New Device Converts Flame Into Electricity to Run Radio

A DEVICE which converts the heat of gasoline or kerosene directly into electric current has been invented by Dr. Otto Herman, of St. Louis, Mo., who claims that it is the first practical application of the phenomena of thermo-electricity to the commercial field of radio.
The “Thermotron,” as the inventor calls it, is built at present to operate any standard radio receiving set, using the new two-volt variety of tubes, for a period of 160 hours on a gallon of fuel.

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This article is an exploration of the changes that will be brought on by the rise of solid-state electronics. The author does a very good job extrapolating what will be possible, with very few of the flights of fancy such as flying cars and domed cities that are common to articles of this genre. Almost every product he discusses is available now.

People do have video crib monitors, solar panels are available, but are not quite efficient enough to power a house, as he predicted. Video phones are only now really practical because of the bandwidth limitations spelled out in the article. We don’t have ultrasonic washing machines in our houses, but ultrasonics are used in a number of areas for cleaning. We do (did) rent movies for our color VCRs, and there are megahertz range computers managing very complicated factory production with very little human intervention. Not to mention touch tone phones and microwave ovens. Plus, if you showed that picture of a flat screen tv on the first page to someone without any context they’d probably guess that someone had hacked an LCD monitor to look all “retro”. By the way, if you’re interested in flat screen TVs, you should check out this one from 1958.

I’ve actually been wanting to post this article for a few years. When I was posting this piece about a pocket transistor radio, I noticed that the author used the word “stereatronics”, which I’d never heard. I googled it and found the complete text of this article, with no pictures, here. After reading it I learned that stereatronics was a word created for this article, which they hoped would catch on. It didn’t. I thought it would be perfect to post to the site, so I tracked down a copy. Then when I got it I realized that Colliers magazine was 11×14″ and I couldn’t fit it on my scanner. However, I recently bought an 11×17″ scanner for the site, and so here it is.

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Stereatronics - A New Science that Will Change Your Way of Life

Tiny solids are turning the electronics industry upside down. Some vibrate, others change light to energy or energy to light, or direct current to alternating. Together, they spell revolution

A NEW science, stereatronics, has been creeping up on us in the last few years and has started to make major changes in the way we live. Few of us have noticed any difference; the changes have come so quietly that even many of the people who are closest to the new science are surprised at what it has been doing. Yet the evidences have been all about us.

—Television sets are a great deal less expensive now than they were a relatively few months ago.

—More and more tape recorders are being sold. Five years back, they were too costly for most people. Ten years ago, they weren’t to be had at any price.

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Huge Wireless Station Receives Messages of Zeppelin on World Tour

All the latest devices of radio-land are in service in this huge wireless station at Nauen, Germany. Radio messages sent from the Graf Zeppelin on its epochal flight around the world passed through the receiving apparatus shown in the photo above. The Nauen station acted as clearing-house for the correspondents aboard the dirigible.

Radio Grill Displays Picture

THE grill, or speaker opening, of many radio sets provides a unique and artistic frame in which to display some nice photograph. Portraits are especially suitable for this purpose, and all that is required to adapt them for this purpose is to trim them down sufficiently to fit snugly in the grill opening. The edges may be slipped slightly behind the supporting strips.

The paper has no effect on the sound of the radio, but care should be taken to see that the paper will not vibrate against the wood when the radio is playing, or it may rattle. The picture provides the effect of a television set.

Efficient Antenna for Auto Radio

A MANUFACTURER of radio equipment has designed a novel antenna for auto radios. As shown below, the antenna is attached to the underside of the running board where it is out of the way.

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ETHER JUMPERS NEVER SLEEP

By Emile C. Schnurmacher

THE man who stops time in its tracks, or turns it forward to tomorrow or backward into yesterday by simply pressing a button, sits quietly in front of the long panel in the master control room of the National Broadcasting Company at Radio City, watching the hands of a clock which point to twenty seconds less than twelve o’clock noon.

In just twenty seconds the musical program being broadcast by a Philadelphia concert orchestra will leave the air. In twenty-one seconds, hundreds of thousands of listeners who are tuned in on the network will, through their sense of hearing, be transported half way round the world to Delhi, India, where a speaker is waiting to give a description of an amazing election, telling how 33,000,000 voters, most of them illiterates, went to the polls.

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Radio Looks Like Couple of Books
A NEW radio receiver now on the market has the appearance of a pair of gorgeously bound books, as shown above. One lid opens up to give access to the tuning and volume knobs and the loud speaker.

Professor Stays Home; Conducts Class With Two-Way Radio

UTILIZING “micro-waves,” Marconi’s latest discovery in the radio field, Dr. C. C. Clark can lecture to his General Science class a quarter of a mile away without leaving the quiet comfort of his own home.

A receiver in the class-room is tuned to the professor’s lecture, and questions are answered directly as they are relayed over the two-way transmission by the professor’s assistant. Such a device will permit instructor to carry on his lectures even while sick and confined to his home.

This reminds me of something from the movie Young Einstein.

Radio Modernizes the Old Hayrake

THE old hayrake has gone modern, and is now on par with the automobile., Take a look at the photo below and see what happened when a young fellow with a radio bee in his bonnet took it upon himself to modernize the rake.

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Radio Buyers Dictate New Designs

DETERMINED to eliminate all guesswork, radio manufacturers recently conducted an intensive survey to determine exactly which cabinet designs and mechanical features most appealed to prospective radio
buyers.

Trained investigators recorded thousands of preferences in cities large and small from coast to coast. Out of this mass of statistical data, radio engineers were able, for the first time, to tabulate the likes and dislikes of the American radio audience. The immediate result was a radical change in cabinet design, harmonizing with all styles and periods of furniture. In keeping with the outward refinements, engineers designed new tubes, perfected remote control devices, eliminated aerials, built new speakers and made short wave reception possible in every home.

HELMET RADIO

Here’s a receiver worn under the shield of a motorcycle policeman’s helmet. It was designed by Larry Smith, Atlantic City police technician.

Finally, I can realize my dream of making a floor out of radio tubes!

RADIO TUBE OF METAL CAN BE WALKED ON

Proof against the roughest handling, an indestructible type of radio tube developed in England is so sturdy that it may even be stepped on without damage, as shown above. A metal bulb replaces the customary one of glass, maintaining the vacuum and also serving as the anode; glass is used in the tube only to insulate the bulb horn the metal base, The tube is encircled by a metal cylinder for electrical shielding. It is designed for use anywhere but should prove especially valuable in portable sets or others frequently moved.