Radio Broadcast - 1925, February - 113 Pages ... - VacuumTubeEra

The International Radio Broadcast Test, 1924 677
Marconi, when he hoisted his kite aerial near
St. Johns, Nova Scotia, on December 6, 1901,
used twenty-five kilowatts of power in trying
to push the historic letter S across the stormy
reaches of the Atlantic. The English and
Continental broadcast pioneers, A. D. 1924,
were using five hundred watts, less than one
fiftieth of that power! It took Marconi weeks
of effort to record the signal S, with no other
obstacles but natural ones and the crude receiving
apparatus at his command. North
American listeners were trying to hear foreign
programs with receiving sets of advanced
design, it is true, but against great odds.
Your listener, in 1924 not only had the
difficulty of unusually unfavorable natural
conditions, but he had to cope with man-made
interference which is well-nigh impossible to
overcome, in the form of squeals and howls
from improperly designed and operated receivers,
which were so pernicious in almost
every locality you could name, that receiving
with any great degree of success was nearly
impossible.
It is safe to say that every one of the broadcasting
stations in Europe and England was
heard at one time or another during the tests
while but few of the American stations were
heard abroad. Those that were heard were
using power considerably above the average.
Inasmuch as the average European transmitter
is not capable of any greater range than the
transmitters used here, it seems reasonable to
assume that our receivers are more sensitive
than those used by the average listener in
foreign countries. It will be remembered that
but few of the European stations were heard
in this country last year, which would seem
to indicate that we have improved our receivers
very materially during the past twelve
months. Within the next year one can
assume that additional improvements will be
made in receiver design. It is also probable
that high-power broadcasting stations, now
being seriously considered, will result in much
better reception of our programs by foreign
listeners.
When a receiver is made more sensitive, it
more susceptible to interference as well as
is
more responsive to the signal desired.
It may,
therefore, be desirable to use greater power
for broadcasting of this nature. Then, too,
there is the possibility of broadcasting on short
waves for the purpose or rebroadcasting in a
distant locality or foreign country. A very excellent
indication of the progress being made
in this direction may be seen from the success
with which the programs from KDKA, the
Pittsburgh station of
the Westingho'USe
Electric and Manufacturing
Company
were re-broadcast by
the British Broadcasting
Company
during the tests.
THE RADIO PARIS
STATION AT PARIS