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Crime Control With Radio

DAVID SARNOFF
A Study of Noise Char-

acteristics VERNON D. LANDON
Buenos Aires Now Heard

'Round the World
R. V. BE3HGATOOR
R C A M A N U F A C T U R I N G C O M P A N Y , I N C ., C A M D E N, N . J .
www.americanradiohistory.com
RCA 11anuifaclurii.g Company, Inc.
Irrrr r uj kWh() (,()1 p()1(111(111 uj Irrrrrira
Camden, N. J.
"RADIO HEADQUARTERS"
DAViD SARNOFF, Chairman of the Board
E. T. CUNNINGHAM, President G. K. THROCKMORTON, Executive Vice -President
L. B. MORRIS, Vice- President J. W. BURNISON, Vice -President in J. T. CLEMENT, Vice- President
and General Counsel Charge of Mfg., RCA Victor Div. in Charge of Washington,
J. M. SMITH, Vice- President in J. C. WARNER, Vice -President and D. C., Office
Charge of Mfg., RCA Radiotron Div. General Mgr., RCA Radiotron Div. F. H. CORREGAN, Vice- President
LEWIS M. CLEMENT, Vice -President and Secretary
in Charge of Research and
Engineering, RCA Victor Div.
F. R. DEAKINS, Manager
ENGINEERING PRODUCTS DIVISION
AND INTERNATIONAL DIVISION
TRANSMITTER SALES SECTION

(OF ENGINEERING PRODUCTS DIVISION)
I. R. BAKER, Manager
S. W. GOULDEN, Commercial Engineer T. A. SMITH, C. B. S. Contact
J. P. TAYLOR, Sales Engineer C. L. BEACH, Affiliated Co. Contact
A. R. HOPKINS, Sales Engineer T. W. ENIS, Ass't Affiliated Co. Contact
BEN ADLER, Power Tube Sales P. A. ANDERSON, Police Radio Sales
E. C. HUGHES, Jr., Amateur Radio A. H. CASTOR, Factory Contact
E. T. JONES, Engineering Products Advertising
1 EASTERN DISTRICT A. Smith, Manager, 1270 Sixth Ave., New York City; R. P. May, Assistant
MAINE RHODE ISLAND PENNSYLVANIA WEST VIRGINIA
VERMONT CONNECTICUT MARYLAND DELAWARE
NEW HAMPSHIRE NEW YORK NORTH CAROLINA (Broadcast) VIRGINIA
MASSACHUSETTS NEW JERSEY
2 CENTRAL DISTRICT H. C. Vance, Manager, 11 1 North Canal St., Chicago, Ill.; R. A. Wilson, Assistant
NORTH DAKOTA MISSOURI ILLINOIS OHIO
SOUTH DAKOTA IOWA INDIANA MICHIGAN
NEBRASKA MINNESOTA KENTUCKY KANSAS CITY (KANSAS)
WISCONSIN
3 WESTERN DISTRICT W. H. Beltz, Manager, 170 Ninth St., San Francisco, Calif.; Edmund Frost, Assistant
WASHINGTON IDAHO UTAH MONTANA
OREGON NEVADA ARIZONA WYOMING
CALIFORNIA HAWAII (Police) ALASKA (Police)
4 SOUTHWESTERN DISTRICT--W. M. Witty, Manager, 2211 Commerce St., Dallas, Texas
TEXAS ARKANSAS KANSAS (Except Kansas City) NEW MEXICO
OKLAHOMA LOUISIANA (Except New Orleans) COLORADO
5 SOUTHEASTERN DISTRICT-D. A. Reesor, Manager, 490 Peachtree St., N. E., Atlanta, Ga.
TENNESSEE SOUTH CAROLINA ALABAMA FLORIDA
NORTH CAROLINA (Police) GEORGIA MISSISSIPPI NEW ORLEANS (LA.)
LONDON, ENGLAND -B. Gardner, European Manager, Radio Corporation of America, Electra House, Vic-
toria Embankment.
POWER RADIOTRONS BROADCAST TRANSMITTERS

POLICE TRANSMITTERS POLICE RECEIVERS AVIATION RADIO EQUIPMENT
: SPECIAL COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT
BROADCAST NEWS REG. U. S. PAT. OFF.
E. T. JONES PAUL V. LUTZ

Editor Associate Editor
NUMBER 20 JUNE, 1936
CONTENTS
Cover 50 KW Antenna Condenser
(Photograph by RCA Studios)
Page
Crime Control With Radio 2
David Sarnoff
Up Goes Power at WFBC 5
A Study of Noise Characteristics 6

Vernon D. Landon
New Transmitter Placed in Service by WRAW 9
Care of Water Cooled Tubes 10

Ben Adler
Southwest Hears New WKY 12

Earl C. Hull
NBC Sound Effects Technique 14
"Ham" Operators Prove Their Worth in Flood Areas 16
Views of the New RCA Display Room 17

Photograph by N. Newell, RCA Studios
Unusual Studios for WMEX 20
Milestones in Vacuum Tube Progress 21

Joseph D'Agostino
Recorded Sound Effect Equipment Also Makes Notable Progress 22

R. H. Heacock
A Review of Broadcast Engineering 32

J. P. Taylor
Buenos Aires Now Heard 'Round the World 18
R. V. Beshgatoor
New RCA Products 34
Notes About Our Contributors 35
Published in the Interest of the Radio Broadcasting Industry

and Copyrighted, 1936, by the
RCA MANUFACTURING COMPANY, INC.

CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY, U. S. A.
2 BROADCAST NEWS JUNE, 1936
CRIME CONTROL WITH RADIO

Educational Phase and Increased Speed in Commutication. of Great .4ssistatce to
Lau. Enforcementt Agencies
By DAVID SARNOFF, President, Radio Corporation of America
Then came the telegraph. No

matter how fast horse or train
could give him speed, the crim-
inal might find the police waiting
for him at his destination. If he
crossed the seas, the cable would
prove his Nemesis. Later came
the telephone, to give new and
decisive advantages to the Law in
its contest with Crime.
But the victory was brief. Pro -
gt ess, in presenting a new boon
to mankind, unfortunately gave
-
back to the lawbreaker his most
effective weapon speed. The
automobile, followed quickly by
the airplane, once more gave to
the criminal a swift means of
escape. It increased the area of
search and diminished the chance
of detection.
Radio's Part in Crime Control
A mobile crime control unit completely RCA equipped. Presently the same scientific
progress created another force in
NO subject more properly est means of mass communica- crime control, although at first
commands the attention of tion at our command. It is a dis-
thoughtful men and women, tributor of knowledge, of culture
of fathers and mothers every- and of entertainment. Radio,
where, than the problem of therefore, can contribute the moral
"Youth and Crime Today." and mental enlightenment which
It is tragic enough to think that should be the most effective de-
some boys and girls of today will terrent of crime.
be criminals tomorrow. But it is But once the crime has been
appalling to be told, as we have committed, radio takes its place
been, that the youth of today is as the longest arm of the police
furnishing so large a share of our department, the speediest method
criminals. The material loss re- of capturing the fleeing criminal.
sulting from this juvenile delin- Speed Necessary in Combatting
quency is bad enough, but its Crime
social and spiritual loss is the
In the struggle between law
most tragic indictment of our
breakers and law enforcers, the
civilization.
contest between escape and cap-
Others more informed than I am
ture has always been one of
on this subject have discussed
speed. In the past, a start of a few
these questions from the stand-
minutes gave the fugitive a de-
point of their actual experience
cisive advantage. If his horse ran
and expert knowledge. I have faster than that of his pursuers, he
been asked to discuss here the escaped. If it did not, he was
part which radio plays in this
caught. When science replaced
great problem.
the horse with the railroad, the
Radio as a Preventive few minutes which elapsed before
What is the relationship of an alarm could be sounded were With radio, the modern policeman is
more than ever the guardian of life
radio to crime? Radio is the great- often irretrievable. and property.
BROADCAST NEWS JUNE, 1936 3
which travels with the speed of fice. The first telephone response
light. from one of these cars was made
Large Population Protected in less than one minute after the
The part which radio plays in
radio order had been flashed.
the detection and apprehension of Radio Places Criminal on the Spot
the criminal is of recent date, but This was no unusual circum-
despite its youth, radio equipped stance, as the record of the New
police cars now patrol the princi- York Police Department will show.
pal cities of forty -three states. One instance which they describe
These cities have an area of with pride at Centre Street is the
61,000 square miles, and more case of a holdup on the twenty-
than 40,000,000 inhabitants. Such first floor of a Fifth Avenue office
police cars are as closely in touch building. One of the bandits acci-
with headquarters as if a wire dentally discharged his revolver.
connected each one of them with Frightened by their own alarm,
their central police station. In New the robbers fled at once. They ran
York City alone, 480 cars patrol down three flights of stairs and
83 precincts, some of them scores then stepped into an elevator. But
of miles away from headquarters. when they got to the ground floor,
To indicate the speed with three minutes after the shot had
which this new force can operate, been fired, they found every exit
I am told that in a recent demon- closed by policemen who had
A 100-watt RCA police transmitter
stration, which was in no way raced to the building in radio cars.
which gives excellent coverage. pre- arranged, three cars patrolling A tenant in a nearby office, who
the Rockaway section, far out on heard the shot, had 'phoned to
neither the criminal nor the police Long Island, were ordered by the police. Radio did the rest.
were fully aware of its potential- radio to report to the central of- (Continued on Next Page)
ities. That force was radio. Men
could talk from point to point
without having to depend upon
connecting wires. Not only could
they talk from point to point with-
out these wires, but a man could
talk from one point to thousands
of unconnected and different loca-
tions simultaneously.
For the first time communica-
tion became mobile as well as
rapid. Radio flashed the alarm of
crime instantaneously over a wide
area. It cut off escape by sea as
well as by land. It cut off that
escape in all directions at once.
It turned the criminal's newest
helpmate, the automobile, against
him. It enabled men to hunt him
down with airplanes and speed
boats. It flashed his picture and
his fingerprints to the police of
every city. It raised a barrier
against him on every side and as
he sought escape, the very air
through which his car was speed-
ing was charged with alarms to the
nearest law enforcement officers.
So it was the scientist who be-
came the apprehender of the crim-
inal. Through radio broadcasting
and through facsimile reproduc-
tion, the radio engineer made the
criminal's lot more hazardous. No
speed which the lawbreaker can
command can outdistance radio, Calling all cars! A metropolitan GHQ in the war on law breakers.
son personally used the micro- radio car approaching. However,
phone and asked the public to within a few hours the child was
help in the search. Four days released and quickly restored to
later, a man who heard the broad- his parents. Being a smart lad, he
casts in a nearby town was pas- was able to give an accurate de-
sing what he supposed to be an scription of his kidnappers, and
abandoned shack when he heard this coincided with a description
a child singing. He investigated the police had of the extortioner
and found the Alexanderson boy who had telephoned. They tracked
in the custody of an old woman, him down in a short time, and he
who, it was determined later, had then confessed that when he saw
no idea that she was taking care the police car he realized that he
of an abducted child. had no chance to carry out his
In the case of the recent kid- plans and therefore had set the
napping of the son of a New York boy free.
broker, a phone call was traced, Early Use of Radio in Crime
Magnetic microphone for use in the
but this time the criminal man- Control
RCA mobile police transmitter ET -5022. aged to escape when he saw the
What is believed to be the first
use of radio to capture a fugitive
But even that achievement was
from justice took place in a shore -
slow compared with the speed
to -ship transmission in 1910. The
which trapped the extortioner who
criminal was the famous Dr. H. H.
recently threatened the wife of a
Crippen of England, who had mur-
Nell -known advertising man in
dered his wife and was caught on
New York. The criminal used the
the high seas.
telephone to make his demands.
On one of his calls, the intended RCA police motorcycle receiver. AR -5025. (Continued on Page 31)
victim kept him talking while de-
tectives traced the call to a pay
station. When they located it a
radio alarm was sent out from
headquarters. A minute later, the
lady heard the man at the other
end of the wire yell, "Don't shoot!
I'll come!"
Last year patrolmen in New
York's 480 radio cars made 4,941
arrests, almost all at the scene of
the crime. These were obviously,
as one police officer put it, better
and less expensive arrests, be-
cause the criminals were caught
red -handed, important evidence
was preserved before it could be
destroyed, and the Police Depart-
ment saved the cost of investiga-
tion and search.
Use of Radio In Kidnapping Cases
Radio has also been used
effectively against kidnapping,
the most terrible of all crimes.
Strangely enough, one of the
earliest instances of this use was
in the kidnapping of the four -year-
old son of Dr. E. F. W. Alexander-
son, inventor of the famous Alex-
anderson alternator, one of the
most important developments in
the history of radio. When his
child was abducted in 1923, Sta-
tion WGY in Schenectady broad-
cast a description of the boy for An RCA gun detector or automatic "frisker" which reveals the presence of
several days and Dr. Alexander- ferrous metals.
UP GOES POWER AT WFBC

Progressive South Carolina Station Steps Ahead With New RCA 5 -(; Transmitter
HREE transmitters in three

T years and still going forward
is somewhere near a record.
Yet that is the pace set by the
fast moving, hard hitting Green-
ville organization which mans sta-
tion WFBC. Under the aggressive
and progressive leadership of the
publishers of the News and Pied-
mont it has grown from a small
fifteen watter listed as WQAV in
the early days of radio to one of
the South's leading stations.
Center of the textile industry in
the South, Greenville is also the
hub of a vast and varied manu-
facturing region. Within the radius
of its coverage area lies a huge
market ripe for radio develop-
ment and with its new facilities
WFBC is able to give the thorough
and extensive coverage required.
The New RCA 5 -C, 5 KW transmitter installed at WFBC.
Modern Layout
The transmitter house is thor- idea of being in a cathedral - room and the visitor faces the cen-
oughly modern from every angle. like structure. The ceiling is high ter of its three panels upon en-
It is built of brick, fireproof con- with ventilators on either side trance. To the left is an immense
struction, painted snow white and near the top. This is for the pur- radiator, a water pump, a large
trimmed in black. It is built in pose of permitting the heat gen- centrifugal pump and a metal
three sections. The center section erated by the powerful transmitter duct. This is the transmitter's
cool-
houses WFBC's new RCA 5 -C to rise and escape .
ing system. Distilled water is run
transmitter. Walls are painted light green.
As the visitor enters the large The floor is waxed concrete. The around the large transmitting
double doors in front he gets an transmitter is in the center of the tubes and then led into the radia-
tor where it is cooled. It is then
pumped through copper pipes
back to the tubes. The hot air
from the radiator is blown through
the duct and out the rear of the
building. In winter the duct will
be opened and warm air blown
into the transmitter room.
Large Switches
To the right at the rear of the
transmitter room are the big mag-
netic switches which bring in the
heavy current required to operate
the 5,000 watt transmitter. Enough
current to run an electric train is
led into this new transmission
plant.
At the left of the entrance is a
control panel for properly hand-
ling the program signal and regu-
lating certain phases of the trans-
mission; The program comes in
The modern transmitter house. (Continued on Page 30)
A STUDY OF NOISE CHARACTERISTICS

