April 1944 Radio-Craft
[Table
of Contents]
Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics.
See articles from Radio-Craft,
published 1929 - 1953. All copyrights are hereby acknowledged.
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"Necessity is the mother of invention," is a common saying that
proves itself to be particularly true in times of war. World War II
launched scientists and engineers belonging to both the Axis and
the Allied powers into inventive frenzies in their efforts to hasten
an end to hostilities; of course each side also wanted to be the
victor. We all know how the story ended. Although some countries
were not immediately able to capitalize on their countrymen's technical
advances, within about a decade normalized relations had been established
between former foes, and the exchange of products, services and
scientific information proceeded. Some discoveries were deemed too
valuable to national security and were therefore not divulged even,
in some instances, to friendly nations. Many scientists consider
themselves to be 'citizens of the world' and vehemently object to
not sharing all available knowledge out of a belief that mankind
as a whole suffers when information is reserved for a select few.
Unfortunately while in theory the concept is noble, in reality it
only works out well if everybody involved plays nicely. In light
of that, I find it surprising that the U.S. Government permitted
publication of this article on what would be the first public airing
of a radioactively powered radio set. It implications were far-reaching.
Radium-Radio Receiver
By Mohammed Ulysses Fips

A photograph of the perfected Radium-Radio
set. (1) The new radium currentless radio tube. (2) Tuned
reeds to operate the radio alarm. (3) Electronic memory
control to eliminate ad plugs. (4) Iron dust core tuning
inductance. (5) Radio alarm. (6) Low and high volume knob.
(7) Switch to cut in or cut out objectionable radio advertising
plugs.
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What may turn out to be the greatest radio-electronic development
since Marconi, is the subject of this revolutionary article. The
Radium-Radio Receiver, with its cold radio-electronic tube, which
uses no batteries or outside current of any kind, is so astonishing
and so far-reaching in its import, that all of our radio receivers
will soon undergo a complete change.
How this great invention came about and how the inventor was
persecuted by the large radio-electronic interests forms an equally
astonishing adjunct to the annals of radio history.
Radio-Craft therefore is not only proud in presenting the story
of this amazing invention but also in exposing the nefarious work
perpetrated by the powerful interests who conspired to block the
Radium-Radio Receiver. It is certain that in so doing, Radio-Craft
has rendered a signal service to the public at large. The receiver
will be made after the war.
It has always struck me that our present radio means, as far
as our radio tubes and radio sets are concerned, were noting but
clumsy makeshifts and that much better radio devices could be evolved
in bringing radio programs to the masses.
Our radio sets and radio tubes have always suffered from too
great a complexity, which necessarily increases the cost of the
final receiver to such a degree that it often could not be acquired
by the man of very moderate means. It had always been my dream some
day to produce a radio that would have evverything and that could
be sold for less than $10.00, yet be a really first-class set. If
such a, set were mass-produced, millions could probably be marketed
for $5.00. These considerations were in my mind ever since the crystal
set days.
Then we had a radio set without any batteries whatsoever. It
didn't consume current from the lighting mains and it could be easily
transported and used anywhere. It did not have resistors and a multiplicity
of condensers - electrolytic and otherwise. It was small and it
was cheap. Best of all, the reception was also crystal clear. But
with the coming of the vacuum tube radio set everything was changed
and the entire radio industry followed blindly in a groove in which
it has been ever since.
The Cold Radium-Radio Tube

Radium-Radio Tube RA-RA 4-1
Radium-operated radio tubes have been suggested since
the earliest days of the industry. One great obstacle has
hitherto prevented the use, of radium for the job. While
a cathode surface coated with radium (or a radium compound)
would emit electrons, and while that emission would last
for centuries, producing a tube with a fantastically long
life, the hitch is that radium emits both positive and negative
particles. Thus the anode would remain at the same potential
as the cathode, and there could be no external flow of current
The method used to solve this problem in the Radium-Radio
(Ra-Ra) lube is simplicity itself, the only surprising thing
about it is that someone has not stumbled on it earlier.
The alpha and beta rays of radium are deflected by an ordinary
magnet, but in opposite directions. The anode of the Ra-Ra
is a magnet. (See diagram.) The pole nearest the cathode
is so shaped is so shaped that the beta rays, which are
ordinary electrons, are deflected to the first of the multiplier
plates which form an essential part of the tube. The alpha
rays are bent very slightly in the opposite direction and
impinge on the pole piece, or anode, with an extremely high
positive charge.
Emission of beta rays is controlled by the grid, which
for electron-optical reasons is shaped like the grid of
a thyratron. Means may be provided for keeping it negative
with respect to the cathode. This tends to accelerate the
positive alpha particles, and permits raising the anode
to a higher potential, while not affecting the control of
the beta rays, or electrons emanating from the cathode.
