the buzzer just as it should sound. "But with this thing, it seems to me you don't need to take the trouble to memorize the code," said Herb. "Why, I could send a message with it right now." "You could, but it would be a mighty slow one," replied Brandon Harvey. "That thing is useful to a beginner, but it wouldn't work out very well for actual sending. It's too clumsy." "Yes, I suppose that's so," admitted Herb. "You fellows can take that along with you when you go," said the radio man. "You can dope out the code from that, but you'll need a key to practice with, too. If you like, I'll lend you this whole practice set until you get a chance to buy one yourselves." "You bet we'll take it, and many thanks!" exclaimed Bob. "We should have brought something of the kind down with us, but we didn't, so your set will be just the thing for us." "It's been some time since I've had any use for it," said Harvey. "But I came across it the other day, and it occurred to me that maybe you fellows could use it, as you told me the first time you were here that you intended to take up sending." "It was mighty nice of you to think of us," said Joe, his face beaming. "Oh, well, we radio fans have to stick together," returned Harvey, with a smile. "There's some extra head sets lying around here somewhere, and, if you like, you can listen in on some of the messages coming in. Things were pretty lively just before you fellows came in." The boys lost no time in taking advantage of this offer, and were soon absorbed in listening to the



reports of shipping, weather conditions, and occasional snatches of conversation that came drifting in over the antenna. Harvey's pencil was busy as he jotted down reports and memoranda. The boys felt that they were in intimate touch with the whole wide world, and the morning flew by so fast that they were all astonished when Harvey announced that it was lunch time. "Say, but you certainly have an interesting job, Mr. Harvey," said Bob. "I only wish I were a regular radio man, too." "So do I," said Joe. "It's about the most fascinating work I can think of." "You might not like it so much if you were doing it every day," said Brandon Harvey. "But it's a big field, and getting bigger every day, so maybe a few years from now you may join the brotherhood. If you ever do, why, all the experience you're getting now will come in mighty handy."

Page 163-168 "We've had a mighty fine evening, though, and I'm proud of the way our outfit showed up." The others felt the same way. They were just about to disperse when Mrs. Fennington entered the room. "This evening has been so successful," she said, "that I was wondering if we couldn't give a concert in aid of the new sanitarium that is being built here. They are greatly in need of money to carry the project on, and I'm sure you would be doing a wonderful thing if you could help it along." The boys were for the project at once, and said so. "But do you think people will pay to hear a radio concert?" asked Herbert. "Of course they will!" exclaimed his mother. "They pay to hear every other kind of a concert, don't they? And when they know it is to aid the new sanitarium they will be all the more anxious to come." "I'm sure we'll do our share," said Bob. "We'll be glad to give the concert, and if people shouldn't come to it, that wouldn't be our fault." "That will be excellent then," said Mrs. Fennington. "I'll speak to some of the other ladies about it, and we'll set a date and make all the arrangements." "That plan of mother's reminds me of something I was reading about the other day," Said Herb, after Mrs. Fennington had left the room. "It was in connection with that drive they were making for the disabled war veterans. Do you remember the 'flying parson' that won the transcontinental air race a couple of years ago? Well, he has a radio attached to his airplane and he arranged to have an opera singer give a concert over it. She sat in the plane and sang, and her voice was heard over a radius of five hundred miles. Then the parson gave a short, red-hot talk in behalf of the soldiers, and thousands of people heard about the drive that wouldn't have known of it otherwise. They say that money poured into headquarters by mail during the next few days." "Good stuff!" exclaimed Bob. "Our work will be on a smaller scale, but the spirit will be there just the same, and I bet our old radio will rake in a heap of coin for the sanitarium."

CHAPTER XX

THE RADIO CONCERT

"WHEN do we give the concert, Herb?" asked Bob at breakfast the next morning. "Mother isn't quite sure yet," replied Herb to Bob's question. "Not until she consults with some of the



others, anyway. But she thinks that a week from to-night will be all right. Guess one night's the same as another as far as we are concerned." As a matter of fact, the projected concert was scheduled several days sooner than Herb had predicted, being set for the ensuing Saturday night, so as to get as many of the week-end visitors as possible. Tickets to the affair sold well, and from the first it became evident that there would be a large attendance. People were only too glad to come, both for the sake of hearing good music and to know that they were contributing to a worthy charity. The boys, as the volume of sales increased, realized that it was up to them to see that the visitors should have the worth of their money and they went over the set with a "fine-tooth comb," to use Herb's expression, in order to make sure that every part of it was in fine working order. "We'll have to test everything out pretty thoroughly," remarked Bob, that Saturday morning. "We'd never hear the last of it if anything went wrong to-night." "You bet!" said Joe. "We've got to have everything in apple-pie order." The audience began to arrive early. A large space had been roped off in front of the central bungalow and furnished with rows of campchairs. The boys had set up the loud-speaking horn on a small table on the porch, running leads from it to their apparatus in the living room. This enabled them to operate the set out of sight of the audience. By eight o'clock almost everybody was in his place, waiting expectantly, and in some cases somewhat sceptically, for the music to begin. But they had not long to wait. Inside the bungalow the boys, excited and tense, heard the familiar voice of the announcer at WJZ, the big Newark broadcasting station. While he was speaking the boys had the horn outside disconnected, but with their head phones they tuned until the announcer's voice was distinct and clear and all other sounds had been tuned out. Then, as the announcer ceased speaking, and in the brief pause that ensued before the first selection on the program started, the boys connected in the loudspeaker on the porch. The concert commenced. Violin solos, vocal selections, and orchestral numbers followed each other in quick succession, every note and shade of tone being reproduced faithfully by the radio boys' set. The audience sat in absorbed silence, listening spellbound to this miracle of modern science. At intervals they could not resist applauding, although the artists producing the music were many miles away. When the concert was over at last there was a regular storm of handclapping and calls for the boys, who at length had to appear on the porch, looking, it must be confessed, as though they would rather have been almost anywhere else. Cries of "Speech! Speech!" came from the audience, and at last Bob stepped forward. "We're mighty glad if all you folks enjoyed the concert," he said. "We boys are all very much interested in radio, and we want to have everybody know what it is like. Maybe before the sanitarium gets finished you'll have to listen to another concert," he added, with a grin. Cries of "we hope so" and "make it soon" came from the audience, which then dispersed with many expressions of commendation for the evening's entertainment. When the receipts for the evening were counted it was found that they had taken in over four hundred dollars, which was soon turned over to the trustees of the sanitarium. The concert was the chief topic of conversation in the neighborhood for the next few days, and the radio boys were deluged with requests for information concerning radio and radio equipment. They were somewhat surprised at the furor caused by their concert, but that was probably the first time that most of



those present had ever heard radio music or had reason to give more than passing thought to the subject.



The Radio Boys at the Sending Station--extracts (1922)

The Radio Boys at the Sending Station, Allen Chapman, 1922, pages v - vi:

FOREWORD

BY JACK BINNS SINCE this volume was written an epoch making invention has been announced to the radio world. It is the super-regenerative system developed by E. H. Armstrong, the wizard of Columbia University. This system is bound to revolutionize the art of wireless communication in every branch, and is in itself the most important discovery since Marconi put into operation the first crude form of wireless apparatus. I am mentioning this fact because there is the romance of youth overcoming every obstacle placed before it tied up in the history of Armstrong's remarkable achievements, and the story of this romance should stand forward as an incentive to American boyhood. Fifteen years ago when radio amateurs first began to send out wireless telegraph messages, the federal authorities in Washington were at a loss to devise some means that would regulate them. It was then that a bright official conversant with radio said: "Put 'em down below 200 meters, and they'll soon die out." He knew perfectly well that it was almost impossible to operate on those low wave-lengths with the apparatus in existence at that time--hence his sardonic proposal. The amateurs however, refused to "die out." Faced with the inexorable regulation, they set to work to devise apparatus which would operate successfully. Among them was E. H. Armstrong, a youth who at that time was attending Columbia. It was a really lucky thing for the world that the official in Washington thought of his clever scheme to kill the amateurs, because it provided just the incentive needed to set Armstrong to work. The result has been that within ten years he has produced three epoch-making inventions, any one of which would have been a remarkable life achievement in itself. Such, briefly is the story of one radio boy overcoming difficulties, but of course in this case it is a real story. It emphasizes the fact that even in these highly developed and organized times there is always an opportunity for boys to improve upon existing conditions, and since this is the theme of the adventures of "The Radio Boys," I am very glad to write the foreword to the series.



Pages 13-16:

THE RADIO BOYS AT THE SENDING STATION

CHAPTER I

THE COLLISION "But talking about radio reminds me that we ought to get busy with that lightning arrester we were talking about." "What has lightning done that it ought to be arrested?" joked Herb. "Now as to this lightning arrester," resumed Bob, leaving Jimmy to regain his equanimity. "We've got to put it up, for the regulations require it and we ought to have done it before." Jimmy pricked up his ears but said nothing. "I don't think there's really much need of it," objected Joe. "It's too nice an afternoon to work. We've got a lightning rod on the cottage anyway." "It isn't so much for the cottage as the set," said Bob. "If the lightning got into the receiving set it would make short work of it. Now here's the kind of lightning switch we'll have to have," and he launched into an earnest discussion of a type that was required by the radio regulations. Jimmy took no part in the discussions, but they attributed this to a touch of grouchiness and gave him time to get over it. Bob after a while glanced at him, and saw that he wore a broad grin on his face. "What's the joke, Jimmy?" he asked, a little suspiciously. For only answer Jimmy broke into a peal of laughter. "Of all the boobs," he chortled. They looked at him and then at each other in bewilderment. "Do you think the sun has affected his brain?" asked Herb, with affected anxiety. "It might have, if he had any brain to be affected," replied Joe, in the same strain. "Let us in on it, Jimmy," pleaded Bob. "Don't be selfish and keep it all to yourself." "Why, you thick heads," replied Jimmy, with more force than politeness, "don't you know that you don't have to have a lightning arrester with a loop aerial?" There was a moment's silence while they let this sink in, and then a sheepish grin stole into their faces. "Sure enough," owned up Bob. "I knew that too, but I had forgotten it for the time. I was thinking of the outdoor aerial. Of course on an indoor aerial there's no need of a lightning arrester."

Pages 37-40: CHAPTER III

AT THE WIRELESS STATION

"Well, now about the wireless," interposed Bob, anxious to change the subject. "These friends of ours are a new addition to the army of fans and we want to put them next to some of the wonders of radio."



"It's a great army all right," laughed Harvey, "and we're always glad to welcome new recruits. They're coming into the ranks by thousands every day. Nobody can keep count of them, but they must run into the millions. "And they're great in quality as well as quantity," he continued, warming to his favorite subject. "The President of the United States has a radio receiving set on his desk. There's one in the office of every one of the ten Cabinet members. The Secretary of the Navy is sending out wireless messages every day to vessels scattered in all parts of the globe. The head of the army is keeping in touch by radio with every fort and garrison and corps area in the United States. On last Arbor Day the Secretary of Agriculture talked over the radio to more people than ever heard an address in the history of the world. But there," he said, breaking off with a laugh, "if I once get going on this line I'll never know when to stop. So I'll say it all in one sentence--the radio is the most wonderful invention ever conceived by the mind of man." "You don't need to prove it to us," laughed Bob. "It's simply a miracle, and we become more convinced of that every day. I'm mighty glad I was born in this age of the world." The boys crowded around Mr. Harvey as he explained to Larry and Tim in as simple a way as possible the radio apparatus of the station. "When I press this key," he said, "an electrical spark is sent up into the antenna, the big wire that you see suspended from the mast over the station, and is flung out into space." "Travels pretty fast, doesn't it?" asked Larry, to whom all this was new. "Rather," laughed Mr. Harvey. "It can go seven and a half times around the world while you are striking a match." "What!" exclaimed Larry incredulously. "Why, the circle of the earth is about twenty-five thousand miles." "Exactly," smiled Harvey. "And that spark travels at the rate of one hundred and eighty-six thousand miles a second." "You're sure you don't mean feet instead of miles?" suggested Tim dubiously. "It's miles all right," laughed Harvey. "Electricity travels at the same rate as the light that comes to us from the sun and stars." "What becomes of this electrical impulse after it gets started on that quick trip?" asked Larry. "How does the fellow on the other end get what you're trying to tell him." "That fellow or that station has another antenna waiting to receive my message," replied Harvey. "The signal keeps on going through the ether until it strikes that other antenna. Then it climbs along it until it reaches the receiving set and registers the same kind of dot or dash as the one I made at this end. It's like the pitcher and catcher of a baseball battery. One pitches the ball and the other receives the same ball. At one instant it's in the pitcher's hand and the next it has traveled the space between the two and is resting in the catcher's hand. Sounds simple, doesn't it?" "Sounds simple when you put it that way," laughed Larry. "But I have a hunch that it isn't as simple as it sounds." "Well, to tell the truth, it isn't quite as simple as that," confessed Harvey "There's a whole lot to learn about receiving and transmitting and detectors and generators and condensers and vacuum tubes and all that. But my point is that there's nothing of the really essential things that are concerned in getting entertainment and instruction from radio that can't be learned with a little application by any one of ordinary intelligence." "I wonder if I'm in that class," said Larry quizzically, and there was a general laugh.



Another half hour was spent with great profit and interest in the sending station and then the boys arose to go. "How are you getting along with that regenerative set?" asked Mr. Harvey of Bob. "Pretty well, thank you," answered Bob. "It's the proper adjusting of the tickler that's giving me the most trouble." "Be careful not to increase it too far," warned Harvey. "If you do, the vacuum tube oscillates and becomes a small generator of high frequency current and in that way will interfere with other near-by stations. Then, too, the speeches and music will be mushy instead of being clear. Drop in again when you have time and we'll talk the matter over a little further." The visitors bade their host farewell and trooped out into the bright sunshine. Larry and Tim were enthusiastic over the new world into which they had been introduced. "The most wonderful thing in the world," was their verdict.

Pages 48-51: "How's the wireless coming along these days?" "Fine and dandy," responded Bob. "After we get back to Clintonia we intend to build some big sets so that we can receive signals from all over the country." "But where do you get all the money to buy that stuff?" asked Larry. "Some of it must be pretty expensive, isn't it?" "Not as expensive as you might think, although some of the apparatus, like audion bulbs, certainly run into money," replied Bob. "But we can easily sell the apparatus that we already have, and make enough on that to buy the new things with. There are plenty of people ready and anxious to buy our sets, because we can sell them for less than the store would charge, and they work as well or better than some store sets." "Who's talking of selling our sets?" broke in a well-known voice, as Joe, Herb and Jimmy came, pellmell, into the room. "I was," said Bob, in answer to Jimmy's question. "I was thinking of selling your set to the junkman, for what it would bring." "Huh!" exclaimed Jimmy, indignantly. "I'll bet a junkman wouldn't even buy yours. He'd expect you to pay him to take it away." "Say, you fellows must have a high opinion of each other's radio outfits," broke in Tim, laughing. "But if you want to give one away, here's Tiny Tim, ready and waiting." "No chance," said Jimmy, positively. "I worked too many hot nights on mine to give it away now, and I guess Bob thinks he'd like to keep his, too, even though it isn't really much good." "It was good enough to take the Ferberton prize, anyway, which is more than some people can say of theirs," Bob replied, grinning. "How about it, Doughnuts?" "That was because the judges didn't know any better," said his rotund friend. "They should have made me the judge, and then there's no doubt but what my set would have won that hundred bucks."

Pages 63-65: "But we'll have the radio just the same," Joe pointed out. "That's one of the good things about it; you can take it with you wherever you go."



"Yes, I was reading an article in one of the radio magazines a little while ago about that," said Bob. "The article was written by a trapper in the northern part of Canada. He told how he had set up his outfit in the center of a howling wilderness and had received all the latest news of the world in his shack, not to mention music of every kind. He said that the natives and Indians thought it must be magic, and were looking all over the shack for the spirit that they supposed must be talking into the headphones. That trapper was certainly a radio fan, if there ever was one, and he wrote a mighty interesting letter, too." "I should think it would be interesting," said Herb. "I'd like to read it, if you still have it around." Bob rummaged around in a big pile of radio magazines and finally found what he was looking for. The boys read every word of the letter, and were more than ever impressed by the wonderful possibilities of radiophony. No longer would it be necessary for an exploring expedition to be lost sight of for months, or even years. Wedged in the Arctic ice floes, or contending with fever and savage animals in the depths of some tropical jungle, the explorers could keep in touch with the civilized world as easily as though bound on a week end fishing trip. The aeroplane soaring in the clouds far above the earth, or the submarine under the earth's waters, could be informed and guided by it. Certainly of all the wonders of modern times, this was the most marvelous and far-reaching. Something of all this passed through the boys' minds as they sat in ruminative silence, thinking of the lonely man in the wilderness with his precious wireless. "I suppose we should feel pretty lucky to be around just at this stage of the earth's history," said Bob, thoughtfully. "We're living in an age of wonders, and I suppose we're so used to them that most of the time we don't realize how wonderful they really are." "That's true enough, all right," agreed Joe. "When you step into an automobile these days, you don't stop to think that a few years ago the fastest way to travel was behind old Dobbin. The old world is stepping ahead pretty lively these days, and no mistake." "It can't step too fast to suit me," said Herb. "Speed is what I like to see, every time." "Oh, I don't know," said Jimmy, lazily. "Why not take things a little easier. People had just as much fun out of life when they weren't in such a rush about everything. I take things easy and get fat on it, while Herb is always rushing around, and it wears him down until he has the same general appearance as a five and ten cent store clothespin."

Pages 69-71:

CHAPTER VII

LEARNING TO SEND "I'VE got two customers for those sets we wanted to sell," announced Bob, a few evenings later, when the radio boys had congregated at his house as usual. "It was so easy, that I'll bet we could sell all we make, if we wanted to." "Who's going to buy them?" asked Joe. "Dave Halley, who runs the barber shop near the station, wants one, and there's a big novelty store on the next block whose owner will take the other. I promised that we'd set the outfits up and show them how to work them." "That's quick work, Bob," laughed Herb. "How did you come to land two customers so quickly?"



"I was getting a haircut in Dave's shop, and he told me that he was thinking of buying a good set, but hated to spend the money. So I told him that I could sell him a good practical set for quite a little less than it would cost him in a store, and he jumped at the offer. Then he told me about Hartmann, the owner of the new variety store. Hartmann wants to get one because he thinks it will draw trade. I went to see him as soon as Dave got through telling me how much dandruff I had and how much I needed some of his patent tonic. Mr. Hartmann was a little doubtful at first about buying a home made set, but I told him if he wasn't pleased with it he didn't need to pay us for it and we'd take it back. That seemed to satisfy him, so he said he'd buy it. It was dead easy." "Well, that's certainly fine," said Joe, admiringly. "That will help a lot toward getting apparatus for the new sets." "You're a hustler, Bob," said Jimmy. "I'd like to be one but I guess I'm not built that way." "It was more luck than anything else," disclaimed Bob. "Let's go down to the store after school to-morrow and pick out what we need. I want a couple of audion bulbs, and I suppose you fellows do, too. I want to price variable condensers like the one Doctor Dale brought us at Ocean Point last summer, too." "We've got to keep busy if we want to keep ahead of some of the other fellows in this town," said Joe. "Lots of the fellows at high have got the radio fever bad, and are out to beat us at our own game. I guess we can show them where they get off, all right, but we may have to hustle some to do it. I heard Lon Beardsley at noon to-day boasting that he was going to be the first fellow in Clintonia to receive signals from Europe. I asked him what kind of set he intended to do it with, and he said he had been working on one all summer, and was putting the finishing touches to it now." "He ought to have something pretty good, if he's been working on it that long," commented Herb. "If one of us had been working on a set all summer, I think we'd have had it done before this." "Probably we would. But you've got to remember that we've had more experience at the game than Lon," Bob reminded him. "It seems to me that we'd do better all to work on one big, crackerjack set than each to make a separate long distance set," said Herb. "In the first place, it's more fun working together. And then we could put our money together and get better equipment than we could the other way. What do you think?" "I think it's a pretty good idea," said Jimmy. "You can hear just as much over one set as you can over four, as far as that goes." "I was thinking of something like that myself," said Bob, slowly. "It would certainly cost us less, and, as Herb says, we'd probably have a better set in the end."

Pages 74-76: "I guess we're all in the same boat," agreed Bob. "But now that we're fed up and feeling strong, how would you like to practice sending for awhile? I was just beginning to work up a little speed while we were at Ocean Point, but now I suppose I'm getting rusty again. Who's game to send? I'll bet nobody can send faster than I can receive." "I'm willing to try it, anyway," said Joe, picking up a magazine. "I'll send right out of this magazine, so when you say 'stop' we'll be able to check up how much you've caught." "All right, that's fair enough," agreed Bob. "Just wait a minute until I get a paper and pencil, then shoot as fast as you can."



Seating himself at the table, with a blank sheet of paper before him, Bob made ready to scribble at high speed, while Herb held a watch to time him. As for Jimmy, he was content to curl up on a sofa and act the part of self-appointed judge. "Start sending as soon as you like, Joe," said Jimmy. "I'm all ready for you. I'll bet I can fall asleep before you can send fifty words." "I wouldn't take that bet, because I believe you can," replied Joe. "I'd be betting against your specialty, and there's no percentage in that, you know." "Don't forget me, though, will you?" said Bob, in a resigned tone. "I don't want to hurry you, but any time you're both through that interesting conversation I'm waiting to begin." "All right, then, here goes!" said Joe, and started sending as rapidly as he could with the practice key and buzzer. Bob's pencil fairly flew over the paper, and for five minutes there was no sound in the room save the strident buzz of the sender and the whisper of Bob's pencil as it moved rapidly over the paper. Then, "Time," called Herb, and Bob threw down the pencil. "Whew!" he exclaimed, reaching for a handkerchief. "That's pretty hot work, if any one should ask you. Count 'em up, Herb, will you, and see how many there are? Seems to me there must be a million words there, more or less." "Quite a little less," laughed Herb, after he had counted the words as requested. "But you've written ninety-one, which is mighty good." "That's a little over sixteen a minute," said Bob. "It's not near as fast as I want to get, but it's fast enough to get a license, anyway." "You bet it is!" exclaimed Herb. "And there are very few mistakes," he added, as he compared what Bob had written with the magazine text. "Joe's getting to be some bear at sending, too," remarked Bob. "Oh, the sending is a lot easier than receiving," said Joe. "But now, if you don't mind, Bob, you can send me something, and I'll see how fast I can take it. I'm afraid I can't come up to your record, though." Joe did very well, however, averaging about fourteen words a minute. Then Herb took a turn at sending and receiving, as did Jimmy, and they both did well. The boys found it all very fascinating, as well as useful, and discussed many plans for the future, although they did not intend to go in much for sending until they had perfected a first-class receiving set. They agreed before parting for the night that they would meet the following day after school at the radio supply store, where they could buy some audion bulbs and whatever other apparatus they might need.

Pages 78-79: "Don't let's bother even thinking about them" said Bob. "Come on in and we'll buy the stuff we need." The four friends went on into the store, where they found several of their schoolmates, bent on the same mission as themselves. All exchanged greetings, and many good-natured jokes were bandied back and forth as they made their purchases. "You fellows will have to step lively to get ahead of me," said Lon Beardsley, who was older than any of the radio boys and was in the senior class at High School. He was one of the brightest boys in his class, and the others knew that competition from him was not to be despised. "Stepping fast is one of the best things we do," said Bob, in answer to this friendly challenge. "You



may be some speed, but we're not such slouches, either." "Do your worst! We defy you!" cried Herb, striking a melodramatic attitude. "All right," said Lon, laughing. "Remember, though, I've given you fair warning. I see you're buying vacuum tubes," he added, curiously. "You must be going in pretty deep, aren't you?" "Ask us no questions and we'll tell you no lies," parried Bob. "Besides, we're not the only radio fans in this town, Lon. Maybe some one else will beat us all out." "Oh, I'm not worrying," said the other, as he prepared to leave with his purchases. "Are you fellows going my way?" "You'd better not wait for us," replied Bob. "We've got a few things to get yet. See you at school to-morrow."

Pages 87-88: Meanwhile, the radio boys were going about the building of their big set with enthusiasm, spending all their spare time at the fascinating pursuit. Most of their work was done at Bob's house, as he had an ideal workroom in the cellar, and his position as leader, moreover, made it seem the natural place for them to meet. "Say, fellows!" exclaimed Jimmy one evening, tumbling down the cellar stairs three steps at a time, "have you heard the news?" "What news?" asked Herb, who had arrived only a few minutes before him. "Has there been a big fire? Or did some one die and leave you a million dollars?" "No such luck as that," replied Jimmy. "But I know you'll be mighty glad to hear it, anyway. "Chasson's vaudeville is going to be in Clintonia next week. That's the show Larry and Tim are with, you know." "Good enough!" exclaimed the others. "Where did you hear about it, Jimmy?" asked Bob. "There was a bill poster putting up the programme on a fence as I came along," answered Jimmy. "I saw the name 'Chasson,' and of course I stopped and looked to see if Larry and Tim were on the bill." "Were they?" asked Herb. "You bet they were! And in pretty big type, too," responded Jimmy. "Say! It will be great to see them on the stage, won't it?" "I should say it will," said Joe. "If they're half as funny on the stage as they are off it, they'll surely make a hit"

Pages 91-92: This met with the unqualified approval of everybody except Herb, and then the boys set to work on their new radio set. As this was Saturday evening, they had no lessons to prepare, and they worked steadily until ten o'clock. They wound transformers until Jimmy declared that it made him dizzy even to look at them, and when the time came to stop work they all felt that substantial progress had been made.

Pages 104-106: The Layton family had hardly finished their evening meal when there came a ring at the doorbell, and Bob jumped up to admit the expected guest.



"Hello, Mr. Brandon!" exclaimed Bob, as they both shook hands heartily. "It seems great to see you again." "I can say the same thing about you," replied Frank Brandon. "You're tanned like a life guard at Coney Island. I'll bet you haven't been far from salt water all summer." "You're right there," smiled Bob. "I was in the water so much that it's a wonder I didn't turn into a fish. The whole bunch of us had a wonderful time of it." "Good enough!" Brandon exclaimed, heartily. "Where's all the rest of your crowd this evening?" "They'll be around soon now. I'm expecting them any minute. There's Joe's whistle now! I thought he'd be along soon." As he finished speaking Joe came bounding up the porch two steps at a time, and he had hardly got inside and shaken hands with Brandon when Jimmy and Herb appeared together. There was great excitement while they exchanged greetings, and then they went into the parlor and were made welcome by Mr. and Mrs. Layton. "It seems good to get back in this town again, said Brandon, in a voice that carried conviction. "You folks have made me so welcome ever since we became acquainted that it seems almost like my own home town." "That's the way we want everybody to feel," smiled Mr. Layton. "Clintonia is a neighborly town, and we always do our best to make visitors feel at home." "I hear you've done a good deal of traveling since you were here last," said Mrs. Layton. "Yes, I had a little commission to execute for the government down in Miami," said Brandon. "A radio inspector is apt to be sent anywhere on short notice, you know."

Pages 107-113: "Are you building any sets at present?" "You bet we are!" cried Bob. "Come on down to my workroom, and we'll show you what we're doing. We're working on a regular set this time." "I'm with you," said Brandon, heartily. "Come ahead and let's see what you've got. I suppose you'll be giving me pointers pretty soon." "Not for a little time yet, anyway," grinned Bob. "The government hasn't been after us yet bugging us to take jobs in the radio department." "You never can tell," replied Brandon. "There's a big demand for radio men these days, and we're getting some pretty young chaps in our division." "We don't feel as though we'd much more than scratched the surface of radiophony yet," said Joe. "There's such an immense amount to be learned, and then there are new discoveries being made every day. It would take almost all a fellow's time just to keep up with new developments, let alone learn all the fundamentals." "That will all come in time," said the radio inspector. "You're on the right road now, anyway, and traveling pretty fast. Say!" he exclaimed, a moment later, as he was ushered into the workroom and caught sight of the new set, which was partially completed. "You're certainly going into it pretty heavily this time, aren't you? I didn't imagine you were working up anything so elaborate." "We thought we might as well make something pretty good while we were about it," said Bob. "It won't be much more work to make this set than a smaller one, and we expect to get a whole lot better



results. Don't you think so yourself?" "There's no doubt about it," agreed Mr. Brandon. "When you get this set finished, you ought to be able to catch pretty near anything that happens to be flying around. Let's see how you intend to hook things up." The boys explained their ideas and methods in detail, while the radio man nodded appreciatively from time to time. Sometimes he interrupted to ask a question or make a suggestion, which was duly taken note of by the enthusiastic boys. "There doesn't seem to be a whole lot that I can tell you," remarked Frank Brandon, after they had gone over everything in detail. "You seem to have thought it out very thoroughly already, and outside of the few minor things I've already told you, I can't think of much to suggest. It looks to me as though you'd have a pretty good set there when you get through." "There's one tip I want to give you though," he went on. "And that is to be careful about your tuning. You've noticed, no doubt, that sometimes you get first-class results, and then again the reception is so unsatisfactory that you are disgusted. Now in nine times out of ten the whole trouble is that you haven't tuned your receiver properly. You can't do the thing in a haphazard fashion and get the signals clearly. You know what Michelangelo said about 'trifles that make perfection.' Well, it's something like that in tuning your receiver. "Now I see that in this receiver you have separate controls for the primary and secondary circuits. To tune in correctly you have to adjust both circuits to the wave length of the special signal that you are trying to get. "First you start in with a tentative adjustment of the first primary. Fix it, let us say, for between a third and a half of its maximum value. I see that here the coupling between the primary and secondary is adjustable, so place it at maximum at the start. Of course you know that maximum means the position in which the windings are closest to each other. "Then you fix up the secondary circuit for adjustment to the wave length, turning it slowly from minimum to maximum until you come to the point where the desired station is heard. When this is found, you again readjust the primary until you find the point of maximum loudness. "Now you see the advantage of this double control. If an interfering station butts in, just decrease the coupling between primary and secondary and then tune again the two circuits. You can feel pretty sure of cutting out the interference and getting clearly just the station that you want." "That's mighty good dope," said Bob. "I've had that trouble more than once and haven't been quite clear as to the best way of getting around it." "Then too," went on the radio expert, "you must be careful in adjusting the tickler that gives the regenerative effect. Start in slowly by turning the control knob toward the maximum. You'll soon strike a point where the signal will be loud and clear. Now when you've got to that point, don't overdo it. If you get too much regeneration, the quality of the notes becomes distorted and before you know it you have only a jumble. Let well enough alone is a good rule in tuning, as in many other things. When your coffee's sweet enough, another spoonful of sugar will only spoil it. Keep to the middle of the road. It isn't the loudest noise you want but the sweetest music. "Be careful, too," he urged, "not to have too brilliant a filament. It's wholly unnecessary to have it at a white heat, and you don't want to burn it out any more quickly than you have to. You can save money in reducing the filament brightness by increasing the regeneration, which will make up for the loss of brilliancy.