.eueril Phases of i'Iiis I erg Important Subject Are Interestingly Discussed
By VERNON D. LANDON
constituting one stage. A bottom

was made to shield plate lead to
plate lead feedback, but was
found unnecessary. The available
gain was about 50 per stage on
the sharp amplifier and 25 per
stage on the broad. This was
more than enough to overload the
final r-f amplifier tube with hiss,
so that full gain could never be
used. For most measurements four
stages were found to be sufficient,
and the first was disconnected.
No trouble was experienced
Figure 1.
with regeneration, except when
unduly long input and output
INTEREST in noise reducing amplifier is proportional to the
leads were used, producing over-
methods is on the increase. frequency band -width (at a given all feedback.
This is due to the partial suc- amplification). The r-m -s voltage The output of the two channels
cess obtained by the use of lim- output is proportional to the feeds separate diode detectors
iters with or without wide band square root of the band-width. which have a common audio am-
amplifiers, and by the use of fre- The variation of peak amplitude
quency modulation. As a prelim- plifier connection. The bias on
with band -width is to be deter- the diodes may be varied so that
inary to understanding the opera-
mined. peaks have to exceed the bias
tion of these systems, the charac-
teristics of noise itself must be Apparatus before anything is heard. The
studied. A great deal has already No method of calculating these
selectivity curves of the two am-
been learned about the character- plifiers are given in Figures 2
peak values is known to the
istics of noise. It is the purpose
writer; thus the facts had to be and 3.
of the present investigation to Both of the channels were re-
clear up certain disputed un- found by experiment. To do this,
a two channel, high gain, r -f am- lined several times as various
known points. changes were made. The band-
Two very definite objects were plifier was built. Photograph of the
sought in the experiments which chassis is shown in Figure 1. Each width of each varied slightly from
are described here. First, to de- channel has five stages of ampli- time to time under different condi-
termine the crest factor of smooth fication, with two tuned circuits
r -f noise such as tube hiss and per stage. One channel had a
its variation with amplifier band band-width of 4.1 and the other a
width (crest factor is defined as band -width of 61.9 kc. at 90% of
the ratio of the amplitude of the the amplitude of the central fre-
highest peaks to the r -m -s value quency which was 150 kc. in each
of the noise); secondly, to deter- case. The shape of the two selec-
mine how the amplitude varies tivity curves is the same.
with band width for noise of the The two channels are placed in .7
impulse type. operation alternately, by switch-

ing the B supply from one to thñ
PART I other. To minimize the chance of
SMOOTH NOISE OR HISS regeneration, a cascade resist- .4
ance capacity filter is used on the
Review B supply. With this circuit the
With smooth noise of the ther- filtering of the first tube is im-
mal agitation or tube hiss type, proved by the filter for the second, s. !F SHARP My
the energy is uniformly distrib- etc. Each stage was separately

uted throughout the radio fre- shielded by a can over the trans- 14 147 we I 9 ,SG.0 171 1St SS) I51
quency spectrum. Hence the hiss former windings and a separate

power output of a radio frequency can over the tube and transformer Figure 2.
tions. In each experiment, calcu- The gain of each channel was

lations were based on band -widths adjusted until the tube voltmeter
as measured during that experi- read 2 volts of hiss. The diode
ment. bias was then increased until the
The First Experiment noise barely disappeared. The
The amplification of each chan-
bias required was exactly the
nel was adjusted so that the high- same for the two channels, being
est peaks of hiss were barely 7.7 volts for silence, 7.3 volts for a
audible with 22 volts bias on the few clicks per second, and 5 volts
diodes. The amplification of each as the dividing line between a
channel was then measured and smooth and a rough bias. The
the ratio of gains compared to the current in these diodes starts at
ratio of band -widths, and to the -.9 volts, hence this figure must
square root of the ratio of band- be subtracted from the biases
Figure 4.
widths. given above to indicate peak
The ratio of gains was 4.4, the values. This gives a crest factor
ratio of band-widths 15.1, and the of 6.8 divided by 2 or 3.4. Mathematical Prediction
square root of the band -width Operational methods, which are
ratio 3.89. On a re -check at a Conclusion too involved to be included in a
lower gain, the square root of the Thus we are led to the some- short report, have led to the fol-
ratio of gains was 3.85. This in- what surprising result that the lowing equations. The equations
dicates that the peaks of hiss vary highest peak voltages in hiss are are not exact, but the error is neg-
as the square root of the band- not more than 3.4 times the r-m -s ligible if a/co is negligible com-
width, just as the r -m -s value value, and that this ratio is inde- pared to unity.
does, thus indicating a constant pendent of band -width. When a single tuned circuit is
crest factor. However, the accur- used per stage, the output of the
acy is not very great, due to the PART II nth stage divided by the gain is:
difficulty of measuring such high NOISE DUE TO IMPULSE
gains accurately. Hence it was EXCITATION 2aa"'t"'
E = e "' sin wt
decided to measure the crest fac-
tor directly. Theoretical w n- 1
The Second Experiment With irregular noise the original 2a /o, is the "power factor" of
source is almost always equiva- each circuit.
A tube voltmeter was connected
across the diode circuit and
moved from one side to the other
when changing channels. This
lent to Heaviside functions re-
peated at irregular intervals. The
voltage applied to the antenna
may consist of pulses of varying
a is -
R
2L
tube voltmeter is of the plate cur- shape and duration, but this is (,) is the frequency of the wave
vature type, with a bucking bat- usually due to circuits at the train times 2r.
tery, and is believed to read r -m -s source of noise applying a certain If two coupled circuits are used
fairly accurately. amount of frequency discrimina- in each stage of the amplifier, the
tion to the original Heaviside func- output of the nth stage divided by
tion pulses. Usually the circuits the gain is:
in the receiver are considerably
sharper than any that may be 2a a a"-1 t"-1
present in the noise source. Hence E' = e-"' sin
the shape of the envelope of the cobIn-1
wave train in the output of the bt sin cot
amplifier is usually almost inde-
pendent of the wave form of the b is one-half the frequency dif-
exciting voltages, provided the ference between the two resonant
pulses are separated in time suffi- frequencies of each stage multi-
ciently to avoid overlapping de- plied by 2r.
cay trains. In either equation, the peak
The shape of the envelope of value of
the wave train in the output of an
r-f amplifier is then a function of a " -1 t " -1
5's. W flROs0 Aye

the circuits of the receiver, and is
subject to calculation on the basis n -1
of Heaviside function excitation. occurs as t equals
This calculation is best carried
90 110 00 ISM. Ig 190 210
out by the use of Heaviside's n -1
Figure 3. Operational Calculus.
changing the setting of the gang
condenser used in the resistance
capacity feedback network. The
wave shape of the output voltage
of this unit is shown in Figure 4,
which is a photograph of the
wave as shown by the RCA port-
able oscillograph.
iff4
It is evident that the sides of this
"square wave" are not sufficiently
steep to simulate a Heaviside
function to any great degree of
accuracy. It is, however, a source
Figure 5. of impulses which repeats with Figure 7.
much greater regularity than any
At this instant mechanical device. to the input. The individual r -f
a- i in -1
e- (n - 1)° -r
e'- Experimental Procedure
cycles can be easily discerned.
Returning to the input frequency
-
Hi
In - 1 In 1
It was found possible to syn-
used in obtaining Figures 5 and 6,
the gain required to give a certain
and does not vary with band- chronize the oscillograph scan-
ning with the impulses so that the amplitude of wave train on the
width. oscillograph was next measured
decay train appears to be station-
If the selectivity curve of two for each channel, and the ratio of
ary on the screen. Figure 5 is a
amplifiers has the same shape, photograph of the wave train from gains was calculated. One meas-
then a/b is the same for the two urement gave 15.8 and a re -check
the sharp channel. The large
cases. 16.7; the ratio of band-widths at
diamond shaped figure followed
Hence the factor a/o deter- this time was 16.1.
by two "beads" of decreasing size
mines the ratio of peak ampli- In view of the experimental dif-
is the wave train due to the up
tudes in two amplifiers having difficulties involved, this is consid-
stroke of Figure 4. The similar
ferent band -widths. This factor is sequence of lesser amplitude is ered a good check of the mathe-
proportional to the band -width. that caused by the down stroke, matical prediction that the ampli-
Thus the amplitude is propor- tude of the wave train due to an
which is less effective in exciting
tional to the band -width. the amplifier, due to its lesser
impulse is proportional to the
Thus a mathematical analysis slope.
band -width of the amplifier.
leads to the conclusion that the Figure 6 is a photograph of the Conclusion
amplitude of a wave train, due to corresponding wave train from the The present investigation dis-
impulse excitation, is proportional broad amplifier, with reduced closes that random distributed
to the first power of the band- gains. This illustrates the shorter voltages, such as tube and circuit
width and not to the square root time duration of the wave train hiss, have peak amplitudes and
of the band- width, as with smooth from the broad amplifier. r -m -s amplitudes proportional to
hiss. The apparent discrepancy Figure 7 is another photograph the square root of the frequency
made experimental confirmation of the output of the broad ampli- band passed. The ratio of r -m -s
desirable. fier, but was taken with a higher to highest peaks is 3.4 (crest factor)
A preliminary experiment was frequency square wave applied and is independent of band-width.
made using the buzzer rectifier of The experimental observations do
an auto set to generate impulses. Figure 6. not confirm the theory that occa-
This gave results which are fairly
sional peaks rise to very much
consistent with what follows, but higher values.
the buzzer contact was too irreg- For reception of isolated pulses
ular to make accurate measure- (with decay trains not overlap-
ments possible. Hence, a vacuum ping), such as ignition disturb-
tube impulse generator was
ance, the r -m -s amplitudes are
thought desirable.
proportional to the square root of
Additional Apparatus the frequency band passed, and
A square wave generator was the peak amplitudes are directly
made, using a one tube relaxation proportional to the frequency
oscillator and a limiter to cut off band passed. This conclusion is
the peaks. The frequency could verified mathematically and ex-
be varied over wide limits by perimentally.
NEW TRANSMITTER PLACED IN SERVICE

BY WRAW
Well Arranged Station in Reading, Pa., Installs I00-E
AMONG the smaller stations of
the country, WRAW ranks
high. An efficient, well ar-
ranged station, it covers the terri-
tory surrounding the city of Read- - .. in,.__......._
ing. Located about fifty miles
north of Philadelphia it competes
very successfully locally with the
more powerful stations to the south.
Convenient Arrangement
The transmitter is housed in the
Pomeroy Building, 6th and Penn
St., which overlooks a large part
of the city. The transmitter, speech
input equipment and control
switches are conveniently ar-
ranged in one room enabling the A -shot- from below giving a view of
station engineer to face the an- the petticoat insulators and the coun-
terpoise.
nouncer in the next room. A sep-
arate studio is used exclusively
for transcription presentations.
The antenna is placed on the Note particularly in the cuts
roof of the building, resting on re- shown the counterpoise consist-
inforced concrete columns. With ing of sixty -four wires averaging
the substructure the entire weight
sixty feet in length and also the
of the tower is nine and one half
tons. It is equipped with a beacon petticoat insulators which support
light and is rated by the Depart- the R -F line.
ment of Commerce as an aviation
signal.
Overall view of the antenna with

Convenient arrangement of the transmitter and speech input equipment at WRAW. the substructure
CARE OF WATER COOLED TUBES

Some !! ori/twhile .tittggt'stiutts for Extending Their I - std /'ill Life
By BEN ADLER
DURING the relatively few maintain and operate his station
years that power tubes at the lowest possible cost com-
have been in commercial mensurate with reliable, high
use at broadcasting stations, the fidelity performance. An attempt
requirements placed on them is usually made to anticipate tube
failures so that poor ones can
\
have undergone many changes.
Only a few years ago, the aim of be removed before they cause
the broadcast engineer was to trouble which might conceivably
obtain long life from power tubes occur during an important com-
at any sacrifice. Percentage of mercial program. Failure of a
modulation was kept down, fila- twenty dollar tube at a crucial
I
ments were run below normal moment might involve a loss of
temperature with a resultant in- hundreds of dollars and consider-
crease in distortion, and a general able prestige.
attempt was made to keep tubes
"11
in operation until filaments could mom.
. UV-863
I/
no longer be lighted or the tubes .su
L,Eti ss.ÿn
were absolutely unusable. Under `ó
%
F,çA,wVIr Voust
these conditions, the last few hun-

dred hours of life were usually
,oq . /,. ro r W
=%
meagre ones, requiring operation 350
A closeup of a 100 KW tube used in the

a
\/AII
at reduced power and increased
Pall
50 KW transmitter.
distortion. NM .1. they be carefully studied. Small
Ed\\
Efficient Operation Paramount tubes operating at plate voltages
10
Today the picture is different, 200

not exceeding 1000 to 2000 volts
are not seriously affected by time
even though long life of tubes is
still essential. The aim of the
broadcast engineer now is to
's0
W0
50
11:171 on the shelf. The larger high volt-
age types have a tendency to be-
come gassy if allowed to remain
idle for any length of time. This
20 2 22 23
gassy condition is not necessarily
Fi Mewr VOLTS brought about by air leaking into
FIGURE 1
the tube, but by the liberation of
Curve showing theoretical improvement gas from the pores of the ele-
in life when operating a tungsten fila-
ment at reduced temperatures. ments inside the tube.
It is apparent that the useful Small Amounts of Gas Remain
life of power tubes, as applied in Tubes
commercially, has decreased con- During the process of manufac-
siderably. It is with this thought ture, an attempt is made to evacu-
in mind that an attempt is made ate the envelope as completely as
here to provide the broadcast en- possible, but a certain amount of
gineer with a few hints on the best air and other gasses remain in
method for obtaining efficient and the pores of the elements. The
satisfactory results from tubes and elements are heated to incandes-
still meet these extra commercial cence during evacuation to further
requirements. drive gas out of their pores, but a
Care of Spare Tubes very small amount remains. After
The care of tubes kept on the the tube is sealed and conditioned
shelf as spares is important and for operation at high plate volt-
will be covered first. It is assumed age, the slight amount of gas re-
that directions for mechanical maining in the pores of the ele-
handling and storing will be ac- ments will gradually seep out into
curately followed. These direc- the vacuum if the tube is allowed
tions are completely covered in to remain idle for any length of
instructions accompanying each time. The effect of a tube becom-
Even the larger tubes require extreme
care in handling. tube, and it is recommended that ing gassy in this way is to limit
the plate voltage at which it can determine at regular intervals

