ELEVEN YEARS

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 140, 10 December 1931, Page 18

ELEVEN YEARS

A RADIO ANNIVERSARY

On 2nd Kovember broadcasting! celebrated its eleventh anniversar; in the United States. It was on 2nd Novembor, 1920, that KDKA Averit' on the air as the pioneer station, to", send opt the Harding-.Cox election returns.- The changes in radio have beenmany since that memorablo day, says' the;'"New York Times.". '-'■■-! -

Then a 500-watt transmitter w;as considered a powerful outfit. To-day 50,000 watts ato^tlie American maximum., No advertising was on. the air eleven years ago. The crystal and headphones were used for.receiving., ,The loud-speaker was unknown. The all-ejeetrio/ set ; was but a dream. There -were no.such terms, as screen-grid,. pentode, or. electrodynamic. Hundreds- of new names hayo been coined for radio apparatus.; .The superheterodyne ' did not :•, appear until 1922,.and that cognomen started a wave of technical'name's for sets, such as regenoflex, super-rogenerator, and super-reflex. The head- sets gave way to the gooso-neck hofn as soon as three-tube sets were introduced. Then came s the magnetic cone reproducer, popular,for a year or two, before the electrodynajnio stole its place. : ) Thousands and thousands of batteries were used, because tho allelectric tube was undiscovered. The dry battery and storage battery business thrived for more .than five years. Then came the /'A" and."B" eliminators, the vanguards of the all-electric receiver. There was a prosperous business in these) current supply units, but they, too, had a comparatively short existence. The light socket set dimmed their gloryr~Thcs© quick turnover days were happy and prosperous for the xadio industry. ■ The arrival of the all-electric machine and the improved tubes that have a much longer life stabilised radio and replacements were not as frequent. Changes- in radio design sinco 1928 have been minor technical- improvements. It is believed that more people have Clung to their old sets in the past few years than in any previous three years. The midget outfit has helped to keep the factory wheels turning,.but nothing like they were in 1928 and 1929, when plants were keyed to turn, out from 5000 to ,9000 sets in a day. j Necessity is called the mother of invention, and that fact alone is -expect- .j ed to lead the radio industry into a new. era of prosperity. In such a- fertile field of science stagnation is not in order. The research laboratories have, not ceased to function, on account of. the business depression. They are evolv-, ing nevrideasj new forces to propel radio into a land.of neyr opportunities. There .are 'two 'main'trends developing that scent destined to give the radio j industry new impetus. The leaders are aware tnai minor electrical and mechanical changes; do not insnire the- public to cast aside old' radio sets for new as long as they give good tone; and most of the instruments built , 6ince 1928 feature tone quality. So there has been little incentive, to discrard tho old set,- in fact, it has become a friend of the family. (But if a revolutionary discovery is made that warrants replacement, then a new wave of buying-'will,begin. ->~\: '. , %;\y;)■,;,. i 'The iit a'wft 'in the wind-are and'the "cold" tubo that has no filament.