"Now by keeping these things in mind," he concluded, "you'll be able to operate your set to the best advantage and get the satisfaction you are looking for." "We certainly hope to, anyway," said Bob. "We've put a lot of work and quite a little money into this outfit, and we'd be mightily disappointed if we didn't get good results." "There's not much doubt about that, I think," remarked Frank Brandon. "You ought to see some of the sets I come across! They look to be regular nightmares, but they get passable results, anyway. Radio is certainly getting to be a country-wide craze. Only the other day I was at one of the big broadcasting stations, and the manager told me that they were actually having trouble to get performers, there is such a demand for them. They seem to be especially hard up for novelty acts--something out of the ordinary. People get tired of the same old programmes night after night." "Say!" exclaimed Bob, struck by a sudden thought. "Why wouldn't that be just the thing for Larry when he gets a little better? He could do his bird imitations just as well as ever, and he could do it as well sitting in a chair, as far as that goes." "Bob, you said something!" exclaimed Joe, slapping him on the back. "That's just the kind of thing that would appeal to people, too. I'll bet he'd be a hit from the beginning." "Who is Larry?" asked Mr. Brandon, curiously. The excited boys told him all about their acquaintance with Larry and Tim up to the time of the almost fatal accident in the theater. Brandon listened attentively, and when they had finished sat thinking for several minutes. "Yes, I think it could be arranged all right," he said at last. "I know the manager of one big New Jersey broadcasting station personally, and I'm sure he'd be willing to give your friend a tryout. If he's as good as you say he is, they'd probably be glad to put him on the pay roll. From what you tell me, his act is certainly a novelty, and that's what they want."

CHAPTER XII

A GLAD ANNOUNCEMENT

"WE'LL go and see Larry as soon as we get out of school to-morrow, and see what he says about it," said Bob. "But I guess there's no doubt of what he'll want to do. I know he's mighty worried about the future. He told me he didn't have much money saved up, and what he did have must be about gone by this time." "You do that," agreed Brandon. "And if he thinks favorably of the idea, I'll find time to go with him and you to the station I spoke of, and give him an introduction to the manager and see that he gets a try-out." "That's mighty good of you, Mr. Brandon," said Joe. "Larry is such a fine fellow that when you get to know him you'll feel as interested in seeing him get along as we are." "That's likely enough," said Brandon. "Anyway, if we didn't help each other out a little, this old world wouldn't be much of a place to live in."

Pages 147-149: "But you've arrived in time for supper, and that's the main thing. How did your young friend make out? Didn't you bring him back with you?"



"No, they intend to include him in the bedtime programme for kiddies this evening," explained Brandon. "It starts at seven o'clock, and Larry's performance should come in about half past seven. We'll just about have time to eat before we start listening for him." In a very few minutes they were all seated about Dr. Dale's hospitable table, and it is hardly necessary to record the fact that they did full justice to their hostess' cooking. As they neared the end of the meal, Dr. Dale glanced at his watch. "I know it is considered very impolite to hurry one's guests," he said; "but just the same, it is so near now to the time that Larry is scheduled that I propose that we postpone dessert until after we have heard him. Then we can take our time, and do both Larry and the dessert full justice." They all acceded laughingly to this proposition, and a few minutes later filed into the room where the doctor kept his radio apparatus. His set was equipped with a loud talking device, so that individual headphones were not necessary. With a few touches he adjusted his coils and condensers, and had no difficulty in picking up the broadcasting station. At the moment some one was telling a "bedtime story" for the little folks, and, as it happened, this was the last thing on the programme preceding Larry's act. When the narrator had finished, there came a short pause, and then the familiar voice of the announcer. "The next number on this programme will be a novelty, an imitation of various bird calls and songs, given by Mr. Larry Bartlett." The sonorous voice of the announcer ceased, and the little group in Dr. Dale's house waited expectantly for the first notes of their friend's performance. "Hooray!" shouted Jimmy, as the first notes of the mocking bird's song floated clear and true from the horn. "Hooray for Larry, the champion whistler of the universe!" The others laughed at his enthusiasm, but they were almost as excited themselves. When at last their friend concluded his performance with a trill and a flourish, they all gave the three cheers that Jimmy had suggested, and wished they had a sending set so that they could congratulate Larry on the spot. "That surely sounded well," said Dr. Dale, when their delight had somewhat subsided. "This may be the beginning of big things for Larry, because it will not take him long to become known when he has an audience of somewhere around a half a million people every evening." "That's true enough," said Frank Brandon. "But it seems hard to realize that science has really made such a thing possible." "I'm ready to believe that nothing is impossible these days," said Dr. Dale. "If I read in the paper some day that we had got into wireless communication with Mars, I should believe it easily enough. In fact, I'd hardly feel surprised." "I'm sure I shouldn't," agreed the radio expert. "A person has to have a receptive mind to keep up with these quick-moving times."

Pages 153-155: "That's one of the failings of human nature: to rate ourselves too highly," interposed Dr. Dale, with a smile. "But now, how would you all like to go in and hear the rest of the concert? We've missed only the first part, and there's still quite a good deal to come." They all acceded to this proposal with alacrity, and found that, as the doctor had said, they had not



missed much of the programme. The wireless apparatus worked to perfection, and they could hear everything perfectly. "The static isn't nearly as bad to-night as it was a month or two ago," said Dr. Dale. "At times last summer it interfered a good deal with my receiving." "Yes, it's always a good deal worse in summer than in winter," remarked Frank Brandon. "I always advise beginners not to start at wireless in mid-summer, as they sometimes get such poor results with their small sets that they get discouraged and give up the game altogether. It's better to wait until fall, and then by the next summer they've had experience enough to know how to reduce the bad effects of static." "It used to get pretty bad sometimes at Ocean Point last summer," observed Bob. "Once or twice our concerts were almost spoiled by it, while at other times we'd hardly notice it." "With that set, you ought to be able to get any broadcasting station in the Eastern States," said Brandon. "And if you have luck, and conditions happened to be just right, you might even get something from the other side, although of course that isn't very likely." "Oh, we've been talking about that, but we don't really expect to," said Joe. "We might be able to get the wireless telegraph signals from the other side, though, don't you think?" "That's likely enough," answered Brandon. "The best time to get them is late at night, when the broadcasting and amateur stations are not sending. I've often sat and listened with Brandon Harvey to the big station at Nauen, Germany, or to the Eiffel Tower in Paris." "Jimminy!" exclaimed Herb. "We'll have to bone down at our language courses at high school, fellows. I suppose that they send in whatever language the people speak where the sending station is located, don't they?" "As a rule they do, but not always," replied Frank Brandon. "It depends to a great extent where the message is being sent to. If it is being sent to this country, it is often in English, while if it were being sent to France, it would be in French, naturally." "Yes, I suppose it would have to be that way," said Bob, thoughtfully, "although I never thought about that side of it before. It won't make much difference what language they're sending in, though, so long as we know that we can get their signals. It will be a lot of fun, though, trying to make out what they're saying." "It will be a good alibi, anyway," said Jimmy. "If we can't understand the dots and dashes, we can just say that they're sending in German or French or Italian. Nobody could expect us to know all those languages."

Pages 168-171: "If we can once get you interested in radio, Larry, you'll be as stuck on it as any of us," said Joe. "It's interesting right from the beginning, but when you dig into it a bit, it gets more fascinating all the time." "Oh, I'm interested in radio all right, don't make any mistake about that," returned Larry, with a twinkle in his eye. "It's my meal ticket now, you know." "Yes, but I mean in the way of recreation," persisted Joe. "Yes, I suppose it must be mighty interesting, for a fact," admitted Larry, more seriously. "Just wait until I get strong again, and maybe I'll take it up in earnest. I've seen enough of it to realize that there are wonderful possibilities in it, anyway."



"Well, we'll be glad to initiate you any time you say the word," offered Bob. "We don't know enough about it to keep us awake at night, but we can probably explain a few things to you." "Oh, I'll ask questions until you wish you'd never mentioned radio to me," laughed Larry. "If I do take it up, I'll have to start at the beginning." "That's where most everybody starts," announced Jimmy. "You won't be a bit worse off than we were, will he, fellows?" "I should say not," answered Bob. "When we started, we hardly knew the difference between an antenna and a ground wire. We had our own troubles at first; and we're still having them, as far as that goes. There always seems to be something new coming up that you have to work out." "If I keep on getting good pay from the broadcasting station, I'll be able to buy a set, anyway," said Larry. "What's the use of working so hard over one, when you can buy them all made up? All you have to do is hook them up to a small antenna, and you get your music right off the bat." But the radio boys all scouted this idea. "Of course you can buy one all made up," said Bob. "But there's not half the fun in operating that kind of set as there is in one that you've made yourself. And besides, you can get a lot better results when you've made the thing yourself and understand just what's in it and how it works. If you don't get good results some evening, you know where to look for the trouble." "It's like driving an automobile when you don't understand the mechanism," added Joe. "As long as everything goes all right you go sailing along, but let something go wrong, and you're up a tree right away. You haven't any idea of where to look for the trouble." "All right, all right," laughed Larry. "Don't shoot, and I'll promise never to mention it again." "See that you keep it, then," said Bob, laughing. "But anybody who buys a made-up set isn't entitled to be called a real radio fan; at least, we don't think so." "I suppose you're right," agreed Larry. "It must be half the fun of the game when you do the job yourself. But remember that everybody can't build elaborate sets the way you fellows do, even if they want to. They haven't got the knack." "I suppose that's so," conceded Bob. "But almost anybody that can drive a nail straight can do it. It's mostly a matter of hard work and a little study."

Pages 174-177: Shortly after supper that evening they all met at the Layton home according to appointment. As it was Sunday, they did not do any work on their new set, but the whole Layton family gathered around the loud speaker that evening, as a prominent preacher was to deliver a sermon by radio, and they were all eager to hear it. Before the sermon there was an organ recital, and they heard this perfectly, after the boys had succeeded in tuning out one or two amateurs who sometimes made them trouble. Of course, everybody enjoyed the recital, and also the sermon, which was delivered in very effective style. "This is certainly being up to date," commented Mr. Layton, when the sermon was over. "When I was the same age as you boys, I was expected to be in church every Sunday evening without fail. But now it does not seem quite so necessary, when it is possible to have religious services right in the home, as we have had them this evening. I think the Layton family is indebted to you boys, as the chances are neither Mrs. Layton nor I would ever have become interested in it if Bob and you hadn't introduced us to it."



"I'll bet you never thought much of it when we first started to build an amateur set, now did you, Dad?" accused Bob. "As I don't see any way out of it, I suppose I'll have to confess that you're right," laughed Mr. Layton. "But you must remember that you boys were among the first to take up wireless in Clintonia, and at that time nobody in town had thought anything about it. I guess we didn't realize its possibilities." "It was a surprise to me when that first set that you boys made really worked," admitted Mrs. Layton. "I remember that it sounded very nice right from the start, too." "Yes, that was a good old set," said Bob. "It didn't satisfy us for long, though. It was all right under favorable conditions, but you couldn't do much tuning with it." "Not only that, but the range was pretty limited, too," chimed in Joe. "When I think of all the planning we had to do before we got it made, I feel like laughing." "It was no laughing matter then, though," said Herb. "If it hadn't worked, we'd have been a pretty disappointed crowd." "I'll never forget the sensation when that first music came in over our set," said Bob. "It was certainly a grand and glorious feeling. I only hope our new set comes up to scratch as well as that one did." "I guess there isn't much doubt about the new set," observed Joe, confidently. "It will just have to work." "Look out," laughed Mr. Layton. "Don't forget the old saying, that 'pride goeth before a fall' " "Yes, we may have an awful bump coming to us, I suppose," said Joe. "But we'd be awfully sore if it didn't work, after all the labor we've put on it." "We'll make it work, all right," predicted Bob. "Maybe not on the very first trial, but we'll get it going in the end, I'll bet a cookie." "I surely hope it will be all right, because I know how bad you would all feel if it didn't," said Mrs. Layton. "I never knew boys would work so hard at anything, just for the sake of the fun they expect to get out of it." "They may get a good deal more than just fun out of it," remarked Mr. Layton, seriously. "It looks to me as though radiophony were only just starting at present, and it seems certain that it offers a big field for any one who has the desire and ability to take up that line of work. It may turn out to be a fine thing for them later on." "I suppose that's very true," said his wife, thoughtfully. "Although that side of it never occurred to me before." After a little further conversation, Joe, Herb, and Jimmy said good-night and took their leave, thinking, as they walked home, of what Mr. Layton had said. They had all entertained the same idea before, but his words had encouraged them. Why not? Surely there must be many openings in so large a field for bright and ambitious young fellows, and in their dreams that night the boys had visions of fame and fortune attained through the medium of wireless telephony.

Pages 192-196: Entering the office, they had little difficulty in seeing the manager, and he readily consented to have the boys look over the station, turning them over to an assistant, as he was too busy to take them around himself. Mr. Reed, the assistant, did not appear particularly pleased with his assignment at first, but when he



found that the boys were well grounded in radio, his attitude changed. "I get tired of showing people around who don't know a thing about radio, and do nothing but ask fool questions," he explained. "But when I get some one who knows the subject and can understand what I'm showing him, that's a different matter." He showed them over the sending station from the studio to the roof. The boys listened with the keenest interest as he described to them the methods by which the broadcasting was carried on, which every night delighted hundreds of thousands of people within range of the station. In a little room close to the roof they saw the sending apparatus which really did the work. There was a series of five vacuum bulbs through which the current passed, receiving a vastly greater amplification from each, until from the final one it climbed into the antenna and was flung into space. To the casual onlooker they would have seemed like simply so many ordinary electric bulbs arranged in a row and glowing with, perhaps, unusual brilliance. But the boys knew that they were vastly more than this. Where the electric light tube would have contained only the filament, these tubes at which they were looking contained also a plate and a grid--the latter being that magical invention which had worked a complete revolution in the science of radio and had made broadcasting possible. From the heated filament electrons were shot off in a stream toward the plate, and by the wonder-working intervention of the grid were amplified immeasurably in power and then passed on to the other tube, which in turn passed it on to a third, and so on until the sound that had started as the ordinary tone of a human voice had been magnified many thousands of times. This little series of tubes was able to make the crawl of a fly sound like the tread of an elephant and there is no doubt that a time will come when through this agency the drop of a pin in New York City can be heard in San Francisco. The boys were so fascinated with the possibilities contained in the apparatus that it was only with reluctance that they left the roof and went to the studio. This they found to be a long, rather narrow room, wholly without windows, and with the floors covered with the heaviest of rugs. The reason for this, as their guide explained, was to shut out all possible sound except that which it was desired to transmit over the radio. "What is the idea of having no windows?" asked Bob. "So there shall be no vibration from the window panes," replied Mr. Reed. "I tell you, boys, this broadcasting hasn't been a matter of days, but is the development of months of the hardest kind of work and experiment. We have had to test, reject, and sift all possible suggestions in order to reach perfection. I don't mean by that to say that we have reached it yet, but we're on the way. New problems are coming up all the time, and we are kept busy trying to solve them. "It seems a simple thing," he went on, "to talk or sing into that microphone," pointing to a little disk-like instrument about the height of a man's head. "But even there the least miscalculation may wholly spoil the effect of the speech or the music. Now, in a theater, the actor is at least twenty feet or so from the nearest of his audience and the sounds that he makes in drawing in his breath are not perceptible. If he stayed too close to the microphone, however, that drawing in of breath, or some other little peculiarity of his delivery, would be so plainly heard that it would interfere with the effect of his performance. So, with certain instruments. A flute, for instance, has no mechanical stops, so a flute player can stand comparatively near the microphone. The player of a cornet, however, must stand some distance back or else the clicking of the stops of his instrument will interfere with his music. These are only a few of the difficulties that we meet and have to guard against. There are dozens of others that



require just as much vigilance to guard against in order to get a perfect performance. It's a pleasure to explain these things to you, boys, for you catch on quickly." "We're a long way from being experts," said Bob, "but we've done quite a good deal of radio work and built several sets of our own, so we can at least ask intelligent questions." "Well, fire away, and I'll try to answer them," replied Mr. Reed. "You may be able to stick me, though." He said this as a joke, but before they had completed a tour of the building the boys had asked him some posers that he was at a loss to answer. "I almost think you fellows should be taking me around," he said at last. "Blamed if I don't think you know as much as I do about it."

Pages 205-209: "You don't get much applause now," laughed Bob. "How does it seem to perform for the benefit of a telephone transmitter instead of an audience?" "It never bothered me much," replied Larry. "It seems to be pretty hard for some of the actors, though, especially the comedians. When they spring a funny joke they're used to hearing their audience laugh, and when they don't hear anything, they get peeved sometimes. They can't get used to the blank silence after their best efforts." "I can easily understand how it would have that effect," said Bob. "It might save them a lot of trouble, though. Take the case of a black-face artist. He wouldn't need to put on any make-up at all, if he didn't want to." "But if they don't, they don't feel natural, and it's apt to spoil their act. An actor is pretty temperamental, you know." "Well, I'm beginning to feel that way myself," sighed Joe. "I wish it were time for us to spring our stuff on an unsuspecting public and get it over with. It must be pretty near time for the first number now, isn't it?" "It sure is," answered Larry. "We'd better go on up to the transmitting room. The worst crime a public performer can commit is to be late, you know." "And to think that I'm the poor fellow that's supposed to open the show!" exclaimed Bob. "My, I'll be as glad to get it over with as you will, Joe." "That's saying a mouthful," replied his friend. "Oh, what a relief it will be!"



"If the audience can stand it, you two ought to be able to," said Larry, cruelly. "Quit your worrying." "I guess if the audience can stand you, it won't mind us," returned Bob, giving Larry a friendly poke in the ribs. "Guess that will hold you a little while, old timer." Before Larry could think of a suitable retort they had entered the transmitting room, and he had to postpone his reply for the time being. Mr. Allard was already there. "How do you feel?" he asked them, in greeting. "Probably a trifle nervous?" "Just a little bit," Bob admitted. "I think we'll make out all right, though." "Good!" replied the manager. "Don't get rattled, and you'll go over all right. From what Mr. Brandon has told me, you don't either of you rattle easily, though." "We're ready any time you are, sir," was Bob's comment. "All right, then," said Mr. Allard, crisply. "It's time now, Morton," addressing the announcer. "You can go ahead and announce Layton's act." This the announcer did, and then, tense with excitement but thoroughly master of himself, Bob stepped to the transmitter and propounded the first of his conundrums. With book in hand, Larry stood at his elbow to prompt him in case he forgot anything, but his friendly services were not needed. Bob went through the whole list without a mistake and with no fumbling, speaking clearly and distinctly into the transmitter. Although he could not see his audience, he nevertheless sensed the listening thousands, and felt the lift, and exhilaration that come to the successful entertainer. His part in the programme was short, a scant ten minutes, but he enjoyed every minute of it. When he had asked the last riddle, he stepped back, and mopped big drops of perspiration from his face. "Whew!" he exclaimed. "I'm glad that's over, although it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." "You've got to go all through it again when you give the answers," Larry reminded him, cruelly. "I guess I can stand it," said Bob. "Did I do it all right?" "Sure you did," they all assured him. "It was good work." In a little while the time came for Joe to give his recitations, and he, too, did good work. It was easy to see that the manager was pleased with both of them, and, indeed, he did not hesitate to say so. "If you fellows didn't live so far away, I'd be glad to make you a regular part of the programme," he told them later. "You both have a good delivery, and I can see that Brandon was right when he said you didn't lack nerve. It's too bad you don't live in this town."

Pages 219-220: The special set that represented the advance they had made in radio reception included the regenerative principle. This feature added immensely to the sensitiveness of the set. It consisted of a coil, variously known as the tickler, the intensity coil, and the regeneration coil. It involved three controls, the wave-length tuning, the regenerative coil, and the filament rheostat. The result of the combination was not only that the radio frequency waves could be carried over into the plate circuit, but that they could be amplified there by the energy derived from the local battery in the plate circuit without change of frequency or wave form, and that they could be fed into the grid circuit, where they increased the potential variations on the grid so that the operation constantly repeated itself. This "feed-back" regeneration enormously increased the loudness of the receiving signals, and its



value to the boys was demonstrated one night when the air was unusually free of static and they clearly heard the signals from Nauen, Germany, and the Eiffel Tower, Paris. They looked at each other incredulously at first, and then as they heard the signals again too certainly to admit of doubt, they jumped to their feet, clapped each other on the shoulder, and fairly went wild with delight. "The first boys in this old town to pick up a message from Europe!" cried Joe. "What next?" "Asia perhaps," suggested Jimmy. "Then Australia," ventured Herb. "Or Mars," predicted Bob. "Who knows?" he added, as he saw the smile of doubt on his comrades' faces. "Marconi thought he might, and he's no dreamer. What is impossible to radio?"

THE END



The Radio Boys At Mountain Pass--extracts (1922)

The Radio Boys At Mountain Pass, Allen Chapman, 1922, pages v - vi:

FOREWORD

BY JACK BINNS In the first chapter of this volume there appears a statement by "Bob," one of the Radio Boys, as follows: "Marconi is one of those fellows that can never rest satisfied with what's been done up to date." Perhaps no more concise summary of the driving force back of the men responsible for the tremendous development of radio could be made. It is just that refusal to be satisfied with what has been accomplished that has made wireless the greatest wonder development in the history of mankind. Although the radio boys in this case are but creatures of the author's imagination, nevertheless they are typical of all the men who have taken part in bringing radio to its present stage. Even Marconi himself likes to take pride in the assertion that he too was at one time an amateur, because he insists that during his early experiments he was only a boy amateur tinkering with a little known subject. There is undoubtedly a great deal of truth in his claim, because the experiments that led to his success were made while he was a youth studying at the Bologna University in Italy. What is true of Marconi is equally true of all the others. We have only to think of a name prominent in the field of wireless, and then trace back the history of the man who bears it, and you will come to an enthusiastic amateur. There is another fascinating thing about wireless, and it is the fact that no matter how much work one may really expend in tinkering with it, and no matter how valuable the results, it does not seem like real work. This is aptly phrased by Joe in the book who says: "I'd like to take it up as a regular profession. Think of what it must be for fellows like Armstrong and Edison, and De Forest and Marconi. I'll bet they don't think it's work." There is no doubt that Joe wins his bet.

Pages 10-13:

THE RADIO BOYS AT MOUNTAIN PASS



CHAPTER I

THE BEAR PERSUES "All the same," he protested, "Doc. Preston has been rushing us like the old Harry all this fall, and what with school work and home work and radio work." "Radio!" interrupted Bob. "You don't call that work, do you? Why it's fun, the greatest fun in the world." "You bet it is," chimed in Joe enthusiastically. "We never knew what real fun was until we took it up. Look at the adventures it's brought us." "I tell you, fellows, there's nothing like radio in the universe!" agreed Jimmy. "I'd like to take it up as a regular profession," said Joe. "Think of what it must be for fellows like Armstrong and Edison and De Forest and Marconi. I'll bet they don't think it's work. They're eager to get at it in the morning and sorry to knock off at night. There's no drudgery in a profession like that." "Speaking of Marconi, remarked Herb, "I see that he's just come over to America again on that yacht of his where he thought he heard signals that might have been from Mars. I wonder if he's heard any more of them." "I don't know," replied Bob thoughtfully. "Though I've become so used to what seem to be almost miracles that I'm prepared for almost anything. At any rate, the only thing one can do nowadays is to keep an open mind and not say beforehand that anything is impossible. It would be great, wouldn't it, if we could get in touch with another planet? And if we could with one, there doesn't seem to be any reason why we couldn't with all, that is if there's life and intelligence on them. But after all, at present that's only speculation. What interests me more just now is the discovery that Marconi is said to have made by which he is able to send out radio waves in one given direction." "I hadn't heard of that," remarked Joe. "I thought they spread out equally in all directions and that anybody who had a receiving set could take them." "So they have up to now," replied Bob. "But Marconi's one of those fellows that can never rest satisfied with what's been done up to date. That's what makes him great. I'm not exactly clear about this new idea of his, but the gist of it is that he throws a radio wave in a certain direction, much as a mirror throws a ray of light. He uses a reflector apparatus and the wave is caught at the receiving end on a horizontal metal standard. With a wave of only three and one half meters he has thrown a shaft nearly a hundred miles in just the direction he wanted it to go. The article I read said that he had some sort of semicircular reflector covered with wires that resembled a dish cut in half. When the open side is turned toward the receiving station he wants to reach, the signals are heard loud and clear. When the open part is turned away, the signals can't be heard. The whole idea is concentration. Just what a burning glass does with the rays of the sun, his device does with the radio waves. Marconi's a wizard, and that's all there is about it. There's no knowing what he may do next. But you can be sure that it'll be something new and valuable." "He's a wonder," agreed Joe heartily. "And if he's the 'father of wireless,' we've got to admit that he has a good healthy baby. I'm going to try to get on friendly terms with that baby."



Pages 50-55: Doctor Dale, the friend and counselor of the boys in radio, as in many other things, was in the pulpit. He was a very eloquent preacher and was always sure of a good congregation. But as Joe had said, the church was even fuller than usual that morning, and there was a general stir of expectancy, as though something unusual was in prospect. The attention of the boys was attracted at once by a small disk-like contrivance right in front of the preacher's desk. It had never been there before. They recognized it at once as a microphone, but to the majority of the audience its purpose was a complete mystery, and many curious glances were fixed upon it. There were the customary preliminary services, and then Doctor Dale came forward to the desk. "Before beginning my sermon this morning," he said, "I want to explain what will seem to some an unusual departure from custom, but which I hope will justify itself to such an extent as to become a regular feature of our service. "There is no reason why the benefits of that service should be confined to the persons gathered within these four walls. There are thousands outside who by the means of radio, that most wonderful invention of the present century, can hear every word of this service just as readily as you who are seated in the pews. The prayers, the hymns, the organ music, the sermon, the benediction--they can hear it all. The only thing they will miss will be the privilege of putting their money in the collection plate." He paused for a moment, and a smile rippled over the congregation. "I have said," he resumed, "that they can hear it. And if they can hear it, they ought to hear it--that is if they want to. This is no new or untried idea. It is being carried out to-day in Pittsburgh, Washington, and other cities. The pulpit becomes a religious broadcasting station, from which the service is carried over an area of hundreds of miles. Everybody within that area who has a receiving set can hear it if they wish. In some cases it is estimated that more than two hundred thousand people are enjoying at the same moment the same religious service. You can see at once what that means in immeasurably extending the usefulness and influence of the church. "Now it has occurred to me that we might do here what is being done elsewhere on a larger scale. So, after a conference with the officials of the church, an adequate sending set has been installed in the loft of the building. What is said here is sent from this microphone to the loft, where it is flung out into the ether. Arrangements have been made with a number of churches in this county, too poor and small to have a regular pastor by which they have installed loud speaker receiving sets in their buildings. At this moment there are a dozen scattered congregations where the people have gathered to worship, and where at this moment they are hearing everything that is said just as plainly as you do. "And in addition to that," he went on, "in hundreds, perhaps thousands of homes, people who cannot go to church because of illness or some other reason are listening to this service. The sick, the crippled, the blind--think of what it means to have the church brought to them when they cannot go to the church. You in the pews are the visible congregation. But outside these walls there is to-day an invisible congregation many times greater, to whom this service is bringing its message of help and healing." With this prelude, Doctor Dale announced his text and preached his sermon, which, if anything, was more eloquent than usual. It seemed as if he were inspired by preaching to the greatest audience that he had ever had in his whole career, and the audience in the pews also felt a thrill as they thought of the invisible listeners miles and miles away. It seemed as though the natural were being brought into close



connection with the supernatural, and the impression produced was most powerful. If the doctor had had any misgivings as to the attitude of his people toward this new departure, these were quickly dissipated by the cordial congratulations and approval that were expressed after the service was over and he moved about among them. It was the universal opinion that a great advance had been made and that the innovation had come to stay. The radio boys had been intensely interested in this new application of their favorite study, and after the sermon they went up into the loft and examined the apparatus that had been used in sending. It was a vacuum tube set with two tubes and power enough to send messages out over the whole county. It had been set up by Dr. Dale himself, and that was proof enough for the boys that it had worked perfectly in sending out the morning service. "What will radio do next?" asked Bob, as the boys were walking homeward. "What won't it do next is the way you ought to put it," suggested Joe. "It seems as if there were no limit. There are no such things as space and distance any more. Radio has wiped them out completely." "That's true," chimed in Herb. "The earth used to be a monstrous big thing twenty-five thousand miles round. Now it's getting to be no bigger than an orange." "What a fuss they made when it was proved that one could travel around the world in eighty days," said Jimmy. "But radio can go round the earth more than seven times in a single second. Just about the time it takes to strike a match." "Gee, but I'm glad we weren't born a hundred years ago," remarked Bob. "What a lot of things we would have missed. Automobiles, locomotives, telegraph, telephone, phonograph, electric light----" "Yes," interrupted Joe, "and radio would have been the worst miss of all." "They're doing in the colleges now, too, something very like what the doctor did in the pulpit this morning," said Bob. "In Union College and Tufts and a lot of others the professors are giving their lectures by radio. Talk about University Extension courses! Radio will beat them all hollow. Think of a professor lecturing to an audience of fifty thousand, instead of the hundred or so that are gathered in his classroom. And think of the thousands of young fellows who are crazy to go to college and haven't the money to do it with. They can keep on working and get their college education at home. I tell you what, fellows, Mr. Brandon was right the other day when he said that the surface of radio had only been scratched so far."