be operated. For that reason, a whether the tube is operable.
real high voltage tube should not Method of Cleaning
be allowed to remain idle as long
as a lower voltage tube. When a tube is found to be
The gassy condition of a tube gassy, it can usually be cleaned
manifests itself in excessive plate up by first allowing it to operate
current under otherwise normal for a half hour with only the fil-
conditions. Also, on peaks of mod- ament on. After that, apply the
ulation a gassy tube will arc over lowest plate voltage available,
or "ping." High voltage tubes increasing it in small steps at
such as the RCA 862, 863, 848, 207 intervals of time ranging from ten
and 1652 should not be allowed to minutes to a half hour, depending
remain idle for more than two or on how bad the tube is. If this is
three months without cleaning up not effective, it is suggested that
the gas that may have accumu- arrangements be made for return-
lated in them. Simply operating
the tubes with filaments heated to
ing the tube to the factory where
other methods can be tried. It has
'
)
normal temperature for one half been found that it is sometimes
hour with no plate or grid voltage possible to clean up the gas in a
applied will help keep the tubes tube by placing it in a circuit as
cleaned up if done often enough. an oscillator operating at a fre-
It is a good idea though, to apply quency other than that used for
a low plate voltage and excita- regular operation. Of course
tion, not only to do a better job of nothing can be done with a tube
cleaning up the gas, but also to that has become a " lecker." A
cracked seal or other mechanical
defect mighi cause this. A "leak -
er" will show symptoms some-
what similar to a gassy tube, but
more pronounced. White "smoke"
liberated inside the tube is a sure Tubes in 5 -C amplifier.
sign of an air leak.
The gassy condition of a tube tubes. Under normal conditions
does not necessarily result from of operation, one of the principle
inactivity. It might be brought causes of ultimate failure of power
about by an arc over inside the tubes result from filament burn-
tube or a sudden overload. The outs or loss of filament emission.
results are usually more severe A discussion of the care of fila-
when brought about in this man- ments should be broken up into
ner, but the same treatment ap- distinct parts; one dealing with
plies. tubes having thoriated or coated
filaments, and the other with tubes
"Ping" May Injure Tube having pure tungsten filaments.
A "ping" or arc -over inside a This discussion will be confined
tube resulting from a slight gassy to the latter, since the larger size
condition may aggravate the con- tubes available today are pure
dition or injure the elements in- tungsten filaments. A separate
side the tube unless precautions article on thoriated filaments, as
are taken in the circuit design. used in power tubes, will appear
Where there is a possibility of later.
such a condition, it is recom- It is well known that a pure
mended that about a 100 ohm tungsten filament requires more
resistance be used in series with power and has to be operated at
the condenser output of the plate a higher temperature than a
rectifier. This will tend to limit coated filament. The tungsten
the peak current on an arc over. filament seems to stand more
Of course the usual plate over- abuse and operates better with
load breakers should be incorpor- high plate voltages and for that
ated in the design of the transmit- reason is almost universally ad-
ter. An automatic reset is valu- hered to in large power tubes.
able, too, not to help protect the Thoriated filaments have other
tubes but to eliminate interrup- advantages which will be cov-
tions on the air from arc overs. ered later.
Overall view of 100 KW tube. So much for the care of spare (Continued on Page 27)
12 BROADCAST NEWS . JUNE, 1936
SOUTHWEST HEARS NEW WKY

Beautiful Studios and Modern Speech Input Equipment Place Oklahoma
.Station in Frond
By EARL C. HULL, Chief Engineer
RADIO Station WKY, Okla-

homa City, Oklahoma, first
went on the air in 1920 with
20 watts. It was the first station
west of the Mississippi and the
third in the United States to broad-
cast daily programs.
The station was purchased in
1928 by the Oklahoma Publishing
Company, and until the recent
move, occupied quarters in the
Plaza Court building in a subur-
ban residential -business district.
The new move brings it down-
town to a home conceded to be
as thoroughly modern, if not as
large, as the best studios in New
York, Chicago or elsewhere.
The new studios occupy an en-
tire floor in the recently -completed
Skirvin Tower Hotel, and are
RCA -equipped throughout.
The modern speech input equipment layout.
The new WKY quarters include
four regular broadcast studios, in the studio design. "Floating" incites either glare or shadows.
one conference - audition room, floors and walls and suspended Each light is flush with the ceiling
capable of use as a studio, and a ceilings reduce vibration to a min- to avoid acoustical interference.
large auditorium studio, still under imum, and observation windows Air Conditioning Throughout
construction, capable of seating are of three -pane construction. All studios and offices are air-
1,200 persons. This studio is lo-
Doors are of special laminated conditioned, with an installation
cated on a separate floor.
sound proof construction with which assures automatic control
Modern Soundproofing squeakless hinges. Another strik- of both temperature and humidity
The latest discoveries in sounding feature of the studios is con- the year around. This is said to
proofing have been incorporated trolled lens lighting, which elim- be the largest installation of the
kind in Oklahoma. To prevent
sound -conduction through the air
ducts, special acoustical treatment
was required. This consists of a
lining of a type of seaweed from
Nova Scotia.
Constant Check Maintained
High-fidelity transmission is as-
sured by many changes and im-
provements. For example, all pro-
gram loops from the studios to
the transmitter have been equal-
ized to 8000 cycles, and an RCA
audio oscillator incorporated in
the control panel permits the
equalization of all remote lines to
the same degree. Six separate
equalizers are incorporated in the
line terminal equipment. A con-
stant check is maintained to see
that all lines are in condition for
high fidelity transmission.
The WKY control room showing the two RCA operator's consoles and
The heart of the set-up is the
turntable equipment. eight -bay control panel of RCA
Large Audience at Opening

The new studios of WKY were
opened to the public on April 13,
1936. Many of the largest adver-
tising agencies of the United
States were represented, as well
as the National Broadcasting
Company, and neighboring radio
stations. During the following
week, visitors were admitted by
ticket only. These tickets were dis-
tributed by WKY advertisers.
More than 14,000 Oklahoma City
and out -of -town people saw the
studios during that period, and,
following the lifting of ticket re-
strictions, a steady stream of vis-
itors has continued coming to the
studios.
Organ a Notable Feature
One of the important attractions
(Above) Operator's console with view of the new WKY studios is the
of Studio A.
large Kilgen Organ, probably the
largest ever built exclusively for
(Right) The maze of pipes and ducts
which form the air conditioning system. broadcasting purposes. It has four
manuals and 128 stops, and more
design. It includes fourteen 41 -B than 3,000 pipes. The console is
pre -amplifiers, four channels of on a movable platform.
Radio listeners in the south-
40 -C line amplifiers and two 55
bridging amplifiers. Switching is western area served by Station
WKY, Oklahoma City, are as-
all electric and interlocked to
make it tamper -proof. Mixing is sured of high-fidelity reception,
done at the operator's console, thanks to complete new studio
which was built by RCA to WKY equipment just installed by this
specifications. The studios include oldest commercial broadcasting
a complete talk -back circuit, which station west of the Mississippi.
According to many authorities,
may be used by the operator to
talk to any studio, or which per- these new studios represent the
most outstanding radio studio in
mits inter -office communication or
this section of the United States.
conversation between any office
or studio.
The monitoring system consists
of individually -dialled speakers
in all offices, similar to the method
in use in the National Broadcast-
ing Company studios in New
York. RCA amplifiers are used in
all speakers, with the cabinets
constructed locally from special
WKY designs. Twenty -two chan-
nels are available in the monitor-
ing system. RCA velocity micro-
phones are used throughout for
program pickup, and inductor
microphones for announcers' sta-
tions and talk -back circuits. A
unique dial system in the oper-
ator's control console makes it
possible to feed outside networks
instantaneously without the use
of patch cords, and any program
in any studio can be switched to
any outgoing line. Studio A and the Afton organ. This is the largest studio on the main floor.
NBC SOUND EFFECTS TECHNIQUE

i\ew Science Shows Remarkable Growth in Six Years
Before telling something of the
history of sound effects, let's take
one glimpse at the method by
which the sounds in the scene,
described above, were made. The
actors in the drama are all clus-
tered around the microphone.
Over to the left, with a micro-
phone of his own, is an NBC
sound effects man, one of the men
in Ray Kelly's department. On
his sound table he has an ordi-
nary blank cartridge pistol, a ball
Just about any sound you might wish can be extracted from this collection of cellophane, two rubber suction
of gadgets. cups, and two big black boxes,
THE radio set is tuned in on a
mounted on rubber wheels. Also
tense moment of drama. The on rubber wheels is an ordinary
listener "sees" the scene
cheery living room with a blaze
-a door, in a frame.
How It's Done
crackling in the fireplace, while By crumpling the cellophane
the wind moans outside and sleet before the microphone the realis-
beats against the panes. tic sound of the fire is obtained.
There is a creaking sound as The two black boxes are a sleet
the door opens on its hinges. The machine and a wind machine,
wind and sleet howl in through each run by electric motors. The
the doorway. There are quick sound effects man opens the door.
steps across the room, harsh The electric motors are speeded
words. Then a pistol is fired. The up, thus increasing the sound of
front door slams shut. Outside, a the wind and sleet. After the
horse rears, prances for a nerv- harsh words, the pistol is fired
ous moment, then thunders away and the door slammed. Then the
into the night, the sound of the sound effects man picks up the
hoof -beats growing fainter in the rubber suction cups, one in each
distance. hand. By beating these cups on a
Ray Kelly not only talks about the flat board (cocoanut shells are
Technique of Sound Effects weather but really does something
Few words have been spoken, about it. Here he's making thunder. used when the horse is running
yet the listener has been aware of
every movement made. This, in
brief, is due to the fact that radio
sound effects have become a
well- defined technique. It was not
always thus, and Ray Kelly, head
of the National Broadcasting Corn -
pany Sound Effects Laboratory, is
the best person to tell the story.
"When I took over the NBC
sound effects laboratory six years
ago," says Kelly, "my equipment
consisted of a set of dishes, some
broken, a knife and fork, a hand-
ful of toys, one portable door, and
one elementary thunder machine.
Even as short a time as six years
ago, listeners did not demand the
veracity of sound which now must
be a feature of every program.
Sound effects must now be so ac-
curate that the listener will never
pause to question their actuality." Cabin door, marching soldiers and theatre curtain in sound.
sounded more like a pistol shot much the same with wind and
than any imitation of the sound. sleet.
It was also noticed that the actors On the other side of the room
in the studio reacted more realis- are the water machines. One of
tically when a real pistol was these is simply a paddle wheel in
used -and Kelly is an artist in his a barrel-the sound of a steam-
own right. Machine guns baffled boat chugging 'round the bend.
him, though, until one of a thou- Another is nothing more than an
sand -odd experiments developed ordinary sink and faucet, through
what he was looking for. Now which water is forced by a sys-
when a gangster on an NBC radio tem of compressed air tanks;
drama cuts loose with his "tommy Kelly found that only a faucet
gun," one of the sound effects would make the sound of water
men simply waggles a telegraph dripping from a faucet.
key, set on top of a long amplify-
ing box. When the sound comes
Thunder Machine
Straight line production by Ray Kelly.
A whole factory operates when these out, almost any gangster who One of the NBC sound effects
gears whirl. wasn't looking would automatic- chief's especial pride is his thun-
ally say, "They've got me, boys." (Continued on Page 29)
on a hard road) cm accurate imi-
tation of the sound of a running
horse is obtained.
As short a time as six years
ago, sound effects were a very
minor part of broadcasting. To-
day, as has been indicated, they
are an entire department in a
vast corporation. When Ray Kelly
started he had one assistant, a
college boy who worked part
time. Today, in the New York of-
fice alone, he has fourteen as-
sistants, all highly trained tech-
nicians, all working at high speed
to provide sound effects for some
160 programs a week.
Sound Effects Library

The first problem was a sound
effects library. He set to work
to collect sounds of almost every-
thing that made sounds -all types
of motor noises, animal moos,
Neither snow nor rain nor sleet stays the completion of appointed programs.
bleats and neighs; bird calls; the
sounds made by falling water; Special Equipment Required
sounds in all their infinite variety.
He wanted these sounds on his One big room in the depart-
library shelves, ready for use at ment is filled with weird -looking
a moment's notice, and he began machines and other contraptions,
to get them. all evolved after years of trial and
In many instances, he found error. One side of the room is
that a recording of the actual lined with doors of almost every
sounds was best. In some cases, variety-doors which squeak eer-
ily as they open, doors with
however, and due to the delicacy
knobs which rattle, automobile
of the microphone, he found that
doors, screen doors, swinging
it was better to create the sounds
kitchen doors. In the center are
synthetically in the studio, as in the rain, sleet and wind ma-
the case of the cellophane "fire" chines. Kelly found, after much
and the rubber suction cup experimentation, that rain did not
"horse." record very well. He made sev-
The sounds made by firearms
caused him a lot of trouble. After
much experimenting, he finally
reproduced the sound for the-
eral complicated devices which
microphone- better than the act- Showers or deluges are readily supplied
was convinced that a pistol shot ual sound of the elements. It was with this specially designed mechanism.
"HAM" OPERATORS PROVE THEIR WORTH

IN FLOOD AREAS
Communit.atioit (tarried on Under Trying Conditions
other amateur stations throughout dreds of amateur stations stood
the city and in addition. temporary by with the filaments of their
portable setups were established transmitters lighted, and the
in the Red Cross headquarters in switch at hand ready to "Flip,"
the city proper and in South Wil- listening and waiting, hour upon
liamsport. Included in the equip- hour, ready to "come in" should
ment in the central studios were their services be required.
several ACR -136 RCA receivers The first news and requests for
which were used continuously for assistance from the Red Cross
over one hundred fifty hours with were sent from Johnstown early
good results. This service was in the evening of March 17. The
the more remarkable since they messages were intercepted by
were located in the direct field of units of the NCR and in very short
the WRAK antenna and were sub- order nearly every unit in the
jected. to continuous interference area had an amateur radio sta-
from motors and competed with a tion on the air. A plan for just
vastly increased number of sig- such an emergency has been on
nals on the amateur band. paper for a number of years, and
All Bands Used this plan was put into practical
All amateur bands were in use, operation. Emergency dispatches
both CW and phone, to great ad- moved mrith precision, and speed
Equipment at WRAK used in the
emergency operations. vantage. Last but not least, hun- that would do credit to any com-
mercial circuit.
DURING the recent floods in Stations Moved
the Eastern section of the It was not long before Pittsburgh
country the farflung organ- was also under water, and the
ization of "ham" operators came problem of securing power to
into its own and proved the value operate the radio equipment be-
of constant tinkering with coils came a factor. Stations were
and circuits. Not alone from one picked up and moved to points
restricted area but from the entire where power was available. Some
front affected by the deluge did not get the chance to move.
The ACR -136 receiver which played
"hams" picked up the burden of an important part in various flood areas. (Continued on Page 28)
communication, which for all
practical purposes had broken
down.
Hartford, Williamsport, Johns-
town, Pittsburgh and a host of
smaller communities suddenly
found themselves utterly depend-
ent upon the amateur operator.
for any word they were to send
or receive from the outside world.
But in many cases the messages
handled between the stricken and
the unharmed sections of the
same city were even more im-
portant. The emergency calls for
police, fire departments, doctors,
nurses and supplies were not
only handled in large volume but
were also handled efficiently.
Portable Station Installed
In Williamsport, WRAK installed
a portable amateur station tc_
maintain communication with WRAK. Williamsport, Pa.. carries on during the flood.
}ISPLAY R00Ni
Entrance to the Display Room in

which all RCA Products are shown.
BUENOS AIRES NOW HE4i.