A lead from the magnet-anode is brought out to the external
high-voltage terminal of the tube. This is also connected
through a resistor to the multiplier bank. The latter is
constructed according to standard multiplier practice, resistors
inside the tube maintaining each multiplier cathode-plate
at a suitable voltage below the next one above it, etc.
The lead from lowest-voltage multiplier plate is returned
to the emitter, which is also grounded. A variable resistor
across the entire multiplier bank controls emission and
acts as a volume -control when the tube is used in radio
reception.
The final collector is returned to the magnet-anode through
the load, which may be a loud-speaker, relay or indicating
device.
Magnetic shields, which assist in controlling and focusing
the flow of electrons from plate to plate, are not shown,
as they would unnecessarily complicate tile schematic and
drawings.
Under test, the Ra-Ra 4-1 worked well from 1 cycle to
300 megacycles. The electrode spacing of the tubs so far
constructed has been adapted to work at audio and low radio
frequencies, and there is little doubt that tubes designed
for the work will oscillate far into the UHF region.
S. H. Mann.
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Several years ago I started work on my Radium-Radio Tube - an
electronic tube which requires no batteries of any kind. After the
first few tubes had been constructed, I was encouraged a great deal,
so much so that I finally evolved the revolutionary tube which is
described in this article. Shorn of all technical language, the
new cold Radium-Radio electronic tube makes use of radium for its
electronic emission. This is not a new thought but is as old as
radio itself, but up to now no such tube could be constructed because
radium emanates both positive and negative emission, making such
a tube useless. I then conceived the idea of using a magnet inside
of the tube, using one pole of the magnet as a plate. Now radium,
as we all know, emits two kinds of rays - the so-called Alpha and
Beta rays. Both are deflected by an ordinary magnet but, fortunately,
in opposite directions. Thus, by making the plate, or cathode, one
pole of the magnet, I, can utilize the Beta rays which in reality
are ordinary electrons, .just as they occur in a standard vacuum
tube. Then I can utilize the Alpha rays on the other end of the
magnet. I use these Alpha rays in conjunction with the well known
"multiplier" device and thus increase the electrical energy obtained
from the radium to operate the tube.
Engineer in Charge, Ra-Ra Development
Above I have given full technical data showing how a workable
tube, which requires no outside electric currents of any kind, is
constructed.
Best and most important of all, the theoretical life of the Radium-Radio
Tube, is as long as the life of radium - 2500 years. There being
nothing to burn out, nothing used up except the infinitesimally
small amount of radium, the tube for all practical purposes will
be everlasting. I have had tubes of this type jn constant operation
for over two years and they keep on working uninterruptedly, without
any attention of any kind, day and night, month after month.
The reader may ask: "By using radium in the cold Radium-Radio
Tube, does this not make such a tube very expensive?" The answer
is "no." Radium has come down in price until now it only costs $25,000
per gram, where originally it cost $150,000 per gram; but in my
tube I only use the merest speck of radium, so little, in fact,
that only about 30c worth is put into one tube.
But I was not satisfied just to revolutionize the radio tube
and all that goes with it - I wanted a radio set that would be a
fit companion to this remarkable tube. After I had constructed a
number of them, it was found that the sensitivity as well as the
power of these tubes was unbelievably great, so great, in fact,
that for the average home-radio set, I require only a solitary tube.
Indeed, one tube is so powerful in its output, due to its terrific
electronic emission, that instead of using a volume control on the
speaker, I had to use what I call a "volume throttle." The power
of the tube, in other words; is so great that if the:entire power
of the single tube were turned loose into the loud-speaker, it would
shatter it and bum out the field windings. For this reason, for
the first time in, a radio set, it was necessary to incorporate
small fuses in the speaker circuit to protect it!
Another new and quite revolutionary point of this set is that
it is never turned off. Having no batteries or no electric current
to save, it is therefore unnecessary to turn the set off completely.
The volume throttle is constructed in such a manner that when you
turn it to "low," the receiver will operate at a mere whisper.
You may ask: "Why do this? Why not turn the set off entirety?"
The answer is very simple. Radio engineers for many years have tried
"to find means to keep a set turned on at a low volume, then when
important news came over the radio set, it could be turned up automatically,
so that the owner would get the urgent broadcast news. That is exactly
what I have accomplished in my present Radium-Radio Receiver. This
is how it works :
At the broadcast station we have a special metallic gong arranged
in such a manner that it will give a, certain, musical note. When
this gong is struck with great force, a more than normal power-note
is broadcast. In my set I have a tuned reed. This reed is tuned
only to this special broadcast gong. Remember that the set is never
turned off. When this special note comes over the circuit in my
set; the reed starts vibrating, thereby making a contact which turns
the set on to its "high" volume point. Immediately the news, such
i as important war news, catastrophes, etc., is received with full
power on my new radio set, and with such strength that the entire
household cannot fail to hear it. The volume is strong enough to
wake up a hearty sleeper. After the news has been received, the
owner of the radio set turns it down again to the the "low" point,
and the receiver is then ready for the next impulse when it comes
along.