Pages 69-71:

CHAPTER VII

RADIO WONDERS THAT day and the next were busy ones for the radio boys. The party was to go in two big automobiles that Mr. Layton had hired, and the boys had secured permission to take a small radio set with them. On the morning set for their departure they were ready to the last detail, and it was not long before they and their belongings were snugly packed into the two automobiles and they were all on their way to the mountain resort. Although it was still only mid-autumn, the air had a keen edge to it, the sky was gray and overcast, and there was the indefinable feel of snow in the air. The big cars rolled crisply through long drifts of dead leaves, going at a lively pace, as it was quite a journey to the resort, with many steep grades to be



encountered on the way. The boys were warmly wrapped, and the keen air only gave zest and added to their high spirits. "These cars ought to be equipped with a radio set," remarked Bob, a short time after they had started. "I saw a picture the other day of a car that was rigged up that way, with an antenna from the radiator to a mast in the rear." "It's not a bad idea, at that," said Joe. "If a person were going on a long tour, he could keep in touch with the weather forecasts, and know just what to expect the next day." "Yes, and when he camped for lunch, he could have music while the coffee pot was boiling," said Herb. "Pretty soft, I'll say." "He'd be out of luck if the static were bad, though," observed Jimmy. "Oh, it won't be long before they'll get around that static nuisance," said Bob. "Have you heard of the latest method of overcoming it?" The others had not, and Bob proceeded to explain. "At Rocky Point, Long Island, they put up twelve radio towers, each four hundred and ten feet high, in a row three miles long. Then they hitched up a couple of two hundred kilowatt alternators so that they run in synchronism. That means four hundred kilowatts on the aerial, and I guess that can plough through the worst static that ever happened." "Four hundred kilowatts!" exclaimed Joe. "That's an awful lot of juice, Bob." "You bet it is," agreed Bob, nodding his head. "But it does the work. When they tested out this system signals were received in Nauen, Germany, of almost maximum strength, in spite of bad weather conditions. You know they have a numbered scale, running from nothing to ten, which is maximum. Well, the Rocky Point signals were classed as number nine, which means they were almost maximum strength." "It must have been a terrible job to synchronize those two alternators," commented Joe. "No doubt of it," agreed Bob. "This article stated that they had to experiment for months before they succeeded. Those machines turn over at somewhere around twenty-two thousand revolutions per minute, you know." "About three hundred and sixty-six times a second," said Joe, after a short mental calculation. "Nothing slow about that, is there?" "It's fast enough to do the trick, anyway," agreed Bob. "Wouldn't it be great to be in charge of a station like that?" The others agreed that it would, and for some time they discussed this latest marvel of radio.

Pages 89-115: Owing to the sickness in Clintonia, there had been an unprecedented rush of visitors to the hotel, and the Layton party discovered that they would have to take one of the small cottages adjoining the hotel, although they would board in the main establishment. The cottage was snug and comfortable, however, and they were all delighted with it.



Indeed, it was better for the radio boys than rooms in the hotel, because they could set up their receiving set more readily. Of course, it was out of the question to erect an outdoor aerial, but they were not bothered by this and decided to use a loop aerial instead. They had brought with them a knock-down frame on which to wind their antenna, and this frame could be moved around and set against the wall when not in use. The first night at Mountain Pass they had little thought, however, even for their beloved radio, and were content to tumble into bed shortly after dinner. But the next day they were up early, and after a hearty breakfast set to work to put up their set.

CHAPTER X

CONVINCING A SKEPTIC

IT was a simple matter for the boys to wind the loop aerial, for they had become expert in the manipulation of wire, tape, and the numerous other accessories that go with the art of wireless telephony. After the aerial was completed they unpacked their receiving set and quickly connected it up. They worked skillfully and efficiently, and before the lunch bell rang at noon they were ready to receive signals. The boys wanted to get back to their radio set after dinner, but the snow looked so inviting that they could not resist the temptation to have a snow fight. They had had a good time, and they knew that there is seldom any fun that does not have its own drawbacks. They went to their rooms, changed the wettest of their clothing for dry articles, and were soon ready to test their set. They were just making a final inspection of their connections when Mr. Layton entered the room, accompanied by two other gentlemen. Mr. Layton introduced the two latter as the owners of the store he was thinking of purchasing. "Mr. Blackford and Mr. Robins are rather skeptical about radio," explained Mr. Layton, when the introductions had been duly accomplished. "I happened to mention it this morning, and as they both seemed to think I was exaggerating its possibilities, I asked them here to see and hear for themselves." "It's no trouble to show goods," said Bob, grinning. "We haven't tested for signals yet, but the set is all hooked up, and I guess all we'll have to do is tune up and get about anything you want." "You seem pretty confident," remarked one of the two strangers, Mr. Robins. "My opinion is, that this radio stuff is mostly bunk. A friend of mine bought a set just a little while ago, and he couldn't hear a thing with it. Paid fifteen dollars for it, too." "I shouldn't imagine he could," said Bob, drily. "Mountain Pass must be at least a hundred miles from the nearest broadcasting station, and that set you speak of could never be expected to catch anything more than twenty-five miles away, at the most." "Well, I'll bet dollars to doughnuts you can't hear anything with that outfit you've got there, either,"



broke in the other of the two strangers. "You'd lose your money, Blackford," said Bob's father. "Go ahead and convince these doubting Thomases, Bob." Bob adjusted a headset over his ears and switched on the current through the vacuum bulb filament. Then he manipulated the voltage of the "B," or high voltage, dry battery, and also varied the current flowing through the filament by means of a rheostat connected in series with it. Almost immediately he caught a far-away sound of music, and by manipulation of the variometer and condenser knobs gradually increased the strength of the sounds. Meantime Mr. Layton's two acquaintances had watched proceedings with open skepticism, and often glanced knowingly at each other. But suddenly, as Bob twisted the knob of the variable condenser, the music became so loud that all in the room could hear it, even though they had no receivers over their ears. "If either of you two gentlemen will put these receivers on, he'll be convinced that radio is no fake," said Bob quietly, at the same time removing his headset and holding it out. After a moment's hesitation Mr. Robins donned the receivers, and a startled look came over his face, replacing the incredulous expression it had worn heretofore. "Let's hook up another set of phones, Bob, and let Mr. Blackford listen at the same time," suggested Joe. This was done, and soon both skeptics were listening to their first radio concert. Mr. Layton regarded them with an amused smile. Mr. Robins extended his hand curiously toward the condenser knob, and immediately the music died away. He pulled his hand hastily away, and the sounds resumed their former volume. "Don't be frightened," laughed Mr. Layton. "It won't bite you." "But what made it fade away in that fashion?" asked Mr. Robins. "Don't ask me," said Bob's father. "I'm not up on radio the way the boys are. I enjoy it, without knowing much of the modus operandi." "That was caused by what is known as 'body capacity,' " explained Bob. "Every human being is more or less of a natural condenser, and when you get near the regular condenser in that set, it puts more capacity into the circuit, and interferes with its balance." The other nodded, although in reality he understood very little of even this simple explanation. He was too much absorbed in listening to what was going on in the phones. As he listened, he heard the latest stock market quotations given out, among them being the last minute prices of some shares he happened to be interested in. He slapped his knee enthusiastically, and when the last quotations had been given, he snatched off the headset and leaped to his feet. "I'm converted!" he fairly shouted. "I'll buy this outfit right as it stands for almost any price you fellows want to put on it. What will you sell it for?" The boys were taken aback by this unexpected offer, and all looked at Bob expectantly. "Why, we hadn't even thought of selling the set," he said slowly. "We wouldn't sell it right now, at any price, I think. But when we leave here to go back home, I suppose we might let you have it. How about it, fellows?" After some argument they agreed to this, but Mr. Robins was so determined to have the set that he would not be put off. "Now look here," he said. "I'm a business man, and I'll make you a business proposition. I'll buy that



outfit right now, before I leave this room, at your own figure. But you fellows can keep it here and have the use of it just the same as you have now, only it will be understood that I'll have the privilege of coming over here once a day in time to hear those market reports. At the same time you can teach me something about operating the thing. How does that strike you?" and he threw himself back in his chair and waited for his answer. "We'll have to talk over that offer for a little while," said Bob. "Give us ten minutes or so, and we'll give you an answer." "That's all right," replied Mr. Robins. "While I'm waiting I'll just put on those ear pieces again and see what's doing." The radio boys left the room and held an excited conference downstairs. After some discussion they agreed to sell their set, as long as they could have the use of it during their stay at the resort, but the matter of price proved to be a knotty problem. Bob produced pencil and paper, and they figured the actual cost of the set to themselves, and then what the same set would have cost if bought ready made in a retail store. "The actual material in that set didn't cost us much over forty dollars, but we put a whole lot of time and experience into it," said Bob. "It would cost him close to a hundred to get as good a one in a store." "It's a mighty good set, too," said Joe, a note of regret in his voice. "We might make another as near like it as possible, and not get nearly as good results." "Oh, don't worry. We're some radio builders by this time," Herb reminded him. "Besides, that isn't the only set we've got." "Let's ask him eighty dollars," ventured Jimmy. "He'll be getting it cheaper then than he could buy it retail, and we'll be picking up a nice piece of change." "I think that ought to be about the right figure," agreed Bob. "Does that suit this board of directors? Eighty hard, round iron men?" The others grinned assent, and they returned to the room where the older men were still seated about the radio set. "Well, what's the verdict?" inquired Mr. Robins, glancing keenly from one to the other. "We've decided to sell," replied Bob. "The price will be eighty dollars." Without a word Mr. Robins produced a roll of greenbacks, and counted off the specified amount in crisp bills. "You'll want a receipt, won't you, Robins?" inquired Mr. Layton. "Not necessary," replied the other. "I've got a hunch that your son and his friends are on the level and won't try to cheat an old fellow like me. I'll have to be going now, but I'll be around about the same time to-morrow morning to get the stock quotations. Coming, Blackford?"

CHAPTER XI

A MOUNTAIN RADIO STATION

LEFT to themselves, the boys looked at one another. "That's what I call quick work," remarked Joe. "I hate to let the old set go, but they say you should never mix sentiment with business." "Maybe this will lessen your grief," said Bob. "Eighty divided by four makes twenty, or at least that's what they always taught us in school. Take these four five-dollar bills, Joe, and dry your tears with



them." "Oh, boy!" exclaimed Joe. "Money, how welcome you are!" ejaculated Herb, as he pocketed his share. "What I can't do with twenty dollars!" Every day after that Mr. Robins dropped in in time to hear the market reports, sometimes alone, and at others accompanied by his partner, Mr. Blackford. The latter was not quite so enthusiastic as his colleague, but he was nevertheless greatly interested, and was always glad to don a head set and hear what was going on. True to their agreement, the boys instructed the new owner of the set how to adjust it and get the best results. He always paid the closest attention to what they told him, and in a few days could pick up signals and tune the set fairly well. "Not bad for an old fellow, eh?" he exclaimed delightedly one day, when he had accomplished the whole thing without any aid from the boys. "If Blackford and I sell out to your father, Bob, I'll have a little leisure time, and blame it all if I don't think I'll do some experimenting and possibly some building myself." "You're pretty badly bitten by the radio bug," observed his partner. "I won't try to deny it," said the other, emphatically. "The more I think about it, the more wonderful it seems. Besides, it's got a mighty practical side to it. I was holding on to some shares a few days ago until I learned by way of the radio that they were starting to fall. I sent a telegram to my brokers, they sold out for me just in the nick of time, and I made a profit on the deal instead of having to take a loss. The bottom dropped clean out of the market that same afternoon, and if I'd been holding on to those shares, I would have gotten bumped good and hard." The other nodded. "It's a good investment when you look at it that way," he admitted. "Good investment is right," declared his partner. "I saved a lot more in that deal than the whole radio outfit cost me, and I still own the set." "I wonder why the new government wireless station doesn't do something of the kind," remarked Mr. Blackford. "They might as well make themselves useful as well as ornamental." "Government station!" exclaimed Bob and Joe at once. "Is there a government station at Mountain Pass?" Mr. Blackford nodded. "I thought you fellows knew about it, or I'd have mentioned it before," he said. "It was just opened a few weeks ago, and I don't think they've got all their equipment in yet. There's been some delay in getting the stuff here, I understand." "What does the government want of a wireless station away up here?" asked Bob. "This is the highest point in all the surrounding country and makes an ideal lookout for forest fires," said his informant. "The station was supposed to be ready for use last summer, but, as I say, was delayed a good deal. But we expect it to be of great service in the future. There have been some disastrous forest fires around here in the last few years, as you probably know." "We ought to know it," remarked Joe. "The smoke has been so thick as far away as Clintonia sometimes that you could cut it with a hatchet. It's about time something was done to stop it." Of course, once they heard about the government station, the boys could think of nothing else until they had visited it. The station was situated some distance from the Mountain Rest Hotel in a clearing cut out of the dense pine woods, and the boys ceased to wonder why they had not discovered it on some of their



rambles. As they drew near they could see that everything was solidly and substantially built, as is usually the case with government work. The station, besides the towers, comprised a large, comfortable building, which housed all the sending and receiving equipment, and a smaller building, in which the operators slept when off duty, and where spare equipment was stored. The radio boys knocked at the door of the larger building, and after a short wait it was opened by a tall, rather frail looking young fellow, who eyed them inquiringly. Bob explained that he and his friends were radio fans, and were anxious to look over the station, if it would not cause too much inconvenience. "Not a bit of it," said the young operator, heartily. "To tell you the truth, there is not much doing here at this time of year, and company is mighty welcome. Step in and I'll be glad to show you around the place."

CHAPTER XII

THE MARVELOUS SCIENCE

INSIDE of half an hour the boys were on a friendly footing with the young operator and felt as though they had known him a long time. He was only a few years older than themselves, and had been a full-fledged operator for about six months. The Mountain Pass station was his first assignment, and he was inordinately proud of the complicated apparatus that went to compose it. "This is some little station that Uncle Sam has rigged up here, and while there are plenty of bigger ones, there are very few that are more complete and up to date. Look at this three unit generator set, for instance. Compact, neat, and efficient, as you can easily see. It doesn't take up much room, but it can do a whole lot." "It does look as though it were built for business," admitted Bob. "I suppose that unit in the center is the driving motor, isn't it?" "Right," said the other. "And the one nearest you is a two thousand volt generator for supplying the plate circuit. The one at the other end is a double current generator. That supplies direct current at one hundred and twenty-five volts and four amps for the exciter circuit, and alternating current at eighty-eight volts and ten amps for feeding that twelve volt filament heating transformer that you see over there in the corner." "Pretty neat, I'll say," remarked Joe. "I think so," said the other, and continued to point out the salient and interesting features of the equipment. "Over here, you see, is our main instrument panel. These dials over here control the variable condensers, and the other ones control the variometers. But there!" he exclaimed, catching himself up short. "I suppose none of you ever heard of such things before, did you?" The radio boys looked at each other, and could not help laughing. "We've got a faint idea what they are, anyway," chuckled Bob. "We've made enough of them to be on speaking terms, I should say." "Made them!" exclaimed the other, surprised in his turn. "Sure thing," grinned Bob. "We've made crystal detector sets and vacuum tube sets, and----" "And other sets that we never knew just how to describe," interrupted the irrepressible Herb, with a laugh.



"Yes, that kind too," admitted Bob, with a grin. "But, anyway, we've made enough to know the difference between a variometer and a condenser." "Well, I didn't know I was talking to old hands at the game," said the operator. "I suppose I might have known that you wouldn't take that long walk out here through the snow unless you were pretty well interested in radio." "Yes, we're dyed-in-the-wool fans," admitted Bob, and told the operator something of their radio work. "I'm mighty glad to know that you fellows do understand the subject," said the operator, when Bob had finished. "I'm so enthusiastic about it myself, that it is a real pleasure to have somebody to talk to that knows what I'm talking about. So many of the people who come here seem to be natural born dumb-bells, at least, on the subject of radio." "Such as you took us for at first, eh?" asked Jimmy, with a grin. "I apologize for that," said the other, frankly. "Please don't hold it against me." "Personally, I don't blame you a bit," said Bob. "We can't expect you to be a mind reader." "Well, then, that's settled; so let's look at the rest of the station," said the operator, whose name was Bert Thompson. "This is our transmitter panel over here. It is very compact, as you can see for yourselves." He opened two doors at the front, one at the bottom, and raised the cover, thus exposing most of the interior mechanism to view. "Here are all the fuse blocks down at the bottom, you see," Thompson continued. "The various switches are conveniently arranged where you can easily get at them while you are sitting in front of the panel. Then up here are the microphones, with their coils and wiring where you can easily get at them for inspection or repairs. Rather a neat lay-out, don't you think?" "No doubt of it!" exclaimed Bob, admiringly. "We've never made a CW transmitting set yet, but we hope to some day. A set like this would cost a pile of money, even if you made it yourself." "Rather so," admitted the young operator. "It takes a rich old fellow like Uncle Sam to pony up for a set like that." "We're more interested in receiving sets just at present," said Joe. "Let's take a look at that end of the outfit." "Anything you like," said Thompson, readily. "That panel is located on this side of the room." "I suppose you use a regenerative circuit, don't you?" asked Bob. "Oh, yes," answered the other. "That helps out a lot in increasing the strength of the incoming sounds." "I suppose you use a tickler coil in the plate circuit, don't you?" ventured Joe. "No, in this set we use a variometer in the plate circuit instead," said Thompson. "Speaking of regenerative circuits, have you heard about Armstrong's new invention?" asked Bob. The operator shook his head. "Can't say that I have," he said. "It must be something very recent, isn't it?" "Yes, I believe it is," said Bob. "I read about it the other day in one of the latest radio magazines." "Do you remember how it worked?" asked Thompson, eagerly. "I wish you'd tell me about it, if you do." "I'll do my best," promised Bob. "The main idea seems to be to make one tube do as much as three tubes did before. Armstrong found that the limit of amplification had been reached when the negative



charge in the tube approaches the positive charge. By experimenting he found that it was possible to increase the negative charge temporarily, for something like one twenty-thousandth of a second, I think it was. This is far above the positive for that tiny fraction of a second, and yet the average negative charge is lower. It is this increase that makes the enormous amplification possible, and lets the operator discard two vacuum tubes." "Sounds good," said Thompson. "Do you suppose you could draw me a rough sketch of the circuit?" "Let's have a pencil and some paper, and I'll make a try at it," said Bob. "I doped it out at the time, but likely I've forgotten it since then." Nevertheless, with the friendly aid of the eraser on the end of the pencil, he sketched a circuit that the experienced professional had no difficulty in understanding. "You see," explained Bob, "with this hook up you use the regular Armstrong regenerative circuit, with the second tube connected so that it acts as an automatic switch, cutting in or out a few turns of the secondary coil. The plate circuit of the second tube is connected to the plate of the detector tube through both capacity and inductance." "I get you," nodded the operator. "According to your sketch the plate and grid of the second tube are coupled inductively, causing variation in the positive resistance of the tuned circuit." "That's the idea exactly," agreed Bob. "You see, this is done by means of the oscillating tube, the grid circuit being connected through the tuned circuit of the amplifying tube." "Say, that looks pretty good to me!" exclaimed Thompson. "I wonder how Armstrong ever came to dope that out. I've been trying to get something of the kind for a long time, but I never seemed to get quite the right combination." "Well, better luck next time," said Bob, sympathetically. "There are a lot of people working at radio problems, and it seems to be a pretty close race between the inventors. Something new is being discovered almost every day." "If you fellows are building sets, you're just as likely to make some important discovery as anybody else," said Thompson. "That super-regenerative circuit is a corker, though. I'm going to keep that sketch you made, if you don't mind, and see if I can make a small set along those line. I have lots of spare time just at present." "It will repay you for your trouble, all right," remarked Joe. "We're figuring on doing the same thing when we get back home." Jimmy had tried faithfully to follow the technicalities of the recent conversation, but his was an easy going nature, disinclined to delve deeply into the intricate mysteries of science. Herbert was somewhat the same way, and they two wandered about the station, laughing and joking, while Bob and Joe and the young wireless man argued the merits of different equipments and hook-ups. "Say!" exclaimed Jimmy, at length, "I hate to break up the party, but don't you think it's about time that we thought of getting back to the hotel? Remember we've got a long way to go, and it's four-thirty already." "Gee!" said Bob, glancing in surprise at his watch. "I guess Jimmy is right for once in his life. We'll have to hustle along now, but we'll drop in here often while we are at Mountain Pass--unless you put up a 'no admittance' sign." "No danger of that," laughed the other. "The oftener you come, the better I'll like it. This is a lonely place, as you can see for yourselves." The radio boys shook hands with Bert Thompson, and after thanking him for the trouble he had taken



to show them the station, they started back for the hotel at a brisk pace. "Radio is lots of work, but it's also lots of fun," remarked Joe that night, as they sat late reviewing the events of the day.

Page 218: "Radio," repeated Bob. "It's more than fun. It's excitement. It's romance. It's adventure. It's life!"

THE END



The Radio Boys Trailing A Voice--extracts (1922)

The Radio Boys Trailing A Voice, Allen Chapman, 1922, pages v - vi:

FOREWORD

BY JACK BINNS WITHIN a comparatively short time after this volume is published the human voice will be thrown across the Atlantic Ocean under conditions that will lead immediately to the establishment of permanent telephone communication with Europe by means of radio. Under the circumstances therefore the various uses of radio which are so aptly outlined in it will give the reader an idea of the tremendous strides that have been made in the art of communicating without wires during the past few months. Of these one of the most important, which by the way is dealt with to a large extent in the present volume, is that of running down crooks. It must not be forgotten that criminals, and those criminally intent are not slow to utilize the latest developments of the genius of man, and radio is useful to them also. However, the forces of law and order inevitably prevail, and radio therefore is going to be increasingly useful in our general police work. Another important use, as outlined in this volume, is in the detection of forest fires, and in fact generally protecting forest areas in conjunction with aircraft. With these two means hundreds of thousands of acres can now be patrolled in a single day more efficiently than a few acres were previously covered. Radio is an ideal boy's hobby, but it is not limited to youth. Nevertheless it offers a wonderful scope for the unquenchable enthusiasm that always accompanies the application of youthful endeavor, and it is a fact that the majority of the wonderful inventions and improvements that have been made in radio have been produced by young men. Since this book was written there has been produced in this country the most powerful vacuum tube in the world. In size it is small, but in output it is capable of producing 100 kilowatts of electrical power. Three such tubes will cast the human voice across the Atlantic Ocean under any conditions, and transmit across the same vast space the world's grandest music. Ten of these tubes joined in parallel at any of the giant transmitting wireless telegraph stations would send telegraph code messages practically around the world.



Pages 9-17:

THE RADIO BOYS TRAILING A VOICE

CHAPTER I

SPLINTERING GLASS "You fellows want to be sure to come round to my house to-night and listen in on the radio concert," said Bob Layton to a group of his chums, as they were walking along the main street of Clintonia one day in the early spring. "I'll be there with bells on," replied Joe Atwood, as he kicked a piece of ice from his path. "Trust me not to overlook anything when it comes to radio. I'm getting to be more and more of a fan with every day that passes. Mother insists that I talk of it in my sleep, but I guess she's only fooling." "Count on yours truly too," chimed in Herb Fennington. "I got stirred up about radio a little later than the rest of you fellows, but now I'm making up for lost time. Slow but sure is my motto." Just then Mr. Preston, the principal of the high school, came along. "How are you, boys?" said Mr. Preston, with a smile. "You seem to be having a good time." "Jimmy is," returned Herb, and Jimmy covertly shook his fist at him. "We're making the most of the snow and ice while it lasts." "Well, I don't think it will last much longer," surmised Mr. Preston, as he walked along with them. "As a matter of fact, winter is 'lingering in the lap of spring' a good deal longer than usual this year." "I suppose you had a pleasant time in Washington?" remarked Joe inquiringly, referring to a trip from which the principal had returned only a few days before. "I did, indeed," was the reply. "To my mind it's the most interesting city in the country. I've been there a number of times, and yet I always leave there with regret. There's the Capitol, the noblest building on this continent and to my mind the finest in the world. Then there's the Congressional Library, only second to it in beauty, and the Washington Monument soaring into the air to a height of five hundred and fifty-five feet, and the superb Lincoln Memorial, and a host of other things scarcely less wonderful. "But the pleasantest recollection I have of the trip," he went on, "was the speech I heard the President make just before I came away. It was simply magnificent." "It sure was," replied Bob enthusiastically. "Every word of it was worth remembering. He certainly knows how to put things." "I suppose you read it in the newspaper the next day," said Mr. Preston, glancing at him. "Better than that," responded Bob, with a smile. "We all heard it over the radio while he was making it." "Indeed!" replied the principal. "Then you boys heard it even before I did." "What do you mean?" asked Joe, in some bewilderment. "I understood that you were in the crowd that listened to him." "So I was," Mr. Preston answered, in evident enjoyment of their mystification. "I sat right before him while he was speaking, not more than a hundred feet away, saw the motion of his lips as the words fell from them and noted the changing expression of his features. And yet I say again that you boys heard



him before I did." "I don't quite see," said Herb, in great perplexity. "You were only a hundred feet away and we were hundreds of miles away." "And if you had been thousands of miles away, what I said would still be true," affirmed Mr. Preston. "No doubt there were farmers out on the Western plains who heard him before I did. "You see it's like this," the schoolmaster went on to explain. "Sound travels through the air to a distance of a little over a hundred feet in the tenth part of a second. But in that same tenth of a second that it took the President's voice to reach me in the open air radio could have carried it eighteen thousand six hundred miles." "Whew!" exclaimed Jimmy. "Eighteen thousand six hundred miles! Not feet, fellows, but miles!" "That's right," said Bob thoughtfully. "Though I never thought of it in just that way before. But it's a fact that radio travels at the rate of one hundred and eighty-six thousand miles a second." "Equal to about seven and a half times around the earth," observed the principal, smiling. "In other words, the people who were actually sitting in the presence of the President were the very last to hear what he said. "Put it in still another way. Suppose the President were speaking through a megaphone in addition to the radio and by the use of the megaphone the voice was carried to people in the audience a third of a mile away. By the time those persons heard it, the man in the moon could have heard it too--that is," he added, with a laugh, "supposing there really were a man in the moon and that he had a radio receiving set." "It surely sounds like fairyland," murmured Joe. "Radio is the fairyland of science," replied Mr. Preston, with enthusiasm, "in the sense that it is full of wonder and romance. But there the similarity ceases. Fairyland is a creation of the fancy or the imagination. Radio is based upon the solid rock of scientific truth. Its principles are as certain as those of mathematics. Its problems can be demonstrated as exactly as that two and two make four. But it's full of what seem to be miracles until they are shown to be facts. And there's scarcely a day that passes without a new one of these 'miracles' coming to light." He had reached his corner by this time, and with a pleasant wave of his hand he left them. "He sure is a thirty-third degree radio fan," mused Joe, as they watched his retreating figure. "Just as most all bright men are becoming," declared Bob. "The time is coming when a man who doesn't know about radio or isn't interested in it will be looked on as a man without intelligence." "The reason why I wanted you fellows to be sure to be on hand to-night," resumed Bob, as they walked along, "was that I saw in the program of the Newark station in the newspaper this morning that Larry Bartlett was down for an entirely new stunt. You know what a hit he made with his imitations of birds." "He sure did," agreed Joe. "To my mind he had it all over the birds themselves. I never got tired listening to him." "He certainly was a dabster at it," chimed in Jimmy. "Now he's going in to imitate animals," explained Bob. "I understand that he's been haunting the Zoo for weeks in every minute of his spare time studying the bears and lions and tigers and elephants and snakes, and getting their roars and growls and trumpeting and hisses down to a fine point. I bet he'll be a riot when he gives them to us over the radio." "He sure will," assented Herb. "He's got the natural gift in the first place, and then he practices and



practices until he's got everything down to perfection." "He's a natural entertainer," affirmed Bob. "I tell you, fellows, we never did a better day's work than when we got Larry that job at the sending station. Not only was it a good thing for Larry himself when he was down and out, but think of the pleasure he's been able to give to hundreds of thousands of people. I'll bet there's no feature on the program that is waited for more eagerly than his."