Beautiful Studios. :il) k!! Transmit ter and 14 .
By R. V.
dividual control room. It also has

a monitor speaker, and a cathode
ray oscillograph for visual obser-
vation of the modulation as well
as for testing purposes. There is
a 9-AJX cabinet rack equipped
with a 40 -C amplifier for emer-
gencies and for use as an outside
line amplifier when needed; an
AA-4194 -B monitor amplifier, and
a 52 -E beat frequency oscillator,
which is used for calibrating the
telephone circuits and amplifiers.
The second story contains three
additional studios, the record li-
brary, and a gallery for studio B.
The business offices, director's of-
fice, and program audition room,
are also on this floor.
On the third floor is studio A,
Great 50 KW transmitter at LR -1 which gives excellent coverage over a large area. capable of seating orchestras up
to 150 pieces. Each studio has an
EMPRESA Editorial Haynes, The main control room is the individual control room, equipped
Ltda., publisher of "El nerve center of all the studios and with an operator's console, speech
Mundo," "El Hogar," and transmitters. The operator's mas- input rack, Type 9 -AJX, including
" Mundo Argentina," Argentine ter console is designed for trans- microphone preamplifiers, Type
newspapers, has just inaugurated mitting two programs simultane- 41 -B,program, amplifiers, Type
its new 50 KW broadcast station ously, and is equipped with all 40 -C,monitoring amplifier, Type
LR -1, and, simultaneously, short- necessary switching controls, vol- AA- 4194 -B, and metering and jack
wave stations LRU and LRX. All ume indicators, jack strips, indica- panels. Studios B and C also
three are supplied with the latest tor lights, attenuators, telephones have two transcription turntables.
type RCA transmitters and studio to "the outside," to the transmit- The building is air -conditioned
equipment and were completely ters, to the office, and to each in- throughout.
installed by RCA Victor Argen-
tina. LR -1 is the first 50 KW trans-
mitter ever installed anywhere in
the world which operates entirely
from AC power.
In order to make this tremen-
dous advance possible, RCA en-
gineers developed a new 100 KW
Radiotron, Model 898, two of
which are used in this transmitter,
completely eliminating the previ-
ous necessity for direct -current
motor generators.
Modern, Spacious Studios
The building, housing the seven
studios, control rooms and offices,
is of marble and granite, with
studios B, C and D, the main con-
trol room and four dressing rooms
on the first floor. Studio B is two
stories high, and seats orchestras
up to 40 pieces. One of the magnificent studios.
IRD 'ROUND THE WORLD

st Equipment Place LR -1 in Leading Position
GATOOR
Ideal Transmitter Site
The transmitter is 15 miles north
of the city of Buenos Aires along
the shore of the Rio de la Plata and
is located about two miles away
from the city of San Fernando. It
is on a good concrete road, pro-
vides ample area with good isola-
tion, and the ground is flat and
swampy. Preliminary to the selec-
tion of this site, RCA Victor Ar-
gentina made a field survey using
a temporary 1070 KC transmitter
operated from a gas -engine-driven
generator and the RCA TMV -75 -B
field intensity meter.
The half -wave Blaw Knox -tower,
530 feet high and weighing 80 The master control desk.
tons, can be seen long before ar-
riving at LR -1, and as one ap- a single remote-control key on the from the assigned frequency
proaches, the short -wave antenna operator's console. The frequency While a variation of as much as
of the transmitter is 1070 kilo- 50 cycles or .005 of 1% is allowed,
towers also become visible, then
the transmitter house and chief cycles, controlled by the famous actually, the frequency has been
operator's residence. At night the RCA quartz crystal unit, and of exact.
towers and station house are bril- the last ten frequency measure- Upon closing the "start" switch,
ments made by Transradio In- the cooling system is placed in
liantly flood -lighted.
ternacional, two showed a varia- operation, and signal lights on the
Advanced Technical Features console indicate that the various
The entire transmitter is "full tion of only 10 cycles, while the
air and water units are function-
automatic" and can be started by other eight showed zero variation ing. When, after a few seconds,
the normal water flow is attained,
the filaments are gradually thrown
on. At approximately the same
time that the larger filaments
reach full voltage, the slow heat-
ing filaments of the low -power rec-
tifier tubes reach their required
temperatures, and plate voltage
is automatically applied to them.
When an overload occurs in
this transmitter, the plate voltage
is instantaneously removed to cut
the arc, automatically applied
again at one half the voltage a
fraction of a second later, raised
to 3/4 voltage in 5 seconds, and
then smoothly raised to full volt-
age by the automatic regulator.
So quickly does all this occur that
nothing more than a click is
noticeable on the ordinary re-
ceiver, and it is probable that the
A group of notables snapped at the inauguration of LR -1. Left to right: A. T. Con
-
listeners of LR -1 never know

sentino, Chief of Radio Communications, Posts and Telegraphs, Post Office Depart-
ment; R. Hummel and H. Wesley Smith, of Empresa Editorial Haynes Ltda.; Gen. when an over -load occurs.
Agustin P. Justo, President of the Argentine Republic; Dr. C. Risso Dominguez, (Continued on Page 30)
Director General of Posts and Telegraphs.
UNUSUAL STUDIOS FOR WMEX

New Notes in Design and Decoration at Boston Station
ON THURSDAY, March 19th, are used throughout to produce

another large station, unusual effects.
WMEX, Boston, moved Among the bizarre murals, the
into its new studios at 70 Brook- "Radio Robot" is perhaps the most
line Avenue. The rapid growth of interesting. A microphone indi-
this popular eastern outlet made cates the brain, meters the breath-
addiiional space necessary. While ing power, and a tube, the body.
following the general layout The effect is startling in its con-
adopted by the larger stations of cept of radio as a mechanical
the country the WMEX studios re- superman. The time detail in
veal a number of new notes in which the sun dial, hour glass and
decoration, ideas which give them clock are placed in juxtaposition
a decidedly individualistic char- forms another attractive design.
acter. Radio Details
Ample Space Free use is made of micro-
Embraced in the new setup are phones, tubes and other features Studio "Et" with mural in the background.
three studios, reception room, an
elevated control room looking into
the studios, executive office, busi-
ness office, client's audition room,
sales office, program office, per-
sonnel office and a music library
room. Altogether there are forty -
five hundred square feet of floor
space in the new home.
The modern touch pervades the
entire establishment. Floors, fur-
nishings and the distinctive mural
decorations all reveal the influ-
ence. Musical arid radio motifs
Studio "A " with musical note inlaid directly in linoleum. Wurlitzer Console at the left.
of broadcasting for the decorative Hitherto it has been necessary to

detail in all the studios. leave them uncovered or use
The studios are treated individ- drapes to bring them into har-
ually and with recognition of the mony with the other furnishings.
fact that various acoustic quali- Through the use of Venetian
ties are required. In general the blinds WMEX accomplishes the
walls are treated for sound with end in an extremely simple and
"Absorbex" backed by rockwool. direct manner.
A new method of solving a The studios throughout are RCA
difficult problem has been met in equipped, including speech input
Studio "C" showing the "Radio Robot"
Mural. covering the organ swell shutters. and transcription equipment.
MILESTONES IN VACUUM TUBE PROGRESS

By JOSEPH D'AGOSTINO
Guthrie found that at red heat an

insulated iron ball would retain a
charge of negative, but not posi-
tive electricity. This discovery
brought about the Elster and Gel -
tel experiments with an incandes-

cent lamp having a filament and
a plate, in 1880, three or four
years before "Edison's Effect,"
which the latter made no attempt
to explain at the time. That Elster
and Geitel knew what it was
about, is shown by their pointing
Figure 3. The de Forest Audion.
out the valve effect of this com-
bination in 1889.
1. Edison discovered "Edison Effect" 1883
Dr. Fleming, in England, began
2. Fleming experimented with Edison
his experiments in 1883 and not Effect 1896
Figure 1. Original Fleming 1896. It was J. J. Thompson's re- 3. Fleming patented two element rec-
tifier tube 1905
searches on the conductivity of
Editor's Note: Mr. D'Agostino, of the 4. Dr. Lee de Forest added third ele-
National Broadcasting Company started gases, published in 1897, which ment to Fleming Valve 1907
collecting radio tubes as a hobby as were responsible for Dr. Fleming's
early as 1914, and up to the present 5. Triodes first used in transcontinen-
time has what is probably the largest being able to apply what was tal telephony 1914
electronic tube collection in existence. then common knowledge, to the 6. Triodes first function in telephony
from Arlington to Honolulu and
use of this Elster and Geitel device
O assign definite dates to in radio circuits.
to Paris 1915
T "milestones" in the develop-

ment of the radio tube may
place the author in a target posi-
The de Forest Audion
7.
8.
First "hard" tubes introduced gen-
erally
First use of "thoriated" filaments
1920
This led finally to the work of commercially 1923

tion because of numerous legal Dr. Lee de Forest and his "au- 9. General use of power tubes as
actions that have pursued the art. dion," or three element vacuum complement of standard re-
The statements that follow are ceivers 1926
tube. This development, inciden-
true, however, in the main. 10. Development of high current, low
As far back as 1725 DuFay tally, was the beginning of the voltage filaments 1927
noticed that a conductive path for present radio industry, which pro- 11. Commercial development of shield
grid tube 1927
electricity was formed between a duces millions of radio sets, tens
of millions of radio tubes each (Continued on Page 29)
hot sphere and a cold one. Many
experimenters worked with this year, and maintains over six hun- Figure 4. The indirect heater tube.
idea and then in 1873, Mr. F. dred broadcasting stations. It also
is the basis of communication sta-
Figure 2. A commercially used Fleming
valve. tions that link the world, and to-
day electronic tubes are continu-
ing to find hundreds of industrial,
musical and entertainment appli-
cations. It is further my personal
belief that this once innocent ap-
pearing "glass bottle of mystery"
is destined to change a lot of the
fundamental processes such as
the very creation of music itself.
The following table concerns, of
course, only radio application
-
tubes the many industrial tube
developments are not noted.
RECORDED SOUND EFFECT EQUIPMENT

ALSO MAKES NOTABLE PROGRESS
Alan.. ,Standard Effects Available on Device Designed by NBC Engineers
By R. H. HEACOCK
ONE of the main differences
between ci broadcast pro-
gram of today and that of
ten years ago is the naturalness
of atmosphere of the presentation.
Captain Henry's "Showboat" with
its churning paddle wheel and
deep whistle, Fred Allen's cheer-
ing crowd as it enters Town Hall
and the Town Hall News with its
falling curtain, "lights out," click-
ing projector all give the neces-
sary color in the establishment of
the idea of listening to these
actual occurrences.
The function and technique of
recorded sound effects are now
an accepted and stabilized part
of radio program production. In
fact their use has been extended Phonograph amplifier unit with top closed.
to an increasing number of pro-
grams resulting in a demand for vices have been constructed in an factorily, as well as the response,
an additional amount of equip- attempt to make these recorded through the use of convenient
ment with the numerous improve- sounds available for use in the mixer networks to properly mix
ments that NBC's large experience regular program. In general the and control the overall output
in the field indicated. Therefore, limiting and most disappointing level.
the apparatus described herein feature of these devices has been The spotting mechanism itself,
was developed from basic speci- the spotting mechanism for plac- however, has generally been a
fications prepared by NBC Sound ing the needle upon the record at rather complicated and not en-
Effects and NBC Audio Facilities a pre-determined point. Units tirely trustworthy device. Latches
Groups cooperating with the engi- have been constructed with high which are supposed to be re-
neering staff of RCA Manufactur- gain amplifiers and high fidelity leased when and only when an
ing Company. speakers so that it has been pos- associated electromagnet is ener-
In the past sound effects de- sible to control the volume satis- gized frequently engage the pick-
raa
up arm so securely that the elec-
tromagnet cannot disengage the
latch, and instead of the expected
sound, nothing but an empty
period of silence, lasting until
some quick thinking person steps
in to "cover up," follows the
moment the sound effect device
has been cued in. If the contact
face of the latch has been altered
to permit easier disengagement,
frequently the arm will drop upon
the record ahead of the time de-
sired if a slight jolt disturbs the
equipment.
Since other spotting mechan-
isms used in the past have been
released entirely independently of
the radial position of the turn-
table with relation to the pickup
Phonograph amplifier in operating position. arm, it is evident that if a record
is used where the center hole is

eccentric with relation to the re-
cording groove, a variation in the
point of contact between needle
and the record will be introduced,
which is extremely serious and
which may amount to several
grooves, one way or the other, de-
pending upon the radial position
of the record with relation to the
pickup arm.
These difficulties which have
been outlined above have been
carefully considered in the design
of the spotting mechanism, and it
is felt that each has been over-
come.
A general description of the
complete equipment follows, to-
gether with a more detailed ac-
count of the design of the "word
spotting mechanism."
The complete equipment is con-
tained in three portable cabinets; Low frequency loud speaker unit
with back removed.
namely, the phonograph cabinet
(MI- 4870), the high frequency loud-
speaker cabinet (MI -4490) and the plifier (MI -4231) and two power ticularly desirable when repro-
low frequency loudspeaker cab- amplifiers (MI- 4256), the inputs
ducing those varieties of sound
inet (MI- 4491). and the outputs of the two power usually associated with a loco-
motive, trolley car or motor car
The Phonograph Cabinet-The amplifiers being connected in par-
phonograph cabinet (MI -4870) con- allel. The right hand turntable is picking up speed or coming to a
tains, essentially, three two -speed equipped with a small speed
(33-1/3 r.p.m. -78 r.p.m.) turntables varying lever in order to provide
stop.
The Voltage Amplifier the
voltage amplifier (MI -4231) con-
-
equipped with pre -locating pickup a means for rapidly accelerating
mechanisms, a mixer circuit with or reducing the speed of the rec- sists of a three -stage resistance -
its associated attenuators and ord to provide more realistic
capacitance coupled amplifier
switching devices, a voltage am- sound effects. This feature is par- utilizing a Radiotron RCA-57 in
the first stage, a Radiotron RCA -
56 in the second stage, and a
Radiotron RCA-56 in the third
stage. Filament and plate supply
are obtained from the power sup-
ply unit of one of the two power
amplifiers.
The Power Amplifier Each -
power amplifier (MI -4256) consists
of a Radiotron RCA -59 driver stage
and two Radiotron RCA -2A3's
connected in a class "AB" power
output stage. The power supply
unit utilizes a Radiotron RCA -83
full -wave rectifier tube. Fixed bias
of the Radiotrons RCA -2A3 is ob-
tained from a Radiotron RCA -80
full-wave rectifier tube. The max-
imum usable audio output of the
equipment is 40 watts.
Phonograph Receptacles
ceptacles provided on the phono-
-
Re-
graph cabinet are as follows:

(a) Two external input recep-
tacles, marked "EXT. IN. -1" and
"EXT. IN. -2," which permit mix -
Front view of the loudspeaker unit. (Continued on Next Page)
frequencies. The voice coils are
connected in parallel. The three -
contact, polarized, male recep-
tacle for voice coil connections is
located at one end of the loud-
speaker cabinet. The low fre-
quency loudspeaker fields are
satisfactory for use on 110-volt
field supply. The ten loudspeaker
fields are connected in parallel.
The 110 -volt DC, male, input re-
ceptacle for field supply is lo-
cc.ted at the opposite end of the
cabinet to the voice input re-
Cloze-up of the amplifier compartment in the phonograph amplifier unit. cex.tacle. The loudspeaker field
power consumption is 100 watts.
fng of one, two or all the turn- nections is located at one end of Equipment Controls-All equip-
tables with one or the other of the the loudspeaker cabinet. The ment controls are installed in the
two external programs. The equip- Type UZ -4209 high frequency phonograph cabinet. A control
ment is designed to work from a loudspeakers are equipped with panel, accessible by means of a
source impedance of 250 ohms. 55 -volt fields. The four fields are drop door in the front of the cab-
(b) A mixer output receptacle, connected in series parallel and inet, contains all of these controls
marked "MIXER OUT." which the 110 -volt DC, male, input re- with the exception of the three
permits the connection, without ceptacle for field supply is lo- turntable starting switches, which
amplification, of the output of one, cated at the opposite end of the are installed on the turntable
two or all the turntables to an ex- cabinet to the voice coil input motor board (each switch being
ternal (250 -ohm) line or, if desired, receptacle. adjacent to the turntable that it
the mixing of the output of one, The Low Frequency Loudspeaker controls).
two or all the turntables with Cabinet --The low frequency loud- The controls mounted on the
either one of the two external in- speaker cabinet (MI -4491) con- control panel are as follows:
puts and the connection of the re- tains ten 12 -inch (10 -inch cone) (a) The amplifier power switch,
sult, without amplification, to an loudspeakers (MI- 1433). These marked "AMP. POWER." This
external (250 -ohm) line. speakers have been specially de- switch actuates a relay, which in
(c) Four output receptacles.
Two of these receptacles, one of
signed to materially increase return applies power to the ampli-
which is marked "EXPON." and sponse below 100 cycles without fier.
the other marked "HIGH FREQ." interfering with response at high (b) Three pickup switches,
are for high frequency loudspeak-
er connections, and the respective
output circuits to which they are
connected within the cabinet are
rrovided with volume controls for
the individual control of each cir-
cuit. The other two of the four
loudspeaker output receptacles
are marked "LOW FREQ.
and "LOW FREQ.- 2" respec-
- 1"
tively. They are provided for low