The Radio Alarm
This impulse - but a different kind comes early in the morning
when you desire to be awakened. Besides the special reed for news
and other purposes, I provide four more extra reeds. Number 1 is
marked 5 A.M.; Number 2, 6 A.M.; Number 3, 7 A.M.; Number 4, 8 A.M.
Before you retire, you turn a little knob which puts one of the
reeds into the circuit. Each reed is tuned to a different note.
Every broadcast station (besides the large "news gong") will have
four other gongs or whistles, all tuned to the four reeds of your
set. Suppose you wish to get up at 8 A.M. and have turned the little
knob on its appropriate reed marked 8 A.M. In due time in the morning,
the 5, 6 and, 7 o'clock gongs or whistles will sound in the broadcast
station (to which your set is tuned) but nothing happens, because
none of the three reeds will be in the circuit, but at 8 o'clock
the last reed will be connected and consequently, it will begin
to vibrate, thus making its appropriate contact. This automatically
turns on the set to "high" and the radio goes on full blast, awakening
you on the dot.
The Ad-Plug-Eliminator

The above illustration shows an idealized
view of the new tube. (1, 3) Reflecting, parts of the magnet.
(2) Lead container with radium. (4) Grid. (5) Reflecting
vanes. (6) Glass vane supports. For clarity's, sake, the
resistors have not been shown in our illustration.
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That, however, is not all. I incorporated still another device in
my set which I term "ad-plug-eliminator."
Many people have been exasperated by a number of the smaller
radio stations which plug continuously trashy ads over the air.
This has been a "thorn in the ear" of many listeners. While lucrative
for the broadcast interests, it is often very annoying to the radio
set owner. For those who do not wish to listen to repeated low class
advertising plugs, there is a button on my set marked "ad-plug-eliminator"
which can be turned. Its modus operandi is as follows:
I used the now well-known memory device of which several are
made at the present time.* This is nothing but an electrical robot
which has a "memory." I have improved upon the present device in
such a manner that once. the radio set "hears" one of the many ad
plugs, it stores it permanently in its mechanical brain. Then as
soon as the same advertising plug begins again, the robot cuts the
set off the air until the plug is finished, then the set is turned
"on" again. In practice this works very well, but it is not to be
confused with dignified occasional advertising of important programs.
Only those 30 seconds or one minute pure ad-plugs which are a bane
to so many people nowadays, are affected.
The photographs in these pages show not only the new Radium-Radio
Tube but the new Radium-Radio receiver as well.
Now you would naturally assume that a great and revolutionary
invention of this type should get immediate acceptance by the large
radio manufacturers, but alas, the contrary is the fact.
A Persecuted Inventor
When I had my final model built, I immediately made it my business
to go and see one of our great radio set manufacturing companies.
They seemed much interested but insisted on buying the invention
outright. Having had such experiences with other inventions oi my
own, I told them I was .not interested in any outright sale but
preferred a royalty arrangement; I indicated that I would be satisfied
with a modest royalty for each tube and set. After several months
of haggling, nothing came of all this, until one day I was called
into the office of the president of the corporation who proceeded
to give me a long lecture, I do not wish to tire the reader by telling
him all that transpired there, but the following was made plain:
The president called my attention to the fact that a revolutionary
invention such as mine would immediately raise havoc with the following
powerful interests:
(1) the radio tube interests;
(2) the radio set-building industry;
(3) the electric light and power industry;
(4) the alarm clock industry;
(5) the battery industry;
(6) a goodly number of others.
The president pointed out to me that, for instance, the radio
tube interests would immediately have their tube business cut tremendously
because my set only uses a single tube. Worst of all, with a tube
lasting theoretically 2500 years, there would be no tube replacements
and once a tube was sold that would be the end of it, consequently
the radio tube business would be "shot to Hell in no time" - these
were the president's exact words.
Then there was the radio set-building industry. Instead of getting
prices anywhere from $50.00 to several hundred dollars for a set,
"they will starve to death by making. your cheap and popular, pauper's
set." I am using the president's words verbatim again.
Then there would be the electric power interests. These gentlemen,
too, would be hurt tremendously, because today radio sets use a
most substantial amount of power; this is very lucrative business
which the electric power industry would miss severely.