Pages 36-42: A little while afterward the other three boys came over to Bob's house to listen in on the radio concert. So much time, however, had been taken up in discussing the afternoon's adventure that they missed Larry's offering, which was among the first on the program. This was a keen disappointment, which was tempered, however, by the probability that they could hear him some evening later in the week. "Sorry," remarked Joe. "But it only means that we still have a treat in store when the old boy begins to roar and growl and hiss so as to make us think that a whole menagerie has broken loose and is chasing us. In the meantime we can fix up that aerial so as to get a little better results." "Funny thing I noticed the other day," remarked Bob, as they embarked upon some experiments. "All sorts of funny things in the radio game," observed Joe. "Something new turns up every day. Things in your set that you think you can't do without you find you can do without and get results just about as usual." "Just what I was going to tell you," returned Bob. "You must be something of a prophet." "Oh, I wouldn't go quite so far as to say that," replied Joe, with mock modesty. "Isn't he the shrinking violet?" chaffed Jimmy. "Stop your kidding, you boobs, and let a regular fellow talk," chided Bob. "What I was going to say was that while I was tinkering with the set I disconnected the ground wire. Of course I thought that would put the receiver out of business for the time, and I was almost knocked silly when I found that I could hear the concert that was going on just about as well as though the wire had been connected. How do you account for that?" "Don't account for it at all," replied Herb. "Probably just a freak, and might not happen again in a thousand times. Likely it was one of the unexplainable things that happen once in a while. Maybe there was a ground connection of some kind, if not by the wire. I wouldn't bank on it." "It's queer, too, how many kinds of things can be used as aerials," put in Joe. "I heard the other day of a man in an apartment house where the owner objected to aerials, who used the clothesline for that purpose. The wire ran through the rope, which covered it so that it couldn't be seen. It didn't prevent its use as a clothesline either, for he could hear perfectly when the wash was hanging on it." "Oh, almost anything will do as an aerial," chimed in Jimmy. "The rib of an umbrella, the rainspout at the side of the house, the springs of a bed give good results. And that's one of the mighty good things about radio. People that have to count the pennies don't have to buy a lot of expensive materials. They can put a set together with almost any old thing that happens to be knocking around the house." Bob had been working steadily, and, as the room was warm, his hands were moist with perspiration. He had unhooked an insulated copper wire that led to his outside aerial. His head phones were on, as he had been listening to the radio concert while he worked. "I'll have to miss the rest of that selection, I guess," he remarked regretfully, as he unhooked the wire. "It's a pity, too, for that's one of the finest violin solos I ever heard. Great Scott! What does that mean?" The ejaculation was wrenched from him by the fact that although he had disconnected the wire he still



heard the music--a little fainter than before but still with every note distinct. He could scarcely believe his ears and looked at his friends in great bewilderment. "What's the matter?" asked Joe, jumping to his feet. "Get a shock?" "Not in the sense you mean, but in another way, yes," replied Bob, still holding the exposed end of the copper wire in his fingers. "What do you think of that, fellows? I'm an aerial!" "Come out of your trance," adjured Herb unbelievingly. "They talk that way in the insane asylums." "Clap on your headphones," cried Bob, too intent on his discovery to pay any attention to the gibe. They did so, and were amazed at hearing the selection as plainly as did Bob himself. The latter had been holding the disconnected wire so that his fingers just touched the uncovered copper portion at the end. Now he hastily scraped off several inches of the insulation and grasped the copper wire with his hand. Instantly the volume of sound grew perceptibly greater. Hardly knowing what to make of it, he scraped off still more of the insulation. "Here, you fellows," he shouted. "Each of you take hold of this." Joe was the first to respond, and the sound became louder. Then Herb and Jimmy followed suit, and it was evident that they served as amplifiers, for with each additional hand the music swelled to greater volume. The boys looked at each other as if asking whether this was all real or if they had suddenly been transferred to some realm of fancy. They would not have been greatly surprised to wake up suddenly and find that they had been dreaming. But there was no delusion about it and they listened without saying another word until, in a glorious strain of melody, the selection came to an end. Nor did they break the silence until a band orchestra was announced and crashed into a brilliant overture. While it was still in full swing, Bob had an inspiration. He took off his headphones and clamped them on to the phonograph that stood on a table near by. Instantly the music became intensified and filled the room. When all their hands were on the wire, it became so loud that they had to close the doors of the phonograph. "Well," gasped Bob, when the last strain had died away and the demonstration was complete, "that's something new on me." "Never dreamed of anything like it," said Joe, sinking back in his chair. "Of course we know that the human body has electrical capacity and that operators sometimes have to use metal shields to protect the tube from the influence of the hand. And in our loop aerial at Ocean Point you noticed that the receptivity of the tube was modified when we touched it with our fingers." "Of course, in theory," observed Bob thoughtfully, "the human body possesses inductance as well as capacity, and so might serve as an antenna. But I never thought of demonstrating it in practice." "So Bob is an aerial," grinned Herb. "I always knew he was a 'live wire,' but I never figured him out as an antenna." "And don't forget that if Bob is an aerial we're amplifiers," put in Jimmy. "There's glory enough for all," laughed Joe. "We'll have to tell Doctor Dale and Frank Brandon about this. We've got so many tips from them that it's about time we made it the other way around."

Pages 55-60: CHAPTER V



MARVELS OF WIRELESS The radio boys had missed Larry's performance on the night that he had opened with his new repertoire, but they were bound not to be cheated of the second, which took place only a few nights later. They crowded eagerly about the radio set when their friend's turn was announced, and listened with a breathless interest, that was intensified by their warm personal regard for the performer, to the rendition of the cries of various animals with which Larry regaled them. The imitations were so lifelike that the boys might well have imagined they were in a zoölogical garden. Lions, tigers, bears, elephants, snakes, moose, and other specimens of the animal and the reptile tribes were imitated with a fidelity that was amazing. In addition, the renditions were interspersed with droll and lively comments by Larry that added immensely to the humor of the performance. When at last it was over, the boys broke out into enthusiastic hand-clapping that would have warmed Larry's heart, had he been able to hear it. "The old boy is all there!" chortled Bob enthusiastically. "He's a wonder!" ejaculated Joe. "No question there of a square peg in a round hole. He's found exactly the work in life he's specially fitted for." "And think of the audience he has," put in Jimmy. "At this very minute there are probably hundreds of thousands of people who have been tickled to death at his performance. Just suppose those people all clapped their hands at once just as we have done and we could hear it. Why, it would be like a young earthquake." At this moment the doorbell rang, and Dr. Dale was announced. He spent a few minutes with Mr. and Mrs. Layton, and then came up to have a little chat with the boys. This was one thing he never overlooked. His interest in and sympathy with the young were unbounded, and accounted largely for the influence that he exerted in the community. The radio boys greeted the minister warmly and gladly made room for him around the table. His coming was never felt by them to be an interruption. They regarded him almost as one of themselves. Apart, too, from the thorough liking they had for him as a man, they were exceedingly grateful to him for the help he had been to them in radio matters. He was their mentor, guide and friend. "I knew I'd find you busy with the radio," he said, with a genial smile. "We can't be torn away from it," replied Bob. "We think it's just the greatest thing that ever happened. Just now we've been listening to Larry Bartlett give his imitations of animals. You remember Larry?" "I certainly do," replied Dr. Dale. "And I remember how you boys helped him get his present position. It was one of the best things you ever did. He's certainly a finished artist. I heard him on his opening night, and I've laughed thinking of it many times since. He's a most amusing entertainer." It was the first opportunity the boys had had to tell the doctor of the night when Bob found that he was a human aerial, and he listened to the many details of the experiment with absorbed interest. "It's something new to me," he said. "You boys have reason to be gratified at having had a novel experience. That's the beauty of radio. Something new is always cropping up. Many of the other sciences have been more or less fully explored, and while none of them will ever be exhausted, their limits have been to some extent indicated. But in radio we're standing just on the threshold of a science whose infinite possibilities have not even been guessed. One discovery crowds so closely on the heels of another that we have all we can do to keep track of them. "I've just got back from a little trip up in New York State," he went on, as he settled himself more



comfortably in his chair, "and I stopped off at Schenectady to look over the big radio station there. By great good luck, Marconi happened to be there on the same day----" "Marconi!" breathed Bob. "The father of wireless!" "Yes," smiled Dr. Dale. "Or if you want to put it in another way, the Christopher Columbus who discovered the New World of radio. I counted it a special privilege to get a glimpse of him. But what attracted my special attention in the little while I could spend there was a small tube about eighteen inches long and two inches in diameter which many radio experts think will completely revolutionize long distance radio communication." "You mean the Langmuir tube," said Joe. "I was reading of it the other day, and it seems to be a dandy." "It's a wonderful thing," replied the doctor. "Likely enough it will take the place of the great transatlantic plants which require so much room and such enormous machinery. It's practically noiseless. Direct current is sent into the wire through a complicated wire system and generates a high frequency current of tremendous power. I saw it working when it was connected with an apparatus carrying about fifteen thousand volts of electricity in a direct current. A small blue flame shot through the tube with scarcely a particle of noise. The broken impulse from the electrical generators behind the tube was sent through the tube to be flung off from the antenna into space in the dots and dashes of the international code. That little tube was not much bigger than a stick of dynamite, but was infinitely more powerful. I was so fascinated by it and all that it meant that it was hard work to tear myself away from it. It marks a great step forward in the field of radio." "It must have been wonderfully interesting," remarked Bob. "And yet I suppose that in a year or two something new will be invented that will put even that out of date." "It's practically certain that there will be," assented the doctor. "The miracles of to-day become the commonplaces of to-morrow. That fifty-kilowatt tube that develops twelve horsepower within its narrow walls of glass, wonderful as it is, is bound to be superseded by something better, and the inventor himself would be the first one to admit it. Some of the finest scientific brains in the country are working on the problem, and he would be a bold prophet and probably a false prophet that would set any bounds to its possibilities. "Radio is yet in its infancy," the doctor concluded, as he rose to go. "But one thing is certain. In the lifetime of those who witnessed its birth it will become a giant--but a benevolent giant who, instead of destroying will re-create our civilization."

Pages 63-96: CHAPTER VI

THE FOREST RANGER

By this time the lads had reached Bob's house. It was Saturday afternoon, and as the boys crowded noisily into the ball Bob noticed that his father was in the library and that he seemed to have company. He was starting upstairs with the other lads when his father came out of the library and called to him. "Come on in for a few minutes, boys," he said. "I have a friend here who is a man after your own hearts," and his eyes twinkled. "He's interested in radio." The boys needed no second invitation, for they never missed an opportunity of meeting any one who could tell them something about the wonders of radio.



Mr. Layton's guest was lounging in one of the great chairs in the library, and from the moment the boys laid eyes on him they knew they were going to hear something of more than usual interest. The stranger was big, over six feet, and his face and hands were like a Cuban's, they were so dark. Even his fair hair seemed to have been burnt a darker hue by the sun. There was a tang of the great out-of-doors about him, a hint of open spaces and adventure that fascinated the radio boys. "This is my son, Mr. Bentley," said Mr. Layton to the lounging stranger, still with a twinkle in his eye. "And the other boys are his inseparable companions. Also I think they are almost as crazy about radio as you are." The stranger laughed and turned to Bob. "I've been upstairs to see your set," he said, adding heartily: "It's fine. I've seldom seen better amateur equipment." If Bob had liked this stranger before, it was nothing to what he felt for him now. To the radio boys, if any one praised their radio sets, this person, no matter who it was, promptly became their friend for life. "I'm glad you think it's pretty good," Bob said modestly. "We fellows have surely worked hard enough over it." "This gentleman here," said Mr. Layton to the boys, "ought to know quite a bit about radio. He operates an airplane in the service of our Government Forestry." "In the United States Forest Service?" cried Bob, breathlessly, eyeing the stranger with increasing interest. "And is your airplane equipped with radio?" "Very much so," replied Mr. Bentley. "It seems almost a fairy tale--what radio has done for the Forest Service." "I've read a lot about the fighting of forest fires," broke in Joe eagerly. "But I didn't know radio had anything to do with it." "It hadn't until the last few years," the visitor answered, adding, with a laugh. "But now it's pretty near the whole service!" "Won't you tell us something about what you do?" asked Bob. Mr. Bentley waved a deprecating hand while Mr. Layton leaned back in his chair with the air of one who is enjoying himself. "It isn't so much what I do," protested this interesting newcomer, while the boys hung upon his every word. "It is what radio has done in the fighting of forest fires that is the marvelous, the almost unbelievable, thing. The man who first conceived the idea of bringing radio into the wilderness had to meet and overcome the same discouragements that fall to the lot of every pioneer. "The government declared that the cost of carrying and setting up the radio apparatus would be greater than the loss occasioned every season by the terribly destructive forest fires. But there was a fellow named Adams who thought he knew better." "Adams!" repeated Bob breathlessly. "Wasn't he the fellow who had charge of the Mud Creek ranger station at Montana?" The visitor nodded and gazed at Bob with interest. "How did you know?" he asked. "Oh, I read something about him a while ago," answered Bob vaguely. He was chiefly interested in having Mr. Bentley go on. "I should think," said Herb, "that it would be pretty hard work carrying delicate radio apparatus into the lumber country." "You bet your life it is," replied Mr. Bentley. "The only way the apparatus can be carried is by means



of pack horses, and as each horse can't carry more than a hundred and fifty pounds you see it takes quite a few of the animals to lug even an ordinary amount of apparatus. "The hardest part of the whole thing," he went on, warming to his recital as the boys were so evidently interested, "was packing the cumbersome storage batteries. These batteries were often lost in transit, too. If a pack horse happened to slip from the trail, its pack became loosened and went tumbling down the mountain side----" "That's the life!" interrupted Jimmy gleefully, and the visitor smiled at him. "You might not think so if you happened to be the one detailed to travel back over the almost impassable trails for the missing apparatus," observed Mr. Bentley ruefully. "It wasn't all fun, that pioneer installation of radio. Not by any means." "But radio turned the trick just the same," said Bob slangily. "I've read that a message that used to take two days to pass between ranger stations can be sent now in a few seconds." "Right!" exclaimed Mr. Bentley, his eyes glinting. "In a little while the saving in the cost of forest fires will than pay for the installation of radio. We nose out a fire and send word by wireless to the nearest station, before the fire fairly knows it's started." "But just what is it that you do?" asked Joe, with flattering eagerness. "I do scout work," was the reply. "I help patrol the fire line in cases of bad fires. The men fighting the fire generally carry a portable receiving apparatus along with them, and by that means, I, in my airplane, can report the progress of a fire and direct the distribution of the men." "It must be exciting work," said Herb enviously. "That's just the kind of life I'd like--plenty of adventure, something doing every minute." "There's usually plenty doing," agreed Mr. Bentley, with a likable grin. "We can't complain that our life is slow." "I should think," said Bob slowly, "that it might be dangerous, installing sets right there in the heavy timber." "That's what lots of radio engineers thought also," agreed Mr. Bentley. "But no such trouble has developed so far, and I guess it isn't likely to now." "Didn't they have some trouble in getting power enough for their sets?" asked Joe, with interest. "Yes, that was a serious drawback in the beginning," came the answer. "They had to design a special equipment--a sort of gasoline charging plant. In this way they were able to secure enough power for the charging of the storage batteries." Bob drew a long breath. "Wouldn't I have liked to be the one to fit up that first wireless station!" he cried enthusiastically. "Just think how that Mr. Adams must have felt when he received his first message through the air." "It wasn't all fun," the interesting visitor reminded the boys. "The station was of the crudest sort, you know. The first operator had a box to sit on and another box served as the support for his apparatus." "So much the better," retorted Bob stoutly. "A radio fan doesn't know or care, half the time, what he's sitting on." "Which proves," said Mr. Bentley, laughing, "that you are a real one!" And at this all the lads grinned. "But say," interrupted Joe, going back to the problem of power, "weren't the engineers able to think up something to take the place of the gasoline charging stations?" "Oh, yes. But not without a good deal of experimenting. Now they are using two hundred and seventy number two Burgess dry batteries. These, connecting in series, secure the required three hundred and



fifty-volt plate current."

CHAPTER VII

RADIO AND THE FIRE FIEND "WELL, I hope that the boys know what you're talking about," interrupted Mr. Layton at this point, his eyes twinkling, "for I'm sure I don't." "They know what I'm talking about all right," returned his guest, admiration in his laughing eyes as he looked at the boys. "Unless I miss my guess, these fellows are the stuff of which radio experts are made. I bet they'll do great things yet." "Won't you tell us more about your experiences?" begged Herb, while the other boys tried not to look too pleased at the praise. "It isn't often we have a chance to hear of adventures like yours first hand." "Well," said Mr. Bentley, modestly, "I don't know that there's much to tell. All we scouts do is to patrol the country and watch for fires. Of course, in case of a big fire, our duties are more exciting. I remember one fire," he leaned back in his chair reminiscently and the boys listened eagerly, hanging on every word. "It was a beauty of its kind, covering pretty nearly fourteen miles. Thousands of dollars' worth of valuable timber was menaced. It looked for a time as if it would get the better of us, at that. "Men were scarce and there was a high wind to urge the fire on. A receiving set was rushed to the fire line, some of the apparatus in a truck and some carried by truck horses. My plane was detailed to patrol the fire line and give directions to the men who were fighting the fire." He paused, and the boys waited impatiently for him to go on. "The good old plane was equipped for both sending and receiving, and I tell you we patrolled that fourteen miles of flaming forest, sometimes coming so close to the tree tops that we almost seemed to brush them. "My duty, of course, was to report the progress of the fire. Controlled at one point, it broke out at another, and it was through the messages from my 'plane to the ground set stationed just behind the fire line that the men were moved from one danger point to the next. "Finally, the fire seeming nearly out along one side of the ridge, I sent the men to fighting it on the other side, where it had been left to rage uncontrolled. No sooner had the men scattered for the danger point than the brooding fire broke out again and it was necessary to recall half the men. "It was a long fight and a hard one, but with the aid of the blessed old wireless, we finally won out. As a matter of fact, the wireless-equipped airplane has become as necessary to the Forest Service as ships are to the navy. "In the old days," he went on, seeing that the boys were still deeply interested, "when they depended upon the ordinary telephone to convey warnings of fires they were surely leaning upon a broken reed. "Often, just when they needed the means of communication most, the fire would sweep through the woods, destroying trees to which the telephone wires were fastened, and melting the wires themselves. So the eyes of the Forest Service were put out and they were forced to work in the dark." "But I should think," protested Bob, "that there would be times when even wireless would be put out of the job. Suppose the fire were to reach one of the stations equipped with wireless. What then?" Mr. Bentley laughed as though amused at something. "I can tell you an interesting incident connected with that," he said. "And one that shows the pluck and common sense of radio operators in general--don't think that I'm throwing bouquets at myself, flow,



for first and last, I am a pilot, even if sometimes I find it necessary to employ radio. "Well, anyway, this operator that I am speaking of, found himself in a perilous position. A fire had been raging for days, and flow it was so close to his station that the station itself was threatened. "One morning when he got up the smoke from the burning forest was swirling about the open space in front of the station and he knew that before long he would be seeing flame instead of smoke. The fire fighters had been working ceaselessly, fighting gallantly, but the elements were against them. The air was almost as dry and brittle as the wood which the flames lapped up and there was a steady wind that drove the fire on and on. "If only there might come a fog or the wind change its direction! But the radio man had no intention of waiting on the elements. I don't believe he gave more than a passing thought to his own safety--his chief interest was for the safety of his beloved apparatus. "He decided to dismantle the set, build a raft and set himself and the apparatus adrift upon the water in the attempt to save it. And so he worked feverishly, while the fire came closer and he could hear the men who were fighting the fire shouting to each other. Finally he succeeded in dismantling the set and got it down to the water's edge. "Here he built a rough raft, piled the apparatus upon it, jumped after it, and drifted out into the middle of the lake." "Did the station burn down?" asked Jimmy excitedly. "No, fortunately. The wind died down in the nick of time, giving the men a chance to control the blaze. When it was evident the danger was past, the operator set up his apparatus again and prepared to continue his duties, as though nothing had happened. "There you have the tremendous advantage of radio. There were no wires to be destroyed. Only a radio set which could be dismantled and taken to safety while the fire raged." "That operator sure had his nerve with him, all right," said Bob admiringly. "More nerve than common sense perhaps," chuckled Mr. Bentley. "But you certainly can't help admiring him. He was right there when it came to grit." After a while they began to discuss technicalities, and the boys learned a great many things they had never known before. The pilot happening to mention that there were sometimes a number of airplanes equipped with radio operating within a restricted district, Joe wanted to know if they did not have a good deal of trouble with interference. "No. There was at first some interference by amateurs, but these soon learned to refrain from using their instruments during patrol periods. "You see," he explained, "we use a special type of transmitting outfit aboard our fire-detection craft. It's called the SCR-Seventy-three. The equipment obtains its power from a self-excited inductor type alternator. This is propelled by a fixed wooden-blade air fan. In the steamline casing of the alternator the rotary spark gap, alternator, potential transformer, condenser and oscillation transformer are self-contained. Usually the alternator is mounted on the underside of the fuselage where the propeller spends its force in the form of an air stream. The telegraph sending keys, field and battery switch, dry battery, variometer and antenna reel are the only units included inside the fuselage. "The type of transmitter is a simple rotary gap, indirectly excited spark and provided with nine taps on the inductance coil of the closed oscillating circuit. Five varying toothed discs for the rotary spark gap yield five different signal tones and nine different wave lengths are possible.



"So," he finished, looking around at their absorbed faces, "you see it is quite possible to press into service a number of airplanes without being bothered by interference." "It sounds complete," said Bob. "I'd like a chance to see one of those sets at close range sometime." The time passed so quickly that finally the visitor, rose with an apology for staying so late. The radio boys were sorry to see him go. They could have sat for hours more, listening to him. "That fellow sure has had some experiences!" said Joe, as, a little later, the boys mounted the stairs to Bob's room. "It was mighty lucky we happened along while he was here." "You bet your life," said Herb. "I wouldn't have missed meeting him for a lot." "Say, fellows," Jimmy announced from the head of the stairs, "I know now what I'm going to do when I'm through school. It's me for the tall timber. I'm going to pilot an airplane in the service of my country." "Ain't he noble?" demanded Herb, grinning, as the boys crowded into Bob's room.

CHAPTER VIII

NEAR DISASTER

SEVERAL days later while the radio boys were experimenting with their big set and talking over their interesting meeting with the Forest Service ranger, Herb displayed an immense horseshoe magnet. "Look what he's got for luck," chortled Jimmy. "The superstitious nut!" "Superstitious nothing!" snorted Herb. "If I'd wanted it for luck I wouldn't have got a magnet, would I? Any old common horseshoe would have done for luck." "Well, what's the big idea?" asked Bob, looking up from the audion tube he was experimenting with. "Or is there any?" he added, with a grin. "You bet your life there is!" returned Herb. "It's got to do with that very audion tube you're fussing with." "Ah, go on," jeered Joe, good-naturedly. "What's a magnet got to do with an audion tube, I'd like to know!" "Poor old Herb," added Jimmy, with a commiserating shake of the head. "Say, look here, all you fellows! Don't you go wasting any pity on me," cried Herb hotly. "If you don't look out, I won't show you my experiment all." "Go on, Herb," said Bob consolingly. "I'm listening." "Well, I'm glad there's one sensible member of this bunch!" cried Herb, and from then on addressed himself solely to Bob. "Look here," he said. "You can make the audion tube ever so much more sensitive to vibration if you put this magnet near it." "Who says so?" asked Bob, with interest. "I do. Here, put on the headphones and listen. I'll prove it to you." Bob obeyed and tuned in to the nearest broadcasting station where a concert was scheduled. As soon as he signified by a nod of his head that the connection was satisfactory Herb placed the big horseshoe magnet in such a position that the poles of the magnet were on each side of the tube. Sure enough, Bob was amazed at the almost magical improvement in the sound. It was clearer, more distinct, altogether more satisfactory. He listened in for another moment then wonderingly took off the headphones while Herb grinned at him in triumph. "Well, what do you think?" asked the latter while Joe and Jimmy looked at them curiously.



"Think?" repeated Bob, still wonderingly. "Why, there's only one thing to think, course. That fool horseshoe of yours, Herb, is one wonderful improvement. I don't know how it works, but it surely is a marvel." Herb glanced at Jimmy and Joe in triumph. "What did I tell you?" he said. "Perhaps now you'll believe that my idea wasn't such a fool one after all." "But what did it do, Bob?" asked Joe, mystified. "It increased the sensitivity of that old audion tube, that's what it did," replied Bob, absently, his mind already busy with inventive thoughts. "I can't see yet just how it accomplished it, but the connection with the station was certainly clearer and more distinct than usual." "But how can a magnet increase the sensitivity of a vacuum tube?" asked Jimmy, not yet wholly convinced. "It doesn't make sense." "Well, don't see why not," contradicted Joe slowly. "I suppose the improvement is due to the magnetic effect of the magnet upon the electrons flowing from the filament to the plate. I don't exactly see why it should be an improvement, but if it is, then there must be some reason for it." "I wish we could find the reason!" cried Bob excitedly. "If we could make some improvement upon the vacuum tube----" "Don't wake him up, he is dreaming!" cried Herb. "If you don't look out, old boy, you'll have us all millionaires." "Well, there are worse things," retorted Bob, taking the magnet from Herb's hand and placing it near the tube. "This has given us something to think about, anyway." For a while they puzzled over the mystery, trying to find some way in which the discovery might be made to serve a practical purpose--all except Herb, who retired to one corner of the "lab" to fuss with some chemicals which he fondly hoped might be used in the construction of a battery. So engrossed were the boys in the problem of the magnet and vacuum tube that they forgot all about Herb and his experiments. So what happened took them completely off their guard. There was a sudden cry from Herb, followed closely by an explosion that knocked them off their feet. For a moment they lay there, a bit dazed by the shock. Then they scrambled to their feet and looked about them. Herb, being the nearest to the explosion, had got the worst of it. His face and hands were black and he was shaking a little from the shock. He gazed at the boys sheepishly. "Wh-what happened?" asked Jimmy dazedly. "An earthquake, I guess," replied Bob, as he looked about him to see what damage had been done. "Say, what's the big idea, anyway," Joe demanded of the blackened Herb. "Trying to start a Fourth of July celebration, or something?" "I was just mixing some chemicals, and the result was a flare-up," explained Herb sulkily. "Now, stop rubbing it into a fellow, will you? You might know I didn't do it on purpose." Bob began to laugh. "Better get in connection with some soap and water, Herb," he said. "Just now you look like the lead for a minstrel show." "Never mind, Herb," Joe flung after the disconsolate scientist as he made for the door. "As long as you don't hurt anything but Jimmy's doughnuts, we don't care. You can have as many explosions as you like." "Just the same," said Bob soberly, as they returned to the problem of the vacuum tube, "we're mighty



lucky to have come off with so little damage. Mixing chemicals is a pretty dangerous business unless you know just what you're doing." "And even then it is," added Joe.

CHAPTER IX

A HAPPY INSPIRATION

THE days passed by, the boys becoming more and more engrossed in the fascination of radio all the time. They continued to work on their sets, sometimes with the most gratifying results, at others seeming to make little headway. But in spite of occasional discouragements they worked on, cheered by the knowledge that they were making steady, if sometimes slow, progress. There were so many really worth-while improvements being perfected each day that they really found it difficult to keep up with them all. It was about that time that Bob found out about Adam McNulty. Adam McNulty was the blind father of the washerwoman who served the four families of the boys. Bob went to the McNulty cabin, buried in the most squalid district of the town, bearing a message from his mother. When he got there he found that Mr. McNulty was the only one at home. The old fellow, smoking a black pipe in the bare kitchen of the house, seemed so pathetically glad to see some one--or, rather, to hear some one--that Bob yielded to his invitation to sit down and talk to him. And, someway, even after Bob reached home, he could not shake off the memory of the lonesome old blind man with nothing to do all day long but sit in a chair smoking his pipe, waiting for some chance word from a passer-by. It did not seem fair that he, Bob, should have all the good things of life while that old man should have nothing--nothing, at all. He spoke to his chums about it, but, though they were sympathetic, they did not see anything they could do. "We can't give him back his eyesight, you know," said Joe absently, already deep in a new scheme of improvement for the set. "No," said Bob. "But we might give him something that would do nearly as well." "What do you mean?" they asked, puzzled. "Radio," said Bob, and laid his hand lovingly on the apparatus. "If it means a lot to us, just think how much more it would mean to some one who hasn't a thing to do all day but sit and think. Why, I don't suppose any of us who can see can begin to realize what it would mean not to be able even to read the daily newspaper." The others stared at Bob, and slowly his meaning sank home. "I get you," said Joe slowly. "And say, let me tell you, it's a great idea, Bob. It wouldn't be so bad to be blind if you could have the daily news read to you every day----" "And listen to the latest on crops," added Jimmy. "To say nothing of the latest jazz," finished Herb, with a grin. "Well, why doesn't this blind man get him self a set?" asked Jimmy practically. "I should think every blind person in the country would want to own one." "I suppose every one of them does," said Bob. "And Doctor Dale said the other day that he thought the time would come when charities for the blind would install radio as a matter of humanity, and that



prices of individual sets would be so low that all the blind could afford them. The blind are many of them old, you know, and pretty poor." "You mean," said Herb slowly, "that most of the blind folks who really need radio more than anybody else can't afford it? Say, that doesn't seem fair, does it?" "It isn't fair!" cried Bob, adding, eagerly: "I tell you what I thought we could do. There's that old set of mine! It doesn't seem much to us now, beside our big one, but I bet that McNulty would think it was a gold mine." "Hooray for Bob!" cried Herb irrepressibly. "Once in a while he really does get a good idea in his head. When do we start installing this set in the McNulty mansion, boys?" "As soon as you like," answered Bob. "Tomorrow's Saturday, so we could start early in the morning. It will probably take us some time to rig up the antenna." The boys were enthusiastic about the idea, and they wasted no time putting it into execution. That very night they looked up the old set, examining it to make sure it was in working order. When they told their families what they proposed to do, their parents were greatly pleased. "It does my heart good," said Mr. Layton to his wife, after Bob had gone up to bed, "to see that those boys are interested in making some one besides themselves happy." "They're going to make fine men, some day," answered Mrs. Layton softly. The boys arrived at the McNulty cottage so early the next morning that they met Maggie McNulty on her way to collect the day's wash. When they told her what they were going to do she was at first too astonished to speak and then threatened to fall upon their necks in her gratitude. "Shure, if ye can bring some sunshine into my poor old father's dark life," she told them in her rich brogue, tears in her eyes, "then ye'll shure win the undyin' gratitude uv Maggie McNulty." It was a whole day's job, and the boys worked steadily, only stopping long enough to rush home for a bit of lunch. They had tried to explain what they were doing to Adam McNulty, but the old man seemed almost childishly mystified. It was with a feeling of dismay that the boys realized that, in all probability, this was the first time the blind man had ever heard the word radio. It seemed incredible to them that there could be anybody in the world who did not know about radio. However, if Adam McNulty was mystified, he was also delightedly, pitifully excited. He followed the boys out to the cluttered back yard where they were rigging up the aerial, listening eagerly to their chatter and putting in a funny word now and then that made them roar with laughter. Bob brought him an empty soap box for a seat and there the old man sat hour after hour, despite the fact that there was a chill in the air, blissfully happy in their companionship. He had been made to understand that something pleasant was being done for him, but it is doubtful if he could have asked for any greater happiness than just to sit there with somebody to talk to and crack his jokes with. They were good jokes too, full of real Irish wit, and long before the set was ready for action the boys had become fond of the old fellow. "He's a dead game sport," Joe said to Bob, in that brief interval when they had raced home for lunch. "I bet I'd be a regular old crab, blind like that." Mrs. Layton put up an appetizing lunch for the blind man, topping it off with a delicious homemade lemon pie and a thermos bottle full of steaming coffee. The way the old man ate that food was amazing even to Jimmy. Maggie was too busy earning enough



to keep them alive to bother much with dainties. At any rate, Adam ate the entire lemon pie, not leaving so much as a crumb. "I thought I was pretty good on feeding," whispered Joe, in a delighted aside, "but I never could go that old bird. He's got me beat a mile." "Well," said Jimmy complacently, "I bet I'd tie with him." If the boys had wanted any reward for that day of strenuous work, they would have had it when, placing the earphones upon his white head, they watched the expression of McNulty's face change from mystification to wonder, then to beatific enjoyment. He listened motionless while the exquisite music flooded his starved old soul. Toward the end he closed his eyes and tears trickled from beneath the lids down his wrinkled face. He brushed them off impatiently and the boys noticed that his hand was trembling. It was a long, long time before he seemed to be aware that there was any one in the room with him. He seemed to have completely forgotten the boys who had bestowed this rare gift upon him. After a while, coming out of his dream, the old man began fumbling with the headphones as if he wanted to take them off, and Bob helped him. The man tried to speak, but made hard work of it. Emotion choked him. "Shure, an' I don't know what to make of it at all, at all," he said at last, in a quivering voice. "Shure an' I thought the age of miracles was passed. I'm only an ignorant old man, with no eyes at all; but you lads have given me something that's near as good. Shure an' it's an old sinner I am, for shure. Many's the day I've sat here, prayin' the Lord would give me wan more minute o' sight before I died, an' it was unanswered my prayers wuz, I thought. It's grateful I am to yez, lads. It's old Adam McNulty's blessin' ye'll always have. An' now will yez put them things in my ears? It's heaven's own angels I'd like to be hearin' agin. That's the lad--ah!" And while the beatific expression stole once more over his blind old face the boys stole silently out.