frequency loudspeaker connec-
tions. The amplifier output con-
nections are such that the equip-
ment works into an impedance of
15 ohms.
The High Frequency Loud-
speaker Cabinet -The high fre-
quency loudspeaker cabinet (MI-
4490) contains four Type UZ -4209,
high frequency, double voice coil
10 -inch (8 -inch cone) loudspeakers
(MI-4460). The voice coils are con-
nected in series parallel. The
three-contact, polarized, male re-
Rear view the the high frequency
ceptacle for voice coil cable con- loud speaker unit.
marked "PICKUP CUTOFFS." the power amplifier so as to glow the magnetic circuit is opened,
Each of these switches is used to when the output reaches 40 watts, thus permitting the tilting arm to
open or to close the individual and to limit the output to approxi- fall and the pickup needle to en-
pickup circuit in which it is in- mately 48 watts. The amplifiers gage the record. Since the cam
stalled. should be worked with the switch always opens the circuit of
(c) Three tone arm release "OVERLOAD" lamp lighted mo- the electromagnet at the same
push- buttons, marked "TONE mentarily indicating peaks only. radial point on the turntable, re-
ARM RELEASES." Each push- Otherwise considerable distortion gardless of the time within that
button, in conjunction with a cam will be introduced. revolution that the release push-
switch on its respective turntable, The Tone Arm Pre -Locating button is depressed, the pickup
opens the release magnet circuit Mechanism -The tone arm pre - needle always engages the rec-
of that turntable tone arm and locating mechanism, which is lo- ord at a fixed radial angle from
permits the tone arm to engage cated in the phonograph cabinet, the switch opening cam.
the record. is a device that will, with extreme Record Centered
(d) Three pickup mixer pads, accuracy, place the pickup on a
A white spot on the edge of the
marked "LEFT," "CENTER" and predetermined spot on a record, sound effects record is indexed
"RIGHT," indicating the respec- so that the sounds recorded on
with relation to engraved figures
tive turntable circuit that each this predetermined spot on the
record may be reproduced and on the turntable rim. The record
controls. is centered and excess clearance
(e) The external line mixing mixed with the regular broadcast
program. The mixing process may eliminated by means of a tapered
pad, marked "EXT. LINE."
switches, be accomplished acoustically or centering pin.
(f) Two external line
it may be accomplished electric- The speed of fall of the pickup
marked "EXT. LINE CUT -OFFS."
is determined by the adjustment
By means of these switches, one ally. Acoustical mixing involves
of a small dashpot attached to the
or the other of the two external the use of the loudspeakers of the
rear of the tilting arm. In order
lines may be fed via the "EXT. sound effects equipment and the
accurately to locate the radial po-
LINE" mixing pad, into the input acoustical pick -up of the resultant
sound effects by means of the sition of the arm with relation to
circuit of the equipment. the record, there is located on the
(g) The master gain pad, studio microphone. Electrical mix-
top of the vertical pivoted portion
marked "MASTER," which func- ing discards the speakers and in- of the tone arm and rigidly at-
tions as an overall volume control volves the use of the "MIXER
OUT." receptacle to feed the out- tached thereto, a gear which is
for the equipment.
engaged by a pawl. This pawl is
(h) The low frequency tone put of the turntables into an ex-
ternal line. supported by a pawl plate located
control, marked "LOW." immediately above the gear so
(i) The high frequency tone The pre -locating tone arm con-
sists essentially of an upright tone that a notch in the plate will ex-
control, marked "HIGH."
pose one and only one tooth of
(j) The two high frequency arm support in which is mounted
the gear at a time. Each exposed
speaker individual volume con- the swivel arm member of the tooth is of a different color, per-
trols, one marked "HIGH FREQ." tone arm. A tilting member, at the
mitting the indexing of the tone
and the other marked "EXPONEN- outer end of which is affixed the arm for radial position.
TIAL." turntable pickup, is mounted in a
(k) The "MIXER OUT. -AMP. horizontal swivel in the divided Adjustment Provided
OUT." switch, which permits the portion of the swivel arm. The tilt- An adjustment is provided on
input circuit including all mixers ing portion of the tone arm is held the upright support of the tone
up to and including the "MAS- up, by means of an electro -mag- arm so that when the pickup is at
TER" gain control to be switched net, in such a manner that as the rest (i.e., not playing a record) it
to the external line via the "MIXER tone arm is swung laterally the
will rotate slowly toward the right
OUT." receptacle, or to the phono- pickup may be poised, at any
in such a manner that the heel of
graph amplifier and the equip- point in its swing, over the record.
ment loudspeakers. An adjustable counter weight is the pawl will engage the spindle
(1) Two Neon "OUTPUT" in- provided on the tilting arm to reg- of a micrometer head. This mi-
dicators, one marked "MAXI- ulate the pressure at the needle crometer head is equipped with a
MUM" and the other marked point. It is believed that 2 ounces dial gauge, giving an outer dial
"OVERLOAD" are located directly of pressure will give the most sat- and an inner dial reading. It is
above the loudspeaker volume isfactory results. to be noted that one revolution of
controls. The "MAXIMUM" neon Release Push-Button the indicator of the outer dial is
lamp is connected in a network A release push-button is con- equivalent to the movement of the
in the grid circuit of the output indicator from one number to the
nected in parallel with another
stage (Radiotron RCA-2A3 stage) next on the inner dial. Care must
so as to glow when the output switch
located on the motor board.
When the release push -button is be exercised to see that the pawl
reaches a little over 20 watts. The
is properly engaged with the cor-
"OVERLOAD" neon lamp is con- depressed, and the latter switch
nected in a network in the driver opened by means of a fixed cam rect tooth on the tone arm gear.
stage (Radiotron RCA -59 stage) of on the under side of the turntable, (Continued on Next Page)
Record Indexed there will be some discrepancy in in combination with any turntable
The colored teeth on this gear the point at which the needle will with satisfactory results without
provide the main sectors of index- engage the record. the accurate locating of parts with
ing, with the accurate setting in Advantages relation to each other on each
any one sector shown on the dial It is felt that this
device has the new set up.
gauge. Thus, both the color of the following advantage: Since the release button may
tooth and the reading of the dial 1. Simplicity. It is to be noted be located remotely, this device
gauge determine the radial posi- that there are no locking catches lends itself to stage operation.
tion of the arm with relation to the or mechanical latches used in The mechanism could be located
record. Consequently, with the either the up and down motion of in the wings and the stage di-
white dot on the record placed the pickup arm or in the rotative rector could personally release
opposite one of the numbers on motion of the arm. Gravity alone the pickup to provide a realistic
the turntable rim, the proper set- controls both of these motions. scream or other desired sound,
ting with relation to the gear color Consequently, there is no possi- which could be properly cued
and dial gauge reading will in- bility of sticking or jamming and with relation to the rest of the per-
sure the placement of the needle it is not necessary to make any
formance. The device is also use-
accurately upon a predetermined very accurate adjustments on
ful in sound dubbing from already
spot on the record. either of these motions.
2. Once the needle is engaged
recorded sources on either wax or
It is to be noted that as the
film. It is satisfactory for use on
white dot on the record edge is by the record groove, the arm is
automatic announce systems or
moved clockwise or counter- clock- as free to move in any direction for any other purpose where cer-
wise, syllables or notes may be as a manually operated arm.
tain definite sounds must be re-
subtracted or added to the orig- There are no springs or other con- produced from already recorded
inal point of contact of the needle stant loads which tend to force sources.
on the record. the needle in any direction.
3. Since the pawl heel is in Extremely Flexible
No Mechanical Failures engagement with the micrometer
Since both motions of the tone head until the needle is actually The overall equipment is ex-
arm mechanism are dependent pulled away by the record tremely flexible in view of the fact
for operation on gravity alone, groove, there is no possibility of
that the single fully equipped arm
and no latches or catches are inaccurate lateral wavering of the may be set up on any motor
present, there will be no sticking pickup arm after release. board for use with any turntable
or jamming of the mechanism.
as long as the turntable has been
4. Since the tapered centering equipped with proper release
From the foregoing description pin accurately centers the record
cam. Since all the mechanical
of the device, it is evident that the by removing all "slop" between
precision with which the mechan- the record and the pin and since parts, with the exception of the
motor board switch located under
ism operates makes possible the the rotative position of the record
the turntable, are rigidly attached
indexing in a card file so that any with relation to the turntable is to the single pick -up arm unit, it
specific sound may be listed by fixed, it is possible to replace the may readily be assembled to the
means of the record number and record on the turntable and bring motor board without extreme ac-
three separate readings; namely, the needle down on the exact curacy in its location being neces-
1. The color of the gear tooth word or sound which may be de- sary. The equipment which has
exposed by the notch in the sired by presetting the device. been described is obviously quite
pawl plate. 5. Even though recorded elaborate and necessarily ex-
2. The inner dial and the outer grooves may be eccentric with pensive.
dial readings of the microm- relation to the center hole, the de- The same release mechanism
eter dial gauge. vice will still function perfectly could be used in combination
3. The location of the white dot satisfactorily. with the existing turntable units,
on the record with respect 6. Since the beginning of fall amplifiers, and speakers so that
to the engraved numbers on of the pickup arm is indexed from the overall cost of the setup could
the turntable rim. the record itself, it is possible to be readily controlled, depending
In this way, the usual "hunting" accurately spot a fixed sound upon specific requirements of
for the desired sound is elim- very much more readily than each installation.
inated and such sounds made as with a device which does not in- Specific acknowledgment is due
fully available as the various vol- dex form the rotative position of to the following engineers for their
umes in a properly indexed li- the turntable. whole -hearted cooperation and
help on this equipment:
brary. It is to be noted that these 7. Each of the mechanical Ray Kelly and C. A. Rackey,
readings apply only to the turn- parts with the single exception of NBC, A. N. Curtiss, C. W. Slay -
table upon which they were taken. the cammed turntable switch is baugh, M. W. Scheldorf, J. D. Sea-
If the record is set up for opera- rigidly located on the single pick- bert, R. L. Gibson and J. A. Ran -
tion, according to these readings, up arm unit. This makes it pos- corn of the RCA Manufacturing
on either of the other turntables, sible to move this arm and use it Company.
CARE OF WATER COOLED sary to check performance at reg- emission to take care of the peaks
TUBES ular intervals. of modulation and still obtaining
(Continued from Page 1 1)
Test Necessary the best possible filament life from
Operating Temperatures his water cooled tubes. It also
An oscillograph or modulation serves as a means for predicting
The life of a pure tungsten fila- meter should be employed for the
ment will depend mainly on one filament failure, since it will be
test. With filament voltage of the found that a higher filament volt-
thing-the temperature at which it tube or tubes in the final stage of
is operated. If operated at a suffi- age will be required to give the
the transmitter set at normal, mod- proper emission as the tube gets
ciently low temperature, a tungs- ulate the transmitter with a sine
ten filament will last indefinitely. older.
wave audio input to 100% as
But this temperature would prob- Accurate Calibration Required
determined by the cathode ray
ably be too low to produce suffi- oscillograph or modulation meter. The importance of keeping the
cient emission to get any use out The transmitter should be adjusted filament voltmeter accurately cal-
of a tube. It is necessary there- ibrated cannot be stressed too
so that positive and negative
fore to maintain the filament at strongly. It can be seen from the
peaks of modulation are equal.
some temperature that actually The filament voltage should then curves of Figure that operating
1
allows the filament to boil off or be reduced in small steps until at only one -half volt above nor-
decrease in size with time. The the positive peaks just begin to mal of 22 volts will cut the normal
rate of evaporation of the filament fall. The filament voltage at this filament life of the tube in half.
will be determined by the amount point is too low to provide the It is important to mention here
of emission required. that this procedure cannot be ap-
proper emission and should be in-
Operating at Reduced Filament creased slightly and set for opera- plied to tubes having thoriated or
Voltage tion. If the necessary equipment coated filaments. Operating them
In order to clarify this point, the is available, harmonic distortion at reduced temperature will dam-
curves of Figure should be re-
1 should be measured also. age the filament and shorten the
ferred to. Theoretical data for the The test assures the station en- life.
RCA 863 water -cooled tube have gineer that he is providing enough (Continued on Page 28)
been plotted to show how much
the filament life of this tube can
be increased by operating at a
reduced filament voltage, which
reduces the filament temperature
and of course limits the amount of
available emission. It can be seen
from these curves that about 9.5
amperes of emission is available
when the filament is operated at
22 volts. Should the tube be used
in a circuit that requires only half
that amount of emission, it be-
comes possible to operate the fila-
ment at a reduced temperature
with about 20.5 volts to heat it.
Sufficient Emission Necessary
Of course it would be unwise to
operate that low unless it could
be definitely ascertained that suf-
ficient emission is available to
prevent the introduction of distor-
tion on peaks of modulation. The
emission requirements can easily
be calculated but it is a good idea
to include in the routine mainten-
ance tests a means of determin-
ing whether sufficient emission is
available. One sure way of
making available an adequate
amount of emission is to keep the
filiament temperature up to nor-
mal at all times. It is more eco-
nomical, however, to operate at
a reduced value and take the
small amount of trouble neces- Lineup of rectifier tubes in the 50 -C.
"HAM" OPERATORS PROVE
THEIR WORTH
(Continued from Page 16)
Several operators left their sta-
tions to destruction by the water
in their efforts to keep on the air
until the last. Stations had to be
placed where they were able to
deliver and accept traffic, as well
as have power available. At no
time were interruptions longer
than an hour.
In New England, Ensign Rogers
undertook the rebuilding of a
standard RCA ATR -219 5-meter
transceiver for 7.5 -9.5 meters for
Commissioner of Public Safety
Paul Kirk, in charge of the Massa-
chusetts State Police, for use in
flying over the Springfield area.
It was found impossible to load
the grid and plate circuits to the
lower frequency by capacity
alone. After many tests and larger Control Room at WLVA looking into Studio "B"
unity coupling inductance was from the moment the ship left the CARE OF WATER COOLED
built, the plate capacity increased airport for the flooded area. Res- TUBES
to 50 mmf and the coupling cue work was directed from the (Continued from Page 27)
changed to an inductive link to air. Troopers below could report Another possible source of fail-
feed the doublet antenna designed direct to their Chief and North- ure of water cooled tubes is at the
by Mr. Rogers. Using E01 cable ampton and Framingham con- seals. These are the places where
for convenience the antenna was grid and filament leads are
tacted as desired. In fact contact
mounted fore and aft, from a brought out of the tube and where
small brace on the upper wing of was maintained with Northamp-
the anode is connected to the
the Stearman biplane to the rud- ton all the way to Boston.
glass. Outside of actual mechan-
der post. There was a "Y of " ""
Perhaps the most important les- ical breakage, failures usually oc-
about 9 in the center to approxi-
""
son learned from the catastrophe cur at these places because of
mately match the doublet from was the fact that the amateur overheating.
the E01. chains functioned with smooth- Every precaution should be
Continuous communication was ness and precision throughout the taken to eliminate the possibility
reported by Commissioner Kirk entire period. of excessive heat being developed
at these vulnerable points. Con-
nections to filaments should be
kept clean and tight to prevent a
high resistance contact. Water
systems should be kept clean and
in proper order to prevent steam
from forming on the tube anode.
Radio frequency grid current rat-
ings should not be exceeded.
Water flow and temperature in-
terlocks should be provided to
prevent operation without proper
cooling facilities. A failure from
this source should rarely occur if
these precautions are taken.
It is felt that radio station engi-
neers not already following the
procedures outlined here can
greatly benefit by adopting them.
Results should include greater re-
liability and consequently an im-
proved operating record, and a
considerable reduction in operat-
Studio "A" at WLVA, Lynchburg, Va. ing expense.
29
BROADCAST NEWS JUNE, 1936
The chimes of Big Ben in Lon- MILESTONES IN TUBE PROGRESS
NBC SOUND EFFECTS
don caused plenty of trouble, too. (Continued frorm Page 21)
TECHNIQUE
He had recordings of the actual
sound. He used studio chimes
der machine. In the beginning of with exactly the same pitch as
radio, thunder was produced Big Ben's boom. Neither was just
either by tapping a bass drum or right. The sensitive NBC micro-
by bending a thin slab of black phones got overtones and echoes.
sheet -iron, suspended on four up- Kelly solved that by using his
rights. To those in the studio the electrical pick -up once again, and
sheet -iron sounded like a June by sounding a chime that was
thunderstorm in full swing. But just a trifle off -key. On the loud-
Kelly's acute ear, listening in at the speaker, the sound was indistin-
loudspeaker, caught the faint ring guishable from the boom of Big
of metal. The average listener Ben itself -and Kelly tried it out
might not have noticed, but he on native Londoners.
knew that the radio audience was
becoming more critical. He wanted Rain That Isn't Wet
perfection, so he set to work. As for rain -well, Kelly admits
Solution by Accident
that what you hear over your
radio is not rain. To be explicit,
The "work" consisted of hun- what you hear is bird seed. Plain Figure 5. The shield grid tube.
dreds of experiments, none of bird seed and Ray Kelly's genius
which quite satisfied him. He with sound is what makes rain on 12. Commercial use of A. C. filaments
soon got to the point where he and indirect heaters in receivers..I927
the radio. The sound itself comes Hot cathode mercury vapor recti-
was saying "By thunder! " quite from a machine which looks like
13.
fiers 1928
frequently -and he wasn't refer- something you might see in a 14. Multi purpose tubes 1933
ring to a machine. Then, at his Jules Verne laboratory. In a tur- 15. Micro -wave tubes 1934
home one day, Kelly was taking ret at the top is the hopper con- 16. Metal tubes 1935
down the summer screens. His taining the seed. Kelly turns on 17. The Electron Multiplier 1935
screw- driver slipped. To the ordi- the electric current and the seeds
nary ear the sound of the screw- In conclusion it might not be
begin to pour out in a regulated
driver sliding across the screen stream. First they fall on a turn- amiss to indicate that the above
mesh would have been an ordi- ing disk, with a lever which dates are not the date of origin
nary ra-a- a -ssp. He listened closer pushes off a regulated quantity, but rather the date cf general an-
and he heard a low, rumbling making the difference between a
undertone. He got busy. nouncement.
drizzle and cloudburst. The seed
When next a script called for first hit a suspended ping-pong
thunder, Kelly trundled his screen ball. Then they fall on a sheet of
into the studio. When the thunder cellophane, in turn dropping onto
cue came, he rapped on the a tissue -paper bag, each different
mounted window screen with a object being in its own separate
tympani hammer. To those in the compartment. It may sound odd,
studio, there was no sound. The but put them all together (and add
director looked startled. But the
control room men had heard
long, rumbling peals that made
- Ray Kelly) and any radio listener
will admit that you've got rainy
weather. And when Kelly turns
them automatically look up for on his variegated wind and thun-
the black clouds in a sky which der machines -well, that means
they could not see. a night outside that isn't fit for
He explained his thunder ma- man or beast.
chine by pointing out that the Kelly believes now that his
lowest sound made by the tym- sound effects laboratory is the
pani hammer on the screen was best in the world. He is confident
picked up by an electric needle that he can reproduce almost any
similar to that used on phono- known sound, and on very short
graphs. The sound was electri- notice. But he and his assistants
cally amplified before it went into are not resting on their laurels.
the microphone. Now he has per-
They are constantly at work, im-
fected his "thunder screen" so he
can use it as the booming of can- proving their library. And they
non or the rolling of surf. The can- are looking ahead: they are work-
non boom is produced by a sharp ing with an eye to the day when
tap. The surf is simply some lead television will become a day-by- Figure 6. Tube used in first Trans -Atlantic
aa-y reality. broadcast -1915.
shot rolling across the screen.
UP GOES POWER AT WFBC ville's Municipal Airport. He'll tortion. In order to overcome this,
(Continued from Page 5) know that when his altimeter RCA engineers have introduced a
over special underground wires shows say 1,000 feet above the Class ''A" radio -frequency ampli-
installed by the Southern Bell ground he can set his ship on an fier to excite the two 100 KW RCA-
Telephone Company. easy glide in an easterly direc- 898's. This results in a total har-
tion, cruise six and a quarter monic distortion of only 6% at
Living Quarters miles and drop down on a tar and 100% modulation, and an audio
A doorway to the right leads gravel runway made for safely response flat within plus or minus
into the living quarters where landing airplanes. That's going I db. from 30 to 10,000 cycles.
modernistic furniture, hardwood to be a real service to some one One of the interesting innova-
floors, windows with Venetian on a foggy, mean night. tions in the 50 KW power ampli-
blinds and all the touches that WFBC will continue to broad- fier is the tank condenser, en-
make up a home meet the eye. cast from its studios on the second closed in an air tight cylinder and
The living quarters consist of liv- floor of the Imperial Hotel.
operated at 150 pounds pressure.
ing room, bed room, kitchen, din- This is done to keep the power
ing room and bath. LR -1 amplifier down to a reasonable
Water is obtained from a 200 - (Continued from Page 19) size and at the same time permit
foot well and is forced into the
plumbing by an electric pump. The attainment of low audio easy servicing.
distortion in equipments of this While LR -1 aims to cover only
New Tower Antenna Aid to size has been difficult in the past Argentina and Uruguay with the
Aviation because of the number of ampli- 50 KW transmitter, reports have
WFBC's new 376 -foot tower is fier stages through which the already been received from Eng-
the tallest self supporting steel audio or the modulated radio fre- land, Europe, Africa, Australia,
radiator in the entire South. quency has to pass, each stage New Zealand, the United States
If a low flying airplane should introducing some inevitable dis- and Canada.
hit the tower the chances are it
would bend away in the line of
least resistance, allow the fuse-
lage and heavy motor to pass,
cut off a wing and right itself with-
out serious damage to the tower,
but result in destruction for the
airplane.
To guard against such a catas-
trophe the tower is painted in al-
ternate colors of white and orange
to make it more easily visible by
day and lighted with red electric
lights to make it visible by night.
Its presence two and a half air
miles almost due south of the city
of Greenville has already been
marked on aviation maps pub-
lished by the U. S. Department of
Commerce, bureau of air naviga-
tion.
In time this tower will become
an asset of great importance to
air navigation. There are radio
compasses on airplanes now. If
an aviator wants to come to
Greenville he sets his compass on
1300 kilocycles and picks up the
program which WFBC will be
sending out 18 hours each day.
The closer he gets to Greenville
the stronger that signal will be-
come. When it reaches the point
of highest intensity the aviator
will know that he is flying over
WFBC's transmitter. He'll also
know that he's only six and a
quarter air miles from Green- The beautiful new building in Buenos Aires which houses LR1.
CRIME CONTROL WITH RADIO such devices as the photoelectric borne to many young people the
cell, activated by a beam of in- sordid and unprofitable side of
visible, or infra -red light, thus criminal life.
Another instance came two forming a surprise "crime alarm" If radio can help to improve the
years later when a young man for which an intruder on the pro- thinking processes of young men
whom a warrant had been issued tected premises cannot circum- and women, and if the efforts of
at Harrisburg, Pa., was found to vent. Then there is the so-called educators and sociologists be-
have sailed on the S. S. Graf "gun detector," now in use in an come increasingly more effective,
Waldersee from Philadelphia. As increasing number of prisons, to there will be a definite and con-
the ship was only an hour or so prevent the smuggling of weapons structive change in the attitude of
on her way down the Delaware, or tools by convicts from work- young people toward wrong- doing.
a tug was chartered and overtook shops to their cells. Radio offers to education an
the liner. But when they had No one knows what further pro- auditorium many times greater
caught up with their quarry, the tection to life and property the in-
police found that in their haste than the combined capacity of all
genuity of radio engineers will schools and colleges in the coun-
they had put to sea without the offer society in the future. Perhaps
necessary authority to arrest the try. At present, the educational
the next step will be to equip each
man. A wireless was sent to patrolman with a small, short -
world still faces the task of per-
Philadelphia and in a few minutes range radio transmitter by which fecting a method of popular edu-
the formal authority was received he can instantly send an alarm or cation which will take full ad-
in reply, and the fugitive was call the nearest station for help. vantage of the possibilities inher-
taken off the ship. Today, the use Again it may be the adaptation of ent in broadcasting. An even
of radio for such arrests is a com- one or more of the functions of greater opportunity for education
mon occurrence. television to record evidence dur- by radio will come when tele-
Many other radio devices aid ing the actual commission of a vision adds sight to sound.
the work of the police. By means
crime. When the time comes that
of facsimile transmission, rogues'
gallery pictures and fingerprints facsimile receivers are in univer- NOVEL LOCATION FOR WHOM
can be flashed instantly across sal use, it will be possible to flash
the picture of a fugitive to millions WHOM, whose new 250 watt
the continent or across the sea.
of homes simultaneously and thus RCA transmitter gives excellent
A villain in the famous play,
"Within the Law," boasted that he put an army of citizens in every coverage over New York, Brook-
was the first gunman in history to part of the country on his trail. lyn, and Northern New Jersey,
use a Maxim silencer. Similarly, has one of the most unusual sites
Radio as an Educational Force in the country.
a certain Filipino swindler, ar-
rested in 1929, can boast that he So much for what we might call Both transmitter house and an-
was the first criminal captured by the scientific achievements of tenna shown below are con-
a radio photograph. After fleeing radio in the field of crime. As a structed on a pier in the North
father speaking to other fathers River.
from New York to Honolulu, the
sleepy Filipino was aroused from
his berth aboard ship at five
- -
and mothers I would rather Members of the staff probably
speak of the achievements of have adopted as a theme song,
o'clock in the morning, and iden- radio in the prevention of crime. "River Stay 'Way from My Door."
tified by means of a facsimile Who can doubt that the growth of
radio photograph, taken from an knowledge and appreciation of
original in the files of the New fine music in the minds of mil-
York Police Department and pro- lions of school children each year
jected by radio 2600 miles across will result eventually in a higher
the Pacific Ocean. cultural average and a lower per-
Today, a criminal is known to
if centage of crime? Who will ques-
have escaped by ship, a warning tion the statement that many
and description can be put into young people who are being
the hands of the master of every brought up under unfavorable
ship, whether it is an hour or a social conditions will be influ-
week out of port. Recently, the enced to a healthier attitude
police of Poland flashed by radio, toward life by listening to an in-
a photograph of a suspected spiring sermon or an enlightening
forger. As he walked the gang- discussion of some fundamental
plank in New York, he was problem of life? On the other
quickly identified and arrested. hand, such outstanding dramas of
criminology, as those portrayed
Science Closes in on the Criminal for the past five years by Warden
Among other radio aids now at Lawes of Sing Sing, to mention
the command of the police are only one instance, have brought
A REVIEW OF BROADCAST ENGINEERING

