COBWEBS AND DUST

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 706, 4 July 1929, Page 11 (Supplement)

COBWEBS AND DUST

LITTLE THINGS THAT SPOIL RECEPTION SPIDERS CAUSE TROUBLE Who would have thought that a spider, that useful accessory of the gardener, could have completely upset a wireless set? Well, read on and see! The set in question was a two-valve receiver with the lead-in coming through a downstairs window. It was held away from the wall, in the approved manner, by means of an insulator about three feet above the ground. One day a spider, looking for new quarters, decided that the conveniently arranged angle between the lead-in and the guy rope made a fine foundation for a new abode. So he set to work and produced a complicated network between the. two. Everything still went well until one foggy day the rope and cobweb were saturated with moisture, and results were decidedly “off colour.” They were not sufficiently bad to indicate any particular trouble, so a careful search was made, which failed to show any defect. Next day all was well again and the trouble was put down to bad conditions.

It appeared again, however, later, and this time remained, due, it was later proved, to a spell of dampish weather. Quite by accident one morning the cobweb was spotted through the window, and an ejection notice was immediately served on Mr. Spider. After this all went well, the effect of working the set on an apparently poor aerial having disappeared. We shudder, however, to think what would have happened to Mr. Spider if the set had been a “beefy” transmitter. DUST IN CONDENSERS Dust and small pieces of fluff between the vanes of variable condensers, like sulphated accumulators, are never found on the set of an experienced constructor. It is, nevertheless, surprising how many people do not appreciate the necessity for a cabinet which encloses the set completely. Some who have a good cabinet leave the top open, with the result that everything inside the set eventually becomes covered with dust, and variable condensers are only one of the points where trouble may consequently appear. What actually happens is that the particles of dust bridge the small gap between the moving and the fixed plates.

It is not altogether easy to get rid of the dust. Blowing is of very little avail. The old scheme of pipe-clean-ers and a little patience is the best to employ. It is certainly a case where prevention is easier than cure.