CHAPTER X

THE ESCAPED CONVICT

THE boys saw a good deal of Adam McNulty in the days that followed, and the change in the old man was nothing short of miraculous. He no longer sat in the bare kitchen rocking and smoking his pipe, dependent upon some passer-by for his sole amusement. He had radio now, and under the instruction of the boys he had become quite expert in managing the apparatus. Although he had no eyes, his fingers were extraordinarily sensitive and they soon learned to handle the set intelligently. His daughter Maggie, whose gratitude to the boys knew no bounds, looked up the radio program in the paper each day and carefully instructed her father as to just when the news reports were given out, the story reading, concerts, and so forth. And so the old blind man lived in a new world--or rather, the old world which he had ceased to live in when he became blind--and he seemed actually to grow younger day by day. For radio had become his eyes. Doctor Dale heard of this act of kindness on the part of the boys and he was warm in his praise. "Radio," he told the boys one day when he met them on the street, "is a wonderful thing for those of us that can see, but for the blind it is a miracle. You boys have done an admirable thing in your kindness



to Adam McNulty, and I hope that, not only individuals, but the government itself will see the possibilities of so great a charity and follow your example." The boys glowed with pride at the doctor's praise, and then and there made the resolve that whenever they came across a blind person that person should immediately possess a radio set if it lay within their power to give it to him. On this particular day when so many things happened the boys were walking down Main Street, talking as usual of their sets and the marvelous progress of radio. "What you thinking about, Bob?" asked Joe, noticing that his chum had been quiet for some time. "I was thinking," said Bob, coming out of his reverie, "of the difference there has been in generators since the early days of Marconi's spark coil. First we had the spark transmitters and then we graduated to transformers." "And they still gave us the spark," added Joe, taking up the theme. "Then came the rotary spark gap and later the Goldsmith generator." "And then," Jimmy continued cheerfully, "the Goldsmith generator was knocked into a cocked hat by the Alexanderson generator." "They'll have an improvement on that before long, too," prophesied Herb. "They have already," Bob took him up quickly. "Don't you remember what Doctor Dale told us of the new power vacuum tube where one tube can take care of fifty K. W.?" "Gee," breathed Herb admiringly, "I'll say that's some energy." "Those same vacuum tubes are being built right now," went on Bob enthusiastically. "They are made of quartz and are much cheaper than the alternators we're using now." "They are small too, compared to our present-day generators," added Joe. "You bet!" agreed Bob, adding, as his eyes narrowed dreamily: "All the apparatus seems to be growing smaller these days, anyway. I bet before we fellows are twenty years older, engineers will have done away altogether with large power plants and cumbersome machinery." "I read the other day," said Joe, "that before long all the apparatus needed, even for trans-atlantic stations, can be contained in a small room about twenty-five feet by twenty-five." "But what shall we do for power?" protested Herb. "We'll always have to have generators." "There isn't any such word as 'always' in radio," returned Bob. "I shouldn't wonder if in the next twenty or thirty years we shall be able, by means of appliances like this new power vacuum tube, to get our power from the ordinary lighting circuit." "And that would do away entirely with generators," added Joe triumphantly. "Well, I wouldn't say anything was impossible," said Herb doubtfully. "But that seems to me like a pretty large order." "It is a large order," agreed Bob, adding with conviction: "But it isn't too large for radio to fill." "Speaking of lodging all apparatus in one fair-sized room," Joe went on. "I don't see why that can't really be done in a few years. Why, they say that this new power vacuum tube which handles fifty K. W. is not any larger than a desk drawer." "I see the day of the vest-pocket radio set coming nearer and nearer, according to you fellows," announced Herb. "Pretty soon we'll be getting our apparatus so small we'll need a microscope to see it." "Laugh if you want to," said Bob. "But I bet in the next few years we're going to see greater things done in radio than have been accomplished yet." "And that's saying something!" exclaimed Joe, with a laugh.



"I guess," said Jimmy thoughtfully, "that there have been more changes in a short time in radio than in any other science. "I should say so!" Herb took him up. "Look at telephone and telegraph and electric lighting systems. There have been changes in them, of course, but beside the rapid-fire changes of radio, they seem to have been standing still." "There haven't been any changes to speak of in the electric lighting systems for the last fifteen years or more," said Bob. "And the telephone has stayed just about the same, too." "There's no doubt about it," said Joe. "Radio has got 'em all beat as far as a field for experiment is concerned. Say," he added fervently, "aren't you glad you weren't born a hundred years ago?" The boys stopped in at Adam McNulty's cabin to see how the old fellow was getting along. They found him in the best of spirits and, after "listening in" with him for a while and laughing at some of his Irish jokes, they started toward home.

Pages 117-121: At last the lunch came to an end and Mr. Brandon professed himself ready to talk shop. He was enthusiastic over the radio set the boys showed him and declared that he could see very little improvement to suggest. "You surely have kept up with the march," he said admiringly. "You have pretty nearly all the latest appliances, haven't you? Good work, boys. Keep it up and you'll be experts in earnest." "If we could only find some way to lengthen the life of our storage batteries," said Bob, not without a pardonable touch of pride, "we wouldn't have much to complain about. But that battery does puzzle us." "Keep your battery filled with water and see if it doesn't last you about twice as long," suggested the radio expert. "Don't add any acid to your battery, for it's only the water that evaporates." "Will that really do the trick?" asked Joe, wondering. "I don't just see how----" "It does just the same," Brandon interrupted confidently. "All you have to do is to try it to find out. Don't use ordinary water though. It needs to be distilled." "That's a new one on me, all right," said Bob, adding gratefully: "But we're obliged for the information. If distilled water will lengthen the life of our battery, then distilled water it shall have." "It seems queer," said Mr. Brandon reflectively, "how apparently simple things will work immense improvement. Marconi, for instance, by merely shortening his wave length, is discovering wonderful things. We cannot even begin to calculate what marvelous things are in store for us when we begin to send out radio waves of a few centimeters, perhaps less. We have not yet explored the low wave lengths, and when we do I believe we are in for some great surprises." "Go on," said Joe, as he paused. "Tell us more about these low wave lengths."

CHAPTER XIV

A DARING HOLDUP

FRANK BRANDON shook his head and smiled. "I'm afraid I don't know much more to tell," he said. "As I have said, what will happen when we materially decrease the wave length, is still in the land of conjecture. But I tell you," he added, with sudden enthusiasm, "I'm mighty glad to be living in this good old age. What we have already seen



accomplished is nothing to what we are going to see. Why," he added, "some scientists, Steinmetz, for instance, are even beginning to claim that ether isn't the real medium for the propagation of radio waves." "What do you mean by that?" asked Bob, with interest. "Is it some sort of joke?" "Joke, nothing!" replied Frank Brandon. "As. a matter of fact, I fully believe that electro-magnetic waves can as easily be hurled through a void as through ether." The boys were silent for a moment, thinking this over. It sounded revolutionary, but they had great respect for Frank Brandon's judgment. "There's the Rogers underground aerial," Bob suggested tentatively, and Brandon took him up quickly. "Exactly!" he said. "That leans in the direction of what I say. Why, I believe the day is coming--and it isn't so very far in the future, either--when no aerial will be used. "Why, I believe," he added, becoming more and more enthusiastic as he continued, "that ten years from now we shall simply attach our receiving outfits to the ground and shall be able to receive even more satisfactorily than we do to-day." He laughed and added lightly: "But who am I to assume the rôle of prophet? Perhaps, like a good many prophets, I see too much in the future that never will come true." "I don't believe it," said Bob. "I shouldn't wonder if all you prophesy will come true in a few years." "Well," said Herb, with a grin, "it will be a relief not to get any more broken shins putting up aerials." Mr. Brandon laughed. "I'm with you," he said. "I've been there myself." "Have you read about that radio-controlled tank?" Joe asked. "The one that was exhibited in Dayton, I mean?" "I not only read about it, I saw it," Mr. Brandon answered, and the boys stared at him in surprise. "I happened to be there on business," he said; "and you can better believe I was on hand when they rolled that tank through the traffic." "What did it look like?" asked Jimmy eagerly. "The car was about eight feet long and three feet high," responded Brandon. "It was furnished with a motor and storage batteries, and I guess its speed was about five or six miles an hour." "And was it really controlled by radio?" put in Herb, wishing that he had been on the spot. "Absolutely," returned Brandon. "An automobile followed along behind it and controlled it entirely by wireless signals. The apparatus that does all the work is called the selector, and it's only about the size of a saucer. It decodes the dots and dashes and obeys the command in an inconceivably short time--about a quarter of a second." "It can be controlled by an airplane, too, can't it?" asked Bob, and the radio inspector nodded. "In case of war," he said slowly, "I imagine these airplane-controlled tanks could do considerable damage."

Pages 172-176: "Just before you arrived I was considering the advisability of putting the matter into the hands of the police," said Mr. Fennington. "What would



you do ?" "Keep the whole thing to ourselves for the present," said Mr. Brandon decisively. "I'll send for a couple of good men to come up here and help me, and we'll keep a watch on that cabin for a few days. If this thing got into the papers, it would put the crooks on their guard, and probably spoil our chances of catching them and getting back the loot. I've got a small but extremely efficient receiving and sending set in my car, and if any more code messages are sent out we'll catch them." His confidence was contagious, and the boys felt almost as though the capture of the criminals had already been accomplished. "What puzzles me, though," remarked Mr. Fennington, "is how you knew that there was an unauthorized radio sending station in this neighborhood, Mr. Brandon. I should think it would be almost impossible to locate such a station, even approximately." "On the contrary," replied Frank Brandon, "it is little more than a matter of routine. Probably any of these radio fiends here could explain the method as well as I can, but I'll try to make it plain to you. "There is a certain type of aerial that has what we call 'directional' properties, that is, when it is shifted around, the incoming signals will be loudest when this loop aerial, as it is called, is directly in line with the sending station. The receiving antenna is wound on a square frame, and when the signals are received at their maximum strength, we know that the frame is in a practically straight line with the sending station we're after." "Yes, but that still leaves you in the dark as to whether the station is one mile away or a hundred miles," observed Mr. Fennington, as Brandon paused. "That's very true," answered the other. "And for that reason we can't stop at using just one loop aerial. What we actually do is to have three stations, each one equipped with a loop. These three stations are located a good many miles apart. Now, with these three loops, we have three lines of direction. We lay out these lines on a chart of the territory, and where they intersect, is the place where the unlicensed station is located. Is that clear?" "Perfectly," said Mr. Fennington. "But what looks like a point on the map may be a large space on the actual territory." "Oh, yes, our work isn't done by any means after we have got our first rough bearings," continued Brandon. "Having determined the approximate position, we take the loops and receivers to what we know is a place quite near the station we're after, and then we repeat the former process. This time it is much more accurate. Gradually we draw the net tighter until we find the antenna belonging to the



offender, and then--well, we make him wish he hadn't tried to fool the government." "You certainly have it reduced to an exact science," acknowledged Mr. Fennington. "I don't wonder that everybody interested in radio gets to be a fanatic." "We'll make a 'bug' out of you before we get through, Dad," declared Herb, grinning. "If my load of silk is recovered through the agency of radio, I'll be enthusiastic enough over it to suit even you fellows," said his father. "It will mean the best set that money can buy for you if I get it back." "We'll hold you to that promise," threatened Herb. "Radio can do anything," he added, with the conviction of a devotee. "Well, pretty nearly everything," qualified Mr. Brandon. "A little while ago it was considered marvelous that we could transmit the voice by radio, and now the transmission of photographs by radio has been successfully accomplished." "What!" exclaimed Mr. Fennington incredulously. "Do you mean to say that an actual recognizable photograph has been sent through the air by radio? That seems almost too much to believe." "Nevertheless, it has been done," insisted Frank Brandon. "I saw the actual reproduction of one that had been sent from Italy to New York by the wireless route, and while I can't claim that it was perfect, still it was as plain as the average newspaper picture. And don't forget that this is a new phase of the game, and is not past the experimental stage yet." "Well, after that, I am inclined to agree with Herbert that 'radio can do anything, " admitted Mr. Fennington. "I don't think we'll have much trouble making a convert of you," laughed the radio inspector. "No doubt the quickest way, though, will be to recover your stolen shipment, so we'll start working in that direction the first thing in the morning." And in this he was as good as his word. He was up betimes, getting in touch with headquarters by means of his compact portable outfit. He kept at work until he had received the promise of two trustworthy men, who were to report to him at the lumber camp as soon as they could get there. Then he routed out the radio boys, and after a hasty breakfast they all set out to locate the cabin where the boys had found the code key.



Concerning "Canned Music Now Broadcasted" (1922)

Although nighttime skywave signals made it possible to hear distant stations after sunset, during the daytime stations could only be heard within the limited range of their groundwave signals. In early 1922, this meant that many small towns without their own radio stations could not hear any daytime signals. Small stations like WHAW, first licenced to the Tampa, Florida Pierce Electric Company in July, 1922, were often established to provide at least some daytime programming in isolated areas, although the lack of local talent meant they were often dependent on such things as phonograph records and piano rolls for their programs. The rapid expansion of broadcasting in the 1922 meant that eventually the Tampa-Saint Petersburg area was served by a number of local stations, so WHAW was quietly deleted in the summer of 1923.

The Radio Dealer, September, 1922, page 34:

Concerning "Canned Music Now Broadcasted"

Don't Be Too Hasty in Condemning Broadcasting Programs Now in Evidence

By GEORGE H. FISCHER, JR.Radio Dept., Pierce Electric Company, Tampa, Fla.

Merchandizing of radio apparatus like any other mechanical or electrical device requires demonstrations. We could hardly expect to sell an electric washing machine or a vacuum cleaner without first demonstrating, nor a phonograph without playing a record or two. An electrical appliance business could not be successfully operated where no current was available nor a phonograph sold where records could not be procured. What then is the likelihood of selling radio sets where nothing can be heard during the day? All the sales cannot be made at night when atmospheric conditions are favorable. In the territory where broadcasting stations are found in great numbers the " canned music " may have little appeal but in the territories at a distance beyond the daylight range of the big stations it is almost a necessity. Our dealers had been obliged to try to sell a radio set without being able to give the prospective " fan " any idea of what radio was like other than to let him listen to an occasional ship out in the gulf or the ever present " static." Realizing this, we installed a small broadcasting station, now WHAW, for the purpose of aiding these dealers. Of course, phonograph music was used. The thing took well and we established a schedule, playing from 12 to 1 p. m. and 4 to 5 p. m. This permitted demonstrations at times when the business people were on the street, at lunch hour and after office hours in the evening. To our surprise we received many requests from radio " fans " for evening programs which we now give from 8 to 10 p. m. on Mondays and Saturdays. Our modulation is good, about 80 per cent. and our program made up entirely of phonograph records. " Listening in " on some of the " live programs " of some broadcasting stations the writer has heard attempts of amateur entertainers which would have

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Concerning "Canned Music Now Broadcasted" (1922)

failed to get by at the local picture house. Aside from the value of the broadcasting of " canned music " to the radio retailer the phonograph concert can be made an entertaining one for most any type of listener. Too many stations have persisted in filling the air with " jazz " and nothing else. Following is a sample program of ours made up of phonograph records : Bed time stories : Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood, Porter. Overture : Rifle Regiment, Marine Band. Tenor Solo : O-sole-mio, Caruso. Piano solo : Prelude F, Rachmaninoff. Popular number : The Sheik, Club Royal Orchestra. Violin solo : Souvenir, Kreisler. Quartette : My Mammy, Peerless Quartette. Soprano solo : Barbiere, Galli-Curci. Orchestral : Walküre, Philadelphia Orchestra. This much gives a good idea of what a variety can be obtained and the class of entertainment furnished. On the other hand we have listened to " live " programs on which appeared choruses from a Sunday school and amateur " pick-up " jazz band and lectures by long-winded orators with no time limit and uninteresting subjects. Some day, in the near future we hope, the broadcast stations will be served through an entertainment circuit similar to our vaudeville or Chautauquas and that the material shot into the air will be acceptable to all. Meanwhile, let us not be too hasty in " Canning the Canned Music," for in many cases it is well worth listening to.


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The Newspaper that Comes Through Your Walls (1922)

Many newspapers were affiliated with early broadcasting stations, either through direct ownership, or by providing programming to the stations. However, there quickly was a backlash by the newspapers against the competition brought by radio news, and through the late 1930s news programs on U.S. radio stations would be severely restricted. And it was only in the 1960s that U.S. stations started adopting "all news" formats, finally bringing into existence the kind of in-depth "radio newspaper" this article talks about.

Popular Radio, September, 1922, pages 11-16:

From a photograph made for Popular RadioA LIVE NEWS STORY IN THE AIR

The newspaper of the near future will not depend solely upon wires for collecting its information. Today stories are being received by city editors from reporters miles away who use radio-equipped motor cars. The picture shows W. P. B. McNeary of the Newark Sunday Call, receiving a news item by radio.

The Newspaper that Comes Through Your Walls

The "Radio Newspaper" Is No Longer a Theory; It Has Arrived--Abroad. In This Country the Wireless is Being Used Both for Collecting and Disseminating News. This Article Tells How.

By HOMER CROY

THE PRESS GALLERY AT THE FIRST FOOTBALL GAME EVER BROADCASTED

IN Budapest there is a newspaper that has no printing presses and no

newsboys. It is a large and flourishing newspaper and, as far as I know, all its subscribers are satisfied. It has never been "scooped" and there is little likelihood that such a catastrophe will soon happen. It begins to give its news to the public at nine o'clock in the morning and it does not stop until ten o'clock in the evening. On opera nights it does even better; on such occasions it stretches its service a little and gives its subscribers the opera. The newspaper is called The Telephone-Hirmondo and has been in existence for twenty-eight years. As its name implies it is a telephone newspaper. It furnishes news direct to its subscribers by an elaborate system of party lines. All a subscriber has to do is to step to the telephone and put the receiver to his ear. To each subscriber is furnished a schedule showing the hours different news goes out: local, national, world news, sports, fashions. Fiction stories are read to the subscribers, speeches are delivered; puzzles are told and English is taught to all who wish to learn it. Even serials running in local motion picture shows are read to subscribers; that night a person may go to the theatre and see for himself the story his newspaper has told him. Budapest's telephone newspaper is not an experiment; not some vague, uncertain, half-baked theory. It has been a success for more than a quarter of a century.

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The reporter using the telephone is "Sandy" Hunt, former Cornell guard, reporting the first intercollegiate contest that was ever described by radio, play by play, in October, 1921. The story was sent from the field to the operating room of station WJZ at Newark over a private wire, whence it was broadcasted. Several intercollegiate games were similarly reported later that season.

From a photograph made for Popular RadioTHE FIRST AUTOMOBILE TRANSMITTING STATION TO BE

LICENSEDEquipped with a radio transmitting set, this car was sent out on a news assignment by the Newark Sunday Call on May 6, 1922--the first recorded instance of its kind. The car bears the call letters 2CNJ. In the Picture Emery H. Lee, the radio inspector is seen measuring the wavelength, which was exactly 200 meters.

Germany is a step ahead of this! Just outside Berlin the German government has a newspaper that instead of sending out news by telephone, sends into the air. At certain hours it sends out government news, political news, sports and so on. But Germany rules its radio with a heavy hand; in this regard it takes itself very seriously. Every radio set which goes out is licensed and watched. The person who installs the set is allowed to receive but one kind of news; the government authorities see to that and lock the box. This is done by sending out different kinds of news on varying wavelengths; the owner of the set can receive only the kind his license calls for. We would not stand for that in this country, but just the same there is an idea behind it--the radio newspaper is coming. It is assured. France and Italy both have been watching Germany's experiment with the radio newspaper and now are planning to install equipment for disseminating news--but on a much more liberal policy. The United States has never gone into the radio newspaper as a governmental proposition, but in this country our newspapers are far and away ahead of European newspapers--when it comes to hitching up to radio of their own accord. Over there they are just beginning to scratch their heads and wonder if there isn't something in the idea, while in this country eight of ten individual newspapers are actually broadcasting. It will be recalled that last summer the world was awaiting the outcome of a battle in Jersey City, where two men were stripped to their waists to

fight for life or death. In all parts of the country the hours were counted on that day when Messrs. Dempsey and Carpentier drew crowds of excited fight fans to Boyle's Bowl. Newspapers found that there was but one "story" for them that day--all other happenings were small "items."

THE POWER PLANT OF THE RADIO STATION OF A MIDDLE-WESTERN DAILY

One of the best-equipped transmitting stations in the country is WWJ, maintained by the Detroit News for broadcasting both entertainment and news features. The picture shows the 5½ H.P. motor, driving a 1600-volt, 1-kilowatt plate current generator and a 16-volt, 615-watt filament current-generator, providing power for the transmitter tubes.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer had an idea. Why not get the news to the people in and around Seattle fast--faster than presses could run? It was the first time such a thing had ever been tried. Steam was put behind it and arrangements were made with a local radio distributing company, and a sending outfit was engaged for the day. The paper spread it on the first page and Boyle's Bowl was practically taken up and dumped down in Seattle. The people in that city were almost as close to the two heated gentlemen as were the owners of the fifty-dollar seats. The fight was practically as much of a success in Seattle as it was in Jersey City. After the final and lamented fourth round, the paper thought the excitement was over; they told the radio company to come and take the equipment away. But the next day the letters began to pour in. Why couldn't the paper give the subscribers news by radio all the time? That would be biting off a big chunk, especially in view of the fact that never before had such a news service been rendered. But the newspaper sank its teeth and pried off an experiment. Now on top of the building it has a radio room and tower antennae 105 feet tall. Six hours a day it sends out news--anything, everything. It furnishes music for charity dances, civic organizations, luncheon parties, entertainments for graded schools to raise funds for baseball suits, entertainment for disabled soldiers, music and speeches for patients in hospitals; for style shows, hardware meetings and even helps teach radio in the high schools of the state. Every Friday night it hires an orchestra, brings it to its own sending room and puts on a dance program. Friday night radio dances are now being held not only in Seattle, but in Spokane, San Francisco, Portland, Vancouver, B. C., and even in Craig, Alaska. As if this were not enough, word came from a ship on the Pacific that its passengers had shaken a wicked foot in response to the same tintinnabulations. On top of this the Chamber of Commerce in Butte, Montana, wanted to have a social where their wives and sweethearts could be brought together. The radio brought them----.



InternationalREPORTING A WORLD'S SERIES BY RADIO

The sporting editor, G. A. Falzer, is here seen using an ordinary telephone for reporting the baseball games at the Polo grounds, New York, in 1921. But his telephonic talk went to a broadcasting station, where it was broadcasted.

At first it was thought that only residents in and around Seattle would be able to hear the radio programs, but such was not the case. The S. S. Montgomery City was 3,600 miles out in the Pacific when it picked up Seattle, and messages inland have gone as far as Minot, N. D. When the paper started its broadcast there were only 284 receiving sets within range; now, it is estimated, there are 20,000. That is how things have moved along in the world of radio. In the meantime the wheel of progress was rolling on in other parts of the United States. Newark, for instance, where you would not expect to find much hustle. And the experiment in radio was not by a daily, either, but by a Sunday paper--The Newark Sunday Call. The World's Series came along, October 5th, 1921, and a man went to the Polo Grounds and there put the news on a telegraph line. In the office of the Sunday Call it was taken down and then hustled on a telephone line. This came to one of the editors in the newly established broadcasting station of the Westinghouse Company and there the man spoke into the transmitter and sent it up into the air.

InternationalA DAILY NEWSPAPER THAT SENDS OUT NEWS BY RADIO

The San Francisco Examiner broadcasts both local items and news of national moment from its station in the Examiner Building, as well as the usual weather reports and market quotations.

The experiment was a success. Things began to move along for the paper and it

originated bedtime stories for children, and started broadcasting news. This went out about half-past eight in the evening. It made such a success of it that the paper began broadcasting in the day time, beginning at ten o'clock in the morning and continuing throughout the day on the hour. Broadcasting breathed the breath of life into amateur radio, and on October 16th this paper started a radio department of two pages--the first radio section started by a newspaper. The people couldn't get enough of it. It was not long until a New York paper took a nibble--and then sank its teeth. Radio departments sprang up with the speed credited to toadstools, although personally I have never seen one do this amazing feat. Newspaper after newspaper started departments until now two New York newspapers get out a whole magazine section each Saturday devoted to the wonders of wireless. But they were not content for long merely to run programs and conduct departments. The Detroit News began to broadcast; others began to itch, and now The Hartford Courant, started before the Revolutionary War began, has felt the urge of the latest departure in journalism. Other papers are taking it up; soon, no doubt, a metropolitan newspaper which does not broadcast will be considered quaint and a bit inclined to old-fashioned ways.



© Harris & EwingTHE FIRST TIME THAT A HORSE RACE WAS

BROADCASTEDThe methods of the race-track crooks who swindle guileless bettors by "tips" over private wires will have to change when racing news is reported by radio. The officials at the Bowie (Maryland) track recently transmitted the results of the races by radio--although although in this particular picture the results are apparently being transmitted by a receiving set.

Two things may happen, and both of them, it must be known, are entirely in the realm of speculation. There is no definite fact to substantiate it--only a few straws blowing in the wind. In the future the newspapers will broadcast in their territories. St Louis will have newspapers sending out their silent appeals on different wavelengths; Omaha will be doing the same; Waco, Wheeling, Woonsocket. They will send out local news. For example: "George Washington Jones, the millionaire manufacturer of folding wash boards, was arrested this afternoon for speeding and was fined $4." The license numbers of stolen automobiles will be given out and the police departments will be assisted in recovering the missing property, as they have been already in several cities. Local, grain and crop markets will be sent out; whether wheat is up or down, what activity potatoes show and what chickens are doing--the domesticated variety, that is. Gossip, sports, local news items will go out.

"The building is still burning. Firemen with their oxygen helmets are feeling their way through the smoke . . . A child has been found . . . It is alive . . . It's mother is weeping"----

So the reports of the future will go out. The idea seems fantastic? So did the application of radio to Boyle's Bowl a year ago. There is only one safe bet about radio; and that is not to try to judge its future by its past.



Radio Receiving for Beginners--extracts (1922)

Radio Receiving for Beginners, Rhey T. Snodgrass and Victor F. Camp, 1922: Pages 5-6:

HOW CAN I RECEIVE RADIO?