Articles in Leading Publications, January- March, 1936
Reviewed by
J. P. TAYLOR
ADVANCED DEVELOPMENT Mathematical analysis of broadcast an- MEASUREMENT

The Secondary Emission Multiplier -A tennas with various current distributions
Measurements of Noise on Program Cir-
NEW ELECTRONIC DEVICE, by V. K. (including the "decreased velocity" type)
in which the expected field intensities are cuits, by R. S. Tucker, Bell Labs Record,
'Lwoiykin, G. A. Moiton und L. Malter, IRE Mar. 1936, Pg. 233.
Proc., Mar. 1936, Pg. 351. determined and the relative suppression of
fading considered. Brief description of the weighted filter
One of the most interesting and widely used by the Bell Companies in measuring
commented-on of recent papers. Describes R -F Transition Loses. by H. A. Wheeler,
noise level on program circuits. Curves of
the construction, theory and performance Electronics, Jan. 1936, Pg. 26. weighting against frequency are shown.
of secondary emission multipliers. The im- Chart (and instructions) for determination
provement in signal -to -noise ratio -as con- by a graphical method of radio frequency A Low -Level Wattmeter, by L. Albert and
trasted to conventional amplifiers -is dis- losses due to impedance mis -matching. H. P. Beckendorf, Electronics, Mar. 1936,
cussed and the advantages of these mul- Pg. 28.
R -F Impedance -Matching Networks, by R.
tipliers for photoelectric applications pointed An interesting note on the possibilities
P. Glover, Electronics, Jan. 1936, Pg. 29. of the electrostatic wattmeter for measure-
out. Of interest to broadcast engineers be- Chart (and instructions) for the design of
cause of application to television developments at the low levels encountered in
Pi- section networks for matching transmit- communication applications.
ment. ters to antennas, etc.
Frequency Modulation on Ultra Short A New Precision Wavemeter, The General
Top-Loading on Small Portable -Mobile An- Radio Exp., Mar. 1936, Pg. 1.
Waves, Part I. i,y I). Pollack, Radio News, tennas, by J. L. Long, Jr., Comm. & Broad-
Feb. 1936, Pg. 458. Short description of the Type 724 -A (ab-
cast Eng., Jan. 1936, Pg. 17. sorption-type) Wavemeter which replaces
Frequency Modulation on Ultra Short Short description of top -loaded antenna the Type 224, long a standby for use in
Waves, Part U. by D. Pollack, Radio News, of the mobile pickup transmitter used by antenna measurement, harmonic determina-
Mar. 1936, Pg. 524. WHAM. tion and other broadcast engineering ap-
Another, fairly extensive, resume of Prof. plications.
Armstrong's phase- frequency modulating APEX
system. (Prof. Armstrong's original paper A Direct -Reading Condenser for Substitu-
Enter the "Apex" Broadcasting Station, tion Measurements, The General Radio
appears in the May IRE Proc.). Broadcasting, Feb. 1, 1936, Pg. 51. Exp., Mar. 1936, Pg. 30.
The Electron Telescope, by Dr. Zworykin Non -technical description of the status
Description of a new precision condenser
and Dr. Moiton, Electronics, Jan. 1936, Pg. and prospects of ultra -high frequency which reads directly negative increments
10. broadcasting. A list of licensees to date is of capacitance. Useful in substitution
Resume of the paper, delivered before included. measurements.
the AAAS by Dr. Zworykin and Dr. Mor- A High- Fidelity U. H. F. Transmitter, by
ton, describing their new development, the J. W. Smith, Radio, Feb. 1936, Pg. 25.
MICROPHONES
electron telescope, which makes infra -red Description of a telephone transmitter The High -Impedance Velocity Microphone,
light visible directly. developed for applications in the ultra- by J. J. Cummings, Comm. & Broadcast
Electron Diffraction Analysis. by L. H. high- frequency band. Reprinted from Bell Eng., Jan. 1936, Pg. 14.
Germer, Bell Labs Record, Mar. 1936, Pg. Labs Record. Short article on the high- impedance type
210. New 41 -MC MUCH, by R. J. Kingsley, Elec- of ribbon microphone. Disadvantages are
Extremely interesting description of the tronics, Jan. 1936, Pg. 19. not mentioned.
electron diffraction camera, which is used Brief note on the new transmitter and MODULATION
studying thin surfaces, etc. -as contrasted antenna installation at W8XH (Buffalo),
to X -ray diffraction used in studying thick pioneer ultra -high -frequency broadcast sta- Sidebands and Modulation, by G. Forrest,
specimens. tion. Radio, Mar. 1936, Pg. 62.
ALLOCATION A short note (with good explanatory dia-
FIELD INTENSITY
grams) on the several methods -controlled
Davis Clause Repeal to Strengthen Sta- Some Engineering and Economic Aspects carrier, suppressed carrier, etc. -of radio-
tions, by Sol Taishoff, Broadcasting, Mar. of Radio Broadcast Coverage, by G. D. telephone transmission.
I, 1936, Pg. 18. Gillett and M. Eager, IRE Proc., Feb. 1936, On Measuring Modulation at the Receiver,
Non -technical discussion of the likely ef- Pg. 190. QST, Mar. 1936, Pg. 47.
fects of the expected repeal of the so- called Quantitative study of the major factors A note on a simple method of connecting
Davis Amendment. determining broadcast coverage, consid- a cathode -ray oscillograph in order to mon-
ANTENNAS ered with particular respect to the eco- itor modulation at a remote receiver.
nomic aspects. A number of tables of serv-
The Broadcast Antenna, by A. B. Chamber- Modulation Movies. by J. L. Reinartz, Radio
ice range under various conditions are Feb. 1936, Pg. 15.
lain and W. B. Lodge, IRE Proc., Jan. 1936, given for the range of 200 to 2000 kilo-
Pg. 11. Observations of modulation with a cath-
cycles. ode-ray tube explained in simple language.
Important analysis of the results ob- A Study of Ground-Wave Radio Transmis-
tained to date with tower antennas. Data sion, by H. C. Higgy and E. D. Shipley. OPERATION
obtained from actual measurements is em- IRE Proc., Mar. 1936, Pg. 483. With Radio on the Strato Flight, by S.
phasized. A comparison of ground wave field in- Kaufman, Radio News, Feb. 1936, Pg. 455.
Some Comments on Broadcast Antennas. tensities, observed in Ohio, with the values Non -technical description of the rebroad-
by R. N. Harmon, IRE Proc., Jan. 1936, Pg. predicted by the Sommerfeld theory. casting arrangements for the strato flight
36. of the Explorer II, including pictures of the
Theoretical development of the results to FREQUENCY CONTROL
8 -watt gondola transmitter that was heard
be expected from vertical antennas of con- Notes on Piezoelectric Quartz Crystals. by from coast to coast.
stant phase and current. I. Koga, IRE Proc., Mar. 1936, Pg. 510.
POLICE
A Critical Study of the Characteristics of A consideration of the characteristics of
Broadcast Antennas as Affected by An- quartz plates cut at various angles, with Michigan Expands State Police -Radio Sys-
tenna Current Distribution, by G. H. Brown, particular attention to temperature co-effi- tem, by K. Saunders, Comm. & Broadcast
IRE Proc., Jan. 1936, Pg. 48. dent. Eng., Mar. 1936, Pg. 13.
Non -technical article on the planned ex- Non -technical description of this Nipkow- R -F Power Measurements. by G. F. Lamp -
pansion of the Michigan State Police Radio disc installation. Simplified diagrams and kin, Electronics, Feb. 1936, Pg. 30.
System -particularly interesting because of photographs are included. Discussion of methods of measuring the
the outstanding success to date. Scophony Television, Electronics, Mar. power output of radio transmitters.
1936, Pg. 30. The Class C Amplifier. by J. N. A.
An Unusual Mobile Antenna Mounting, by
Details of a high -definition system, using Hawkins, Radio, Feb. 1936, Pg. 58.
H. Selvidge, Radio, Feb. 1936, Pg. 64.
the "split- focus" optical arrangement and Discussion of the factors which deter-
Construction details of the trick antenna the double -image Kerr cell. Diagrams and mine the optimum output and efficiency of
used on the Cruft Laboratories mobile unit. photographs. Class C amplifiers.
Good idea for police mobile units. The Electron Art, Electronics, Feb. 1936, TUBES
POWER SUPPLIES Pg. 46.
New High -Frequency Tube, Comm. &
Design and Application of Power Trans- Brief description of the television receiv-
Broadcast Eng., Feb. 1936, Pg. 9.
formers, by I. A. Mitchell, Comm. & Broad- ers recently made available by the Lorenz
and Telefunken Companies. Characteristics and outline of the RCA -
cast Eng., Mar. 1936, Pg. 13. A -G
834, a three electrode tube for ultra -high-
Valua'._:e pointers on factors to be con- An Experimental Television Receiver Using
frequency applications.
sidered in selecting power transformers to a Cathode -Ray Tube. by M. Von Ardenne,
The 307 -A Power Pentode, by E. A. Veazie,
guarantee broadcast dependability. IRE Proc., Mar. 1936, Pg. 409.
Bell Labs Record, Jan. 1936, Pg. 150.
An extended description of the television
SPEECH INPUT Description and characteristics of the WE
receivers developed for the German tele-
Class and AB Audio Amplifiers, by G. Type 307 -A power pentode.
B vision broadcasts. Diagrams and reproduc-
Koehler, Electronics, Feb. 1936, Pg. 14. A New Type of Gas- Filled Amplifier Tube.
tions of the 180 -line pictures received.
Particularly good discussion of amplifier TRANSCRIPTION EQUIPMENT
by J. D. LeVan and P. T. Weeks, IRE Proc.,
design, including approximate method of Feb. 1936, Pg. 180.
"High- Fidelity" Transcription Equipment,
determining load resistance and power Description of the general features of a
by J. P. Taylor, Comm. & Broadcast Eng.,
output. new type of gas- filled amplifier tube, with
Mar. 1936, Pg. 5.
characteristics of some typical designs.
Advanced Design of Class AB Amplifiers. A detailed description (with illustrations)
Deflection Control Tubes. by A. Hazeltine,
by M. Apstein, Radio Engineering, Jan. of the RCA Type 70 -A High -Quality Tran-
Electronics, Mar. 1936, Pg. 14.
1936, Pg. 12. scription Equipment.
High- Fidelity Instantaneous Recording, by
A resume of Prof. Hazeltine's IRE paper
Discussion of some of the problems met (Emporium Section) in which he made the
in the design of Class AB amplifiers, to- G. J. Saliba, Comm. & Broadcast Eng., Jan.
proposal of applying electronic beams to
gether with suggested solutions. 1936, Pg. 11.
general -purpose tubes.
Description of an equipment for instan-
Balanced Amplifiers, Part I, by A. Preis - Advances in Metal -Glass Seals. Radio En-
taneous recording on coated discs. gineering, Mar. 1936, Pg. 14.
man, Comm & Broadcast Eng., Feb. 1936,
Pg. 12. TRANSMITTER DESIGN Short note on this interesting subject. In-
Balanced Amplifiers. Part II, by A. Preis - cludes several illustrations.
Graphical Harmonic Analysis. by J. A.
Power Tube Manufacturing Problems, by
man, Comm. & Broadcast Eng., Mar. 1936, Hutcheson, Jan. 1936, Pg. 16.
Pg. 9. L. L. McMaster, Jr., Radio Engineering,
Description of a general, and very use- Mar. 1936, Pg. 11.
A very complete consideration of push - ful, graphical method of determining the
pull audio amplifiers, with mathematical Brief discussion of some of the problems
amplitude of harmonics, including higher - arising in the manufacture of power tubes.
development and examples of graphical orders, in the output of amplifiers and
and experimental design methods. Hydrogen Furnaces for Tube Parts, Radio
modulators. Engineering, Mar. 1936, Pg. 6.
Mixer Circuits, by L. W. Barnett, Comm. & Broadcast Transmitter Features, by J. P. Interesting discussion, with illustrations,
Broadcast Eng., Jan. 1936, Pg. 7. Taylor, Electronics, Jan. 1936, Pg. 20. of the use of hydrogen furnaces in the
Extensive discussion of mixer circuits in General discussion of the trend in con- manufacture of tube parts.
general, with numerous detailed illustra- structional design of broadcast transmit- Time -Delay Circuits, by C. Felstead, Elec-
tions of typical circuits. ters. Good illustrations. tronics, Mar. 1936, Pg. 38.
Output Transformer Response, by F. E. Alnico -A New Magnet Material, Radio Some circuits for introducing a time -
Terman and R. E. Ingebretsen, Electronics, Engineering, Feb. 1936, Pg. 20. delay in the application of high voltage
Jan. 1936, Pg. 30. A short note on a new magnetic alloy to the plates of mercury vapor rectifier
Method for the determination of the fre- which is capable of lifting sixty times its tubes.
quency characteristic of a transformer own weight. The "Plate Circuit Theorem." by W. Richter,
when the leakage inductance, turn -ratio Types of Distortion in Phone Transmitters, Electronics, Mar. 1936, Pg. 19.
and resistance are known. by D. J. Tucker, QST, Feb. 1936, Pg. 53. A new proof of this theorem in which
Distortion effects discussed in simple the development is unusually simple and
Loud Speaker Design, by F. Massa, Elec-
terms, and illustrated with oscillographic clear.
tronics, Feb., 1936, Pg. 20.
diagrams. Tests to Insure Tube Quality, by H. F. Dart,
An authoritative development of the
Optimum Operating Conditions for Class B Electronics, Feb. 1936, Pg. 32.
fundamental principles which determine Radio- Frequency Amplifiers, by W. L.
the design and performance of loud speak- An authoritative discussion of the in-
Everitt, IRE Proc., Feb. 1936, Pg. 305. tangible factors which determine the uni-
ers with finite and infinite baffles. Theoretical analysis of efficiency and
Considerations in Speech -Amplifier design, formity and life of power tubes, and the
output of triodes as Class B amplifiers, tests necessary to insure power tube quality.
by R. O. Lund, and W. C. Howe, QST, Jan. with formulas for determining load impe-
1936, Pg. 15. dances for maximum output. WIRED RADIO
Some practical considerations involved Discussion on "Parasites and Instability in Wired Radio, by M. Cummings, Radio
in the design and construction of high -gain Radio Transmitters," by G. W. Fyler, IRE News, Jan. 1936, Pg. 394.
speech amplifiers. Proc., Feb. 1936, Pg. 328. A short non -technical note on the grow-
SYNCHRONIZATION Further discussion of Mr. Fyler's interesting use of wired radio in restaurants,
ing and valuable paper which appeared Hotels and night clubs.
Present Practice in the Synchronous Oper-
in the Sept. 1935 IRE Proc.
ation of Broadcast Station as Exemplified MISCELLANEOUS
An Analysis of Distortion in Class B Audio
by WBBM and KFAB, by L. M. Young, IRE Amplifiers, by T. McLean, IRE Proc., Mar. And now Science Meters the Radio Audi-
Proc., Mar. 1936, Pg. 433. ence, by Prof. R. F. Elder, Broadcasting,
1936, Pg. 487.
Brief review of broadcast synchroniza- Mar. 1, 1936, Pg. 7.
Some notes on harmonic generation in
tion, experiments to date, with a descrip- A non -technical resume of the use of the
Class B audio amplifiers, with particular
tion of the system presently in use at audimeter in radio surveys.
relation to the effect of driver regulation
WBBM -KFAB. Art -Metal Finish. by P. E. Millington and R.
and other factors.
TELEVISION Plastics. by H. Chase, Mar. 1936, Pg. 10. Zaun, QST, Mar. 1936, Pg. 30.
The Eiffel Tower Television Installation, by General discussion of properties of var- Short description of a relatively easy
A. W. Cruse, Comm. & Broadcast Eng., ious plastic materials used in radio and method for the application and treatment
Mar. 1936, Pg. 18. electronic apparatus. of crackle enamel.
RCA Pß DUCTS
NEW RCA MODULATION MONITOR 66 -B