Next inline was the venerable old alarm clock industry,
which by means of my "crazy fool" set would be totally deprived
of all of their business. Three-quarters of them would surely go
out of business entirely because my radio receiver, being in a way
an alarm clock itself, would be too powerful a competitor for the
alarm clock business, thought the president.
That leaves the broadcast interests, who, as I have already hinted
above, would now be deprived of one of their most lucrative business
plums - that is, short ad plugs now so common in America. Inasmuch
as most of the small radio stations have to depend upon this type
of business and as "that is their bread and butter, your hair-brained
crazy 'mouse-trap radio' would put 60% of these poor stations out
of business immediately." I am once more quoting the president.
Then there is the battery industry which would be deprived of
their "B" battery and "A" battery (portable sets) business as well,
according to my spokesman. He cited several other industries which
I was about to kill, and he left me dazed when he handed me a tabulation
of all the millions of dollars' worth of business which my invention
would exterminate with one "fell swoop" - in the president's words.
Losses to Affected Industries Due to Radium-Radio Set
(1) Radio Tube Companies $128,000,000.06
(2) Radio Set-Building Industry 226,000,000.58
(3) Electric Light and Power Industry 74,950,000.89
(4) Alarm Clock Industry 46,890,000.65
(5) Battery Industry 24,650,000.28
(6) Other Industries 74,000,000.95
Total Loss $574,490,003.41
I told him that I could see some justification in his contention
but I also said that progress was like that and that the same
argument could have been given to the inventor of the automobile,
which put the horse and carriage trade out of business, too. I quoted
many other new inventions which, worked havoc in a parallel line.
But, I continued, you also must remember that when one of these
revolutionary inventions comes along, it also benefits the public
at large, and, damn it, I'm for the public-first, last and always."
Then I gave him my ultimatum and told him that if he and his
interests did not wish to buy my great invention at my own terms,
I would start in the manufacturing business with private capital
and manufacture the tubes and sets myself. He got very angry at
this and we parted enemies.

A simplified diagram of the new radium-radio
set. At the left we see the iron dust core tuning inductances and
how they are connected with the RA-RA 4-1 tube. Also of interest
are the tuned reeds which are energized by special gongs or whistles
from the broadcast station.
That was the beginning of my troubles. One night when I was putting
the finishing touches to my radio set in my laboratory, there came
a knock on the door.
Being unmarried, I had only one good and trusty friend, and that
was Annie. Annie is my pet anteater. She was very useful around
tile laboratory because at one time I was interested in ants and
built those little ant houses - the contrivances with live ants
which you study through a plate glass. Sometimes some of the ants
would escape, then Annie would eagerly lap them up so that they
would not run all over the house and laboratory. Annie, .too, liked
to eat sawdust and small shavings, and when I was busy filing a
piece of metal she didn't mind eating some of the filings, as "roughage."
Well, as I said before. there was an ominous knock at the door.
Innocently enough I opened it, only to have a couple of burly gangsters
jump me and I was tied hand and foot in no time. Poor Annie. too,
was kidnapped along with me. They put her in a canvas bag, however,
and lugged her along. There followed an interminable automobile
ride and I sure thought my end had come. At dawn we pulled up in
a wild-looking place which afterwards proved to be a small island
in the midst of a lake.
For two years I was confined in a sort of prison with a heavy
iron grating, making my escape impossible. I was treated well enough
during this period and we had enough food. When I say "we," I mean
Annie and I. If it had not been for Annie, I think I would have
died of loneliness. Several months ago during a terrific storm with
an accompanying fire, I found a chance to escape - how I shall not
say here for a number of reasons. I immediately decided that my
life was no longer worth a plugged nickel, because I knew that the
big interests were after me and would use every possible means to
stop me from marketing my invention.
So I decided that I would publish my entire invention in the
pages of my favorite magazine, Radio-Craft, because I knew they
would be courageous enough to at least give the world the news of
my epoch-making inventions.
Unfortunately, there were several reasons why I could not prosecute
the big interests which kidnapped me and kept me out of circulation
for two years. The main reason is that I have no absolute-proofs
against them. Then, Annie was still in "jail" and I was in mortal
fear that if I mentioned any names the gang would probably kill
the poor companion of my kidnapping days.
Since I returned home, I have written the president of the great
radio corporation and told him that unless Annie was returned on
a specified date, I would expose him and his bloodthirsty gang.
The puzzling part of the entire proceedings is that the day I
finished this story, I received a mysterious telegram from the president.
Curiously enough, it contained only this:
APRIL FOOL.
*See Radio-Craft. July, 1943, page 588, "Electric Memory Machine
Helps Ignition Study."
Posted April 1, 2015 |