RADIO THAT ROARS THREE MILES, AND A SET FOR YOUR POCKET

New Zealand Listener, Volume 3, Issue 71, 1 November 1940, Page 17

RADIO THAT ROARS THREE MILES, AND A SET FOR YOUR POCKET

Developments In America

OUDSPEAKERS which bellow their messages for three miles, tiny radios to put in your pocket, and home recording, are among the current developments in radio shown at recent trade exhibitions in America, according to the Radio Editor of the Boston "Christian Science Monitor." The loudspeaker extending its broadcast long distances might be useful on the battlefield, or down on the farm for calling home the. hogs, the cows or pigs, or at political conventions, its manufacturers pointed out. One of its tests almost tore up the whole business district of Chicago, so powerful was the demonstration . which amplified an orchestra programme to carry more than two miles. t The little pocket radio, shown for the first time in Chicago by a former presi-

dent of the Radio Manufacturers’ Association weighs only 26 ounces and is about the size of a pound carton of butter. It is truly -a "personal radio," its sponsor claims, and runs on flashlight batteries. It would come in handy while riding on the train, or climbing mountains, or tramping down a country lane. Furthermore. it. would give surcease to those who already are surfeited with over-loud blasts from neighbours’ radios, Trap for Unwary Guests The recording. radio has also made rapid strides in the last few months. This relatively new instrument claims: to "keep your diary, train your voice, write your letters, entertain your guests, and make you an album of music, history or of your friends." By placing the radio recording machine near the front door, for instance, the hostess can catch the casual remarks of

arriving guests which when played back a little later sound very amusing. The evening’s fun may be started off with a rush to see who can have his voice recorded first and lead to games of tongue-twisters recorded and later played back. The recorder part of the radio will take a white paper disc the size of a bread-and-butter plate on which a personal letter can be taken down and then sent through the mail to a friend who not only gets your message but hears your voice. It is reported that several million of these letters have been sent in the last few menths. Radio " Lighthouse " A new "lighthouse" radio beacon which permits a pilot to determine his course, at all times with relation to his destination was a new Radio Corporation of America development introduced recently at the Institute of Radio Engineers’ convention in Boston. The beacon works like a lighthouse, sending out two kinds of impulses, one which sweeps around the horizon steadily like a lighthouse beam and the other which flashes in all directions just as the beam points north. The radio receiver aboard the ’plane times the interval between the sweeping beam and the northflash, giving the true heading.