This new RCA Modulation :.: ilitor meets
every requirement of the FCC - -as to re-
sponse, accuracy and stability. Added
range, useful in taking amplitude charac-
teristics; High impedance r -f Input Circuit,
easily excited; Flasher as well as meter
operates on either positive or negative
peak of modulation; Low power excitation. (Above)
RCA JUNIOR VELOCITY MICROPHONE
Type 74A
This new RCA Junior Velocity Micro-
phone -based on advanced principles
of velocity actuation -offers great sen-
sitivity, highly favorable directional
characteristics and great naturalness of
tone. Overall performance compares
most favorably with the standard RCA
ribbon -type velocity microphone, recog-
(Above) nized as the leader in the broadcast-
COLLAPSIBLE ing field.
BEAT FREQUENCY OSCILLATOR
MICROPHONE Type TMV -134
STAND
59 -A The RCA Beat Frequency Oscillator is
ideal for any application requiring a
This stand is made source of A -C of frequencies ranging
of aluminum tub- from 30 to 15,000 cycles per second.
ing and strips. The Small, light in weight, and highly accu-
sockets are also rate, this unit incorporates design fea-
of aluminum with tures found in only the highest priced
the exception of laboratory oscillators.
the pivot socket
which is brass. The use of four RCA Acorn type tubes
The finish is dull greatly reduces space requirements and
statuary bronze. permits a more efficient component part
This type of con- arrangement. A neon lamp gives a
struction makes the quick means of checking the dial read-
stand light and ings against the line frequency.
flexible. Length
collapsed, 321/2";
Extended, 60 ".
(Right)
RCA VICTOR MAGIC VOICE RADIO
Model 9.K -2 with the Magic Brain,
Magic Eye and RCA Metal Tubes
A 9 -tube, 5 -band Superheterodyne, with
the revolutionary new Magic Voice
which eliminates "boom" from low
notes and allows only the desired "con-
trolled" notes to radiate into the room.
Cabinet: A beautiful, precisely con-
structed console, veneered principally
in heart walnut and center -matched
butt walnut, with figured stripe Oriental
wood veneer decorations. Height 41 ",
width 271/4", depth 141/2".
Notes About Our Contributors
BEN ADLER. Mr. Adler graduated from EARL C. HULL. Mr. Hull, who contrib-
the Polytechnic Institute in Brooklyn. utes the interesting story about WKY,
He joined the Phillips Petroleum Co. is chief engineer of the station.
where he was engaged in geophysical
VERNON D. LANDON. V. D. Landon
research locating oil wells by means
of portable sound equipment. In 1927 attended Detroit Junior Col1egP In
he entered the research department of
charge of radio frequency laboratories
the Radio Corporation of America at Westinghouse Electric 1923 -1929. As-
Van Cortlandt Park. In 1929 he became sistant Chief Engineer R. F. L., Boonton,
N. J. 1929 -1931. Assistant chief Engi-
manager of the Southern District where
he remained until his recent transfer neer Majestic- Grigsby Grunow, Chi-
to power tube sales at Camden.
cago 1931 -1933. Entered RCA Victor in
1933 in Receiver Section. A member of
R. V. BESHGATOOR. Mr. Beshgatoor, the Advanced Development Group, Re-
manager of RCA Victor, Argentina, ceiver Division.
was formerly with the radio division of
DAVID SARNOFF. Mr. Sarnoff, Presi-
General Electric Co. Following this he
dent of the Radio Corporation of Amer-
came to RCA where he was connected
with the engineering department and ica, entered the employ of the Marconi
Wireless Company, in 1906, as office
later sales. In 1932 he took over the
branch in Argentina. boy. Advancing rapidly, he became
Commercial Manager and remained in
JOSEPH D'AGOSTINO. Mr. D'Agostino this position until the absorption of the
first joined NBC in 1925, with the WJZ Marconi Company by the Radio Cor-
Studios, then located at 33 W. 42nd poration of America in 1919. In 1922
Street. Later he spent several years he became Vice President and General
with the construction of WJZ, first high Manager of RCA, and in 1930, Presi-
power broadcast station. He is now dent. Mr. Sarnoff has received decora-
Technical Assistant, NBC. tions from many foreign governments
for his work in advancing radio de-
RALPH H. HEACOCK. Mr. Heacock re- velopment.
ceived his A. B. in C. E. from Swarth-
more College in 1918. He became En- JOHN P. TAYLOR. Mr. Taylor of the
sign in the U. S. N. R. F. on submarine Transmitter Sales Department was
detachment. Later he was an Aero- graduated from Harvard. He was con-
nautical Engineer, Naval Aircraft Fac- nected with the General Electric Com-
tory, 1919 -1922. Following his war ex- pany before becoming associated with
perience he became Assistant Superin- the RCA Manufacturing Company. A
tendent of Inspection, Victor Talking writer of note on technical subjects
Machine Company, 1922 -1929, Phono- himself, Mr. Taylor is particularly well
graph Section, Receiver Division, 1930- qualified to conduct the column which
1932, Photophone Product Design since will be a feature of Broadcast News in
1932. the future.
ANNOUNCING THE .. .
RCA REVIEW
ANEW QUARTERLY to be known as the RCA REVIEW is to be
issued July by the RCA Institutes Technical Press, 75 Varick
1
Street, New York. It will bring together in one publication

outstanding and significant developments in radio, originating in
the RCA group.
Original articles, progress reports, and papers presented before

various radio, acoustical and motion picture engineering societies
by leading RCA physicists and engineers, will make the RCA
REVIEW a source of news and reference material of the greatest
value to those who wish to keep abreast of accomplishments in radio.
Readers of the RCA REVIEW will have early information, some-
times in advance of any other public disclosure, on developments
in such forward -looking phases of radio as facsimile, television,
marine-transoceanic radiotelegraph, broadcasting, airplane corn -
munications, electronic devices and their industrial application, and
sound motion pictures, which are of increasing importance today.
Authoritative material on these and allied subjects will be carefully
selected by the Board of Editors composed of well -known executives
and engineers.
Among the special articles in the first issue of RCA REVIEW
will be papers on television by L. M. Clement, R. R. Beal and Dr.
V. K. Zworykin; an article on the new micro-wave transmitter by
O. B. Hanson; a discussion of safety of life at sea by C. J. Pannill;
and a paper on radio communication by C. H. Taylor.
The charge of $1.50 (in foreign countries $1.85) has been set as
the subscription price for the first four quarterly issues.
The exacting requirements of the Federal Communications Commission covering
frequency variation of any radio transmitter make imperative a close supervision of
the frequency of its emitted energy.
Present day transmitters are stable and reliable when skillfully operated and
maintained. However, occasional frequency drifts may occur and it becomes impor-
tant to correct these before they assume a wide variation. Local checking equipment
is of considerable value to this end but cannot be relied upon unless occasionally cal-
ibrated against standards of unquestioned accuracy. To meet this need the labora-
tories of the R. C. A. Communications, Inc., offer an unexcelled measuring service.
The equipment of these laboratories comprises a number of receivers specially

constructed to enable comparison of the radio frequency of the signal to be measured,
with accurately known frequencies developed in the laboratories. These latter are
derived from either of two elaborate 100 kc. quartz crystal standard oscillators, which
are operated under constant temperature, air pressure and humidity to ensure extreme
constancy. The standard oscillators drive electric clocks through two 10 to 1 frequency
subdividers and these clocks are checked daily to within a few hundredths of a
second against standard time signals of the U. S. Naval Observatory transmitted by
the government radio stations at Annapolis, Md., and Arlington, Va.
Check measurements are made regularly on the standard frequency transmis-
sions of U. S. Bureau of Standards Station WWV, operating on 5000 kc., which are
certified by the Bureau as accurate within cycle (in 5,000,000). Measurements on
1
these transmissions show an average deviation of less than 2 cycles from 5,000,000,
an accuracy approximately 100 times greater than that required by broadcasting
transmitters themselves.
Periodic measurement by an independent, impartial source have a distinct value,
because they supply extremely accurate frequency checks and also set up a per-
formance record which often proved of great advantage. There is no better means
available for calibrating a nation's local checking equipment than the service offered
by R. C. A. Communications, Inc.
Many broadcasting, police and commercial stations throughout the United States
rely with confidence upon this RCA service and call on it in emergencies for measure-
ments to aid in adjusting their crystal controls and calibrating their monitors.
For Routine Service Apply at the Nearer Office For Special Service Apply at the Nearer Laboratory
(Open Day and Night)
Commercial Department
New York, N. Y. Riverhead, N. Y.
Phone: Riverhead 2290.
66 Broad Street. W. U. Telegraph only: R. C. A. Corn., Inc.
Phone: HAnover 2 -1811. Riverhead, New York.
Point Reyes, Calif.
San Francisco, Calif. Phone: Inverness 9 -W.
28 Geary Street. W. U. Telegraph only: R. C. A. Corn., Inc.
Phone: Garfield 4200. Point Reyes Station, Marin Co., Calif.
Au lldlitaUaN . . .
You are cordially invited

to visit our display rooms,
suite 505 -A, Stevens Hotel,
Chicago, during the N.A.B.
Convention, July 6, 7 and 8.

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HP nEWS

Crime Control With Radio

A Study of Noise Char-

Buenos Aires Now Heard

TRANSMITTER SALES SECTION

E. T. JONES, Engineering Products Advertising

POWER RADIOTRONS BROADCAST TRANSMITTERS

E. T. JONES PAUL V. LUTZ

NUMBER 20 JUNE, 1936

Up Goes Power at WFBC 5

A Study of Noise Characteristics 6

New Transmitter Placed in Service by WRAW 9

Care of Water Cooled Tubes 10

Southwest Hears New WKY 12

NBC Sound Effects Technique 14

"Ham" Operators Prove Their Worth in Flood Areas 16

Views of the New RCA Display Room 17

Milestones in Vacuum Tube Progress 21

Recorded Sound Effect Equipment Also Makes Notable Progress 22

A Review of Broadcast Engineering 32

New RCA Products 34

Notes About Our Contributors 35

Published in the Interest of the Radio Broadcasting Industry

RCA MANUFACTURING COMPANY, INC.

CRIME CONTROL WITH RADIO

Then came the telegraph. No

UP GOES POWER AT WFBC

HREE transmitters in three

A STUDY OF NOISE CHARACTERISTICS

constituting one stage. A bottom

impulse type. operation alternately, by switch-

the energy is uniformly distrib- etc. Each stage was separately

quency spectrum. Hence the hiss former windings and a separate

tions. In each experiment, calcu- The gain of each channel was

5's. W flROs0 Aye

NEW TRANSMITTER PLACED IN SERVICE

Overall view of the antenna with

CARE OF WATER COOLED TUBES

were absolutely unusable. Under `ó

these conditions, the last few hun-

A closeup of a 100 KW tube used in the

Today the picture is different, 200

the plate voltage at which it can determine at regular intervals

SOUTHWEST HEARS NEW WKY

RADIO Station WKY, Okla-

Large Audience at Opening

NBC SOUND EFFECTS TECHNIQUE

Sound Effects Library

"HAM" OPERATORS PROVE THEIR WORTH

Entrance to the Display Room in

BUENOS AIRES NOW HE4i.

dividual control room. It also has

IRD 'ROUND THE WORLD

listeners of LR -1 never know

UNUSUAL STUDIOS FOR WMEX

ON THURSDAY, March 19th, are used throughout to produce

of broadcasting for the decorative Hitherto it has been necessary to

MILESTONES IN VACUUM TUBE PROGRESS

Guthrie found that at red heat an