THIS question is on the lips of thousands, perhaps millions, of people. It may be answered in so many ways as to leave one in a hopeless state of bewilderment, for this very new and very fascinating science is most uncanny in its ramifications even at the present time, to say nothing of its almost daily advancement and future possibilities. On the other hand, your question may be answered quite simply; in a manner which will enable you to begin receiving at once, and to understand the fundamental principles of radio. From that point you may advance as you have time, inclination and means to go into more expensive apparatus. Radio, particularly radio telephony, is too new to have become "standardized" beyond the elementary operations. On the more advanced questions you will find almost as many opinions you find expert operators, and you will find good books galore on every phase of the subject. The present little volume will leave the more technical and diversified possibilities of radio receiving to be pursued in more exhaustive books, and keep down to the simple answer to your simple question, "How can I receive radio?" We must necessarily choose between various methods. In so doing it is not claimed that ours is the ONLY way. Whether ours is the BEST way might open up a never ending argument, but the methods laid down in this book are known to be good, practical, easy to understand, simple to follow, and elastic

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enough to meet your allowance of time, study and cash outlay. In the following text you will find reference to some instruments with which you may not be familiar. All of the instruments covered by this book will be found fully described in Chapter IX. We believe this plan is better than to fill the text with interruptive explanations, as some of our readers may not require all of them.

Pages 7-8: CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I. INTRODUCTION.

Elementary--no previous knowledge of electricity or radio required--popular demand for simple practical instruction--easy to start-- simple apparatus will do--range of cost--how to begin receiving at once--no license required for receiving--may purchase complete outfit or separate instruments--same outfit receives both telephone and telegraph signals--telephone easier and more entertaining--broadcasting music, lectures, news, market reports, sports, interviews, church services--important developments by amateurs--open field for experiment--advise start with simple set and build up with experience.

VIII. GENERAL HINTS. Little things to look out for--results of practical experience--telegraph code.

Pages 11-15:

RADIO RECEIVING I

INTRODUCTION WE assume that you have no previous knowledge or experience in radio work. You wish to learn how you may begin at once to "listen in" on the astounding things which are passing through the air all the time, day and night, right about our heads at this very moment. Radio is a most fascinating pastime. While its possibilities are so boundless and intricate that the most advanced engineers are only beginning to solve them, you may begin with very simple operations which may be explained in simple terms. Thousands of twelve year old boys, and girls, are operating satisfactorily, entertaining their families and friends, while educating themselves. Anyone with common sense can readily grasp the elementary principles and begin receiving at once. After that it is simply a question of time, study and practice. Every step of the way is most alluring--romantic. One has a constant sense of participating in the performance of magic. Nobody starts receiving and abandons it. One step leads to the next, and you simply cannot let it alone. All the while you are playing with one of the most worth-while developments of the age.



Many of the important steps in the progress of radio have been discovered by amateurs as the result of their own experiments. Indeed, radio may be called the science of the amateur. As this book goes to press there are estimated to be amateur radio stations and residences with receiving outfits in this country to the number of over half a million, and the number is leaping ahead every day. In the United States the laws and restrictions are very favorable to amateurs. This largely accounts for America's outstanding leadership in the development of radio over European countries, where the amateur is too much restricted to develop new ideas and practices. Many an amateur in this country has worked out radio operations and instruments which have led him into a fine professional career. In fact, most of the prominent names in radio are the names of men who began by "playing with radio." In the United States, at the present moment, no license is required for receiving radio telephone or telegraph. You may "listen in" to your heart's content, but a license and inspection are required for transmitting either telephone or telegraph. As transmitting is quite a different operation, and one which may be more properly considered after receiving is mastered, the present discussion will be confined to radio receiving, leaving the subject of transmitting to be covered in another volume. You can begin receiving with very little outlay and very little study. The same apparatus will be used for receiving both telegraph and telephone signals. As telegraph comes in code (dots and dashes) we may consider that the more interesting and certainly the easier operation will be receiving telephone. At the present writing there are large and powerful sending stations located in so many places that practically every point in the United States is within reasonable amateur hearing distance of at least one of them. From these stations most interesting programs are being broadcasted daily, including music, lectures, news bulletins, weather and market reports, church services, interviews with prominent persons, and other features. Besides these larger stations there are many experimental stations and licensed amateur stations constantly sending out interesting matter; all of which you may easily receive in your own home with a surprising degree of clearness and regularity from the first. With most of us the question of cost is, to say the least, a factor. You may enter the radio wonderland on an investment of fifteen or twenty dollars, and get fair results within a limited radius. A little larger investment will give a little wider radius and more dependable results. Some one has said that your apparatus should cost a dollar per mile of effective operation, from fifteen up. This should not be taken too literally as an absolute rule, but is a fair indication of cost. If you have time and a little skill you may effect some economy and gain good experience by making some of the instruments yourself, or you may purchase the instruments separately and assemble and connect them; or you may purchase neat cabinets in wide variety with the instruments self-contained and requiring only proper connections to be made, according to instructions furnished. We will not attempt to choose your instruments for you, but if you have not already selected them, this book will assist you in making a wise selection, and still leave you a wide range of option according to your requirements. In most of our cities and many villages there is a local amateur radio club. Like everything pertaining to radio, these clubs are growing daily in numbers and usefulness. Many of them are affiliated with the American Radio Relay League, with headquarters at Hartford, Conn., which is an international amateur organization. It will interest you and help keep you abreast of the newest developments to attend the meetings of your local club. The A. R. R. L., moreover, is instrumental in guiding legislation tending to foster amateur practice and to develop a large group of trained amateurs which has already proved to be a great national asset.


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Pages 81-88: VIII

GENERAL HINTS THERE are many little things you can do, and little points you should know about, in order to make your practice of radio more satisfactory. A very large book would hardly contain all of them. But a few which may be easily understood may well be included here. The foregoing instructions will, if carefully followed, show you how to master all of the problems ordinarily met during your beginning stage, with the exception of one. That one is "static." It may be termed the general atmospheric electricity, which is abroad all the time in greater or less degree, but not always troublesome. Its most troublesome demonstration is in the form of lightning. During an electric or thunder storm, do not attempt to operate your radio set, and if you have a lightning switch, be sure it stays in the ground position until the disturbance is surely past. At some times static is very bothersome, causing a rattling or grating noise in the phones which makes the signals themselves almost inaudible or breaks into them with very rude interruptions. If you hear noises in your phones and are not sure whether they come from outside or whether they might be caused by some fault within your set, disconnect the instruments from the lead-in, and place the antenna line in contact with the ground. If the noise ceases, it must have been outside, probably static. If it does not cease, or greatly diminish, it is somewhere within the set. You will often experience "interference"; that is, the interjection of signals other than those you wish to receive. Careful tuning will eliminate most all ordinary interference from a well-designed receiving set. In general, coupling loosened to the limit, small amount of capacity in the antenna condenser, and balancing with additional inductance, together with other adjustments already described, are your means of tuning out undesirable signals. If you are unfortunate enough to be near a transmitting station whose power and signal strength are many times greater than the more distant signals, for which you are tuned, you are literally "up against" it, until the interference ceases, especially if its wave length is near the one to which you are tuned. Here is your opportunity to experiment and endeavor to find ways to eliminate interference to a greater degree. You have noted our references to audio frequency and radio frequency. The term frequency is used in connection with any form of rhythmical motion, denoting the number of movements in a given time. In the case of electrical currents, the unit of time is one second. Audio frequencies are those in which the current makes less than 10,000 movements or cycles per second. Radio frequencies are those above 10,000 cycles per second. Sometimes a little greater or less capacity across the phones will slightly improve your signals. A variable condenser is admirably adapted to this use, and will require a corresponding adjustment of the wing variometer. In a cabinet set, however, the phone condenser has probably been worked out to a nicety and had best be left alone. In regulating the amount of capacity, or inductance, or current in the A battery, you will at first be amazed at the great difference effected by a very slight adjustment. Some sets are equipped with micrometer adjustments, as the direct action of the hand will often turn the knobs too far. Bear in mind the importance of keeping all wires connecting your instruments as short as possible, particularly the wire leading to the grid.



Avoid parallel wires, as far as you can, as the capacity between them may disturb your adjustments, and if your wires must cross each other, let them do so at right angles and keep them apart. A whole book could be written about tight connections. Loose ones cause endless trouble. Unless wires are securely and tightly clamped to their proper connections they should be soldered. Often a wire is properly fastened to a binding post but the post itself is loose in its base, or the wire on the under end of it is not properly screwed or soldered down. Make a habit of placing the end of a wire around a binding post or other screw from left to right, so that tightening the screw will not tend to throw the wire out of place. When "skinning" the ends of insulated wire, be sure to get a good bright metal surface on the wire, scraping it if necessary. For the sake of neatness, you may wrap the ends of the insulation with tape to avoid fraying. Some insulation is made of two layers wound in opposite directions, in which case the ends may be tied in a knot and clipped short, so as to prevent further unwinding. Pay particular and frequent attention to the terminals of your storage battery. The contacts should be clean and bright. A coat of vaseline will help to keep them so. Always be sure your B battery is correctly connected, as a wrong connection may result in turning this high voltage loose where it would burn out a tube or do other damage while also exhausting itself. Do not install your radio instruments in the cellar or other damp places. Moisture will surely harm them and impair their efficiency. Bear in mind that radio frequency currents are very minute and very sensitive, and must be handled accordingly. Oilcloth acts as a conductor of these minute currents, and should never be used as a cover for your radio table. Use felt, or some sort of cloth, if you wish a cover. Black paint often contains lamp-black which is a conductor and will prevent proper operation of the instruments. Plain wood coated with shellac or varnish is free from this source of trouble. Electric light wires or extension cords, when within a few feet of your receiving apparatus, will often induce sufficient current to cause an objectional hum, which you will note in your receivers. All movable contacts, such as switch points and contacts on a slide tuner, should be kept clean and bright. If you have a lightning switch, occasionally clean the blade and both sockets, so as to insure a good bright metal contact. While some cabinet sets come with sockets to hold tubes in a horizontal position, it is preferable to place tubes in a vertical position on account of a possible sagging of the filament within the tube. See that the contact points at the base of the tube are clean and bright, and that the spring contacts in the socket are clean and in good tension. Your A and B batteries will not last indefinitely. You can tell when the A battery is running down, by the diminished glow in your tubes. You can have it re-charged for a small outlay, or if you have alternating current in your house, a small rectifier will enable you to charge it yourself. If your current is direct, you had best consult your local electrician or the makers or agents of the battery, who will advise you how to charge from direct current. Of course, if you use dry cells for A battery, they can be replaced with new ones. The condition of the B battery should be tested from time to time with a small voltmeter. If each block registers a full 22½ volts it is still in condition to use. When it falls appreciably below, it should be replaced with a new block. For many purposes, you will find flexible cord preferable to wire for making connections. Common lamp-cord will do. In purchasing, get the kind in which the two cords may be separated by untwisting, as some kinds have a woven cover holding the two cords together. To keep the fine wire ends from getting



snarled, and to insure a good connection, remove the insulation for half an inch from the end, clean and twist the fine wires together and solder. Test clips, attached to the two ends of flexible cord, are very handy for temporary or changeable connections. The clips themselves are like a "tie clasp," only larger and stronger. Fasten the ends of the flexible cord to the clips by soldering. Keep a dozen or more of these clip-cords on hand, in various lengths. If you intend doing anything more than merely buying a set, connecting it, and listening--you should by all means provide yourself with a soldering outfit, and use it freely. Whether of the electric variety or not, you will be surprised to see how easy it is to make fine tight connections. Use soft solder, which comes in small strips. Do not use acid, but use rosin or some form of patent flux such as Solderall or Nokorode. By all means learn the telegraph code. It will open up to you a great many interesting things. With a little study you can readily memorize the code and then with practice you can read the telegraph signals as well as the telephone. For practice in listening to the dots and dashes you can get a little buzzer, or make one out of a door bell. Let us emphasize this telegraph business--it will greatly repay you. Every licensed radio station has a call signal. The official list is published in book form by the government. One book gives the commercial and government stations, and a separate book lists the amateur stations. Each book is sent post paid for fifteen cents. Write to the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. When you begin to think of transmitting telegraph or telephone, and wish to post yourself regarding the method of procuring the necessary license, such information may be had by addressing the Radio Inspector, Bureau of Navigation, Department of Commerce, Washington, D. C., or you may write to the Radio Inspector of your district. The division by districts is shown in the Call Book.



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Radio for Everybody: Radio-phone Broadcasting (1922)

Radio for Everybody, Austin C. Lescarboura, 1922, pages 39-42:

RADIO-PHONE BROADCASTING--WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT MEANS

"LADIES and gentlemen, we take great pleasure in introducing Mr. Percy Grainger, the famous

pianist and composer, who will entertain us this evening with several of his favorite pianoforte selections. After that, please stand by until 9.55 for the re-transmission of the Arlington time signals---" A concert? No. A vaudeville performance? Hardly. A musicale in the home of a society leader? Not this time. It is merely a bit of radio-phone service taken at random. Another time it might be Mme. Lydia Lipkovska, court singer to the late Czar of Russia, or Miss Valentina Crispi, violinist, or Miss Sophie Tucker, famous delineator of ethnic and character songs. Again it might be Governor Edward I. Edwards of New Jersey, with his latest message, or Ed. Wynn and the entire company of "The Perfect Fool," representing the first attempt to broadcast an entire theatrical performance; or Walter Camp, foremost authority in American athletics.

THE RADIO VOICE AND ITS AUDIENCE

Still again, at a different hour of the day, it may be the news of the moment, carefully selected and clearly heralded word by word; marine news, weather reports, children's bedtime stories, health talks, business talks, fashion talks, agricultural reports, Babson's statistical service, or the official time signals. For the radio-phone service is unlimited in its scope of subjects, just as it is virtually unlimited in the size of its audience.

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But what is the radio-phone service? Where is it obtainable, and how? What does it cost? Why is it free? Typical questions, these, at a time when radio is at the height of popularity. Only a short while back, the hobby of radio was indulged in by boys and young men, with occasionally a full-grown man, who, perhaps, were more fascinated by the technicalities of the radio art than by the actual feat of communication through space. Yet it is true that these enthusiasts, then as now, were carrying on radio conversations among themselves by means of the dot-and-dash language of the telegraph code; but it was certainly evident that they spent a goodly part of their time arranging and rearranging their radio transmitters and receivers in their insatiable ambition to span greater distances. Then came the radio-phone service, not as an occasional thing to startle the radio amateurs already engaged in sending and listening to the dot-dash messages, but as a regular established practice. A subsequent development brought about a definite operating schedule and a predetermined program, so that now the person with a radio receiving set knows what is in store for him tonight, tomorrow night, or even next Sunday evening. Radio-phone programs are printed and mailed to persons on the mailing list of the various organizations doing this kind of work. In various cities throughout the country there are radio-phone broadcasting stations now in operation, which send out all kinds of information, talks, and music. With the proper type of receiving equipment it is now possible for any one to receive the radio-phone service from the nearest station, and, if there are several stations within receiving range, it is often possible to receive several radio-phone services, one by one, with absolute selectivity, although they may be operating simultaneously. That is to say, with the apparatus properly tuned, one station may be heard; then, by slightly altering the tuning, another station may be picked up, and so on. Further tuning may pick up an amateur radio-phone transmitter or a commercial station operating or "talking" in the dot-dash-dot language of the Continental telegraph code, or again a powerful transatlantic station transmitting its messages at an extreme rate of speed, thanks to automatic transmitters at one end and the photographic or phonographic recorders at the receiving end. Radio-phone broadcasting stations are sharply tuned; in fact, all radio-phone transmitters are sharply



tuned; for, as we shall learn further on, this is one of the cardinal points in favor of the continuous wave transmitter, which is the basis of the radio-phone. Thus the utmost selectivity is obtained at the receiving end, and interference is reduced to a minimum. Indeed, the day is not far distant when a broadcasting station will be sending various services simultaneously, ranging all the way from a sermon to a jazz dance piece, and from a talk on economics to a fashion chat. The listener will merely have to tune his or her receiver to any one of several wave lengths in order to obtain the desired service at that time.



Wireless and the Country House (1922)

One major difference which developed between United States and British nomenclature was what to use as a generic term for Lee DeForest's three-element Audions. In the U.S. they became known as "vacuum tubes", while in Britain, "valves" was the preferred term.

Country Life, March 17, 1922, pages 381-383:

WIRELESS AND THE COUNTRY HOUSE

CURRENT FROM A WATER WHEEL AND OTHER PRACTICAL EXPEDIENTS.

BY FRANK H. MASON, R.B.A.

THE interesting articles on wireless which have recently appeared in COUNTRY LIFE have caused me to venture a short description of the installation and maintenance of a home-made wireless set

and charging plant in a country house. No doubt the lead given by COUNTRY LIFE in the direction of wireless will be followed up by many readers, and it is my hope that out of my experience they may extract a hint or two of use. The possession of an efficient receiving set is unquestionably a great source of convenience as well as pleasure to dwellers in the country, especially in the remoter districts, now that broadcasting is in full swing; for, apart from the enjoyment of musical entertainment each evening, one can receive in clear language the latest news, lectures and (above all), the correct time, the latter either announced or transmitted in the form of chimes, or by signals. Now the time, when the domestic clocks (as is often the case in a small country residence) are under suspicion, is a source of much recrimination, and to be able to ascertain the exact hour from such centres as London and Paris is no small boon. Incidentally, it creates a kind of awe in the village! And to receive late news up to 10 p.m. is also something that only a short time ago would have seemed outside the bounds of possibility. Add to this, market quotations and the weather forecast for the ensuing day, and the value of a radio installation will be seen to consist not only in the entertainment which it affords. Some time ago, before broadcasting was thought of, I rigged up a receiving set expressly for the purpose of receiving time signals. Those from the Eiffel Tower were the easiest to get, and a quite simple outfit, requiring no electrical equipment, was ample for the purpose. Naturally, it soon came to my knowledge that wireless concerts could also be heard from the same source, and by the addition of valves these were soon picked up. A problem quickly presented itself, however, which doubtless confronts many country dwellers. This is the question of how to obtain the necessary electricity to operate the valves. There are many smaller country houses and retreats which are not so fortunate as to have electric lighting plant or supply, and such was my own case, for acetylene gas, though efficient enough as an illuminant, is of no use for lighting the valves of a wireless set. One was obliged, therefore, to take accumulators to the nearest town to be charged up for the purpose. But this involved a certain amount of bother in getting them to and fro. Moreover, during some special event constant use had to be made of them, and the batteries were liable to run down at a critical moment--probably just when they were wanted most. It was only after reading another article in COUNTRY LIFE on the utilisation of water power that I began to contemplate the quantity of water running to waste daily before my eyes. While appreciating the picturesqueness of the spectacle, in the light of that informative article, I saw no reason why it should not show some usefulness as well. I determined to harness the water somehow, the obvious solution being a waterwheel, which I hoped would drive a dynamo and so charge the batteries for the wireless set.

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There was very little information available about water wheels, I found, but it was generally agreed that a considerable "head" of water was necessary. This I had not, but there seemed to be volume in any quantity. Certainly a head of about 6ft. over the weir might have been obtained, but this meant pits and drains and tunnels, which presented a set of problems which threatened to be beyond me. Against the most vehement advice of those who claimed some knowledge of the subject, and amidst dismal prophecies of failure, I determined to construct a wheel to work on volume alone and no "head." A detailed description of this rather laborious undertaking is unnecessary, for it was a work planned purely on the rule of thumb principle, and required only a little mechanical aptitude. Sharp tools and reasonably accurate measurements I discovered in due course to have an advantage which I did not fully appreciate at the outset! The wheel has a diameter of about 4ft., and to eliminate friction, as I quite realised that I should not have much power to waste, I mounted the wheel on a pair of discarded ball bearings off a car. This was a big step in the right direction, and it was a great satisfaction to find that when all was set up the wheel spun round merrily at the rate of fifty revolutions a minute on quite a small supply of water. The pessimists were unconvinced, however, and advised me to wait and see what would happen when the load was put on. On this point I was somewhat doubtful myself, although an elementary test which I applied, resulting in a nasty jolt and a good drenching, seemed to prove that there was energy latent somewhere. I persevered, therefore, and constructed a countershaft gear which I calculated would give the necessary number of revolutions at the dynamo--about 1,500 to 2,000. This was of the small car type. To cut the story short, when everything was assembled and started, I was delighted to find myself in possession of a plant that charged my accumulators at the normal rate quite efficiently, and would

run day and night with practically no attention and no cost. I observe that a special type of valve has been placed on the market which, by using a very small amount of electric current, reduces the inconvenience of accumulator charging. A dry battery may even be used. But these valves are somewhat expensive, and I can safely advise any resident in the country who can make use of any surplus water supply to adopt a similar scheme to the one I have outlined, if he proposes fitting up a wireless set. Experience has suggested various modifications which would, if required, give much greater power--sufficient even to obtain lights. Even as it is, my waterwheel, in addition to its wireless uses, keeps the household electric hand lamps up to pitch, and one or two small bulbs for use in outhouses are occasionally put on.

* * * * *

Your able correspondents on the subject of wireless emphasise with due authority the importance of a good aerial and earth. There is, of course, no great difficulty in rigging a first-rate aerial and an earth, but as the average country resident will, naturally, regard a tree as a suitably high object to which to fasten one end of the aerial, a hint or two from my own experience in this direction may be of value. My first attempt was a two-wire affair between the house chimneys; but this gave a very short aerial, and, while Paris time signals were clearly heard from it and faint sounds of music, so short a length, about 30ft., is not really adequate for wireless telephony. As one is allowed 100ft. of aerial, I decided on some other scheme, and a tall old yew near the house seemed the obvious place for the free end of the wire. The scaling of this tree presented a problem not at all to my liking, and I wished many times for the use of Mr. Max Baker's invention for firing a line from a gun! Not possessing this, however, and indeed having only a vague idea of shot guns, I threw out hints in various quarters likely to induce a volunteer to climb. Finally, a caravan pitched in our paddock, and, on the principle that perhaps a damaged gipsy or two would not count, I expended a little backsheesh and some liquid refreshment. In a very short time a pulley and line were fixed pretty near the top of the yew. At this point the country resident who is about to fix up an aerial in a rather inaccessible place should take note of my experience. I ought myself, in the light of considerable sea experience, to have foreseen what happened. No sooner where the block and halyard fitted securely aloft and the aerial hoisted, than, after the first good blow, the halyard jammed in the sheave and I could neither hoist it up higher to take in the slack, nor lower it down. There the aerial hung in a graceful festoon, not at all ship-shape-looking, and, while the result in the way of radio seemed all right, the thing was always an eyesore. It swayed about so alarmingly in a breeze, moreover, that I expected to find it a tangled mass of wire in the bushes any time. Eventually a sportive villager essayed the climb and saved the situation.



It is worth while to attend to this point, for you are sure to want the aerial down from time to time, if only to clear the insulators of leaves, etc., that lodge against them, and are prolific of trouble at the instrument end. The "earth" is just as important as the aerial. Having induced your concert to come along, you do not want it to hang about crowding what is following, but to get away to earth as quickly as possible. A water tap is the thing that is generally sought for to fasten the wire to, but such a thing is not always available in the country, or is not conveniently situated. In my case there were several taps for use, but I found I got far better results by simply burying, a foot or so down in damp ground, two or three square feet of sheet zinc--not galvanised iron, but perforated zinc, such as is used to cover good meat safes with. To this the earth wire was well soldered. Of the working of the instruments I need not write. Every possessor of a set has working instructions applicable to it. My own set grew from a crystal to two, and then five, valves, with a radius that enables telephony (meaning concerts and all else) to be received from Paris, The Hague, London, Manchester and Birmingham; and, while it required months of patient work and experiment to perfect, it has always been a real enjoyment to owner and friends who wish to "listen in."



What Makes the Radio Laugh? (1922)

The Country Gentleman, December 16, 1922, pages 1-2, 32:

What Makes the Radio Laugh?

Finding Out Exposes You to a Fell Bacillus--By John R. McMahon

THE radio bacillus began to nibble at me a few months ago. Thinking it was something else, I scratched and also used a

fine-toothed comb, which did not alleviate the situation. Could it be a form of mental eczema, one of those newfangled ailments which is diagnosed by the formula "Something is biting me," and is cured by the patient's repeating to himself, "Nothing can bite me"?

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"Look here," I said to my wife sternly, "everybody is doing it, but is that any reason for us to follow suit and to become dotty or loco? Quite the contrary." "So you are really thinking about it?" she asked gently. "Not at all! Why do you misunderstand me? Of course I can't help making a few remarks when the papers are filled up with this radio dope, programs published every day of half a dozen broadcasting stations within a radius of 500 miles, and radio shops getting as thick as grocery stores."

Fine for Robinson Crusoe

"THE air is full of messages, they say, but why should we want to hear them? I

admit it would be fine for Robinson Crusoe or someone living far from town. But we are not isolated, we have a daily newspaper, and when we are hard up for gossip we can listen in on our party telephone." "You are quite right, dear," said my better half as one who humors the patient. "Well, I am willing to be shown. If there is any merit in this new stunt, I am for it. Traveling round the country, I have listened in a few times and haven't heard anything particularly startling or worth while. They seem to feed the air with a lot of phonograph records. I don't like canned goods close up and it doesn't improve the flavor to get them at long range. Another thing, I see all the programs make a big feature of bedtime stories. There is Uncle Piggley, The Man in the Moon and others who reel off baby talk every night to send the little ones into bye-low land. Do you think I need anything like that?" "Not yet, darling," she replied. "Ha, ha! That's good. Perhaps they will put on lullabies for grandpas later. But doesn't it sound funny to put an infant in his crib and then clamp a pair of ear phones on his head to narcotize him with the bedtime drool of a whiskered nurse who sits in a broadcasting station several hundred miles away?" "Now you are talking nonsense and you know it," said my wife decisively. "I am sure every mother is grateful for the bedtime stories, and she is entitled to have help in putting the children to sleep. You know the day is coming when men will have to do more work in the home and certainly they will be glad to turn over part of their nurse's duty to the radio. As for the quality of our present bedtime stories, I don't know much about it. But just suppose Eugene Field and James Whitcomb Riley could talk to sleep every night several hundred thousand little children. Wouldn't that be wonderful and far better than anything the average mother could do for her children? Some day, if not now, there will be new Fields and Rileys entertaining American children by word of mouth." "Say, I'd like to hear Vachel Lindsey myself over the radiophone!" I exclaimed. "Lot of other people, too, whose stuff is not much good on the printed page, but it

sounds fine when they talk it Well, I see you are trying to argue me into getting a radio set." "No, dear," replied my wife. "Our nursery is unoccupied at present and, as you said the other day, the radio business is still in its infancy, although there are a million sets in use, and the programs will be improved in time, so we had better wait a while." "Did I say that? Of course it is all right to wait, but there is no sense overdoing it. How do we know whether the programs haven't improved since we talked it over last? We don't want to be too darned conservative and wait until they begin talking with the people in Mars and there is such a rush to listen in that the radio factories can only supply half an earful per capita. That would be worse than the coal shortage. "Here's another thing, we have a property right in the ether. We own the land underneath our place down to the center of the earth; we also own the air quite a ways up. We are using more or less of our land and our air, but we are letting our



ether go absolutely to waste. This is not economical. Think of all the free music, lectures, sermons, market and weather reports and miscellaneous dope that is slithering daily and nightly through our home ether and our not getting a nickel's worth of good out of it. We ought to get dividends out of this ether." "Which set are you planning to buy?" asked my spouse. "Don't anticipate, Sophronia! That's an irritating habit. I was merely discussing the pro and con without committing myself. If I did buy a set, it would be largely for your benefit. But I may build a set; since I am naturally ingenious and all that."

A Progressive Disease

WE DROPPED in that evening at a neighbor's house and found a six-foot man of adult intelligence tinkering with a

homemade radio set. He had bought about three dollars worth of raw material, which looked suitable either for an embroidery party or a horse-doctor's kit. These things had queer names, like galena, cat's whisker and tickler. I surmised that the cat's whisker tickled the galena and this made the radio laugh. An important part of the apparatus was a wire-wrapped cylinder of pasteboard, this having been an oatmeal box which the maker had abstracted from the kitchen when his wife wasn't looking, and in so doing had left a trail of oatmeal all the way into the living room. "I'll help you make a set," said my neighbor. "It's easy and a lot of fun. They call this a crystal set, which is the cheapest outfit, but you can hear a good ways with it. After you have played with this a while, you can get something more elaborate. It's the same as the automobile game--you start with a Lizzie and work up towards a Goldbrick Twelve." "If this radio is a progressive disease I dunno about starting it at all," was my answer. "Another thing, we have quit eating oatmeal our house and that makes me shy a cylinder. Furthermore, if I go into this business, I want to understand it from the ground up, from A to Zed. Now, I'm going down to Washington next week and I'll interview all the scientists and get the inside dope on radio before I make up my mind what to do about it." Well, I went to Washington. Mr. Hoover's Department of Commerce gave me some documents, including a copy of the United States Radio Laws and Regulations, which among other things prohibit road hogging of the ether, cussing at any wave length or blabbing the secret messages which you and a million other persons may hear. As a matter of fact the laws do not concern the vast majority of radio fans, who just listen in and do not send any messages. The Department of Commerce publishes monthly a Radio Service Bulletin, which is full of interesting official data on the ever-changing and developing wireless situation at all points between Russia, South America and Alaska. The call signal letters of all American broadcasting radiophone stations are given, so that you can tell whether San Diego, Cedar Rapids or New York is talking.

The Etherized Voice

I DIDN'T count up the total number of broadcasting stations. They multiply so fast that last week's tally is out of date. It is

enough to know that there are so many stations and they are so well distributed throughout the country that nowhere in the United States are you beyond earshot of the etherized human voice. Let the reader figure for himself what this means to the sportsman, prospector or ranchman who may be a couple of hundred miles from a railroad. The Department of Agriculture sends out daily all kinds of crop and market news from Washington and from various other stations in coöperation with state authorities. The agriculture people also distribute a number of circulars telling how you can make your own home receiving radio set. A crystal detector outfit as described in Circular No. 120 is estimated to cost $10.70. The biggest item in this total is four dollars for a pair of earphones. They told me that these circulars were concocted at the radio laboratory of the Bureau of Standards, and that a pamphlet on a new home outfit that was a knockout was being prepared. I hastened to the radio laboratory on the outskirts of the capital. It was a weird place, outside and in. Outside were strung a variety of wire shapes which suggested the effort of a loco inventor to devise an improved system of clothes lines. Inside, among other things, was a toy model of the New York ship channel with twin lighthouses and a ship and a directional radio dingbat, whereby it was demonstrated how the vessel could steer its way through the channel on a dark night without a pilot.



