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Show It Pays to Have Only Best Parts Buy Standard Products When Building Set, Advice Ad-vice of an Expert. By MAJ. HERBERT H. FROST A chain Is no stronger than Its weakest weak-est link, and a radio receiving set Is no better than the poorest part that Is used In Its construction. One of the greatest drawbacks to radio in its early stages was the large amount of Inferior material dumped on the market. Material that was good enough for general electrical work was not good enough for radio. The amount of energy that Is received in the average aerial Is so minute that it is one of the wonders of the present age that such a small force can be converted into words and music that are clear and pleasant to the human ear. The amount of current Impressed on the grid of the tube i6 so small that to lose even the least bit through poor apparatus results re-sults In greatly decreased elliciency. Insulation leaks aird poor connections connec-tions that would pass unnoticed in ordinary or-dinary electrical work must be guarded against in radio. Most of the losses are not in the connections which are made by the set builder; they are in the apparatus which he uses and are losses which lie can guard against only by buying good, standard, nationally advertised products. One of the commonest forms of poor apparatus is the "moulded mud" product, prod-uct, used frequently In the manufacture manufac-ture of sockets, etc. When you buy a socket and are In doubt, rub it against a piece of paper. If it makes a black mark throw it away. This "mud" composition com-position which is substituted for bake-lite bake-lite and hard rubber in cheap apparatus appa-ratus contains lampblack, a high re-sisteuce re-sisteuce conductor and should never be In any radio set. The mechanical features of all apparatus ap-paratus should be carefully noted. Sockets should have good, strong phosphor phos-phor bronze contact springs. It Is a good idea to buy a socket that can be mounted either on the baseboard or panel and one that has a ring of soft rubber set into the bakelite to prevent vibration of the tube. This will tend to eliminate tube noises. Jacks should be selected for their quality and it is especially advisable to see that they are insulated with something some-thing better than paper or -cheap fiber. Rheostats, potentiometers, plugs, battery bat-tery switches and, in fact, every small part that goes into your set, is important. impor-tant. For those beginners who do not understand un-derstand the mechanical construction of radio apparatus, the greatest safety lies in going to an established, reputable reputa-ble dealer who has his reputation to maintain in li is community. He will have apparatus manufactured by reliable re-liable concerns which stand behind their products. The best is cheapest in the end and the satisfaction of a radio receiver that performs is worth a great deal more than the possession of a mediocre receiver re-ceiver which is noisy, non-selective and geuerally unsatisfactory for the reason that a slight saving has been made In buying the small parts for its construction. con-struction. Good apparatus is really just about as low-in price as poor apparatus, ap-paratus, for the reason that the reliable re-liable manufacturer takes a small profit on each Item and has a much larger volume of sales. |