RADIO NOTES

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume LIV, Issue 22, 21 March 1933, Page 3

RADIO NOTES

(Written for the Guardian), By "Screen Grid."

Despite all warnings to the contrary, there are still some people who do not believe in capitalising on the mistakes of others. Only last week the writer heard of another case of a radio owner trying to change valves around, and this caae was aggravated because the different type of valves had different bases and this man actually broke a base in trying to make it accommodate a valve for which it was not designed. Of course, it is hardly necessary to add that this case was a rare one—but leave those

valves alone. * * * * A German station uses a mountain for its aerial mast. This means a definite amount of screening, but the idea works. * • » In several parts of the U.S.A. there are transmitters located in "pill boxes" away underground. These are for use in the event of miners being entombed as the result of an accident. * ♦ * * ! Get the connexions right! See that every join you make when you are j | building is tight. You'll be glad of it later. * * » ♦ Day by day—or rather night by night, there is a distinct improvement in the reception of distant stations and in a few weeks' time the DX enthusiast will be in his element. The air is full of so much to hear that the owner of a good set is never without entertainment. There is something from daylight to dark. * * ♦ *

Never for a moment is an announcer's close supervision of his work allowed to let up. The announcer in a modern station sounds, to the listener, a cool adti obviously enthusiastic worker, gcing about his job with patience and skill born of long experi-1 ence. And a glimpse of him in front of his microphone backs up the impression made by the loudspeaker. With all his announcements arranged in sequence in front of him, he sits and speaks, knowing that thousands are listening and that any little slip he might make will be retailed over and over again by super-critics. Yet he doesn't turn a hair. He just keeps on the job. I would not be an announcer if I could possibly be any--1 thing else. New Zealand's announcers are all obviously fitted for their jobs and it is a delight to hear the definite certainty and precision with which they make their announcements. Considering that the announcer is the link between the station and thousands of listeners, it will be easily seen that his job is no sinecure. * * * *

There are all sorts of gadgets on the market to boost up reception; but if your set is a good recognised make and your aerial and earth passably good, then you will get all you want, and more! Remember that a good aerial and earth are "one piece" respectively, and there is nothing to be gained by having them made up cf short bits of wire twisted together. I The wonder is that so good results are got from aerials which are nothing short of hay wire. ♦ * * *

Here's the right way to put up an aerial pole. In the past, there have been many methods. One is to hire a few willing helpers to trip over each other. Another antiquated way is to get the man next door and while he does the grunting, you do the heavy lifting. The simplest way of the lot is to get a nice light pole 25 feet long. Lay it on the ground and put on the guy wires, pulley and aerial lanyard. Make sure that you put them all on. Then lay them out along the pole about five feet off the grcund when the pole is up. You then get a post about eight feet high and sink it about four feet into the ground, making sure that it does not wobble and that it is absolutely straight up and down. Then about six inches from the ground you bore a hole through the post. A similar hole is bored through the pcle. Another hole is bored through the post about eight inches from the tcp and a corresponding hole is bored through i the pole, You then pass a bolt i through the pole and post, making it fairly tight. You then raise the pole a few feet from the groandl about the

middle, get your shoulder under it and, with teeth set, you walk towards the post, pushing the pcle up as you go. When it reaches the perpendicular, you put the other bolt through pole and post and "there she is." It is then only necessary to untie the guy wires and tie them cut in their appointed places. This method is very easy. The writer has a 39-foot pole and he can take it down and put it up without assistance. The main thing is to keep the pole on the move in the right direction.

Quick Change Coils: For the enthusiast who wishes to use different coils to cover different wave bands, or for experimenting with different styles of coils, the following method of mounting will be fcund very convenient: About 3in. from each end of a small strip of panel—say Jin. by 4in.—mount one of the sockets such as are sold in sets of four for mounting tubes. This is for coils with a single winding, but if the coil consists of two windings, mount two of the sockets at each end of the panel strip. This panel may then be mounted with small brackets or in any manner desired, and at any convenient place in the set —on the baseboard, panel, or back of a variable condenser. Consider the sockets the terminals of your coil, and make the proper connexions to instruments or binding posts. These connexions may be soldered if desired.