While the man in charge was revolving the dingbat, I heard very distinctly, "Peep! Peep! Peep!" and asked whether chickens were used in the experimental work. "Those are not chickens," said the man pityingly. "The radio makes that noise for the ship to be steered by. It gets louder or fainter, you notice, according to the position." There is a narrow line in science between sense and foolishness. Would you believe it that in this laboratory there are a number of little rooms with partitions of mosquito wire and that this wire mesh serves to bar out radio waves that penetrate all kinds of solid substances and travel through the earth itself? It's a fact. You can foil skeeters and the radio vibrations at the same time. "That new home outfit bulletin that you want," said a young man, "is being held up until we can get permission from a certain patentee to embody a hookup which he claims infringes on his discovery." "I am told that every other homemade amateur set violates one or more patents, and that there are probably 100,000 such violations throughout the country."

A Twilight of Long New Words

"VERY likely," conceded the young man. "But we feel we must protect patent rights, especially since we are a part of

the Government that grants them." I argued that the patent laws permitted the use of devices for personal experimental purposes. "Well," said the young man, "I'll go just so far and no farther. You take our Circular LC 48 and our Circular 121. Add to these a quarter of a pound of wire for connectors and you will have a classy regenerative receiver, the kind of outfit described in our held up bulletin." The young man positively refused to tell me how to twist, tat or crochet that quarter pound of wire so as to make the apparatus work but he said that any radio adept would know how. The circulars described above are supposedly written for babes and sucklings. But their contents seemed to me rather deep and also subversive of the mechanical principles which I know. Take for example a grid leak. My study of architecture and plumbing has taught me to regard all leaks with abhorrence. But it seems that in radio you must encourage leaks. Thoroughness is my middle name. What I needed was an elementary textbook that would start me in the subcellar of radio science and take me all the way up to the top floor. A wonderful book published by the Government for this very purpose was recommended to me. It is entitled The Principles Underlying Radio Communication, contains over 600 pages, is neatly bound in buckram and is sold by the Government printing office for the small sum of one dollar. This work is used as a textbook in the Army and the Navy and in schools and colleges. I felt very grateful to Uncle Sam for practically giving me this wonderful simplified revelation of all the secrets of radio. This was before looking inside the book. I then perceived that it was packed with chunks of wisdom undecipherable to a person of my caliber. It was about as easy to follow as a medical book I once borrowed from our family physician which dilated upon orthopometric therapy of ingrowing warts. Amid the twilight of long new words and of plentiful mathematical formulæ, there emerged a few expressions which sounded as if they could be domesticated. Take the character known as megohm. Why not call it or her Meg for short? We may then be able to recall that Meg is radio queen, being equivalent to 1,000,000 common ordinary ohms who never get their pictures in the Sunday supplement.

Little Henry on a Rampage

AGAIN, take the character who is dubbed microfarad. Let us call him Mike. Thus he becomes almost human. There is



finally a most intriguing personality who is called microhenry. It is obvious that this Little Henry of the radio is a small brother to the tin lizzie that rambles on all our highways. When you are listening in for a concert and instead of a concord of sweet sounds, you hear a squawk, blap-blap, rattle and bang, you may fairly surmise that Little Henry is again on a rampage in the air. Perhaps this is not so, but who can tell? Having culled Meg, Mike and Little Henry out of that remarkable book, I cast it aside. "Research," I observed to my wife, "is great. But this Henry boy will likely grow up to manhood and his whiskers may even become white before I can apprehend all the abstrusities of this subject. Meanwhile tempus fugit. In five minutes we can purchase for a paltry sum a complete outfit, then erect the antenna and adjust the cat's whisker and by night be listening in to a wealth of news, song and story, saving a world of worry and brain fag." "Let's," she agreed. "I know you could make a splendid outfit if you cared to spend the time." I hate soft soap but think that loyalty deserves its reward, so she bought a new hat while I obtained the crystal radio set. It is superfluous to describe how that set was installed. Also it is safer not to, obviating the criticism of some twelve year-old, "Aw, he did that wrong!" The directions were plain and there was nothing deep about the job. Everything necessary was provided with the outfit. We strung a wire, 100 feet long, between a tall tree and the house eaves. This was the antenna, which coaxes the passing ether waves to tarry awhile. A short insulated wire attached to the house end of the antenna was brought through the wall to a corner of our living room, hooked up to the crystal set and thence led through a hole in the floor to a water pipe as ground.

How Galileo Felt

I LOOKED with misgiving on the insignificant

maroon colored contraption placed on a round table in the corner. It was crude and small, less impressive than what my neighbor had devised on the foundation of an oatmeal box. There was a wire-wrapped cylinder as in his fix but mine had a cover. I took off the cover hopefully, expecting to see some real mechanism or mayhap a few Megohms and Little Henrys disporting themselves. But there was absolutely nothing inside. I felt like an Egyptologist who opens a deceased Pharaoh in the hope of finding gold simoleons and is confronted with a bag of spices without market value. Grimly I clamped on the ear phones and tickled the galena with the silvery coiled wire that is aptly termed cats whisker. Jehoshaphat and Great Jemima! A voice! As clear and distinct as if somebody was talking ten feet away! The actual distance of this virgin voice happened to be about twelve miles away. I had the sensations of Galileo when he made the world go round the proper way and of Balboa when he added another ocean to the world's supply of salt water. That cheap little crystal set served us well and faithfully for quite a while. Its ordinary range was

limited to something like fifty miles, but once we got a station that was over 200 miles distant. We would have that simple outfit yet were it not for the progressive nature of the malady caused by the radio bacillus. We wanted to have a Big Henry. The big outfit, which cost round $65, fooled me on size like its predecessor. Instead of being half as large as a piano, the main part of it was contained in a box about eight inches square. There were two modest batteries. The box was very neat and the instrument board looked respectably complicated. There was one vacuum tube which is called a something-tron. My neighbor assisted in the rite of hooking up the new outfit. This was quite simple, since we did not have to change a



thing in the antenna or other previous wiring. We listened most intently for the enlarged music of the spheres. "The air seems dead," said my neighbor. "Likewise the ether." We surmised that our something-tron had too many Megohms in its carburetor. A test at the radio shop showed that the tube had paralysis of the occiput. I sent it back to the manufacturer. A few days later a new vacuum tube outfit to replace the defective one arrived. It was cranked up, immediately hit on all cylinders. What is the practical use of the radio? The same question was asked about the steam engine when it was new. Many farmers find it impractical not to have a radiophone. We wanted to go to a concert in the metropolis the other evening. This would have meant railroad fare, admission tickets, several fatiguing hours and much nuisance of dressing up. We stayed at home and yet had a very good concert, in fact we had a choice of two concerts which were being given simultaneously in two different cities. By moving the pointer of the tuning dial half an inch, we could attend either concert and pick out the selections we liked. When music palled, there was a scientific lecture to be heard one inch to the right. The telephone is a crude, squawky conveyer of sound compared with the radiophone. You hear a speaker or a singer better at long distance through the ether than if you were present in hall or opera house and heard through the air the same speech song. Wait a moment before you consign me to the Ananias Club. The average hall has poor acoustics, echoes abound and there are also innumerable noises of the audience. At the broadcasting station the entertainer is in a small echoless chamber and there are no extraneous noises. The radiophone is a marvel. After the automobile, it is to become the foremost agency of civilization. Anybody who feels discouraged about things in general should clamp on a pair of ear phones and tune up.



A Wireless Warning (1922)

This article has an interesting construction, because although it starts out as a conventional review of the rise of radio communication, beginning with a purported scheme for pagers for Chicago police officers, it veers off wildly into humorous speculation on the potential ills of the innovation.

The Country Gentleman, April 22, 1922, page 30:

A Wireless Warning

By Tom P. Morgan

DESPITE the many beneficences it is daily conferring on the world, the radio or wireless telephone

will not prove to be an entirely unmixed blessing. That it has come to stay is shown by the action of various, telephone companies who, already rating it as a dangerous rival, are offering 7 per cent nontaxable, nonassessable preferred stock for sale and giving their employees 2 per cent of the proceeds for selling it. They have also lately adopted sundry sweetly sentimental mottoes, like "Service First," "The Public Must Be Pleased," and so on, to replace the hardboiled slogan, "W'at t' 'ell!" of just the other day. Radio receiving stations are springing up everywhere. Some are elaborate affairs, others almost as simple listening devices as keyholes. Any schoolboy possessed of a medium amount of mechanical skill can construct one that will work with uncanny precision. At the present time programs are chiefly sent out by large sending stations on ether waves of various lengths and intensities. Up garret in the farmhouse, out in the barn loft, on the roofs of buildings tall and short, almost everywhere, eager lads, by means of dinky little mechanisms wholly or in part made by themselves, are listening in on concerts, lectures, orations, and so forth, originating hundreds of miles away. Many high schools now have receiving stations. The radio is giving pleasure to patients in hospitals. The shut-in's slow-passing hours are brightened by music, song and story coming out of the air. The broker receives the latest stock quotations. The farmer learns how produce is selling away over yonder. The pimply youth lounging in the drug store gets the sporting scores. The flapper hears the newest and silliest dance tunes. The housewife obtains the latest cooking recipes. Great newspapers are sending out news events from all over the world. A famous clergyman preaches, and thousands of devout listeners are edified. A president utters epoch-making words, and chin whiskers wag in profound approval in the Red Front Grocery in Peeweecuddyhump. To the skirl of the pipes and with a glow in his good heart and a cluck on his merry tongue, a beloved Scottish comedian sings a rollicking ballad of the heilands and the heather, and the occupants of ten thousand sick beds are happy with him. Policemen in Chicago are equipped with small wireless receiving sets. The antenna is sewn into the officer's coat. Naturally, as he cannot preserve his dignity unless he keeps his coat on, the radio outfit is constantly with him during his working hours. On one arm is clasped a disk or concussor of about the size of an ordinary wrist watch.

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Bodes Ill for Hired Man

WHEN the chief wishes to convey a message to the officer on any particular beat he pushes a

switch. The disk on the policeman, wrist thumps responsively. The officer immediately takes from his pocket a small receiver, places it to his ear and is given the message. No doubt in a reasonably short time a somewhat similar device will be perfected for use on the average hired man. The latter is prone to remove his coat, so probably certain portions of the contrivance will be sewn in his breeches; and for obvious reasons the concussor will be provided with a prod instead of a mere thumper. About once in so often his employer will push a switch, and the hired man will leap from his recumbent position in the shade and hear a stern voice commanding him to get to work. While this would be of value to the farmer and perhaps of some benefit to the health of the hired man, it could and almost certainly would be badly overdone. The temptation to elongate and sharpen the prod would be well-nigh irresistible; and the chances are that in a few years, looking in any direction, we should behold frenzied hired men plunging across the face of Nature like wild gazelles bounding from crag to crag, ever and anon leaping frantically into the air as the prods stabbed them to the quick, and while voices, rendered stentorian by amplifiers, dad-burned their dod-blistered pictures, or words to that effect. Though this might be naught but simple justice it would result in the speedy extinction of the hired man, and that is something that no farmer, no matter how deeply and properly infuriated he has become, can afford to have happen. Of course a mechanical hired man would quickly be invented but there is no way of knowing in advance whether it could be made to work. Plainly, the danger, or at least detriment, in the wireless lies not in its moderate use but in its abuse. A little of it kept in the house for medicine, as it were, would be of benefit, but when used as a beverage to say, it would undoubtedly be a menace. More and more the ether will become chopped up into various wave lengths. Think of Aunt Fretty Faults, whose azmy at best makes it difficult for her to breathe, unable to catch her particular lengths of air for half an hour on a stretch, according to her own testimony, though grabbing after them all the time. Her condition, and yours, too, if she had come visiting at your house a year ago last March and was there yet, wouldn't be any laughing matter, let me tell you!

The Gloomy Possibility

AS RECEIVING stations multiply, sending stations will increase in number. There are in this

country thousands upon thousands of good gentlemen who promote causes, select certain days and weeks during which the rest of mankind should do or refrain from doing thus and so, and engineer drives for the purpose of raising money for the benefit of the various societies and bunds of which they are the secretaries. There are also many worthy ladies, usually with double chins, who are eternally endeavoring to bring sweetness and light to everybody else, while their own children skellyhoot about with their innocent little pantaloons and skirticoats a sight to behold. These earnest women are the up-getters of funds to preserve the birthplaces of unimportant nincompoops, to send missionaries to Rumpus Ridge, to paint everything white in Darkest Africa, and otherwise keep their names everlastingly in print. At present the Hons. in and out of office can address the greater portion of the rest of us on the



burning issues of the day only by mail, and it is very hard work to put tears in the voice in a letter. Now the farmer, being comparatively isolated, gets some little peace. But the time will come when wireless sending apparatuses will be as plentiful as the plagues of Egypt. Then when Farmer Broadhead dons his carpet slippers of an evening, opens up the radio receiver and settles down in his comfortable chair with his pipe alight and his good wife nigh, to listen for a space to the news of the world, a report on crop conditions, a song or two by Al Jolson; a few funny sayings by Will Rogers, and so forth--whatever he likes, even if it don't elevate him to hurt--he is likely to feel the disgust of his life. Suddenly, after a few minutes of pleasure, a voice begins, "Dear friend, please bear in mind that next Wednesday is Blah-blah Day when all good citizens should -----" Or an insinuating voice whines through its nose for funds to place a lily fair in the curly hair of every Bangweolo belle. And so on and on like the River Oregon. Meanwhile the Hons. have torn loose and are flapdoodling like mad. And there is not the slightest reason to imagine that any of them will get through so long as there is a dollar, a line of publicity or a vote lurking in the offing. Statistics tell us that there are now fewer farmers in the insane asylums of this country than of any other class of citizens. But can you believe that they will not all be there within the next few years progress as I have here prognosticated the one thing to do is not to abolish the wireless telephone in its infancy, but to enact laws immediately that will make sure it does not become a menace when it grows up.



Radio as a Revolutionist (1922)

The Nation, March 29, 1922, pages 361-362:

Radio as a Revolutionist

THOSE who believe that revolutions are made neither by the pen nor the sword but by new inventions

will find a fascinating subject for speculation in the sudden and amazing growth in the use of radio. Could Scheherazade have told her king of the things which were seen and heard at the recent Radio Convention in New York it would have seemed more marvelous than the tales that beguiled the thousand and one nights. Yet the crowds that packed the exhibition hall, like subway trains at the rush-hour, evinced curiosity but no awe when an automobile was in its every movement obedient to the will of a man who never touched it with his hand, or when an orchestra in a distant city was heard through miles of unbridged space. The most immediately significant development is in the field of radio-telephony. Secretary Hoover has estimated that at least 600,000 and probably 1,000,000 amateurs now have some form of receiving apparatus, most of whom have acquired it within the last year. In Philadelphia and in New York it is announced that apartments are to be built equipped with apparatus for receiving radio-telephone messages, music, and the like. The desire of amateurs, not merely to receive but to send messages, has created a problem which already calls for Federal regulation of wave lengths so as to prevent interference with business messages. No one who heard at the Radio Convention the effort of various operators to tune their instruments to receive concert music which was "broadcasted" through the air could believe in the silence of the heavens. Indeed the chaos of different messages resulted, during the tuning process, in some of the weirdest sounds ever heard by mortal ears. "Broadcasting" is probably what gives the greatest interest to radio-telephony. Certain newspapers carry daily announcements of the program to be sent out by various stations--Westinghouse station at Newark, whose signal is WJZ, begins its program at 11 a. m. with music and the weather forecast; it ends at 10.01 p. m. with another weather forecast. During that time the listener may hear an agricultural report, shipping news, special stories for children, recitations--once we noticed on the program our old friend "Casey at the Bat"--jazz, religious music, and opera selections. This new art is creating its own literature. The Radio Magazine advertises a circulation of 150,000 and daily newspapers such as the New York Mail and Globe publish popular radio supplements. Poetry follows in the wake of science. There lies before us a newspaper containing the picture of "the attractive film star who is responsible for the wireless song hit 'Kiss Me by Wireless,' to be broadcasted for the first time on Thursday, March 16." It is difficult to exaggerate what this means for men in lonely places. It will not be long before explorers can send daily bulletins of their progress. Already telephone conversation has been carried on with an ocean liner 400 miles out at sea. Smith's Four Corners is in listening distance of Broadway. Every man may build his own Utopia in contemplation of the conquests of space by sound. But, alas, try as we will we can build no Utopia in days when there is no escape to the healing quiet of any wilderness. Think of the tragic fate of some future Thoreau who goes to his beloved woods in search of solitude only to find the night made suddenly hideous by the "famous laughing saxophone" played at station XYZ and received and amplified by equipment in possession of the Boston Boy Scouts in camp not far away! Will it be possible for any man to think for himself when the speeches of the favored spokesman of those who control the "broadcasting" stations night after night are sent out to every home?

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Radio as a Revolutionist (1922)

And if another war comes, which radio-telephony may make easier to bring about, radio control of the means of destruction will add immeasurably to its horrors. But these, perhaps, are the fears of a crotchety generation that is passing. Certainly they are not shared by the young men and women who make up our radio clubs. May they make better use of this new conquest over the powers of nature than we have done with some of ours.


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How to Retail Radio -- Chap. 6: Radio Stock (1922)

How to Retail Radio, F. W. Christian, 1922, pages 58-66:

CHAPTER VI

WHAT KIND OF RADIO STOCK AND HOW MUCH?

Announcement of a "Radio Information Bureau" helped to give this advertisement an unusually strong "pull" on radio enthusiasts. Care was taken to answer all questions carefully and accurately. This service built good will--and sales.

PERHAPS the most important thing in maintaining a radio department is the correct purchasing of apparatus. The merchandise should be bought of responsible radio manufacturers. The dealer will find that the well-established manufacturer will not cut prices or sell direct to the consumer, as many of the smaller ones do. The established concern's aim is always to protect the dealer and to keep his good will, just as the large well-known electrical manufacturer does. Then, too, it will be found that the reliable firms will stand behind their dealers in the absorbing and remodeling of such apparatus as may go obsolete on the latter's hands and will give prompt attention to any instruments which may prove defective. The dealer should be careful not to overload his shelves with many expensive cabinet sets for he will find that this sort of equipment does not move as fast as less expensive sets and parts will. The average amateur still derives a great pleasure out of building his own set in his spare time. This is all the better for the dealer, for the fellows who "build their own" are forever changing and improving their sets. There is a larger margin on parts than on the assembled sets. One must not take from this, however, that there should be no cabinet sets stocked at all. That would be as grave a mistake as if too much of this material were to be carried. There is a certain class of trade interested in radio that will not take the time or trouble to build a set but which is willing to spend twice as much for the sake of having a good-looking, up-to-date, commercial type set. These are the fellows who look upon their instruments as a piece of furniture. It is also a good plan not to carry too much transmitting equipment. In order to be allowed to use a sending station, the amateur must pass an examination and as this is not possible until he can copy eight or ten words a minute he must necessarily have a receiving set first to get his practice on. There are also a lot of men who will spend hundreds of dollars developing their receiving stations but who care nothing about transmitting and will not be bothered with a sending set. What Makes a Well-Balanced Stock

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The writer would suggest the following instruments for live dealers to carry in stock at all times. They will make a good, representative line and are all quick and profitable sellers.

Loose couplers--A few medium priced ones. Tuning coils--A few medium priced ones. Variometers--Molded, several. Variocouplers--Molded, several. Head 'phones--Two kinds, some cheap and some high priced. Twenty-one plate variable condensers--Several. Forty-three plate variable condensers--Several. Fixed condensers--Several. Short-wave regenerative sets--One or two. Long-wave regenerative sets--One only. Binding posts--A good assortment. Aerial wire--Hard-drawn copper and some stranded. Aerial insulators--A few electros and several two-wire cleats. Grid condensers--Just a few. Grid leaks--Just a few. Audion detector bulbs--Several. Audion amplifier bulbs--Several. Audion transmitter bulbs--A few. Panel rheostats--Several. Audion sockets-Several. Audion control panels--A few low priced ones. Switch points--A good quantity. Small level switches--A few each, assorted sizes. Amplifying transformers--A few only. Crystal detectors--A few only. Galena crystals--A few only. High-voltage batteries--22½ and 45-volt.

With this background, the radio dealer or prospective dealer probably wants to know what kind of stock and how much can be purchased for various amounts, such as $500, $1,000, and $1,500. In the specimen stock lists that follow, no specific make of apparatus is mentioned, that is, manufacturers names are not inserted. The dealer (we stress the point again), should constantly keep in mind the wisdom of buying as largely as possible from established and responsible manufacturers and jobbers. Dealers should keep in close touch with their jobbers, as they will often be able to give better deliveries than the factories, and may even be able to offer a better discount. Stock List for $500 Investment



3 Regenerative receivers with VT control, list $37.50, cost $28.13

$ 84.392 2-step amplifiers, list $58.00, cost $43.50 87.002 Loud-speaking devices, list $45.00, cost $32.75 65.501 Regenerative receiver with VT control, list $80.00, cost 60.00

10 Detector tubes, list $5.00, cost $3.75 37.5010 Amplifier tubes, list $6.50, cost $4.93 49.305 43-volt "B" batteries, list $5.00, cost $3.00 15.005 22½ volt "B" batteries, list $2.00, cost $1.20 6.003 Receivers, list $15.00, cost $12.00 36.00

20 lbs. No. 14 hard-drawn antenna wire, list 40¢ lb., cost 25¢ 5.0020 Insulators, egg-type porcelain, list 20¢, cost 10¢ 2.008 80 amp. hour storage battery, list $20.50, cost $13.33 13.331 60 amp. hour storage battery, list $17.50, cost $11.38 11.383 VT sockets, list $1.00, cost 75¢ 2.253 Rheostats, list $1.50, cost $1.13 3.392 Amplifying transformers, list $5.00, cost $3.75 7.501 23 plate condenser, list $3.50, cost $2.63 2.631 Crystal set, list $25.00, cost $18.75 18.75

Total $506.92

For a small dealer, with limited capital, the stock opposite, costing about $500, is suggested. This, of course, is a very limited stock, and will need careful attention in ordering so that it may be kept up properly. The "B" batteries, antenna wire storage batteries, and insulators can be had at any time on short notice but a delivery period of from four to six weeks is required on practically all of the other material. Tubes, batteries, antenna wire and insulators, as well as head 'phones will be sold with each complete set, so it would be advisable to carry a back order with the jobber at all times for this equipment. The crystal set although satisfactory to a beginner, or a child, will not keep the owner satisfied very long, so that in selling this a double sale is made, for the purchaser will soon be back for a vacuum tube set. Most people will desire a set that may be heard by a large gathering or several people at least, without the bother of head phones. These people should be sold a two-step amplifier and loud speaker, which will make the radio concerts as loud or louder than a phonograph. Every person buying a vacuum tube receiver is a live prospect for an amplifier and loud-speaking device. Try to sell him on the spot, when he gives the order for the receiving set. If this is impossible put him on your mailing list and keep in close contact with him in the future. Vacuum tubes will always be in big demand. All these sets being sold now will eventually require new tubes. Customers are sometimes careless and will burn out their tube by lighting it to too great a brilliancy or by connecting the 43-volt battery where the six should go. When this happens, of course, there is nothing to do except to go back to the dealer and purchase another tube. Stock List for $1,000-$1,200 Investment "B" batteries are quick sellers also as they must be replaced every eight or ten months. For the dealer with small capital the following stock costing about $1,000 is suggested. This can be increased to about $1,200 by enlarging the quantities of certain items such as tubes, head phones, etc. 6 Sets, list $37.50, cost $26.25 $ 157.503 2-step amplifiers, list $58.00, cost $43.50 130.503 Loud speakers, list $45.00, cost $32.75 98.251 Receiver, list $80.00, cost $60.00 60.001 2-step amplifier, list $55.00, cost $41.25 41.25

20 Detector tubes, list $5.00, cost $3.50 70.0020 Amplifier tubes, list $6.50, cost $4.50 90.0010 43-volt "B" batteries, list $5.00, cost $3.00 30.005 22½ volt "B" batteries, list $2.00, cost $1.20 6.006 Pair head 'phones, list $15.00, cost $12.00 72.00

12 2000 ohms head 'phones, list $6.00, cost $4.20 50.40



20 lbs. No. 14 wire, list 40¢ per lb., cost 25¢ 5.0020 Antenna insulators, list 20¢, cost 10¢ 2.003 80 A H Batteries, list $20.50, cost $13.33 39.991 60 A H Batteries, list $17.50, cost $11.38 11.386 VT sockets, list $1.00, cost 75¢ 4.506 Rheostats, list $1.50, cost $1.13 6.783 Amplifying transformers, list $5.00, cost $3.75 11.252 23 plate condensers, list $3.50, cost $2.63 5.261 Variocoupler, list $6.00, cost $4.50 4.502 Crystal sets, list $25.00, cost $18.75 37.501 Set, list $125.00, cost $93.75 93.751 Amplifier, list $85.00, cost $63.75 63.75

Total $1091.56 And a $1,500 Stock List To this list may be added the following material making a $1,500 stock:

1 Receiver, list $250.00, cost $177.00 $ 177.006 Variometers, list $6.00, cost $4.70 28.201 Loud-speaking amplifier, list $80.00, cost $60.00 60.002 5-watt tubes, list $8.00, cost $6.40 12.803 100 A. H. Batteries, list $25.50, cost $16.58 49.743 43 plate condensers, list $4.00, cost $2.80 8.403 86 volt batteries, list $9.00, cost $5.40 16.206 Pair head 'phones, list $8.00, cost $6.00 36.006 Crystal detectors, list $1.50, cost $1.05 6.30

200 Binding posts 15.00500 Contact points 15.00100 Tested crystals 15.00 Total $439.64 The loud-speaking amplifier may be sold to someone desiring a set for a club room or for use where it must be heard in a large auditorium. It can be used with any of the vacuum tube sets included in the stock list. The 5-watt tubes and the 86-volt batteries are needed to operate the set and will probably be sold with same. This last stock list would be very suitable for the department store, music store or sporting-goods establishment. These lists will give the dealer a very good start and by careful attention to what is called for he will soon learn of other articles to add to his stock to meet the particular needs peculiar to his locality. It will be noted that no sending apparatus appears on these lists. That is because the demand is mostly for receiving apparatus and because it requires radio experience to sell transmitting equipment. How Should the Jobber Buy? But there is another stock-buying problem to consider. What about the larger electrical jobber whose trade is clamoring for radio and who finds that he must stock this greatest of all electrical material? He's the fellow who is "up a tree" worse than anyone else, for he must be able to select a stock of material that will move fast. Though he may find many men who thoroughly understand radio, there are few men indeed who both understand radio and merchandising at the same time. They must learn through experience. Here is the stock purchased by a real live jobbing house:



200 Receiving sets

Despite the fact that dealers now quite generally recognize the value of a display window, too few of them have developed the ability to plan a display that will win and hold a crowd. With the passing of the radio "craze" more intelligent effort will be necessary to win sales through window displays.

200 Crystal sets

500

Radio loud-speaking devices

25 Receiving sets 20 Amplifiers 20 2-step amplifiers 20 Receiving sets 20 Receiving sets 50 Amplifiers 10 Loud-speaking amplifiers 1000 Detector tubes 2000 Amplifier tubes 100 43-volt "B" batteries 100 22½-volt "B" batteries 10 86-volt "B" batteries 50 60-amp. storage batteries 50 80-amp. storage batteries 50 100-amp. storage batteries 1000 2000-ohm head 'phones 1000 Head 'phones 500 lbs. No. 14 bare wire 500 Antenna insulators, egg type 1000 VT sockets 1000 Rheostats 1000 Amplifying transformers 100 23-plate condensers 100 43-plate condensers 100 5-watt tubes 50 Variocouplers 100 Variometers 1000 Binding posts 5000 Contact points 1000 Tested crystals Of course there are many items that may be added to this list, which would cost the jobber about $65,000, subject to discount. By studying the catalogs of responsible manufacturers the jobber should be able to select what he desires. The stock will have to be watched very closely and new orders for apparatus placed every day practically, for dealers will depend on the jobber, once they learn that he has a good stock. It is even advisable to place blanket orders with the manufacturers and have a certain amount shipped each day or week. For the toy department of a department store the $500 stock list previously enumerated, would be best. It will be found that the crystal receivers and the lower priced sets will be the best sellers here. The majority of sales will be to youngsters who desire it as a toy. The electrical contractor dealer should carry a more assorted stock, as in the $1,500 list. He should be able to make a good profit on his wiremen, by letting them install and put up the aerials for his customers. The average man with enough money to buy a high-priced set does not wish to be bothered with this matter, but will pay a good sum to have the aerial put up for him. The shops foreman should study aerial construction so that he may properly instruct his men. The house that goes after this business and advertises a little will have all the work it can handle for the sets sold



by department and music stores, as well as by sporting-goods houses, will all require aerials, and these houses since they have no facilities, naturally will not be able to do the work but will be glad to refer their customers to the nearest electrical contractor. Who Should Stock Only Assembled Sets

When a certain high grade and famous department store on Fifth Avenue, New York, undertakes to open a special department for any line of goods, it usually succeeds. The smaller store will do well to give careful attention to the layout of a radio department--and make sure that it does what it is expected to do.

Music and sporting-goods stores and auto-supply houses should stock only assembled sets. Their trade will want sets to take to their mountain camps or on auto trips where they may be a hundred miles or more from the nearest broadcasting station. Of course the vacuum tube sets are the only thing for this sort of reception and crystal sets should not be sold, as they will not do the work. Accessories for these sets, such as vacuum tubes, storage and "B" batteries, headsets, loud-speaking and amplifiers may be stocked. The music and phonograph stores should only stock sets to operate with a loud speaker. When a dealer is placing his first order and it is possible for him to put confidence in the manufacturer or distributer, and the latter has already supplied the district in which the dealer's activities are to be centered, it will be found very much to the dealer's advantage to let the manufacturer suggest just what should be bought. This practice is followed by the Eastman Kodak Company, when a dealer wishes to handle its line of cameras and it has proved satisfactory. Several large and several small dealers in kodaks when questioned on this matter, have been found unanimous in their approval, even though at the time the order was placed some of them thought some of the items would be absolutely useless and that the aggregate was above what they had figured on, but in every case there was found only ultimate satisfaction. The reason for the practice is, of course, that the manufacturer has done the same thing many times before and knows that there will be a call for items which the dealer would have failed to list.



How to Retail Radio -- Chap. 7: Customers (1922)

How to Retail Radio, J. C. Milton, 1922, pages 67-79:

CHAPTER VII

WHERE TO LOOK FOR RADIO CUSTOMERS "WHERE do you look for radio customers?" the manager of a large radio department in a big city was asked. With a quiet smile, he replied, "Why man alive, we don't look for them. They come to us. Surely it doesn't require much exercise of the imagination to tell where to find radio customers." There were eight men in the department beside himself and at the time all eight were busy with customers. The manager went on, "All we have done was to advertise that we sold radio sets and the customers have come. But from the various customers we have sold I can tell you where to look. I'll simply tell you of a few installations we have made of sets we have sold and let you draw your own conclusions. "A month ago," the manager went on, "the city council passed an appropriation for the installation of sets in five fire stations in various sections of the city. The discussion that preceded the vote proposed the installation for two reasons, one from the standpoint of actual utility and the other from the standpoint of relaxation and entertainment for the firemen themselves. You can easily see how welcome the innovation would be to men who were constantly on duty and confined by the nature of their work to so small an exercise and recreation space. The experiment has been so successful that sets for every one of the stations are now being considered. In fact the men themselves, in the stations which have not been supplied, have offered to club together to buy and install their own sets. See the possibility? Police Department "Our police department stations have all had receiving sets installed. This was covered by special appropriation on the basis that it would aid in the police work of the entire country. For instance, it could be broadcasted from New York City that a certain criminal had escaped. The police in the large centers and even into many innermost rural districts could be simultaneously warned. Complete description could be given. In one operation the work would be done.



Hospital wards and convalescent rooms offer a market for a set or two, not to mention extra "head-pieces." In this hospital patients are listening to a Sunday morning service in a church many miles distant.

Hospitals, Too "Just last week the superintendent of the John Carroll Memorial Hospital purchased a powerful set for installation in the convalescent ward. A room had already been fitted up as an auditorium. The set had been installed and convalescent patients have been enjoying its use for the last couple of days. The superintendent further told me that plans had been made for broadcasting lectures by famous physicians and surgeons. It was part of the plan that doctors, internes and nurses were to receive, regularly, constructive talks on various phases of their professions. The plan is comprehensive enough to include the smallest outlying rural hospitals. "One large concern, with 389 branch houses in various sections of the country is considering the advisability of installing receiving sets in each branch. The plan is to broadcast, at a certain hour every day, sales instructions and various messages of general information to all of their branches simultaneously. Plans include meetings of all salesmen on Saturday afternoons for sales talks, advertising promotion and other subjects. Boats, and Clubs and Hotels



To brighten up the lives of their crews, members of the New York Towboat Exchange have installed radio telephones on some of their craft: Instead of listening to the monotonous "chug-chug-chug" of the engine all day long, the crews will be entertained with music and humorous stories, and on Sundays, perhaps may hear a sermon if they wish. Every dealer can find a similar "unexpected" market for radio, if he has eyes to see it.

"One steamship company operating seven boats on the Great Lakes has equipped every boat with receiving sets and amplifiers. We have also sold sets to tugboats. "Naturally, dealers who are looking into the radio field for the first time think only of home installations. But we have found that that is the smallest part of our actual market. We have had at least a dozen persons in here in the last two weeks looking for sets which they could buy and install at reasonable cost in their summer cottages. We have supplied several summer hotels with sets. We have sold them to schools and Y. M. C. A.'s for educational purposes. A certain boat club has installed a splendid set. Three of our leading hotels and two restaurants have purchased their sets from us and without solicitation. One yacht club and two automobile clubs are contributing to the entertainment of their members with regular programs taken from the air. We have sold to orphan asylums and other charitable institutions. And, this may amuse you, we sold John Karokis, a set for his ten-chair shoe shining parlor. "Bear in mind that these are much larger and better sales than the average home sets we sell. The sets are higher priced. They include amplifiers and all the trimmings that make for the best service. "I could go on for an hour and without repeating tell you of the unlimited possibilities for radio sales. I am really ashamed to say that in this department we have not scratched the surface. The business is developing so rapidly along normal lines, without pushing, that we are hard put to keep up with it. Everywhere you look, within the bounds of intelligent imagination there is a prospect for the sale of radio sets. Church organizations, literary societies, libraries, clubrooms, lodge rooms, industrial organizations--why, do you know there is one firm in this city which employs upwards of 1,250 people in its general office that claims that within the two months since the installation of a high-quality receiving set they have increased the efficiency of their workers at least ten per cent. It has paid for itself twice

over. The largest public dance hall in the city is now using radio as one of its biggest advertising and drawing features. The management has discontinued the use of the claptrap favors usually distributed in such a place and the receipts have been growing steadily every week." There is a market for radio! Not only in the city but in every nook and corner of this big country. And what a market! If one looks around him he will be amazed at the sales opportunities he can find, despite the passing of the "craze."



Waiting while your shoes are shined is tedious work at best, and the customer as a rule, stares vacantly at the ceiling. A radio set has been installed by an enterprising bootblack of San Francisco. One wonders what happens when the national anthem is played.

In Small Town and Village About a week after the talk with the big store manager, the writer walked into a general store in a little Iowa town about two hundred and fifty population. While waiting for the proprietor to finish with a customer, he took stock of his surroundings. One whole corner of the store was taken up with radio sets and supplies. Evidently here, too, was a dealer who believed in the future of radio. When the dealer had finished--and you could tell he was a man who made his living by barter and trade in a rural community--the same question was put to him. And he smiled too when he answered, "Well, to tell the truth, I haven't looked much. Somehow I just knew there was bound to be a demand for sets. You see I got interested myself. And I knew that what interested me would interest the other fellow. When I put radio in I knew it would sell. And it has. "Why every farmer in this hog-raising, corn-growing country wants radio. He wants the same entertainment and amusement his city brothers have. He wants the prices on grain, livestock and produce. Radio gives it to him. It gives him something to do in the evening. It will help him keep his boys and girls at home, on the farm, satisfied. Radio is just one more of the modern conveniences that brings him all the pleasures and advantages of city life and still allows him the health of his open-air farm life. It does more. It helps him run his farm on a strictly business basis by giving him quicker, surer communication with the outside world. "Yet while the farmer offers me a big field he isn't the only prospect I have. For instance we have a mighty progressive woman's club in our little village. They have already bought a set and for want of a club room of their own have installed it in the parlors of the First Presbyterian Church. I suppose if they hadn't bought it that I could have looked to the young people's society in the church, sooner or later, to buy one of their own. "Before the Woman's Club bought their set--they raised the money, through a couple of suppers, to buy a good one--they considered putting one in the village library. "I expect to sell fifty receiving sets of various kinds in the next six months. And after I've sold all my little community will stand, I'll still be making a profit on the supplies. Then there is a prospect of repeat business in radio too, that mustn't be overlooked. I find that some of my people are already wanting a better set than the one they have. It only takes a little while for them to realize that the most pleasure can be gained from the use of stronger sets and once they get interested they want the best.



When the chores are all finished a long evening may be a tiresome evening for the farmer, unless he owns a radio set. Because of the government's wireless news, time, and crop reports, farmers are excellent prospects for complete and easily operated receiving sets. And the farmer's boy will buy "parts" for his own evening's tinkering.

"I took on radio in this general store because I felt that there was a big field for it. And most of all I took it on because I could see that the mail order houses couldn't take all the business away from me. They may sell receiving sets to people who trade with me, but they can't sell the supplies and they can't sell the repairs. When a man wants radio parts he wants them right away. He doesn't want to wait, even a day, for parts to come from the city. His set must be in working order for the time and a matter of a few cents that he might save doesn't make any difference. "Yes, the big reason why my customers will trade with me instead of with the mail order houses, is because radio is a business that requires real service. It didn't take me long to find out that to keep up with the business I had to keep up on radio. When my customers want information, they want it right away. And they would rather have it direct from me than by mail from someone else. It's hard for the average man to keep up with radio. And about all the average man wants is to know that his set is in working order and that he can depend upon someone close at hand to help him keep that way. Nine out of ten of the men that come in here are interested in radio but only about one out of the nine knows anything about it. I have to keep up so that I can tell him." Mr. Barnard, the proprietor, went on to say that because every man who entered his store was interested in radio he considered him a potential buyer, but not alone the men--the women as well and the children in particular.

Through them he had started the idea of saving money for the installation of a fine receiving set for the standard school outside the little town and had likewise interested their farmer fathers in helping them out. The village pool room had also been approached by him with the idea of receiving early returns of sporting events. This set would have been installed had he not previously sold a set to the weekly newspaper that circulated through the county. The paper he considered in duty bound, as a part of its service to the community, to render an up-to-date radio service. He sold the set on that basis. "I explained to them," he said, "that as long as first-hand news could be had, it wasn't fair to the readers to make them wait a whole week for news or to depend upon outside city papers for old news. Why the Farmers Want Radio "And," he concluded, "Radio surely means big things for us, here in the country. We used to count the distance to the big cities in miles. Now we count it in minutes. Motion pictures and automobiles went a long way toward putting us on a par with town folks for entertainment and education but radio will finish the job." Where the Market Will Grow



Washington, D. C., schools were among the first schools to realize the importance of teaching radio along with the many other studies. The physics class, Central High School, were photographed while they were receiving the daily radio messages sent out from the Bureau of Standards.

The fact that there is a market for radio assures its future. An assured future means an even more rapid development toward the perfection of radio apparatus than ever before. And as radio itself is improved the scope of the market will grow even wider. This was brought out forcibly by an executive of a large business house. "When," he said, "radio with the start it already has, receives the further thought and scientific development of the next few months it will be completely adapted for many kinds of commercial enterprises that do not employ it as yet. It will become as necessary as transportation. It will be communication personalized. There will be no limit to its use. In a few years it will be impossible for big business to get along without radio telephony just as it would be impossible for it to get along without the telephone and the telegraph to-day. Science is working toward the end of excluding all waves sent on a certain wave length with the exception of the one desired by the receiver. Some day this will be fully accomplished. This is the all-important feature of commercial enterprises. It does not matter so much that others can listen in. Doubtless that will be solved also. And when private communication can be established, business will actually give radio its biggest impetus. Big firms will talk to their branches and their salesmen. Jobbers will talk to retailers. Brokers will talk to their clients. The possibilities are unlimited. While the sending outfits will no doubt be installed by experts from the big companies, the receiving sets will be sold by the dealers right on the field." It requires no stretch of the imagination to conceive of a medical or dental school maintaining a lecture service to its graduate students throughout every section of the country. Such plans are already more than talk. Steps have already been taken in that direction. Complete courses can be conducted. Doctors and dentists interested in keeping up with their professions will subscribe to such a course. And merchants everywhere will supply the doctors and dentists with receiving sets. Note carefully the literature sent out and distributed by leading radio manufacturers. See how little they are given to romancing about the sales possibilities of radio. They talk cold facts about the market. They have plenty of facts to deal with.



Even the vacation-time automobile tour becomes all the more fascinating when the radio tourists can, at any point enroute "listen in" on the busy messages of the commercial and maritime world threading the ether all about them. The picture shows such a radio-equipped car. The automobile engine drives the 500-volt direct-current generator which supplies energy to the radio set.

Another angle that must not be overlooked is the possibility of formal education in other than professional lines. Is it not practical to think of institutions offering courses in certain subjects generally to the public? Here again the public presents definite sales prospects--people who would not be interested in installing radio sets for entertainment alone but who would for utility's sake be very much in the market. One of the country's leading correspondence school educators declared not long ago that his institution was looking forward to the time when it would be practical to extend their work into radio activity. With radio, as a science, nothing is impossible. With radio, as a business, nothing is impossible. The field is too broad for it to be necessary to set down in list form the many prospects. But even a brief summary emphasizes the opportunity for the radio dealer. For educational and entertainment sales; every American home, schools and colleges, students of schools and colleges, Y. M. C. A.'s and welfare organizations, hotels and restaurants, hospitals and institutions, pleasure clubs of various kinds, summer resorts and resorters, commercial firms that do welfare work for employees, lumber camps, and fishing and hunting camps. For commercial and governmental sales; business houses and their branches, farmers, police departments, fire departments, theaters, dance halls that install receiving sets for advertising purposes, newspapers and news receiving bureaus in general, amusement parks that install receiving sets as a paying feature, and railroad and steamship companies that include radio as part of their service. Simply looking over such a list will suggest many unlooked-for possibilities to the far-seeing radio dealer. And dealers with enthusiasm born of confidence and good business sense are, every day demonstrating how easy it is to find customers.



The Automobile Storage Battery -- Radio Batteries extract (1922)

Early vacuum-tube (referred to as "audion-bulb" in this extract) radio receivers required two separate batteries in order to operate -- an "A" Battery connected to the tube filament, and a "B" battery connected to the plate. (A few sets also required a third battery, the "C" battery, connected to the tube grid). By the mid-twenties, sets that could operate on house current began to appear, although battery operated sets continued to be common in rural areas which didn't have electrical service.

The Automobile Storage Battery, O. A. Witte, 1922, pages 252-256:

RADIO BATTERIES. The wide-awake battery man will not overlook the new and rapidly growing field which has been opened for him by the installation of hundreds of thousands of radio-phone receiving sets in all parts of the country. The so-called radio "craze" has affected every state, and every battery repairman can increase his income to a considerable extent by selling, charging, and repairing radio storage batteries. The remarkable growth of the radio-phone has, of course, been due to the radio broadcasting stations which have been established in all parts of the country, and from which concerts, speeches, market reports, baseball reports, news reports, children's stories and religious services are sent out. These broadcasting stations have sending ranges as high as 1,000 miles. The fact that a service station is not located near a broadcasting station is therefore no reason why it should not have its share of the radio battery business, because the broadcasting stations are scattered all over the United States, and receiving sets may be made powerful enough to "pick up" the waves from at least one of the broadcasting stations. Radio receiving sets may be divided into two general classes--the "Crystal" sets and the "Bulb" sets. "Crystal" sets use crystals of galena (lead sulphide), silicon (a crystalline form of silicon, one of the chemical elements), or carborundum (carbide of silicon) to "detect" or, in other words, to rectify the incoming radio waves so that they may be translated into sound by the telephone receivers. Receiving sets using these crystals do not use a battery, but these sets are not very sensitive, and cannot "pick up" weak waves. This means that crystal receiving sets must be used near the broadcasting stations, before the waves have been weakened by traveling any considerable distance. As a general rule, the radio-listener's first receiving set uses a crystal detector. Very often it is difficult to obtain good results with such a set, and a more elaborate set is obtained. Moreover, even if a crystal set does give good results, the owner of such a set soon hears of friends who are able to hear concerts sent out from distance stations. This gives him the desire to be able to hear such stations also and he then buys a receiving set which uses the "audion-bulb" for detecting, or rectifying the incoming waves. The audion-bulb resembles an ordinary incandescent lamp. It contains three elements: 1. In the center of the bulb is a short tungsten filament, the ends of which are brought out to two terminals in the base of the bulb. This filament must be heated to incandescence, and a storage battery is required for this purpose, because it is necessary to have a very steady current in order to obtain clear sounds in the receiver. Lately plans have been suggested for using a direct-current lighting line, and even an alternating current lighting line for heating the filament, but at present such plans have not been perfected, and the battery will undoubtedly continue to be used with the majority of sets. 2. Surrounding the filament but not touching it is a helix of wire, only one end of which is brought out to a terminal in the base of the bulb. This helix is called the "grid." In some bulbs the grid is not

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made in the form of a helix, but is made of two flat gridlike structures, one on each side of the filament. 3. Surrounding the "grid" is the "plate" which is sometimes in the shape of a hollow metallic cylinder. Some plates are not round, but may be oval, or they may be two fiat plates joined together at some point, and one placed on either side of the grid. The plate has one terminal in the base of the bulb. The action of an audion-bulb is quite complex, but a simpler explanation, though one which may not be exactly correct from a purely technical point of view, is as follows, referring to Figure 159: The "A" battery heats the filament, causing a stream of electrically charged particles to flow out from the filament in all directions. These electrons act as a conductor, and close the circuit which consists of the plate, the "B" battery, and the telephone receivers, one end of this circuit being connected to one side of the filament circuit. Current then flows from the positive terminal of the "B" battery to the plate, then to the filament by means of the stream of electrons emitted by the filament, along one side of the filament, through the wire connected to the positive terminal of the "A" battery to the telephone receivers, through the receivers to the negative terminal of the "B" battery. As long as the filament remains lighted a steady current flows through the above circuit. The "grid" is connected to the aerial wire to intercept the radio waves. These waves produce varying electrical charges on the grid. Since the stream of charged particles emitted by the filament must pass through the grid to reach the plate, the charges which the radio waves produce on the grid strengthen or weaken the stream



of electrons emitted by the filament, and thus vary the current flowing in the telephone receiver circuit. The changes in this current cause the receiver diaphragm to vibrate, the vibrations causing sounds to be heard. Since the variation in the telephone receiver circuit is caused by electrical charges produced by the radio waves, and since the radio waves change according to the sounds made at the transmitting station; the variations in the telephone receiver current produces the same sounds that are sent out at the transmitting station. In this way concerts, speeches, etc., are reproduced in the receivers. The modern radio receiving set includes various devices, such as variable condensers, variocouplers, loose-couplers, variometers, the purpose of which is to "tune" or adjust the receiving set to be capable of receiving the radio waves. An explanation of such devices is not within the scope of this book, but there are numerous reasonably priced books and pamphlets on the market which describes in a simple manner all the component parts of a radio receiving set. From the foregoing remarks it is seen that a six-volt storage battery is required with each receiving set which uses the audion-bulb type detector. The filament current of an audion-bulb averages about one ampere. If additional bulbs are used to obtain louder sounds, each such bulb also draws one ampere from the storage battery. The standard audion-bulb receiving set does not use more than three bulbs, and hence the maximum current drawn from the battery does not exceed three amperes. The automobile battery manufacturers have built special radio batteries which have thick plates and thick separators to give longer life. The thick plates are much stronger and more durable than the thin plates used in starting and lighting work, but do not have the heavy current capacity that the starting and lighting battery plates have. A high current capacity is, of course, not necessary for radio work, and hence thick plates are used. Batteries used for radio work do not operate under the severe conditions which exist on automobiles, and trouble is much less likely to develop. However, the owner of the radio set rarely has any means of keeping his battery charged, and his battery gradually discharges and must then be recharged. It is in the sale of batteries for radio work and in the recharging of them that the battery man can "cash-in" on the radio phone "craze."



Vesta Radio Batteries. Fig. 160 shows the 6EA Series, "A" Battery. Fig. 161 shows the V6EA Series, "A" Battery. Fig. 162 shows the R6EA (Rubber Case) Series, "A" Battery. Fig. 163 shows the "B" Battery.

This business rightfully belongs to the automobile battery man and he should go after it as hard as he can. A little advertising by the service station man, stating that he sells radio batteries, and also recharges them should bring in very profitable business. The battery man who calls for and delivers the radio batteries which need recharging and leaves rental batteries in their place so that there is no interruption in the reception of the evening concerts is the one who will get the business. As already stated, radio storage batteries have thick plates and thick separators. Perforated rubber sheets are also used in addition to the separators. Large sediment spaces are also generally provided to allow a considerable amount of sediment to accumulate without causing short-circuits. The cases are made of wood or hard rubber. Since radio batteries are used in homes and are, therefore, used with handsomely finished cabinets containing the radio apparatus, the manufacturers give the cases of some of their radio batteries a pleasing varnished or mahogany finish. Before returning radio batteries which have been recharged, the entire batteries should be cleaned and the cases polished. Returning radio batteries in a dirty condition, when they were received clean, and polished, will drive the radio recharging business to some other service station.

VESTA RADIO BATTERIES.

The Vesta Battery Corporation manufacturers three special types of "A" batteries for radio work, as follows: 1. The 6EA battery, made in capacities of 60, 80, and 100 ampere hours. Fig. 160. 2. The V6EA7 battery, having a capacity of 80 ampere hours. Fig. 161. 3. The R6EA battery, having a capacity of 100 ampere hours. Fig. 162.



These batteries have 5, 7, 9 plates per cell, respectively. The plates are each 5 inches high, 5 7/8 inches wide, and 5/32 inches thick. The cases for these batteries are furnished in three designs--plain black boxes (all sizes), finished maple boxes (7 plate size only), and hard rubber boxes (9 plate size only). These Vesta batteries are the "A" batteries used for heating the filaments of the audion bulbs. The Vesta Radio "B" battery, Fig. 163, is a 12 cell, 24 volt battery, with a 22 and a 20 volt tap.



Beginner's Book of Radio -- Headphones extract (1922)

Although the Beginner's Book of Radio pamphlet was offered as a general guide to radio, its author was president of the C. Brandes, Inc. headphone company, so not surprisingly it also proclaimed in great detail the benefits of the company's products. Despite the virtues of the Brandes brand offerings, in general people disliked having to wear headphones in order to listen to radio concerts. And although at the time this pamphlet appeared loudspeakers for radio receivers were still often temperamental, within a few years they would be perfected to the point that they became a standard component of radio receivers.

Beginner's Book of Radio, Frederick Dietrich, 1922, pages 18-26:

CHAPTER III

RADIO TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH RECEIVERS We are now getting to the most important part of a receiving outfit. We refer to the 'phones. A receiving outfit cannot be more sensitive than its 'phones. All the rest of the outfit may perform efficiently, but if the 'phones are badly designed and poorly constructed a good percentage of the feeble little currents that are led into them will be destroyed and the signals, speech or music will be greatly reduced in volume. We must come to look upon the 'phones as the instruments that convert the electrical impulses or currents into audible sounds. This delicate process must be effected with the least possible waste, since we can readily understand that no part of these feeble currents can be lost. So many beginners make the mistake of buying a good receiving set without laying emphasis upon the 'phones they purchase with it. The price of a receiving set is immaterial, since the 'phones that are purchased with it determine its efficiency and sensitiveness. A $100.00 outfit will perform like a $15.00 outfit if the 'phones that are used are unable to make the most of the weak currents they receive from the detector. The mere fact that we cannot hear signals and music without 'phones should impress us with their importance. A receiving aerial may pick up a signal and it will be carried to the tuning coil. After passing this point, it reaches the detector where it is rectified. All of this may take place very efficiently. The aerial, the tuning coil and the detector will handle the signal in such a way that little or none of it is lost. All of this efficiency on the part of these instruments may come to naught if the 'phones fail to do their part. If they are not scientifically designed and constructed, the signal strength will be lost and only a comparatively small percentage of the current will be converted into sound. There must be a perfect co-relation between the various working parts of the receiver. So many manufacturers have made the mistake of designing 'phones by rule of thumb. The Brandes receivers have been developed over a period of twelve years. They were originally designed by Reginald Fessenden, one of the world's greatest radio experts. A few words will now be devoted to the operation of a telephone receiver. How are these weak currents converted into audible sound? That is the question we want answered. Although marvelously sensitive, the operation of the Brandes 'phone is quite simple. In the diagram we will see how a receiver is connected electrically. Two electromagnets are placed within the receiver. These magnets, which are made of electric iron, have wound about them many turns of very fine wire, made of the purest copper. A few thousands of an inch above the magnets or the pole pieces, as they are sometimes called, the diaphragm is clamped. The diaphragm is an extremely thin sheet of metal, properly coated and perfectly flat.

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When an electric current travels through a wire, a magnetic field is set up about that wire. A magnetic field is nothing more or less than a magnetic influence the same as that which we find existing at the pole of a cheap little horseshoe magnet. The strength of this magnet field about a wire depends upon the strength of the current passing through it. In the case of radio currents, a very weak magnetic field is set up about the wires that they pass through. Therefore, if we wish to take advantage of this magnetic field in any way, we must concentrate it so-to-speak. If a large amount of wire is wound into a coil the magnetic field produced will be more or less "bunched." This is done in a telephone receiver. A very fine wire about the size of a human hair is wound about the magnets of the receiver. Wire of this size is used so that a maximum number of feet can be crowded into a minimum space, since it is upon this that much of the efficiency of the receiver depends. When radio currents pass through the electro-magnets or telephone receivers, a magnetic field is set up which is strongest at the pole pieces. This magnetic influence tends to pull the diaphragm of the receiver down and other forces are at work trying to keep it in its original position. Since the incoming current fluctuates, the magnetic field fluctuates with it and this causes the diaphragm to vibrate in symphony with the currents. This vibration of the diaphragm sets the air in motion and a sound is created. In this way the signals or speech produced at the distant sending station are reproduced at the receiving station. Without telephone receivers wireless would be impossible. Good receivers are built like watches. The receiver case is made of solid aluminum with machine-cut threads to accommodate the pure hard rubber caps which keep the diaphragm pressed tightly in place

over the pole pieces. To be efficient, there should be but a few thousandths of an inch of space between the diaphragm and the pole pieces. In manufacturing the Brandes 'phone, this distance is carefully determined with micrometer measuring instruments. The receiver cases are ground on precision machinery until exactly the right distance is reached. Cheaply made 'phones are not properly protected on the inside and consequently the parts rust and corrode. This cannot happen with Brandes receivers, since they are heavily nickel-plated and lacquered to prevent action of this kind.



Matched-tone * is another exclusive Brandes feature. The receivers on each head-set are carefully selected by experts so that the sound produced in each receiver will be of exactly the same volume and of the same pitch. Although the work of matching these receivers in tone is costly, the result produced is well worth the effort. Maximum sensitivity of receivers cannot be had when the signals sound differently in each receiver. If one receiver was louder than the other, the signals would sound "mushy" and the user would unconsciously concentrate his attention on one receiver alone. As a result of this, the advantage of having two receivers would be lost. With the Brandes Matched-Tone * headset the sound produced in each receiver is of the same volume. The user does not experience the confusing sensation of listening to apparently two stations sending the same message. Too much importance cannot be attached to the headband of wireless sets. They must be designed in such a way that the receivers will rest on the head naturally. Headbands should also be adjustable so that the receivers can be fitted to the ears. Brandes receivers are extremely flexible in this way and they can be instantly adjusted by simply loosening two small thumb nuts. The headband is covered with seamless khaki, provided with metal ends to prevent fraying. The hard rubber receiver caps are shaped to fit the ear and their velvety smooth finish, which prevents skin abrasion, cannot wear off as in the case of cheap moulded caps of composition. To render good service, receivers should also be sensitive to currents with a wide range of frequencies. Radio currents do not "vibrate" at the same rate. A receiver must be designed and constructed in such a way that it will be sensitive to all frequencies. Actual tests have proven that the Brandes receivers leave nothing to be desired in this connection. When tested with various other makes they prove to be the most efficient. The beginner is apt to make the mistake of purchasing a horn attachment for his receiver, thinking that this combination will provide him with what is known as a loud speaker. The results obtained with such an arrangement will be extremely disappointing. The volume of the sound will be small and much of the music or speech will be lost unless those present crowd closely about the horn. If the station owner desires to make the music received by his outfit accessible to the entire household, he will find it best to buy several headsets and connect them in series. With such an arrangement each member of the family will be sure to hear the music or speech without losing any of it and without distortion. The clear reproduction heard in a Brandes receiver cannot be duplicated with a loud speaker. This holds true for all types. The loud speaker is in a comparatively crude state as yet, and, although great volume can be obtained, a sacrifice in purity is necessary. _____________ * Rev. U. S. Pat. Office



Radio Craze Brings Raids On Telephones for Equipment (1922)

Although an understandable misrepresentation, given the financial loses being caused by the theft of telephone receivers, it was actually untrue that standard telephone receivers "won't work on the wireless sets". However, headphones specially made for radio reception, if you could afford them, were significantly more sensitive than stock telephone receivers.

Telephone Engineer, June, 1922, page 37:

Radio Craze Brings Raids On Telephones for Equipment Chicago, Ill.--From all parts of the United States telephone companies are complaining about the forays amateur radio operators are making on public telephones in order to secure equipment they think will be suitable for their outfits. The seclusion of a telephone booth affords a good opportunity for the radio nut to acquire a receiver. The thrifty and unprincipled parties are greatly disappointed with results of sets equipped with ordinary telephone receivers--they won't work on the wireless sets. Telephone men are hoping the daily newspapers will tip off their readers to this fact and cut down the losses of telephone equipment.


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French Pay Stations Robbed of Receivers for Radio Use (1922)

Telephony, April 15, 1922, page 16:

French Pay Stations Robbed of Receivers for Radio Use. Amateur wireless operators are blamed by the authorities for the disappearance of telephone receivers from public pay station booths in Paris and other French cities of late. So extensive have the raids on the telephones become that the government has sent out a "general alarm" circular warning station operators and merchants to be on the alert. Disappearance of the receivers, which can be used in radiophony, began shortly after the Eiffel Tower wireless station started broadcasting concerts and news.


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